CHAPTER 76
(CHRISTIAN)
"I think Victor is wrong about Chris, I don't think us going to see him will do anything" Ana says as we are riding across the city towards Vidal Records.
I shrug, "I know baby, and I'm inclined to agree with you but we have to try for Gideon's sake. Although if I'm honest I believe he is better off without Chris in his life. He has Angus who he can rely on, and now he also has Victor, since they cleared the air. He doesn't need anyone in his life who doesn't really want to be there".
Ana nods in agreement and the silence falls over us once more, I turn towards her and see she is looking pensively out of the window. A sudden wave of anxiety flows through me. I pause and remember the exercises Caroline gave me to do when I feel like this so that I don't over react and make things worse. I take a deep breath and reach across the seat to grasp Ana's hand. To my great relief she responds and smiling at me she moves closer and leans into me. I wrap my arm around her and the anxiety immediately disperses.
"Baby, can I ask you something?" I ask carefully and she immediately looks up at me with concern and nods.
"Of course you can, what's wrong Christian?" she asks and she presses her hand over my heart. A simple gesture, but one which I can only tolerate her doing. I place my free hand over hers while I squeeze her tighter and I take a deep breath.
"Why did you tell Eva about Kate getting in touch… but not me?" I ask trying not to sound like a sulky child who has been left out.
She smiles reassuringly at me, "It wasn't intentional, I swear I was going to tell you. I just didn't think now was the right time. It was just as we were getting ready to fly out to New York, you were focussed on the bombshell that Welch had uncovered and I know you were feeling guilty about the way Gideon had found out about it over Skype. You were busy organising everything with leaving Seattle again. You were making sure Ros was briefed about what you had going on at GEH so she could deputise for you again. You were also dealing with getting Caroline on board to come out with us. I was packing our cases when Kate called me, and it was the last thing I expected. I just dismissed it and made a mental note to tell you either in New York after everything was sorted out or when we returned home to Seattle. Partly because I have no intention of speaking to her and partly because we really did have more important things to think about at that point in time".
I nod, I totally understand her reasoning, but I just can't forget she still told Eva about it before me.
"But it was important enough to you to tell Eva" I say, and inwardly cringe at how accusing that sounds.
Ana shakes her head, "No, it really wasn't. It wasn't like that, we were just chatting about things in general. We were talking about the revelations that had come out about Elizabeth and Eric Landon and I commented that I thought yours and my parentage was fucked up but we had nothing on the Landon's and Cross'. That led us on to talking about Frank, and how he had totally dropped off the radar, which led on to El and his relationship with Sadie and Lucy. Which then led on to his relationship with Meg and how well they are doing. How we think that El is going to pop the question soon and how they have been talking about Meg officially adopting Ava now that she calls Meg mom. That inevitably brought the conversation to Kate, as I said I hoped she wouldn't do something stupid when she found out about El's plans… and that was when it came out about her calling me. Eva immediately asked why I hadn't said anything and I told her the same as I have just told you, because at the time she called we had just discovered that Ryan Landon's mother was Elizabeth Cross and we were focussed on getting to New York to support Gideon. Kate isn't important, I really did intend to tell you but look at what's happened since we have been here, things have snowballed and all this needs our attention more than my ex-best friend". Ana sighs and rubs her eyes.
"It wasn't deliberate, I wasn't hiding anything and I'm sorry if you feel like I put Eva first by telling her as that really wasn't the case. We were just generally chatting, and it came up but what you need to focus on is the fact that as soon as Ireland called regarding the plan to get Angus to track down Martha to see if she could help with what we were currently dealing with, the conversation about Kate was immediately forgotten and if Eva hadn't opened her big mouth today, then I would've stayed with the original plan and told you about it when everything here wasn't taking priority".
"Ok" I say and now that Ana has explained I can see that she really didn't mean to leave me out of the discussion as there really wasn't one and I let it go. I can understand why Eva mentioned it though as she doesn't want Kate to become the next issue we have to deal with, but Ana was prioritising what was currently happening before something which is yet to be an issue.
"I think we should call El and give him a heads up about the fact Kate is reaching out to you. It's only fair he is informed" I say and Ana nods.
"Yeah, I agree with that" she says.
I pull out my phone and make the call, "Elliot" I say as he picks up.
"Christian! Hi! How's New York?" he says good naturedly.
"Interesting" I reply, and I hear a snort in response.
"Yeah, I was talking to Eva and she filled me in on all the shit Welch discovered, is Gideon ok? I mean finding out that asshole Landon is his brother must have been a bit of a blow, especially after the way you two fucked him over".
I smile, "It all seems to be working itself out, and actually Gideon and Ryan have come to some sort of understanding now the truth is all out as even more revelations have come to light".
"Shit!" he breathes.
"Quite!" I reply, I take a deep breath before I continue, "Listen bro I have something I need to tell you. Call it a heads up. Apparently, just before we flew out to New York Kate got in touch with Ana, leaving a number of messages wanting to apologise and build bridges. Naturally Ana wanted no part of it and didn't respond to her. With everything that has been happening here with Gideon, she has only just got around to telling me about it but I think you should be aware of the fact Kate has done this".
There is a silence before he responds to that, "Nothing to do with me, although thanks for letting me know" he says simply and dismissively.
"You're welcome, but it really is something to do with you especially considering your plans to marry Meg and for Meg to officially become Ava's mother. The last thing you need is Kate sticking her oar in and trying to cause trouble".
"Hmmm… I didn't think of that, ok well thanks for letting me know… can you ask Ana to forward me the messages Kate sent her and ask her if she will let me know if she contacts her again?" he asks and I immediately agree.
"I will, do you want to speak to her yourself, she is right here with me?" I say.
"Yeah ok" he replies.
"Hang on" I say and I hold out my phone to Ana, "El wants to speak to you" I say and she takes my phone from me.
"Hi El" she says affectionately. "Yes of course I can… yes… I'll do that… I know… I'm sorry I didn't tell you before now but I was focussed on what was happening with Gideon… yeah Eva knows that's how Christian found out, as I told Eva when we were chatting and then she told me to tell Christian while Christian was standing right there… I was, just not yet! Ok… ok… yeah, I'll do that… Jason has said Welch will look into it and see what she is playing at… yeah". Ana stops and looks up as the car comes to a halt. "Look El I have to go now, give my love to Ava and Meg… Ok I love you too El, bye for now bro… yes… bye". She hangs up and hands me the phone back.
"He wants me to forward the messages and voicemails to him" she says.
I nod and look out of the window towards the Vidal Records building. "Do you want to do that now before we head inside?" I ask and Ana nods pulling out her phone and quickly forwarding all the messages to Elliot.
"There done, ok then shall we do this thing?" she asks.
I take a deep breath and nod, before opening the car door. Taylor opens Ana's door and we both step out and look up at the building which houses Vidal Records. I hold out my hand to Ana and she slips her small hand into mine, as we walk towards the building.
"It's on the fourth floor" I say as I glance at the list of businesses which occupy this building. There is a reception desk and a security guard looks up as we enter. His eyes widen significantly as he clearly recognises us.
"Can I help you?" he asks politely but also quite nervously.
"Yes, we would like to speak to Mr Chris Vidal of Vidal Records" Ana says as she gives the guard a winning smile.
He nods and asks us politely to sign in before directing us to the elevator and telling us which floor we require.
"Not the best security" I mutter as we walk away. I was surprised he hadn't asked if we had an appointment or informed Vidal Records of our presence. However, in our case that is probably a good thing as we may not have made it out of the lobby had he done so.
Ana giggles, "No, but it worked in our favour considering we are not entirely welcome here" she says voicing my own thoughts.
The elevator doors open into the Vidal Records vestibule and we are quickly buzzed in by the receptionist who smiles warmly at us.
"Hello, how may I help you?" she asks confidently.
"Good afternoon, I'm Christian Grey and this is my wife Anastasia. We were hoping to speak to Mr Vidal if he is available. We don't have an appointment, but it is quite important that we do speak to him" I say.
The receptionist nods and picks up a phone, "If you would like to take a seat Mr Grey, Mrs Grey and I'll let Mr Vidal know you are here".
We watch as she makes the call, and I see her face darken slightly. She shifts uncomfortably and then bites her lip.
"I understand sir" she mutters and then replaces the handset.
"Erm… I'm sorry but Mr Vidal is unavailable" she says apologetically.
Ana snorts at that, "I bet he is!" she says with more than a little sarcasm. She thinks for a moment and then speaks again. "Look it's not your fault and we don't want to cause any problems for you, but can you call him back and tell him that Mr and Mrs Grey are insistent and that we will wait until he is available".
The receptionist nods and while she is doing that Ana has her own phone and is quickly sending a text.
"Who are you texting baby?" I ask as I watch her thumbs darting across the screen.
"Eva, I'm asking her to ask Christopher to send me directions as to whereabouts Chris's office is in relation to here so if he still refuses to come out, we will know where he is and we can go to him".
I smile at that, my clever wife is anticipating Chris refusing to come out and so she is making sure she has a backup plan so that we don't end up having a wasted journey. Just as I am thinking this her phone buzzes and she quickly opens the text and smiles.
"Ok, so if he refuses to come out, we can go to him now" she says quietly.
Our attention is taken by the receptionist who is shaking her head, "I'm really sorry but…" she stops as Ana holds up her hand.
"Don't worry, we will find our own way. We know where to go, tell him if he doesn't want to come out we will go to him".
The receptionists' eyes widen at that, "I'm sorry but…" she begins but then stops as a voice interrupts.
"It's alright Marie, I'm here". Chris Vidal stalks towards us the irritation clear on his face. "What do you want?" he asks coldly.
"This won't take long, but I'm certain you won't want us to say what we have to say here" Ana says as she gestures around us.
Chris thinks for a moment and gives one curt nod before turning and walking away, no doubt expecting us to follow him. We do so and a moment later we are being shown into his office. He closes the door and stands in front of his desk his arms folded.
"You have five minutes before I call security" he spits.
"That's plenty of time" Ana says calmly. "We are here because Victor appears to think that there is hope for a reconciliation between you and Gideon".
Chris lets out a rude snort at that and Ana smiles.
"That was my reaction as well when he said it" she says simply but with enough bite that Chris flushes slightly and shuffles uncomfortably.
Ana ignores his reaction and continues, "We are here to try and facilitate that reconciliation for Gideon. I will say, Victor was the only person who thought that it was possible. Gideon, Christopher and Ireland all believe that it is a waste of time as well as us – and you as well by your reaction. Gideon believes that you never wanted the responsibility of being a step-father and were only interested in Elizabeth. Christopher and Ireland are both of the opinion that you don't deserve any consideration". I pause and let him take that in.
"Victor?" Chris asks after a moment and I am stunned that of everything that Ana has just said, that is the only thing he is questioning.
"Victor Reyes, Eva's father" I say simply.
Chris nods, "I thought her father was Frank Lambert?" he asks, returning his attention back to Ana.
Ana sighs with obvious irritation at his evasiveness and the way he is trying to change the subject. "He is the man who raised her, just like I was raised by Ray Steele, my step-father. Two men who took on the role of a father willingly and who did the job properly despite not having any link to us" she says cuttingly, and I smile at the obvious dig and the way he walked right into that one. Admittedly, Victor always believed Eva was his but Chris doesn't need to know that.
"So, you two drew the short straw to come and speak to me?" Chris says after another silence.
"You could say that" I mutter as I really think we are wasting our time here.
Ana just glares at Chris, "We came because Christopher, Ireland, Gideon and Ryan Landon are all sitting down with a therapist and trying to come to terms with everything. They have all been let down and lied to by the very people who should've been the people who they should have complete trust in. We are here as we are not involved in that process so we decided to be the ones to come and provide the olive branch to you".
Chris snorts, "I bet Gideon is loving this" he says and Ana stares at him in utter disbelief.
"No, he's not. Why do you hate Gideon so much? Why are you so completely negative about him, when all he was, was everybody's scapegoat for years? He was abused by a health professional, neglected and disbelieved by his mother and ignored and dismissed as irrelevant by you. Does it not bother you that the only father figure he had growing up was Angus?"
Chris shuffles uncomfortably again and swallows hard, before shaking his head in denial. "Elizabeth said he was just a naughty boy. I thought he was an attention seeker, so I felt it was best not to validate his unruly behaviour" he says.
Ana shakes her head, "Well, I think the events of today have shown that we have established that what Elizabeth said and did wasn't the best source of information. If you had just taken the time to get to know Gideon you would've immediately seen that he was a traumatised little boy. He was grieving his father; he had lost his home and he was being transplanted into a strange place with complete strangers where his mother was determined to build a new family. Well, I say family but his mother just wanted to reboot her life. She wanted to get rid of every trace of her previous life and unfortunately for Gideon he was a part of that old life, so she was hardly the best mother to him because he was just a reminder to her of what she was trying to run away from. Then we have you, someone who could've helped him adjust, and someone who he could've turned to but you didn't give a damn. Elizabeth was anxious to create her shiny new family which you were only too pleased to provide and Gideon was pushed aside by both of you. How do you think a frightened, grieving, traumatised confused little boy would react to that eh? He acted out. He had tantrums, yes he was seeking attention but only because he wasn't getting any. He was not being nurtured or loved so he figured any attention would be good attention and because he was so fucked up that way of seeking attention came out in his tantrums. All of it could've been prevented, had you just taken the time to get to know him and to willingly accept the responsibility of step father. It should've been a given that you would willingly take on that job when you got with Elizabeth. You don't take on someone who has a child and then just totally disregard the child. It doesn't work like that".
Chris stares at Ana and for the first time I think I see guilt flash in his eyes, it is there only briefly but it gives me hope that perhaps this isn't a wasted journey but what Chris says next makes that hope evaporate.
"Elizabeth lied to me about everything" he spits.
Ana shakes her head in exasperation, "How is that Gideon's fault?" she snaps.
"He dredged up the past, he didn't let the past stay in the past. He started this when he told Ireland and Christopher that he had been raped then he uncovered all that shit about her being involved in the fraud and he poisoned them against their mother. He caused all this".
We both just stare at Chris, "He was telling the truth, he told Christopher and Ireland he had been raped and they believed him – which is a damn sight more than his own mother did, and you for that matter. He showed them evidence in black and white that Elizabeth was as guilty as Geoffrey Cross – which she had consistently denied, and lied about for years. What is the matter with you? Were you listening to something totally different to the rest of us earlier? Are you willingly delusional when it comes to Elizabeth? She is the bad person here, she is the one to blame for everything that happened. What on earth does she have, that makes it so easy for her to manipulate men and lead them around by the fucking nose?"
Chris doesn't answer that and I am wondering the same thing. She played Landon and Geoffrey Cross off against each other for years, she dropped Landon after Ryan was born and then when the fraud was uncovered, she dropped Cross and left him to face the music, which arguably caused him to take his own life. She then moved on to Chris and has lied to him for the entirety of their relationship and he seems as brainwashed by her as the others.
I remember Gideon's words and I look at Chris carefully. "You feel stupid don't you, you watched as Elizabeth was confronted about her lies, and you realised you had been lied to for the entirety of your relationship and you were used and manipulated just like Eric Landon and Geoffrey Cross were. You don't like to think that you were duped by her, because you love her and you are now wondering if she really loved you at all or she was simply using you like she used her previous partners. So you are looking for the easiest person to blame, and that is Gideon because he is sick of being silenced and he has made the truth come out".
Chris doesn't answer me, but tips his chin defiantly and I smile.
"I'm right aren't I?" I push but Chris still doesn't answer.
"See, the thing is…" Ana says carefully, "…we can see that because we are on the outside, we are not personally involved with this. We can also see that if you were a man of honour and integrity, you would hold up your hands and admit that you were duped by Elizabeth, that in your own way just like Eric Landon, just like Geoffrey Cross and just like Gideon, Ryan, Christopher and Ireland. You are also a victim of hers. A victim of her manipulation".
Chris stares at her and Ana shrugs and continues.
"Gideon, Christopher, Ireland and Ryan are all victims of hers. She lied to and damaged all her children in one way or another. She abandoned Ryan, she disregarded and disbelieved Gideon and she lied to Christopher and Ireland" she says.
"She did not lie to Christopher and Ireland!" Chris splutters.
"She did" Ana retorts, "She tried to poison them against Gideon, they saw how she treated Gideon and for years that coloured their view of him until they learnt the truth, she also showed them a fake façade – the same fake façade built on the tissue of lies she showed you. They, like you all know the truth now but unlike you at this moment they are working through everything together and trying to come out the other side healthier. You could also be a part of that, so you can have the same closure they are seeking. You just need to swallow your pride, admit your failings and take the offered olive branch".
Chris stiffens and shakes his head, "Get out!" he spits coldly.
Ana turns to me and shrugs, "We tried!" she says sadly.
I nod, "I know baby, I didn't hold much hope that this was going to work, but we had to try not only for Gideon but also for Christopher and Ireland. But until he stops shifting the blame and accepts the facts there is nothing more we or anyone else can do, so let's go baby".
We turn to leave but as we reach the door Ana pauses and touches my arm, before turning towards Chris. "I hope that some day you will see sense and try and put right your part of the wrongs of the past because if you don't you will end up a very bitter, lonely man".
Chris simply shakes his head at us again, unwilling to acknowledge the truth, "I said get out" he says.
With that Ana and I leave and close the door behind us.
I pull out my phone and call Gideon, "Christian, how did it go?" he asks.
"We tried" I say.
"I see" Gideon replies, "Well, thank you for trying. To be fair, I didn't expect him to respond positively" he adds.
"You're welcome, how did things go with you?" I ask.
"Much more positively. It is early days and we have a lot of work to do, but we are all determined that we… the siblings should rebuild and to right the wrongs of the past we should look to the future with positivity, and both Ryan and I are up for that even though we both know we have a lot of shit to work through so we shall see how it goes" he says.
"That's brilliant news" I reply. "How does that leave things with Chris?" I ask.
Gideon lets out a small mirthless laugh, "He is on his own. Christopher and Ireland want nothing more to do with him after his outburst today here, they are disgusted by his behaviour and total disregard of the facts. I have no relationship with him so I'm not losing anything. Christopher and Ireland have talked it all through with Caroline and they have decided that until Chris can accept the truth they don't want any part of him and his negativity".
"Well, as we left Ana told him if he didn't do the right thing then he would end up a bitter and lonely man and it seems that was correct" I say as I recall Ana's parting words.
Gideon snorts, "I can't see him accepting the truth but the main thing is my siblings and I are all prepared to do what it takes to make the future better than the past so… watch this space!"
"We most definitely will" I reply.