by T. K. Leigh
“Livvy, sweetie. Come with Daddy. We need to get out of here.”
“But Mama…”
“Your mother is fine. She’s just sleeping right now. She’s coming with us. Don’t worry.”
Olivia got up from underneath the table and followed her father out of the house and into their car, her father carrying her mother and placing her in the front seat.
They left the beach house and began driving away. As they approached the turn out, Jack saw the SUV waiting and took his foot off the accelerator.
He looked at his unconscious wife as she sat lifeless in the front seat. He hated how everything ended, but she knew too much. He glanced at his daughter sitting in the back seat as she stared at her huge stuffed animal, a large SUV about to pummel into them. A crooked smile crossed his face.
“We love you, Olivia.”
Olivia didn’t look up. “I know.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
BETRAYAL
“OLIVIA,” SIMON WHISPERED QUIETLY. “Please, Olivia. Wake up. I’m going to get you out of here.” He shook her frail body, desperately trying to wake her up. He prayed that she wasn’t already dead.
Everything was his fault. He should never have agreed to help out those fuckers last summer. He had been so angry when he got arrested that he made a deal with the devil himself, agreeing to go to prison if he could be the one to kill Olivia when the time came. But during their brief encounters over the past few months, he had begun to care for her. And now here she was, shot, beaten, and raped. He would never forgive himself. He would spend the rest of his life making it up to the poor girl, provided they both survived.
Simon scanned the room, relieved to see that Grant and Jack were still off searching the house for whatever it was they were looking for. “Come on, Olivia. You have to wake up now.”
She woke up with a start. Flinging her eyes open, she was happy to actually be able to see. Then she began to remember. Simon had abducted her and then tried to help her escape. He shot her in the shoulder. And then there was Grant. He assaulted and humiliated her. Her father came to intervene, but then he knocked her out.
He was in on it.
Olivia’s eyes focused on the man standing in front of her. Simon. She tried to get up, but she couldn’t. Her legs were tied to the chair. Her wrists were bound together behind her and her mouth was taped shut.
“Shhh…” Simon said. “I promise I’m going to get you out of here, but we have to be very quiet or we’ll both end up dead. Do you understand?”
Olivia nodded her head in understanding, her eyes going wide in panic when she noticed a large figure moving swiftly behind Simon. She tried to warn him, but all that came out was her desperate cries.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?!” Grant roared, hitting Simon over the head with the barrel of his gun, knocking him out.
Olivia screamed, hopelessly pulling at her restraints.
“Oh, look who’s up,” Grant said cruelly, walking over to where she was bound to the chair. “About time, too. Daddy is getting a little impatient to find out where you buried that chest he is so eager to find.”
She tried to speak through the tape.
“What was that? Where is he? Oh, he’s out searching the property. He couldn’t wait for you to wake up.” He hovered over her, making her flinch from his proximity. “We weren’t sure if you ever would, to be honest.” Grant dragged his hand up her thigh.
Olivia tried to scream out and push away from him, but it was no use.
“What the fuck did I tell you about touching her?” Jack yelled, walking into the great room.
“Come on, dude. Relax. You’re the one that tied her up like this.”
Jack rolled his eyes. “Grant, focus. Please. Stop thinking with your pecker and use your brain for once, if that’s even possible.”
“Whatever. I think that bitch daughter of yours is more scared about me touching her than killing her. My way is definitely better.”
Jack exhaled loudly, turning his attention back to Olivia. “Where are the papers, Livvy? Do you remember? Or do I have to let Grant have another go?”
Olivia stared ahead in horror that the man in front of her was actually her father.
“Are they even here?”
Olivia continued to display no emotion, knowing full well what Grant was going to do if she didn’t show any indication that she would disclose the location of the documents.
“Fine. Do whatever you want. If she’s not going to help, may as well kill her now.” Jack turned to leave and continue his search.
Olivia screamed out again, her pleas for help still muffled.
“What’s with the dried blood here, Livvy?” Grant said cruelly. “Am I a bigger man than that Alexander you’ve been screwing?”
She closed her eyes, not wanting to keep them open to see the look on Grant’s face. She heard the door open and close and became sick to her stomach that her father had returned to watch.
Her eyes grew wide when she heard a gunshot.
~~~~~~~~~~
“WHAT THE HELL WAS that?” Jack growled, walking down the hall to determine the source of the sound. “I didn’t think you’d actually shoot…”
“Jack,” Alexander said, an accusatory tone in his voice.
He stopped in his tracks, processing the scene in front of him, his heart racing. Grant lay dead at Olivia’s feet and Alexander stood in the doorway next to Martin. They were both holding a gun aimed at him. Jack immediately raised his own weapon and pointed it at Olivia. He knew Alexander would do anything to save that girl.
Her eyes went wide and she continued to stare at Alexander, pleading with him to help her.
Trying to scan the room to determine if there were any other threats to their safety, Alexander couldn’t break his eyes from Olivia’s, his face flushing red with anger when he took in her bruised and beaten frame. It made him sick to his stomach, but he needed to stay strong. Surveying her body, he saw that her left foot was badly bruised. He was certain she had quite a few broken bones. There was a bullet wound that appeared to go through her right shoulder, drenching her white sundress a dark red color. She seemed to have lost quite a bit of blood and he wondered how she could still be conscious. But what made Alexander want to scream was the sight of blood trickling down her thighs. He was beside himself with anger and guilt. Once again, he failed to protect her.
“Ah, looks like you’ve figured it out, son, haven’t you?”
Alexander took a step closer, trying to keep his composure as Olivia looked up at him, bound and gagged.
Jack closed the distance between himself and Olivia, pressing his gun against her temple, daring Alexander to come any closer. “Drop your weapons or I will fucking kill her, daughter or not,” he growled. “NOW!”
Alexander immediately stopped dead in his tracks, adrenaline coursing through his veins. He turned to Martin and nodded. Slowly, they both lowered their guns to the ground, keeping their eyes trained on Jack.
“Kick them over here.”
They followed his direction, holding their hands up in surrender. Alexander had been in tighter spots before, but never did he have to fight for the life of a loved one. He couldn’t afford to fuck up. “How could you?” he asked quietly. “Your own daughter, Jack. How could you?”
“I don’t have a fucking choice in the matter, son…”
“Stop!” Alexander said, raising his voice. “Do not call me son! You’ve lost that privilege.”
Jack’s face softened. “You need to understand.”
“Understand?!” Alexander shouted, indignant. “You’re holding a gun to your daughter’s head! She’s been beaten, shot, and assaulted. Repeatedly!” he cried out, barely holding it together. “What can you possibly say that will help me understand?”
“I fucked up, okay?!” Jack yelled. “But these people were not to be messed with! I’ve seen what they do if you cross them or don’t follow their instructions. Not the way I want to go.�
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“So it was you.”
“Of course. I was the brains behind the whole fucking thing,” he responded, almost sounding offended that Alexander would question his ability to pull off an operation like that. “I was able to employ the help of some other people in the CIA, the FBI, the military. No one knew about anyone else who was involved, except for Kiddish, senior. We were the only ones who knew where all the bodies were buried, so to speak. I didn’t want to enlist his help, but I needed someone to keep all the other players in line.”
“I don’t understand,” Alexander said. “Why were those documents at your house to begin with? For anyone to find? Not very smart, Jack.” He wanted him to keep talking.
“I couldn’t keep that shit at the office, now could I? Someone would eventually catch on. Never did I think that someone at home would. So she had to be dealt with.” A twisted look came across Jack’s face of part remorse and part satisfaction.
“No,” Alexander said quietly. “Marilyn…” He looked to Olivia, tears streaming down her face. “You killed your own wife?” he asked, unable to comprehend that the monster standing in front of him was the same man he used to build sand castles with when he was younger.
“I HAD TO! SHE KNEW TOO FUCKING MUCH!” Jack took a deep breath. “She was smarter than I gave her credit for. She was onto me. She found all the documents that we had fixed. The money transfers were there. It was all there. I was careless enough to leave it out one day. I had to lie and say that it was a case I was working on. She believed me at first, but then she started to question things. I guess the money made her suspicious. I should have been smarter about hiding the extra cash coming in.
“I made up a story about some of the people I was ‘investigating’ catching on to me. I had hoped to scare her off so she would stop asking questions about the details of what was going on. It worked…a little too well. Marilyn went to your father, giving him the story that I fed her before she knew of my involvement. Soon, she started digging through all my stuff and, eventually, put it all together. She knew too much. I had no choice.”
“So you killed her.”
“You know the answer to that.”
“But the accident…”
“Well, I guess I might as well tell you everything. None of you will be walking out of this house alive.” Jack shrugged, amused, almost as if he was proud of himself for what was going on. “Marilyn was dead before I even placed her in the car. I went to Kiddish, senior, to see how he thought we should deal with the potential leak. The only way was to dispose of Marilyn…and Olivia. Then I could search for the missing documents as I grieved for my deceased family. Marilyn should have kept her mouth shut. When I saw her attempting to flee with Livvy, I had to kill her. I was hoping to wait and kill her in the crash, but she was putting up a fight. I knew I was taking a risk with the car accident, as I could possibly die, too, but Kiddish said the best way would be to make it all seem natural so as to not raise suspicion. He was in on the plan. What he wasn’t in on was me having to shoot him, but I wasn’t expecting you and your father to show up after the crash. I had to sell it, and the only way was to kill him.”
“I don’t understand. Why the new identities?” Alexander asked, wanting all the information possible. He wasn’t going to give up without a fight.
“It was a way to cover my involvement. Your father was helping watch out for us…at Marilyn’s request. Little did I realize that she called your dad just a few hours before I got home that day, saying she was scared about something. That just shows you what your dad was like. He would drop everything to help out a friend. When you and your father stumbled across the accident, it was the perfect set-up to try and start over again. If everyone thought I died, no one would mention my involvement if there was ever a leak, which was doubtful considering I held all the documentation and the only other person who knew everything was now dead. A new identity would give me plenty of time and space to hunt for the documents, but I didn’t know what Olivia would remember. Imagine my luck when the doctor explained that she suffered a rather severe brain injury and would probably have substantial memory loss.
“The best way for Olivia to forget everything was to make sure we were separated. If she never saw me, any memory about what happened at the beach house would hopefully be gone. I made sure she was given a completely new identity, totally unassociated with me. Of course, I never knew where she had been taken. During the first few years, I had quite a few of your father’s security agents watching out for me, which made it difficult for me to go anywhere and search for the documents. I couldn’t have planned it any better if I tried. Keeping Olivia alive was brilliant. That way, if I couldn’t find the documents, I had a backup plan for finding them. Years passed and I couldn’t find that damn box so I re-shifted my focus to finding Livvy. My protection detail loosened quite a bit over the years and I was able to travel more in my attempt to track her down without having to worry about anything from my former life…until your father called one day, asking too many questions. He had been going through his old files, I guess…”
“You…”
“It was the perfect opportunity to try to get Livvy’s location and to dispose of another potential leak. I had to make it look like he was tortured to sell the story that he was on a protection detail. I couldn’t believe Livvy was in Boston with your father, so close to where this all began. I think it worked out pretty well.”
“Except for one thing…”
“What’s that?”
“You weren’t counting on your daughter fleeing town after you killed my dad.”
“Well, that was a bit of a hiccup, and with the amount of money Marilyn left her, it was difficult to search employment records or anything for her. Right when I thought I had found her, she would disappear again. That’s where Kiddish came into play. I always felt bad for having to kill his dad, but when he clocked you over the head with that gun, your dad couldn't know that I was working with him. Kiddish, junior, had been on my payroll pretty much since the accident to help me find where the box was buried. He took over the family business, after all.
“When Olivia kept disappearing, I needed the info but didn’t want to get my hands dirty. I’m supposed to be dead. Kiddish would be perfect. Unfortunately, all this took a little longer than I had expected, but it’s okay. I’ve waited twenty-two years to get my hands on this box. A little patience is expected.”
“So Kiddish was just a hired goon, then?”
Jack nodded. “Pretty much. I ended up finding the girl for him last year, but after that, I didn’t really know anything about what was going on. I had paid Kiddish good money to deal with everything and we maintained radio silence for months as he got the info needed. Of course, I came to Boston in February because things were moving excruciatingly slow. I didn’t know what was going on, or how far Kiddish or his goons would go so I needed to keep an eye on her, too, and make sure she stayed alive…at least until she led us to the evidence box. And you thought I was playing the caring father looking out for his long-lost daughter,” Jack sneered. “I do have to say that this performance may have just been my crowning achievement.”
“And Simon?” Alexander asked as he looked at Simon lying on the ground. His eyes grew wide when he saw him place a finger over his mouth, slowly inching his body toward where Grant’s gun lay. I’m on your side, he mouthed. Alexander nodded slightly, turning his eyes back to Jack.
“Kiddish thought it would be best to pay someone to date her. Maybe they’d talk about their childhoods and all that. His job was to find out the location of the box by getting close to her, but she had no memory of anything before the accident so that wasn’t working. It was by pure dumb luck that she ran into you. You presented us a golden opportunity. We were able to spook both of you enough to think that she needed a constant protection detail, allowing Kiddish to use Cheryl to get close to her and see if she could find out the info. Then he was able to use Adele to split you up by telling Oli
via who she really was and how you had been keeping that from her for months. And you think I’m cold-hearted…”
Olivia made a sound.
“What’s that, Livvy? I can’t understand you.” He laughed before turning his attention back to Alexander. “After that, I knew that you’d come clean with her and that would help the memories come flooding back.”
“I don’t understand,” Alexander said, shaking his head in confusion. “You told me that you didn’t want her to know about you. Just a few months ago, you didn’t want her to remember.”
“Of course not. It was too early. I needed to approach her when she was vulnerable and needing a loving father figure. So when you screwed up your relationship with her, that was the perfect time for me to step in. I’ll admit that it was risky, not knowing whether seeing me again would trigger all those memories, but it had to happen. She was the only one who could lead me to all those documents. It all worked out quite nicely.”
“Except for one thing…”
“What’s that?”
“That evidence isn’t here.”
“WHAT?!” Jack roared, pressing the gun even harder into Olivia’s temple.
Alexander’s heart raced. He needed to proceed cautiously. Jack was a loose cannon. Simon was so close to the gun. Come on! Alexander screamed in his head.
“Where is it, Livvy?” Jack demanded.
Olivia looked him in the eyes, shaking her head from side to side. Jack lifted his leg and kicked her in the stomach.
“NO!” Alexander shouted, taking a step forward as he watched Olivia keel over, screaming out in pain through her gag, tears running down her face.
Jack pushed Olivia back to a sitting position and raised his gun to her temple. “I warned you, Alex! Step the fuck back!”
Olivia’s eyes met with Alexander’s again, pleading for him to just end it all. She couldn’t take any more pain. She was barely holding on to her consciousness as it was.
