4.
The old Lionel Luthor had been a devious scoundrel. Not much more than tears and blood could turn his stomach. And sometimes, even when death had fallen upon his most loved ones, he had the immunity to turn his eye.
When Lillian had died, he's swore to himself that no one would replace. No one had. No one had even come close. She'd been his breath of fresh air. The one person who not only understood his darkness, but the light itself with which his darkness thrived upon to heal. In her untimely death he knew not of what to do with himself. He had sworn to take care of their last remaining child, but even as he took the precautions, he himself knew he would never live up fatherly status.
He had never quite let go of the fact that his own son, his own flesh and blood had killed another of his own heritage. It had sickened him, as he had covered up the scandal and told Lillian it had been an accident. Only to come to find nearly two decades later that it was she in her illness who had murdered there own son.
He could have blamed the rancid words that had poured out of Lex's mouth that day on the treatments he'd had at Belle Reve. As he had thought back into Lillian's last days and the way in which she had refused to speak about their youngest and how he had blamed it on her illness, her forgetfullness, it had become clear that she had not wanted the second child.
Instead he had chosen to believe Lex, and in those early days of gripping reality he had realized how poorly he had treated his son since his childhood.
It wasn't until his own son had placed him in jail, his own son who had stolen his confidences in Chloe that he knew what he must do. And then the stone had been given to him as a gift from above. It had cleared everything and he had used it to only further the gap between son and father instead of making them closer as he should have.
He had known of Lex's interest in the stone's and had used it against him.
It was the evil that had seeped into his bones, his blackened heart, his uncaring soul. And the plan itself had back fired and he'd been sucked into the body of some do-good farmboy.
And conveniently he had lost his memory afterwards, when in fact he remembered everything. He remembered the power at his fingertips. The speed trapped in that young body. The remnants of that soul that had touched him.
And when he returned to his body only to find that his disease had been cured, his doctor had called it a miracle. When Lionel knew that Clark's soul inhabiting his body was what had actually saved his life.
Even now as he watched Chloe pull up to the wrought iron gates of the mansion he knew he should be thanking the young Kent. But, he supposed, it was possible that some of the evil was still within him. Because instead of being thankful to Clark Kent, his name still made his mouth turn sour, his hatred of an innocent boy grew.
Chloe hadn't visited the mansion in quite some time, but knowing that Lionel was expecting her, she didn't feel quite as naked as she normally did when she'd come to visit unannounced.
It hadn't been a hard decision to make after all.
She could have stayed behind with Lex and told him of his father's twisted plans that she had only begun to be clued in on.
But she had made her promise to Lionel and she wasn't sure yet to be completely trusting of a man who had once tried to kill her, even though he had denied it, or if she wanted to admit defeat to the fact that she needed Lex's help once again.
But she did know this; she wasn't ready to concede.
Lionel wouldn't win this time. If it came down to cat and mouse games again, well, as they say, she already knew not to eat the cheese. For with the cheese, came the pain. Or some such lesson.
As she made her way through the winding halls to the east wing of the mansion where Lionel would be waiting for her, she dipped her fingers in her coat pocket. Into the small velvet bag the stone was enclosed in. Into her future. Whether it be of secrets long forgotten or of a complete hoax.
Lionel smiled openly as she was led into the study. One of the many studies of the mansion. While he was confined to the guesthouse he could walk freely about the mansion at any time he wanted. And he knew there were reasons why Lex never ventured to the east wing. With the portraits of a baby Julian nestled into the crook of his mother's arm. Lionel, however, had no problem looking and admiring the many portraits. While he had berated her for her cowardice, he had not yet stopped loving and forgiving her for her faults. Which only led him to wonder why he could never forgive Lex for his own.
Chloe faultered in midstep and then shook off her reserves, finally crossing the room to Lionel and returning his smile.
"Lionel." She nodded at him and moved to take a seat on one of the overstuffed couches.
Lionel sat down across from her, crossing his legs, and placing his arms across the back of the couch on either side of his head. "I believe you have something for me."
Chloe laughed and took the velvet bad out of her coat pocket, weighing it in the palm of her hand. "I do."
Lionel grinned and released his hold on the couch to clasp the together, sitting forward. "And what have you brought to me?"
With a flourish, Chloe opened the bag and let the stone slide out onto the glass surface of the table between them. "I hope this is what you were referring to."
Lionel stared at the stone for moment, then reached forward and picked it up. He felt no power from it, hadn't thought he would until the three were put together anyway. "It is." He whispered and ran his thumb over the outline of the symbol etched on the surface. He looked up to study his cohort silently and met her gaze. "I can see the questions coming."
Chloe let her smile spread. Lionel knew how to read her, he always had. "I have to admit I am curious. Although if I said I weren't we'd both know I was lying." Lionel nodded in agreement, passing the stone from hand to hand, slowly, savoring the texture. Not long ago he'd held one just like it. The color slightly different, the weight felt the same. But the symbol, the symbol wasn't the same. He had known that there were three symbols. Knew about the caves. Knew Chloe knew of the caves and the hidden room.
"I'm wondering." He paused until she shifted her eyes back to his instead of on the stone he'd been palming. "How does Miss Lang feel about your deceit?"
Chloe shrugged and leaned closer, "I suppose the old saying, What she doesn't know won't kill her, would fit in appropriately here."
"And if she finds out?"
Chloe smiled and relaxed back into the couch. She was sure Lex wouldn't rat on her and neither would Lionel. "And if she does?" Chloe questioned, then shoved up from the couch and headed over to the bar to grab a bottle of water. She motioned towards the decanters and various types of liquor but Lionel just shook his head. "I suppose I'll have to tell her the truth."
Lionel's gaze jerked back up to hers. Chloe batted her lashes, which she'd learned from the pink menace, and faked a southern accent, "Why, Lana, how could you imply it was me? Our friendship, doesn't it mean anything to you?"
Lionel threw his head back and laughed, pleased with her antics and stood up from the couch. "That'll do."
Chloe smiled, taking a sip of water. "Your son is quite nosy though."
At Lionel's arched brow and wolfish grin she proceeded. "He came up to Lana's to check on me."
Lionel grinned and leaned back against the arm of the couch. "I presume he found nothing out of the ordinary."
Chloe took a long, cool drink of water and then recapped the bottle. "He's none the wiser."
Lionel nodded and then walked to the door. "I'm assuming you've never seen the guest house."
Her brows pulled together and she shook her head. "There's a guest house, too?"
"Ah, yes." He placed a hand on his chest as he led her down the hallway, the stone back in it's velvet bag and the bag in the pocket of his slacks. "I have been exiled to the guest house, in fact." He turned a smile on her, and Chloe saw through it, to his eyes that had turned down at the corners just the tiniest bit and the sadness that seemed to turn them murky. "He doesn't quite feel safe with me as of yet."
Chloe reached out and touched his arm briefly. "I'd apologize, but I don't think you want to hear that."
Lionel shook his head slowly. "No, I'd rather not."
She smiled slowly and hooked her arm through his, then covered her hand with his own. The walked along the halls in silence for a few moments before Chloe cleared her throat. She spoke softly, surprising Lionel when she normally said what she had to say with a vengeance. "You can't be surprised, though."
He looked down at the top of her head and smiled. "No. I shouldn't have been." He added silently to himself that that would all change.