(See the first chapter for disclaimer, notes, spoiler, etc.)
Chapter Twenty-Five: "You, My Love"
A/N #1: If this is your thing, know I wrote this chapter with the second movement from Beethoven's Symphony No. 7 playing on repeat. :o)
A/N #2: Trigger warning for a scene of mild physical torture. Read with care.
"I don't think you understand how desperately I want to shove this knife into your throat."
"I don't think you understand how desperately you want to see what's on my phone."
Olivia
- 60 minutes earlier -
From the open bedroom windows, a salty breeze stirred the sheer curtains. They billowed lightly on the air like puffs of smoke, bringing with it the sound of the children. All of our grandchildren were in the pool except for Sean's four. Their shouts and splashes reminded me of when it was Caitlin, Sean, and Evy making those same noises as Gregory taught them to swim and, later, swan dive into the deep end.
Pancake lay across my lap, looking as if she couldn't care less about the fun she was missing on the patio. But, every time a sound danced through the window, her tail thumped resoundingly. Her dark eyes met mine, pleading. "Go on," I replied, giving her hind legs a gentle nudge. But, she was nothing if not obedient. If I wasn't going downstairs, then neither was she. "Buona ragazza," I murmured, scratching behind her ears as she rested her head on my stomach. "Bella, bella, bella."
"And, this means you'll finally need to learn Italian."
"I'm fine with you speaking for me."
Even now, the stubbornness of Gregory's reply brought a lazy smile to my face as my cell phone finally chirped. I swiped at the screen and held it to my ear, the caller's name sufficing as a greeting. "Stanley?"
"Olivia." The voice of Gregory's estate lawyer was crystalline in my year, as if he was standing next to me rather than in a courthouse in Los Angeles. "The judge granted Lisa Roberts' request for a continuance."
My hand tightened so forcefully around the electronic device, I was surprised it didn't implode into pieces. "What?" A deep and bewildered sigh was his only reply. "Stanley, how?"
"Olivia, no one is more shocked than I am. I can assure you that we-"
His words lulled into a soft drone as the reality of his message sunk in. It wasn't over. This ludicrous attempt at contesting Gregory's will would drag on. Drag on the way it's dragged on since May. Dragging our marriage and our history of infidelity through the court system. For everyone to hear. For our children to be subjected to.
"-as if Lisa Roberts had a guardian angel."
Bile rose in my throat as his angry diatribe came back to the forefront of my consciousness. "What did you say?"
"We pulled her financial records. She's coasting on fumes and living paycheck-to-paycheck. I know the law firm representing her. They don't do pro bono work. Either she has dirt on her lawyers or a benefactor with deep pockets is helping her along."
It was one coincidence too many. As preposterous as the woman contesting Gregory's will was, she didn't exist in a silo. Not after what I remembered of the car crash. Not after the vanishing of Gianni Cappello. Not after AJ buying into Liberty. Not after the unexplainable things about myself and my marriage that AJ just happened to know. Not after Ben used his daughter's friendship with Nicola to learn private information about our family. "I understand," I finally murmured, my other hand heavy on Pancake's head.
Stanley's voice faded further and further away as I lowered the phone from my ear. Slowly, the device slipped from my hand and clattered to the floor, landing facedown next to the overstuffed chaise lounge I sat on. "I understand," I repeated as I moved slightly. Pancake immediately understood the silent instruction and jumped to the floor.
Slowly, creaking and aching, I stood tall. My head swam as the pieces snapped together, making sense because it was the only solution that made sense. Everything. Everything, somehow… Everything was AJ. The destroyer of worlds. Mine. Gregory's. Our family's.
I gripped the banister as I floated down the stairs, watching aimlessly as Pancake trotted down ahead of me at lightning speed. She bolted to the open patio door and vanished a moment later. Of course, it was far easier down here to hear the children splashing in the pool, smell the hot charcoal Casey was stoking in the grill. Of course, my playful spaniel couldn't resist any of it.
My heart pounded in my chest as I looked around, seemingly seeing my home anew. The light refracted differently, the colors of the throw pillows swelling intensely. My head spun again and I felt my knees tremble. Where was Morris? I leaned against the half-wall, brushing against my purse on the ledge. My eyes narrowed as I looked up, my stomach somersaulting like little Blake was so eager to show me when she arrived. My throat was tight and sour tasting, as if pleading for permission to open the flood gates of vomit my stomach was trying to expel.
Instead, my left hand clenched around the straps of my purse as my right hand felt inside for my key ring. There. Just as they should be. As the key ring disappeared into my fist, I stopped and listened. Splashing. Shouts. Laughter.
Our family. Absent Gregory's voice.
With a heaving push, I turned away from the patio and faced the front doors. Each step toward them was tremulous and lasted an eternity, but eventually, my fingers grazed the cool doorknob. Electricity hummed through my body, a current that jolted rapid-fire energy into my plodding movements. My body was moving, the trembling legs knowing where to carry me. My bare feet walked across the paved stone of the driveway, Gregory's black Jaguar gleaming like the night in the afternoon sun. I was watching myself perform these common tasks, things I have done on the daily throughout my adult life. But, I could feel the current coursing in me as I slid into the driver seat. It was the current of life. The current of truth. It nudged me onward, dropping the key ring and my purse into the center console as I pressed the Start button. The engine rumbled, the vibration slight beneath my seated body as my heart continued to throb painfully in my chest.
This was all for Gregory, I thought as I shifted the car into Drive.
Evy
She reached out, resting her palm on Benjy's forearm. "Then what did your dad say?" she murmured. They faced each other as they floated in the deep end of the pool, neon colored noodle floats tucked beneath their arms and against their chests. Her nieces and nephews splashed in the shallower half of the pool, except for Harrison who was methodically challenging himself to swim from one end to the other without coming up for breath.
He chuckled ruefully and, despite the dark sunglasses on his face, she knew he rolled his eyes. "Stay out of it, Benjamin," he mimicked, dryly imitating his father's accent and tone.
"I'm sorry, baby," she whispered, wrapping her arms around his neck.
As she wrapped her legs around his waist, he swam them to the corner and sat. A shallow ledge had been carved out of each corner of the deep end, the perfect seats for when Dad was done with his 100 lengths in the pool. "I'm ashamed of my father," he sighed.
She nodded, but said nothing as she combed through his dark wet hair with her fingers. The shrieks and giggles of her nieces and nephews fell to the wayside as Benjy's devastated confession hung between them. Sunlight reflected off the pool's surface, flashes of diamonds dancing around them. "He's still your dad," she said diplomatically, their chests pressed together as she hugged him close.
"My dad's an asshole who used his teenage daughter's friendship with your niece to get gossip about your mom."
"I don't disagree with that," she replied, watching him carefully through her gold sunglass lenses. She liked seeing the world in balmy and resplendent sepia. It reminded her of the old photos of her parents from the 1970s. "But, he's still your dad and…you love him." She felt the tremor that went through his body, his exposed skin suddenly goose pimpled.
From behind us, the kids shouted and played as Pancake barked happily. But, he said nothing. Only swallowed hard and leaned his forehead against hers. "Maybe- maybe we should go see your mom and Ross for a few days?" she whispered. "Cait and Charlie are here for Mom, so I could come with you." And, for the first time in several days, she saw the hint of a smile on his face. "Just think," she continued, hugging him closer as their foreheads touched, "a long road trip up the coast, a killer playlist, and a break from- from everything in Sunset Beach."
"I might like that," he whispered against her lips as he leaned in.
"Hey! Has anyone seen Mom?"
Olivia
- 45 minutes earlier -
AJ's home loomed in front of me as I slowed the car to a stop and parked. Sunlight caught my engagement ring as I gripped the steering wheel and watched the oceanfront mansion. The property was still and quiet, save for the rustling palm fronds. A moment later, the massive front door opened and there he was, striding towards me. Two men followed behind him, dressed in head-to-toe in black. Careful with her! The car rolled further than we thought! She might have broken bones!
One of them opened the driver side door as I swallowed a hard lump in my throat. "Olivia, my darling!" AJ exclaimed, beaming. "What a surprise!" He extended his hand and I took it slowly, tightening my grip around his fingers. "My dear, where are your shoes?" he asked as I stood from the car.
This was for Gregory. Forcing a smirk to my face, I shrugged and leaned into him as I rested a trembling hand over his heart. "Would you believe that I had to see you urgently? That I just couldn't spare a moment to find them?" A salty breeze swirled around us as he looked down into my face, searching. I felt my eyebrow arch as I pushed myself onto my toes. "I don't need shoes. I realized I just need…you, my love."
With a pealing chuckle, he hugged me closer as he pressed his mouth to mine. A wave of disgust curdled in my stomach as he gripped my upper arms, holding me in his embrace. "I can't tell you how long I've waited to hear you say that," he whispered against my lips. A breath later, he wrapped his arm around my shoulder and led me up to the house. "Mr. Kent, please fetch Mrs. Richards a pair of slippers."
"Of course. Shall Madame's purse remain with the car?"
"No." I half-turned to look back, but AJ's stride didn't break. "AJ, the pills for my shoulder are in there."
"Yes, yes. Mr. Kent will bring your bag to you with the slippers. Come now, let us steal away to the patio. Tea?"
The marble floor of the foyer was chilled against my bare feet and I found myself nodding. "Tea would be lovely," I murmured in reply as my eyes took in the furnishings of his home. It was so perfect, as if staged for a photoshoot when the homeowners were ready to sell. There were no personal traces of AJ at all in the rooms he led me through. "Will you give me a tour later?" I asked as we stepped out to the patio.
"But, of course." He pushed in my chair as soon as I sat, his hands lingering on my shoulders. I closed my eyes. This was for Gregory. Slowly, I raised my arms and covered his hands with my own and squeezed them gently. "This is the happiest moment," he said, a second before I felt him kiss the crown of my head.
This was for Gregory. AJ sat next to me at the table and immediately reached for my hand. "I knew you would make me feel better," I said softly, hoping my diamond engagement ring cut into his palm. "I knew I needed you." I leaned in, my eyes boring into his. "I needed you, AJ."
"And, here I am."
"Yes." My hand slipped from his and I reached up to cup his face. "You are."
The sound of tinkling plates and flatware disturbed the sudden silence. "I promised you tea," he explained as another, different man in all-black pushed out a cart with a full tea service. I sat back, listening as AJ snapped out instructions and a cup of steaming tea was set before me. I could feel a stupid smile bloom on my face as AJ sat across from me, his hand reaching for mine. His mouth was moving and I nodded, not caring what I was agreeing to. This was for Gregory. As AJ's words washed over me like an ice bath, I felt myself shiver. He squeezed my hand and I felt myself lean in as much as the small table would allow. What my eyes noticed as my ears ignored him was the gleaming silver knife next to the tiered plate of finger sandwiches and petit four. I could tell from the handle it had heft and I knew it would sit solidly in my grasp.
Morris
His fingers tightened around the ice-cold neck of the beer bottle, watching as Casey dialed Olivia's number on his cell phone. "It's just ringing," he said aloud to no one in particular. An odd sensation twisted and churned in his gut, his throat running dry.
"That's because it was on the floor in her bedroom," Caitlin said as she came out of the house, holding up Olivia's silver cell phone.
A moment later, Charlie stepped out of the house from the kitchen. "Gregory's car is gone."
The churning intensified, their talking muting to a dull hum as he set his beer aside and reached for his own cell phone. "Stanley Berenson called her not too long ago. Their call lasted for over three minutes," he heard Caitlin say.
"What does that mean?" Evy asked.
He cleared his throat as he tapped the fake calendar icon on his phone. "Caitlin, call Berenson back and ask him what he and Olivia spoke about." He looked up, his gaze sweeping over the cluster of adults crowded around the large patio table. "Ask him if she mentioned going somewhere."
"Ok." She swiped at the screen before holding the device to her ear.
He looked back at Evy, pool water puddling on the stone around her feet. Benji stood behind her, draping a beach towel around her shoulders. "You drove Gregory's car for months. Do you still have the GPS tracking on it?"
Her brown eyes widened as she nodded enthusiastically. "Yes! Bette and I turned it on when Mom started driving again." Her expression fell, suddenly contrite as she explained, "We were worried about her driving alone, especially if her shoulder pain flared-"
"It doesn't matter why," he interrupted, zooming in on his phone's screen as a satellite map of Ocean County materialized. "Access the history and see where Olivia went."
"I will," she shouted as she ran into the house, Benji on her heels. "Be right back!"
"Morris?" he looked up, seeing a spectrum of confusion and concern on Casey and Charlie's faces. Down at the poolside, Diana kept looking over her shoulder as she kept the crowd of children away from whatever was unfolding. "What's going on?"
The small red pin was blinking on the map's screen and his blood ran cold when he saw the last known location of the tracking device hidden in the false lid of Olivia's prescription bottle.
Olivia
- 10 minutes earlier -
"Show me your home," I said softly, setting my empty teacup back on its saucer.
AJ stood with a flourish and reached for my arm, helping me up. As I threaded my arm through the crook of his, he said softly, "My true home is France. My family's ancestral home in Saint-Cloud."
"What a lovely name," I murmur, grabbing the heavy silver knife and sliding it up my sweater's thick sleeve. My right hand cupped the heel of it, but AJ would never notice it as he drew me against him. Not until it was too late. His hand was clamped heavily on my right shoulder, the one so badly injured in the car crash. The car crash he orchestrated.
"Nothing would make me happier than to take you there," he said as we walked through the open patio doors. My eyes instantly adjusted as the dimness of the mansion's interior surrounded us. "To take you away from this place, away from these memories."
Slowly, I stepped away from him and feigned admiration of a large painting. Pointedly, I rubbed my right shoulder, as if the pain in it ever compared to the white-hot rage pulsing through every inch of my body. This was for Gregory. "The memories are always there though," I murmured, my right hand gripping the handle of the knife. I heard him inhale sharply behind me, already prepared with a rebuttal. "But," I said softly and I looked slowly over my other shoulder, as if I hadn't heard him, "perhaps you're right. Time away could…help. Help me heal."
He beamed and took a small step closer. "To start over."
I forced a bashful smile to my face. A believable one must have appeared because he took another step towards me. I turned slightly to him, keeping my right side and the knife away. "Start over with you. Finally."
"Finally," he sighed, moving ever closer until only one step would close the remaining space between us.
"Perhaps you can show me to the second floor," I suggested and my throat tightened, as if our teatime meal threatened to re-appear. This was for Gregory. "And to other private rooms."
He moved first, nodding deeply as he took my left hand. "Where we won't be disturbed." My chin trembled as he pulled me in, his lips finding mine. Would he mistake the shudder for a shiver? The quick inhale for strength as one of anticipation? "I've already dismissed the staff," he murmured against my lips and I felt a chill dance down my spine as he gripped my upper arms. "We're alone, my darling."
I pushed him down to the overstuffed armchair with my left hand. His starving expression looked up at me before I slowly sank into his lap. This was for Gregory. "Finally," I sighed, letting the knife slip down from my sleeve. The handle was heavy and cool in my palm as I raised the sharp tip to the soft flesh of AJ's neck.
He began to chuckle as he felt the blade press into his skin. "Olivia, what is this?"
I leaned against his chest, not sure that my slight frame would do much to hold him down. Then again, he hadn't moved since I held the knife to his throat. "Foreplay, my love."
He chuckled again, but it was less playful than a moment ago. It sounded almost hesitating. Doubt clouded his gray eyes. "Olivia-"
My left arm was horizontal on his chest, bracing me steady as I shifted the knife and added pressure to my grip. "In January, our car went off the road outside of Florence. I was pulled from the wreck by a man named Gianni Cappello. When he went back for Gregory, the car burst into flames." I frowned and leaned heavily against him, hoping he was as cornered as I've felt for months. "That's what I was told. But, that's not what happened."
"It isn't?"
I leaned into my right side, the point of knife creating a deeper dimple in AJ's flesh. "No." He inhaled sharply as I continued, "That's not what I remember." His eyes darkened as his amused expression melted into a frown. "Why did you want to hurt us, AJ?" A moment later, he chuckled softly and a furious flush of anger rose in me. This was for Gregory. I shifted my wrist quickly, changing the direction of the knife so it now pointed up at an angle. It would only take one jab, I thought. One good thrust to bury the blade into AJ's neck.
"It was a car accident," he said carefully, his narrowed eyes dancing between my face and the knife.
"I've never called it a car accident. It wasn't one." As I leaned into my right side further, a raised drop of blood appeared beneath the blade and I heard AJ hiss. "Where is Gregory's body? What did you do with him?"
As the drop slowly wove its way around and between the folds of AJ's skin, he began to chuckle again. I felt the sound make his body tremble beneath mine and I frowned, deepening the cut on his neck. "Olivia, my dear…it appears I overestimated you. I thought you figured it out."
My wrist rotated, making the cut go deeper. He flinched and continued to laugh as I said, "I did. You caused the crash. It was all you. Gregory's death, buying into his company, paying off Gregory's old mistress to contest the will, knowing things you can't possibly know. All of it was you."
"Get my phone," he hissed as his laughter faded. The blood dripped down his neck, staining the collar of his shirt. His eyes moved to his chest as he added, "In my coat pocket."
This was for Gregory. My right hand twitched, pressing the blade's point slightly deeper into the side of his neck. Within a breath's distance from his face, I shook my head and whispered, "I don't think you understand how desperately I want to shove this knife into your throat."
Again, his eyes turned down to his chest before looking back up at me. "I don't think you understand how desperately you want to see what's on my phone." A mysterious expression danced across his face as he nodded, further aggravating the small wound against the knife. But, he barely noticed as he again used his head to gesture to the left side of his body.
Irritated, I slid my left arm across his chest. My fingers brushed against the diamond tie clip, fastened oddly to the pocket of his sports coat. My eyes never left his face as I felt for the phone. Instead of a pocket square, his silver smartphone was tucked inside. I held up the phone and he touched his thumb to the dark screen, unlocking the device. "Go on," he urged, straining with his chin in the direction of the phone. A wildly excited expression overtook him and my stomach turned abruptly. "Tap the blue icon. It's the only one on the screen."
As my heartbeat began to increase, my eyes flickered from him to the phone and back again. "Do it, Olivia," he exclaimed, the pitch of his voice suddenly higher. Shifting the phone in my left hand, I tapped the lone icon with my thumb as I leaned further onto his chest. A blue rectangle filled the device's screen and a white circle spun to infinity. I looked only at the phone, suddenly and deeply afraid of whatever it was AJ was so keen for me to see.
The screen changed from blue to black and began to come into focus. The black gave way to shades of gray, defining shapes and space. My eyes crinkled, not understanding what sort of image I was looking at. Slowly, my spinal column turned to ice as the image continued to become clearer. But, it wasn't an image. It was a video. I flinched, gripping the knife tighter as the video resolution sharpened and it came into focus.
His chest vibrated as he chuckled again and marveled, "You really didn't figure it out. I was so sure…"
What I saw made no sense. Slowly, I shook my head as I sat up, releasing AJ from my hold on him. The knife slipped from my right hand as I cupped the phone with both hands, staring down at the screen in dumbstruck shock. Gregory's face stared directly back at me. He was shaking his head, urgently trying to stop whatever was unfolding. My mouth parted as I inhaled sharply, realizing his hair was longer and he had a beard. But, it was him. It was Gregory. Gregory was alive. My body felt turned to stone and I suddenly felt dizzy as I watched the way his mouth moved as he shouted into oblivion. But it was him. I knew every inch of him, especially what it looked like when he said "Liv". That what he was saying now. Liv! Liv! Liv!
A hot tear escaped from my eye as I sat on AJ's lap, looking down at the phone. Now, it was, No, Liv! No! No, Liv! There was no sound with the video, but I could hear his voice in my mind. He was shouting, furious as he continued to shake his head. Gregory was alive. A sob rose in my throat as I gasped my husband's name, unable to stop looking at him. How was this possible? Where was he? Was he alright?
"I can tell you everything, Olivia. Everything."
The sound of AJ's voice was a sudden piercing siren in the silence between us. "Where is he?" I demanded, refusing to tear my eyes away from the screen. Gregory ran an angry hand through his hair and shook his head. His mouth was moving again, but it was more words now than just "Liv" and "No".
"I can tell you…or… I can show you."
My eyes flew to AJ's for a brief moment as my brain struggled to make sense out of what I was seeing on the phone and hearing AJ say. Gregory was alive. "Show me," I replied immediately, barely giving my confused mind a chance to think. Was there a choice, really? Gregory was alive. I turned back to the phone as I stood, hearing AJ stand a moment later. Gregory shook his head, his mouth moving again. I narrowed my eyes through the tears, trying to understand what he was saying. Gregory was alive. I was seeing him for the first time in months. My right index finger traced the outline of his face on the screen as my confused brain sorted out his message. Don't come, Liv. Don't come.
"Olivia?" AJ's voice had lost the earlier amusement, but I could still detect a trace of glee in the syllables of my name. I forced myself to look up, away from Gregory. His staff had returned, the three of them lined up in the doorway. AJ held a crisp handkerchief to his neck where I had let the blade of the knife play with him. "There won't be any going back after this. I can't let you bring anything on the plane. Especially not your phone."
Plane? I looked back at Gregory, desperately wishing he was here now to tell me what to do. But, Gregory was quiet on the other end of the screen. Instead, a silent look of profound sadness sank into his bearded face as he looked back at me. This was for Gregory. All of this was for him. "Fine," I murmured, not feeling the tears on my cheeks as I looked back down at Gregory. "Fine."
AJ began to turn away when I looked up sharply, still gripping his phone. "No. Wait. My orange bottle of pills. I need them for my shoulder." He abruptly turned back, his brow raised. "The plane, the elevation…it will aggravate the arthritis in my shoulder." I hoped to God it sounded believable. "I need them."
He held my gaze for a long moment, but I said nothing. The silence stretched between us for several uncomfortable heartbeats before he cleared his throat and asked, "Mr. Kent?"
"They're clear, sir. Nine mild painkillers in a pharmacy-issued prescription bottle."
I lowered my face back to the phone, letting only Gregory see the small smirk on my face. But, he only frowned in reply, his eyes full. "I'm coming, darling," I whispered to the screen. "I'm coming for you."