Deep, Dark Secrets
Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Red Eye!
Chapter Three: All Things Considered
Barely a day had passed when Philippe came to her. He explained to her that he had arranged her visit to Jackson Rippner for the coming weekend. It was two days away, but it was far sooner than he would have chosen had she given him a choice.
The rest of the week flew by as Abby ran through various conversations in her mind. She made lists of topics to discuss, questions to ask, and information that she wanted to share. She desperately wanted him to become a part of her life.
Too much time had passed. There was fifteen years of her life wasted. For fifteen years, he had believed that she was dead and she had believed that he would eventually come back for her. Lies… blasted lies had kept them apart.
"Are you ready?" Philippe asked Abby the morning of her visit to her father.
Abby scoffed. "Are you kidding? Of course I am!"
"If you say so," he said with a sigh. He appeared to be nervous and edgy. What does he think might happen? My father would never hurt me, if that's what he's worried about!
Lisa entered the entry hall before they could slip out the door.
"Bye, sweetie, have fun with your dad," Lisa said with a smile as she gave Abby a tight hug. She then stepped towards Philippe and gave him a kiss. "It's so nice that you two are finally getting along. I've been hoping for years that this day would come! I'm so happy that you've finally accepted Philippe as your father!"
Will you shut up? Philippe is not my father! He's responsible for locking my real father up. That's who I'm really spending time with. This has nothing to do with some step-father—daughter bonding thing. It's about father-daughter bonding, with my real father.
Abby flashed a false smile at her mother and then opened the front door. She could not wait to get away from Lisa. Why is she being so friendly now? Why did it take fifteen years for her to show some affection towards me?
Philippe followed her a few moments later, but Abby was already half-way down the walk and striding purposefully towards his car. She was eager to see her father. She had barely slept at all the previous night. She had lain awake in her bed, dreaming of their meeting.
Her father would be a kind, caring person. He would rejoice in seeing her as much as she would rejoice in finally seeing him again. He would tell her how greatly he missed her and how upset he was that he had been unable to contact her. He would make promises and he would keep them. He would love her, like a father should love his daughter.
A chirp sounded; letting Abby know that the car was unlocked. She opened the passenger side door and hopped into his semi-new sports car. It was bright red and he took excellent care of it even though it was several years old. Lisa had begged him time and time again to buy a sensible car, but he refused. Apparently, her mother was deathly afraid of BMWs, which were the only type of sensible cars that he also liked. He had once had a blue BMW, but he had abruptly sold it fifteen years ago after he met her mother. At least, that's how the story went.
Philippe slide into the driver's seat and started the engine. He still appeared to be distracted and apprehensive of the impending meeting.
"Did you tell my dad that I'm coming to see him?" Abby inquired.
"Huh? Oh, no. I figured it would be better if you surprised him yourself. I didn't want him to be thinking about it too much. It's better this way. He's not the type of person that it's safe to tell things in advance."
"Why not?"
"It's just not. Ask him to tell you why," he replied bitterly.
She could sense the hatred that Philippe had for her father. Does this animosity go both ways? Is it because my father still loves my mother and me? Is that why Philippe locked him up? Did Philippe do that to keep Lisa for himself?
Soon, all the answers that she yearned for would be hers. Her father would answer all of her questions.
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Abby paid no attention to the bricked building surrounded with fences and an alarming amount of security. All of her thoughts were firmly focused on her father. What could it possibly be like, living in this place?
"We can still go home," Philippe whispered. "You don't have to go through with this."
"Yes, I do!" snapped Abby in surprise. How could I abandon my father?
"Okay."
She followed him inside and passed all of the security checks. Her purse had to remain behind with a guard for her own protection. She was led towards an empty, dull room. A table and two chairs were situated in the room.
"Jackson Rippner?" the guard asked in amazement after Philippe announced who Abby was there to visit.
"Yes, she's here to visit Mr. Rippner."
"Did his doctor give permission for this?"
"I'm his doctor and I deemed it okay. She's determined to see him," Philippe said sadly.
"If she wants to see someone insane, she could visit someone less dangerous."
"Will you just get him? He's my father and I want to see him!" snapped Abby angrily. She was sick of getting the run-around.
The guard hurried away while Philippe helped Abby into the room. He explained that if her father threatened her or tried to harm her that all she had to do was head towards the door and the guards would take care of Jackson Rippner.
Like I would ever need to do that…
"Okay, I'll be making rounds while you're here, but I'll be back in an hour," Philippe told her after a guard nodded at him.
"Peachy."
Just then, the door opposite the one that she had entered opened and the guards led in a lanky man with same color hair as her own and piercing, ice-cold eyes. He curled his lips into a sneer and glared across the room at Philippe.
Her father had arrived.
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"Hello, Doc, come to have a chat with me?" Jackson Rippner said coldly. He had yet to notice Abby. He was focused solely on Philippe, the man responsible for his incarceration.
"Not today Rippner," Philippe responded coolly. "Someone else wants to visit you."
"Yeah? Who?"
"Dad!" Abby cried joyfully, running across the room to envelope Jackson in a hug. The former assassination manager froze awkwardly, and then returned the hug. While Abby was looking over his shoulder, his face morphed into a pleasant expression. Gone were the smugness and the hatred.
"Abby, oh how I've missed you!" Jackson lied. He remembered that her name was Abby. She was his daughter, Lisa's daughter, the one that looked like him. It was only because of her looks and the surety that he had no other kids that he was able to guess her name.
"I've missed you too!"
"I thought…"
"That I was dead? Yeah, Philippe told me," Abby remarked with a frown.
"How do you know him?" Jackson inquired. He wanted to know how the psychiatrist figured into Lisa's life.
"He's my step-father." Abby made a disgusted face. Not surprised at that…I always knew he was trying to steal my Lisa.
"For how long?"
"The last ten years. Not that I can remember a time when he wasn't always hanging around. He's been trying to take your place, but I wouldn't let him."
"Why don't you sit down?" Jackson suggested, gesturing to a chair. Abby nodded and sat down. Jackson dragged his chair over to the same side of the table as hers. She smiled at that.
I must remember to remain charming. I don't want to scare her away. She might be my only shot at getting out of here and taking back my wife.
"Dad, why are you in here? Philippe refused to tell me."
"Oh, it was all just a misunderstanding. Your mother and I used to fight a lot and she made up all these ridiculous stories about me and what I'd done. She used to hurt herself or force me to hurt her when she had a fit. She was psychotically violent, not me. Of course, Dr. Carter just had to believe her."
"Then why did the guards keep saying you were dangerous?"
"I'm not. It's a lie that the good doctor has concocted. He likes keeping me under his thumb. Half the time I'm drugged senseless. I knew something was up because I was more alert today than I've been in years." They have no idea what danger really is.
"He drugs you?" Abby sounded horrified.
"Of course. He's jealous of me. He stole my Lisa from me."
"When?"
"Did they never tell you how they meet? Tsk, tsk…" he said. Dear Lisa, you didn't mention anything, did you? That's fine, I'll tell our daughter what really happened and how you betrayed me when I loved you…
"What happened?"
"Lisa was in the hospital for your birth and she had another one of her fits. I took you away to protect you and the hospital mixed up the records and listed you as dead. Lisa freaked out and they sent good old Dr. Carter in to check on her.
"She lied through her teeth about me and swore that I had kidnapped you. What kind of father would I have been if I had left you with her? I took you from her to protect you. I hired a nanny to help me care for you. You ended up liking me best though and I was always the one who could quiet you down no matter what. Lisa hated it…"
Lisa, Lisa, Lisa, what lies have you been telling our daughter? How dare you lie to her like this? She deserves to know the truth.
"She's always hated me," Abby admitted bitterly. You hate her too, don't you? Don't worry—together we'll achieve our revenge.
"It's because you were closer to me than to her. She always took that personally. Anyways, I tried to get Dr. Carter to release her to me, but he refused and I even faxed her medical records. He insisted they were false. The only problem with them was that the fool of a doctor that I sent her to had listed her last name wrong. How someone can confuse Rippner with something as insane as DeCoute, I'll never understand.
"The papers were under Lisa DeCoute, instead of Lisa Rippner, and the hospital had her listed as Lisa Reisert, and he refused to release her without an adequate documentation of her mental problems as well as identification. I had to trick him, and in his eyes, 'kidnap' my own wife.
"Lisa was disoriented when I brought her home. She became convinced that I was going to hurt her when Dr. Carter showed up and began accusing me in my home. When he first showed up in my house, I thought he was a burglar or someone intent upon hurting you or Lisa. I couldn't let that happen, so I knocked him out and tied him up. I hid him in a secret room and went to check on Lisa.
"When Lisa was better, I brought her down to see him and she had a psychotic break and attacked me. She shot my kneecaps out as 'retribution', but luckily I was able to get replacements, much like she received a year earlier after she took a hammer to her own knees in her bathtub."
"Oh, my…" Abby was shocked.
Jackson sighed sadly. "I'm so sorry that you've had to live with such a crazy mother. It's my fault…"
"No, it's Philippe's," insisted Abby. "He bought all of her crazy stories. Oh, dad…"
Abby reached over to hug him again. He smirked.
"My Abby, my little Abby," he crooned, smoothing her unruly dark hair. "It's been too long."
"I love you daddy," she whispered in a little girl voice.
"I love you too, my sweet little Abby," he responded sweetly, his voice as smooth as silk.
I have you right where I want you. You'll get me out of here, one way or another…
Jackson Rippner's mind was already plotting his escape. For the first time since his imprisonment had begun, he actually had a chance at freedom.
Author's Notes:
Jackson's got a very twisted version of what happened. It's a shame that Abby believes him. He just wants to use her to get free. He's enjoying manipulating someone for the first time in years. Philippe keeps him far too drugged for him to manipulate other people on a regular basis. Enjoy and thanks for all the reviews!
