by Holly Rayner
couldn’t erase the image from my mind, nonetheless.
I looked out across the beautiful property we lived on and tried to finally let reality set in. Yes, I loved this man beyond reason and I wanted his son to be raised with two parents and given every advantage, but did I want to raise a child that was constantly being threatened. How would it affect him when he got older to be followed around by security constantly, to have to always be careful where he went and who he spoke to, to not even be safe and secure in his own home? My head was spinning. I hadn’t thought any of this through obviously, until now when it was too late and he was already being threatened.
“Hey!” I looked up and Alex was there.
“Hi, what did Noel say?” He held out his arms and I gave Michael to him. I could suddenly see by the look in his eyes that he was having the same sorts of thoughts that I was.
“He was going to get in touch with her attorney and try and scare them. If she was taping me in my home after she already moved out, it’s illegal and she won’t be able to use the tapes in court.” He sighed heavily and said, “But he doesn’t think that she’s planning on using them in court.”
“Blackmail?”
“It’s a possibility. He’s leaning more towards her getting money from the tabloid shows on television for them.”
“Wow, this woman needs a hobby.”
He laughed, sadly. “Yes, she does. It seems that lately her hobby is making us miserable. I’m not going to let her keep doing this to us. I’m going to find a way to stop her.”
“Who is it you’re going to stop from doing what?” I looked up and there was a middle-aged man standing in the doorway. His hair was full and platinum, his face was tanned and he had Alex and my son’s hazel eyes. My assumption was that I was looking at my son’s grandfather, which Alex soon confirmed.
“Dad, what are you doing here?”
His father raised an eyebrow and said, “Is that any way to greet your father? Is that my grandson?”
“I’m sorry Dad, I wasn’t expecting you. Yes, this is Michael.” He held our son out and his father looked him over. Then he looked at me and I stood up. “This is Victoria, Dad.”
“Hello Mr. Reigns.”
“Victoria, it’s nice to finally meet you.” He looked back at the baby then and said, “And Michael, it’s a pleasure.”
Alex’s lips twitched as he said, “Would you like to hold him?”
His dad looked up at him and smiled. “I’d love to hold him. Let me sit down though, it’s been a while, I don’t want to drop him.”
Alex looked at me and smiled. Mr. Reigns sat down and Alex handed Michael to him. Michael must have sensed that his father was no longer holding him. He blinked open his little eyes and looked at his grandfather.
“Well hello there, little Prince.” Michael stared up at his grandfather and the older man stared back down into the baby’s eyes. It was a precious moment and if I’d known him better, I would have taken a photo of them.
Alex let him soak in his grandson for a few minutes and then he asked again, “What are you doing here, Dad? Is Mom here too?”
He looked up from the baby reluctantly and said, “I had business in town. Your mother will be joining me on Saturday. She is anxious to meet this little man too.” He beamed down at Michael again with pride in his eyes. Alex looked both amused and surprised by the effect our son was having on his father.
“Oh, that’s… great Dad. Where are you staying?”
“They should stay here,” I said. Alex gave me an incredulous look but his father looked up at me and smiled.
“We would love that Victoria, thank you. I don’t know if Alex told you but our home here is undergoing some major renovations.”
He hadn’t told me, but asking them to stay seemed like the right thing to do at the time. I could tell by the look on Alex’s face that he didn’t agree. But, with a forced smile he said, “Of course you can stay here, I just wasn’t sure if you’d already made other plans.”
“Nope, no plans.” The older man was staring at the baby again. I knew Alex didn’t have the best relationship with his father, but it was so cute to watch him with the baby. He rocked back and forth gently in the chair and made faces at Michael as he did.
“Lunch is ready sir,” Karen said, suddenly appearing in the doorway.
“Thank you, Karen. Dad, have you had lunch?”
“No, and I’m famished,” the older Reigns said.
“Here, I’ll take Michael and put him in his crib,” Alex told him.
Mr. Reigns reluctantly relinquished him. Alex looked at me and said, “If you don’t mind taking my father in for dinner, I’ll join you in a few minutes.”
“Of course. Mr. Reigns, shall we?”
“Please Victoria, call me James.”
I didn’t think I could do that. I just smiled and he and I went out to the dining room together. The maids were serving the soup and we both took our places at the table. After Esther, one of the kitchen girls that Karen had recently hired, served our Lobster Bisque soup and left, Alex’s father said, “I’m sorry we didn’t make it home sooner to see the baby, Victoria. You’ll come to realize one day that this job of being a parent is a hard one… one of the hardest you will ever have to do. There is no real instruction, and unfortunately you’re going to mess a lot of it up along the way.”
“I can only imagine, sir.”
He smiled and said, “Alex seems so at peace with the baby in his arms, but I could tell when I came in that there was an issue he was worried about.”
I wasn’t sure how much, if anything Alex wanted me to tell him. “It’s his soon to be ex-wife,” is what I finally said, “She’s causing as much trouble as she possibly can for us.”
He drew his brows together and said, “What kind of trouble?”
“Um… I think maybe I should let Alex fill you in on all of that.” I wasn’t about to be the one to tell his father that his ex-daughter-in-law had tapes, possibly video that could be very harmful to his son’s and possibly even his entire family’s reputation.
“What is it you’re trying to get out of her, Dad?”
“I was just asking her what kind of trouble Cassandra was up to.” Alex looked at me and his father went on to say, “Don’t be angry with her, I could tell you were upset when I came in and I asked about it. All she would say is that Cassie is causing trouble. What is she up to? I can talk to Bill.”
Alex rolled his eyes and said, “Dad, I appreciate that you want to help, but this isn’t grade school. Talking to her father will undoubtedly not make things better in this case.”
“What is it that she’s done?”
While we ate, Alex told his father about Cassie refusing the settlements that his attorneys have offered her, coming into the house and being found in Michael’s room and lastly, installing a recorder in the basement and hiring Tracy to spy on us somehow. James Reigns listened quietly until Alex was finished. I could see his face going through a gamut of emotions, especially when he mentioned that she was in the baby’s room. When Alex finished his father almost looked sick.
“You have to have security around him… constantly!”
The way he said it gave me chills. It was as if he believed Michael was imminently threatened. “Dad, like I told Vicki, I don’t believe even Cassandra would stoop to the level of kidnapping a baby.”
“You don’t think so… but do you know so?” His father raised his voice and pushed back from the table. I could see the pulse throbbing in his neck. This was quite the reaction… one that surprised me and looked like it was shocking Alex.
“No Dad, I guess I don’t know… I’ve already increased security. Are you okay?”
James ran a hand across his face and said, “I just can’t believe it’s happening again.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
ALEXANDER
My father was acting so far out of character that I almost didn’t recognize him. First of all, showing up here was stran
ge in and of itself. I had only seen my parents once in the past three years and that was at a friend’s wedding that we all just happened to be attending. My entire life, my parents had been a “force” to me. I was completely intimidated by them both. My father was so well-respected by everyone. I watched people practically bow at his feet my entire life and that left me awed by him. Most of the time though as I was growing up, he seemed distant and almost completely disinterested in me. Every Friday night I would have dinner at the big table with my parents. My mother would sit across from me, cold and distant as always and my father would say, “Talk to us about your week son.”
I remember when I was little, I would get excited about telling them everything I’d done and learned throughout the week. But as I got older and I realized that they only asked me about my week because they felt obligated to… it stopped being fun or exciting to me. After that, up until the time I was taken and left at a boarding school in Switzerland, we ate our Friday meals in silence.
Dad’s interest in Michael was bizarre to me, especially since during my obligatory phone call when Michael was born, I hadn’t heard from either him or my mother. Now he stood here, looking like he was about to have a heart attack over threats to my son that have never even been made directly. He was frightening Victoria and making me suspicious of his motives.
I stood up and went over to my father who was pale as a ghost and suddenly looked his age. “Dad, have a seat…”
“No, we need to call the police.”
“Dad, there’s nothing to report right now. My attorney has already gotten a restraining order against Cassie… that’s why she hired Tracy to come in here, I’m sure. Michael is safe. You saw that for yourself. You must have also seen all of the security on the grounds when you got here… I’m worried about you. Please sit down before you fall down, okay?”
He nodded slowly and allowed me to help him into his chair. After I made sure he was in and all the way back, I scooted his chair up as if he were a child. This whole scene was bizarre. I sat back down and reached over and squeezed Vicki’s hand. Her eyes were as wide as saucers and I know my father’s babbling had to have terrified her. I looked back over at him. He had his elbows on the table and his hands in his hair.
He pulled his head up slowly and looked at me and then he looked at Vicki. His eyes suddenly looked vacant and for a fraction of a second I wondered if he was taking some kind of drug. He finally said, “Your mother and I never told you because you were so young when it happened and we didn’t want to frighten you.” He stopped there and several seconds passed before he said, “You had a brother.”
I stared at him, in shock. There was definitely something wrong with him. Maybe he already had a stroke and it affected his mind. “I had a brother, Dad? When? What happened to him?” I didn’t really expect a rational answer to any of it. They weren’t rational questions because none of this made sense.
“When you were about three, your mother and I had another child. His name was Christopher James Reigns. He was a beautiful boy… just like you always were. The old house was happy and full of people in and out all the time. We had a nanny for both of you, but back then your mother only used the nannies if we were going somewhere that you wouldn’t be allowed or comfortable. She was a good mother, she was a happy person, we were happy.”
“So what happened to Christopher? Did he die?”
“We don’t know. I think that’s the worst part… the not knowing. I’m sure it was the worst part for your mother. She didn’t want to leave the house in case they called. Cell phones were still only car phones back then.”
“Dad, I’m sorry, but you’re not making any sense.”
He looked up at me and Vicki again as if he’d forgotten we were in the room. Then he wrinkled his brow. God, he looked so old all of a sudden.
“Let me start at the beginning. You were going to turn four and we were getting ready for your birthday party. Your mother always went over the top, she was so crazy about her boys, you know? We had people in and out, strangers, workers, there was going to be a carousel and a bounce house and a petting zoo. Normally the staff would do the shopping but your mother was so excited about the party and she wanted to take you with her and let you pick out your theme. So anyways, that day Christopher was left here with the nanny. I was at work and you and your mother had gone shopping. I remember it was exactly 3:02 p.m. when I got the call…” He was shaking and sweat was beginning to form on his brow. Vicki got up and went over to him. She crouched down on one knee so that she could see his face.
