Beyond Love Lies Deceit (16 page)

There isn’t much inside; a monogramed money clip, a handful of pictures, and a printout of ScoTech’s 2014 earnings which appear to have been in the hundred millions. Flipping through the photographs, each one of Ryan with different a woman, I come to stop on the only picture that does not contain Ryan’s face.

It’s of a young girl probably around the same age as I am now. She has blonde hair and striking green eyes, a large smile displayed across her pretty face. Something about her is so familiar and yet, I can’t pinpoint where I may have seen her before.

Setting her picture to the side, I quickly realize there is another compartment underneath. Sliding my nail along the edge, I am able to pry the top section off revealing the hidden section below.

The second compartment is completely empty with the exception of one item; a single flash drive. Having no idea what the flash drive may contain, I know that Ryan would not have gone through the trouble of hiding it if it didn’t have something on it he didn’t want anyone to find.

Reassembling the drawer, I quickly slide it back into the track underneath the desk, locking it before dropping the keys back into the top drawer. I have no idea if what I have found amounts to anything but I know that my time is running out. If I plan to get out of here before Ryan comes to then I need to get a move on.

Accepting that this is all I can get for now, I quickly make sure everything is back in place before shutting off the light and backing out of the office, locking the door on my way out.

Heading back downstairs as quietly as possible, I breathe out a deep sigh of relief when I see Ryan is still passed out on the couch, his breathing even and deep.

Crossing to the kitchen, I locate a piece of paper and a pen from one of the drawers. Scribbling a quick note...

Thank you for an incredible night.

I’ll call you later.

XO

-Allie

Leaving the paper on the kitchen island, I quickly retrieve my heels and my purse before slipping out into the hallway, the picture of the mystery girl and the flash drive still clutched firmly in my hand.

––––––––

S
amantha

Finally safe in the confines of my own apartment, I collapse down in the middle of my mattress and pull my laptop into my lap, sliding the flash drive into the port. Opening the file, I scan each document, trying to decipher exactly what each one is.

Starting with the picture files, I open the first, immediately recognizing the young girl whose photo I took from Ryan’s when I retrieved the flash drive. Clicking to the next photo, it’s a picture of the same girl and a much younger looking Ryan studying in what looks like a park, clearly taken by another party.

Flipping to the next not expecting to find anything much different than the first two, I immediately freeze when the smiling face of my brother comes into view, next to him the same blonde girl.

Suddenly the realization hits me. I’ve seen this picture before. That is why this girl looks so familiar because I
have
seen her before just not in a way that I could remember upon first sight.

This is one of the pictures that were with Sean’s belongings that my parent’s packed up when they cleared out his room in New York. I remember it so clearly because I remember looking at the picture and thinking how happy he seemed, which in turn made his death even harder to accept.

Why would Ryan have this?

Clicking on the first file, it is an old scan of a college article written by a student that was published in their version of a newspaper. The article is dated April 8, 2008 which is exactly one month prior to the accident that took Sean’s life.

Reading on, I can’t help the tears that immediately blur my vision at the article’s content. The bright smiling young girl from the previous pictures now the center of a tragic piece.

Drug Overdose Rocks College Campus

Sarah Hassell, 19, was found dead of an overdose in her dorm room on campus early Monday morning. According to reports, Hassell had spent the evening with friends and returned to her dorm sometime after one o’clock in the morning. Her roommate found her non responsive around nine a.m. the next day, immediately calling 911. Paramedics pronounced her dead upon arrival.

Friends and classmates are shocked by the discovery, many claiming that they had no knowledge of Hassell’s drug use. Autopsy reports confirmed that a lethal dose of heroin was found in Hassell’s system. This is one of many drug related deaths this year among college students.

I click off of the article, the content making me extremely anxious to see what else the drive contains. The next file is even more curious than the first; Sarah Hassell’s official autopsy report. Why would Ryan have this? Why would he need it for that matter?

I immediately know in my gut that Ryan is somehow related to this situation, I just don’t know how yet.

Clicking on the next file, I have to blink several times before I finally realize exactly what I am looking at. It’s the official police report from the accident that killed Sean. According to the report, Ryan was given a breathalyzer on scene and blew four times the legal driving limit.

Listed in the report is one casualty; a white male, late teens, who was pronounced dead on arrival. I swallow down the hard lump in my throat and open the next document. Like with Sarah, Ryan has a copy of Sean’s official autopsy report.

His official cause of death was
Traumatic Aortic Disruption
which I know means his heart was damaged in the accident. That much my parents did tell me.

Something about seeing it here in print makes it so much more real. I know that sounds odd given that Sean died eight years ago. But seeing it like this, right in front of me, makes it seem so final. It’s hard to think about the fact that this happened to someone I loved so much, someone I still love.

I quickly move onto the next file, eager to escape the mental picture that has taken over. The next document is Ryan’s sentencing paperwork from the trial; the trial where the judge was paid off by his father to throw out the evidence of Ryan’s intoxication.

I’ve studied the public documents on this case with a microscope but unfortunately for me, men like Nicholas Scott are very good at covering their tracks and I was never able to find anything concrete that tied him and the judge together.

Closing out of the file, I can’t seem to connect the dots completely.

Why would Ryan keep a flash drive with documents from Sarah’s overdose and Sean’s accident tucked away in a secret compartment in his office?

Why are there pictures of both Sarah and Sean together?

How well did the two know each other and how is Ryan tied into the whole situation?

I can’t help but get the feeling like somehow the two are connected but it makes very little sense how they could be.

Could there be more to Sarah’s death?

Could Sean have somehow been involved?

Questions fly through my head faster than I can sort through them all but one thing remains very clear to me. Ryan is the one thing that links these two deaths together. I’m not sure of his exact involvement or just how deep this goes but one thing I am certain of is that I am going to get to the bottom of this one way or another.

****

I
pry one eye open and then the other, the buzzing next to my head stopping and then restarting again within seconds, officially pulling me from sleep. Swiping my hand next to me, I finally locate my phone, flipping it open without even looking at the caller I.D.

“Hello.” I croak out, my voice thick with sleep.

“You realize it’s two in the afternoon.” Ryan’s voice comes across the other line.

“Late night.” I mutter, the events of the previous night hitting me like a bolt of lightning causing me to shoot up in my bed.

Looking around, I realize that I must have dozed off this morning without even realizing it. My laptop is still lying open next to me and I am still wearing the same dress I wore to Ryan’s last night.

“Tell me about it.” He chuckles, calming my sudden thumping heartbeat a small fraction. “I don’t even remember falling asleep.”

“That’s probably the bottle of scotch we drank.” I try to keep my voice as casual as possible.

“I guess so.” He laughs lightly. “I feel like an ass for passing out on you, how about I offer a re-do. This time I promise I will lay off the scotch.”

“I don’t know. I have so much to do today.” I hesitate, knowing if I don’t accept it may raise some red flags but accepting could put me in a situation I am not prepared to be in yet.

“Oh come on. Don’t leave a guy hanging.” He playfully pleads.

“Well, I have been dying to try that new Italian restaurant in the city.” I suggest going out instead, offering me an easier means of escape.

“Rosiattos?” He asks, of course immediately knowing the name.

“Yeah I think that’s it.” I say, just wanting to meet somewhere public to appease him without having to commit to anything further.

“I’ll pick you up at seven. Oh and Allie.” He adds on. “Wear something sexy for me.” He purrs, disconnecting the call before I have a chance to reply.

Tossing the phone down, I flop back down in my bed, letting out a long exhale as I let the events of the past few days really start to sink in.

My time with Luke.

My night with Ryan.

The flash drive that I am still not certain will amount to anything.

My date with Ryan tonight.

The wheels continue to turn as I try to hash all this out in my head. What if Ryan had something to do with Sarah’s death? What if he is somehow responsible and found a way to cover it up? It wouldn’t be the first time. But what if he had nothing to do with it at all? I can’t help but feel like I am just spinning my wheels.

When I came here I had a clear cut path. Get close to Ryan, infiltrate his life, leak anything I could find that would expose him for the lying coward that he is. Only the deeper I look, the more I am starting to believe that I am just grasping to find something that isn’t there.

And what about Nicholas Scott? 

Is he really as bad as I initially believed or is he simply a father guilty of protecting his child? I was so positive coming in I knew the answer but now I’m not so sure.

The lines are blurred. There are so many different pieces to a puzzle that still doesn’t quite fit together. I thought I understood what I was doing; now I feel like I’m not sure of anything.

And then there’s Luke; a man that in one touch brought me back to life. In one kiss he showed me what life can be. When I close my eyes I can still feel his hands, the way my skin prickled when they traced my body.

The girl who used to feel nothing suddenly feels so much. I still can’t believe how strong my feelings for him have become in such a short time. I feel like the moment I walked into his office everything starting changing. He stirred something inside of me from that very first day, something that I was able to ignore until New York.

Am I really prepared to let him go forever?

Again, a question I thought I knew the answer to that I am now unsure of. Feeling lost is something I have grown accustomed to over the years but this is different somehow.

Before when I felt lost, I used my anger to anchor me. But for the first time in as long as I can remember I actually crave something beyond my revenge. I am fueled by something beyond my hatred. And deep down, I just don’t know if I have it in me to keep going.

––––––––

S
amantha

When Ryan pulls up outside of the Regency, I quickly exit the lobby, thankful that this time around I am not approached by any of the employees. Stepping out onto the sidewalk, I quickly slide into Ryan’s car, hitting him with a smile the moment his face comes into view.

“Hey.” I breathe, latching my seatbelt the moment I am situated.

“Hey.” His reply is stiff.

I straighten my posture and look out of the passenger window, realizing almost immediately that something is off. Ryan is silent as he weaves in and out of traffic, his eyes never once leaving the road.

“So have you been to this restaurant before?” I turn towards him, just trying to ease the tension that seems to be swimming through the car.

“Do you think I’m stupid?” His question catches me off guard but he makes no attempt to look at me.

“I’m sorry?” I question, a wave of panic running through my spine.

“Me? Stupid? Is that what you think I am?” His voice is condescending and cruel and I immediately realize that he must know something, I’m just not sure what or how much.

“Not at all.” I shake my head, trying to keep my façade firmly in place.

“Hmmm.” The sound rolls off his tongue but he doesn’t give me any other response.

“What’s this about?” I question, not trying to hide my confusion.

“Why don’t you tell me?” He flicks his eyes on me for the briefest moment.

That one look is enough to paralyze me right on the spot; sending fear flooding through me.

“I don’t know.” I choke out my response, for the first time since this conversation began actually taking the time to look out the window.

“Where are we going?” I ask, realizing that we are on the outskirts of the city.

“You’ll see.” A wicked smile turns up the corners of his mouth.

“Ryan, what is going on?” I don’t try to hide the panic in my voice.

For the first time since starting this whole charade, I am actually scared for my well-being and I never considered that would be a position I would find myself in.

“Well since you seem to be so curious about me, I thought I would take you somewhere we can talk more privately. You know, where we can really get to know each other.”

“I don’t understand.” I continue to try to fight through the fear, reassuring myself that this is all just a misunderstanding even though I am fairly certain it is not.

“Well since you feel like you need to steal from me to find out about me, I thought I would give it to you first hand.”