7.

~ Arthur felt all the breath leave his body. His wife's beautiful eyes swimming with tears as she looked like some kind of wounded animal.
"Arthur?" She gasped. Her face looking at him in hot anger and disbelief.

"Ariadne." Arthur said raising a hand to stop her from getting the wrong idea.

"You're divorcing me?" She breathed.
"No! Ariadne, McClain just showed up here!" Arthur said feeling frantic.

"You're having your lawyer hide your money from me because you want to divorce me?" She breathed. Her hand going to her chest as she looked deeply hurt.
"No, baby, please listen to me." Arthur said going to her. Tears were falling out of Ariadne's eyes.
"I thought you wanted to try and work things out. I... I thought... You just wanted time to hide your assets?" She cried.

"No! Listen to me. I didn't tell him to do this. Please, just listen to me." Arthur said trying to put his arms around her.

"Don't touch me, Arthur." She cried softly as she backed away into their bedroom. Arthur heard the slam of the bathroom door and his wife's sobs.

"Happy?" Arthur growled at McClain as the Point Man turned to family lawyer.

McClain didn't even look flustered.

"I'm only looking out for you, son." He said.

"I'm not your son!" Arthur shouted.

McClain stepped away. The fat lawyer looked shocked at the outburst.

Arthur was breathing hard. He felt his fists clench as a lifetime of anger was about to be released.

"You know who came to this house yesterday, McClain? Hum? Albert Castus. He showed up at my door and told me all about how you threatened him and my mother. That you were loyal to your client and separated me from my real father because of it." The Point Man growled.

He wasn't sure what energy was possessing him. It felt strange and manic. Like he was losing control.

"Arthur." McClain tried to say. "I don't know what Albert said to you-"

"Don't try and deny it. Thomas Ward told me the same thing." Arthur barked.

The fat lawyer's hand going to his brow and mopping up a sheet of sweat.

"I did what was best for you." McClain said.

"What was best for me?" Arthur breathed. His eyes wild. "It was best for me not to find out who my father was until I was a grown man? It was best for me to keep my mother trapped in a loveless marriage till she died? It was best for me to be raised in boarding schools? That's what was best for me? You never cared about me. You only cared about the money. You only cared about your client's interests. It was never personal, just business." Arthur said. His heart feeling like it was breaking.

He had know McClain his whole life. He could always count on McClain to be there for him. Any problem, he had thought of McClain as a friend.

"Arthur. I've always had your best interests at heart. I've always done my best to protect you." McClain said. The fat lawyer seeming to be close to tears.

"Stop." Arthur cut him off. He couldn't take anymore please. "Just stop, McClain."

The Point Man sighed.
"Thank you for looking out for me. But I don't think I'll be requiring your services anymore." Arthur said coldly.

"Arthur."

"Please get out." The Point Man said soberly. He showed nothing of the pain he felt inside. His face a mask of indifference.

McClain sighed and started to walk away.

"That's fine." McClain said to the Point Man he had cared for like another son. "I never told you this, but before you married Ariadne, I did a background check on her. Everything she ever told you about her life is a lie. Her parents are still alive. Her mother didn't commit suicide, her father never ran off. She wasn't raised by grandparents. Both her parents are still alive and living in West Virginia. Her mother was released from prison after serving a 20 year sentence for murdering Ariadne's brother."

The old lawyer didn't even have to say the name. Arthur already knew the name.

"The child's name was Sammy." McClain said as he huffed out and slammed the door behind him.

~ Arthur had pushed the things he saw in Ariadne's mind aside as his poor wife had a nervous break down shortly after his failed inception. But the memory of that sad, too skinny little girl never truly left his thoughts.

She had been crying for someone named Sammy. A dead little boy falling out of that closet. His mouth caked in dried blood. A monster stirring in the darkness. Hungry and ready to tear the Point Man and little girl to pieces. Her hands so cold as she cried and whimpered for 'Sammy, Sammy, Sammy'.

~ "Ariadne?" Arthur said knocking on the bathroom door. It was like being in the therapist's office again. He didn't know what to say. He didn't how to tell her he knew the truth. Why had she lied to him? He wouldn't have cared about her brother or her real parents. There was something hugely unfair that she knew all his horrible secrets, and he knew none of hers.

Was their whole marriage built on a lie?

"Ariadne, please talk to me." Arthur said through the door.

The Architect emerged from the bathroom. She had put on her clothes which Arthur thought was a bad sign. She might be ready to leave. Her face was puffy from crying.

"Do you want to divorce me?" She whispered as she childishly wiped her face.

"No." Arthur said gently. He didn't try to convince her. Didn't try to reassure her.

Ariadne sat on the edge of their bed.
"McClain did all that without my asking. I didn't tell him to hide anything. I never said we were getting a divorce. He was trying to protect the money." Arthur explained from his spot near the bathroom door.
"Arthur, I don't care about the money. I was with you before the money. I married before I knew you were going to inherit." She sighed. "I wouldn't try and take everything you have. I don't want to be that kind of person."

"I know you don't." Arthur said. "We're not getting a divorce, so there is no point in talking about it."

Ariadne didn't seem convinced. She shook her head.

"Ariadne. We're not getting a divorce. We're not separating either. We're going to keep going to that doctor, if that's what you want, and we're going to do what it takes to keep our family." The Point Man said in a tone suggesting that there would be no more arguments.

Ariadne looked up at him hopefully as he finally crossed the room to meet her. Her eyes glistening with tears as he kissed her forehead.

"Now, tell me about Sammy." The Point Man whispered.