Circle of Deception

by Skye, M.

  Now that she and Sean were okay, she was ready to head to the house to meet everyone. Alex managed to find out that the car Maria was renting had been turned in, but there were some items left inside when she did. They were going to go and claim them; maybe they would shed some light on where she had gone.

  While gathering her things to leave, she took notice that Sean had changed clothes and was preparing himself to leave with her. His gesture touched her, but she felt that maybe he needed some time alone to gather his thoughts. “Hey babe, you don’t have to go, I’ll be fine. You just stay here and rest, I’ll see you when I get back,” she said and caressed his cheek.

  “Are you sure? I know this is important to you and I want to be there for you.”

  “I know you do, but I want you to take care of yourself too. I need you in a good mindset just in case things don’t go well,” she smiled.

  “Everything will be fine, I’m sure of it,” he said, and ran his hand through her hair.

  After Maddie left, Sean plopped back down on the couch feeling slightly relieved and mildly nervous. He reached in his pocket and pulled out a small box and flipped it open. He had been planning asking her to marry him for over two months, but with the problems going on in both of their families, the timing was never right.

  He knew that she might not be ready, and with everything that happened during Meg and Alex’s brief engagement, he felt like she might say no. He knew that they were two different couples but her fear of something more combined with the disastrous relationships in her family was bound to make her have reservations. Maddie was a strong- willed woman, but her fear of the unknown had been holding them back.

  In his heart, Sean knew that Maddie was the woman for him, but when she found out what was going on with him and his family would she still have him? There was so much she didn’t know, and he was severely afraid to disclose the details. His mother was a godless woman who did what she could to break him, but he still prevailed. Would she be able to forgive all the secrets and lies? Had had tried to move forward, but he couldn’t escape his duties.

  His mother on the other hand, remained in the past. The fact that his father had left his mother was still a major topic in her life. She never moved past it, and every time she saw him, he reminded her of him.

  She gave him such a hard time and it took him a long time to accept that she was never going to be proud of anything he did. The realization hurt him, but he learned to accept it. After all, he was with a wonderful woman who loved him; he could use her to try to forget the horrors of his past.

  ***

  When Maddie finally arrived at the house where the others were waiting, she found an anxious group of people sitting in silence all looking like they had something on their minds. The whole group was assembled in the living room at Gio’s except for Sean and the kids, and they looked as if they had been crying.

  “What is the matter you guys?” Maddie asked, hoping she was just imagining things.

  Gio was the first to respond in an emotional and quiet voice. “Maybe you should sit down.”

  Maddie scanned the room quickly and caught on even though she didn’t want to believe it. “No I don’t want to sit, tell me what’s going on here,” she demanded loudly.

  “I’m so sorry,” Meg said and stood to wrap her arms around Maddie. “They found mom, she’s dead.” Maddie was stunned. For a few seconds she stood there speechless, trying to grasp what Meg had just told her.

  It wasn’t until she looked over at Gio and saw the tears streaming down his face that it registered to her. “No! You’re lying, she can’t be dead! She just came back, we just got her back,” Maddie screamed and collapsed into Meg’s shaky arms. Meg was struggling to hold on to Maddie. When she felt the full weight of her body in her arms, Meg began to topple and Alex rushed over to grab both of the women and secure them on their feet.

  “Meg, are you okay?” Alex asked with fear in his eyes.

  “I feel sick, I’m not doing so well,” she replied and placed her hand on her head.

  “You haven’t eaten all day, you need to eat and get some rest,” Alex warned her sternly.

  “I know I just…” before she could finish her statement, she passed out in his arms.

  After Meg passed out, the house broke out in pandemonium. Everyone was already on edge about Maria and the added stress of Meg caused an epidemic of panic. Alex refused to leave her side even for a second, so Emily and Gio rushed off to get something to revive her.

  Alex was sitting by her side whispering calming words in her ear and promising to always be there for her when her eyes suddenly fluttered open. He couldn’t help it, but when he saw her looking right at him, he smiled at her like it was the first time. He kept his cool, but he was more worried than anyone else. He couldn’t imagine his life if anything ever happened to her, especially when she had finally agreed to them being a couple again.

  Gio was relieved to see her being responsive when he got back, he had had enough bad news for one day. He quickly passed Alex the towel he had brought back and took his seat next to Marco. The room was silent except for Alex talking to Meg quietly.

  “You know you gave me a scare there don’t you? Tell me what’s going on with you, you haven’t been yourself all week,” he said, while rubbing her forehead with the towel.

  “I’ve just been having bad headaches and they have been affecting my vision.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me? We could have pulled back a bit and gotten you checked out. You know your health is more important than anything.”

  “I just didn’t want to burden you anymore. You have been helping me, you have Alli, and you have work. I just didn’t want to add more to the already huge list,” she said, and closed her eyes.

  “Don’t you ever do that again, you and Alli are the most important parts of my life and if you're not well I’ll make the time,” he said and placed his hand on her cheek.

  Once she was sure Meg was fine, Maddie began to question how they learned that Maria was dead and what happened. No one wanted to answer the question. The details were just too gruesome.

  It was already hard for them to believe that she had endured such pain before she died. “Maddie you don’t want to know the details,” Aiden finally offered, in an attempt to deflect the questions.

  “I have to know, please just tell me,” she pleaded with tears staining her cheeks.

  The room was still silent, no one wanted to tell her what they all knew. Meg decided that she deserved to know and began the story. “After we called the place where she rented her car yesterday, we called the investigator and told him where she rented from. They told us that they would start a search party to canvass the area just as a precaution. They started the search this morning, and about forty-five minutes ago an officer came by to tell us they found her body in a dumpster on Third Street,” she uttered and fell into Alex’s arms.

  “Oh god. Who would do this? Why would they do this?” Maddie screamed and fell to her knees. “I have to know, how did she die?”

  “That’s not important Maddie,” Melia interjected and stood to look out the window.

  “Tell me!” Maddie yelled hoarsely.

  “They cut her throat, slit her wrists, and stabbed her fifteen times. Are you happy now?” Melia screamed and started to cry loudly.

  “Baby come here,” Matt said and pulled her into his arms. He knew anger wasn’t at Maddie. She was still just reeling from everything they had learned today.

  The room was still once again. Maddie had found herself sitting with Gio and Marco enclosed in both of their arms while staring straight ahead feeling numb. It wasn’t until the doorbell rang that a sound was made.

  Emily quickly slid out of Aiden’s arms and made her way to the door wanting to give the others their time to grieve. When she opened the door, she found Emilio standing on the steps. He was there when the officer came by earlier, and he just had to get out. He ran out so quickly that he forgot to grab his
keys.

  “I’m sorry I made you get up. I just had to come back to check on my kids,” he said with teary eyes.

  “It’s no problem, come on in,” Emily said and wrapped her arms around him.

  “They dropped this off just a second ago,” he said, and pulled a box from the concrete.

  “What is it?” she asked curiously.

  “It’s everything from her rental. They thought we might want to have it.”

  “Let me help you with that,” she said and reached for the box. By this time Aiden had made his way to the front and took the box from her arms. Emilio had been walking the grounds of the house looking at the places he shared memories with Maria. After all these years they all seemed so fresh, so recent. He thought back to the last time he saw her and the things he said to her and broke down.

  He had been a complete ass to her. If he had known it was going to be the last time he would see her alive, he would have taken her in his arms. He would have told her how much he loved her and how he always would. He couldn’t believe the only woman he ever loved was gone forever.

  Aiden didn’t want the girls to see Emilio like this, so he placed the box down on the floor and escorted him upstairs to lie down for a while. Seeing their father in such a frail state would only make things worse for the girls. When they saw him again, they were going to need him to be their pillar of strength like always.

  After securing Emilio in the room, Aiden made his way back down the stairs to find Alex walking Meg out to the car. He took notice that she didn’t look so well. “Are you guys leaving?” he asked quietly.

  “Yeah, I’m taking Meg to get checked out. She sat up and said the room was spinning. I know she has been through a lot of shock today, but I want to be sure she is fine. I can’t take any chances with her,” Alex explained.

  “I understand. We are going to stay here for a while to make sure they don’t need anything. Call me and let me know how it goes at the hospital.”

  “I will, but I need to ask a huge favor of you and Matt. They need someone to identify the body and the girls and Gio are in no shape. They will let you guys do it because Matt is married to Melia. I wouldn’t ask if I thought they could handle it.”

  “I’ll do it,” Aiden replied quickly. “Anything to keep them from seeing her that way.”

  Alex was happy that Aiden agreed so readily. He would have gone if he could, but because he and Meg weren’t married, he couldn’t. After Aiden took off to go back inside, Alex loaded Meg into the car and then climbed in.

  She was holding her head in her hands while still sobbing. He hated seeing her this way and wished he could do something to make it better. He was just about to back out of the driveway when she sat up, remembering something she left behind.

  Alex wanted to make her happy by getting whatever it was she left, but he was first and foremost worried about her health. “I will get whatever it is, just tell me where you left it. I want you to know after that I’m taking you to get checked out. I don’t want to hear any protests. I need you to be around for a long time.”

  “I know you do. I just need to get her journal, they sent it over from the rental company. There are so many questions that I have about her life that only it will answer,” she replied sadly.

  “Don’t worry I’ll get it, and you can read it while we get you checked out,” he said and ran back inside the house.

  He quickly collected the journal and ran back out to the car to find Meg resting her eyes with her head laying against the window. He was happy that she was finally able to relax a little. She hadn’t rested since they made the discovery about the car the night before.

  He was worried about her. Several times he heard her get up during the night, rushing to the bathroom. Every time he would hear her running water in the sink, and the last time he saw her splashing her face. He knew things were taking its toll on her, and today things had come to a head. He was feeling helpless because he couldn’t take her pain away.

  For the past week, she had been staying out at the house with him, and at some point during that week, she decided to give them another chance. He wanted to believe that it was all because the love they shared was so strong, but he knew his sweet little girl had swayed her vote. Allison had wormed her way into both of their hearts, and Meg was thrilled about him wanting to have her full-time.

  She had seen the interaction between Bianca and Allison and felt that something just wasn’t right. Bianca was never interested in the least bit about what made Allison happy. Bianca’s only interest in Allison was to use her as leverage over Alex.

  He slipped inside the car quietly, careful not to wake her, and started the engine. The ride to the hospital was silent, and it allowed him time to think about Maria. He couldn’t figure out who would go to such extremes and commit a murder so gruesome.

  Maria might have had her parental issues, but she was a gentle soul who, as far as he knew, never hurt a fly. He knew it was going to take a while before Meg was ready to be everything they once were, but he would give her all the time she needed. He was so happy that she forgave him about Bianca that he would do anything she ever asked, no matter how extreme.

  Once they pulled into the parking lot of the hospital, he still didn’t want to wake her, so he pulled her into his arms to take her inside. She was sleeping soundly and didn’t even stir when they stepped inside. Her body was sweaty, but he assumed it was because of the hot sun they had just come in from.

  He found it odd that she still didn’t wake after he checked her in and sat down with her. He sat there for a few seconds before he looked down and noticed that her body was drenched in sweat and she was breathing in shallow breaths. He tried to get her to respond, but she still wouldn’t move.

  At that point, he started screaming at the top of his lungs for someone to help him. The nurses at the desk quickly got help and ran to where they were sitting. “How long has she been unresponsive?” a doctor asked while running in their direction.

  “I guess about fifteen minutes; I ran in the house to get something and then I found her like this. I thought she was sleeping,” Alex said frantically.

  “It’s going to be okay sir, calm down,” he said to Alex while placing a hand on his shoulder. After calming Alex down, he turned to the nurse and began his instructions. “We need to get her back and get some IV fluids started right now, this woman is severely dehydrated.”

  Alex just sat and watched, feeling terrified as they wheeled her away. He was wondering what would have happened if he hadn’t gotten her to the hospital. For some insane reason, he felt responsible for not demanding that she come earlier when he noticed her acting differently.

  He sat there alone for over two hours waiting for news, when he looked up and saw the doctor heading his way. His expression was stoic, and he couldn’t tell if he was coming to deliver good or bad news. His stomach was in knots as he sat waiting for what he had to say.

  It seemed like an eternity, and then the doctor was finally standing in front of him. When he saw a smile break out across his face, he let out the breath he had been holding and leaned against the wall. “Mr. Hanover, I just wanted to update you on your fiancée, she is doing much better, but she will be staying overnight for further observations.”

  “I’m so glad, I was going crazy. Did you say my fiancée? Did she tell you she was my fiancée?” Alex asked joyfully.

  “Yes sir, we had quite the conversation, but I’ll let her tell you everything,” he replied and led him down the hallway.

  When he arrived at the room and saw her sitting up, he felt the air leave his lungs. She was hooked up to several machines but she was awake, and that made his day. He didn’t care how long she had to stay, as long as he knew she was going to be fine once he finally got her home.

  “Don’t just stand there looking, come and give me a hug handsome,” she said in her old playful tone. Hearing her voice made him melt, and he rushed to her side to lean down and place a light kiss on he
r forehead.

  “You don’t know how good it is to see those beautiful eyes of yours,” he said and intertwined their hands.

  “I’m glad to see you too,” she said, and kissed his hand. “I’m sorry I scared you.”

  “I’m fine as long as you're okay. How do you feel?”

  “I’m still a little tired, but that’s to be expected considering,” she said and looked at all the machines going around her.

  “I think it’s all this stress that’s getting to you. I’m going to need you to take it easy for a little while. Once you get home, I’m going to spoil you rotten,” he said with a big smile on his face.

  “I like the sound of that. I thought about working from home for a few weeks if that’s okay,” she said questioningly.

  “Of course you can work from home, but you have to do one thing first,” he said and paused.

  “What’s that?”

  “You have to put this back on,” he said, and reached for her hand.

  Her eyes widened with surprise when she saw her engagement ring in his hand. “Why are you surprised? I always keep this with me hoping that you would take it back one day,” he said and slid it back on her finger.

  “Although I’m excited that you want to marry me, I have to know what made you decide on it so soon,” he said and caressed her cheek.

  “I’m glad you asked, because we have so much to discuss. I don’t even know where to start,” she said, with a twinkle of excitement in her eyes.

  Just as she began to explain, his phone rang. “I can silence it and call them back later, it’s just your sisters checking on you.”

  “No answer it, tell them I’m doing fine and I want to see them in a few hours,” she replied. When he went to step outside to take the call, she called out after him. “Can you have Matt pick up Allison? I want to see her as well.”

  “Yes baby,” he replied and stepped out.

  After he ended his call, Alex stepped back inside to finish what they were talking about. Her smile burned straight through him and he took a seat next to her on the bed. “They should be here in a few hours, and Allison is working on a card for her favorite aunt,” he said and smiled at her.