"It wasn't until a few years later when Joseph died , and Ted was insistent on keeping Cypress Grove. Jane did not like the way that her husband looked at twenty-two year old Samantha. He would not sell her home from underneath her and was going to support her also. That's when all the hatred came back, and Miss Jeanette was elated."
"Is that when Ted and Samantha had an affair?" I interrupt her.
"Truthfully, we didn't know about the affair at that time. I'm not sure if it had actually started yet, but that is when they built the altar room at the back of the plantation. That is also when they had Ceila's vault moved," McKayla says looking out the window toward the back of the plantation.
"What? The vault in the altar room, as you call it, is Ceila's?" I'm flabbergasted.
"Yes," McKayla says, her head down again.
"Why?"
"If you want to resurrect a body it has to be close to the sacrifice."
"So I was the sacrifice?"
"Not the first time, no. You still weren't conceived the first time. The first time was a girl, a troubled one at that. She was messed up on drugs. The baby was stillborn," she says this so matter of factly and with no emotion.
"Marta?"
"How'd you know that?" She seems shocked, her eyes shooting around the room.
"We found an article, put it together." I snap, perturbed by her nonchalant attitude.
"I thought Jane got rid of all the evidence, where was the article?" She seems genuinely shocked by this piece of information.
"It was in Ted's safe along with the deed to this place." I wave my hands to gesture the house.
"Really?" She turns her head to the side a little, her mind obviously working up something. "He did know!" It is a revelation that Jane was not paranoid.
"After the baby was dead, what did you do to Marta? Did you kill her?" I grate.
"No, she was so high on coke she just died. We burned her body to get rid of the evidence and buried the baby in the woods. We didn't think anyone knew it was her. Jane got worried when her body was found and paid a lot of money to hide it. After that first article we never heard about it again."
"When did you find out about the affair?" I feel as if I am losing her with this new information, she seems to be clamming up so I push for more.
"We had a meeting in the cemetery one night after Marta. We were trying to conjure Papa."
"Papa Legba?" Emma shoots out her question like a gun.
"Yes." McKayla turns to her, again shocked that we know what she is talking about.
"Miss Jeanette was sure he would know what to do."
"And did he?" I ask what I think is the stupidest question. It's make-believe after all, but I feel as if I need to play into it.
"We were interrupted. There was screaming coming from the house, Ted and Samantha were fighting. That's when we found out about the affair. That is also when we found out that Samantha was pregnant."
"What did Jane do?" I ask, expecting to hear that she went crazy with the thought of her husband sleeping with not only her sister, but a woman she loathed.
"It was perfect, we couldn't have been happier." McKayla looks delusional and wide - eyed as she thinks back to that night.
"Say again?" I spit at the comment I most certainly did not expect.
"A sacrifice of a direct descendent, I mean, it was the ideal situation. Not only that, but we found out that the baby was due at the perfect time, the new moon on the fifth month. She actually wasn't due till the 15th, but we were going to take the baby on the 1st day of the fifth month." I turn to Luke, my mouth open in astonishment, only to find he has the same facial expression. I'm speechless at this point.
"That's when Jeanette and Jane found Dr. Piper. We wanted to make sure we had a healthy baby to offer to Papa." What I thought a little while ago was remorse was just McKayla being bat -shit crazy insane. As if she actually believed this.
"It would have worked, too, if you weren't the devil incarnate. Papa didn't want you, he said you weren't pure." There it is, the Jane face, the face that tells me I am good-for-nothing trash. Her lips purse and she stares at me.
"You've got to be fucking kidding me!" I shout and stand, slapping my palms face down on the table. Luke jumps up and grabs me before I literally crawl over the table and strangle the bitch.
"I don't know really what we expected. You were the bastard child of a murderer and a cheater. I guess that we just hoped. . . ." She shrugs her shoulders and I swear I see her eyes go black with hate as she watches me struggle against Luke's restraint on me.
"Now I've told you everything I know." She scoots to the edge of her chair.
"Not so fast, bitch." I glance at Luke to let him know I am just going to ask another question.
"What did Ted know? How did he find out about Samantha's death?"
"Oh that's a good part. Jane said she had come to check on her and she was in labor. She delivered the baby and Samantha died in the process. It took some fancy work on Elliott's part. . ." she stops to motion toward Emma, "You know, to make it look as though it was just a routine adoption. Jane agreed she would not divorce him for his infidelity if he agreed to act like he was only an adopted father and not your real father." McKayla snorts, laughing to a joke none of us are getting.
"What is so damn funny?"
"It's just, that's how good Jane was. She had killed her sister, and now was going to raise her devil niece. Do you know how much she loved to torture you? It was therapeutic, especially the more you grew up and looked like your mother."
"You stupid bitch," I smirk down at her.
"Okay, so where's my money?" She says standing up with the most satisfied look on her face.
"Go to hell!" I shout and motion for Jacob that it's time for our guest to leave.
"You promised. . .you little bitch. . .you won't get away with this. . ." She stutters as Jacob comes up motioning for her to walk toward the door.
"Go tell your sob story to the police, tell them all about what you just told us, and let's see if they will be knocking on my door to get you your money." I let out a low laugh. "I always knew you were a stupid pinhead, but now I know just how idiotic you are."
"You fucking bitch!" She spits taking a step in my direction. Oscar steps toward her growling low, showing his teeth.
"Oh, and all of this has been videotaped, so I will do one thing for you. You better start running, because if I have anything to do with it, you and your friends will be in prison for a very long time."
Chapter 35
2 months later
I wake up in bed by myself in the guest room of Emma's house. I had been banished from my house because Luke had a surprise for me. Everyone was being tight lipped and missing for the past two days helping Luke with the surprise. As I'm lying there, I think about what a whirlwind these past couple months have been.
The day McKayla told us everything would be a day that lived with me forever. We went to the police. Being that it involved some influential people in Louisiana, the FBI was called in to help with the investigation.
The altar room was stripped clean. DNA samples were taken, my blood and Samantha's blood were found all over that room. Fingerprints in the blood were also found, some were unidentifiable. They were assumed to be that of Jane and Miss Jeanette's. Lindsey Carmichael and Adeline Grace spilled their guts. Not surprisingly, pointing fingers at Jane and Jeanette saying they just went along because of fear of what they would do to them if they didn't cooperate.
After what I can only assume was millions of dollars in lawyer fees, Adeline and Lindsey were free women. Lindsey was so desperate, at one point she called Jimmy begging him to talk to me, to tell the authorities that she had nothing to do with it. Jimmy hung up on her and he told me it was the best feeling in the world. Unfortunately for him, his father was now mad as could be also. He was disowned by his family and told never to show his face there again. It didn't seem to bother Jimmy, although one couldn’t help but wonder if it was just a
strong front.
McKayla, however, did not get off so easily. She would be serving time for her confession we got on tape. She basically went insane when they arrested her, spouting about how she wished she had killed me when I was a baby. How her life would be so much better if I was dead. The amount of time she was going to serve has yet to be determined. She has a sentencing hearing next month. My team of lawyers at Elliott's firm told me that she would most likely get at least twenty years.
Then Elliott, for his part, was disbarred for forging the adoption papers. I felt so bad, but he assured me it was fine. He was done being a lawyer anyway and finally felt free of the lie that had haunted him for years. He also told me that Ted had started putting the pieces together and was close to figuring out what had really happened. It killed Ted the way Jane treated me, but he just didn't know how to make it better. Jane was so connected in the community that he was afraid of what would happen. Being that mothers almost always get custody of the children, with her having so many influential friends, he knew that she would not only get custody of me in a divorce, but get most of the money as well. That was why he was waiting patiently for me to turn eighteen.
I now had a legal birth certificate with Ted Sumnor and Samantha James listed as my parents. Samantha's crypt was corrected to have her date of death to be May 1st, the day I was born.
We had Ceila's vault moved back to her crypt in the cemetery, and when the FBI cleared the scene, we destroyed the altar room. We burned what could be burned so that all that was left was a large pile of stones. Luke was going to have them hauled out, but I wanted them left. Something about the stones made me feel closer to my mother. It was as if her spirit lingered around them, or maybe I was just crazy. Either way, I wanted them to stay forever.
As insane as the last couple of months had been, I'd have to say the most bizarre thing that happened was when Ava Kay Laveau showed up at my door. She was the woman from Bon Dieu's, the woman that I had no idea who she was until she was standing on my porch.
"I am glad the truth is finally heard," she had said to me in her thick Haitian accent as we sat on the front porch. "I was friend of your grandmummy, we were close," she told me rocking in one of the chairs as I sat next to her in stunned silence. "She would not approve of the goings on."
"You knew Ceila?"
"Oh yes, child, from a young age we were friends." Ava took one of her long, brown clove cigarettes and lit it.
"I thought Ceila didn't believe in dark magic?"
"Who told you dis?"
"From everything I've heard I just assumed it to be the truth."
"De dark is very real, Ceila believed. She did not practice dis. Needer do I." She answered sternly.
"Your store though, it is all stuff for the dark magic." I sternly replied back to her heavy eyes.
"Dis is what sells, child. Da tourists buy dis stuff." A thick bellow of smoke wafted in the air as she spoke.
"Why didn't you just tell me the truth?" I was confused, she was so adamant for me to leave the past in the past.
"Child, dere is much dat you still don't know." Her answer was just as vague as they all had been.
"What don't I know?" I asked, even though I knew that she was not going to tell me. I could see it in her eyes and hear it in her voice.
"We are bound, child, dings we just don't say." Her answer was just what I expected. She rocked, smoking her cigarette till it was gone. We sat in silence not looking at each other, but stared out at the front yard. "Ben long dime since I was here," she finally spoke, "Dis jus as beaudiful as when she was alive." I saw a single tear roll down her round cheek. I was about to ask why she came when I decided against it. I think she came to check on me, because Celia meant a lot to her. I could just feel it. I could hear the love in her voice as she talked about the plantation.
"Dat woman was special, I know she is proud of you, child." She finally glanced at me. "I know she is proud." She repeated, as if she really knew it to be true.
"Thank you." Was all I could think to say. Ava Kay Laveau got up without another word. She walked down to the cab that had been waiting for her, driving away without a look back. I sat in the rocking chair for almost an hour by myself. It wasn't until Luke came around the house and saw me did I move from my trance.
"You look so serious sitting here all by yourself," he said, climbing the steps to the front porch. No one knew she was here. I heard the buzzer to the gate and let her in.
I tell Luke about Ava Kay, as he sat with one leg up on the porch rail in front of me. He just listened as I replayed the conversation.
"How are you feeling?" He asked apprehensively as he watched me like a hawk.
"Good, actually. I feel some peace, as if they are watching over me." I told him. Getting up, I moved to him and wrapped my arms around his waist.
"I know they are, and I know they are proud of you, flower." He wrapped his hand around the nape of my neck and brought me to him, kissing the top of my head.
Chapter 36
I notice on the clock that it is about 7:00 am. I'm just about to get up to take a shower when there is a knock on the door.
"Come in," I yell, sitting up in the bed and stretching my arms over my head.
Emma peeks her head in first before opening the door all the way.
"Do I get to go home today?" I ask the very smiley Emma who looks as if she is going to burst with excitement.
"Yes, but you have to put this on first." She turns to the door and Lucy walks in holding the most beautiful white dress I have ever seen. A long silk gown with the back longer than the front, the bodice is studded in white rhinestones, and it has halter top straps. It's elegant, simple, and gorgeous.
"Is that. . . ." I stutter as I realize what is going to happen today.
"Yes, do you like it?" Emma asks beaming at me like a proud mother.
"I love it, I love it so much." I sprint from the bed over to Lucy to feel the dress, and slide my hands down the soft silk. "Oh, Emma, it's so perfect." I turn to her with a huge smile. With everything going on I hadn't given much thought to the wedding. It was always in the back of my mind though. I couldn't wait to become Mrs. Luke Hansen. The past two days being exiled from my house, I knew Luke had something special planned for me, but I didn't expect it to be a wedding.
"Wait, I can't get married today." Sudden sadness takes over me.
"Why?" Emma yells instantly annoyed.
"Miss Finnegan, I can't get married without her." That was her cue. She steps around the doorjamb revealing herself to me.
"We know that, that is why she flew back," Emma says putting her arm around a very happy Miss Finnegan.
"I've missed you, sweetheart," she says taking me into her arms giving me a huge bear hug. I have spoken to her on the phone almost twice a week, but to have her here in front of me makes this day the best it could be.
I'm rushed to take a shower. I'm told someone will be here to do my hair and makeup. The girls talk in hushed voices about the day not wanting me to hear anything about the surprises in store.
Two hours later, I'm looking in the mirror to see me in my wedding dress with hair curled in perfect ringlets, swept up on one side with the loose curls hanging to the other side. My makeup was professionally done by a very flamboyant gay man named Curt, who went on and on about how lovely my skin was and that I was the most breathtaking bride he had ever seen. After the professionals had done their job, and I saw myself in the mirror, I had to admit I felt like a princess. The back of my dress swooped low showing most of my back, with a see through fabric that made my back look like it was covered in silver glitter.
My bridesmaids didn't look half bad themselves. Emma and Lucy had on pastel green dresses that were halter tops also and the skirts were floor length. They looked similar my dress without the rhinestones and the train.
Walking outside, it was now mid-afternoon. A limo was waiting for us. I slid in with my girls. Miss Finnegan had already left to see to stuff at th
e house. I'm sure she wanted to make sure everything was just in the right place. I have no idea who all will be there. I know Luke's family was small, but had some aunts and uncles I had yet to meet, along with a few cousins. I wonder if they will be there.
"Turn around." Emma orders holding a silk scarf in her hand.
"I know where my house is, why do I have to be blindfolded?" I protest.
"Just do it. Luke insisted," Emma says not giving an inch. I do as I'm told as she loosely ties the silk around my eyes so not to mess up my hair or make up.
We drive for what seems like forever. I fire questions at Emma and Lucy, but they avoid any questions that would give anything away. When we turn on to an uneven surface, it is way bumpier than any road that we would encounter on the way from Emma's to my house. After a few minutes on the very uneven road I know exactly where we are going. It is not half as bad as the day Luke drove me to it in his old beat up truck, but the memory of how I felt sitting next to him makes my cheeks flush.
That day was so good and so bad. I had feelings I thought I would never get to experience, also a horrible sense of dread and loss. Not today, I will be marrying that man today. There will be no feelings of loss.
When the car comes to a stop my heart beat speeds up. I hear the door open and I go to remove the blindfold when I hear Jacob. "Stop right there, not yet, Lilly," he orders. I drop my hands in frustration as I hear the girls being helped out of the car. I hear Jimmy whistle through his teeth and tell Emma that she looks smoking hot. Jacob tells Lucy she is beautiful and then I feel a hand grab my arm. It is not Luke, I would know if it was.
The hand helps me out of the limo and then unties my blindfold. It's Jeffrey standing next to me.
"May I do the honors of giving you away my dear?" He says looking very handsome in a tux.
Unbreakable 2, The Mystery of Lilly (Cypress Grove Series) Page 16
