Chapter Fouteen
Cian
I don't know how long I sat outside the house I had visited many times over 25 years ago, watching shadows of movement within. I don't know why I was here or what I was going to say. All I knew was that this conversation was long overdue and very much needed.
I climbed out of the car and took a deep breath as I made my way to the front door, knocked a couple of times and waited.
It didn't take very long for someone to open the door and the second the woman in front of me saw me she gasped and tried to slam the door in my face but my foot stopped.
"I'm not here to hurt you!" The door slowly opened but the fear on the beauty in front of me remained.
"Hello, Alexandra. It's been too long and it would seem we have much to discuss."
"Why are you here, Cian?"
"I'm here to talk about our daughter." I watched as Alexandra's eyes widened with fear as tears filled them.
"I'm sorry. You have to know that everything I have done is to protect her. What I saw that night, Cian. I was scared. You have to understand that. I didn't know what would happen if you knew that I was pregnant. I thought you would take her from me. I couldn't lose my child. Please, you have to believe me."
"I do." Alexandra's fear was quickly replaced with uncertainty and confusion.
"Then why are you here?"
"I have things to explain. I also need you to know that I intend to be in our daughter's life. We are her parents and we cannot co-parent when you fear me."
"I think that she is passed the age of needing us to cp-parent, Cian. We don't need to talk about anything. We can simply stay away from each other and…"
"In case you haven't realised, Alexandra, our daughter is in love with a man that one day she will marry. I not only plan on walking our daughter down the aisle I plan on being involved in planning her wedding. There will also no doubt be children in her future and again I will be in our grandchildren's lives."
Alexandra looked like she wanted to deny everything I had just said to her but I could forgive the past 25 years but she would never keep me from our daughter again. "We will be in each other's lives for the rest of our lives the sooner you come to terms with that the better, because nothing in this world will stop me."
Alexandra reluctantly stepped back opening the door wider and allowing me to enter. "We need to be quiet. My mother is asleep and she is unwell. I don't want her to worry."
I silently nodded my head and followed her through the house, taking in the clutter that filled the rooms we passed.
As we entered the kitchen Alexandra opened the freezer, pulled out a large bottle of vodka, and filled 2 glasses pushing one over to me as I took a seat. It wasn't my drink of choice but given what we were about to talk about and not knowing how well Alexandra would take what I was about to tell her the drink would have to do.
Alexandra and I had been speaking for hours. Going over everything that had happened the last night she saw me and the 25 years since. I had learned all about Alice, who from what Alexandra had told me had been very much like Siobhan.
They almost sounded like they had been raised together and shared almost identical personalities. Both were strong-willed, yet incredibly kind, caring, and eager to make people smile. They both had beauty, brains, and a heart of gold to match and I felt the pride for Alice that I always held for Siobhan. It just broke my heart that they never got the chance to meet each other. They would have been thick as thieves and the best of friends.
I told Alexandra all about Siobhan and even showed her pictures of her growing up, and Alexandra shared pictures of Alice with me and I felt the tears burn the back of my eyes as I looked at both my daughters who could have easily passed as twins.
When I explained to Alexandra what had happened with my daughter I was shocked to see the tears falling from her eyes and when she heard about what my sister had done to the twins the anger I saw in Alice's eyes matched her mother's.
By the time I left, Alexandra had relaxed and was even able to hug me as I left with a promise of dinner with Alice, of course.
With one more goodbye I left Alexandra's mother's home making sure that she knew whatever she needed. If she ever wanted help with her mother, now that I knew she was unwell I wanted her to know that she had me. After all, she was the mother of our daughter.
I arrived home a short while later, expecting to see my wife sat in our daughters room as was becoming the norm for when I came home. So, I was shocked to find the house empty. I thought that she had perhaps decided on a stroll or even making some funeral arrangements but when she didn't answer her phone I became worried.
It wasn't like Samantha to ignore my calls. Especially given what we were going through.
Samantha
I arrived at the Grey's house and told the security about why I was there and who I was. I had told them that I was there to thank them for catching the men who had ripped my precious daughter from my life and smiled sadly as they showed me into the house before telling me they would have Mr Grey join me shortly.
Apparently, he was on an important call so I was shown to the front room where I waited but was joined by someone who I recognised the second she walked into the room smiling softly and offering me a drink.
I knew my husband had been up to something after he began locking his office door the past few days which he hadn't done for years. Ever since Siobhan was old enough to understand that his office was off-limits.
What Cian didn't know was that I had a copy of the key for his office and had for many years. So, when he left the house this morning, I knew he was off the grounds and wasted no time in going in to find out what I could about why he was locking the room again.
It didn't take long for me to find what I was looking for and when I did my heart sank. On his computer screen was the beautiful smiling face of a woman that could have been mistaken for my daughter if it weren't for the subtle differences.
I read the information that accompanied the picture and my sinking, breaking heart was quickly replaced by rage. This was my husband's bastard child. Had he known about her all this time? Had he lied to me throughout our whole marriage? Why was she alive but my angel was gone?
I had so many questions and each one left a bitter acidic taste in my mouth.
I convinced myself that I was coming here just to meet her but now that she was in front of me the rage inside built.
I hadn't realised that I had been staring while she waited patiently with the soft smile that I wanted so badly to wipe off her face.
How dare she walk around while my daughter lies cold in a morgue?
"Are you, okay?" The girl in front of me whom I knew was called Alice broke me from my internal thoughts with her sickly sweet voice and I forced myself to smile at her.
"Yes. Sorry. I'm okay, thank you. I'm just waiting for Christian."
"Oh. I'm sure he won't be too much longer." Alice walked past me to kneel in front of 2 cats who eagerly rubbed themselves against her legs purring softly and all I could think was how much my Siobhan would love to be alive playing with those cats.
"You look so much like her." The words were out of my mouth before I could stop them as I watched Alice turn to face me frowning.
"I'm sorry?"
"My daughter. You look so much like her. I didn't expect you to look… well, you could pass as her twin. I knew from your picture that you looked like her but seeing you in person. Did you ever meet her?"
"Who?"
"My daughter, Siobhan. Did you meet her? Did my husband always know about you? How long has he been hiding you from me?"
I watched as Alice stood up and moved backwards away from me and I couldn't blame her. I could hear the hatred, anger, and disgust in my voice. I hated her. I hate that she lived. I hated that my husband had betrayed me, that he had lied to me.
"I am so sorry for your loss. I truly am. I never met your daughter though I have heard how wonderful she was. I wish I had met her but I only just found out about Cian and…"
"That you are his bastard child?"
"I know you are hurting but…"
"You know nothing of what I'm going through. You don't know the pain of losing your child. A child you fought to have. A child you loved more than your own life. You don't know what it's like to find out your husband has been lying to you. How long has he known about you?"
"You're right. I don't know what you are going through. I wish I could make this…"
"I asked you how fucking long has he known!" Alice visibly flinched when I shouted but I was too far gone to care.
"Not long. A few days. I swear neither of us knew about each other. I thought my father had died."
"And now? What do you want from him? Are you after his money? Are you trying to take the place of my daughter? Because you will never be her! You could never be her!"
"I don't want anything. I swear I would never think to try and replace your daughter." I watched as Alice's eyes widened as I held the gun I had been hiding out in front of me pointing it at her head with my finger on the trigger.
Cian
I didn't wait for security to let me into Christian's home knowing that they wouldn't dare stop me as I ran through the front door in search of Samantha. The second I found my office door open I knew that my wife had found out about Alice and I knew she would be 1 of 2 places.
She would have either been at Alexandra's or she would have been here looking for Alice and I knew the first place I needed to look was here. While I wouldn't wish any harm on Alexandra, Alice was my daughter and my priority.
I heard shouting coming from the front room and ran faster stopping in my tracks as I took in my wife holding a gun up to my daughter's head and I didn't hesitate to pull out my own and place it at the back of my wife's head.
"Put the gun down, Samantha. You really don't want to do this." I silently pleaded for my wife to do as I asked because I really didn't want to have to choose because I knew if I had to I would choose my daughter every time.
"Why should I? She wants to replace my baby. She will take you from me. She will take everything from me. Why should she live when our daughter doesn't get to?"
"What happened to Siobhan isn't Alice's fault. She is innocent. She has done nothing to deserve your anger. Put the fucking gun down. Don't make me choose."
"You would choose her, who you barely fucking know over me? I'm your goddamn fucking wife! We have been together for most of our lives and you have known this little bitch 5 fucking minutes and you would choose her?"
"She is my daughter, Samantha."
"No. Siobhan was your daughter. This girl is no one."
I was shaking as Samantha turned back to face Alice worried that if it came to it Samantha could pull the trigger before I could take her out.
I stepped closer pressing the gun to Samantha's temple just as Alesso, Christian, and Ana entered the room and as soon as they did, Alesso and Christian pulled out their own guns and directed them at Samantha.
"Back the fuck down! I got this!"
"The fuck I will, Cian!"
Samantha looked around the room as Alesso moved closer to Alice and placed himself in the line of fire and I had to admit, my respect for him went up some more knowing that he was willing to protect my daughter with his life.
"Samantha, I know you are in pain. We both are. We both lost Siobhan but it's not Alice's fault. Please, baby, put the gun down."
I was watching Samantha so closely that I didn't notice until it was too late that Alice had used everyone's distraction to grab Alesso's gun and place herself back in the line of fire and for a second I turned my gun on her in shock that she had it in her to do what she was doing.
"Alice, no! Give the gun back to Aslesso and get out of the fucking way!"
"No! I won't let her hurt Alesso! If you want me, Samantha then take me!"
"Don't you fucking dare, Alice!" My gun was still on Alice, not because I would use it on her but because I was still in shock that she would give her life for a man she had known mere months.
"Cian, understand this. If Alesso is hurt it will destroy me. You will never see me walk down the aisle. You will never have grandchildren. You will never see me again. If he is gone nothing matters. Do you understand that? If your wife takes him from me she might as well take me with him."
I watched as Alesso looked down at Alice the shock mirroring my own.
"Dad, he is my life. I need him. I can't…no, I refuse to live without him. He is my world. Please! Help me!" It was with those words that I snapped out of my shock and it was at that moment that Samantha lost it, stepped forward ready to pull the trigger and Christian grabbed Samantha's gun fighting to get it away from her just as my hand shot out and wrapped around Samantha's throat.
I love my wife and I knew she was in pain but I couldn't let her destroy my daughter's life or rob her of the future she so desperately wanted and deserved.
I watched as my wife's face turned a dark shade of purple and the blood vessels in her eyes burst because I was squeezing as hard as I could knowing that I couldn't allow her to live because if I did she would keep trying until she succeeded in ending Alice's life especially now that she knows I would always choose my daughter over her.
I watched as the life left my wife's eyes, knowing it was me doing this and hating myself for it. I didn't notice that her eyes had rolled back and she was no longer breathing until I felt a hand touch my arm.
I turned and growled down at whoever was touching me until I looked into the beautiful eyes of my daughter and when I did I dropped the lifeless body of the woman I had been married to for most of my life before grabbing Alice and holding onto her, needing to feel her breathing and alive. Known that the future she wants is going to happen. I would burn the world to make sure of it.
I don't know how long I held on to my daughter until I felt my shirt growing damp against my skin. It was then that I pulled back to look down at Alice who had tears flowing from her eyes.
"Hey. Why are you crying?"
"I know you have lost so much and now this. I didn't want this. I didn't want you to lose everything. I didn't want you to lose your wife." I smiled down at Alice and wiped the tears with my thumbs which kept on coming.
"I haven't lost everything. I have you. I have the future you spoke about, Your future. If I had let Samantha live she would have taken all of that from me and then I truly would have lost everything."
"She was hurting. She lost her daughter you both did but you still have a daughter and she didn't. She was in pain. She could have got help. She could have…" I placed my finger against her lips stopping her because I knew what she was saying wasn't possible.
"She wouldn't have gotten through this. You are so much like Siobhan. She would have seen that and it would have destroyed her knowing that you were my daughter and not hers. It would have driven her crazy knowing that your mother and I would be in each other's lives forever. She would have taken your life for that alone. I know my wife. She was a wonderful mother and she was a good wife but I know what she was capable of. I know what she would have done to you."
"But…"
"No. I need you to hear me. She would have taken everything from you before she took you from me. Do you think she would have let your mother live? Do you think after what you said she would have let Alesso live? She wouldn't need to do it herself she was as capable of taking a life as I am. As any of us are. She would have left you with nothing. She would have taken pleasure from your pain before she would have taken your life. I won't risk losing you."
My heart broke as more tears welled up in her eyes. "I spoke with your mother today."
"What?" Alice looked horrified so I spoke quickly to stop her from worrying.
"Don't worry. It went well. We spoke about you growing up. We spoke about Siobhan and my god, sweetheart. You were so alike. You would have been the best of friends. I wish you had met her. You would have loved each other so much. It's why I am not shocked by your compassion for a woman who threatened to take not only your life but anyone you loved who got in her way. You both had hearts of gold and you still do and it's both mine and your mother's job along with the man I know will one day be your husband and the father of your children to keep that beautiful heart beating. I failed Siobahn I. Will. Not. !"
"Was mum okay?" I loved that even given what she had just been through she could still find it within herself to think of others.
"Your mum is fine. Believe it or not, we even hugged. She showed my pictures of you." I took that moment to pull out the 2 pictures of Alice as a 4-year-old laughing in a swimming costume as she stood in the shallow end of a pool with the sun making her glow. I then held up another picture of Alice, a more recent one of her once more laughing as she hugged her grandmother.
They were my favourite pictures because she looked so happy and carefree and I would do everything in my power to make her smile, and laugh like that again, if it was the last thing I ever did.