CH 7: Lies, Lies, Lies

It was that time again. It was Sunday, which meant the Black family would meet up and enjoy the company of each other, over Sunday night dinner. It was Alison's turn to take the helm. The timing could not be more perfect. The family was in dire need to rekindle their familial bond. Not only that, but this was Felix's first family dinner since his return. Alison wanted — no, she needed — everything to be perfect.

Come seven o'clock, the family began to trickle in from all four corners of the Black residence. Before them were an array of dishes, from a variety of different cuisines. Alison went all out, and covered all her bases; there were six appetizers, and five different main courses. But regardless of how delicious the food was, something wasn't enjoyable about the dinner. The ambiance was downright somber and heavy.

The entire world was present, including the newest member of the family: Delphine. But there was one body that was noticeably missing; she was also the cause for the strife between the Black siblings. Cosima was nowhere to be found. She was well aware of the dinner, yet she didn't care enough to show up, though nobody blamed her. Cosima hadn't been home since she decked Kára Lang, which ended up being the talk of the town. All her calls were unanswered. And worst yet, Cosima had stopped coming to work. There was a mountain of projects that required her attention, yet they were left unattended to.

Paul was renowned for his bottomless pit stomach, but not tonight. There were plenty of leftover. And Alison hated that. Sarah couldn't even finish her plate. She kept pushing her food around.

When Alison couldn't take it anymore, she finally said, "Oh, come on, Sarah, not you, too."

"Sorry, Ali." Sarah said sincerely. "The food looks great, but I'm not hungry."

Felix added, "Your cooking's much better than I remembered, Ali."

"It really is delicious." Delphine said.

"Too bad Cosima couldn't join us."

There it was. Donnie said the one thing the entire family had been circumventing the entire evening. At the mention of her sister, Sarah, who had been awfully quiet the entire dinner, lost her shit.

"You really fucked up big time, Rachel."

Rachel said nothing.

Paul said, "Ease up, Sarah."

Sara shrugged away Paul's hand, and pressed forward, "No. She needs to hear this. Does family not mean anything to you? Cause from my standpoint, you obviously chose Kára Lang over Cosima!"

Rachel drank from her glass, as if she heard not a single word.

The fact that Rachel simply ignored her, made Sarah even angrier.

The tense standoff was broken when Donnie's cell phone went off.

"I have to take this. Excuse me."

Sarah was seethed. And that's when she said something she most certainly should not have. "If mother was here, she would've never allowed such a deal to go through. Mother would never choose business over family. Never. But you? You sold Cosima down the river the first chance you got. You don't even have the balls to admit it, do you?"

Alison buried her face in her hands, and averted her eyes. Felix reacted in the same manner, only with him, he threw his head back in disbelief. They both knew that that was Rachel's Achilles heels, and what does Sarah do? She goes straight for the kill.

Daniel pleaded, "That's not fair, Sarah. Don't —"

"You shut your mouth!" Rachel barked.

"Or what?" Sarah threw down her fork, "You'll pull my hair, and break my Polly Pocket, again?!"

Paul jumped in, and tried to diffuse the escalating tension. "Come on, Sarah, give Rachel a break. She did what she thought was best for the company."

"That's just it! All we ever do is give her a break!" Sarah gestured at Alison and Felix, "All we ever do is forgive and forget! This is our company as well, yet we never get a say. Well I'm sick and tired of it."

Both Alison and Felix felt the same way. But neither of them said anything; Sarah was the only one that had the cojones to confront Rachel.

Sarah shot out of her seat, "I'm giving you fair warning, Rachel. If you pull this kind of stunt again, I'll call for a board vote, and I'll have you unseated as CEO of Black Crown Corp. We're all equal stakeholders. Every last one of us, Blacks. But don't you forget, when push comes to shove, it's four against one."

Rachel's eyes widened freakishly, and her lips thinned; her nostrils flared. She was already out her chair before Daniel could grab her. Rachel closed the gap, and she slapped Sarah across the face.

Sarah grabbed her reddened cheek; the surprise couldn't even compare to the hurt she felt. She shot daggers at Rachel.

Rachel stood her ground.

Sarah turned, and she left.

Paul followed, but he had parting words for Rachel. "You shouldn't take your frustration out on her. Not when we both know what this is really about."

Rachel was steaming. She, too, departed. And with her, Daniel left, too.

By the time Donnie finished his call, half the table was empty. "Did I miss something?"

Felix replied, "Yeah. The catfight of the century, is what."

"Sarah isn't wrong, you know." Alison said, "Rachel really has changed for the worse, since she assumed control of Black Crown."

Felix sighed. "And that, Delphine, is my crazy family. That's just a tiny preview. You married into this madness."

Delphine forced a smile. Her entire being was consumed with regret. She questioned her initial decision to accept this assignment. Just what exactly did she get herself into?

- o -

The day had come and gone, and night had long fallen. Cosima hasn't set foot in Black Crown Corp. for days now. She felt guilty. It was childish on her part to play hooky, and to pawn the workload onto her sisters and staffers, but she honestly couldn't face Rachel, and she simply dreaded seeing Kára. She hasn't been home either. But she did keep in touch with Alison, Sarah, and even Felix, albeit via text messages. She didn't want her family to worry about her, well, too much, anyways.

Cosima rolled around the Queen sized mattress aimlessly. She was bored out of her mind.

"You know, when I said you could stay over, I imagined something totally different."

Shay was by the door way, in her night gown.

"I'm bored. And there's nothing good on Netflix."

"Well, what did you expect, Cosima? You've been wallowing around the place for a week now. You've been glued to the TV, and your ass print is forever etched on my couch."

Cosima gave Shay the evil eye.

"What? It's true." Shay said, "Look, why don't you take some time off, and travel a bit?"

Cosima replied childishly, "No."

"Then get a hobby."

"I don't want to."

Shay gave up, "You're impossible, Cosima Niehaus Black, you know that?"

And then it struck her. "Hey! Why don't I volunteer at MSF? It'll be totally cool. I can give back to the community, and you can show me the ropes. And during our downtime, we can Netflix and chill."

"Uh. I don't think that's what you think it means." Shay said bewilderedly. "Besides, I'm no longer with the organization."

"What? Since when?"

"Since my last tour." Shay said. "It's high time I settled down. I can't keep jet setting like I'm in my twenties, anymore."

"Oh." Cosima was disappointed, but she understood where Shay was coming from. "That's too bad. Hey. Did I ever tell you? Felix's new wife, Delphine Cormier, she was with MSF, too."

"Really?"

"Yeah. She was in Nepal around the same time as you. But she said she's never heard of you."

Shay furrowed her brows, and cleared her throat. "Uh. It makes sense ….cause I was only there for maybe a week or two, before I was relocated to Myanmar. I guess I forgot to mention that last time."

"Oh. Whatever. It was just a thought. Maybe I should become an Uber driver, then." Cosima laid back down. "So what's your plan now, Dr. Davydov?"

Shay wasn't about to let Cosima off the hook. She grabbed a pillow, and she swung it right at Cosima. "Nuh-uh! You're not changing the topic! You're too old to be a run-away. So whatever it is, get it off your chest, so we can get it over with."

"Okay. Okay. Geez." Cosima's took a moment, "I can't stop thinking about that manipulative bitch. And every time I do, it makes my blood boil."

"Would it help if I did a Dr. Phil impersonation?"

Cosima wanted to laugh, but she couldn't even bring herself to smile. "I never did tell you why we broke up, did I?"

"No. You haven't. It's been two years now; and I didn't want to pry."

In a voice barely above a whisper, Cosima said, "Kára beat me. She came back from a rave one night, high out of her mind. She reeked of sweat, booze, sex and everything in between. I don't know how to explain it, but she had this look I've never seen before. Kára wanted to be intimate, but I wasn't in the mood. In fact, I was furious that she would allow herself to get so fucked up. We got into a heated spat. And the next thing I knew, she came at me."

Shay opened and closed her mouth several times, though no words were formed.

"I was beaten to an inch of death. One of the neighbors overheard the commotion, and called the police. If they hadn't arrived when they did, I'm almost positive, that I would've died that night. I spent the first month of recovery in ICU."

Shay muttered, "I'm so sorry, Cosima, I didn't know."

At some point during the story, unbeknownst to even herself, Cosima started crying. "That's why I can't be near her, Shay, I can't even look at her. She scares me."

Shay pulled Cosima in and gave her a comforting hug. "You should've told me, Cos. I would've never agreed to help her, had I known."

Cosima wiped away the tears with her back hand. "Besides my family, I haven't told a single soul. I don't want people to see me as a victim. I was one, but not anymore."

"You're the strongest woman I know." Shay gave Cosima a peck on the forehead, "And you can stay here for as long as you like. I mean it. Rent-free, too."

"Thanks. But I'll probably head home tomorrow. Your spare bed is lumpy in all the wrong places."

Shay slapped her, "Ass wipe."

"You're a good friend, Shay." Cosima headed for the door. "Goodnight."

Shay smiled. The moment the door closed behind Cosima, that smile fell from Shay's face. This was bad. Had she known beforehand what a fucking cunt Kára Lang was, she would've never accepted her assistance, or her money. But it's too late now. Shay kept a dark secret hidden from Cosima: Kára Lang owned her soul now.

- o -

The room was in a private section of the casino. It had only one exit point, and it was heavily guarded by armed guards, most likely a part of the casino's special security detail. Everything about this place screamed exclusivity.

Ever since that masquerade party, Donnie's life has changed forever. It was his brush with the game of baccarat, that truly opened his eyes. He never fancied himself a gambler, but he was a born natural. The numbers processed in his mind faster than he could react. That very night, he walked away with $5000.

Since then, Donnie was bitten by the bug. It wasn't the money that he was drawn to. No. It was the rush that comes with winning. Every time he won a hand, the sensation was nothing short of exhilarating. And before he knew it, he found himself spending all his free time at the local casino. Baccarat wasn't as popular in Toronto, but poker sure was. Donnie made the transition with ease.

And when the casino found out he was a member of the prominent Black family, they treated him like he was a God. Donnie enjoyed the game, but he was a statistician first and foremost, and a poker player secondly. If the odds weren't in his favor, regardless of what his intuition or instincts told him, he would fold and walk away. It's a strategy he devised from watching some of the world's most elite cash game players: Phil Ivey, Tom Dwan, and Patrik Antonious.

Donnie had kept Alison in the dark about his new passion. He knew she wouldn't agree with him, which was why he found it easier to simply keep her in the dark. They kept separate bank accounts, though they did have joint investments. It was necessary. It didn't matter how good you were, unless you had a bankroll to play with, you were a nobody in the poker world. Donnie sold a few of their mutual funds, and emptied their tax free savings account. Alison rarely dealt with their finances, much less the bookkeeping. She won't notice. And before long, Donnie was certain he'll be able to put the money back where it belonged, long before she found out.

Ever since that call at dinnertime, he had been itching to play. For tonight's no-limit hold 'em game, it was a $200,000 minimum buy-in. Donnie bought in for $300,000. It wasn't like he couldn't afford it. He kept the pot small. He never shoved pre-flop. And he most certainly never bluffed. You can't argue with a system that worked though. The session had started only three hours ago, and Donnie was already up $200,000. The guy beside him, Dan, was the biggest loser so far. He kept throwing him the stink eye, but he couldn't care less. This was poker.

There were CCTVs everywhere. The dealers rotated every one hundred hands. And Carlos, the floor manager, observed every hand with a hawk eye. The man was intense, to say the least. The game was due to end in another hour. If Donnie could lock it down, and avoid big pots, he'll pocket $200K, easily. And if everything goes according to plan, he'll be able to put all the money back into their joint accounts, and still be left with enough to continue playing.

A few of the guys had busted, and rebought for another $200,000. Donnie understood their frustration. The game was about to draw to an end, and they were stuck. But he didn't care. Donnie kept his eye on the time, and practically folded every hand he was dealt.

As the session drew to a close, Donnie noticed a shift in the tension. A few of the guys were hurting, and Donnie understood their pain, but Carlos appeared strained; it was unusual, but not exactly strange.

The dealer stood up, and a new dealer swapped in.

Carlos announced, "Last hand of the evening, gentlemen, make it count."

The new dealer shuffled, and dealt the last hand of the session.

Donnie was on the button, and the last to act. He pried the cards up, and peeked. Donnie held pocket Aces. He watched carefully, as the play slowly made its way back to him. Dan was to act before him; he reloaded and had more than $200,000 before him.

"All in."

Those were the two words Donnie dreaded hearing. Donnie paused and ran the numbers in his head, but they came up inconclusive. He didn't have enough information to make an informed decision, not without seeing a flop, but that wasn't possible, not when Dan shoved all in. Donnie was torn. If he won the hand, he could easily scoop up another $200K, and even if he lost, he would only lose the earnings he won tonight, his initial buy-in would remain untouched. But something about this hand didn't feel right. Donnie couldn't explain it.

"Fold."

Dan said not a word, nor did he appear ecstatic to win a pot.

He made it! Donnie had $565,000 in chips. He was in the green, and damn proud of it. Donnie hurried off, and did his best to avoid the dirty looks thrown his way. He arranged for two armed guards to escort him, and his winnings, to his car. This was it. He was in the home stretch. The valet brought his car to the adjoining lot, and the armed guards escorted Donnie into his vehicle, and saw that he was secure before they departed.

Donnie sat in the driver's seat, and he couldn't contain himself. He was practically squealing.

There was a tap on the window. "Mr. Hendrix?"

Donnie recognized the uniform, but not the guard. "Yeah?"

Before Donnie knew what hit him, the guard shattered his driver's side window, and forced his door open. Several more guards appeared, and each and every one of them were wearing the casino's uniform. They formed a circle, and began beating the daylights out of him.

Donnie did his best to protect himself, but his efforts were futile. The guards were merciless. They pummeled him to a bloody pulp.

When the beating finally stopped, there emerged Carlos Menendez, the floor manager.

Carlos grabbed Donnie by a lock of his hair, "That's for cheating in my casino."

Donnie struggled to breath; blood was trickling down his windpipe. "I swear…I didn't."

"If you weren't cheating, why else would you fold pocket Aces pre-flop?"

One of the guards handed Carlos the briefcase.

"And this, well, House always takes a cut. Have a goodnight, Mr. Hendrix."

- o -

The door closed with a gentle click.

"Did anybody see you?"

"No."

"Good." Daniel pulled out a bank draft, and handed it over. "That's the rest of your payment, in full, as promised."

"I still don't get what the point of this is."

Daniel stoic face gave nothing away. "You don't have to. He thinks you're pregnant, and that's all you need to know. I need you to keep up the charade, until I say so."

Claire shrugged. "Whatever. I'll never say no to easy money. Call me if you need me."

Daniel watched Claire go. This was all his doing. He had a private investigator tail Rachel. And the moment he knew she was in cahoots with Kára Lang, he knew Sarah would be the first to challenge Rachel, and with it, her position as CEO of Black Crown Corp. Daniel knew Sarah's personality too well. He loved Rachel, yes, but he also loved money and power, even more so. Daniel could not, and would not, let anybody depose of Rachel's power within Black Crown Corp.

Sarah brought this on herself. And the only way to control Sarah, was to control Paul. With Claire Hatcher on his side, Daniel was certain he had Paul under his thumb, with it, Sarah Manning Black. And if that wasn't enough, he also had the sex tapes. This was too damn easy.

- o -

"So this is what you do?"

"Yeah. I mean, it's nothing to scoff about, as I do own my own freaking company, but it's mostly pencil pushing, at its finest."

"I didn't mean it like that, honey." Delphine said sweetly. "I'm thankful for the chance."

"I honestly feel like you're overqualified, Delphine." Felix said sincerely, "Why would you give up your license? You should seriously consider starting your own practice."

"This is a nice change of pace. I want something different, Fee. If this becomes too stressful, you'll be the first to know."

"Alright." Felix relented. "But don't feel obligated to stay though."

"I won't, honey."

"Good." Felix handed Delphine her orientation folder, "Phase One of the Emerald City project is nearing completion. We're going to start the pre-construction sale soon. Familiarize yourself with the legalities firstly, starting with our standard clauses."

"Okay."

"You won't handle the actual sale. Only licensed realtors can, but you can definitely sell." Felix said, "We have a realty division, with no less than twenty realtors. They'll all be fighting for a piece of that lucrative commission, but it's also an opportunity for you to learn the inside tricks of the trade."

Delphine quickly skimmed through the folder. It wasn't med school bad, but it was still a lot of information to process. Delphine wasn't familiar with the realty sector at all, which made this all the more difficult.

"We're meeting Acquisitions tomorrow, to finalize the chattels that'll be included in the units."

Delphine's eyes brightened, "Mark that in your calendar, or you'll forget."

"Good thinking." Felix reached for his phone. He then patted his pockets, every single one of them. "Shit. I didn't lose it, did I?"

"Try calling it."

Felix did just that. "It's ringing."

Delphine clutched her bag tight, as she watched on.

"There's no answer."

"Actually, come to think of it, I think you left it in your car. I saw it in the cup holder."

"Shite. Let me go check." Felix hurried off, "I'll be right back."

The door closed.

Delphine scurried behind Felix's desktop. It was still logged in to the company's intranet. Delphine inserted a USB into the port. A popup window appeared shortly. Delphine clicked yes. The USB contained a sophisticated program designed to duplicate a computer's hard drive.

While the files transferred, Delphine pulled out Felix's phone from her bag. She had snatched it during lunch, when Felix stepped out to pay. Delphine threw the phone underneath the desk.

The computer had fifty-seven gigabytes worth of data. Because of the size, the transfer was slow and laggy. It was only at 28% completion.

There was a knock at the door.

Delphine froze. But upon second thought, she realized it couldn't be Felix; he would never knock on his own door.

"Come in."

And in walked Cosima.

Cosima was pleasantly surprised at the sight of Delphine. "Hey. What are you doing here?"

Delphine stole a quick glance at the monitor. The transfer was at 41% completion.

"Checking my email." Delphine scrambled out from behind the desk, and approached Cosima. "How are you feeling?"

"Like my ex-girlfriend is stalking me, my sister stabbed me in the back, and my life is now in shambles." Cosima said casually, "You know, your typical Monday family drama."

Delphine smiled genuinely; she loved Cosima's sense of humor. "You're cheeky."

"What can I say? Some people are gifted, and others talented, while all I got is cheeky."

Delphine hadn't known Cosima long, but she always gave her the impression of being strong, confident, and optimistic. This was the complete opposite of that. Delphine knew how Cosima felt about her; she wasn't an idiot, but it couldn't be, not when she was tangled in this web of madness.

It just happened. Delphine couldn't explain it, nor did she know why. She pulled Cosima in, and she hugged her.

The sudden burst of affection threw Cosima off guard. But she couldn't bring herself to resist, not when she needed the comfort. Cosima returned the embrace. "Thanks. I need that. Well, that and a restraining order. Where's Fee?"

"He stepped out for a moment. He was briefing me on the Emerald City project."

"You're working here?" Cosima was stupefied. "I know you said you gave up medicine, but why here?"

"Felix wanted us to work together." Delphine said innocently, "It's really not that bad. And you know Felix, when he gives you that puppy dog eye, you can't say no."

Cosima faked a smile, "Felix is a lucky guy."

"And I'm a lucky gal."

"I'm going to head out. I've got to cry myself to sleep later." Cosima said half jokingly, "Tell Felix I stopped by."

"Oh, come on, Cosima, don't do that." Delphine couldn't bring herself to see Cosima wallow in misery. "Why don't we go out for dinner tonight? Think of it as a girls' night out, kind of thing."

Cosima was conflicted; a part of her wanted to say yes, while her mind was telling her no.

"I'm not taking no for an answer." Delphine said persistently, "I'll pick you up at seven."

"Fuck it." Cosima gave in; it was too tempting to pass over. "Deal. And I'll even let you pay for my meal, on account of me being sad and all. Free food will definitely brighten my mood."

"Cheeky."

The door creaked, and much to Delphine's dismay, Felix entered.

"Hey, Cos, where you been?"

"Hey, you."

Delphine ran to grab her bag in one hand, and the USB in the other. Then in one fluid motion, she dropped the USB into her bag, and out of sight.

"You find your phone, Fee?"

"No. It's not there. I checked."

"Of course it isn't, silly." Delphine bent down, and put on an elaborate show. "It was right here all along. You must have dropped it under your desk."

"Thanks, love."

"Cosima and I are doing a girls' night out." Delphine said, "Is that okay?"

"Of course." Felix snaked an arm around Cosima's shoulder, "Go and let your hair down, yeah?"

Cosima rolled her eyes.

"I'm going to go. I've got some light reading to do." Delphine made off, "I'll see you at seven."

Cosima watched Delphine go.

"You're one lucky bastard, Fee."

"You don't have to tell me twice."

"But you really shouldn't force her to work for Black Crown Corp. You and I both know this place sucks your soul."

"What are you talking about?"

"Delphine gave up medicine, to work here? Are you bonkers?"

"I didn't force her to do anything, Cos." Felix said defensively. "Delphine wanted this. She practically begged me to get her a job here."

Cosima didn't know what to think. "Huh."

"Forget about that." Felix changed topic, "I've got to get you caught up on last night's fight."

"Go on."

"Sarah confronted Rach about Kára Lang. And get this: Sarah brought up mother."

Cosima's eyes widened in disbelief, "Jesus! How bad was it?"

"Soap opera bad. Rach slapped the daylights out of Sarah. If you're really quiet at night, you can still hear the echo."

Cosima felt incredibly guilty. She never should have had Sarah fight her battle for her. She had to settle things with Rachel, just not tonight. Tonight was girls' night.

- o -

This was her third attempt. The dial tone was near the end, and just as the call was about to be transferred to voicemail, the call was finally picked up.

"There's a reason I'm not picking up. I'm in the middle of something."

"It's an emergency."

"I'm listening."

"I've got it."

"Really?"

"You'll have unrestricted access to Black Crown Corp., including their books, as well as their servers."

"How did you manage that?"

"Don't ask."

"Okay. I won't. We'll speak soon."

"Fine. If that's all you have to say."

"Oh. And, Delphine?"

"What?"

"Good job."

"Go to Hell, asshole."

- o -

A/N: Insert a quarter.