"Marina, I-" His thumb quickly pressed down on the volume button as he desperately tried to muffle the sound of her voice as it seemed to echo through the entire room. "I don't know what you think happened, but-"
"You told him," she snapped, "and it's not what I think. It's what I know. He's in there ready to crawl out of his skin because he knows she's with you somewhere and he knows that I know and that I have known and that I've been keeping all of this from him. My God, Mallet, isn't it enough that you're there with her? Isn't it enough that you left everyone and everything here in Springfield and took off just to keep her safe? What are you trying to do - eliminate any competition? Make sure that she's got nothing to come back to ever?"
"Marina!" His voice was more forceful now, the weight of her accusations finally hitting him. "I don't know what Shayne thinks he knows, but I can promise you that I didn't tell him anything. I didn't tell him Dinah was here and I certainly didn't tell him you knew anything about it. I wouldn't do that."
"So how does he know then? How does he suddenly know that she's there with you if you didn't tell him?" She watched as the lines between his brows deepened, the look of worry and stress she'd seen many times as he worked on a case now staring back at her. "What?" she managed, her throat dry as she forced the question from her lips though she was certain she didn't want to know the answer.
He sighed. "Earlier, when Shayne and I were on the phone, Dinah walked into the room. She didn't know I was talking to him. She didn't realize I was on the phone at all and she called out to me. I ended the call as quickly as I could. I -"
"Why didn't you tell me this? Why would you just let me be blindsided?"
"I didn't tell you because I was hoping he hadn't heard anything. I was hoping I'd been able to disconnect before he heard and that maybe he wouldn't know anything. Think about it, Marina. Why would I want him to know this? Why would I tell him anything? If Shayne finds out about this, it puts everyone in danger. Dinah would go to prison if anyone knows that she's -"
"I am so damn sick of everyone being worried about Dinah!" The anger in her voice was palpable and he was so stunned that the soft footsteps behind him went unnoticed.
"I'm sorry." Her voice was a mere whisper as she rounded the corner and entered into the frame. Marina's eyes widened slightly at the sight of her and she watched as Mallet's shoulders sank in resignation.
"Let me handle this," he said quietly, his hand lightly brushing her shoulder. "We'll figure this out."
"I'm not going to break, Mallet." Dinah's eyes met his before she looked back towards Marina. "She's right. My actions have turned everyone's lives upside down and I shouldn't just get to sit back and watch everyone else try to clean up the mess. I need to know what's going on."
"You wanna know what's going on?" Marina's voice held no hint of sympathy as she glared at the woman who stood across the world and yet still somehow had the power to tear her entire life apart. "I'll tell you exactly what's going on. You left town and left Shayne to pick up the pieces of his life which, by the way, he's not doing a very good job of. I'm trying everything in my power to get him to find his way back to some sort of life and every single time it seems like I might have a glimmer of a chance to remind him of what he still has to live for, something happens, something brings you right back to the forefront and tonight -" A puff of air escaped, a mis hysteria and fury - "Your knight in shining armor there, he decided he'd talk to Shayne and make everything better and instead everything is blown straight to hell."
"Mallet told me that he talked to Shayne and that he was afraid he might have overheard me. I don't know what to say, Marina. I never wanted any of this to happen, and I know that doesn't help anything right now, but I did what I did because …"
"Spare me the martyr routine, please. I've heard it a million times. And isn't it really the same old story anyway? It's never your fault. It's always something that just happened to you. You're always the victim of some sort of horrible circumstance. It's never the choices you make. It's just the situation you were in that backed you into a corner, right? So maybe you could answer just one question for me. Will it ever be enough? You got to play the hero. You got Mallet to go half way around the world to take care of you. He's given up everything. You've completely taken over his life, but you're still not satisfied. You can't let Shayne live his life. You can't leave him in peace. You'll keep pushing and pushing until you've ruined Shayne's life the same way you've ruined Mallet's and …"
"That's enough." Mallet's hands pulled the screen away from her, the tone of his voice no longer soft and gentle. "I get that you're angry, Marina and you have every right to be. You're going through a lot and I know it's hard to watch Shayne go through this, but Dinah cause what happened tonight. We all agreed to keep this secret. All of us are responsible for Shayne feeling betrayed, and as far as what Dinah did, Dinah's actions are the reason Henry is there with you and Shayne. She's the reason the two of you can raise that little boy without fear and looking over your shoulder all the time. Dinah did what she did to keep Henry safe, and we're doing what we're doing now to keep another child safe. I'd think you could at least understand that."
"Mallet," Dinah hissed. "I thought -"
"He had to tell me," Marina answered, her face now somewhat softened. "I couldn't understand why he wouldn't even consider coming back to Springfield. I wouldn't let it go and he explained that you couldn't travel and …" She paused, letting the circumstances settle in her mind a bit. "I haven't told Shayne. I just … I don't know what to do. He knows that I know more than I've told him and he's not going to let this go. I know I can't tell him the truth. If I do, he's going to head straight to you and he won't stop until he finds you and that means Henry loses another father. And if Shayne takes off, his family will search for him and it's going to be a whole …" She let her hand run through her hair as she tried to comprehend the magnitude of what these decisions could mean.
"But," she began again, her voice shaky, "If I keep lying to him, he's going to hate me. No matter how bad things have been, he's usually at least been willing to try and hear me out, but once he decides he can't trust me, I'm afraid he's just going to totally withdraw and sink even further into the pit he's been digging for himself. Shayne has to have some sort of closure or he'll never be able to move on. We have to give him something."
"Well then let's do that." Mallet looked back towards Dinah, his heart already aching at the idea of what he was about to propose. "We'll tell him the truth, just the truth that we've been living here."
Dinah let her eyes softly close. She knew what this meant. Her slow nod was the only confirmation he needed as she gently wrapped his arm around her and felt her lean against him.
"Shayne isn't stupid, Mallet. We can't just tell him some ridiculous story. He already knows I've been lying. He's not going to believe anything just because I tell him it's the truth."
"That's why you'll have proof. Dinah and I have had to create lives for ourselves here and we've managed to create a believable background. We've got new identities, new documents, a marriage license, everything we need. Obviously those can't get out to anyone, but -"
Marina nodded. "I get it. I understand."
"You tell Shayne the same thing we tell everyone here. Dinah and I are married. We've got the paperwork to prove it. We're happy here. We have a life, a home. We're safe. If he tries to come and look for us, he's just to compromise all of that. He's just going to put her in danger and I know he doesn't want that to happen."
Dinah felt his hand squeeze hers lightly as she opened her mouth to speak. Her breath caught in her throat as she tried to say the words. "Tell him that I'm happy, that I'm safe, that Mallet is taking care of me. Tell him that I want him to take care of himself, that I want him to be happy. The best thing he can do for me is to be happy because I am."
Mallet nodded. "You tell him we're good here and that we want him to be a good father and to have a good life. The best thing he can do for all of us is to let Dinah go, let us be happy here. That will keep everyone safe. Can you tell him that?"
"Yeah, I'll do my best. And you'll send me the documents, so I can show him. I'll make sure that there's no trace anywhere."
"Yeah, I'll send them in encrypted files as soon as I can. Just let us know how everything goes and …"
"I will. I …" As much as she wanted to hate Dinah for everything she'd done, for everything she'd taken from her, the sight of the pain on the woman's face broke her heart. "Dinah," Marina said softly, "You saved him once. Maybe this can save him again."
"Thanks, Marina." Mallet whispered before quickly ending the call.
His arms wrapped tightly around her as she stood next to him in the small room, her entire body trembling. "It's gonna be okay," he said softly, his lips pressed tight against her ear.
"I wish I believed that," she sighed, but everything in her screamed otherwise.