CHAPTER 98

(MEGUMI)

"…And they all lived happily ever after, the end". I smile as I watch El, as he finishes the story he is reading to Ava and closes the book.

"Again daddy!" she says as soon as he finishes.

An indulgent grin fills his face and with a sigh he opens the book once more.

"Once upon a time…" he stops as I hear his phone. I look around wondering where it is and he shifts slightly and pulls it out of his back pocket and smiles again as he glances at the screen.

"Hey sis!" he says in his usual laid-back manner so I know immediately that it is either Mia, Ana, Eva or even possibly Lucy. I watch him and as his face darkens, I have a good idea that it probably isn't Mia calling and I am immediately on alert wondering what has happened now, as we haven't been back long from the family meeting at Christian and Ana's place.

"Well, that definitely is a disturbing thought. To be fair I did wonder what she was up to getting involved with Kate… yeah… so in your opinion she is just using Kate to get back at her mom and Lucy and laying the groundwork to try and manipulate and send her dad off on one?"

There is a long silence as whoever it is, is answering him.

"Yeah, well I'll call Christian and dad and make them aware of your theory it's always good to look at all the possible scenarios".

As soon as he says that I realise it is Eva calling. Which is confirmed by what Elliot says next.

"So, Gideon thinks this as well?" he asks.

"Ok well thanks for that Eva, I'll make sure dad and Christian are aware and I'll have a word with Lucy as well, no harm in putting her on her guard. If we hadn't already done that interview I'd say do something like that, but I think we should just play it by ear" he adds.

As he ends the call, he looks at Ava on his lap who is oblivious of what is going on around her and he bites his lip. It is clear he wants to talk about this, but obviously doesn't want to do so in front of Ava.

"Is Rachel still here?" I ask and before he can reply there is a knock at the door and the woman in question pops her head around the door.

"So, do you need me for anything else?" she asks and Elliot nods.

"Would you mind just watching Ava for me for about another hour or so, something has come up and I need to go out?" he says.

Rachel smiles at him, "Not at all, after all it is my job… a job which since Kate left has become incredibly easy".

Elliot snorts at that remark, "Yeah I know" he replies. It is quite ironic that when Kate was here Rachel practically lived here and between her and Elliot raised Ava. But since I came into Ava's life she has stepped back significantly.

"Ava, what are you reading?" Rachel calls brightly.

Ava's face lights up and she holds up the book, "Princess" she says and Rachel grins knowing that it is Ava's favourite story and with a bit of luck she should keep Ava occupied with it.

"Oh wow! I love that story, can I read it?" Rachel enthuses eagerly.

Without another look towards El Ava shuffles off his knee and runs to Rachel with the book. Then as she is leaving the room she pauses and looks round at El, seemingly remembering the fact he was going to re-read the story to her.

"Rachel read it" she says and Elliot grins at her.

"Ok" he replies and looking up at Rachel he mouths the words thank you. His smile as he watches them go fades as the door closes and with another sigh he stands up pushing his phone into his pocket.

"Are you going to see Christian in person?" I ask.

He nods, "Yes, it saves me calling dad as well as I think dad is still at Christian's place, plus I want Taylor to hear this and get his assurances that he will arrange some security for Sadie and Lucy in case David does show up".

I nod in understanding and I stand up and slip my hand into his.

"So, what did Eva say exactly?" I ask as we are leaving the house.

He quickly explains her hunch and to be honest I had thought pretty much the same thing. Some of the things she had said in the recordings smacked of manipulation and the only tool really at her disposal now was her father.

"I can't believe she is actually being that manipulative" I say sadly.

Elliot shrugs, "She's a controlling narcissistic bitch, if you had seen her that very first time I met them in Detroit, you would understand. However, now she has lost her control over everyone and she is desperately trying to regain it. Plus, there is also the fact to consider that if her husband also now knows what she is like there is a very good chance he will leave her as well. So, essentially through her actions she has lost her job, her parents, her sister and possibly she will have lost her husband and son as well. For a narcissist that won't go down well… she is a very dangerous woman and I am concerned about what she will do if David doesn't bite".

oooOOOooo

"So that's what Eva thinks" Elliot finishes as Christian, Carrick and Jason Taylor sit there listening with grim expressions.

Ana nods and doesn't look surprised by anything that has been said and I wonder if Eva has called her.

"I was thinking along those lines as well" Ana says, which explains the lack of shock at what El said.

"It's a shame we didn't know all this before that interview we did, that way we could've brought Sadie in and killed the rumours stone dead" Ana adds echoing El's words from earlier.

"To be fair, I think that interview was possibly the catalyst for Jen. The thing which galvanised her into action as it were" Elliot says, before turning towards Jason Taylor. "You will keep Sadie and Lucy safe in case David Greaves shows up here?" he asks, to which Jason nods emphatically.

"Don't worry sir, if David Greaves does show up in Seattle, we will know about it. Sadie and Lucy have a degree of security surrounding them at present – which they are unaware of, but I'll make those operatives aware of this and to be on their guard" Jason says.

"Thanks Jason, I appreciate that" El says with a distinct air of relief.

Carrick nods, "The restraining order from before should still be in place but I'll see what other legal avenues I can pursue to keep Greaves from approaching Sadie. Hopefully it will be unnecessary but there is no harm in being cautious. Call it due diligence" he says.

Before we can say anything more all our phones start pinging loudly, signifying numerous internet alerts regarding the family. We all look at each other and then we all reach for our phones at the same time. As I look at my phone my heart sinks. The internet is clearly buzzing with something, and it appears to be Kate's interview with Jen. I had no idea that it was being released now. There is a photograph of the two of them, and I quickly scan the article, my eyes widening and jaw dropping as I read.

'ELLIOT GREY'S MOM ABANDONS SECOND FAMILY!' is the headline screaming the first lie.

The biological mother of Seattle construction king Elliot Grey, brother of multi billionaire businessman Christian Grey has allegedly abandoned a second family.

Sadie Greaves (nee. Sharp) who was born and raised in Detroit was a teen mom giving birth to Elliot when she was just sixteen years old. She immediately put him up for adoption and got on with her life. That life led her to meeting David Greaves, a talented doctor in Detroit. The two fell in love and married, and quickly built a life and family of their own. Sadie and David had two daughters Jennifer and Lucy. Although Sadie also suffered a series of miscarriages after the birth of both Jennifer and Lucy.

I go cold as I read that, wondering if it was David's abuse that caused the miscarriages.

Sadie Greaves not only had a comfortable life in Detroit, she also worked with her husband at his medical practice in the city. Everything changed though when her eldest son who she had long since abandoned and forgotten reappeared and came searching for his biological mother.

Elliot Grey, wealthy owner of Grey Construction in Seattle was adopted by top Washington litigator Carrick Grey and his wife paediatrician Dr Grace Trevellyan-Grey shortly after his birth and he grew up in an affluent area of Washington State with his adopted siblings Christian and Mia. When the news broke recently about his brother's wife Anastasia being related to New York mogul Gideon Cross' wife Eva and the fact their biological father, Frank Lambert was still very much alive despite evidence that he had died years previously. It set in action a chain reaction of events which led Christian Grey to discover the truth about his origins and being reunited with his own birth family and this encouraged Elliot Grey to discover the truth about his. That opened up a whole new can of worms when he discovered that his biological father was none other than Frank Lambert, the same Frank Lambert who had fathered his brother's wife and his sister-in-law. So, Elliot's sister-in-law became his biological half-sibling, a fact which was revealed by the Grey and Cross family recently. Grey reached out to his biological mother and a meeting was quickly organised in Detroit by Greaves' eldest daughter Jennifer who naturally wanted to help her mother reunite with her eldest child.

'If I'd known what would happen, I would never have done what I did' Jennifer Greaves told me sadly as we talked about the ramifications of her efforts.

She told me how that meeting had set in motion the disintegration of her family, she said 'We met Elliot in Detroit. We had pre-arranged to meet him at a hotel in the city. When we arrived we were confronted with not only Elliot but also practically his entire family. He had brought his sisters, Anastasia and Eva, which I suppose was understandable considering the link with his biological father but he also brought his adopted siblings Mia and of course multi billionaire Christian. It was more than a little intimidating'. I snort rudely at that remark as from what I've heard about that meeting with Jennifer, intimidated wasn't how she was feeling.

Elliot looks up questioningly at me at that and I point to the screen, "I've got to the bit where Jen was feeling 'intimidated' by you all showing up in Detroit" I explain, putting air quotes around the word intimidated and emphasising the word sarcastically. This makes a smile pull at the corner of El's mouth in response.

I return to the article and continue to read.

'My mother had obviously been dazzled by the prospect of being related to the Grey's and that day she didn't return home with me. She spun her son a sob story about being abused by my father and asked to leave Detroit to escape the abusive relationship she was in. Naturally Elliot believed her, my mother is a very believable person. It appears that she and my sister Lucy concocted this story between them when Elliot first wrote to them and they planned to leave for a new life in Seattle as soon as they were aware of who they were related to. I'm sorry to say that they manipulated the entire Grey family and my mother took my father to the cleaners when she divorced him. I hold no malice towards Elliot Grey or his family as they have been lied to and mislead by my mother and sister… and after all Elliot is also my brother but I haven't had the chance to create that bond with him after everything my mother and sister did'.

After hearing this heart breaking, sad account of what happened, I asked Jennifer if she had spoken to her mother and sister since they had moved to Seattle, and what she told me was appalling.

'I've tried to reach out to my mother and sister many times but they don't want anything to do with me, it seems because I took my father's side in the divorce proceedings, I am considered the enemy and a threat to the new life they have built in Seattle'.

I am filled with empathy for Jen as I have had my own dealings with the Grey family. I was, until recently married to Elliot Grey. But the marriage broke down and I have been erased from my daughter's life as a result when the Grey family closed ranks.

I have to admit at this point I am shocked by what I have read. I can't read any more of this crap and I look up at everyone who is still reading.

"Well shit!" Elliot says a few moments later.

Before anyone can respond El's phone starts to ring.

"It's Eva" he says with a sigh.

He puts the call on speaker so we can all hear what she says and her response is blunt and to the point.

"Kate's article has landed, is she fucking insane? The evidence we have disputing what she has said is immense, I say we bury those bitches!" she says.

I frown at that, "Hang on we can't. Sadie is banned from speaking out about the abuse so we can't do anything that will jeopardise that".

Carrick leans forward, "Sadie is banned from speaking out about it" he says simply.

"My thoughts exactly" a male voice chimes in.

"Hello Arash" Carrick says, "I didn't realise you were there with Eva" he adds, which explains who he is.

"Hello Carrick, yes sorry I didn't introduce my presence. Gideon called me as soon as the story broke and I came straight over. So, are we on the same page with this then?" he asks.

I look at Elliot and Christian who are nodding adamantly and I quickly catch up as to what they mean. Sadie is banned from talking… but we are not! We have all the evidence along with the report Grace wrote when she examined Sadie when she first arrived in Seattle and documented the years of historic abuse on her body… abuse which was not documented in her own medical records.

"Sadie and Lucy need to be on board with this" Ana says carefully.

I nod, "Let me call Lucy" I say and I reach for my phone.

The call rings out and Lucy quickly answers. "Hi Meg" she says brightly and I inwardly cringe at how happy she sounds. She clearly has no idea of the bombshell her sister has just dropped.

"Lucy, something has happened. I'm calling you because El is currently on the phone with Eva, Arash and Gideon. We are at Christian's at the moment… the article Kate wrote with Jen has gone live and considering the amount of notifications we are getting I'd say it's gone viral. It's full of lies, and Jen is basically calling Sadie a liar… so, the only thing we can do in response is to release all the evidence we have which proves Sadie was abused by her husband…"

"But mom can't do that" Lucy interrupts.

"Wait, we know that but Carrick and Arash think we can, as long as we do it and not Sadie. It's the same principle as if Jen had said something or if David had done something. It's a technicality, if we release the information Sadie has done nothing wrong and not violated the terms of the divorce. So we need her permission to do that" I explain.

"Would that encourage dad to make a move though?" Lucy asks.

I hesitate as I don't know how to answer that, "Hang on Lucy I'm putting you on speaker so everyone can hear you, is Sadie there as perhaps she should be in on this as well" I say.

"Ok" Lucy says and I hear her call out to Sadie.

A moment later we hear Sadie and she sounds upset. "I've read the article, it's all lies… I didn't… he abused me" she sobs.

"Sadie, it's ok, don't cry" El begs, "We can fix all this, we just need your word and we can fight this. You don't have to do anything. We put all the evidence out there, not you. That way you haven't violated your divorce and the truth gets put out there".

"But Arash and Carrick will get into trouble if you do that as they were working for me on the divorce" Sadie argues.

"Not if we do it" Christian says coldly.

"Christian is right, we have enough evidence to prove David abused you, plus all the threatening calls Jen made. We can also release the fact the terms of the divorce were such that you are gagged from revealing the truth about the abusive nature of your ex-husband, but how that doesn't stop us from saying things" El explains.

"But does that sound like you are closing ranks… that is what Kate said, it might look bad for you if you try and defend me?" Sadie says nervously.

Elliot laughs, "Sadie, you know the amount of evidence I have to bury Kate. I have enough incriminating stuff to shut that bitch up for good, plus we might have grounds to sue her as well for her comments about Ava, as she insinuated we have banned her from seeing Ava whereas she signed away her parental rights and repeatedly said she never wanted her. So don't worry about us, if we do this right, we can bury both of them".

There is a long silence and then Sadie speaks again.

"What about David?" she asks.

Carrick leans forward again, "I will deal with that should he attempt any contact. You should also know, that while you are unaware of the fact but you already have a degree of security surrounding you, which Christian has provided and Christian has instructed that they be made aware of this and to be on high alert should David make an appearance, you will be totally and completely safe".

There is another long silence and then Sadie speaks again, "Do it, do what you need to do. I had already agreed to do that, when we talked about this earlier. Even though the scenario has changed slightly my feelings haven't… I don't want to be their victim anymore".

"El… if I say something will there be any blow back on mom?" Lucy asks suddenly.

Elliot looks questioningly at Carrick who shakes his head.

"Luce, my dad is shaking his head so the answer to that is no… why? What are you thinking?" El asks.

"I want to be the one to destroy Jen. I want to be the one who puts the truth out there, as long as it doesn't cause any issues with mom's divorce settlement then I want to be the one who does this… I want to be the one to destroy my sister and show my dad for the abusive monster he is" she says firmly.

El looks up at Christian who just nods.

"If that is what you want?" El says, "but I want to be with you when you do it as we can kill two birds with one stone and take down Kate at the same time".

There is a silence and then Lucy responds.

"Ok, I agree with that… perhaps get that guy who produced your other interview to release it?" she says referring to Eamon.

"I can ask him, we are bound to be approached for comment regarding the nature of this piece. So, what we could do is… we could do an interview with Hazel and air all the footage we have. Do you also have the photographs and evidence you brought with you to Seattle when you and Sadie left of the abuse and how David never paid Sadie?" El asks.

"I do, I gave copies to Arash and Carrick but I made sure to keep copies for myself… just in case. Can we use that?" she asks.

Carrick grins, "Clever girl, yes you can, as that footage is yours and as long as you publicly declare that it is your property then there is nothing your father can do. However, it is my opinion that if you were the one to make everything public about your sister and father it would be creating a greater risk of David turning up here than if Elliot does it. But we have already established that you and Sadie will be protected should he do so".

"I want to do it" Lucy replies adamantly.

"Then you will do so" El replies, "I'll call Eamon and organise an interview with Hazel and we destroy those bitches once and for all".

"What about the evidence Jen gave to us, Arash can we use that, as that proves she knew her father was abusing her mother?" Eva puts in.

"As long as it is made clear that the footage came from Jen, was given to Eva and Eva has handed it over. It can't come from me as much as I would like to give you the copies I have I am bound by client confidentiality and the divorce agreement which prevents me from doing so" Arash explains.

"I should've done something before" Sadie says sadly.

"We've been through this Sadie, so stop feeling guilty" El says kindly.

"So, what do we do now?" I ask wondering how we are going to do this.

El sighs, "I'll arrange an interview with Hazel Mathers with Eamon and then we do it. I think the time it will take will work in our favour. The media will work themselves up into a frenzy wanting our response and we don't give it. While we are arranging the details of the interview it also gives us time to see how they respond to our silence. If they keep quiet or if they come out and say anything more. We already have possible grounds to sue Kate for her remarks about our divorce and Ava. She is desperate for revenge so there is the real chance she could say something which we can sue her for". He pauses and looks at Carrick, "Can we sue Jen for her lies about Sadie, I mean surely what she said is libellous? We can prove that what she has said in that interview is wrong so can we sue her?" he asks.

"It is a possibility" Carrick replies.

"Then we do it" Lucy says coldly.

"But she is an ex-cop, surely she knows this?" I ask wondering why she would do this.

Lucy snorts, "You have to realise that she believes she is untouchable. A fact which has been corroborated by the fact the investigation into her actions at the police department were forgotten once she resigned. She also believes that mom is scared of her so she thinks she won't face any repercussions from saying what she said".

"Well then, let's prove her wrong!" Eva says.

"I agree" Elliot replies.