Summary: Annette thinks she finally has the upper hand with Kathryn but it all comes crashing down around her.
Authors Note: I know I said I'd get this up earlier but I have finals this week plus I got my Swans Crossing episodes in the mail the other day and thus have not had a lot of time to work on this. Anyway enjoy!
Chapter 9: Addictive
* Annette *
"Cecile?"
As I walked into the hospital room Cecile's eyes began to flutter open and a small smile graced her lips. Running a hand through her hair she said "hey Annette."
"I didn't mean to wake you. I can come back later if you-"
"No" she said suddenly sitting up. "No stay, please. I haven't really had any visitors."
Smiling sympathetically at her I set the basket of flowers I had brought down on her bedside table. As I did so I couldn't help but notice that the girl laying in the hospital bed wasn't the same girl I've know for the past four years. Gone was the light in her eyes and excitement on her face. Instead it was replaced by tired eyes and a sad expression. Cecile had changed and I had a feeling it wasn't for the better.
Earlier that day, after leaving Owen's I got a call that Cecile was in the hospital. It came from a nurse which I thought was odd but even stranger was the reason Cecile was in the hospital to begin with. According to the nurse she had a drug overdose and nearly died. At first I really didn't believe it. I mean I had never seen Cecile smoke so much as a cigarette before let alone heroin. However when I called her mother she confirmed it. Cecile had overdosed on heroin and the police found her body passed out in an ally somewhere.
To say I was stunned was a bit of an understatement. For the life of me I couldn't figure out how something like this could happen. Then I heard about Ronald's suicide and it started to make sense. Still I couldn't help but shake the feeling that there was something more sinister at work here.
Brushing a strand of her dark hair from her face I asked "how are you feeling Cecile?"
She shrugged sadly "my body aches and I keep shaking. The nurse said it's from with drawl and that it will hopefully pass in a few weeks."
I nodded "Cecile how did this happen? Why on earth were you taking drugs? I know about Ronald but still it's so unlike you."
Her eyes began to fill up with tears as she replied "I know it isn't. Everything was just getting to hard and...and then I heard about Ronald and I couldn't take it anymore. I just needed to feel better and this stuff helps sometimes."
"Still Cecile, where would you even get heroin? And why were you in the street?"
"They must have put me there" she muttered looking away.
"Who?"
"The...I can't" she said shaking her head. "I can't say, she'll kill me."
An uneasy feeling went through me as I asked "who will kill you?"
Tears flowed down her face as she admitted "Kathryn."
"What?!" I nearly screamed. "Kathryn did this to you?" When Cecile nodded in response I got up and bellowed "I am going to kill her for this! She went way too far this time-"
Before I could leave Cecile grabbed my arm "no! You can't Annette, you can't tell anyone!"
"Why not? Cecile what she did...it goes beyond wrong. It's just plain sick."
"But you can't tell anyone about this. If you do she'll just make it worse."
"What are you..." suddenly it dawned on me what Cecile wasn't saying. With a heavy sigh I sat back down and asked "she's blackmailing you, isn't she?"
Cecile nodded as she let my arm go. "Yes, she said if I told anyone about what she's done..she'll show everyone this tape."
"What tape?"
Cecile proceeded to launch into her sad story. From leaving her house after her parents found her in bed with Ronald, to meeting up again with Kathryn, acting as a prostitute at her request, and then the blackmail and drugs. It turned my stomach to think what Kathryn had done to the once innocent and trusting Cecile. Single handedly she took out any good that might have been in the girl and destroyed it just for some perverse thrill of revenge.
After she finished telling me what happened Cecile broke down into sobs as she explained "and now my parents won't have anything to do with me. They came to the hospital once and told me I was a disgrace."
"Oh honey, did you try explaining what happened? Maybe they would hear you out and try to help you."
To my astonishment Cecile laughed coldly as she spat "yeah right. Even if by some miracle they believed my word over Kathryns, my mother would still call me a whore and refuse to let me back in the house."
Shaking my head angrily I told her "well I am not going to abandon you Cecile. After you get out of the hospital you are more than welcome to come stay with me."
For the first time she smiled and for a moment looked like her old self. "Thank you Annette, that's very nice of you but I don't think that will be for awhile. The police are still questioning me about the drugs they found and the drug counselor is insisting that I stay in rehab at least for a little while."
I sighed while I took her hand in mine. "I'm so sorry Cecile, for all of this. Maybe if I had never crossed Kathryn to begin with-"
"Don't blame yourself" Cecile interjected. "This is all Kathryn's fault. She's the one who did this and she should be locked up for it."
"Well if I have anything to say about it she will be. I promise you Cecile that I will do everything in my power to make sure she pays for this and everything else she's done."
Gripping my hand Cecile stared into my eyes sadly as she said softly "be careful Annette. I have a feeling whatever she's up to, it isn't over yet."
* Kathryn *
Well how fucking touching.
As I stood outside of Cecile's hospital room listening to her recant her sorry tale to Annette it was all I could do to keep from gagging. The two of them say huddled in her hospital bed weeping about all their miss fortune. Hadn't they learned yet that only the strong survive? Apparently not and in the end it would cost them.
After finding Cecile passed out in the bathroom I wasn't sure what the hell I should do with her. Leave her there to die pathetically. Where was the fun in that? Instead I called one of the boys up to help me dispose of the body. After we dumped her off in some rat infested alley I placed an anonymous phone call to the police about some hooker who passed out. Sure enough they came to get her and then the hospital called her parents.
Poor Mrs. Caldwell, I honestly thought she might faint when she heard the news about her precious daughter. Watching her from a distance I observed she didn't shed one tear. For a moment I almost felt sorry for Cecile. She had a mother nearly as bad as my own. But not quite.
Since she'd been admitted to the hospital I had been keeping a close eye on her. Today when I arrived one of the nurses told me she had a visitor and I wasn't terribly shocked to see it was Annette. Ready to lend a helping hand as always, but it wouldn't do any good.
Still keeping an eye on the door I pulled out me cell phone and dialed Drake. "You know this little misstep might work out to our advantage" I told him as soon as he picked up.
"How so?"
"We get rid of the little whiner for one thing. She's completely ruined and maybe after a little jail time she'll learn her lesson."
Drake snickered "I take it you're still at the hospital?"
"Yes and I just over heard the most interesting conversation. Annette's visiting her and surprise, surprise Cecile couldn't keep her mouth shut."
"Should I have someone shut it for her...permenetly?"
"No I'm done with Cecile. It's time I take down the much larger target." Peaking into the room again I observed Annette getting some water for Cecile. "Something tells me now might be the perfect time to strike. Now that Annette thinks she has some legitimate information against me." I notice the blond get up and start to get ready to leave. "Looks like she's on the move. Can't wait to blab everything she knows about me."
There was a pause on his end "should I have someone tail her? What is she tells someone about her so called information?"
I laughed "no need, I'll handle this one myself. I know exactly where she's going and trust me I'll get there first." I headed down the hospital corridor than stopped suddenly "oh Drake on second thought, I think I will have you send me somebody. There is something I'm going to need done."
* Annette *
Today was the day I brought that witch down. What she did to Cecile went beyond sick, it was just pure evil. It was becoming clearer and clearer to me that Kathryn was completely deranged. If she was just going after me I could deal with it but now she was targeting innocents like Cecile and worst of all my father. He actually believed Kathryn was changed when he couldn't be any further from the truth.
After I left Cecile I thought about going to my father with the news but I thought better of it. First I needed to see Owen and talk to him about this. I didn't really have any solid prove against Kathryn other than Ceciles word which probably wouldn't count for much right now. Still I had to act fast and I knew Owen would know a way to expose Kathryn and trip her up.
Before I left the hospital I called the office but one of the volunteers told me Owen had gone home. On my way there I tried to think of something I might be missing. There had to be some detail Kathryn had overlooked that I could use to bring her down. When I arrived at Owen's brownstone I used the key he had given me and let myself in. "Owen? Owen are you...here..."
As I walked into the living room Owen walked out of the kitchen carrying a bottle of wine and two glasses. He was dressed only in his boxers and he looked not terribly surprised to see me. "Hey" he greeted me causally. "What are you doing here Annette?"
"I had to talk to you" I explained "I called the office and they told me you were here. What's going on?"
"I was just-"
"Owen where's my wine?" At the sound of her voice I turned in shock to find Kathryn walking down the stairs towards me dressed only in a men's dress shirt. When her eyes fell on me she smiled "oh I didn't know we had company."
In that moment I honestly couldn't process a thought. There was my worst enemy standing in my boyfriends apartment practically naked. "Kathryn" I whispered as I watched her slither up to a calm Owen who was busy opening the wine bottle. For a moment all I could do was gawk at the two of them in shock. This couldn't be happening, there had to be an explanation. "Owen" I yelled "what's going on? What are you doing with HER?!"
"Annette, baby this isn't what it looks like." Looking back at Kathryn his innocent face cracked a grin as he chuckled "actually it's exactly what it looks like."
"What? I-I don't understand...how could you do this?"
Smiling back at me just as cruelly as Kathryn was he mocked me "I-I don't understand. Jesus Christ get a grip would you. What do you think is going on?" When I only stared at him speechless he sighed "all right let me give you a clue." Grabbing Kathryn suddenly from around the waist he pulled her to him and gave her a deep, intense kiss.
Pulling away a breathless Kathryn asked "does that clear some things up?"
"You bastard!" I screamed at him "how could you do this to me? I thought you were my friend."
He sighed "yes you did think that didn't you? I mean never for a moment did you doubt my sincerity. Everything I told you, you believed."
As much as I wanted to be strong and stand up to them I was feeling utterly defeated. My world was spinning and I couldn't make it stop. Wiping the tears from my face I said "you were never my friend, were you?"
"Score one for Blondie" Kathryn laughed "it looks like she's finally getting a clue."
"Shut up!" I yelled charging at her "this is all your fault, you did this!"
I went to hit her but before my hand could make contact Owen came up behind me and grabbed my wrist "now, now none of that."
Pulling my hand away from him I spun around and demanded "why? Why did you do this to me dammit!? Because she told you to?"
Glancing at Kathryn he smiled faintly "no not really. As much as I adore Kathryn this had nothing to do with her. You see Annette I sought you out, befriended you, made you give up your promising future as a doctor to form an organization that doesn't even really exist and destroyed your marriage for my own reasons."
"What reasons?"
Reaching out he cupped my face as his once kind eyes darkened and he snarled "revenge of course. Tell me Annette do you remember an old classmate of yours by the name of Robert Sullivan?"
At the moment my mind was too fuzzy to remember such a thing but the name did sound somewhat familiar "he went to Manchester?"
"Yes he did" Owen replied coldly. "However he only went half a year before your father ratted him out to the police and he got thrown in jail where he was subsequently killed."
Immediately I recalled what he was talking about. Around Christmas time one year, one of Manchesters more rowdier students got expelled for drugs and my father later on told me the reasons behind it. When he discovered the kid had died and his parents were trying to get him fired he explained it all. To me it sounded like my father did the right thing but I could see how others would see it differently. "Owen what does this have to do with you?"
"Robert was my best friend and because of your father he died in some shit hole prison. For a year I looked for a way to pay your father back and I finally found the perfect way. Destroy the man by destroying his daughter."
I glanced over at Kathryn "so you join up with Kathryn to take me and my father down. My god Owen you're as sick as she is."
"No actually I'm worse because you see there's no way Kathryn's gotten as much pleasure from this as I have."
"Oh I wouldn't say that" she said walking over to us and pressing herself into his back.
Looking at the two of them I started to feel physically ill. The idea that they were planning to destroy me was one thing but to think they had been doing it for years was terrifying to say the least. This wasn't some sort of plan Kathryn had on a whim, she had been planning this all out.
At this point I had stopped crying. I was destroyed that one of the only people I trusted in the world turned out to be a fraud but I was also angry. Powerfully angry in fact. Backing away from them I hissed "I know all about what you did to Cecile Kathryn."
"Do you?" She asked with a bored sigh.
"Yes"
"But do you know what I did to Court and to my mother?"
I stopped backngi away and looked at her in horror. "You had something...you did that?!"
Her lips curled into a smile "you could say I had a hand in it."
"God you're a monster."
"Boo" she said stepping closer. Pulling away from Owen Kathryn asked "what are you going to do now Annette? Run to daddy I suppose."
Shaking my head I replied "I'm going to tell him everything, then I'm going to the police."
Kathryn laughed "I'm petrified."
She took a step closer to me and I backed into an end table. My hand came out to steady myself and grabbed onto a carved wooden box. Clutching it in my hand I swung it hard and hit Kathryn causing her to stumble onto the floor. She looked up at me in surprise her nose bloody and a cut quickly appearing on her face. Glaring at her I told her "you should be!"
Without waiting for another word from either of them I charged out of there determined to expose the truth. I got as far as my car until I realized someone had slashed the tires. I knew somehow or another Kathryn was responsible for this but I wasn't about to dwell on it. Instead I took off down the street in search of a taxi. I had to get to Long Island and fast.
* Kathryn *
"Ben she's completely out of control!"
Upon hearing this Hardgrove looked at me skeptically. I knew he wouldn't believe it right away, not even he was that much of a pushover. Placing a hand on his arm I explained "the last thing I want to do is come between you and your daughter but I think you have to face the fact that Annette isn't well."
"Kathryn" he said patiently "I don't understand what happened. Why do you think such a thing."
Coming up behind me Owen answered "she attacked Kathryn sir. I watched her do it and then I had to physically pull her away. I've know Annette for a long time now and I've never seen her act like that before."
Standing up the worry now showing on his face he asked Owen "how did this all happen?"
Pure fucking luck that's how. After seeing Annette in the hospital I knew she would run to Owen so I made sure to get there first. After a quick fuck we were interrupted by the sound of Annette's car. I made Owen greet her at the door so I could make my grand entrance. All that planning had been so worth it. The look on her face when she realized her so called best friends betrayal had been worth the long wait.
Owen revealing the truth had been planned but her hitting me sure as hell wasn't. I was pissed but I realized it would work in my favor. So had making sure one of my employees was there to slash her tires. The reason for that was so it would slow Annette down so I could get back to her father before she did. Luckily for me my jag was faster than a taxi.
Of course Owen didn't tell Hardgrove any of this but instead fed him another story. "Well Annette has been really upset about you seeing Kathryn lately. I mean she was practically obsessed. I thought I could help her get over it by inviting Kathryn over so we could maybe talk it out but when she showed up and found Kathryn she just went berserk. She started accusing me of being against her and saying I was sleeping with Kathryn."
"What?" Ben said alarmed looking at me "why would she say such a thing?"
I shrugged "I don't know Ben. She was saying all sorts of horrible things, accusing me of terrible things."
He looked between the two of us obviously confused. "This just doesn't make any sense. I know my Annette and she would never do these things you're accusing her of. She's too level headed but then again she hasn't been acting like her self lately..."
Suddenly the front door of the Hardgrove home swung open and Annette came barreling in "daddy I need to talk to you. It's important..." She trailed off when she saw Owen and me standing beside her father. "What the hell are you doing here?"
Stepping forward Owen gave her a calm smile "Annette it's okay. Kathryn and I just wanted to talk to your father about what happened earlier. We thought he should know."
"What, that you're a lying sociopathic who's sleeping with Kathryn behind his back? Is that what you want to tell him Owen?"
I'll give the boy this much he was good. A look of pain flashed across his handsome features as he recoiled slightly from her "Annette how could you say something like that? I love you and I've never cheated on you before."
Looking between the two of us Annette told her father "they're lying daddy. I found them together and they told me everything. Owen is just pretending to be my friend to get revenge on you for something that happened years ago. Him and Kathryn are in on it together."
"What?" Ben asked looking at me for answers.
Giving Annette a sympathetic look I told him quietly "she kept going on about some big conspiracy when we tried to help her. I told her-"
"SHUT UP!" Annette yelled startling even me. Charging up to me she hissed "what ever game you're playing it ends now Kathryn. I know the truth and soon everyone will also."
Ben came up behind his daughter and touched her gently "Annette what are you talking about? Is there something I should know?"
"Yes daddy" she said turning to him. "Kathryn is out to destroy me and everyone else. She's the reason Cecile's in the hospital and she's the one who caused Court's death and her mothers accident. She's behind it all."
"Annette" he said softly "Court's death was a terrible accident and the man who hurt Tiffani is behind bars. Kathryn had nothing to do with any of that."
"Of course she did! Open your eyes dad, can't you see what she's doing? What they are both doing?"
Ben was quite for a moment before replying "honey I think you're obviously tired. Owen told me about Richard seeking a divorce and maybe because-"
"It has nothing to do with that! Daddy I'm completely sane! They're the one's who are crazy!"
"Annette, Annette calm down. Now look I know you've been going through a lot and you're having trouble accepting the fact that Kathryn and I are together but you're just going to have to get use to it. Now the way you are behaving isn't rational. You attacked Kathryn for no reason other than she was trying to help you. She is not out to get you honey and the sooner you accept that the better."
As Hardgrove rattled on I stood behind him smirking at Annette who was glaring at me in pure hatred. To push her further I mocked her father as he spoke and blew her a kiss. That seemed to push her over the edge because a moment later she pushed her poor father out of the way and charged at me. Her hands went for my throat but I kept them off. We fell back against the couch and when she was on top of me I pushed her off. Just as I was about to get to my feet Annette grabbed the fire poker next to the fire place and held it to my throat.
Immediately everyone stopped moving including me. In a calm voice Ben asked "Annette what are you doing? Put the poker down."
"Not until Kathryn admits the truth."
The sharp tip on the poker was pinching my throat and I knew at any minute the little psycho was liable to ram the damn thing into me yet I would sooner die than confess anything. "Annette" I pleaded "I didn't do anything."
"You fucking liar" she sneered as she pressed the tip in a little harder.
"Annette please put it down" Owen asked coming up slowly behind her. His eyes locked on mine and I was genuinely surprised when I saw fear behind them.
Annette ignored both Owen and her father's pleas. Instead she smiled coldly at me and asked "does this bring back any memories Kathryn?"
"Should it?"
"Do you ever tell the truth!" she shouted.
"Honey give me the poker before someone gets hurt" her father ordered.
"Someone's already been hurt daddy but it ends now. I won't allow you to hurt anyone else I love Kathryn."
Annette pulled the poker away from my neck but then lunged at me with it. Before it could make contact however Ben grabbed at it and Annette, lost in her delirium, tried to pull it back but accidentally poked him in the gut with it. Hardgrove let out a loud yelp of pain as Annette let go of the stick and screamed "daddy! No!"
He fell back on the couch breathing heavily as Annette fell to his side "I'm sorry daddy, I didn't mean for this to happen!"
Ben nodded "it's okay. I'm going to be fine Annette."
Not even I could have planned for this. Annette attacking me and making herself look like a loon was what I expected but her grabbing the fire poker and then stabbing her father shocked even me. Owen looked over at me obviously just as surprised and unsure what to do. Getting up from the couch I told him "call an ambulance."
* * * * * *
"So he's going to be okay?"
Looking at Owen with a sly smile I replied "I'm sorry to tell you it appears that way. He didn't lose too much blood and no major arteries were damaged."
"Too bad" he sneered. "Having his own daughter kill him would have been so poetic but then again not nearly painful enough."
"I suppose" I sighed as we stepped into the elevator.
"Where are we going, don't you want to visit your boyfriend?"
"The doctors say he needs to sleep so I volunteered to take care of his other little problem."
"What's that?" I handed him over the forms and paper work the doctors had given me earlier. Reading them over a smile appeared on his face "I've said it before and I'll say it again, you are a truly wicked woman. How did you pull this off?"
"It wasn't easy believe me but I and the friendly police officers convinced Hardgrove it was for the best. I guess after is started to sink in that his own daughter stabbed him with a fire poker, he started to get a clue."
As the elevator dinged and we stepped out into the psych ward Owen retorted "and not a moment too soon."
We walked up to the front desk where a frumpy women was sitting. Handing her the forms I smiled "this should be everything you need."
She looked them over "yes miss. The patient should be going in for the night now so I'm afraid you can't visit her."
I nodded "that's okay, can you tell me which room is hers though?"
"Down the hall to the left."
"Thank you"
Owen and I walked down to her room and stood behind the glass that separated an observation room and the patients cell. There were a few patients standing around in the observation room, one of which was Annette. Dressed in gray hospital gown she looked around the room forlorn. I watched with malicious glee as two big men took her gently by the arms and led her back to what would be her new home.
As they did Annette turned around suddenly as if sensing us. I expected her to freak out but she only stared at us completely calm before turning away. As I waved good-bye to her with a smile on my face Owen asked "so is this the end of your revenge?"
Glancing at him I replied "no, but the grand finally is just around the corner."
* * * * * *
It had been an exhausting night to say the least. As I walked into my quiet townhouse I was feeling quite accomplished but I still felt as if something was missing. I thought after taking Annette down a few pegs I would feel better but the truth was I felt nothing at all. The momentary thrill of seeing her locked up had quickly vanished and now all I felt was emptiness.
I thought about climbing into bed with Drake or Thomas but not even that was appealing. Walking into my dark office I realized maybe nothing would make me feel better, not even my revenge. With a heavy sigh I went to the bar and poured myself a drink. I needed to just forget about everything for awhile and maybe get some rest.
Reclining back in my chair I set my drink down and closed my eyes for a moment. Just as I could feel myself starting to drift off a pair of hands slid onto my shoulders. I relaxed when they started to massage me just the way I liked. Figuring it was Thomas or maybe Drake I sighed in contentment "oh that feels nice."
"Well you always did enjoy my massages."
At the sound of that familiar arrogant voice my breath caught. Immediately my eyes flew open and I spun around in my chair to find Sebastian standing behind me. "Oh my god" I whispered.
Leaning against the desk he smiled "miss me?"
- to be continued (Please Review)