CHAPTER 8
Christian took Ana's hand and the boxes and they said good night. Christian took her to the SUV where Taylor and Sawyer were. Ryan and Reynolds were following them in to the other SUV. Elena watched from the window inside, frowning as they pulled out. She thought maybe Christian was going to pull his backing this week to upset her.
Elena said goodbye to Grace and walked her bottle of scotch and her bracelet box to her house across the street kiddie corner from them. She walked up to her door and found the front door unlocked. She thought that was odd, but blew it off and went inside thinking she must have forgotten to lock it before she left. She locked the door and the house felt cold. She flipped a switch to turn on the lights and the whole house was dead. She made her way to her desk and grabbed a flashlight and turned it on. She started looking around. She called the electric company and reported that her house was without power. She wandered around her house and put a kettle on her stove of water to make hot tea. She used a tea bag and some sugar from the sugar bowl. She put a shot of scotch in it. She was sipping on her tea in her bedroom and sat her bracelet box on top of her big huge jewelry box on the dresser. She got undressed but put on heavier clothing than normal with her robe. She took her tea and flashlight to the living room.
Her phone rang and it was her manager in New York. He handles the BDSM clubs for her. She answered the phone and said, "Yeah."
The man said, "I tried to call you earlier…". She looked at her phone and it must have been on vibrate. "... Your clubs, both of them are burnt down to the ground, Elena. The firemen are in two locations fighting the fires. The one on 5th avenue was caused by faulty wiring and everyone was gotten out. The second one was caused by a cigarette. I told you to have a non-smoking policy."
Elena was in shock. She thought, 'How could both of them burn to the ground at the same time but for two different reasons? I have to find my insurance papers in my safe.' She said to her manager, "Frank, I'll get back to you. Find out everything you can from the police and fire department."
She hung up and went to her big safe under her desk on the floor. She knelt down and moved the rug and mat. She dialed the numbers and unlocked the handle. She opened it to find it completely empty. She just stared at the empty safe. It had a million cash, her important papers, her bank and password books and the majority of her jewelry collection.
She backed away and ran into her closet in her bedroom and unlocked the safe in the back of her closet in the wall… it was empty. It had $500,000 cash, her two handguns, three aliases with passports, driver's licenses and birth certificates. She ran to her jewelry box on her dresser and flung the bracelet in the box to the floor. The entire jewelry box was empty.
She ran downstairs to her dungeon and there was a piece of paper on the door with a steak knife from her kitchen embedded into the wood. The paper was made up with newspaper clipped words glued on it. It said…
'We Are Watching You. The Real Pain Starts Happening Right Now….'
She opened the door with a combination lock on it. She peeked inside the door and found her safe open and drawers of her files pulled out, her BDSM photos, thumb drives and videos were all gone. Everything was gone. Her two clubs, three ID's, important papers, jewelry, her club books, her sub business book, bank account books, password book, her BDSM insurance files, videos thumb drives, SD cards and photos. Even the ones with the underage boys. All gone.
She ran upstairs and booted her laptop because it was running on battery power now. Her files and photos were still on her computer but some were missing. Christian's files, the upper echelon of Seattle files and all of the government officials' files were gone from her computer, as well as her online books on her sub businesses in New York and Seattle. Elena stared out into the darkness of her house in sheer shock.
She knew what this meant…. that fucking bitch, Ana, held her whole life hostage now and there is not a goddamn thing that she could do because she was at the Grey's house all evening with proof of witnesses. How the hell did she get it all? How could she get it all back from her? Even if she did, the bitch could make copies of everything by now. She needed to get Christian to help her, but for now she couldn't do anything at all. She needed a copy of those insurance papers right now and they wouldn't be open until Monday. Elena slammed down her tea and grabbed the scotch bottle and started drinking heavily.
—--
Christian asked while driving being subtle but anxious, "Has whatever was to befall her, already happened?"
Ana was looking straight ahead after checking her text messages on her burner phone in her purse. She answered, "Why yes, Christian, it was all completed at least an hour before we left your parents house. She should be feeling the pain by now."
Christian chuckled, "You're not going to tell me what you have done?"
Ana said smirking but looking ahead, "Oh I'm sure you'll be hearing all about it when she comes to ask you to help fix it all for her because she will tell you that you owe it to her. I personally haven't done a thing. I was at your parents house all evening. Just you wait and see. She will demand it to be your Christmas gift of assistance from you to her. Then she will threaten you when you say no. I will tell you this, she does not have proof of anything in her possession that has anything to do with BDSM activities of any kind, anymore pertaining to you. I'll be returning all of your information she had on you tomorrow intact, just so you know. You don't have to be afraid of retaliation on her part unless it's threatening to go public but then, I'll take care of that for you if it becomes an issue. I have her entire fate in my hands with a huge warning given."
Christian was quiet thinking, 'Oh my God, Elena had all of my photos and videos as insurance in her possession. Now, Ana has removed them from her house. I wonder what else she removed from Elena's? Whatever she has done will hurt, I have no doubt about it. Ana warned her but she was right she is arrogant enough not to listen. I guess she will be calling me tomorrow to tell me all about it.' *sigh*
—--
The next morning, Elena was suffering from a bad hangover when the electric company came banging on her door at 8:30am. Elena drug her ass out of bed to get the door with a pounding headache. She found out after they investigated that the main service box on the outside of her house was cut with line cutters. They had to completely rewire the feed going into it from the service line coming from the pole.
After last night, Elena realized that she couldn't report the robbery because the three alise IDs, sub books, the BDSM files, videos and photos were all illegal if they investigated. As far as the cash and jewelry were concerned, she had the jewelry insured. She would need to report the theft and that would open an investigation. She didn't need the cops finding her dungeon and the things in her computer.
Then it hit her like a sledgehammer upside her head….. 'THEY HAVE THE REAL BOOKS TO THE SALONS! It showed me padding the books. If that little bitch shows them to Christian, he will know I have been taking lots of money on the side, millions.' Elena ran to the bathroom and started gagging into the toilet dry heaving.
—--
It was Sunday the day after Christmas, Christian was going to return to work Monday with Ana shadowing him all day. He smiled thinking about that because he knew it would make his Monday more interesting. His phone rang. It was Elena.
He answered, "Grey."
Elena said in a panic, "Christian, I was robbed last night. They took all my jewelry and personal papers and any cash I had. My two BDSM clubs were burned to the ground last night in New York. Everything is a mess. I need help." Christian thought, 'I wonder what else is missing that she has conveniently left out.'
Christian said, rolling his eyes, "Get your insurance papers. Call the police. I can't do anything about it. You have to do it for yourself."
Elena complained, "They took all my papers including my clubs, salons and jewelry insurance papers."
Christian said huffing into the phone, "Go get copies from the insurers. I can't do anything about it, Elena."
Elena snapped, "You little fucking bitch did this to me. Stealing and arson. She's trying to ruin me."
Christian said, "That's ridiculous. She was with me all evening and you were there."
Elena said, "There was a knife in my dungeon door with a note. It said, 'We are watching you. The real pain starts happening right now.' She has left that note to threaten me. She stole all my books, important papers, BDSM insurance files, cash, jewelry and destroyed my clubs. Christian help me!" Christian felt something deep down inside of him, a change that had happened in himself. He was angry at Elena for everything. It was like it all just clicked what Ana said in his head.
Christian said, "No. It's time you take care of your own messes. You were warned and now you will see that you are not as powerful or influential as you thought you were."
Elena said, "Who do you think you're talking to? It's fucking Christmas and you owe me, Christian!"
Christian said, "How do you figure I owe you. What, forever? I gave you ten times your hundred grand. I bought you a car. I backed your three salons. How do you think I owe you anything anymore?"
Elena shouted, "I saved your fucking life! I taught you control and how to be a success! I was your friend."
Christian said nastily, "I was going to be successful in business no matter what. You taught me how to be beaten, have sex, beat the shit out of women to have sex and listen to all your fucking philosophies on life. All I needed to do was bondage nothing more, but you crammed violence into my head trying to make me into an evil bitch like you! Well, Elena, the gravy train is over and if you don't leave me the fuck alone, your gonna lose it all."
Elena said, "I can't believe you would talk to me like this. I was good to you."
He said chuckling, "After the bleeding, bruising and torture you did to me and then taught me to do to others, I've had enough of your kindness. It all stops now."
Elena snapped, "I'll tear your life apart if you do anything more to me. I am demanding that you help me."
Christian said emotionlessly, "Bullshit! I'll burn your life to the ground in ashes if you fucking dare." He hung up. He decided tomorrow he would have her car repossessed being it is in his name and sold, filing the in-house audit and having his lawyers completely dissolve all ties to Elena.
Christian thought, 'Ana was right about everything. Elena begged, threatened and even mentioned Christmas to try to manipulate me to help her. Everything Ana said was just proven. Elena really thinks she owns me.'
—--
Elena sat in her house staring at the wall. She wondered, 'Why is he suddenly acting this way? I drilled everything into him as a boy. He was content to be my sub and then be trained by me later. What changed in the last few days? I know he was slowing down on subs I got him, but ever since Christmas Eve at the party running into that girl after six months did something to him. That girl is unwinding my influence on him. She is destroying his need for me. How can she do that in less than twenty four hours? Who is that girl?'
Elena picked up her phone and made a call, "Kevin, I need a favor. I need everything you can possibly dig up on an Anastasia Steele in Seattle. Get back to me quickly. My email is the same one. Bye."
Six hours later, Elena had the same background check Christian had gotten. She started reading and realized that she wasn't dealing with just some girl from college, not at all. Elena's eyes got big when she saw previous employment, CIA-retired.