"To exact revenge for yourself or your friends is not only a right, it's an absolute duty."
-Stieg Larsson-
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"This is Griffin Hastings," Violet announced to Alicia proudly. "Griffin, meet Alicia Rivera." Alicia rose from the lilac colored chaise in Violet's large bedroom and shook hands with the handsome, dark haired guy in front of her.
"You're the guy they ran out of New York I'm presuming," Alicia acknowledged coolly, simultaneously sizing him up. Griffin looked better than ever, clad in luxurious clothes and a signature smirk. He looked ready for battle.
"I am," he said bitterly, a somewhat rueful smile on his face. "My family rose from the ashes a week ago. That was when Violet contacted me." Violet smiled and gestured towards Alicia.
"Alicia's going to help us take them down," She said gleefully. "And what better person to help with that than you?" Griffin smiled and looked straight into Alicia's chocolate brown eyes.
"They ruined my life," He spat, shaking his head irately. "All because precious Dylan couldn't allow her image to be tainted. So they destroyed mine instead. Dylan coerced me into sleeping with her at Kristen's birthday party. She swore me to secrecy. Josh walked in on us, but unlike anyone else, his issue was with Dylan, not me. He saw her for who she was that night. Days later, a story came out that I raped her. That I forced her to have sex with me to get back at the Elite here in Westchester. But it wasn't all Merri Lee and Dylan Marvil. Her friends helped as well. But, if Massie orchestrates a plan, she also controls every aspect of it. So she blackmailed Dylan. Threatened her not to reveal Massie, Claire, and Kristen's part in the scheme." Alicia was shocked.
"Wow…those girls are good," She breathed. "How did you find all this out?" Griffin smiled.
"Layne Abeley helped gather evidence all these weeks," He responded proudly. "Tanya Withers, Merri Lee's bitter and envious intern, is helping me incriminate Merri Lee for her defamation of character. She will be ruined." Alicia shook her head, amazed at how thorough Violet and Griffin were.
"Where do I come in?" She questioned. "It seems like you two have it all under control." Violet shook her head.
"You have to befriend them," She said lowly. "It'll be hard, but Claire is your best bet into the inner circle, along with Cam. Befriend them and get the truth out of them. Slowly." Griffin nodded and handed Alicia a small black recorder.
"And once you finally get them to croak, record it, take note of it, and report anything suspicious back to me or Violet." he instructed. "A series of revenge escapades will precede the biggest plan of all: exposure on the Daily Grind itself." He grinned evilly and shared a tight smile with Violet.
"How the hell will you manage that?" Alicia demanded incredulously. "Security is tight at the studio, from what I've heard." Griffin looked straight at her.
"That's why you need to befriend Dylan," he said ominously. "Get a front row seat to one of her mother's shows. Learn your way around the set. All of them are going to the Daily Grind set this Thursday. Get into their inner circle by then and I'll personally assist you with the rest." Violet looked at Alicia pointedly.
"Is that a plan?" Violet asked. Though it seemed more like a demand than a question. Alicia nodded.
"Yes. It's a plan."
"What the hell do you mean he's back?" Massie shrieked, pacing around her bedroom, her eyes blazing. This was dangerous. If anyone found out they had lied to the police and the press, they'd be done. Kristen sighed and ran her fingers through her golden blond hair.
"He fucking came by my house," Kristen groaned. "He knows it wasn't just Dylan, Massie. He's going to destroy all of us!" Claire tugged at one of her blonde curls nervously while Dylan remained pale from her spot on Massie's bed.
"Like hell he is!" Massie snarled, knocking over a vase of flowers atop her nightstand in anger. "What the hell! We covered our tracks perfectly."
"He has to have help," Claire surmised softly. "Someone who you either exiled or someone who is among us."
"Like who?" Dylan butt in. "Who would dare come against us after seeing what we're capable of? Who the fuck is that damn stupid?" Claire shrank back against Dylan's wrath.
"Someone who has nothing to lose," Kristen suggested quietly.
"Like who?" Massie snapped. "Everyone's scared of me. And anyone who is exiled wouldn't dare come back considering I blackmailed every last one of them."
"Well, Griffin came back," Claire contradicted softly. "So clearly that's not the case. And his fate was worse than the rest of them."
"Claire's right," Kristen mused, biting down on her bottom lip. "Maybe it's a conspiracy." Massie shook her head in disbelief and denial.
"You're saying everyone I booted out of Westchester is back for revenge? Impossible."
"It's actually pretty likely," Dylan said through bared teeth. "Maybe they all finally had enough." Massie groaned and glared at her frazzled reflection in the mirror.
"What're we gonna do?" Claire wondered worriedly.
"We have to get rid of him again," Kristen stressed. "And for good this time."
"We framed him for rape and revoked his admittance into Princeton," Massie barked. "What the hell would we have to do this time? Murder him?" Dylan smirked.
"That's actually not that bad of an idea," She said mysteriously. Massie rolled her eyes and turned towards the red head.
"Not funny," She snapped. "I need a real plan. One I can walk away from with clean hands." Kristen stared at Massie with steely eyes.
"Don't you always," She said under her breath. Claire and Dylan didn't hear, but Massie did. Her amber eyes glared at Kristen wordlessly. Amazingly, she didn't breathe a word in her own defense.
"Claire, you're the least involved in this plan," Massie said. "Our first plan of action is to convince Griffin to drop this whole thing. If that doesn't work, we're on to plan B." Claire looked defeated, almost as if she knew plan A was doomed to fail. And then she would be blamed for it when everything fell apart around them. Which was also part of Massie's plan.
"What's plan B?" Dylan wondered, taking a sip of her Red Bull. "Or do we not have one?"
"I'll think about it tonight," Massie assured her.
"You better," Kristen warned. "Or we're all done."
"Hi. Can I sit here?" Alicia gripped her silver tray as she approached Massie and her clique. Massie's eyes narrowed slightly before she smiled phonily and gestured towards a chair between Kristen and Dylan.
"Sure." Claire smiled warmly while Dylan and Kristen exchanged small glances of blatant confusion. Massie blinked once before looking straight at Alicia.
"You must be Nadia's daughter," She said audaciously. "I've heard so much about you and your family." The way she said it, Alicia realized it was far from a compliment. Her clue was Kristen sniggering under her breath. Alicia sighed and struggled to maintain her composure. From across the room, she could see Violet staring at her, silently begging her not to screw up.
"Likewise," Alicia smirked. "Your mother was quite the woman back in the day. My mom told me all about her." Alicia smiled, awaiting Massie's reaction. Massie looked taken aback for an instant, but immediately regained her equanimity.
"What do you want?" Massie asked coldly. "There are a select few in the Elite. Why are you infiltrating." Alicia hadn't expected such a cold reception from Billard's Alpha.
"I want friends," Alicia replied innocently. "I've always moved around a lot. And I've heard so many nice things about you." Dylan snorted and Kristen looked up in amusement.
"Oh yeah?" Kristen laughed. "From who?"
"Cam," Alicia said. "That's what he was speaking to me about. His lovely girlfriend. He said you had a tough outer shell but you can be a good friend." It was all lies of course. But she needed to take herself off Massie's radar while simultaneously buttering her up. Massie only smiled slightly but Alicia could tell she was pleased.
"We usually don't embrace new members," Massie said, glancing around at her fellow Clique members pointedly. "We haven't for three years, since Claire moved here. But, we'll think about. Once you prove yourself to us, of course." Alicia knew exactly what she meant. Massie was suspicious of everyone right then because of Griffin's arrival.
"Of course," Alicia said, maintaining eye contact. Body language was an indicator of nervousness. "I love your dress. Kate Spade?" Massie nodded and shared a small smile with her new friend.
"Few people can pick up on that," Massie pointed out, almost proudly.
"It's a gift. I recognize good taste when I see it." Alicia grinned while Massie nodded.
"You should come with us to the Daily Grind on Friday," Massie suggested, glaring at Dylan. "Dylan can get you a ticket. Right Dyl?" Dylan paused, her eyes hard, before nodding slowly. "Good. Then it's settled."
"I would love to," Alicia gushed. "It's awesome meeting her daughter as well. Oh…and I am so sorry about what happened to you." Dylan blinked.
"What are you talking about?" She asked, somewhat harshly. She clearly was wary and jealous of Alicia.
"The sexual assault…it was all over the news a while ago. Absolutely tragic." Alicia touched Dylan's arm softly while managed to gauge at everyone's reactions. Massie froze, Kristen looked away, and Claire began to pick at her nails. Dylan's eyes grew wide as she stared straight ahead.
"I'm sorry if I said something I shouldn't have," Alicia apologized. "I just wanted to let you know you have my support. If you ever need anything, tell me." Dylan regained her sense and smiled tightly.
"I'm fine now. But thanks." Alicia smiled and focused on her lunch. Massie had recovered and quickly cleared her throat.
"I'm throwing a party this weekend," She announced. "Would you care to come?" Alicia smiled.
"Of course."
"First you felt like she was after Cam, now you're inviting her places?" Dylan said loudly. "What are you doing?" Massie rolled her eyes. She hated spending time alone with Dylan nowadays. Sure, she had helped her get rid of the Griffin scandal, but now she was starting to feel the burn of being Dylan's friend. She wished she'd invited Kristen and Claire to the mall with them, but it was too late to back out now.
"She seems nice," Massie responded, picking up a silk lace black Emilie Saab Kimono top and examining it furtively. "What's the big deal?"
"You never accept newcomers," Dylan hissed, her arms folded across her chest. "You're going soft." Massie turned to glare at her friend.
"Don't say that," Massie warned, walking towards the shoe section at the back of Barneys. "Clearly, Alicia and Cam don't like each other if he was so busy telling her about me. She's not really a threat to me and I could use her in our plan to get rid of Griffin once and for all." Dylan huffed, still upset about the situation.
"Ok, but what about her and Josh?"
Massie rolled her eyes up at the ceiling, exasperation coursing through her veins. "What about it?"
"What if he likes her?" Dylan snapped. "I don't want to be her friend!"
"Let it go," Massie said icily. "The desperation is aggravating. That boy has moved on and clearly, as exemplified at my party, he wants absolutely nothing to do with you. And when he sees that Griffin is back, that feeling will be made even stronger. He knows what you did, Dylan. He will always see you as a sneaky person." Dylan looked straight at Massie in ire.
"He doesn't know that you guys freaking helped me do it," She spat. "He hates me because he believes I did it all on my own while you three get to remain friends with those guys and I don't."
"We had a deal, Dylan," Massie replied in a low, threatening tone. "If you don't expose that you had our help, I don't expose that you lied about what happened with Griffin. You'd be ruined."
"If I go down, I'm bringing you down with me," Dylan said bitterly, her jade green eyes cold. "Let's say you decided to out me. I'd tell them what you did as well. It's a lose-lose situation, Massie. I would've thought the queen of schemes would've realized that." Massie didn't respond at first, silently weighing the seriousness of Dylan's threat.
"What would it matter if Josh knew it was all of us?" Massie demanded after a moment. "He'd just hate all three of us instead of just you. It wouldn't vindicate you in any way whatsoever. I hope you're not naïve enough to believe it will." Dylan shrugged.
"It's worth a shot."
"No, it's not," Massie protested angrily. "You're playing with fire, Dylan. I suggest you stop." Dylan smiled.
"My mom is Merri Lee Marvil," Dylan reminded her. "I have the power and the wherewithal to do whatever I want." Massie nodded.
"Like what? Get your mother to incriminate an innocent boy just because you screwed up? You and your mother are messed up. If word gets around that you lied, you and your mother could end up in prison. Your mother is only as powerful as the stories she comes across. Even you should know that." With those last words, Massie stalked out of the store and into the main atrium of the mall, her heart pounding in her head. She had probably burned her last bridge with Dylan. And she was apprehensive.
Massie headed towards the food court, trying to clear her head. At least she still had Kristen and Claire on her side. But she admittedly needed Dylan to fulfill her plans. If Dylan exposed her, especially if she had proof, Massie's reputation would be in shatters and her mother would be absolutely furious. But was Dylan incensed enough to expose herself? Admit to everyone that Griffin was acquitted and she had targeted an innocent guy? Massie shook her head and ordered a grande Mocha Frappuccino to calm her nerves.
"Well, well, well. If it isn't the infamous Massie Block." Massie's blood turned to ice in her veins as she turned to look Griffin Hastings straight in the eye.
"Why hello Griffin," Massie said seductively, cocking her head to the side. "Don't you look handsome today. What brings you to Westchester?" She smiled angelically but he didn't return it. He took a seat across from her while glaring deep into her amber orbs.
"Vengeance," he replied simply, finally returning her smile. "You're astute enough to know that. I mean, come on. You devised my downfall." Massie shrugged.
"Come on Griffin," She said coyly. "You know me. Dylan was the one who orchestrated your downfall. Of course I knew about the plan, so I won't sit here and feign complete innocence. But I'm not the girl you want to spite. It's her." Griffin snorted.
"You're a good liar, Massie," He said, almost fondly. "You always were."
"I'm not lying," She said smoothly.
"Dylan's evil, no doubt," Griffin continued as if she hadn't even spoken. "And a horrible excuse of a person. But, she's no mastermind and no orchestrator. She had to have had help, Massie. And as many people as you kicked out of Billard, you had to have helped her. You and I both know the truth. So why did you do it?" Massie could hardly breathe. She hated to come to terms with how petrified she was, but she had no clue what Griffin was capable of and how much he knew.
"Do what exactly?" Massie asked innocuously. "I could never hurt Josh. He's my best friend."
"I thought he was too," Griffin responded grimly. "Let's be honest with each other, ok Massie?"
"Of course," Massie said through bared teeth. "Dylan is the one you need to destroy. She even enlisted the help of her own mother." Griffin didn't respond at first.
"It's amusing how quick you girls will turn on each other once you realize you've been caught," He said, smirking at her. "Massie, we both know the truth." Massie closed her eyes in defeat.
"What if I help you?" She asked softly. "We could work out some kind of deal." Griffin glared at her with hard eyes.
"Seriously?" He snapped. "What do you think revenge is Massie? All four of you destroyed me and ruined my fucking life, so all four of you will pay for it. There is no compromise or agreement we can come to. This meeting was a warning. Not a peace offering." He stood to his feet, fire in his eyes as he started to walk away.
"Your anger is directed towards the wrong person," Massie tried one last time. "You're just engaging in collateral damage." Griffin shook his head almost sadly.
"I forgot how beautiful you were," He murmured. "It's a shame I have to ruin your life like you ruined mine." Massie flinched visibly and she knew he saw because he smiled when she did.
"You forget and undermine how powerful I am," She said a little more confidently. "Have you forgotten Layne?"
"No I haven't," Griffin said. "She's my girlfriend."
Massie was really shocked now. Did that mean Layne was back too? So it was a conspiracy. She gulped and took a sip of her coffee.
"You're lying," She said weakly. "You're crossing a dangerous line, Griffin."
"You already crossed that line when you helped Dylan implicate an innocent person to suit your own agenda, Mass."
