Circle of Deception

by Skye, M.

  “I know my darling. It pisses me off just thinking about all the time we missed together. Your sister went to talk to him on our behalf and got caught up in this madness. I begged her not to come after all the warnings, but she wouldn’t back down. She was stubborn that way,” the old woman said with great regret in her eyes.

  They had received threats that if they ever returned to the states there would be hell to pay. When Ben was arrested, he came clean about everything and revealed that he was the one behind their banishment. He had been sending them threats for years.

  After they moved back to Brazil and he finally had Maria all to himself, he wanted to keep her isolated from any family in an attempt to keep her closer. It would have worked had she not met Richard. When she did, he still kept up his torment of her family just out of spite.

  As they prepared to leave, the old lady walked out in front with her face covered, but the younger lady stopped in midstride when she heard another round of cheering begin.

  “Mother, I wish I could be down there,” she said with tears streaming down her face.

  “Maria, you must come back to Brazil. If Amanda discovers that she killed Carmen instead of you, she will come after you and possibly the children. Is that what you want?”

  After the stern warnings from her mother, Maria silently agreed and made her way back to their chartered vehicle. As they rode away, Maria thought back on the events that lead them to the horrible predicament. It all started when she called Avo to talk after learning of the engagement. She leaned her head against the glass as she took a trip down memory lane.

  ***

  “Mom, I need to talk to you.”

  “What’s wrong Maria? I can hear the uncertainly in your voice.”

  “Meg is getting married, and I wish you could all be there. There are so many things you have missed in their lives,” she responded regretfully.

  “I wish I could be there as well, but with the threats, it’s best that we stay put for now.”

  “It shouldn’t be this way,” Maria replied and sighed.

  “I know my dear, just give it some time. We will figure everything out. I love you,” she responded and disconnected the call.

  “This is not going on for a moment longer. He can’t keep us from them forever,” Carmen exclaimed and marched out of the room.

  “Carmen, where are you going?”

  “To beat some sense into Mr. Ben Hanover personally,” she yelled and grabbed her purse.

  “Sweetheart, you must heed the warnings. This is not someone to cross,” Avo warned.

  “We can’t live this way with our family split in two places,” she replied with tears in her eyes.

  Avo wanted to stop her, but she couldn’t find the words to change her mind. The only thing she could bring herself to say was “good luck my darling.” That was the last time she heard from Carmen. A few days later, she received the call from Maria about the disastrous engagement party.

  “Mom, things were awful. Meg moved out and left Alex. I don’t know if they will work things out, but I have to get some things straight with Ben,” she said, while pulling into the gates of the mansion.

  “Where are you Maria?” Avo asked frantically. “I’m turning in to Ben’s place.”

  “You must leave at once. I have been calling your sister, but she has not answered or responded. She was headed there.”

  “Oh god! Why would she do this? She is in danger,” Maria exclaimed and hurriedly turned her car around.

  “You must come home at once,” Avo stated emotionally.

  “I’ll be on the first flight out,” Maria replied with tears streaming down her face.

  After a month of not receiving any news, they then decided to make the call to Meg and see if they had turned up any leads. They knew that only a limited amount of people knew that Maria was a twin and that if something was wrong they would assume it was her. When Meg showed that she wasn’t aware of any foul play, they still held out hope.

  They kept on looking and with the search Meg and Alex had launched, they knew they would know something soon. They didn’t give up until they received word that a body had been found in a dumpster. Just as they assumed, everyone thought it was Maria.

  Maria felt terrible about letting her children think she was dead, but once they discovered what really happened, they knew they had to keep the secret, at least until Amanda was caught. While the authorities looked for Amanda, they were shocked to find out that Ben knew the truth.

  Ben had discovered their secret once Vanzetti slammed the pictures of the supposedly dead Maria in front of him. When he saw the tattoo on the opposite side, he knew that it had to be Carmen who was dead. He didn’t want to blow their cover because he knew what danger it could mean for Maria and the girls, so he did the only thing he could, he enlisted Melissa’s help.

  He knew for as much as Melissa hated him, she loved her sons even more. She would never let any harm come to Alex or his bride. When Melissa was brought in, it was she who contacted Maria’s family and let them know that Ben’s threats would no longer pose a problem, and she let them know about the wedding plans. She also helped to set up for them to watch from the hilltop. She knew it was a small penance, but she also promised to use her resources to search high and low for Amanda to have her captured and reunite their family.

  ***

  Down at the wedding site, everyone was still offering compliments to Meg and Alex and gathered around them while they stood in a loving embrace with Allison. The wedding party was all huddled up, talking and laughing, all except Matt. The thought, he had when he saw the picture, kept nagging at him and he had to go back and take another look. Once he got there and stood in front of it, he couldn’t find the source of his torment.

  There was something there. It had to be, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. When Melia saw him standing off by himself, she went over to the picture and stood next to him.

  “I miss her so much. I wish she could have been here today,” she said tearfully.

  “She was here, in spirit,” he said and wrapped his arms around her.

  While still gazing at the picture, he noticed her tattoo and had a startling realization. He didn’t want to alarm Melia, so he just suggested that they join the others. Once they reached the group, he pulled Aiden to the side and led him to the picture. “What’s going on?” Aiden asked, sounding confused.

  “Look at this,” he said pointing to the tattoo. “When we identified the body, it was on the other side,” Matt said nervously.

  “Oh god! You're right. Well, who in the hell did we identify?”

  New Release From M. Skye

  Circle of Deception 2

  Dealing with the loss of their Maria, Meg and Alex are pushing forward with their two children, Allison and their two-month old son, Jordan. Even with all the drama surrounding their family, Meg and Alex find themselves adjusting to their new marriage and becoming an instant family with only a few glitches. Meg is afraid to be too far away from their children and is obsessed with always being with them.

  While Alex and Meg try to focus on their family, they find themselves sucked into the turmoil surrounding their siblings. When the accusations begin to fly, the entire group of friends find themselves split into sides. With everything going on, Alex and Meg are poised to remain neutral until they notice Allison pulling away from Meg.

  While Meg is finding it harder and harder to put on a good face while her daughter treats her like an outsider, Alex is livid with the disrespect. In the midst of all of Allison’s behavior problems, Alex and Meg are also dealing with Melia’s rage and Gio’s secrecy. With everything flaring out of control, the couple soon realizes the danger is just beginning, and the secrets far from buried.

 

 

 
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