- Chapter Fifty-Eight -

Some Kind Of Expectations

Another familiar thread of the same old song and dance, the heiress tried to steady herself against the wall as the room kept spinning over and over in an infinite loop. Pretty sure that she was done with the foliage (for the time being at least), Daniella leaned into her palm, fingers spreading across the blackened expanse. Head throbbing like an angry boil with secret plans for world domination, her eyes were losing a battle at coalescing the pair of walls before her.

What did you expect? Ears suddenly able to pick up the sound of every individual drop as it fell, the thunder roaring outside was absolute murder. On a good day - i.e. one that she hadn't upchucked her liver - the young woman might have said that there was no worse fate than listening to her mother's snide criticism in place of that little inner voice. However, having just barely lived through these past few weeks, all things considered it was a pretty even race...

Mama...

Begrudging title more of an audible groan than anything else that had escaped her lips these last few minutes, she could feel her fingers curl themselves into fists. Wall not susceptible to being grasped the way sheets were, the natural magenta rings on the tops of her fingers snagged against the flat surface.

Sour in a way that was far more bitter than pure vinegar left to broil in the hot sun, there was a knot in the core of her stomach. Partially it was the drink winning the war with bile and acid. The other half of the cause...

At that point where she adamantly swore off booze forever, Daniella knew deep down that that was a lie.

Remembering a time not so long ago when she abhorred liars, at least when it was just herself for company, the teen alone could be honest about what she was.

Isolation only mostly voluntary, it had been all too easy to use the fake I.D. burning a hole in her wallet when she was overwhelmed. More than likely to return to that place when things got even a little rough again, that was what she did to cope. Fail a test? Get passed a note meant for the much prettier girl next to you? Get what seemed on the surface to be be a month of detention for showing up five seconds after the final bell rung? Start three days before you were supposed to, while in gym with only a pair of white shorts? Whatever it was, the answer was always the same: drink, scour the pavement with her pet cloud, and then drink some more.

Forced face-to-face with what her mother truly was, Daniella probably shouldn't have been all that surprised. Wen Bai was the biggest liar in any room, she had always known that about her mom's job, but knowing what she knew now, it was no wonder that she could taste the lie on her lips.

Stale and yet a salty fizzle across the top of her tongue, Dells practiced the words in her head so that she wouldn't have to repeat herself. Even there in a private place that absolutely no one could see into, they were still most foul! I missed you. Just three little words, and yet she couldn't bring herself to say them. Decorum be damned, her mother had all but severed that sacred bond when she sold her only daughter off and left her to the mercy of strangers.

I needed you.

In light of the new information Sam had presented, the betrayal felt that much more profound.

Daddy little more than a photograph and the earliest of fuzzy childhood memories, the little girl mourning at the monolithic pyre had required more than a tepid pat on the head. Life thoroughly shattered, as positive an influence as he had been, it shouldn't have fallen on Shen to try and bandage the cracks in her young heart. If anything, that job ought to have been her mother's. Mama had been just as affected by the loss, so hadn't that been all the more reason to come together? Instead it had been two equally devastated souls left there to stand the final vigil, the elder of whom had left the service with a half-hearted graze and a slow yet dignified adjustment to her darkened veil.

One would have thought that growing up, there would have been room for all manner of other small opportunities to arise. Perhaps the sharing of an old family story from Mama's ancestral home, or even a pointless anecdote about Daddy's parents. Honestly the daughter would have settled for something as innocuous as sharing a family dinner that was more than a polished facade.

Fed up by the show, once Daniella had attempted to break the cycle by slamming her plate down on the table in an 'unprovoked fit'. Nothing came from it. Husband number two had merely kept his eyes on his evening report as if nothing had happened. Calm as the painting of the lake above the gilded dinner table, after sentencing the troublemaker with a punishment as hollow as her marriage, Mama had resumed her diatribe about international travel. Naturally the woman had somewhere else to be the next day, because work was all she cared about. That, and appearance.

Not long after that night, the pre-teen had woken up to womanhood, complete with a bed of blood and a cramp that honestly convinced her that she was dying. Mama would have been the first person she thought to call on, yet as she curled into herself to keep from... whatever it was her body wanted to do... Daniella recalled that she was out of the country. Of course Mama was "always available", but this wasn't the kind of thing she could just call her mom about.

After that incident with Carissa, the young heiress had been terrified of what might happen, but she dialed the one number she knew by heart yet had never called. Should there have been another such dire circumstance, she knew that it was probably alright, but something like this...? Despite what her body was going through, the girl just hadn't felt comfortable, so she had spent a literal weekend sobbing hysterically and holding herself.

Come to think of it, it really wasn't so different from what she was doing now. Except...

Slipping further and further down the wall, it was hard for the heiress to not dwell over recent events. Crown tingling at the thought of the bottle that had been smashed across it, the heavy marbles that were her eyes rolled across the hole in her shoulder that would have to be covered up for the rest of her life. Angel and Ashley had done a whole helluva lot to her body before she had flung herself out of a second story window, and she hand't helped matters any. Rafael had saved her skin in just about every meaning of the phrase, and what had she gone and done? Reopen her stitches.

Physically, Daniella's body had gone through its absolute limit (and beyond), and yet there she was, begging for more. Lowering pale sapphires through her lashes, in spite of the velvety dolor that devoured everything not highlighted in the steely rain, her eyes found her target. Mentally, Dells was amazed that she was even still standing.

I needed you...

Family history aside, the heiress had been ripped from a normal life in the dead of night, just like in her books and stories. Terrified and lost to the point that she was nearly catatonic, the thought that she might never see her mother again left her unable to do anything but cry.

Don't you know how much I needed you?

Eyes brimming over with tears and voice destroyed, it was safe to say that Daniella had cried more in a single night than she had ever cried in her entire life up until that point. In fact, she cried too much; most of the tears spilled for her step-father had been artificial, but now that they were coming from a real place, she hadn't known what else there was for her to do.

Strained as things got between the two women, she loved her mother; Mama was all she had in the world. And then came the truth, that she had just been a pawn to stay in power. How could anyone move on from hearing that type of thing? Forget how fantastical it was, just the thought that someone could basically just give away their own flesh and blood... Even now, as she recovered oh-so-slowly from her intimate session with a faux-ficus, Dells couldn't begin to wrap her brain around it.

How could you just abandon me? First Daddy, and now you too... Do you hate me that much? Hung up on just her first twenty-four hours into this adventure, the bleach-blonde could practically feel her mother's arms around her once more, mere moments before she felt the dagger in her back.

I missed you. Hah, maybe that was what she might have said, before the battle lines were drawn.

[Same Hall, Different Issues]

Glued between the eminent deadline he had been threatened with and the drunken wreck he had to get across the finish line, Sam's eyes were never far from the two most important women in his old partner's life.

Partner. Dirty and grossly distasteful in his mouth, the ex-con didn't much care for the word when it came to his relationship with Rafe. The rich asshole had been a great means to an end at a time when they had no leads, but all things considered he would have handled things differently in hindsight.

Alibi refined to a believable point, as he floated through the gloomy corridor with the Bride of Frankenstein collecting herself in the corner, the thief told the heiress the right words to say. Daniella had been with Nathan, running errands. She'd been sick all day, but like a trooper, Daniella had insisted that she tough it out. When everyone split up that morning, he had been the only one that hadn't gotten in the vehicle. Drills like that.

Waging her own personal war in the midst of the unknown, the young woman gave the occasional grunt to indicate that was still paying attention. Her first response had been to nod, but that had only sent her head spinning, the floor turning to the depths of the sea beneath her feet. Just barely managing to steady her before a grand collapse, the explorer held her arm until he thought she could stand on her own.

Cleaning her up in time was a dream that really just might have been unattainable...

[The Getaway Car]

Role in everything made clear via a slightly misspelled text, after puling into the parking lot Nathan was legitimately tempted to turn right back around (again) and leave.

Messaged to pick up his older brother so that Daniella might spend some quality time catching up with her mother, the play sounded almost altruistic... until he realized Sam was only bailing to avoid the woman. Rafe's ex. While it made sense that there had been more between the pair than just business, it was still unsettling to think about the fact that they had reproduced.

Impression of Bai not particularly fond, while Nate could see not wanting to hang around, he couldn't imagine that Daniella would thank Sam for abandoning her to the vultures. For better or worse, the young woman had grown quite attached to his big brother - maybe too attached. Forgivable under the present circumstances, after everything that had happened Nathan doubted that the heiress would want anything to do with her mother. Especially without support.

While it might have taught his sibling a lesson, with an outlier known to be dangerous in the past a strong component in the equation, it was probably best to remain close. Just in case. Hoping his brother made the right call, Nathan sent a single reply: twenty minutes.

Meanwhile, as they idled in the rain, Cassie pondered aloud what everyone was doing back at the house. Never not looking for an excuse, Chloe lightly teased the girl, insisting on a dark fate, "Knowing that lot? Probably treating themselves to some birthday cake."

Too old to believe a bold-faced-lie that bad, the blonde rolled her eyes. "Yeah, right. Not even Joey's a big enough jerk to open my presents."

"You're the one that asked, sweet pea." The lifter-drifter noted the very specific name that was dropped and filed it away for later.

Taken to playing with the zippers on her bag, the bespectacled girl shook her head, "Obviously everyone's all huddled together in the living room. I was just wondering if they were all sitting there in the dark, or if someone had the foresight to start telling stories, or something."

Cutter probably would have been the first one to suggest they keep themselves busy before cabin fever set in, Chloe would bet good money on that. Perhaps Ali might bless them all with some passages from whatever he had been reading - the kid had a good voice for that sort of thing. "That, or they're trying not to murder one another."

"Hmm," Cassie put all of three seconds of thought into who she suspected the murderee might be before just blurting out, "Joey. Joey, or Mary-Elizabeth." Joey was a major punk eighty percent of the time, but his mom was something else. High little voice, somehow always around to butt-in on a conversation, and really, really oblivious to the room. Anyone that thought that Cassie and Joey would be a cute item must have been a loony!

No more talkative than usual, as the dynamic duo mused upon the fates of their friends in the storm and the younger Drake handled his brother, Nadine was focused on her phone. She hadn't spoken to Wyatt since she landed - not that they had the kind of relationship where one knew constantly where the other was - however there was chance that the weather on the island was being reported on. It was practical to tell him, so that he didn't worry.

Actually, if anyone was concerned, it was her - Wyatt had been quick enough to join the hunt for the heiress when she had gone missing, but he had also been just as hasty to leave once she had been found. Wyatt was too much of a pro to linger, but all the same, Nadine couldn't help but fret over him.

Glad to hear the plane landed safely. To the point, there was never a word wasted with Wyatt, and this conversation was no different. Might be radio silence for a while. Taking on some private contracts. Curious as to what this contract might have entailed, the mercenary in her knew better than to ask.

Be safe. Just two words, yet they held so much weight.

[An Adult At Last]

Phone back in his pocket before the walking wounded could even realize it was out, he offered Dells the dress so she could appear a little more presentable to the judge, jury, and executioner. A certainty that Bai had acted in all three roles in her life, Sam was more concerned about how razor-sharp her line of interrogation might be. A shark in the water that had already caught the scent, the woman was ruthless, and from everything he had seen, even her own daughter wasn't exempt from the feeding frenzy.

Very unladylike in the way she snatched back her underwear, the blonde had a queasy look on her face as she leaned against the wall to get her legs through both holes. Maybe he had only imagined it in the dark, however her mother would have pounced upon any and every weakness, as she was known to do. Lightly holding her shoulder so that she didn't go falling face-first into the potted plant, he watched her from the corner of his eyes. The last thing they needed was her wearing proof of her binge.

Fabric disappearing beneath his shirt - at least he was fairly confident that that was what she was wearing - Dells stood rooted in place. For a moment he thought that she was going to be sick, however the heiress pushed herself away from the wall so that she could stand on her own two feet (and finish tugging everything into place).

Shining through the darkness like a distant star on the verge of collapse, her eyes slid back and forth between their room and the man trying to hurry her along. Having trouble keeping them straight, she grabbed on to the hand lingering tentatively across her shoulder. This time it was as simple a gesture as keeping her from falling on her face, she knew that. She also knew that she didn't want to face the music.

Instead of taking the dress that he was offering, the young woman gazed helplessly up at Sam. "I don't want to go in there." More than a matter of want, Daniella knew deep in her gut that she couldn't make herself face the woman. There had been too much negligence and betrayal, and even if it hadn't been so raw, Dells doubted that she could handle it. Complicated to say the least, there had been too many emotions that went into it, and even with Sam at her side for support, it was too much.

Grasping her tighter than he'd intended, the ex-con was struck by the sudden whim to shake some sense back into that bleached head of hers. He wasn't scared of Bai per say, it was just that she was technically the one that was going to be paying him at the end of this thing. "You have to."

Nathan all over again, she was prepared to fight to have her voice heard, "Why?"

"Because she's your mother." She and Nathan may have have been possessed by that same spunky energy to rebel against his word, but what they had to hear was quite different. In his little brother's case, it had honestly been for his own good, but in Daniella's, his reasoning was entirely selfish. Sure, there might have been some benefit in pushing the two together, but those weren't factors he was taking into consideration. Gathering that she remained as unconvinced as his little brother had all those years ago, he added, "And I told her that you would."

"Then isn't that your problem?" Sassy not the first word that sprung to mind when describing the young woman, the fact that Dells had said that caught Sam off-guard. Not enough to get him to slack off enough for her to break away, but hey, 'A' for effort.

"Whoa," catching Sleeping Beauty before she could resort back to her old bag of tricks and flee, the sober historian drew her close against his body, "hold on now." Knowing Dells, a struggle would only see her hurting herself, and they were more near to the stairs than he was comfortable with. "Don't go getting any crazy ideas here."

Reluctant to be pulled into the embrace for the first time, she squirmed just enough to keep her eyes on the man. "Like swimming in the ocean during this storm? Consider that just one thing I would rather do than spend even a moment in that woman's presence." Would it hurt you to hear me call you that? It hurt her when her mother dropped all pretense of affection.

Ouch. "Yeah, that's not really an option here."

"Then what is?" Blue fire fierce as the storm outside, the thunder very well could have been coming from the girl this whole entire time.

"..." Sam didn't have an answer ready for her. Frankly he'd been spending so much time crafting the lie and perfecting it that he hadn't stopped to consider that he would have to convince the heiress to play along. Honestly he had just assumed that she would, if for no other reason then he had asked it of her.

Silence meeting silence, she made an honest attempt to maintain eye contact, gaze boring through his own to prove that this was more than a Prima Donna act. The mere thought of her mother was unwelcome, twisting her internal organs into minimally functioning balloon animals. Wasn't it enough that today alone had thrown her enough juggle? From Sam's brief account of what had happened to Daddy, there were entire hours that she couldn't account for, and... Seeing her mother was simply asking too much.

"I'm begging you," voice cracking as vulnerability took over, it didn't really strike him as begging just yet, but the fact that someone born into the life she was would jump to that place first spoke to the thief, "take me anywhere other than here." Almost any place would do.

"Please?"

Sam had given his word that he would hogtie the heiress and bring her in kicking and screaming if necessary. Good thing his word was only worth so much.

Bai wouldn't take kindly to being blown off, however Dells wasn't yielding either.

Touching the side of her face to be sure that she was positive about this (as if flinching was supposed to be some sort of guide), he nodded. Technically Daniella was old enough to do whatever it was she wanted to, so forcing her into that position was probably not right. Besides, taking a minute to put himself into her shoes, Sam could only imagine somebody trying to tell him that he had to face his own father. Their situations weren't the same by any means, but they were similar enough to understand some of what she must have felt.

"Thank you!" Melting into his arms, she was the Dells he knew once more, face gratefully buried into his shoulder.