Chapter 20:Christian's POV
Saturday, November 26, 2016
"May I have this dance?" I asked Ana calmly. At least, I think I sounded calm, but I couldn't be sure, because I felt anything but. This wouldn't be our first dance at a charity function, but it would be the first time we were appearing in public like this as a couple, one who had declared ourselves, at least to each other, to be in love. Of course, after the events of the week, including my own foolish comments to the vultures on Tuesday morning, the public already knew we were together, but they had not seen us together as a couple in this type of event. And we'd chosen the Coping Together Ball to make our debut. That, in itself was very meaningful to me. I could see by the looks on both my parents faces that they also saw the significance. As expected, my mom had grown in the past few days to see Ana as one of her own children, and whatever bullshit the evil bitch had temporarily made her believe about Ana had long been forgotten.
As my radiant Ana took my hand and joined me on the dance floor, I was in awe of her. She was the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen in my life in her long lacy champagne-colored Armani gown. I'm sure my jaw hit the floor the first time I saw her in it tonight. For a moment, I considered making her change, because I knew the attention she was going to get from every man in the place, and probably half the women too. She had no idea just how damn sexy she was. My girl had worn sexy dresses in the past, when she'd gone to these fancy events as my assistant, but none like this dress. It seemed to have been tailor-made just for her curves, even though I knew it had been purchased off the rack. It was long-sleeved, so it covered the bandage on her shoulder, but it was still low-cut enough in the front to show off more of her luscious breasts than I'd prefer at this type of public event. I wanted that to be for my eyes only. But I wasn't complaining. She was mine. And now, every fucker in the house knew it.
Thankfully, Ana was no longer angry with me over our argument from the previous night. In fact, her smile lit up the room, and she was smiling for me. Because of me. How that was possible, I still didn't know, but I knew it was true. And I knew that the smile on my own face was just as bright, because of her. I'd never felt this kind of happiness. Giddiness. I never knew this feeling even existed.
And after our argument over that bitch Katherine Kavanagh, and the way we'd resolved it, I was more optimistic than ever about our future together. We could weather anything; after all we'd been through in the past week, including that argument last night, I was certain that we were going to be OK.
As soon as Ms. Kavanagh had left, I'd tried to explain to Ana that her friend was exaggerating, that there was no way that Eamon Kavanagh was going to kick his own precious daughter out of her apartment, mainly because he wouldn't want the social criticism that would result from such an obdurate action. The man was a bonafide asshole, but he didn't want everyone in his social circle to know it. Even in his interactions with me, he'd done his damnedest to come across as a real man of honor, but I'd seen through his façade.
To say that Ana and I didn't see eye to eye on this issue would be an enormous understatement. Oh, we agreed on Eamon Kavanagh's reprehensible character, but that was about all we agreed on. In fact, Ana was livid with me. Apparently, I'd embarrassed her by acting like an arrogant son of a bitch, but she didn't realize that when dealing with arrogant people, you have to beat them at their own game to get anywhere with them. She'd insisted that she knew both Katherine and Eamon Kavanagh better than I did, and that I'd misjudged both of them, but I wasn't buying it.
Flashback, the previous evening, immediately after Kate's departure:
"Christian, how could you?! Kate already has a skewed view of men from your walk of life, and you just reinforced her misconceptions! How could you be so heartless towards someone I've told you, repeatedly, is my best friend?"
"I don't trust her, Ana," I answered simply.
"Well, I do," she insisted.
I sighed. It was time to make Ana aware of the news I'd learned earlier in the evening. God, what an evening of news! This particular news, however, was going to hurt Ana, and I didn't want that. However, I'd made a promise both to Ana and to myself to never keep anything from her, so I had to tell her.
"Ana… Eamon Kavanagh has tasked his dear daughter with writing a series of articles about us. Both of us. He plans to take advantage of your friendship to get the inside scoop on me. I bet your 'best friend' didn't tell you about that tidbit, did she?"
Ana looked pensive, not upset like I'd expected. "No, but that explains why she brought up the idea of the NDA before you even asked for it. It also explains why she's so angry with him, and why she is going to quit on Monday," she replied.
"I seriously doubt Ms. Kavanagh is going to quit the job that her own fortune is tied to," I argued. "She's much too ambitious to do such a thing. It would be professional suicide."
Ana snorted. "You think you know her? You don't know anything about her. I do. She's quitting, Christian, and her father will cut her off. It's happening. Yes, she's ambitious, but she's loyal to a fault. She would never betray me, with or without an NDA, so if her father asked her to do that, then now I understand why she's quitting. It makes sense now. And yes, she will be homeless. He'll make sure of it. He'll do it to try to force her to crawl back to him and beg for his forgiveness and financial assistance. He wants to make sure to keep her dependent on him so that he can control her. It's always been like that, so I have no doubt about what he'll do this time. He'll blacklist her so she has no other choice. She won't be able to find work anywhere else."
"What makes you so sure...?" I started to ask her, but she cut me off.
"I know because he's done this same kind of shit before. Repeatedly. Kate wasn't always a journalism major. She wanted to study fashion design, like her mom, but her dad refused to support her, and he made sure nobody else did either, until she changed her major to what he wanted her to study. At one point, in our junior year, she begged him to let her change it back, because she hated her journalism classes, but he refused. So, she decided to embrace journalism, and she became really good at it. I think she even made herself believe that she wanted to inherit her father's empire. She earned a great reputation as a student journalist, not just because of her name but because she was good at it. She thought he would be proud of her, but he never was. She's right, she will never be able to please that man, so I don't blame her for giving up. It'll be hard when he cuts her off, but he's never been the supportive father she's needed. Not emotionally, anyway."
I shook my head, refusing to believe her. "Ana… Eamon Kavanagh is a low-life bastard, but he cares what people say about him in society. He has a reputation as a family man. If he cuts his own daughter off, it will make him look bad. He won't risk it."
"You don't know him as well as I do, Christian. You only know him from the business world, not on a personal level. He is the most manipulative son of a bitch I've ever seen. He'll spin this so that Kate looks like a rebellious teenager. She'll look like the bad guy, not him. Never him. Dear old dad will look like a victim. Anyway, I'm not going to argue with you about this. Just… Has my apartment been cleaned?"
"Yeah, it's clean," I replied. "But Ana… can you seriously imagine Katherine Kavanagh living in that tiny room? I bet her closet at her daddy's house is bigger than that place."
Ana didn't even hesitate. "Actually, it is. But that won't matter, because she won't be welcome there, even if she wanted to be. And that 'tiny room' will beat being homeless," she added with air quotes.
The idea of the heir to Kavanagh Media being homeless was so ridiculous that it was hard for me not to laugh, but that would have pissed Ana off more. Instead, I continued to try to reason with her.
"Ana… surely you can understand why I had to have an NDA from her. She's a reporter. And I know you think she wouldn't betray you, but she owes me nothing. In fact, she hates me." I didn't need to add that the feeling was mutual.
"Christian, she would never…" Ana looked exasperated, but then she changed her expression and looked a lot less angry all of a sudden. She looked like she'd had an epiphany. Her beautiful face was so expressive that I could almost see the lightbulb over her head. "You know what, I'm not going to argue about this. Instead… I have an idea. How about we make a wager?"
Well, this was amusing. "A wager, Ms. Steele?" I asked humorously.
"A wager," she insisted, ignoring my smirk. "Let's give it a week. If, during that time, Kate quits Kavanagh Media and her dad cuts her off, including kicking her out of her apartment, then I win. If that doesn't happen, then you win. If I win… you have to apologize to Kate. A genuine, heartfelt apology. And you have to allow her to live in that apartment here in Escala, rent free, for one year. After a year, if she chooses to stay, you can charge her rent, whatever is fair. No more, no less."
"And what do I get when I win this wager?" I asked her. I still wasn't succeeding at hiding my smugness.
"What do you want?" she asked with a shrug, still ignoring my attitude.
What did I want? Now there was a serious question. Ana, as my wife. No, I didn't want her to agree to that as a result of losing a silly bet. I'd propose to her properly when the time was right, hopefully soon. I took a moment to ponder the thought of what else I could ask her for. Could I use this to get her to accept SIP without insisting on paying me for it? No, I didn't want to bring that up again. If she still insisted on paying me, I'd put that money in a trust for her. What else could I…? Oh. I knew of something."
"OK, first, I have a question," I told her, no longer acting smug. "Why don't you have a car? Do you know how to drive?"
Her eyes widened. "Oh, no. No, no, no. I know where you're going with that. You're not going to buy me a car, Christian," she argued.
"Just answer the question, Ana," I replied.
She sighed. "I had a car when I was in college. Wanda. I had to get rid of her when I graduated and moved to Seattle because she was too expensive to keep."
"You had a car that you called Wanda?" I asked confusedly. I'm not sure why that confused me, come to think of it. She called her cunt Matilda. Why not call her car Wanda? That was my quirky girl, and I loved everything about her.
"She was a cute little powder-blue vintage Volkswagen Beetle. She reminded me of a sweet little old blue-haired lady, hence the name Wanda. When I was little, my grandma had a friend named Wanda, and she was always giving me chewing gum. Anyway, back to your question. Yes, I can drive, but why bother? Parking in Seattle is expensive, and Wanda's upkeep was even more expensive. And besides, I don't need a car."
"You do, actually," I argued. "You can't walk everywhere anymore. It's too much of a security risk."
She sighed again. "But your security drives me everywhere now, in one of your SUVs. You have an entire fleet. I still don't need a car. Even if I had one, I wouldn't even be able to drive it. Wouldn't that be another security risk?"
"Security won't always have to be as tight as it is right now, while Hyde is still out there," I explained. "So yes, you'll be able to drive it. Eventually."
"Christian…"
"It's a bet, Ana," I reminded her. "If I win, I get to buy you a car. You have to accept it, no argument."
She stared at me for a moment and then promptly agreed. "OK, fine. I expected, with this being a bet, that the loser was supposed to give the winner something, not be forced to accept an expensive gift from the winner. OK, if you insist... I'll take a Mercedes SUV. Silver." She was trying hard not to smile, but she cracked there at the end.
"You want a Mercedes SUV?" I questioned.
Ana smirked. "Well, I'd prefer a Maserati, but I have two CPOs now, so there wouldn't be room for them. An SUV will hold everybody. I'd prefer that cute little coupe they have, but the bigger one that holds seven people is probably more practical. It would hold both of us and all four of our CPOs."
"Maseratis are overrated anyway," I told her, ignoring her comments about the large SUV and all our security. I wasn't going to argue with her about why we didn't all need to fit into one vehicle. "I could get you an Audi R8 Spider like mine."
Ana smiled broadly, looking excited and so damn sexy. "Oooh, yeah. I'd love to drive a car like that."
I smirked at her. "You're so certain you're going to win this wager, aren't you?" I teased her, knowing that she'd never agree to let me buy her that car. Now that our argument had been diffused, I needed to kiss her. I pulled her into my arms, and held her there. God, her hair smelt good.
"I know I'm going to win," she replied nonchalantly. And then she kissed me. Paradise.
She pulled away too soon. "So… how did it go earlier? Did you talk to Isaac Woods?"
I nodded, happy for the topic change, even though I wasn't excited to be talking about this. But I wanted to share everything with her. "Yeah, I did. And I think… I think he's going to be OK."
I spent the next few minutes filling Ana in on my conversation with Isaac Woods. I'd been shocked to find out just how much he resembled me, with the same build and copper colored hair. But I'd been even more shocked… and disgusted… to find out that he wasn't a natural ginger. In fact, he was a blonde. He'd started dying his hair for the evil bitch who'd molested us. She'd even made him wear gray contacts when they were in a scene, and worst of all, she made him answer to my name. I was disturbed and appalled to learn this.
"But he's been away at college for the past few years," Ana reminded me. "Why didn't he let his hair go back to its natural color? Unless… was he still… you know… what do you call it? With her?"
"Under contract with her?" I supplied. "At first, yes, but after his first semester at UCLA, they ended it. But…" I paused, trying to find the words to explain this to Ana. I understood where the kid was coming from, because he was so similar to me in so many ways.
"Ana… remember how I told you that I thought she was my friend? Even when I told Elliot about her two years ago, and he called her a pedophile, I argued with him about it. She'd brainwashed me so much that I didn't know left from right. And the same shit happened with Isaac. Worse, because she's got him thinking I'm some kind of god that he can never measure up to. The kid idolizes me, and he kept his hair dyed red because he wanted to keep looking like me."
"That's… disturbing," Ana responded.
"No shit," I agreed. "I think, after our conversation, that he now realizes that I'm just as broken as he feels. I told him… everything. My birth mother, the pimp, my touch phobia, my teenage fighting and drinking, and how the pedo-bitch 'cured' me from all that. Even about my suicide attempt. And I told him about you. And about how I have changed since I met you. And, of course, I told him about the clinic in England, and about Flynn. He's going to start seeing him as soon as Flynn gets back from taking Leila to England."
Ana nodded. "That's good. Is he going to press charges against the pedo-bitch?"
I nodded back at her, not really sure how to bring up the news I'd learned on my way home after talking with Isaac. Yes, he'd agreed to press charges, but he didn't know yet that it wouldn't be necessary, and I couldn't be the one to tell him. Instead of saying any of that, I told Ana, "Yeah, Dad said he'd go with him to the police on Monday."
"So, I guess Isaac's not going to go back to LA and finish college, then?" she asked.
"Actually yes, he is. He's returning Monday after he gives his statement to the police. He wants to go back and finish his exams this semester," I explained. "He only has a couple of weeks left before the end of the semester. The kid has drive; I'll give him that."
"So, he's going to meet with Flynn over the Christmas break?" Ana clarified. "Will that be enough?"
"They're meeting tomorrow for an hour or two, and I think they might Skype some for the next couple of weeks. Then they'll start meeting regularly after Isaac returns from Los Angeles. I still need to work out all these details, but I have no doubt they'll all agree to it. Isaac just has one semester left before he graduates from UCLA, and unlike me, he actually likes school. His final semester was mostly going to be an internship at Edison International. He just had one class left, and it's an online hybrid course. He only has to show up for that class three times, so he can fly down then. I'm going to work it out so that he can do his internship at GEH instead of Edison. Isaac jumped at the opportunity when I made the offer. Not only is GEH a bigger name than Edison, but also... well, I already mentioned that the kid idolizes me. But besides that, he agrees that it will be best for him to stay in Seattle, live at home with his mom, and see Flynn a couple of times per week. Dad says it doesn't really matter if he's in Seattle for the criminal charges, but it's convenient if he is, in case the police have more questions for him. Anyway, Andrea needs another intern, so this is good timing. Isaac wants to work 25 hours per week for his internship, from mid-January to early May."
Ana looked a little worried, but she didn't say what she was thinking. I could guess her concerns.
"This is the right thing to do, Ana. You know I'm usually a good judge of character, and Isaac is a good kid. Fucked up, like me, but he has a strong moral compass. He's going to be OK. He'll need months of therapy, but he's getting it now. And I want to help him. I have to help him."
"That's just it, Christian," Ana said. "You aren't responsible for what happened to him. And having him work so closely with you, if he's infatuated with you, might not be best for him. I mean, I'm not a psychologist, but it seems... I don't know... risky. And I think the only reason you're doing this, the only reason you made the offer so quickly, is because you feel guilty. Like somehow, you're to blame for what happened to him. But, Christian, it's not your fault."
"It is, though," I disagreed. "If I'd said something… If I'd told somebody what that witch was doing to me… She wouldn't have been able to sink her claws into another boy. She wouldn't have fucked him up so badly that he thinks he's supposed to even look like me to be worth something."
"Christian, you were a child," Ana reasoned. "You thought she was helping you because she manipulated you to think that. You're not responsible, not any more than your mom is for introducing Isaac to that witch. The only person at fault here is the witch herself, Elena Lincoln."
I nodded and sighed. "I know what you're saying, angel, but I can't help how I feel about it. I'm sure Flynn and I will be having some long conversations about this. But anyway, it doesn't change anything about my plans to help Isaac. This internship is the least I can do."
"Not the least," Ana corrected. "I'm sure you're also paying for his therapy, aren't you?"
I shrugged, which hurt my shoulder, so I rubbed it as I replied, "That goes without saying. It's just money."
Ana smiled and kissed me again.
Now I needed to tell her the other news that I'd learned on my way home, even though part of me wanted to keep it from her, for her own safety. But no, I didn't want to keep secrets, not even this one. She would understand why she couldn't tell anyone else.
"There's something else I have to tell you... something I found out on the way home tonight. Barney had the past two days off, just like we all did, but he got back today after spending Thanksgiving in Oregon with his family. When he got home, he checked Elena's phone records... you know, we have her phone tapped. You're not going to believe this, Ana. And... you can't tell another soul what I'm about to tell you. We were breaking the law listening in on her calls, so we can't go to the police with what we know."
"The police?" she asked surprisedly. "Christian, what has that bitch done now? And what do you mean... of course you have to report her..."
I interrupted, "She's dead, Ana. She... was killed... yesterday. And... I know who killed her. And... I can't tell anyone what I know."
"Not even me?" she asked with a combination of worry and hurt. "And... are you OK? I mean... she's really dead?"
"She's dead," I confirmed. "And I'm not sad. I'm glad she's out of our lives, and no longer a threat. And yes, I'll tell you, but only you, and you can't tell anyone what you know. And after I tell you, you have to promise to act as if you don't know anything. If her name comes up, move on. We know nothing."
She stared at me, wide-eyed. "I promise," she replied. "Holy shit, Christian."
Holy shit, indeed. She didn't know the half of it, but I filled her in. I told her everything Barney had told me earlier tonight, which now only he, Welch, and Simon knew. I wasn't even going to tell Taylor, since it had been his own idea to make Simon his boss. The fewer people who knew about this for now, the better. But I couldn't keep the secret from Ana. We didn't keep secrets from each other, especially not secrets of this magnitude.
(end of flashback)
"Are you enjoying yourself, Mr. Grey?" Ana spoke softly in my ear as we moved slowly together to the music. It was a slow dance, which I preferred, because I could hold her closely in my arms. I'd left that damn sling off my arm for the evening, so I was able to hold her properly. My hand was caressing her back as I breathed in the amazing smell of her hair.
"Immensely," I replied to her. "What about you, Ms. Steele?" I asked.
She smiled lovingly at me. "Immensely," she agreed. "The setting is remarkable. Grace really outdid herself. And the dance partner… Well, I'm at a loss for words to describe just how much I feel for him."
"And you were a literature major?" I teased her, but inside, I was flying. Good God, I loved this woman.
"I still can't believe Mia thought I was going to participate in that ridiculous dance auction, even after I'd told her in no uncertain terms that I wouldn't do it," Ana spoke into my ear.
I laughed. "I would have won you," I reminded her.
"You already have," she told me, and now I was the one at a loss for words. I just smiled adoringly at her. She continued talking about the First Dance Auction. "At least you got Mia back for trying to embarrass me. Did you see the look on her face when you bid on her?"
I laughed again. "I did," I said proudly. "And I also saw the look on that little shit Sean's face. The only reason I let him outbid me was because I know she won't go out with him again after tonight."
"How do you know that?" Ana asked curiously.
"I know my sister," I explained. "She has more tells than you do. She's not into him."
Ana pulled away from me just far enough to see my face. "What's my tell?" she asked.
I snorted. "Which one?" I asked her humorously. "You're very expressive, babe. Your feelings show on your face. But Mia is even more expressive than you are. She's really easy to read. Even a novice can figure out what she's thinking pretty easily, and I'm no novice at reading people."
Ana nodded and placed her head on my chest again. We danced together for a few moments, and then she asked. "Was that the only reason you let Sean outbid you?"
I smiled. "You know it wasn't. You know I wanted my first dance to be with you. First and last."
"May I cut in?"
Well, shit. At that moment, our dance was rudely interrupted. I might have been able to claim Ana's first and last dance of the evening, but it was painfully clear that there would be others that she would dance with in between. I'd have to deal with that, but I didn't have to like it.
"Dr. Flynn, it's nice to see you here," Ana greeted our intruder warmly. "Christian didn't mention that you were attending. Anyway, I didn't mention this when we met yesterday. I had a lot on my mind then, as you know. But I wanted to thank you for all you've done to help Christian."
Flynn smiled politely back at Ana. I knew he was being professional even in this public setting, but his smiling at her still pissed me off. I wanted to take his focus off of her by asking him about his meeting with Isaac earlier in the day, or getting confirmation that everything was on track for his flight to England with Leila on Monday. But I knew Flynn would balk at talking about other clients with me, especially in such a public setting. It didn't seem to matter to him that I was paying for their therapy; he was careful about respecting his clients' privacy.
"Not at all, my dear," Flynn told Ana. "Christian's the one who has been doing the heavy lifting." He turned to me and added quietly, "I should commend you for being so gracious in allowing me to dance with your lovely partner. You're making progress, Christian."
I knew my "polite" smile was really more of a grimace. But I saw my mother over Flynn's shoulder, so I decided to take the opportunity to dance with her. When I saw the look of sheer joy on my mother's face when I asked her, I knew I'd done the right thing. I kept my eye on Ana and Flynn as I danced with Mom, but whatever conversation they were having appeared to be nothing more than casual small talk.
I ended up dancing a couple of dances with Mia, and one with Grandma Trevelyan, and then another with Mom again before I finally had Ana back in my arms where she belonged. She had danced with Dad, Elliot, and Grandpa Trevelyan, and even though I wasn't happy, I was glad she was keeping it in the family, other than Flynn. As I held her in my arms again on the dance floor, I recalled her words yesterday at the Mile High, soon to become Ciel de Grey, when Mia was talking about Sunday Brunch, and Ana had included herself when she suggested a monthly family brunch. She was already including herself as one of the family. Surely, that meant that she would agree to marry me, when I asked her. And hopefully, it meant I wouldn't have to wait too long to ask her. Christmas. I just needed to decide whether to take her to Hawaii and buy that vacation home together there, or to Aspen to the vacation home I already owned. Would she want snow for Christmas? Should I ask her which place she'd prefer? Yes, she'd like to have the choice instead of having me decide for her. Nope, I had no doubt now, I was certainly not a Dom. And I was more than OK with that realization. It was more enjoyable than I'd ever imagined it could be to share decisions like this with Ana.
It was a perfect evening, really. My only concern up until Barney's shocking revelation last night had been that the evil bitch would show her ugly face. Nobody knew it yet, but Elena Lincoln would never show her face ever again. Security was tight, as we needed to appear that we were worried about Lincoln, and also because Hyde was still in hiding. My security believed him to still be in Seattle, but he hadn't returned to his house or anywhere they expected he might turn up. There was a warrant out for his arrest, but the police hadn't had any luck tracking him down either. In fact, my security were very concerned about Hyde because they believed that he was likely to try to finish the job since he'd failed to kill me Tuesday evening, and thanks to the ever-present vultures, the whole world knew that I was alive and well, wearing a shoulder sling, but other than that, no worse for wear. But thankfully, everything about the Coping Together Ball went smoothly. After our eventful week, it was good to finally have a peaceful evening, and good that nothing interrupted our celebration of my parents' charity. They'd even raised nearly twice as much money as they had the previous year, but I might have had something to do with that. Anonymously, of course.
Ana and I continued our celebration once we got back to Escala, and we kept going long into the wee hours of the morning. I wanted to continue making love to her until the sun came up, but after my shoulder started hurting again, Ana insisted that I take some of my pain meds and get some sleep. This evening had been the first time since getting shot on Tuesday evening that I'd left that damn sling off, and after several hours of dancing and fucking, I was beginning to feel it.
We both slept late the next morning, so late in fact that we were nearly an hour late getting back to my parents' house for Sunday brunch, which both surprised and amused my family since I'm never late for anything. I was glad that Mom had decided to keep things very casual, so they had already been sampling Mia's cooking before we got there.
Mia had wanted to try out some recipes that she was considering for Ciel de Grey's Sunday brunch menu. She had a few days left before leaving to finish her studies in Paris, and it appeared that she was going to spend most of her time in the kitchen at our parents' house. And that's exactly where we found her when we got there.
"Christian!" Mia cried happily when we walked in. She side-hugged me as she announced, "Elliot's eaten almost all the chocolate croissants. I managed to save one for you and one for Ana, but hurry up before he eats them too!"
"Hey! I only had three!" Elliot objected. He was seated at the kitchen island eating a large slice of apple tarte tatin. "I know for a fact that Dad ate four of them."
"Oh, God, this is delicious," Ana moaned as she sank her teeth into the croissant that Mia had handed her. Oh, fuck! I was suddenly sporting an erection in my parents' kitchen. This was embarrassing. I quickly (but carefully) sat down at the kitchen island next to Elliot and threw a napkin in my lap, hoping nobody noticed.
I knew from the smirk on Elliot's face that I hadn't fooled him. For once, he kept his mouth shut. Or at least, he actually allowed the mouthful of apple tart to prevent him from saying something embarrassing.
Mia bounced over to Ana and handed her another plate. "If you think the croissants are good, wait until you try this flaugnarde. The pears are perfect. I like it better than the apple tarte tatin that Elliot is eating."
"Yeah, eat that. This apple shit is terrible. Don't eat any of it." Elliot wasn't fooling anyone. He obviously wanted to keep the rest of the apple tarte tatin for himself.
"Where are Carrick and Grace?" Ana asked conversationally before she took a bite of the flaugnarde. "Mmm... Oh, my God. Mia. So good."
Mia just smiled and answered Ana's question as I discreetly adjusted myself. "Dad's in his study but he said he'd be back for seconds after making a couple of phone calls. Mom is around here somewhere. I think everything is already cleaned up from last night, so I'm not sure what she's doing."
"She's on the phone," Dad supplied as he walked in the room. "She'll be back in a minute," he added dismissively as he hugged Ana and patted my arm. Even after our hug Thursday, Dad was still careful about touching me. After greeting us, he turned to Mia. "Do you have any more of that ratatouille toast, young lady?"
Mia snorted. "Only Dad could make it sound like I'm in trouble when asking for seconds of ratatouille," she joked.
"Nonsense," Dad responded. "Why would you be in trouble? I'm extremely proud of you Mia. I'm proud of all three of you."
I think all three of us were struck silent for a moment. It was so unusual for Dad to tell us he was proud of us, but after the past few days, I think I understood why he was doing it now.
Elliot was the only one of us to respond to Dad's words, at least verbally. And he clearly felt awkward. "Umm... thanks, Dad."
Mia quickly changed the subject, and I was reminded how similar she was to Ana in this regard, changing the subject when things were awkward or too emotional. "I was waiting for Christian and Ana to get here before I fried more eggs. Do you want seconds too, Elliot?" she asked.
"Like you have to ask?" he quipped.
A few minutes later, we were all eating delicious ratatouille toast with the best fried eggs I'd ever eaten. "Damn, Meems, what did you do to these eggs?" I asked her.
"The secret is truffle oil," she answered. "I think it will be even better if the ratatouille sets a day or two. I made it last night. Anyway, I think these flavors really complement one another."
"No shit," Elliot agreed.
"Language, Elliot," Mom admonished as she walked in. She looked tired, like she hadn't been sleeping. And her eyes were red, so I could tell she'd been crying again this morning. She came directly to me, and I embraced her before she could do her usual side hug. She then turned to Ana and embraced her just as warmly.
"You've got to taste this, Grace," Dad told Mom, and he fed her a bite of ratatouille toast with a chunk of the fried egg on it.
"Mmm... Delicious," Mom agreed.
"Here, Mom, I have one just for you," Mia said as she handed Mom a plate.
For the next few minutes, we all enjoyed Mia's amazing culinary skills and each other. Even Mom smiled happily as we laughed about stupid shit we did when we were kids. We were already getting full when Mia pulled a quiche out of the oven. Ana and I shared a piece.
"The quiche is good, Meems, but I like those fried eggs with the ratatouille toast the best," I told her.
"I like the apple shit the best," Elliot added with a mouth full of quiche. Animal.
"Elliot," Mom admonished him, but I wasn't sure if it was because of his language or his manners. Mom was biting back a smile though, so his behavior didn't bother her too much.
"I think my favorite is still the chocolate croissant. It was the first thing I tasted when we got here," Ana said.
"I'm not sure I can choose a favorite," Mom said. "Everything is delicious. I'm so proud of you, Mia."
Mia actually blushed, which was uncommon for her. "Thanks, Mom. Dad said the same thing."
"Because it's true," Dad affirmed. He put his arm around Mia as he added, "Get used to being praised, daughter of mine. I haven't done it enough in the past, but that's changing."
Mia's eyes actually teared up, but she laughed and said, "Wait a couple of weeks to praise me, OK, until after I finish my exams."
"You're going to do great, Meems," I encouraged her.
"I hope so," she muttered.
"You are," Elliot agreed, smiling at Mia. "And hey... have you told Mom and Dad yet about your big job that you have waiting for you when you get back home?"
Mia's eyes shot to me. "Umm, not yet. I thought... I thought maybe Christian should be the one to make that announcement."
Why? Why shouldn't Mia talk to Mom and Dad about it, whether I was present or not for the conversation?
"Mia has agreed to help give the Mile High Club a new look, and even a new name," I announced. "We're changing everything, all for the better. And all Mia's ideas. She's going to be the head chef and kitchen manager." I didn't need to tell them yet about making her the new owner. All in good time.
"That's fantastic," Dad proclaimed. "So... what's the new name?" he asked curiously.
"Ciel de Grey," Mia announced. "We're going to specialize in French cuisine. And everything we've been eating here this morning... This has kind of been a test run for our Sunday brunch menu. We'll probably need to do this a few more times before we open Ciel de Grey for Sunday brunch."
"I'm down with that," Elliot agreed.
"Mia has some great ideas for remodeling the dining room, too," Ana told Mom and Dad. "It's going to look like a completely different place when she gets done with it."
"Yeah, no more ugly orange tablecloths," Mia laughed.
We talked for a few more minutes about our plans for Ciel de Grey. But then Mom's cell phone rang, which distracted us all. If it had been mine or Dad's nobody would have thought anything of it, but Mom never kept her cell phone on during family gatherings. Her pager, yes, but I knew she wasn't on call. She wasn't going back to work for the rest of the year, if at all.
"I've been expecting this call. I need to take it," Mom excused herself. As she walked away, I heard her greet the caller. "Karen, thank you for calling back so quickly. Did you talk to her?" Mom's voice faded as she walked towards the back of the house.
"Karen Woods?" I asked Dad.
He nodded. "They've been talking quite a bit in the past couple of days. I think that... No, let me back up. Are you OK, son, with talking about this in front of your brother, sister, and Ana, or would you prefer to go talk privately in my study?"
"It's OK, Dad," I assured him. "Elliot and Ana know everything already, and I'm pretty sure Mia does too. I'm done with keeping so many secrets from you all. You're my family, so I know you'll all protect my privacy."
Dad nodded. He made eye contact with Elliot, Mia, and Ana as he said, "Understand, these are not just Christian's secrets. There are... others. They need to be protected too."
"You're talking about Isaac," Mia said sadly. "I know you are. You didn't have to tell me; I figured it out. He started working for Aunt... Shit, I can't call that awful woman that anymore. For Elena... around the same time that Christian went to Harvard. The next thing I knew, Isaac started looking more and more like Christian. It was... weird. But I didn't know him well enough to question it. We weren't friends. I just knew who he was from Coping Together events, and because our moms were friends. We didn't go to the same school. But I wish... I wish I'd questioned it more."
"Not your fault, Meems," I assured her. "You couldn't have possibly known."
Dad smiled sadly at Mia, and then he told us, "When Grace first told Karen about... about Isaac's abuse by that... pedophile... Karen was understandably angry with Grace. But at the time, your mother was protecting you, Christian. She didn't tell Karen how she knew about Isaac's abuse, or anything that you'd revealed to us about yourself. But when Karen confronted Isaac about it, he told her what he knew about you. He already knew, as you know, about Elena's fixation on you. He told his mother all about it. Karen called Grace back to question her about it, and Grace admitted it to her, and how you'd only just admitted it to us this week, and that we'd had no idea."
"When did this conversation happen?" I asked curiously. I wasn't angry with Mom for talking with Karen Woods about me. The way I saw it, they needed to talk about it, and after yesterday's conversations with both Isaac and his mother, I now felt certain that they were both trustworthy. Karen Woods wasn't going to leak my secrets, nor her son's.
Dad answered, "This all happened yesterday, just a couple of hours before we went and talked to them. Grace and Karen talked again last night, and a couple of times this morning already. Once Karen realized that Grace was not to blame for what happened to Isaac, then Karen forgave her more quickly than Grace has been able to forgive herself."
"So, they're friends again?" Mia confirmed hopefully.
Dad nodded. "Probably even more so than before. I couldn't have asked for a better response from Karen. She's handling all of it so much better than your mother and I did at first."
"You mean she hasn't tried to strangle the pedo-bitch?" Elliot smirked. He, for one, was proud of our mother's behavior when she attacked Elena on Wednesday. Like me, Elliot had only heard about it after the fact, but he'd only wished he'd been there to witness it firsthand.
Dad chuckled humorlessly. "That's not what I meant, but no. I think we all want to make Elena pay, one way or another. Unlike us, Karen Woods actually legally possesses a firearm, but she's given her word, and I believe her, that she won't use it to get back at Elena. But what I meant was that Karen is spending less time beating herself up or blaming Grace for something that Grace was innocent... or at least ignorant about. And she's spending more time plotting how to get the best kind of revenge. Legally."
"What do you mean, Dad? What are they plotting?" I asked.
"Nothing for you to worry about, Christian," Dad assured me. "I will tell you this, though. Be glad that you're no longer in business with that woman. With what your mother and her friends are planning, I'll be surprised if Esclava is still in business at all beyond the end of the year. And we have Karen to thank for getting your mother involved in this campaign, instead of sitting around here brooding, and continuing to punish herself for how she failed you as a mother."
Ana and I glanced at each other, and I knew we were both thinking the same thing. No, Esclava wouldn't be in business by the end of the year... because Elena Lincoln was dead. But Dad didn't know that, and I wasn't going to tell him. Nor was Ana.
"Has Mom talked to the other boy's mother yet?" I asked Dad. Of course, I remembered his name, Matthew McKelvey, but it wasn't necessary to mention it.
He nodded. "I'm sure that's what they're talking about now. Charity Schneider hasn't been a close friend of either of them, but they both know her from Coping Together because she and her sons were in counseling there. Grace didn't tell Karen about Charity, but she didn't have to. Once the cat was out of the bag about you and Isaac, Karen connected the dots. It's obvious, once you know what to look for. Apparently, you've got another doppelganger out there, Christian. Or, at least, he resembles the way you looked when you were a sixteen-year-old boy, as he is now. We still haven't determined yet if the younger brother has been involved, but I'm hoping that she hasn't sunk her claws into him yet."
I was pretty sure I already knew the answer to that. "Dad, remember what I told you about the video footage?" I reminded him. "Isaac is ready to testify that she recorded every session. In fact, he says she did, so he won't be perjuring himself."
Dad was pensive for a moment, and Elliot, who had been listening quietly to our conversation, as had Mia and Ana, took advantage of Dad's hesitation. "You have video footage of her raping underage boys?"
"It's not rape," I began to argue, and it took me a moment to realize what I was doing.
"How old are they?" Mia asked angrily. "If they're under the age of consent, it is statutory rape!"
I nodded, feeling my face burn with shame. "Yeah, you're right. It was rape. The recent footage of Matthew McKelvey is certainly rape. I don't have video of her with Isaac from when he was a minor, but I'm sure it exists."
"What about you, son," Dad asked. "Did she video you?"
I nodded, and my embarrassment only grew. I hated talking about this shit, especially in front of my siblings. But I didn't want to keep secrets.
"Do you have any idea where she keeps the video footage?" Dad asked.
Ana took that moment to wrap her arms around me and lay her head on my chest. "Calm down," she whispered. "They just want to help."
I took a deep breath, inhaling the smell of Ana's hair. Then, I was able to respond to Dad's question. "She used to have a folder full of encrypted files on her hard drive. It was a desktop computer in her home office. She made sure I knew about it, and used it to threaten me. She continually warned that she'd send them to you if I wasn't a 'good boy.' I was a kid, so I believed her when she said you'd... be disgusted by me."
"Oh, Christian," Dad lamented.
"Anyway, once I hired Barney, I got him to hack into that computer and delete those files. But I'm sure she made duplicates. They're probably on a flash drive in her safe. She might also have copies in a safe deposit box somewhere, knowing her."
And now that she was dead, they might not ever be recovered. Or, they might be recovered in an investigation into her death, if her body was ever discovered.
Dad shook his head in disgust. "She used them to threaten you, but the only person who would be implicated by those videos is herself. But anyway... I digress. I'm asking you for a reason, son. If we pursue this... and believe me when I say, beginning tomorrow with Isaac's statement to the police, we ARE pursuing this... I'm not sure we can prevent the videos of you being discovered along with the footage of the other boys, if they are somewhere that the police might find them when they execute a search warrant. I'll do my best to keep them from being leaked to the public, but I can't make any guarantees."
I sighed. "It's OK, Dad. I mean, I'd prefer to keep it quiet, but if it comes out... There are worse things. I have all of you. I have Ana." I held her tighter as I said that.
"That you do," she assured me.
"I don't want to make it public because I'm concerned about my image, particularly how I will look to potential or even current business partners. But I didn't break any laws. I hate the word, and I sure as hell don't want anybody's pity, but the truth is what it is: I was a victim. I was molested by a pedophile."
"Wow, Dr. Flynn was right last night," Ana whispered in my ear. "You really have come a long way."
I smiled sadly down at Ana. Then I turned back to Dad and told him, "I'm more worried about the photos that Elena has of me with my submissives than I am about the footage she has from when I was her submissive."
"Wait, what?" Mia asked confusedly. Oh, shit. I forgot Mia didn't know about that part of my life.
Elliot jumped in and supplied an explanation for Mia. "Elena was Christian's pimp. She supplied him with girls." Elliot turned to me and asked, "What do you mean, how does Elena have pictures of you with them?"
I rubbed my face; my shame was just growing. "I took the pictures myself," I admitted. "There are copies in my safe. And I also sent her copies."
"Why the hell did you do that?" Elliot asked me incredulously.
"Because I'm an idiot," I answered seriously. Really, there was no other explanation.
"You're not an idiot," Dad argued. "You trusted the wrong person. I'm sure she convinced you that the pictures were an insurance policy, didn't she?"
I nodded. How did Dad know that?
"And they were," Dad agreed. "Insurance for her, though, not just for you. Has she used them to threaten you?"
I shook my head. "She never needed to." I'm sure that would have changed, had she lived long enough. It was surprising that she hadn't tried to use them against me when I cut ties with her after Ana uncovered her embezzlement scheme. Now, thankfully, she would never have the chance.
"I hate her," Mia muttered angrily.
"We all do, Meems," Elliot agreed.
"Which is why we are going to make her pay for what she's done, and we're going to use the legal system to do it," Dad said. "And I'll do everything I can to protect you, Christian. What have you done so far to get the photographs from her?"
"Well, you already know that I have a new head of personal security, and she's working on it as we speak," I answered. Simon had upped her game now that Elena was dead. It was important to get my shit from Elena's before the police started investigating her death. Not that there was anything to implicate me in her death; I was completely innocent of that. But I didn't want those damn photographs discovered in their search for clues to find who killed her.
"Wait, what?" Elliot sputtered. He'd just taken a sip of coffee. "She?"
I rolled my eyes. "Kendra Simon. I thought you knew already. Where were you when we were talking about it at Thanksgiving?"
Elliot shrugged. "Eating turkey? So... explain. You replaced Taylor with a chick?" Yeah, he was confused.
"Not replaced," I replied. "He's still my first CPO, and Reynolds is my second now. I needed to hire additional staff. He recommended her."
"To be his boss?" Elliot questioned.
"Technically, yes," I answered. "She just resigned from the FBI, as did Ana's new CPO, Pamela Cornwall. They're both the best there is for their jobs."
Elliot seemed to comprehend. "Is she single?" he asked with a smirk.
"Which one?" I asked, returning his smirk.
Ana chuckled and answered Elliot's stupid question. "Pam is dating Alex Welch. They're in a serious relationship. Kendra is single, but she's older than you."
"How much older?" Elliot asked.
"I think she just turned 42," Ana answered. "I know she just had a birthday. It's easy to remember her birthday because it's Halloween. It was also her last day at the FBI. Her team threw her a big surprise party, and they were able to keep it a surprise because she thought it was a Halloween party she was going to." Leave it to Ana to have already found out this personal information from our new security staff.
"So, twelve years," Elliot observed. "Yeah, that's a fairly big age difference."
I shook my head at Elliot's antics. "More importantly, she just started a new job in a new city. And it's a really demanding job that requires all of her attention."
"Yeah, I've heard her new boss is a real asshole," Elliot quipped.
Mia chimed in. "Anyway... As much as I love you guys... And I really do love both of my brothers to the moon and back... I have plans this afternoon, so I need to go get ready."
"What plans?" I asked curiously.
Mia replied, "Lilly and I are going shopping for something for her to wear on a date later this week. Then, I promised her that I'd go with her to a party tonight. I'll be out late, but I can sleep tomorrow, so that's OK."
"What kind of party?" I pressed. Dad smirked at me because I sounded more like Mia's dad at the moment. But I was only concerned about her safely.
Mia rolled her eyes. "Just a normal party, I promise. No drugs. Probably plenty of booze, but I don't intend to get drunk. It's a lot of our old high school friends that I haven't seen since we graduated. I've invited a few of them to have dinner first at... you guessed it... the Mile High Club. I'm not making any announcements to them yet, but I thought it would be a good way to not only spend time with them but also get people's impressions of the place. And maybe some ideas for what it can become. I've got some great ideas for the weekday lunch menu, the corporate catering menu, and the Sunday brunch menu, but I'm still working on the evening dinner service. Do you guys think we should consider live music?"
I shrugged, which hurt my shoulder. "Depends on how good they are, I suppose."
Mia nodded thoughtfully. "Anyway, I want to pitch ideas at them and see how they respond when it's, you know, just small talk. I doubt they even know my brother owns the place."
"Good idea, Mia," Ana told her.
"Be sure to keep security close," I reminded her.
Mia rolled her eyes. "Of course. Both of them. I know, Chrissy. Stop worrying about me."
As soon as Mia left the room, Mom returned. She appeared to have been crying again. Shit, would it ever end?
"How did it go, Grace?" Dad asked.
Mom poured herself a cup of coffee and sat down in the seat that Mia had vacated. "Karen was right. It was better coming from her. Charity... she's upset, of course, but not angry with me. Neither of them blame me for my part in it. But Charity wants blood. She wanted to go over to her house and confront the bitch today, but Karen talked her out of it."
"Wait, Mom, back up. What happened?" I asked her to explain.
Mom replied, "Karen... she guessed about Matthew, because he's started resembling you more over the past few months. He dyed his hair red, like Isaac did, and started styling it like you did when you were a teenager."
Yeah, I was feeling nauseated. "I get the picture," I replied.
"I had to admit what I knew when Karen asked me," Mom told me apologetically. "So then, Karen suggested that she should be the one to talk to Charity about it. Karen has been a volunteer with Coping Together during Charity's family counseling sessions, so she knows Charity better than I do. She felt like she had Charity's trust already. And I think she was right."
"So, what did she find out, Grace?" Dad asked.
"Charity told her that she and Matt have been arguing for the past few weeks about Nolan." Mom glanced at me and added, "That's Matt's younger brother. Charity wanted to send him to Elena's for chores, like she did with Matt last year. She thought it..." Here, Mom's voice cracked, and she sobbed through the rest of her response. "She thought the hard labor had been so good for Matt, she wanted... Nolan... to benefit from it, too."
"Good God," Elliot muttered.
"But that never happened," I said confidently. I still hadn't had a chance to tell Dad why I was so sure about that.
Mom glanced at me and affirmed, "No, but only because Matt insisted that Nolan didn't need to work for Elena. Charity believes that Matt told Nolan what Elena was doing to him, because Nolan started protesting not only about going there himself, but also about her sending Matt. But they both refused to tell her anything. She wasn't as shocked when Karen told her about Elena and the abuse as Karen was when I told her. It seemed that Charity was already suspicious and was just trying to figure it out. That's not to say that Elena's behavior didn't come as a surprise. Even now, it all seems so surreal. Who that woman really turned out to be is so very different than the person she always seemed to be. And I thought I knew her better than anyone."
"How did you know she didn't get to Nolan?" Dad asked me.
"Welch and Simon," I replied by referencing my two security heads. "I didn't watch any of the video footage myself, but they did. There's a lot of Matthew but none of Nolan."
Elliot sighed. "So, this Matt guy did a better job of protecting his little brother than I did protecting you."
That just made me angry. "When the fuck are you all going to quit fucking blaming yourselves and let it go?! You couldn't have fucking known, Elliot! You were away at college! And even if you'd been here, you wouldn't have known! I was fucking good at hiding it! I wish to fuck that you'd all just get over yourselves and quit fucking blaming yourselves for something you had no fucking control over!"
"Well, I think that's enough 'fucking' for one day," Mom said drily, shocking the hell out of me. She often admonished us for using profanity, but never by repeating it. "And, for what it's worth, Christian, I'm working on... 'getting over myself,' as you put it."
That diffused my anger like nothing else could. "Good," I told Mom. "And... I talked to Flynn about a family session. He suggested next Wednesday morning at 8 a.m. I hoped it would be early enough for Dad to attend with us. Are you free?" I asked Dad. "Not this week but next." I didn't feel that I needed to explain that Flynn was going to be in England for a few days, or why.
Dad checked his schedule on his phone and added the appointment. "I'll be there," he confirmed.
"We both will," Mom added.
"Well, I feel left out," Elliot fake pouted.
"How about having breakfast with me while they meet with Dr. Flynn," Ana suggested. "You can catch me up on your... online activity. And you can also question my CPO Pam about Kendra, since they're good friends. That is... if you're really interested in her."
Wait, what?
"Aren't you going to the session with us too, babe?" I asked her.
"I don't think that's what you need," she replied. "I'll be there for our couple's session on Friday."
Dad ignored the last part of our conversation and turned back to Mom. "So, has Charity talked to Matthew yet? Has he admitted it to her?"
Mom nodded. "She's talked to both of them. She says... Matt's not ready yet to talk to the police. She wants them to meet with a counselor as soon as possible. I've already spoken with Dr. Evans, their Coping Together volunteer, and she's willing to meet with them this week."
"He's trying to protect the pedo-bitch, isn't he?" I voiced my suspicions.
Mom shook her head. "No, it's not that. I think he's afraid of her."
"Well, that's understandable. She's a scary bitch," Elliot commented.
"Should I talk with him?" I asked Dad.
"Maybe, but not yet," he answered. "This isn't the same situation as with Isaac, who was clearly suicidal. I still think you might have saved that young man's life last night. But Matt is in a different situation, being her current... victim. I wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't still have fresh bruises on his body."
Mom sobbed again. "He does. God help me, he does. Karen confirmed it. Charity told her. His back is covered in cuts and welts. She's still trying to convince him to go to the ER. But the last Karen heard, he wouldn't even let her take pictures of the abuse."
Dad put his arm around Mom comfortingly, but he spoke to me. "I hope to convince him to speak to the police as soon as tomorrow, but we really need to take care and not push him too hard too soon. I don't want to scare him more than he already is, or give Elena any hint of what is coming."
I rubbed my eyes. "God, I'm exhausted already, and this is only the beginning," I commented.
"You're exhausted because you haven't rested enough since getting shot earlier this week," Mom reminded me. She turned to Ana. "Take him home, dear, and make him take the pain medicine. I know he's still hurting, even if he won't admit it."
"It only hurts when I move the wrong way now," I told her.
"Nevertheless, you need rest. I'm sure you're going to go back to work tomorrow, and run just as hard as you always do. You need to take it easy, son." She sounded really worried.
"I will, Mom, I promise. Now that we've hired a new CFO, I have another person to share the load. And Ana's back." I smiled at Ana, and she smiled back without replying.
"Your mother is right," Dad said. "Let's save the rest of this conversation for another day. I'll know more after I talk with Charity myself, and hopefully Matt as well."
They were right, of course. I was exhausted and needed to go home and sleep. Ana and I said our goodbyes and were soon back home at Escala. I did as Ana asked and took my pain meds. We went to bed early, and I slept soundly.
So soundly, in fact, that I didn't hear Ana's phone when she received a call in the middle of the night. I didn't know anything was amiss until I woke up at around 6 a.m. and noticed that Ana wasn't in the bed with me. I looked in the bathroom first, and then went to the kitchen to see if she'd gotten up early and started breakfast.
Gail was pouring cups of coffee and placing them on a tray when I walked in, and she looked... worried.
"Gail?" I asked. "Where's Ana?"
Taylor walked in and responded before Gail had a chance. "Mr. Grey, you need to come with me to the security room."
"What's going on, Taylor?" I asked confusedly as I followed him.
"Ms. Steele received a call at 1:00 a.m. this morning," he explained. "It was from your sister's phone."
"What? Why did Mia call Ana in the middle of the night?" I asked. And if was important, why didn't Ana wake me up?
"It wasn't Mia," Simon answered as I entered the security room. "Sit down, Mr. Grey," she ordered me.
"I'll sit down when I get some answers," I told her. "Where is Ana? Who was the call from?"
Simon sighed. "The call was from Jack Hyde. He's kidnapped your sister."
I didn't hear anything else she said. Apparently, I passed out, but I opened my eyes a little later, and I was still in the security room.
But they still hadn't answered my most urgent question. Oh, I had a lot of questions, but one that I needed answered right fucking now.
"Where is Ana?" I asked again, and even I could hear the alarm in my own voice.
Author's note: Yes, I know... another cliffee. I promise to update soon.
I wanted to take a moment to mention our favorite villain, who I just killed off. Some of you are going to be disappointed that there won't be any more drama with the pedo-bitch, but I just dislike her so much that I didn't want to write that. I can allude to all her evil, but writing her into it is not really where I wanted to go. Besides, this story has to end at some point. Instead of adding more drama with Elena, I decided to add a little bit of mystery. Who killed her? And when will her death be discovered? Will her killer ever be revealed?
As for Christian's question at the end of this chapter... where do you think Ana is? Keep in mind that the Ana in this story is maybe just a little more sensible than the original. And that's all I'm saying until the next update.
