AUTHORS NOTE: It appears I achieved what I set out to do and that is totally shock everyone. The idea originally came to me when I first wrote Sadie refusing to meet Elliot and I was going to have her change her mind and reach out to him and it all come out then. I hope this chapter also answers the questions as to why Sadie refused in the first instance.
CHAPTER 51
We reach the GEH jet and everyone is crowded inside. Taylor is already here with Sadie and her luggage. I stare at the five pitifully small bags in shock, I had expected much more.
"Is that everything?" I ask her as I look at them.
"We don't have much, not much that we wanted or needed to bring with us anyway" Lucy says slightly defensively. "But we have everything that we need to start again and I have packed everything of any sentimental value that means something to both of us. But more importantly, I have also managed to obtain copies of all the paperwork which shows that while dad has been paying mom for the work she does he has actually been pocketing the money himself". She explains as she opens one of the duffle bags and pulls out a rather crumpled folder.
She holds it out and Gideon immediately steps forward and takes it. Christian stands with him as they look through the paperwork.
"I thought I'd get that, as it was proof of what he was doing and I was hoping you would have the influence to make him hand over the money to mom so that we could start again" she looks at Gideon and Christian hopefully as they pour over the paperwork.
"This seems pretty straightforward" Gideon says simply, "I'll get Arash on it" he adds.
"Arash?" I ask.
Gideon looks up at me, "Arash Madani, my personal attorney" he says with a grin.
"When we get to Seattle I'll help you set up a bank account so you will be able to be financially independent" Christian says.
Lucy beams at him gratefully. "Thank you so much, if you could help mom get back just a portion of what dad owes her in wages that would be wonderful. I have been planning this for so long. I've seen how dad has treated mom all my life and it's not good. Think how Jen behaved today and times that by a million. I have been saving my allowance for years and not spending anything, so mom and I could get by when the time came to eventually break free".
We all stare at the young girl in shock and awe, the way she talks with such maturity and such profound sadness but at the same time with such hope and love that her mother can start again and have a better life. I put my hand on her shoulder.
"We will help you as well, that goes without saying" I promise her.
Lucy smiles gratefully at me, "Thank you, we will pay you back" she says solemnly and I shake my head.
"No, you won't you are my sister," I glance at Sadie who is quietly listening, "and you are my birth mother. Like it or not you are now part of the Grey family and we look out for each other".
Gideon nods, "Which also means you get the Cross family by default and I will do all I can to persuade your husband to divorce you and give you all the wages he has stolen from you along with a generous settlement".
Sadie beams at us and I see the hope in her eyes increasing. I also see the tight lines of tension around them disappear as she slowly starts to relax.
Eva looks at Sadie carefully, "I need to ask you something. Did he hurt you? You have alluded to the fact he was emotionally and verbally abusive but did he ever hurt you physically?" she asks.
Sadie puts her head down and starts to shake violently and then a heart-breaking sob erupts from her. Lucy immediately wraps her arm around her and holds her. "Tell them mom, I've told you it wasn't your fault. You need to tell them everything, they need to know everything dad did to you so they can help you".
Sadie takes a deep breath and after giving Lucy a quick look she looks up at Eva nervously, "David hits me, he says it's my fault for making him angry but most of the time I have no idea what I have done wrong. He has hit me with his bare hands and with whatever he can grab when he gets angry but he is always careful as he never leaves marks where it will be seen, but…" she pauses and glances at Lucy once more who nods at her encouragingly.
"Show them mom" she says.
Sadie looks around at us all and then slowly removes her jacket. "I warn you it's not pretty" she mutters.
"It's fine Sadie, you are amongst family now who will protect you and take care of you" Ana says kindly.
Sadie nods and then with shaking hands she pulls off her sweater to reveal a sleeveless tee shirt underneath. She turns her back to us and Lucy helps her lift the top to reveal her back which is black and blue with bruises and there are partially healed welts on her side and even some scarring. Ana and Eva gasp loudly and Gideon lets out a loud curse. I am furious, the anger which is surging through me at the sight of Sadie's back is intense. I want to get off the plane right now and head back into Detroit to find and batter David fucking Greaves. I glance at Christian who has frozen at the sight in front of him and I realise this must be hitting him very close to home after what he endured when he was a toddler. I also see the fury in his eyes as he stares at Sadie's back.
"Your husband did all that to you?" he says tightly and Sadie nods sadly.
"Did you get any medical treatment for your injuries?" he asks.
Sadie nods again, "As you know David is a doctor so he treats them and because he treats them there is no record of them". She pauses and glances at Lucy. "But when Lucy discovered what he was doing she insisted on photographing everything so there was evidence, should we ever manage to get away - so we could press charges for domestic abuse" she says.
Everyone looks once more at Lucy who is once again rummaging in another bag. She pulls out a flash drive and hands it to Christian. "This has three years' worth of photographic evidence of what is currently on moms back and I made sure to video it every time as well so that there could be no argument that the photographs were photoshopped, do you think that will be enough for her to get some justice?" she asks hopefully.
Christian beams at her, "Oh yes this will be more than enough" he says.
I see Christian pause as he is thinking carefully, "Right, I suggest we leave now for Seattle as it won't take long for Jen to raise the alarm – if she hasn't done so already. Gideon are you going to pay Sadie's husband a visit and put the fear of god into him?" Christian asks.
Gideon grins, "I would be happy to" he says with a grim determination.
Christian nods, "I'm going to call mom and make sure she is available to meet us when we land in Seattle" he looks at me as he says this and I know he is thinking about getting Sadie checked over and mom is the obvious choice to do this. Plus, it will help to prevent any awkwardness arising when the two women meet as he is banking on the fact that mom will go into doctor mode and hopefully it will stop her focussing on the fact my birth mother is now in the picture and staying there. With any luck we can also get her to give dad a heads up so he doesn't say or do anything stupid as soon as he sets eyes on Sadie and Lucy.
"When you speak to mom, make sure you tell her to make dad aware of all the facts" I say meaningfully and Christian nods at that as he steps away and pulls out his phone.
Eva steps forward to speak next, "I've still got Jen's phone which I have to return to her, so I'll make sure she knows that we know everything. Is Jen aware of what David did to you?" She asks.
Sadie nods sadly, "I'm fairly certain she must have known, but she just turned a blind eye and used the information to help her gain dominance over him, I'm fairly sure she has gathered written evidence of everything. If you threaten her, she may try and come on side and offer you what she has to get herself off the hook" she says sadly.
Eva shakes her head before she turns to Lucy, "You made allegations of her being a dirty cop, do you have any concrete evidence of that?" she asks.
Lucy shakes her head, "No, but I know a couple of police officers at the precinct who are afraid of her and have seen some of the questionable things she has done. That is how I know about it".
Eva nods thoughtfully and pulls out her phone, she makes a call and I realise she is calling Victor. "Dad" she says after a moment and a bright smile fills her face as he is obviously talking to her.
"I'm good, listen I'm putting you on speaker as I have someone who needs to talk to you. Do you remember how you told Christian you had contacts in the Detroit PD? Well I'm thinking I may need you to contact them, I'm putting you on speaker now" she says.
With that she presses a button, "Ok dad you are on speaker and you are going to be talking to a young lady called Lucy Greaves who we are currently helping" she says. "Go ahead Lucy, tell him" she says.
"Ok" she begins, "Erm… hello sir, my name is Lucy Greaves and my mom is Sadie Greaves but her maiden name was Sharp. My sister Jennifer Greaves-McDonald is a police officer in the Detroit PD. She is not a good person and after talking to several of her colleagues I believe she is a dirty cop. They said they think she has been involved in a couple of unlawful arrests where she planted evidence to convict someone who was innocent. They have also accused her of taking bribes. None of it surprises me and trust me when I say she is capable of all these things".
There is a long silence and then Gideon speaks, "Hello Victor, Gideon here. Do you think you could help us with this? I am going to get my personal attorney involved as there are other aspects unrelated to these allegations but we felt with your experience as a police officer and your contacts in the Detroit Police Department you could help us with this".
"I'll help, there is nothing I hate more than a dirty cop" Victor says grimly. There is another long silence as he is obviously thinking. "Ok, first of all I need the names of the Police Officers who have made these allegations and I need all the information you can give me on Jennifer Greaves-McDonald, I will call my contacts in the Detroit PD and start phishing for information. I can't go in there directly in case she gets tipped off of what I am doing but I am confident that my contacts are all straight and honourable".
"Thanks dad" Eva says gratefully.
"No problem" Victor says.
"Look I hate to interrupt but we need to go now" Christian says suddenly as he reappears back with us.
Eva thinks quickly, "Ok, listen dad I have to go but I promise I will call you back and tell you the whole story so you are fully aware of everything that is going on. Lucy, if you can put together all the information my dad needs and give it to either Ana, Christian or El and they will pass it on for you".
Lucy nods confidently, "I can do that, and thank you sir for helping us" she says gratefully.
With that Eva says goodbye to Victor and she turns to us. "Ok then we are going now, I'm going to give Jen her phone back and have another quiet word in her ear. She smirks as I say that and I know that a degree of threat will certainly be involved in that quiet word. Have a safe flight to Seattle and I'll call later".
With that she hugs me, Ana and Christian before turning towards Sadie and Lucy. "Don't worry about anything, you are both safe now and they won't ever hurt you again" she says kindly.
They smile gratefully at her and as Gideon also says his goodbyes, we watch them quickly leave the plane.
"Ok then seatbelts on" Christian calls and with that we all take a seat and buckle in.
"What did mom say?" I ask Christian quietly as I take a seat next to him.
He leans towards me and lowers his voice, "I relayed the story and asked her to be on hand when we land as I want Sadie checked over thoroughly as she is a complete mess. Mom said she would explain everything to dad and he would be happy to help".
I nod "Did you ask her to tell him not to say anything stupid?" I whisper and Christian smirks.
"I may have mentioned it" he says simply.
oooOOOooo
The flight is quiet, Ana and Christian are clearly shocked by everything they have heard and seen and I'm fairly sure the injuries on Sadie have affected Christian more than he is letting on. I have been chatting with Sadie and Lucy talking about Meg and Ava and I have showed them some photographs of Ava which I have on my phone, to try and relieve their obvious nervousness and take their minds off everything that is happening.
"Why did you refuse to meet me, when it is obvious that we were your best chance of escape?" I ask suddenly.
Sadie looks up at me sadly, "You have to understand David would never have allowed me to meet you. Plus, I was afraid that if Frank did do anything that linked us and the media took an interest in us how David would react to that. I wrote and sent that letter to you before I told Lucy that you had reached out and when I did tell her she told me that I'd thrown away a golden opportunity to get away. When you wrote again and tried to persuade me to meet you and explained who your family were that was when Lucy started putting together the plan for Jen to find the letter and set things in motion. I want to make it totally clear though that we didn't do all this purely as a means to escape… I really do want to be a part of your life. I have always thought about you and I have always loved you. I just couldn't give you the life you deserved at that point in time".
I nod, Sadie is searching my expression hopefully, almost as if she is looking for my acceptance of her words. I don't hesitate to give her that. "I understand, I know what it looks like but you don't have to worry about that" I say kindly.
Sadie reaches for my hand, "I just don't want you to think we are using you and your family as I'm sure you have a lot of people who selfishly try to ingratiate themselves with you for their own gain".
Kate unwillingly slips into my mind as Sadie says that and I snort, "You have no idea" I say.
"What will happen when we arrive in Seattle?" Lucy asks me and I glance at Christian who looks up at the question.
"Well, first of all I'd like mom to take a look at you, Sadie. She is a doctor and I'd also like to introduce you to my dad as he is a lawyer – one of the top litigators in Washington, and as you are looking to press charges against David and seek a divorce he would be a good person to have on side. He can also liaise with Arash so that all avenues are covered and make sure that they don't wriggle out of anything" he says with calm conciseness.
Sadie nods, "I'll follow your lead as you all seem to know what to do for the best" she says.
I look at her carefully, and frown at her words. "Sadie, you do realise you don't have to do what other people want anymore. You are entitled to have your own views and opinions and this is your life we are talking about. If there is anything you are not sure about or don't want to do then you are within your rights to speak out and say so".
"That is going to take some getting used to" she mutters. I watch Christian shuffle uncomfortably in his seat and I remember how he was completely dominated by Elena when he was a teenager. I realise in that moment that it is not only the physical abuse which Sadie endured which is hitting close to home with my brother.
"Where will we be staying when we get to Seattle?" Lucy asks and I hesitate. I hadn't actually thought that far and I glance across at Christian again and it appears he is also considering this fundamental fact.
"Escala?" Ana says suddenly and Christian immediately nods, before turning towards Lucy.
"I have an apartment at Escala in Seattle. You can stay there until we can get you something more permanent sorted out" he says.
Lucy nods, "Thank you" she says and Christian just waves his hand dismissively.
"When he says apartment, he actually means the penthouse and it is actually the top two floors of the building" I say with a grin and I see Christian roll his eyes and both Mia and Ana giggle at my words.
"Is that relevant?" Christian asks and I nod.
"I think so" I say adamantly.
All too soon there is the announcement that the plane is coming in to land at Sea Tac and I take a seat beside Christian and fasten my seatbelt.
"You never got to go to the cemetery while we were in Detroit" I mutter.
Christian shrugs, "No big deal, more important things took precedence" he says.
At that Sadie looks up "Did you have other plans while you were in Detroit?" she asks guiltily.
Christian shakes his head, "No, not really but my birth parents are both buried in Detroit and I was going to visit their graves while I was there" he says.
"Oh my god, I'm so sorry" Sadie gasps but Christian immediately holds up his hand.
"No, don't be. You have nothing to feel bad about, this was far more important and besides its not as if they are going anywhere and I can visit Detroit any time I want to. Today was your one and only chance to get out of the place" he says.
