Triumphantly Nolan strolled down the street silently celebrating his victory. He was so close to finally being able to help David and he had achieved it almost all on his own. He turned to the side to brag about his skills to the woman who accompanied him. When he was about to open his mouth, all of a sudden he felt arms being wrapped around his waist from behind and a hand in gloves pressing onto his mouth. He tried to scream punching and kicking the person who was pulling him into a side alley. Too late, Nolan noticed the chemical smell creeping into his mouth and nose and the next second he began to lose his conscience.
4 DAYS EARLIER
The ice-cold wind was cutting Ryan Huntley's cheek when he was making his way through the wet, sticky sand on the beach of Southampton. He crossed his arms pressing the coat close to his body regretting that he had forgotten his scarf in the car. During his whole career as an attorney he had never taken on a case as crazy as David Clarke's. It had all begun when Victoria Grayson had told him that she wanted him as David Clarke's defense attorney, because she secretly worked together with Nolan Ross to help David while at the same time she was pretending to be loyal to her husband. Ryan had almost turned down her offer, because he didn't want to be involved in such a warped up scheme. But the determination and honesty in her eyes had convinced him of the contrary.
So, now he had agreed to meet her under a bridge not far from Grayson Manor where they would remain unseen. Standing by the Atlantic Ocean on a December afternoon was however neither the most typical nor the most comfortable place to meet with a client. After he had only taken a few steps in the sand, Ryan noticed his feet getting wet through his admittedly unfitting suit shoes. After that little adventure they would be completely ruined. On top of it, a snowy rain had started to fall from the sky making him freeze even more. When Ryan reached the bridge, he already saw Victoria standing there staring at the ocean. She wore snow boots, a long black coat and a wool cap and hid her face behind her enormous scarf, but as Ryan came closer, he could see her rosy cheeks showing that the cold did not leave her unaffected.
"Hello, Victoria." He approached her obviously pulling her out of her thoughts.
"Hello, Ryan." She wanted to slide off her glove to shake his hand, but he kept her from doing that.
"There's no need for that. Let us just stay warm out here." He smiled at her looking in her sad face.
"Thank you for coming." Victoria leaned against one of the bridge's pillar. Like he had promised, Conrad had given her some freedom from Frank's constant observation, so that she could walk the beach on her own and meet with Ryan Huntley without arousing too much suspicion.
"Don't thank me for that. I'm glad that we found the time to meet again and exchange information." Originally he had planned to confront Victoria with the stunt she had pulled in the courtroom and explain to her that something like that could never happen again, but when he saw her standing there looking so vulnerable and devastated, he just couldn't go through with it.
"How is David?" Victoria asked out of the blue burying her hand in the pockets of her coat.
Taken aback by the impromptu question Ryan began to stutter. "Well, according to circumstances he is… uh… fine." He knew that the answer was unsatisfactory to Victoria, but he didn't know that else to tell her.
"Excuse me for asking so bluntly, but do you think he hates me?" That was a question Victoria desperately wanted to know the answer to. She needed to know what David was thinking ever since she had lost her connection to him.
"No, he doesn't, Victoria." Ryan assured her being surprised by her personal questions. "I thought your little confrontation in the courtroom had been proof enough to show that he still loves you very much."
"I know it was stupid of me to do that, but I…" Victoria was caught up in her emotions of the moment losing her usual calmness.
"You don't have to apologize for that. David was very shaken by your move, but it also gave him strength again to be reminded of what or better who he might lose." When Victoria looked at him surprised, but didn't answer Ryan continued. "I overheard him talking to Nolan wondering if you knew what sex the baby has. I think he is confused and hurt, but he still believes in you, Victoria. So don't worry."
"I wish I could tell him about everything." Victoria lowered her gaze in shame considering what she had done to him and what she kept from him.
"When the right time comes, you will and then you'll see that this is the best strategy you could have chosen." Ryan tried to give her a positive feeling while he felt that his wet feet were now beginning to freeze. He shivered noticeably.
"I'm sorry, Ryan." Victoria realized that she had been drifting off because of what was going on in her mind. Sometimes the hardest part of it all was that she couldn't talk to anyone about her feelings and her biggest fears. "I didn't want to bother you with my personal issues. I actually have something more important to share with you."
"No, please, Victoria, you don't bother me at all." Ryan waved off her concerns. "Although, of course, I'm eager to hear what you have to tell me."
Feeling her legs getting tired Victoria shifted while she was leaning against the pillar and absentmindedly began to caress her belly with the intention of keeping it warm. "Well, my husband invited Bill Harmon, one of David's ex-colleagues, over to our house to discuss the testimony he will give in court. Just like Lydia Davis I know that he has paid him off or promised him a boost for his career and he will do anything to take David down. But there's one person I know who could contradict his testimony and speak in David's favor, although I'm not sure if he is willing to help us."
"Tell me who he is, Victoria. This is really important. I need more witnesses to support David." Ryan was triggered by Victoria's words.
"The problem is that at one point he has already been involved with this. He helped David and me with our escape and provided us fake IDs. Unfortunately Conrad had caught wind of that and they have… well… hurt him to get information from him. Shortly before David was arrested, they sent us photos of him to threaten us. He has disappeared since then and I'm not sure if he wants to risk his life again."
Ryan sighed at her explanation being frustrated at how complicated things always had to be. "We have to try it. It's one of the best chances to relieve David of his guilt of investing in the Initiative. What's his name? I'll do everything possible to find him."
After hesitating for one second, Victoria answered. "Roger Halsted. He is or better was Grayson Global's senior accountant and has all the information to prove David's innocence. But I know David won't be happy if you suggest bringing him into this again. They are friends and he won't want him to get hurt again."
"Alright, I'll find him without telling David. He won't have the chance to say no."
"Good." Victoria swallowed the lump in her throat. She had to act rationally. Roger was their only way to prove the others were lying on the stand, no matter if he could get hurt again. David would never allow that to happen, he would probably rather be sentenced than dragging a friend into this.
"Thank you for giving me the information." Ryan noticed that her previous emotional mood had made way to the cold, calculating behavior he was familiar with. "Even if we find Roger and he supports David, you are the one witness I'm counting on. You have to tell the truth about your relationship with David and say that you ran away together. It's hard to prove a man's innocence if he is seen as an abductor." He met Victoria's eyes glaring at him being confronted with the inconvenient truth.
"I know." She replied drily keeping the eye contact. "I'll find a way to do it."
"Great." The attorney stepped from one foot to the other already feeling his toes getting numb from the cold.
"I can't be gone for too long, so I guess it's time to say goodbye." Victoria also slowly felt the cold reaching her sensitive body. "I hope you'll be successful in finding Roger Halsted."
"Good bye, Victoria. Take care. And yes, I'll do my best. He could present a real turning point in the whole trial." Ryan sent Victoria a confident look while she turned to leave.
"I hope so. Until next time, Ryan." Slowly she set her body in motion putting one foot in front of the other carefully. The snow boots she usually only wore when they went skiing in Aspen kept her feet warm, but made it relatively difficult for her to walk on the slippery sand.
For a few moments longer, Ryan watched after Victoria making her way back to Grayson Manor. It was already beginning to darken outside, so that he decided to go back to his car without keeping an eye on Victoria to make sure she got home safely. This woman would find her way back home, she always seemed to know her way.
The soft notes of the first movement of Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata were filling Grayson Manor with a somber atmosphere. Victoria's trained fingers moved over the keys while her mind only concentrated on the melody blacking out everything that surrounded her. With her eyes closed she let herself be swallowed by the music erasing the state of pain she was currently living in. She had almost forgotten about what consolation the piano offered her, because she mainly used it to show Daniel how to play. Originally Conrad had bought the grand piano for her after he had heard her play at a friend's house, but his fascination with her music hadn't lasted for long and before she had begun to play for Daniel, it had long been unused.
Low-spirited Daniel Grayson strolled through the house already being bored by the new toy cars his mother had bought for him. He wanted to play with someone or go on a trip with his parents like he was used to. But things had changed in his family and he sometimes wondered if they were still a family at all. He didn't understand why Amanda had to be there all the time and why her Dad just couldn't pick her up and take her home. He missed spending time only with his mother being afraid that maybe she didn't like him anymore. When he heard her play that really sad song on the piano, he was worried that she would never be his old Mommy again.
On his way to look after his mother, he crossed paths with Amanda who held a bar of chocolate in her hand.
"Hey, Daniel." She said when she saw him walking towards the living room with his head hanging low.
"Hey." Daniel mumbled. Although he really wanted to have that chocolate bar, he wanted his mother's attention more in that moment. Unexpectedly Amanda stepped in his way.
"Victoria said we have to go upstairs now and can't come down until she tells us to." The 9-year-old explained holding Daniel back by his shoulder. After Amanda's argument with Victoria on the day of the trial, they had soon reconciled. Victoria had explained the difficulty of the whole situation and recalled how she had seen her Dad in court. Appreciating her honesty, Amanda couldn't stay mad for long and continued to seek Victoria's company again.
"Let go. You can't tell me what to do." Daniel shrugged off the older girl annoyed by her demanding tone.
"Daniel, but Victoria told me I should make sure that we are both upstairs." She grabbed his arm when he wanted to continue his way to the living room.
"She is my Mommy okay?!" Angrily the boy raised his voice. "She is not yours, so leave us alone."
Although Daniel was younger than her and she couldn't quite take his childishly angry voice seriously, Amanda felt his words like a punch in the stomach. He had never been mean to her before.
At that point, Victoria had already reached the third movement of the Moonlight Sonata, her fingers now racing over the keys as if her life depended on it. Before Amanda could open her mouth to answer, the children heard the doorbell ring. Curiously they both turned their heads to see who was coming in after a maid opened the door.
"Grams!" Daniel screamed his eyes lighting up with excitement when he saw his grandmother entering followed by her husband. From one second to the other he forgot about his conversation with Amanda and raced over to his grandparents who pulled him into a hug.
Not them again. Amanda shivered at the memory of having to endure Eleanor Grayson again. Had they really been the reason why Victoria wanted to make sure that Amanda and Daniel stayed in their rooms upstairs? Cautiously Amanda kept her distance from the scene and wanted to wait until they disappeared from the staircase so that she could get to her room without being noticed.
"I missed you, Danny." His grandmother kissed his cheek while his grandfather lifted him up into his arms.
"I missed you too." Daniel answered reveling in the attention he was receiving. Amanda could just roll her eyes at that.
"We're here to pick you up and spend the day wherever you want, big boy." Edward proudly looked at his grandson. "What do you think about that?"
"Yay!" Daniel cheered happily when suddenly the doorbell rang once more.
Surprised Eleanor and Edward turned around stepping away from the door to have the maid open it. Immediately Edward's face turned from that of a proud grandfather to that of a serious businessman. He put Daniel down and greeted the men who were now coming in.
"Mr Harmon, Mr Whitely." He shook their hands. "I see you're a little early."
"Oh, I apologize. We didn't want to interrupt any family activities." Paul Whitely motioned to Eleanor who had taken Daniel by the hand.
"No, not at all. We have just arrived. This is my wife Eleanor and my grandson Daniel." He introduced his family nervously glancing around wondering why Conrad was not there yet.
From a few feet away, Amanda observed the scene and gasped when she recognized a familiar face. She mustered all of her courage and approached the group of people gathered near the front door.
"Uncle Bill?" The girl uttered in disbelief and stopped in front of Bill Harmon who looked shocked when he noticed her.
"Amanda… hello." Bill Harmon wasn't sure how to react hoping that one of the others would assist him in the situation.
"What are you doing here?" With her heart racing Amanda stared at the man she once knew as a close family friend. What was he doing here at the Grayson's? Didn't he know that they were bad people? "Uncle Bill, you have to help my Daddy. You don't know what these people are doing to him! Please!"
"Amanda, I…" The words stuck in Bill Harmon's throat. He hadn't been prepared to meet his friend's daughter. A friend whom he was about to betray in the worst possible way ruining his whole life. Conrad had offered him a way out of his gambling debts and had promised to make the illegal trades he had made disappear. That was a deal he just couldn't turn down. But when he saw the desperate girl standing in front of him, guilt began to possess his mind.
"I think that's quite enough, young lady." Edward finally interfered stepping between Bill and Amanda. "You don't know what you're talking about."
"No, I know!" Amanda desperately screamed. "He is my dad's friend."
"Your father doesn't have friends anymore, Amanda. He has deceived everyone around him, including you." Edward began to lose his temper. This should've never happened and they couldn't afford Bill Harmon changing his mind again.
"Ah, there you two are." He breathed out in relief when he saw Conrad approaching with Victoria by his side. She wore a white wool dress and her hair was up in a high ponytail. She forced herself to smile when Conrad slid his hand around her waist and when she met Amanda's confused gaze, she sent her an apologetic look.
So all of this had been the reason why Victoria had wanted her to go upstairs in the first place. Now Amanda understood. She had learned from experience not to mess with Conrad and when she noticed his angry glare at her, she quickly ascended the stairs fleeing from the situation, she was obviously not wanted in.
"We're sorry to keep you waiting." Conrad shook his guests' hands confidently. "But even during this difficult time we try to keep our precious family time. In fact, Victoria and I got lost while discussing names for our baby girl. Didn't we, sweetheart?" Conrad smiled at her annoyed that he almost had to force her to stop playing the piano and greet their important guests instead. He wanted her to make up for that now.
"Yes, Conrad and I can't really make a decision yet. There are so many possibilities." Victoria assured and decided to lean in to press a kiss onto Conrad's lips as soon as she noticed Eleanor's skeptical eyes on her.
"So, you're having a daughter?" Paul Whitely replied while Bill Harmon still hadn't recovered from his encounter with Amanda. "Congratulations. I'm sure she will be just as beautiful as her mother."
"Oh, I have no doubt about that." Edward smiled and greeted his daughter-in-law with two kisses on her cheeks and then stood by her side.
"Stop it, you two." Victoria giggled knowing how much her mother-in-law hated it if she was the sole focus of attention. "She is lucky to inherit your Grayson genes, as well." She leant her head on Edward's shoulder playfully trying not to let out a laugh at everyone's shocked faces. Only Bill and Paul didn't know that her words couldn't be farther from the truth and didn't understand the sudden awkward silence. Meanwhile Victoria enjoyed the moment triumphantly playing Conrad in his own game while she felt both Grayson men's arms wrapped around her waist.
"We'll see about that after she is born, don't you think Victoria?" Eleanor stepped in the conversation despising how the younger woman obviously enjoyed her position standing between her own husband and son.
"Trust me, Conrad couldn't have done better in securing that his daughter received enough of his genes." She winked and shifted her head from Edward's shoulder to Conrad's, smiling at him mischievously. "Am I right, honey?"
Conrad chuckled uncomfortably. "Well, someone's in a good mood today." He looked at his guests who were obviously very irritated by Victoria's intimate revelation. Conrad almost blushed in embarrassment cursing Victoria for always finding a way to use his own game against him. Yes, he wanted her to be his loyal wife and show him affection, but she took it a step too far by hinting at bedroom stories which were also nothing but lies.
"How about we get it over with the business part first and then join you for lunch?" Edward suggested trying to find a way out of the situation.
"That sounds perfect." Paul Whitely agreed not quite understanding what was going on between Conrad and his wife.
"If you would follow me to the study." Edward motioned for Bill and Paul to accompany him while Victoria quickly kissed Conrad another time making sure the others were seeing it. She bit on his lip which caused him to flinch in pain.
"You really are a beast." Conrad whispered separating himself from her and wiped a finger over his lip. She had seriously succeeded in making it bleed.
"Oh, I'm so sorry, sweetheart." She raised her voice so that Bill and Paul could still hear her from a distance. "It was my pleasure, Conrad." She hissed into his ear before he rushed past her to join his father and his colleagues in the study. With her actions she wanted to let Conrad know once and for all that he was not the only one who could force her into situations she was not comfortable with, because she was tired of him telling her how to act and what to say. By no means would she degrade herself to only being his puppet.
"Daniel has told me he wants to go to the American Museum of Natural History." Eleanor addressed Victoria again doing her best to remain calm. "Edward and I will take him there and maybe spent the night in the city to bring him back tomorrow. I see you and Conrad can entertain yourselves alone."
"That's a great idea!" Victoria announced with fake enthusiasm being too tired to get into yet another fight with her mother-in-law. "Would that be okay for you, Danny? To spend the night with your grandparents? I'm sure they'll get reservations at the best hotel in town and you can pick out whatever you want to eat. " Victoria wanted to lean down to her son forgetting that it was impossible with her belly in the way. Daniel's eyes grew big in excitement.
"Yes, Mommy!" He beamed with happiness at the thought of getting out of the house.
"Maybe they can even stay in the city with you for a couple of days to take you ice skating at the Rockefeller Center and of course you can see the big Christmas tree there. Do you remember, baby? Like we went to see the tree last year?" Despite loathing her mother-in-law she wanted nothing more than for her son to be happy and enjoy his life as a child. She knew that she hadn't been the best mother to him during the last few weeks due to the David Clarke trial and Amanda living at their house. That was why she wanted him to forget about all of their troubles and get out of the Hamptons for a while, even if it meant going with his grandparents.
"I remember! The tree was sooooo huge!" Daniel jumped up and down. "Can't you come with us, Mommy?"
"I'm sorry, but I can't. I'll be waiting here when you come back and then you can tell me about everything, okay?" Victoria kneeled down not caring if it would be difficult for her to get back up again afterwards. "It'll be so much fun, Danny. You won't even have the time to miss me." Victoria pulled her son into a hug kissing his head. "So, now go pack your bag with your grandmother."
"Okay, thank you, Mom." Daniel kissed his mother's cheek, the sweet gesture made Victoria almost cry.
Turning to the stairs case with her grandson, Eleanor exchanged a serious glare with Victoria. Whether they could accept it or not, Daniel would always love both of them and maybe they had to tolerate one another for his sake.
Victoria saw the mail lying in front of the stairs, so she picked it up before she got herself in an upright position again. While Conrad was discussing Bill Harmon's false testimony with the help of Paul Whitely, Victoria would look after Amanda to make sure she was alright before she had put on yet another show during lunch with the men.
1 DAY EARLIER
You can do it. Nolan repeated the mantra in his head over and over again while he stood on the escalator transporting him out of the subway station. People were pushing past him obviously in a hurry to get to work, but Nolan rather wanted to delay his arrival at his place of employment. One of the reasons why he didn't like Manhattan was that people were constantly running, always trying to be on time for something. Then there were all those tourists walking slowly and blocking the sidewalk while they admired the tall skyscrapers or pulled out a map to find their way around the city. In the middle of it all, Nolan felt very much out of place – especially in the financial district where he was now leaving the Fulton Street station looking around to gain some orientation. .
"What the hell, man?" A tall man in a black suit bumped into Nolan on the sidewalk spilling his latte all over his jacket. "You can't just stand here like some lost school boy. Get out of my way." Without leaving Nolan the choice to answer the man continued his way throwing the empty coffee cup into the nearest bin.
"Apology accepted." Nolan murmured trying to erase the stains of the milk and coffee from his green winter coat. What is it with these people? He already regretted leaving his one bedroom apartment in Brooklyn and throwing himself in the middle of the morning rush hour.
Luckily he soon stood in front of the doors of the building he had been searching. Grayson Global. The golden letters above the entrance door were hard to miss. Taking one last deep breath Nolan stepped inside the building praying that his plan would work out. After Ryan had mentioned that the Graysons would now probably forge the documents of Conrad's investment with the Initiative to blame David for it, Nolan had known what to do. It was obvious that Conrad couldn't do that himself, but that they would rather use someone who was computer-savvy. He had asked Victoria for help to get more information on the structure of Grayson Global and how big the company's IT department was. It turned out that Conrad didn't invest too much in that part of the company, which made it easier for him to find out who was responsible and able enough to fake the documents.
"Good morning, Sir. How can I help you?" The blonde woman at the reception desk in the foyer gave him a friendly smile.
"Good morning." Nolan fumbled with the pockets of his coat. "I'm the new intern at Grayson Global."
"That's great!" The woman said excitedly obviously buying his story. "Can I see your company ID, please? I need that for identification."
Nolan's hands began to get sweaty, maybe his plan wasn't that thought-through after all. "Uhm, I'm sorry. It's my first day and I don't have the ID, yet. They told me they would give it to me today."
"Oh, I see, Mr…?" The woman eyed him suspiciously. "Sorry, I didn't catch your name."
"It's…" Nolan almost choked at his own voice. "Tony Hodge."
"Well, Mr Hodge if you could tell me who your supervisor for the internship is, I can give him a call and send you up." She smiled already picking up the receiver of the phone ready to dial.
"Oh my God, I'm so sorry." Nolan blurted out his heart racing while he tried to buy himself some time. "I'm so nervous."
"That's no problem, Mr Hodge." The secretary tried to calm him. "Just give me his name and everything will be fine."
"I… I forgot his name." Nolan crossed his arms in front of his chest not quite sure what he was doing at the moment. He was simply improvising.
"You forgot your supervisor's name?" The woman raised an eyebrow at him.
"Yes, like I said I'm incredibly nervous. So much depends on this internship. My mother actually arranged it for me and I can't disappoint her or she won't pay my tuition for college anymore." Wow, Nolan that is something you can work with. He thought to himself as he came up with the sentimental story. He leaned onto the reception desk giving the woman his puppy look.
"Oh, I understand, Mr Hodge." She grew more insecure at the young man's story. "But I can't let you go into the office without identification. Those are the rules. I could only call someone from HR to confirm your internship."
"That won't be necessary. I have a better idea." Nolan smiled lightly trying to gain the secretary's trust. "You know I only got this internship, because my mother is friends with Victoria Grayson. So she arranged this job for me and I had a personal meeting with Conrad Grayson. I remember his secretary's name. It's Carole Miller. She sure remembers me, so you don't have to bother Mr Grayson himself with this. But I think I introduced myself as Mr Ross to her. It's my mother's last name and I unofficially use it because I can't stand my father and try to get rid of his name whenever possible."
"Great, I can do that." The blonde woman began to dial Carole Miller's number while Nolan prayed that his aunt would understand the hint. He had never wanted her to get involved with this, but maybe she was his only chance to gain access to the office.
"Good Morning, Mrs Miller. This is Karen Moore from the reception desk. I have a Tony Ross waiting her. He is a new intern but hasn't got his ID yet. Can you confirm his association with the company? He said you know him because he had his job interview in Mr Grayson's office." After that Karen nodded her head twice. "Yes, Ross, that's his last name. Well, he has got blonde hair, blue eyes, a green coat, I think it's cord…" She waited for a few seconds. "Perfect, Mrs Miller. Thank you so much. I'll send him right up. "
Relieved Nolan let out a sigh louder than expected. Carole would recognize his green cord coat everywhere.
"You're free to take the lift, Mr Hodge uhh Ross. Sorry for the inconvenience, but the protocol is very strict here."
"No problem. Have a good day." He smiled at her hurrying to get into the lift. So now he had passed only the first obstacle. He was sure that inside things wouldn't get any easier.
When the lift reached the 26th floor Nolan tried to appear as unsuspicious as possible, first of all getting out of his stained coat. Underneath it he wore the only ironed shirt he possessed and black trousers. He had also tried to comb his messy hair, but felt several streaks of it constantly falling into his face.
"Nolan?" Suddenly Carole approached him whispering his name in surprise. "What are you doing here?"
"We can't be seen together." In a panic, he pulled her back into the lift pressing a random button so that they would go to a different floor.
"The intern Tony Ross? What does that mean?" The older woman put her hands in her hips expecting a good explanation from her nephew.
"Look, Aunt Carole, I'm sorry to drag you into this." Nolan scratched the back of his head.
"Into what?"
"I'm on a mission." He explained matter-of-factly. "I can't tell you anything about it because I have to protect my plan and I don't want you to be involved. But I really need access to the office. I promise I won't do something bad."
"I hope so, Nolan." She raised her voice in a warning tone. "You know I trust you. But if I hear any bad word about an intern, I'll make sure you'll be thrown out of this building. It's crazy in here nowadays with this whole David Clarke trial. I hope that'll be over soon and we can go back to normal. I still can't believe that terrorist worked in this company."
Automatically Nolan had to swallow and felt the anger rising at his aunt's words. However, he couldn't let her know - not yet. "I know. I'll stay quiet and out of trouble. I promise."
"Good." Carole pushed the button to the top floor again and they parted ways again once they arrived. "Don't forget to come over for lunch on Sunday. I missed you last week."
At least, his aunt was easily convinced and didn't ask further questions, so that Nolan could go through with his plan of looking for the IT department. Although he had tried to dress accordingly, Nolan still felt like he stood out every time women or men in perfect business clothing walked passed him, often in heated conversations. No one seemed to take notice of him since they were all occupied with their own problems. After passing the same bathroom for the third time, Nolan thought that he was lost and would never find the right office. Just in that moment, he saw a man with a familiar Star Trek mug in his hand coming out of a kitchen. Please stereotypes don't let me down. He decided to follow that man and couldn't believe his luck when he saw him enter the door of the IT department. Unlike the other parts of the building, the office didn't have windows facing the corridor so that he couldn't look inside. Mustering all of the courage he had, he knocked on the door twice and when no one answered he just stepped in.
What he found was a relatively small and extremely hot room with closed shutters to block out even the bit of sunlight that a winter day offered. The heat was radiating from the several computers standing in the room and in one corner Nolan noticed three men –including the one with the Star Trek mug - talking loudly obviously laughing about something. Conrad really seemed to appreciate his employees, Nolan thought at the sight of the crowded room. Besides those three men, Nolan let his gaze wander and found a young Asian woman in a black hoodie sitting in the other corner of the room. Apparently she was so concentrated on the computer screen that she didn't take notice of Nolan. Quickly he analyzed the situation: He could either engage in the talk of the three older men, probably not learning anything new, or he could talk to the woman who seemed to know exactly what she was doing. He decided that she was definitely the better choice to gain some information.
He slowly strolled towards her taking a seat on the chair next to her.
"Hey." He said trying to attract her attention.
"What do you want?" She didn't look at him even once and kept staring at the computer.
"Don't you want to know who I am first?" He tried to get her into a conversation with him.
"Nope." She answered drily while her fingers were flying over the keyboard. "Just let me do my work. It's confidential, so get out of here."
"That sounds cool." Nolan became interested. "You know, I'm forced to do this internship over at the financial department and I really hate that. It's so boring."
"Then you shouldn't have taken it." The woman's voice grew more annoyed.
"I'm so much more interested in what you're doing here. I went to MIT, but my old man wanted me to study business administration, so here I am." When he noticed that she still didn't react to his story, he tried being more direct. "I really want to learn something. That's why I'm here. I had hoped that maybe you can help me."
"Listen. I'm not here to help anyone but myself and the company. Turn to the other guys. They are probably happy to see someone new." The young woman turned from her computer for one moment to show Nolan that she really meant it. "Bye."
The fact that she wanted to be left alone and was very busy with something triggered Nolan's interest even more. He was almost sure that she was the one being responsible for forging the documents. The other workers didn't seem to have it in them.
"Please take this as a compliment. I won't go so easily. I like you and you seem to be extremely good at what you're doing, so I want to learn from you." He paused for a second seeing her rolling her eyes. "Here's a suggestion: I'm sure you know the lovely game Street Fighter. I for one consider myself to be an expert at it." He kept his silence about the fact that he actually set the world record in the game in 1988, because he feared that she might figure out who he really was.
"Cut the crap." Once more the Asian woman turned to face Nolan. "What do I have to do to make you leave me alone?"
"How about we play some rounds of Street Fighter and if you win, I'll never bother you again, but if I win, I'll get to spend time with you here and you introduce me to the work of the IT department. What do you say?"
"You'll lose." With those words and a devious smile she turned back to the computer.
"Ha! So you're in! I'll see you tomorrow night at Teddy's Arcade in Brooklyn." Excited Nolan got up and wanted to leave. "And we'll see about the outcome of the battle…"
"Edith." The woman filled the gap in Nolan's sentence. "You better prepare to lose…"
"Tony." Nolan now introduced himself confidently and finally turned around to get out of that room filled with hot and sticky air.
Ryan Huntley had told David that he would bring good news- very good news to be exact. It had left David wondering what could possibly make his attorney to sound so cheerful over the phone. In the back of his mind the hope that Victoria was reason for the good news always lingered. But David was well aware that it was very unlikely for her to suddenly confess everything. He sighed impatiently and tapped his fingers on the table in front of him. His whole life consisted only of waiting. Waiting and thinking and blaming people and in the end blaming himself. Also, that Leo Treadwell person who had promised to write about his true story had never showed up again which made David wonder if there was only a single person out there who still believed in his innocence. Even Stevie Grayson in whom David had put all of his trust had let him down. He didn't blame her for her drinking problem, but she could have at least apologized to him. Instead he had never heard from her again.
The next moment the door clicked open and behind the guard, David saw Ryan finally entering. He was about to ask him about the good news he had mentioned, when he noticed another person following Ryan.
"No, no, no." Shocked he rose from his chair.
"It's good to see you, David." Roger Halsted approached his friend and pulled him into a hug.
"What are you doing here? It's too dangerous. You of all people should know what they are capable of." David couldn't believe that Ryan had dragged Roger into the case. The pictures of his tortured friend popped up in his head again.
"David, trust me, I know." Remembering the pain from the day Conrad's henchman had first injured him and then taken photos in order to blackmail David and Victoria, Roger lowered his head. "But it is far more important to me to help you. To prove that you are innocent, because you do not belong in here. It is an inacceptable injustice. When I heard about that horrible story Conrad is spinning, I almost went mad and I wanted to come here earlier. But again that Frank Stevens he… he threatened me, so that's why I stayed away and hid at my brother's home in Philly. I'm so ashamed of that, of putting my fear before your fate. Luckily, Ryan found me and now I'm here to do whatever it takes to get you out of here." Confidently Roger put a hand on David's shoulder and smiled at him.
"No." David said grimly. "You shouldn't be here. Please, Roger, stay away. How did you even know about him, Ryan? You should have asked me first." Angrily David turned to his attorney who crossed his arms in front of his chest defensively.
"It's my job to do proper research and do everything to prove your innocence." He explained calmly remembering that Victoria had warned him about this situation.
"But I've never mentioned him once. Never. And from what I understand Roger did his best to disappear and not be tied to Grayson Global anymore. So all of a sudden you decide to track down an employee who you didn't even know existed and who could have just as easily been on Conrad's side?" David didn't buy Ryan's story, it was just too simple. Especially considering that he brought Roger into this only in a matter of a few days without asking David for information about him.
"Listen, David, you hired me because I'm the best at what I do. And finding witnesses to assist our defense strategy is part of that." What Ryan definitely didn't need was losing David's faith in him, so he tried to stay as professional as possible.
"It's Victoria, right?" Suddenly it all began to make sense in David's mind. He had assumed her meddling with the case for a while, but he never had gotten proof of it. "She is the only person who knew about Roger's involvement. And since I didn't give you the information that he was our ally, she must have done that."
"David, you're having illusions." Ryan breathed nervously. "It's probably because of the stunt she pulled in the courtroom, but I assure you Victoria Grayson had nothing to do with this."
Roger exchanged an irritated glance with the attorney, beginning to worry when he noticed David getting more and more outraged. That was not like him.
"Don't try to make me the fool here. I don't know what game you or Victoria are playing, but I don't want to be left in the dark anymore. So you better tell me now or I get myself a new attorney." Angrily he raised his voice attracting the attention of the guards.
"David calm down." Ryan stepped forward wanting to reconcile with his client. "I am working in your best interest, you are not the fool here and I'm not trying to hide anything from you. As for Victoria Grayson, I can only tell you what I know from the media reports, just like everyone else. She is not in any way involved in this."
"I want to talk to her." David replied determinedly. "I need to hear the truth from her mouth."
"I've always advised you against that. It would be very unwise to speak to her, if she would even allow that." From the first day of working on the case, Ryan had always been able to convince David that it would only distract him if he talked to Victoria and David had followed his advice. So now he didn't like where the conversation was going at all.
"I agree with Ryan." Roger Halsted interfered. "I've never heard from Victoria and Ryan never mentioned her to me. I only saw her on TV with Conrad. I'm so sorry to say that, but she went back to her life as a Grayson. As painful as it is, she is not your partner anymore; she is not on your side." He knew how much David loved Victoria, he had often seen them at the office secretly exchanging smiles and when David had finally confessed his affair to him, the only thing he could say was that he had seen it coming for some time.
"I want to talk to her. It's my right to do that and you can't keep me from doing it." Confused and hurt by Roger's words David insisted on his wish.
"No good will come from it. Why can't you listen to us? She has chosen money over you. I know it hurts, but talking to her won't change anything about that." Ryan grew impatient at his client's resistance against his advice. He couldn't afford David to get even more emotionally involved.
"I don't give a damn about your advice. She takes care of my daughter, for heaven's sake she is even pregnant with my child. I have so many reasons to talk to her." In a rage David began to address the guards. "Hey, I need to make a phone call. Please, take me out of here."
Desperately Ryan Huntley shook his head not believing that David really wanted to go through with the idea, but not even 20 minutes later he found himself waiting behind a closed door, because David had insisted on making the call alone.
At the other end of the line David heard the maid now handing over the phone. He cleared the lump in his throat.
"Victoria, it's me, David." After he had been so determined to make this phone call, he didn't know how to begin in that moment.
"David, we cannot talk." Victoria had been more than surprised when Maria had interrupted her daily exercise for her pregnancy telling her that David Clarke wanted to speak to her. He had never tried that before, so she wondered why he had changed his mind.
"Sure we can." David had to swallow. It was so strange to hear her soft voice again after the months of separation. Her words sounded so intimate in his ear.
"Clarke, you don't have forever on that phone." One of the guards reminded him because he noticed that the conversation was moving very slowly.
"Listen, Victoria, I need to know something." There was no reaction from her, so he decided to continue. "Ryan Huntley brought in Roger Halsted to testify against Conrad. You and I were the only persons who knew about his involvement in our escape and since I never mentioned him once, it must have been you to bring Roger to Ryan's attention. Is that true, Victoria? I really need to know what part you're playing in all of this."
Slowly Victoria breathed in and out while she sat cross-legged on her yoga mat. She had taken her doctor's advice and tried to reduce her stress level including doing some yoga exercises every day. "I don't know what you're talking about. I believe Ryan Huntley is very good at his job, and a detailed research is part of that." She hated lying to him, but it was for the best - especially considering that they didn't talk on a safe line.
"That's just like what he said. Tell me the truth Victoria."
"The truth is, David, that I have no idea what you are talking about." She had so much going on in her mind and so many problems to deal with, that she couldn't handle an emotional discussion with David. "I don't know what else to tell you."
"But…" David let a hand roam through his hair discouraged from her answers. "At least tell me about Amanda. How is she? And how are you? And our baby?" He sensed that getting any information about her possible involvement from her was senseless so he tried to use the time left wisely.
"David, I can't." Victoria stammered feeling her voice breaking at the sound of his pleading words. Our baby, she sometimes forgot that she was not alone in this, that there was someone out there who cared about her. She wished she could just pour her heart out to him.
"Please, these are my children, Victoria. No one tells me anything in here." David's anger had made way to desperation when his thoughts began to circle around his daughter again.
"Amanda is safe with me, I promise you. She is fine." Victoria had a hard time holding back the tears.
"Does she miss me?"
"Yes." Victoria now sobbed losing her calmness due to the sound of his concerned voice.
"And what about you? You looked so pale, it made me worry. Is the baby okay?" The words now blurted out of David's mouth when he decided to use the opportunity and noticed Victoria getting weak. "Do you know the sex of our baby? Please, I can't bear not knowing anything."
"Victoria, what's going on?" Suddenly he heard a male voice in the background. David knew it had to be Conrad judging from the angry tone. "Give me the phone!"
"David, I'm sorry…" Victoria could utter before her husband grabbed the phone from her hand.
"Don't you ever dare to call and harass my wife again." With those words the connection shut down and David found himself standing there with a perplex expression on his face. The call hadn't brought him any further to the truth and he didn't know what to think about Victoria's silence. But to hear her voice and learning that Amanda was fine had been enough to calm him down for the moment. Maybe he could now consider accepting Roger's help if they could secure that he would stay safe. After all, it would bring him one step closer to speaking to Victoria face to face and getting the life with his daughter back.
"I'll meet you tomorrow night then." Frank Stevens nodded to Victoria Grayson who sat next to him on the backseat of the black Mercedes.
"Yes. And please keep in mind the confidentiality of this matter. Conrad can never know about this." Victoria emphasized once more that she put her full trust in Frank and expected him to keep quiet about her assignment.
"Of course I will, Mrs Grayson." Frank assured her soberly. He knew he would break the loyalty to his actual employer Conrad, but his wife had come to him asking him for help with such urgency, he just couldn't turn her down. Although he was aware that it was unprofessional, he felt for Victoria understanding what she had to be going through and he simply wanted to help her.
"Thank you." Victoria wanted to open the door of the car, but her driver was quicker.
"Allow me, Mrs Grayson." He politely offered his hand to her which Victoria gladly accepted hating how exhausting it was for her just to get out of that car.
"Thank you, James." She breathed. "I hope you didn't ruin your back considering how many times you already had to pull me out of that car."
"Oh, don't worry." The driver chuckled. "You're still as light as a feather."
"Don't be ridiculous. I'm a whale right now." Victoria replied being able to forget about the trouble she was in for one second.
"That's not true. Don't you agree Mr Stevens?" Frank had taken his place next to the car in the dark driveway of Grayson Manor ready to escort Victoria safely inside
"I'm 100 percent on your side." Frank had a hard time trying to suppress a smile at the absurd situation.
"I hope I'm not interrupting anything?" Conrad suddenly appeared. He had wondered where his wife had been the whole evening and when he had seen the lights in the driveway he needed to see what was going on.
"No, not at all." Victoria explained while the two employees put on their serious faces again
"Well, then thank you for bringing home my wife safely and good night." Conrad said his goodbyes although of course Frank would still roam around the house at night checking if the Initiative decided to send people to threaten them again.
On her way to the front door Victoria checked the pocket of her coat securing that the letter still was there. It was; she felt the paper in her hands. When she had received the letter some days ago, she couldn't have imagined that it would make her life more complicated than it already was. However, her whole world had begun to fall apart after reading it – again and again. She knew she had to act quickly and couldn't let herself be too distracted. That was why she had asked Frank for his help and by this time tomorrow, it would all be over and she could forget that the letter had ever existed.
Back home in his apartment in Brooklyn, Nolan stuffed the Chinese food he had bought on his way home into his mouth. The people living above him had obviously decided to throw a party tonight turning up the music and throwing furniture out of the window. But Nolan couldn't even be bothered by that. All he could think about was his triumph of that day. Not only had he gained access to Grayson Global, but he had also found the person who probably forged the documents for the David Clarke trial and he had challenged her to a battle of Street Fighter – which of course he would win. No one could be better at that game than him, he was sure of that. And with his win, he would help David's case enormously. He would make him so proud with what he had achieved and Conrad Grayson would stand there with no evidence against David. Nolan was extremely satisfied with that idea and couldn't help but smile at the thought of Conrad completely disgracing himself at the next day of the trial. Letting out a laugh Nolan leant back on his sofa bed putting up his feet and searching the remote control of the TV. By this time tomorrow, he would have already gained access to the secret data in Grayson Global's internal network and made sure that the demise of the Grayson family had begun.
So that was a pretty long chapter, I couldn't believe how much I actually wrote. I hope you enjoyed it and are excited for what's going to happen next. Please let me know what you think. :)
Also, a big THANK YOU to DDLJ for helping me revise the draft of this chapter and giving me really good input for the Nolan/Edtih scene.
I love Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata, so I let Victoria play it. It's one of my favorite songs, but I never got further than playing the first movement on the piano. They actually used it on the show in season one in the episode "Duress" when Tyler threatened to expose Emily at Daniel's birthday party on the beach.
I'm not sure if I can keep publishing a new chapter every week, because I really should focus more on writing my Bachelor thesis. But don't worry, I'll try to publish as often as possible and I already have a draft for the following chapters.