“Exactly, the bigger they are, the harder they fall.” I stated.
“Huh?” Tommy was dumbfounded at this point.
Let me fixed that for him. “Tommy, I think that there was more than one person involved. Actually, I think there were several.”
“Who, baby?”
“I think Darian for one.”
“You always thought it was her from the beginning, but who are the other people you’re suggesting?”
“Madison Van Buren and her father Maxwell.”
“Hmmm…I know you must have something on her to be leaning in that direction. You wouldn’t just accuse someone of something this awful if you didn’t and you certainly wouldn’t base it on the not so welcoming entrance she made here the other night.”
“I would love to admit that Madison coming here didn’t phase me, but it did. I told Dominick that I was well aware that he had other lovers, but I hated the fact that he always kept little intricate details of his past from me, all for the sake of protecting me. Dominick truly believes that line of bullshit that he hands me at times. The truth is that I know much of it comes from a good place, but I also believe some of it comes from a dark place. A place he tries not to visit, but a place that seems to control him involuntarily, like breathing. A place where Dominick believes he will lose control, and life as he knows it will never be the same again, if he lets his emotions take over or they get the best of him.”
“You could be right. No man wants to fail and for someone with Kane’s personality and demeanor, it could mean total destruction. He plays everything very tight to the vest, Rain. So baby, tell me what do you have on Madison and Mr. Van B?” Tommy smiled because he couldn’t wait for what I had to say.
“Dominick told me that his relationship with her was more than rocky. Some of what he explained, was downright psychotic. She was stalking him. She lied about being pregnant in the hopes of keeping him as her lover. Oh, I forgot, I should say her fiancé.”
Tommy interrupted me at this point. “Wait, he proposed to her?”
I laughed out loud. It actually felt good. It felt like old times with Tommy.
“Yeah, but you know something, when he told me about it, I wasn’t all that surprised.”
“Really?”
“Don’t get me wrong; it hurt very much to hear him say it, but when I first met Dominick and watched how he carried himself, I felt he was a power-hungry, self-indulgent, rich boy. You know the type. Fast cars, fast women that could keep up with that type of man, etc. Then there was me. I was living somewhat of a feeble existence compared to him. Darian, Madison, and even Raven were the type of women that I thought a man like Dominick would want and you know me, Dominick’s type was never my type. Anyway, maybe back then he did connect to Madison on some sort of an emotional level. Who knows, but now she is fucking with my family and that is something that I will never accept.” My voice turned ugly and adamant.
“So tell me what you think she’s after.” Tommy put me back on track.
“Dominick explained that with all of her lunacy he wanted out of the relationship. Vincent of all people helped him with some garbage on her father, Maxwell. He told Dominick to use it against him or at least threaten him with it. Dominick did and all of the craziness that was Madison Van Buren immediately ceased.”
“Shit, he must have had some serious evidence on Mr. Van B. to get his daughter to stop.”
“That brings me to my next theory.” I grinned.
Tommy grinned back. “I’m sure you're going to tell what that is, baby, and I have a funny feeling it’s going to be good.”
“Dominick said that Maxwell was somehow stealing from his own clients. He didn’t elaborate fully, but that was part of the dirt Vincent had on Mr. Van Buren and gave to Dominick. I also think by now Maxwell must know that Vincent was the one who helped Dominick, but Vincent isn’t here to be the target of Maxwell’s revenge.”
“I see, but Dominick and your dad are.” Tommy was beginning to see the light.
“Exactly and he probably enlisted his daughter to help. This is just a guess, but after all of these years there had to be some bitterness between Maxwell and his precious Madison. She was probably pissed that she had to obey her father back then, so to get back in his daughter’s good graces he probably told her that he planned to take Dominick down. What better way than to try to destroy Dominick now that he finally had everything he wanted in life? He has Kane and Medici and me and the twins.”
“Yeah, but why try to hurt your dad, and where does Darian fit in your new theory.” Tommy questioned.
“I’ve been thinking a lot about this since last night. I barely slept. I think it can be one of two things. Either Darian joined them in this plot against Dominick, but then we would have to assume that the Van Burens and Ms. Mann new each other personally. Or it’s a totally separate incident. Don’t forget it was Dominick’s car that ran down my dad. It was stolen by a red-haired woman. That we know for sure.”
“That’s true, perhaps she felt if your dad was injured and Dominick was found guilty or even under suspicion, then you would leave him and he would be alone. Something she had to relate to when Dominick rejected her.”
“I think you may be on to something, Tommy.”
“So now that you have all of your theories in place, where do we begin?”
Tommy asked, but I wasn’t the one who answered.
“We don’t begin anywhere. We tell dad and Dominick what you two are cooking up.” Raven’s voice sent a surprised chill right through me. I thought she left for the city with Dominick this morning. I mean I didn’t see her leave, but that was what she had told me she planned to do when we said goodnight yesterday evening.
“Raven, what the hell are you doing here?” I turned and asked my twin, who was standing there with arms crossed, as if her bold presence would stop me. Her presence wouldn’t, but her mouth would. Especially if she opened it and ran to tell on Tommy and me.
I couldn’t let her ruin everything. I had to think of some way to stop her. What bothered me at that moment was that I knew the only way to stop her was to let her join in. I didn’t really want her involved, but at least if she agreed, then Dominick and my dad would be none the wiser. Let’s hope this worked.
“I decided not to go into the city. Dominick said that he would announce to the office that I was taking a leave of absence and that he would determine along with dad how the cases would be reassigned. By the looks of things here, I would say that it was a good decision not to drive into the city with them this morning.”
“Why is that, babe?” Tommy asked.
“Because with me here, I can keep an eye on the both of you and stop you from doing something stupid, babe.” Her statement was smug and condescending.
“Listen, Raven, you're not stopping me and if you tell Dominick any of this, I’ll stop talking to you indefinitely. Is that what you want at this point in your life?” I hated saying that to Raven, but I needed her to be on board with this. I needed to find out who tried to hurt our family. With Michael and Raven’s relationship self-imploding, she needed Tommy and me, so perhaps this would keep her from reporting back to my control freak husband and our over-protective dad.
Tommy looked down. He didn’t smirk or grin. He knew I meant business.
Raven looked at him and then back to me. “You’re serious? You’d actually stop talking to me?” Her snarky voice quelled.
I paused. “Yes, I’m dead serious.”
The three of us stood our ground, like in a standoff. We said nothing. Eventually, Raven finally broke the silence.
With a deep breathe and a resolved exhale she gave in. “Okay, I’m in. What do you need me to do?” A devious grin played on my twin’s face.
It was contagious. We all had the same crafty expression. Tommy and I decided that we had to fill Raven in thus far on my conspiracy theory, but the twins were ready for their bottles, so I left it to Tommy to give Raven the details while I went
to care for my babies.
I was happy that I had avoided a confrontation with Raven, but I was still worried that she could change her mind at any time and spill the beans to Dominick and our dad. Hopefully the other shoe wouldn’t drop until I found out all the answers I had been looking for.
Chapter Sixteen
A Change of Heart
Tommy
Raven took Rain and I completely by surprise. I couldn't believe Kane actually talked her into staying at home to recuperate and to give up her cases that easily. It was hard to believe that Kane had such an easy rapport with Raven, but I wasn’t stupid and I knew better. She may have snowed Rain into believing that she wanted to be part of this little investigation, but not me. She gave in too quickly. Raven never gives in. Rain was too busy inside her own thoughts to notice that her sister was overly amiable. Good thing I was here to see right through her. I had a feeling Raven made her own deal with Kane.
Raven settled on the couch as she thumbed through the pictures for the coffee table book Rain and I planned to publish next year. She wouldn’t look at me. This confirmed I was right. I could always tell when Raven was going to lie. Now it was time to catch her in it or at the very least find out what kind of deal she cut with Kane.
“Babe, I’m proud of you.” I confidently stated.
Raven looked at me with a puzzled expression. “Why are you proud of me? What did I do?” She asked, as she looked up at me.
I was right. Her pupils shifted back and forth. She was nervous. I could read her like a book.
“You put your sister first. You didn’t cause drama and you gave Rain the support she needed from you.”
“What choice did I have? She vowed not to speak with to me if I didn’t agree.”
“Yeah, that’s the thing, you agreed way too easily.” Time to go in for the kill.
“What are you insinuating, Tommy?”
“I’m not insinuating anything. I know you’re not on board with this in the least. You just said that because you want more info for your bosses.”
“Thats not true. I’m just supporting my sister.”
I was about to speak, but Rain spoke for me. “Cut the crap, Raven. I knew you were lying from the very beginning. Dominick told you to stay home and watch me. I know his game. He was afraid that I would look deeper into his past with Madison and he didn’t want me to get hurt. So he enlisted your help to see that I was a good little wife while he was away. How am I doing so far?” Rain grinned sarcastically.
“Baby, I thought you were slipping.” I should have known Rain had her sister’s number.
“Not a chance in hell” Rain said and then she addressed Raven.
“Here’s how this is all going to go, Raven. You are going to be Dominick’s good little snitch just like you promised him you would be, but you are only going to give him the info that I feed you. If you so much as tell him any of this, other than what I say, I will never speak to you again. You will no longer be welcome here. Do you get me?”
“Rain, Dominick loves you. He just wants to protect you that’s all. I don’t want you to get hurt, please Rain.” Raven tried to explain.
“Raven, I have been protected or should I say overprotected, my entire life. It stops now. You are either going to help or hurt this situation. I’ll give you some time to think about it. I’m going to take the twins out in the fresh air for a walk. When I return I want your answer.” Rain turned and said nothing more. She left the room to take her babies for a morning stroll along the shoreline.
After Rain left, an uneasiness filled the room. I must admit that a small part of me felt like Raven and Kane; I knew that Rain was getting in way over her head, but I lived much of my life with Rain here and in Capri. It wasn’t easy for her. There were many things that Rain was restricted from doing. Cella kept Rain from going to the movies and other activities that children did. She was home schooled long before it became popular. She couldn’t leave the compound, or should I say fortress that Rain’s mom called their home. If Rain had so much as a sniffle, no one was allowed to be near her (including me) for days, sometimes weeks on end. Cella was paranoid about every germ and every bruise. Some of it was well-founded and out of love and concern, but some of it was out of fear and obsession. She wanted her daughter to be with her always. Nothing and no one would ever be allowed to take Rain’s attention away from Cella. She wanted all of it. She smothered Rain. It wasn’t a healthy relationship for either of them. Rain would say that her mom did it out of love in the beginning and perhaps that was true, but as Rain grew stronger, so did Cella’s obsession to keep Rain sick and to hold her back.
I always believed that Cella’s love for Rain came from a dark, bitter place. Not in the beginning, but as Rain became an adult, Cella felt she wasn't needed any longer and she wouldn’t hear of it. She had grown to resent the fact that her whole life was caring for Rain. Cella honestly did it to herself. If she had loved Rain in a normal way and just treated her illness as the doctors told her to and didn’t become preoccupied and irrational with it, then they could have had a wonderful relationship.
Cella was able to control Rain as a child, but as Rain moved on in her adult life Cella used a different strategy…guilt. Rain always had an amazing, giving heart, so she honored her mom in everything she asked because she wanted her mom to know that she was grateful for the care and attention she always gave Rain throughout her younger years.
That was one of the reasons why Rain couldn’t be controlled by anyone (including her family) today. She had the need to do things for herself. Granted, she did take some things to the extreme, like this investigation. Rain was going to do what she felt was right and what she wanted to do. Nothing could stop her. That was one of the main reasons why I agreed to help.
In my own way, I could keep her safe without questioning her judgment. I knew from her past that this is what Rain needed from all of us. I needed to make Raven understand this and be on board with Rain’s plan in every sense of the word, without her running off to tell Kane.
If he knew what Rain was up to, he would immediately put a stop to it. This would only remind her of Cella. This would only destroy Rain and could even reverse all of the positive things that Rain had achieved since Cella passed away. I wasn’t going to allow that to happen. Now I had to convince Raven of it.
“Listen Raven, I know that whatever promise you made to Kane was because you love your sister and you don’t want anything else to happen to her, but you have to understand that Rain is determined to get to the truth. She lost the one thing in life that a mother wants and looks forward to in the nine months that she was pregnant. She lost experiencing the birth of a child and in her case children.”
“Tommy, I get all that, but Rain is not thinking clearly. Her plight to out Darian is one thing. Madison Van Buren is a totally different extreme. I know Madison from her reputation as an attorney. For lack of a better term, she is one crazy bitch.”
I laughed at Raven’s description of Madison.
“Tommy, this is no laughing matter. She is crazy in every sense of the word. What you witnessed when she came here for Dominick’s birthday was just the tip of the iceberg. She does whatever she wants, whenever she wants, to whomever she wants. She is beyond self-entitled and she has the money and power of her daddy behind her to do whatever she damn-well pleases.”
“That’s all well and good¸ but if you rat out Rain, I’m pretty sure and so are you, that Rain will disown you and she won’t come back this time. She always makes up with Dominick, but even he may be skating on thin ice in this situation.”
“So what do you suggest I do? You know Dominick. He’s going to want me to report to him with something.” Raven asked.
“Do what Rain says. She knows Kane better than anyone. She can feed you the info she thinks will satisfy him, then we can help her get to the truth if possible.”
“Tommy, let’s say I do this Rain’s way and Dominick finds out. Then what?”
�
��Then what?”
“I’m not sure what you're asking.”
“If Dominick finds out he’ll be furious. For me, it’s no big deal, but for Rain, it could be a whole different ending. What if he divorces her and takes the twins?Rain will never come back from that.”
“Kane is far too in love with Rain and his family to leave her, but I’m not certain he wouldn’t attempt to confine her again and this time I think your dad would be on board with it fully.”
“So even knowing all of this, you're sure you want to continue to help Rain with her plans?” Raven was genuinely scared for her sister.
The Ties That Bind (Miss Taken Identity #3) Page 15
