by Annie Jocoby
Luke appeared at Serena’s within ten minutes. He saw my face, which must have been white as a sheet, and immediately rushed to my side. “What is it?” he asked. “There’s not something wrong with Olivia, is there?” He put his hand in my hair, and kissed my cheek lightly.
When I saw him, I couldn’t help it. I burst into tears. I had been wanting to cry ever since I had my little meeting with Nottingham, but I had to force it down while I faced him. But I felt that I had permission, finally, to break down, so that was exactly what I did.
Luke looked at Serena desperately. “What’s going on? Is Dalilah okay physically? Is the baby okay? She’s not bleeding again, is she?”
“The baby seems to be fine,” Serena said, while I cried hysterically. “At least, Dalilah said nothing about the baby when she arrived here.”
“What did she say?”
“She said that she had to make some phone calls, but that she wasn’t up to it. I think that she wants you to make the phone calls.”
I just nodded my head. “Call my dad,” I choked out. “And have him call Nick. Have them meet me here as soon as they can. Please.”
“Okay,” he said. At that, he called my father. “Ryan,” he said. “This is Luke….Dalilah asked me to call you….I’m doing okay, how are you?....yes, yes….well, we’re back in the States, I’m surprised Dalilah hasn’t told you….she wants to meet you here at my sister Serena’s…..as soon as you can….and she wants you to call Nick, too, and have him meet us here, too….Serena’s address is------…….today, if possible….I have no idea why she wants to talk to you….see you then….you take care too.”
Luke got off the phone. “Okay, they’ll be here this evening. We can go out to dinner, if you like.”
“I’ll make dinner,” Serena offered.
I was feeling calmer, in that I stopped crying. But I still was at a loss for words.
“Dalilah’s parents are vegans,” Luke said. “Is that okay?”
“Luke,” Serena said. “I’m also a vegan. I guess you aren’t overly observant, but that’s okay.”
Luke’s face turned red. “Come to think of it, you really didn’t eat that turkey at Christmas. I guess I didn’t really think about it.”
Serena put her arm around Luke. “Kid, there’s a lot you don’t know about me. But that’s my fault entirely.” She winked at both of us. “I’m a mean vegan cook, too. Trust me, you won’t miss the animal products.”
“Well, okay, then,” Luke said. “Thanks, Serena, in advance. Can I go to the store or anything for whatever you need?”
Serena shook her head. “I’ll make some eggplant parmesan, without the parmesan, of course – just breaded eggplant, fried in walnut oil, topped with marinara. Serve it was some linguini and bread with olive oil, and my special recipe vegan brownies, and it’s a really great meal. And salad, too. I like to throw all kinds of stuff in my salads – nuts, fruits, avocados, croutons.”
“Sounds awesome,” Luke said. “Well, okay, then, I guess it’s settled. We’ll have dinner here.”
Then he turned to me. “Okay, Dalilah, you need to talk to me. I don’t particularly want to be blindsided when I see what you’re going to say to your parents and Nick.”
Oh, god. Well, I was going to have to come clean with Luke. I had no idea how he was going to react.
I shook my head. “Well, let’s see. Where do I begin?”
“Wherever you want to begin,” he said.
“Okay. Well. I’ll just start with how I was when I was in 12. I was a frustrated pre-teen. Bored with school, bored with life. I didn’t feel that I had an artistic voice anymore, so I was just a bit numb. I needed a challenge in my life, or else I was just going to scream.”
“Go on,” Luke said. He looked confused, but, for his part, he seemed to be okay.
“Hold on,” I said. I went to the other room, and took out my purse. I had no idea how much of a range that little recording device had.
I went out to the living room, and handed the phone to Serena. “Could you do me a favor? Could you take this phone down to Luke’s new studio? I’ll explain later.”
She nodded. “I’ll be back in about ten minutes or so.”
“Thanks,” I said.
Luke looked more confused than ever.
“I’m so sorry, Luke,” I said. “This will all come together, I promise. But I really want Serena to know everything, too, because she might be able to help out. So, I need to wait until she gets back to tell you the rest of the sorry story.”
Serena was back within 10 minutes, and she sat down.
“Okay,” I said. “I was just talking about how bored I was when I was young, and how I wanted a challenge. Well, I decided to teach myself to hack computers. It was just a puzzle for me, a game. I got all nosy, looked at my dad’s computers and my mom’s. Why, I don’t really know. That’s just how I was. I was not only bored, but I was nosy, too.” I shook my head. “I shouldn’t have done that. It wasn’t right.”
Luke said nothing, just held my hand, and continued to look concerned.
“Anyhow, well, I found something. I was really into it, and I went through his files that he had erased off his hard drive. I was just so thrilled that I could find old files like that. I was giddy. Stupid me. But, you know, when you get that good at hacking, it was a high. You know, I could find things that he was desperate to hide. Things that he took a lot of time and effort to erase. And, well, I found something. Something very serious.”
Serena and Luke both were looking concerned.
I took a deep breath. I had to trust Serena and Luke not to take this information that I was going to tell them, and not use it against me, or, god forbid, Nick and my dad, in the future. I trusted Luke, implicitly.
And something told me that I could also trust Serena. I hoped that my gut wasn’t wrong about that. It could be not such a good thing.
Still, I decided that I couldn’t use my gut, there. Not when it was Nick and my father’s future at stake. “Serena, god, I’m so sorry. But I can’t tell you this. It isn’t my story to tell, really. It’s Nick’s and my dad’s.”
She looked stricken, and I felt bad. Perhaps I could tell her that Nottingham was blackmailing me, and see if she could help out, without telling her exactly what information Nottingham was using against me.
“I understand,” she said. “I’ll be out on the deck, and, when you want me to come in, I’ll be back.”
“Thanks,” I said. “I’m so sorry, if it was my story, only, I’d tell you. But I can’t, because there are so many others implicated in this.”
She nodded, and, at that, she went to her back balcony and sat down. I felt awful. I just kicked her out of her own home.
“Go on, Dalilah,” Luke said.
“I’m trusting you with this, Luke. The fact that I’m willing to tell you all of this shows just how much I trust you.”
“Sounds really serious,” he said. “But go on.”
“Well,” I said. “I found a video of Nick. He was threatening this guy, Paul Lucas. He was telling this guy that he had to commit suicide, because if this guy didn’t commit suicide, he, Nick, would turn him in for things that he did. Apparently this Paul was a serial rapist, and he had admitted that he was raping young girls for years. Hundreds of them. This guy had raped my Aunt Scotty, too, for years. So, he was a bad, bad man, to say the least.”
Luke’s face was turning white. “Egads,” he said. “Talk about heavy.” He shook his head. “What an awful scenario.” He visibly shuddered. “If anybody raped you, I think that I would be tempted to do the same. Any man would. But, I don’t think that I would have the guts to go through with it.”
I took a deep breath. “Well, Nick, you have to understand him. He’s no shrinking violet, by any means. He’s an awesome guy, but he definitely has the guts to make the heavy choices. Not to mention morally ambiguous ones.”
“Okay,” Luke said. “Well, go on. I’m listening.”
“We
ll,” I said. “This video ended with this Paul guy putting a gun in his mouth and pulling the trigger.”
I tried to gauge Luke’s reaction, but I couldn’t. He looked like he was proud of Nick for doing it, yet, at the same time, horrified that Nick would do something like that.
Kind of like the way that I felt when I found the video.
“I think that I know where this is going,” Luke said. “But, go on.”
“You’re going to hate me,” I said. “But I have to get it out in the open. When I was going to marry Nottingham, I knew that my dad was going to freak out. I wanted Nick on my side. Nick is my father’s most trusted friend. They’ve gone through everything together. So, I wanted Nick to talk to my dad. Tell him that Nottingham wasn’t a bad guy. After all, Nick has apparently known Nottingham for awhile. That was how I first encountered Nottingham, was at one of Nick’s parties.”
Now, Luke’s face was starting to change. He shook his head. “You didn’t. Please tell me you didn’t.”
Time to rip off the Band-Aid, and let the chips fall where they may. “I did. Nick wasn’t playing along, so I casually told him that I knew what he did. For a brief moment, I thought that I would use it against him, or at least make him think that I was going to use it against him. But I backed off of that immediately. Almost as soon as I said it, I backtracked, and told him that I would never hold that over his head. I felt bad about bringing that up, immediately.”
Luke was shaking his head. He looked like he was about to blow a gasket. He was also no longer holding my hand. Rather, he was running his hands through his thick hair. Then he got up, and started to pace.
I felt just a little panicky, but I forged on.
“Goddamn it,” he finally said. “Goddamn it. I love you. You’re the smartest woman I know. But how could you be so fucking stupid? I….I don’t even know what to say. Why would go there? You find something out like that about someone you love, and this person that you love hasn’t done anything to you. Yet, you’re going to try to use that against him? Good lord, Dalilah, what the hell were you thinking?”
I fought back tears. “I was desperate, Luke. I wanted my dad to be on board with this Nottingham nonsense, and I thought that Nick would help with that. It was stupid, Luke, and there’s no excuse for it.”
“I see. I see.” Luke continued to pace. “We’re back to this, aren’t we? We’re back to things biting you on your ass, as they’re going to do when you do things that are morally reprehensible. Goddamn it, why can’t you see that? Hasn’t anyone ever told you that if you’re in a hole to stop digging?”
“I know, Luke. But I’ve made the decision not to do things underhanded. Remember? I made that decision when I had my dream about our daughter.”
Luke was nodding his head, obviously not hearing my protestations about how I had changed. “And Nottingham knows about this, doesn’t he? I bet he did something like bug your phone, and he knows it all.”
“How did you know that was what happened?”
“Because he’s as duplicitous as you are, Dalilah. Probably moreso. Which is why it’s so ridiculous that you would ever have gotten involved with him at all. If you couldn’t see that he’s going to out-maneuver you at every turn, just because his mind is more devious than yours, then I don’t know what to tell you.”
I shook my head. “He told me that I have a blind spot in my intelligence, which is why he has been able to out- maneuver me, as you say. Always stay one step ahead. I guess he’s right.”
“You damned right, he’s right. You obviously have a blind spot as big as Jupiter.”
“So, now, Nottingham is threatening me. He said that if I don’t give him custody of this baby, joint custody, he’s going to bring down Nick and my dad.”
Luke cocked his head. “Your dad. He’s involved with this, too?”
I shrugged my shoulder. “I don’t really know. I mean, the video was on my dad’s computer, so I don’t know what that means. I guess I need to find out more.”
“Oh, god. Well, okay, so Nottingham knows. The first thing you do is clean up that phone. I have no idea how you’re going to do that, because those devices are microscopic. I have no idea how you’re going to find it. But, one thing’s for sure, you can’t get rid of that phone, because you don’t want it falling into the wrong hands.”
“That goes without saying,” I said. “And, well, I told him that I had dirt on him, and that if he decided to play hard ball, that I would bring him down. When I said that, I think that I was onto something. I saw a bit of fear in his eyes when I said it. A flicker of fear. I was bluffing, of course, but I saw something in his eyes that makes me think that I really could bring him down if it came to that.”
Luke shook his head. “Okay. Looks like we’re going to have to fight fire with fire. I don’t approve of this, of course. But we have to find something on him.” He shook his head again. “Nothing else can really be done. We’re completely backed into a corner, Dalilah, because of you. I hope you’re happy.”
I tried not to panic at Luke’s words. He was clearly angry, and I hoped that he didn’t really mean what he was saying.
I breathed in and out, in and out. I had to calm down. I was feeling panicky about the situation, and Luke’s words made it all that much worse. Not that I blamed him for saying these things. I knew that he was frustrated. I didn’t blame him. But I needed him to be on my side. No matter what I did, no matter how morally wrong I was, I needed him to tell me that he could understand why I would do these things. I needed him to forgive me, and understand how badly I wanted to change.
I felt a sense of keen relief, when he came over to me, and took my hand. “Dalilah,” he said calmly. “I’m frustrated at the situation. I’m not going to tell you that you weren’t wrong in what you did, because you clearly were. But what’s done is done. We have go to forward. We have to go forward, and hopefully your dad and Nick can help with this.”
I smiled. Luke wasn’t going to leave me over this. He wasn’t happy, but it seemed that he would continue to be on my side, and that meant the absolute world to me.
Chapter
My mom, dad, Nick and Scotty arrived at Serena’s home at 6 PM. I helped Serena prepare the food, and Luke went out and got some good scotch for Nick and my dad, along with some good wine for Scotty and my mom. I actually enjoyed helping Serena cook. It was relaxing, really, and I desperately needed to relax.
“So,” Serena said to me. “I guess I need to make myself scarce, huh, after dinner? I mean, since you don’t want me to know what’s going on.”
“I’m so sorry. This is your home. I wish that I could tell you, but it’s just too risky.”
She nodded. “Well, at any rate, I’ll have the chance to meet your family, which is a good thing. I’m happy about that.”
“Thanks so much for understanding,” I said.
“That’s okay,” she said. “I’ve already made plans to see a friend of mine and catch up with her. It’s not a problem.”
My mom, dad, Nick and Scotty arrived at 6. They came in, and had a seat, and Luke got all of them a drink.
“Thanks, Luke,” my dad said, “from the tone of your call today, I think that we’re all going to need this.”
“Well,” Luke said. “You probably will. At any rate, we have some awesome food to eat. We have a lot to talk about, but after we eat.”
Serena smiled. “We’re like Italians. Everything is going to go down better after a good meal.”
The dinner couldn’t have gone better. Everything was delicious, and my dad and everybody tried to valiantly make small talk and get to know Serena. But, through it all, there was severe tension in the air. It could be cut like a knife.
After the vegan brownie dessert, and some after-dinner drinks, Serena excused herself. “Well, it’s been awesome to meet all of you, but I have a friend to meet tonight.”
Everybody stood up and gave her a hug. “It’s been great meeting you, Serena,” my dad said. “Than
ks so much for being such a great hostess and welcoming us into your home. It really means a lot to us.”
Everyone else said similar things to Serena, and she left with a smile.
After she left, my dad led off the charge. “Okay, now, Dalilah, let’s not beat around the bush, here. You called us here, and you obviously have something on your mind. And, judging by your recent meetings that you have called with us, I would have to say that what’s going on is probably something that’s not so great. To say the least.”
“Yes,” I said. And then I launched into everything about how Nottingham was blackmailing me. I didn’t have to tell them about the rest – about my hacking and all that, because, of course, they already knew that story.
My dad was shaking his head. “Okay. Well, then, we have a situation on our hands, don’t we? To say the least.”
“Of course,” I said. “Listen, dad, I’m not all that clear, though. You were in on the Paul Lucas thing. Of that, I’m relatively certain. But what did you do? Were you just aware that he was doing it, or were you actively involved in planning it?”
My dad was quiet. “I was involved in planning it. Nick and I planned it together. I got my security firm involved in it. It was my computer that we used to record it. The entire plan was put together by Nick and me, side by side. So, if Nick is going down for this, I am too.”
Oh, god, I didn’t know that my dad’s neck was this much on the line. “I see,” I said, and then looked around the room. My mom’s face showed no surprise, so I guess she knew. Scotty’s face showed no surprise, either.
They all knew about it. Of course. The four of them were tight, and they all formed a very strong circle of trust. They knew that nobody in that group would ever breathe a word about it.
I felt bad. If it weren’t for me, that whole thing would remain buried. But, it kept coming up. It kept coming up, because of me. It should have remained buried with the bones of Paul Lucas.
