by D. Camille
“But there's always a first time,” she finished raising a brow.
“Then if the Sodium Pentothal doesn't work, I have these babies right here,” Sage said pointing to the array of steel instruments on the unrolled cloth. “I don't prefer these because all that damn screaming starts to get on my nerves after a while.”
“Finally if the Sodium Pentothal and the instruments don't work, then I have these,” Sage held up a set of intricately carved knives. She looked at them lovingly. “Yeah these. I haven't used these in a while.”
Her eyes slid back to Joanna. “You know how a paper cut is the smallest cut but the most painful? Well these little babies are designed just for that purpose. They make the smallest cuts but inflict the worst pain imaginable,” she told her. “And if the cuts don't work then I could just use them to kill you.”
Joanna shook her head with fear in her eyes. “I'm not going to kill you Joanna. You're still Jordan's mother, although with you I use that term very loosely.” Sage put her hand on her belly. “I'm about to be a mother myself.”
She saw the relief in Joanna's eyes. “Now don't go getting ahead of yourself. I'm not going to kill you but I'm going to make sure that you're never able to hurt Jordan again.”
Sage rubbed her hands together. “Ready to get started?” she asked getting to her feet.
Joanna watched while Sage reached for one of the set of needles along with a vial of liquid. She expertly inserted the needle into the tiny bottle and filled it to capacity. Pulling the needle out, she tapped the end a few times before turning to Joanna who was shaking her head frantically.
“I have to tell you one more thing Joanna. Once I've gotten all the information that I need, I'm going to give you a dose of Scopolamine,” Sage told her looking into her face.
“Do you know what that is?” Sage asked.
Looking into angry brown eyes Joanna shook her head in the negative.
“It's a memory eraser,” Sage told her. “So since you had a beautiful son and forgot about him, I'm going to do you a favor and let you forget about everything...permanently.”
“So I said all of that just to say...you'll never remember the bitch you are right now.”
Sage bent and inserted the needle into Joanna's arm.
Fifteen minutes later Sage called Ray back into the building.
“I'm ready to start questioning her,” she told him. “I wanted you to be in here in case she says something that I don't understand or triggers something with you.”
Ray nodded. “You okay?” he asked.
“I'm fine I just want this over with and Jordan safe,” Sage said removing Joanna's gag.
“Joanna. Joanna!” Sage called her name. The drug had Joanna woozy. Sage slapped her lightly on the cheek to revive her and Joanna's eyes opened.
“What is your name?” Sage asked.
“Joanna Black-Harrison,” Joanna answered groggily.
“How old are you?”
“Fifty one.”
“When is your birth date?”
“May twenty fourth,” Joanna answered.
“Who am I?” Sage asked.
Joanna looked at Sage up and down. “You're that tramp that's carrying Jordan's spawn,” she spat.
Sage looked to Ray. “I guess we're ready,” she told him as she walked over to the table and leaned against it.
“Why are you in LA Joanna?” Sage asked.
Joanna's head lulled to the side. “Revenge. Revenge on Justin, Jordan, Carl and Sean.”
Sean too? Sage looked at her brother and he shrugged.
“Why do you want revenge on Jordan? What did he do to you?” Sage asked.
Joanna made a face. “He's an arrogant bastard. Just like his father. He thinks he owns the damn world. Well that world is about to end.”
Sage continued, “How is his world going to end Joanna?”
Joanna laughed. “He's going to spend all his resources on taking over Harrison Industries while his own company is going to be taken over then all their asses will be out on the street. You too, you little hussy.”
Sage waited.
“We'll own all the companies and put all those bastards out, Jordan, Carl and Sean. They're nothing but liars, thieves and cheaters.”
Sage looked at her brother and he shrugged again.
“What did they do Joanna?” Sage probed.
“Justin and Carl cheated Sean's father out of millions of dollars. They lied to him until the day he died. Justin divorced me and disgraced me and then Carl did the same.” Joanna told her.
“What does this have to do with Jordan and Sean?” Sage asked confused.
“That bastard Jordan bought the company back and he and Sean kept it to themselves. They didn't deserve it.”
“Who were they supposed to give it to?” Sage inquired.
Joanna's head lolled to the other side. “My partner. The one who really deserved it!” she yelled.
“Who is your partner Joanna? Who's helping you?” Sage demanded.
“Carolyn.”
Sage looked to Ray who shook his head and shrugged indicating this meant nothing to him. She turned back to Joanna.
“Carolyn who?”
Joanna's glossy eyes met Sage's.
“Carolyn Jackson!” she shouted.
Sage heard her brother gasp.
“Joanna! Who is Carolyn Jackson?” she demanded.
Joanna closed her eyes. “Sean's mother.”
Then she passed out.
Sage looked to her brother. “Sean's mother? What the hell?”
“Damn. This is crazy,” Ray said. “Where did they get all the money from?”
“She'll wake up in a minute,” Sage told him. “Then we can get to the bottom of this.”
Five minutes later Sage revived Joanna again.
“Joanna where did you and Carolyn get all the money to do this?” Sage asked.
“I don't know where Carolyn was getting the money from but it has no end. It's someone who hates Jordan and Sean just as much as I do.”
“You don't know who this person is who wants to destroy Jordan and Sean?” Sage questioned.
Joanna smiled. “I wish I did. I'd probably marry him.”
Sage looked at her in disgust.
“Why would Sean's mother do this to him?” Sage continued her questioning.
“Carolyn hates that Sean chose to be Jordan's flunky instead of running the business that should have belonged to his father. He's an embarrassment to her. She didn't want him anywhere near Jordan or Justin. She hates them both just like me,” she said disgusted.
Sage looked at her. “Why do you hate Jordan so much?” she asked.
Joanna looked at her with hate in her eyes. “Because he's the reminder of the biggest mistake I made in my life.”
“Well, you'll never be reminded again,” she said angrily going over to the table and filling another needle with a vial of liquid.
She glanced at her brother. “Do you need anything else from her, before I administer this?” she asked holding up the needle.
Ray shook his head. “Uh...I don't think so,” he said watching his sister carefully.
Sage walked over to Joanna. “Good bye Joanna,” she said before inserting the needle. Joanna's eyes widened before they slowly closed.
Sage walked back to the table and began packing up her supplies. When she was finished she looked over at Ray in question.
“I have another car here for me to take you home,” he informed her. She nodded glancing at Joanna.
“How long before she can be moved?” he asked.
Sage tilted her head. “About thirty minutes.”
“Where do you want them to take her?”
“Drive her ass down to Mexico,” Sage said walking out the door.
“They like pretty Senoras down there. Maybe she'll find another husband, because she damn sure won't remember the ones she's had,” she told him heading to the waiting car.
She and Ray climbed ins
ide and immediately the driver took off.
Sage turned to her brother rubbing her belly. “The baby wants Chinese,” she said.
Ray turned to her. “I know a pretty good place.”
“Cool.”
Ray and Sage brought their food back to Sage and Jordan's house. They sat in the media room on the floor with an array of dishes surrounding them while Sage had a documentary playing on the screen.
“Ray, did you buy the entire restaurant?” she asked laughing.
“Jay says you need to eat,” Ray told her.
Sage threw her head back and sighed “Jordan has taken this eating thing way overboard. The baby is fine.”
“He's concerned,” Ray said quietly. “He loves you.”
Sage turned to her brother. “I wish the same for you Sun God.”
“Maybe. One day,” he said looking at her.
Sage smiled at him. “You know you're still my hero.”
“Nah. Jay's your hero now.”
“I can have more than one,” she argued.
Ray smiled at her. “What do you want me to tell Jay?”
Sage picked up her food. “Give him all the information that Joanna gave us. Let him know that there's still somebody out there with a vendetta against him and Sean.”
“And?”
“That's it.” She took a bite and he waited. “Nothing about my involvement or where Joanna is.”
Ray nodded.
“Speaking of Joanna did you take care of the details?”
“When anyone checks, Joanna checked out of the hotel at noon today. She boarded a flight back to her home in New York. After all the stress of the divorce and seeing her son again, she's decided to stay inside and lay low for a long time. She'll become a recluse. Maids will verify her presence at the home, although no visitors will be allowed,” Ray finished.
“Do you think Jordan will miss her?” she asked worried.
“Hell Nah! Did you hear how she talked about him? What kind of mother does that?”
Sage sighed. “I wanted her to die.” She began to rub her belly. “But I couldn't live with that on my conscious. She's still his mother even if she didn't want to be.”
“I know. You have a good heart Baby Goddess. You did the right thing,” he told her. “She would always be a threat to you and Jordan.”
“So sad.” Sage went back to eating her food.
She and Ray looked up as they heard the alarm signal that Jordan had arrived. She waited until he made it to the media room. Walking in, he greeted Ray then quickly moved over to Sage taking a seat on the floor next to her.
“Hi Jordan,” she smiled.
“Hi Sage,” he responded kissing her lightly on her lips. “I see that you're eating.”
Jordan looked over at Ray. “Thank you,” he told him and Ray nodded.
“There's more than enough for you,” Sage told Jordan.
“Okay,” he responded looking into those brown eyes that captivated him. “What'd you do today?” he asked.
Sage shrugged. “Ray helped me get to the bottom of some things I needed to take care of,” she said nonchalantly eating her food. “How was your day?” she asked.
“I got an update that Joanna has left town. Hopefully that will be the last we will see of her,” Jordan said standing to remove his jacket and folding it over the sofa.
Sage gave Ray a quick glance. Jordan sat back down next to Sage and looked at her.
“Frankly, I'm glad that she's gone. The further away the better. I didn't want her here upsetting you,” Jordan told her.
“So I don't want you to worry about that anymore. Okay?” he said taking her hand.
Sage nodded. “Okay. I'm just glad we can say Adios to her.”
Ray starting choking and both Sage and Jordan looked over to him.
“You okay man?” Jordan asked.
Ray shook his head looking at Sage. “Yeah. I'm cool,” he said smiling at his incredible baby sister.
Chapter 26
Ray stood in Jordan's office as Jordan and Sean sat in their seats. He looked from one man to the other. In truth, both of these men were like his brothers. He and Jordan had their moments, so did he and Sean, but ultimately they shared a brotherhood that spanned many years. So having to tell them that both of their mothers had plotted against them wasn't going to be easy.
“What's up Ray?” Jordan asked.
Ray answered. “I've received some intel on the situation that I need to share with you both.”
Both men looked at him.
“I've discovered who Joanna was working with and what their plan was,” Ray started.
“Who?” Jordan asked immediately.
“It seems that Joanna teamed up with another woman to conspire to destroy Black Diamond Holdings and the two of you in particular.” He turned to Jordan. “The plan was to have you use all your resources to take over Harrison Industries while without your knowledge someone was working to take over Black Diamond.” He paused. “Once the companies were acquired you both would be put out on the street,” he explained.
“Who would want to do this?” Sean asked.
Ray turned to Sean. “Joanna's accomplice is Carolyn Jackson. Your mother, Sean.”
Jordan turned to look at Sean who looked completely floored. His usual humor and smile were nowhere to be seen. Rarely had Jordan seen Sean this angry. He made it his business not to, because it wasn't a pretty sight.
“How reliable is your information Ray?” Sean asked.
“One hundred percent,” Ray supplied.
Sean was out of his chair in an instant and out the door before Jordan could stop him. Jordan flew from his seat and caught him at the elevators.
“Sean.”
Sean stared straight ahead waiting for the doors to open.
“Let's talk about his man before you do something crazy,” Jordan told him.
The doors opened and Sean entered. Jordan followed watching him.
“Sean!” Jordan said raising a brow.
“Go back to your office Jordan,” Sean said calmly.
Jordan folded his arms. “Wherever you're going, I'm going with you.”
“Suit yourself,” Sean said watching the numbers change.
Jordan held out his hand in front of Sean with his palm up and Sean lifted a brow at him.
“Give it to me Sean.”
The two men stood eye to eye.
“Not like this,” Jordan said pointedly. He looked at his hand and back to Sean. “Sean.”
Reluctantly Sean reached down and pulled the pistol from the strap on his ankle and handed it to Jordan. The doors opened while Jordan and Sean continued to stand eye to eye.
“I got your back. Let's handle this,” Jordan told him. Sean nodded and both men exited the elevator. As they walked through the lobby Lily and Sage saw them from the gallery and the looks on their faces.
“Something's wrong,” Lily commented.
“Yeah,” Sage added. “Really wrong.”
Both of their hearts went out to the two men walking out of the door.
Sean walked through the garage to his car with Jordan by his side. Once both men were inside he took off driving the familiar route as Jordan remained silent. He knew that Sean liked to work things out inside his own head and when he was ready to talk, he would. They continued the route until they came upon the house Sean had purchased for his mother a while ago. He cut the engine and turned to Jordan.
“I want to talk to her alone.”
Jordan nodded. “I'll be right here.” He watched as Sean walked up to the door and continued to watch until he disappeared inside. Jordan pulled out his phone and sent Ray a text.
Had to stay with Sean. Sorry for leaving. Anything else I need to know?
Ray: Yeah. Outside of Joanna and Carolyn there's someone else.
Jordan: WTF? Who?
Ray: Someone was bankrolling them. Apparently it's someone who has a vendetta against both you and Sean.
Jordan:
Hell that could be anybody!
Ray: This person doesn't seem to be dangerous. Just angry. They don't want to kill you. Just ruin you.
Jordan: Keep me posted.
What a way to start the damn day, Jordan thought.
Sean entered the house and found his mother in her familiar spot, outside in the garden.
“Hello Ma,” Sean greeted solemnly.
“Sean? What a surprise?” she said glancing up at him. She went back to her gardening.
“Why did you do it?” he asked.
She didn't look up. “Do what Sean?”
“Why did you plot to ruin me and Jordan?” he asked confused.
“You and Jordan. You and Jordan. That's all you care about!” she accused.
Not this again, he thought.
“What are you talking about?” he demanded. “I bought you this million dollar house. I bought your expensive car. I pay for everything you want or need,” he told her.
She stood and faced him. “I should live in a house like Jordan does! I should have cars like he does! He lives the life of a king!” she shouted at him.
Sean looked confused. “How Jordan lives his life is his business. I'm not trying to keep up with Jordan!”
“Of course not! All you want to do is run around and do his bidding. For Godssake you don't even have a real job at that company! You're his damn Assistant!”
Sean ran a hand down his face. “So you're telling me that you're ashamed of me,” he said quietly.
“I'm saying why do you settle for being in his shadow?” she yelled. “Jordan's a selfish bastard! Just like his father. You have no idea what Justin Black did to this family.”
Sean looked at his mother. “You don't know anything about me or about Jordan.”
“You've conspired with Joanna to do something that was totally unnecessary and I hope you're happy with what you've done,” he said.
“Your father may not have been as bright as you, going to Harvard and all...” she spat. “But he wasn't anybody's Assistant!”
“Where are getting the money from to do this?” he questioned.
“You and Jordan have enemies all over. You'll never find out,” she responded.
“Goodbye Ma,” Sean turned to walk away.
“One day you both you and Jordan are going to get what's coming to you!” she shouted.
