Chapter 2 The Ugly Stepsister's Wicked Plan

Present day

"Sometimes I wonder if I am just living in make believe, that the moment I stepped out of that church I have been living in a fairy tale. But it wasn't your ordinary fairy tale. I was still your distressed Princess like Cinderella, Snow White, Belle, or Sleeping Beauty, but unlike the stories, Prince Charming never came to my rescue. He never killed the dragon, but continued to send me home with the dragon, leaving me to fend for myself against the dragon. There was no happily ever after for this Cinderella. I never really understood that part Rex. I wrote you countless text messages and letters those first few weeks. I was begging for invention of any kind. Sleeping Beauty was continually attacked by the dragon and she cried out for help, but help never came. You left me there trapped in make believe, not only me but Shane. You left us with that monster…did you honestly think I was lying to you? That I was making this up so you would love me…love us? Did you really think I was trying to come between you and Adriana? After those first few weeks I gave up trying, I figured if the one person who knew me best in this world did not believe me, what chance did I have with the rest of the world that was full of strange faces. It was as if I ate that poisoned apple and fell into a deep sleep, but only to find my slumber was a waking nightmare. One where Prince Charming forgot he was suppose to come and kiss Snow White to awaken her from her sleep. I was living in a nightmare where I sacrificed my health and well being…possibly my life…to protect Shane from this monster named Brody Lovett. Why Rex? Why did you not believe me

Rex wiped away the tears that were flowing from his eyes. After the fifth time rereading it, he still did not understand it. Gigi never wrote him in any shape or form. There was no emails, text messages, letters…hell even a smoke signal. He knew one thing for sure, if he had known, Brody Lovett would already be rioting in the ground. Gigi and Shane would not be fighting for his life. Images of this night flooded his mind as he quickly shook his head in hopes that they would leave his head. Gigi's lifeless form lying on top of the broken coffee table with blood coming everywhere from her. And Shane, poor Shane lying in a pool of his own blood as that monster…he didn't want to think about it. He wanted to forget the image of watching helplessly as he tried to break down the door or window to get to Shane in time. But he was too late; Rex watched in horror as Brody stabbed Shane in the stomach with a butcher knife and God he did not want to relieve seeing what happened to that boy. Anger, rage, and vengeance flowed through his blood. Brody Lovett was dead as soon as Rex got his hands on him.

"What you thinking about?" Natalie asked as she quietly sat down next to him. She had watched him across the room, reading over and over again the pages that were in his hands.

"That I wish I knew where that monster was so I can kill him."

"You don't mean that Rex," Natalie said, "He's a monster and he will get what's coming…"

"He's a dead man!" Rex screamed as he cut of the rest of her sentence, "I will kill him with my own to hands…no I will take that damn knife and cut him into little pieces."

"Rex…"

"And I hope to God he burns in hell for what he did to Gigi, to Shane," Rex spat out with vengeance, "Him and Adriana can both riot in hell!"

"Adriana?" Natalie said, the confusion could be heard in her voice and seen on her face, "What does…"

"Adriana knew," he screamed at the top of his lungs as he jumped up from his chair, "That bitch knew for a while now and didn't say a damn thing."

"That…"

"It's true!" he said, "She told me herself after I overheard her talking to her mother. She knew, she knew about it and she even saw him hit her. She never said a damn thing! For all I know she knew this whole time and did everything in her power to…" Rex's voice trailed off as he thought about Gigi's letter. The part he never could understand. Did Adriana really delete any message that Gigi sent? "No," he whispered as he fell back into his chair in disbelief, "She couldn't really be that heartless."

"What are you talking about?" she asked, "What did Adriana do?"

"I don't believe it," Rex said, "How could she be so cruel?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Natalie said again, she put her hand on his shoulder in hopes to bring him out of his thoughts.

"Gigi wrote this," Rex said gesturing to the letter, "and in it she asked why I never responded to her cries for help. But the thing is I never received any messages."

"And you think Adriana intercepted all those messages?" Natalie asked, hoping that it was a lie, that Adriana would not do something so cruel to another person.

"It makes sense…" Rex trailed off as he saw Adriana walk by. His eyes hardened as he glared at her, watching her movements. He leaped from his seat and grabbed her arm roughly.

She screamed at the contact and Natalie could see the terror in her facial features. "Rex you're hurting me," Adriana said as she tried to free her arm.

"I don't care if this hurts," he whispered, his voice was low and full of malice. It sent a shiver down her spine. "When?"

"When what?" she asked trying to free her arm but gave up when she realized the more she struggled the tighter he gripped her arm.

"Tell me when you heartless bitch!" he spat out.

"I don't know what you're referring to," she said as tear fell from her eyes from the pain Rex was causing her.

"Let her go Balsom," John said.

"As soon as she tells me when."

"Let her go now," he said.

"I need answers from this bitch and I'm not letting her go until she tells me everything!" Rex said, his was annoyed and angry.

"You're not going to get them if you don't let her go," John said, "You're borderline assault."

"I don't care."

"What good will you be to Shane and Gigi in jail?" John said in a calm voice, knowing that this would be the trick to get him to release Adriana. He watched as the anger in Rex's face increased as he slowly let go of her.

"Tell me when!"

"When what!" Adriana cried in frustration. She had no idea what he was talking about and wished he would give her hint.

"When was the first message Gigi sent me asking for help!" Rex said.

"What makes you think I know?" trying to fake innocence with him.

"I'm not in the mood for games," Rex said, "So if you would prefer to suffer the same fate as Brody, please continue with the faux innocence."

"Our wedding reception."

"Excuse me?" Rex said taking a step back; he didn't think he heard her right.

"She text you a message that say 'I need you' and I deleted it."

"Why would you do that!" Rex screamed, the shock wearing off and his anger back in full force. He took two steps closer and was face to face with her. Anyone looking at Rex could see the wrath oozing off of him.

"Because she just professed her love to you that day," she said, "and it was our day, not hers."

"You selfish bitch."

"Back off Balsom," John said pulling him off of Adriana and stepping between them. John had to be careful with Rex. He was a loose cannon right now and he could see the flicker of anger in his eyes and his balled fist raise slightly at Adriana's confession. Not that Rex would hit her, but he wanted to be safe than sorry.

"What did you do after deleting the message," John asked with his back to her as he watched Rex's every movement.

"I text Brody to meet me the next day…" Adriana started to tell the story, noticing that Marcie, Vicki, Roxy, Charlie, Bo, Natalie, Jared, Antonio, Talia, and her mother were there to hear what she had to say as well. God help her, because when the truth comes out, she will be sure killed by the mob of angry people staring her down at this moment of time. She knew that after this, Rex would definitely erase her from his memory, forever…that is if he doesn't kill her first.

Two years ago

Adriana was sitting on a bench in a secluded area of the park waiting for Brody to show up. She was looking around for him but came up empty handed. "Where the hell are you!" she said to herself.

"I'm right here beautiful," Brody said from his seat next to her.

"Jesus!" she said startled as her right hand came to rest over her fast beating heart, "You scared the crap out of me!" she scolded as she took that same hand and hit in him the shoulder. "Do not do that again!"

"Feisty," he whispered in her ear, "I like it. Wanna have some fun now?"

"What is wrong with you?" she said. She took a step closer and smelled him, "Are you drunk?"

"So what if I am?"

"It's 8:00 in the morning!" she chastised him, "And Brody the war hero isn't a drunk."

"Yeah?" he said definitely, "Well this Brody," he pointed to himself, "is leaving town in two hours. So long beautiful!" He mocked saluted her and turned to walk away from him when he felt resistance on his arm.

"We had a deal," she said as she grabbed his arm.

"And I held up my end of the bargain," he said, "You're married and Rex has that pretty picture in his head of a family that is really his, but he just doesn't know it."

"You're disgusting."

"Pot, kettle, black, ring a bell?" he said sarcastically.

"I need you here," she said, deliberately ignoring his remarks.

"I have to go," he said, "I can't be here."

"I need you here."

"It's safer for them if I disappear," Brody said and for a spilt second his eyes shown vulnerability before they hardened again.

"I will make it worth your while to stay."

"It's not safe for me to be here!" he pressed again, thinking about the other night when he slapped Gigi hard across the face.

"Are you a wanted criminal?"

"No."

"Wanted by the mob?"

"No."

"Loan sharks."

"It's not like that."

"No," she said, "this is what it is like. You name your price and I will pay it."

"Not interested." He replied quickly. He stepped closer, towering over her in hopes she would back down. His effort was in vein.

"That's what you said last time right before you cashed my check," she said, "name it and its yours."

"What are your terms?" he said giving in a little, trying hard to ignore the satisfied smirk on her face.

"I'll pay you one thousand dollars a week to play house with Gigi."

"For how long?"

"Until she is no longer a threat to my happiness and well being."

"That's a tempting offer," he said, "but I can't. I don't think I can be here, not after…"

"I don't care," she said, "I'll make it two thousand dollars."

"You're not listening…"

"No Brody," she said, "You're not listening to me. You're going to do this. Twenty-five hundred is my final offer. Take it or leave it." She could see the turmoil in his eyes. "Think about Shane."

"I am thinking about Shane."

"Then you'll do it," she said, "because if you leave now. You'll crush that little boy."

"Maybe that would be for the best," Brody said, "then maybe it would force Gigi to tell the truth. I'm not his father. Rex is.

"He doesn't know that," Adriana screamed, "and I plan on keeping it that way!"

"He doesn't know stupid lady," Brody countered, "but he's being Shane's father, he just doesn't have the title."

"Then change it," Adriana said, "be the boy's father."

"And Gigi?"

"Whatever it takes to keep her in line," she said, never knowing how far Brody would take those words and how those words would haunt her for the rest of her days, "I don't care. Just as long as she doesn't tell anyone the truth of who Shane's father really is."

"You have yourself a deal pretty lady," Brody said as he reached out and shook Adriana's hand.

Present time

Adriana's body shook with fear as she finished recapping the story for Rex. She deliberately let out the part of him being Shane's biological father. It seemed even in this situation, she would carry that secret to the grave if she could. She never seen Rex so angry and furious in the entire time she had known him. She wondered what he would be like angry, she never would have guessed in a million years that when Rex finally became ragging mad that all those feelings of hate, rage, and anger would be directed at her.

"What ever it takes to keep her in line," Rex said, his voice was low and calm; it scared and hurt her more than if he had slapped her in the face. "What ever it takes to keep her in line," he mumbled over and over again as he stared a hole through her.

"Rex please say something," Adriana pleaded with him. The constant mumbling was started to terrify her even more than before.

"Balsom," John said, "Are you alright?" He put a hand on his shoulder in hopes to break him out of that trance.

"WHATEVER IT TAKES TO KEEP HER IN LINE!" he screamed at the top of his lungs. His words echoed through the hallway. Within a second he closed the few feet between him and Adriana as he successfully went around John. He had grabbed her by the shoulders and backed her into the wall. Adriana hit the wall hard, but it did not hurt her more than startled her. Seconds later John and Antonio were trying to pull Rex way from her. "What the hell were you thinking!" he whispered in a murderously low voice as John and Antonio pulled him away from her. "You did this to her! To him!"

"I did this for us," she said, "for our happiness. Our family!" The tears flew freely from her eyes and she rubbed her arms that stung from his grip. She wondered for a brief second if she would have a bruise in the morning.

"You did this for you and you alone!" he said, "Because what you did to my family is inexcusable."

"I'm sorry," she said, "I know what you're going through."

"You have no idea," he screamed at her, "No idea at all!"

"Yes I do!" she screamed at the same time he yelled, "You were not there!"

"I wasn't there," she said, "but I'm sorry for what he did, but I never meant for this to happen…"

"What he did?" Rex snarled back, "You mean what you did! You paid an assassin to kill them!"

"No I didn't!" Adriana pleaded with Rex, "I never meant for this."

"No," Rex said, his voice was mocking her, "You only told him to do whatever it takes. Well congratulations Adriana you won."

"Please don't…"

"Don't what?" Rex said, freeing himself from John and Bo, "let you celebrate. You got your wish. Gigi's life is hanging the balance and Shane." Rex hung his head as he tried to hold back the tears."

"I didn't mean for this to happen to Shane," she said, "Not to your so…"

"Don't you dare say his name!" Rex scolded her, "You have no right to say his name!" He watched as John and Antonio positioned themselves between Rex and Adriana incase he went after her again, "You were not there."

"What does that have to…"

"It has everything to do with it!" Rex screamed again, "You were not there. You were not the one that was trying to break down the door as you heard Gigi and Shane scream in agony. You did not witness Gigi getting hit so hard that her body literally flew into the air and broke the coffee table as she landed. You did not try to break the window to unlock the door as you watched Shane jump on Brody's back after he knocked Gigi down. Then proceeded to ram him into the wall behind him and you did not witness what that monster did to Shane…" Rex stopped to take a breath, hoping it would block the memories of that moment at bay, but it did not work. His anger had fueled the flood gates and the memories flowed freely. He closed his eyes as the tears fell from his eyes.

"Rex please."

His cold eyes opened at the sound of her voice, once again rekindling his anger, "You did not break the window in time to watch that cold hearted monster stab him in the stomach then gut Shane like a fish as that sick bastard screamed 'You can never have them' before making his escape." The fury in Rex's eyes made the men step closer to Rex, they grabbed him as he lunged at her again. "It wasn't you because it was me! I was the one that watched helplessly. I got there too late! I couldn't save them." He freed himself from their grip and back away again, "I stood there useless as my family, my love, my son" he pointed to himself each time he said the word 'my' as a way to emphasize his point, "were viciously attacked by a man that was on your payroll" he pointed an accusatory finger at her as he said 'your,' "to do whatever the hell he wanted to Gigi just as long as you were happy!"

"Rex please."

"You better get on your knees thanking God because if you were not a woman I would have beaten the living day shit out of you by now," Rex said, "but God help you Adriana if those two do not pull through because I'm coming after you and your hired hit man."

"Don't threaten her Rex," John warned.

"It's not a threat," Rex said as he started walking away from her, "it's a promise."

"Rex please," Adriana pleaded with him, "Name it! Anything and I'll do it."

"Anything?" Rex asked as he stopped walking, but did not turn around to face her.

"Anything," she said, "name it and its yours."

"When my lawyer comes," he said, "sign the divorce papers because if they wake up I want to tell them my whore of an ex-wife did this to them, not my wife. You were never my wife."

"Rex…"

"I hope you have a miserable life Evelyn Evil," he said as walked away from her as John began to read Adriana her rights. She was being arrested for her part in what happened to Gigi and Shane. Bo and Charlie trailed behind him. Neither men knew how to comfort Rex, but hoped their presence would be comfort enough. They waited with Rex outside the doors Gigi and Shane were brought through. "I don't understand why," Rex said, "why did this have to happen to them?"

"I wish I knew Rex," Bo said as Charlie placed a hand on Rex's shoulder. Both men shared a glance, neither one his father, but both wished that Rex had his father for a time like this. They didn't know that Rex was comforted with both of them by his side.