Reckless Karma (Sinners & Saints #2) (30 page)

           
The
screen goes black and I know. I know he was the one who pulled the trigger. He
was the one who took his own life. He couldn’t take it and nothing was enough
anymore, including me.

           
“Mommy.”
I turn around and see Ollie staring at me, wondering why his mother is crying,
and all I am scared for is that he saw the video and although he is too young
to understand, he is not too young to question and comprehend at least one
clear piece of the puzzle that I will one day have to put together and show him
and his sister. “Did the man in the video make you cry?”

           
I
nod, smiling and he runs over and climbs on the couch. I hold tight to him as
he lays his head on my chest. “Was he a bad man, Mommy?”

           
“No
baby. He was only a sad man who did something very good for me.”

           
He
takes a deep breath, lifting his head up and looks at me. Those blue eyes, the
same as the ones from the video, are all I need to be ready for his next
question.

           
“Is
he my daddy?”

           
My
mouth almost crumbles with sobs, but I get over myself and I tell my son the
truth.

           
“Yes.
He was… and if he knew that you and your sister were here right now, made from
not only me but from him… he would love you more than this world and he would
tell you… that you are the greatest thing he has ever done.”

           
A
child doesn’t know what to do with that information, so Ollie just hugs me
again. I comb my fingers through his curls and rest my head on top of his and
close my eyes. Gabriel, you bastard. I love you not for how you loved me, but
for the gift you left me with. I will let our son and daughter know of your
love for them. It does not matter that there is no record of it. What matters
is the truth.

19

JULIET

I
wake up in the afternoon to find myself alone with no Hugo in sight. Last night
after his breakdown and August comforting him, Hugo and I just lay in bed,
clothes still on, his tears still running as his eyes stared at the ceiling. I
just watched him until I fell asleep.

           
“Well,
I guess I wasn’t the only one who had a rough night,” Karlie says walking in
his room.

           
“No,”
I sigh. “Hugo watched the video but instead of horrifying images of his mother
getting abused by his uncle… it was something pleasant. Simple yet… very
important.”

           
“I
figured.” She folds her arms and sits on the bed across from me in her grey
trousers and white top. “I watched the DVD Gabriel left for me. He explained
his reasons.”

           
“Yeah,
I figured that too. Where’s Hugo?”

           
“He’s
gone to the root.” She speaks of the term I am well aware of. “He wanted to do
it himself. He said he’ll meet us here later. I unfortunately don’t want face
what I am about to face alone.”

           
“What
do you mean?”

           
“I
sent Anika and Cody with the kids and my mom would probably be arrested for
assault if she were to come with me, and seeing that you and I have more than
we want to admit in common, I figured why not you.”

           
“Where
are we going?”

           
“To
see the man who I despise the most.”

HUGO

My
leg shakes as I sit on the patio waiting for the old bag to come in. When she
does, she smiles beyond repair of any damage she has done and dismisses her
assistant once she is settled in her wicker chair.

           
“I’m
so glad you’ve returned. I feared that the last time we spoke it was very crude
and unresolved.”

           
“There’s
a lot of things unresolved within our family, I suppose,” I say calmly. “Tell
me about the night Gabriel came to see Uncle Stewart.”

           
That
delighted smile she had before melts between “tell me” and “Uncle Stewart.”

           
“Gabriel
never came here to see me or your Uncle Stewart.”

           
“You
lie.”

           
“I
want you gone.” She begins to stand up from her wicker chair, but I quickly
reach over and firmly press her fragile hand on the arm of the chair. “How dare
you,” she says, but she stays confined with fear in her blue eyes.

           
“My
dear Grandmother, I am not fond of the sight of that smug grin you put on or
that irritating squeak when you sit your slowly deteriorating body in that
wicker chair or the way that you speak of my mother. I am not fond of any of
those, yet I still sit here, face to face. Man to woman and I demand of you to
tell me the truth. You owe me. You owe my brothers. You owe your daughter.”

           
I
let go of her hand fold my hands together, elbows on knees, eyes on her face as
she begins to tell me.

           
“Gabriel
came in a frenzy. I knew something was not right, but he insisted on speaking
to Stewart so I left them be. The workers had been sent home early. Only Grace
was here, but she stays in the pool house so only I was in the house. Only I
heard Gabriel screaming and Stewart begging for his life. I went downstairs as
fast as I could, but I was too late.”

GABRIEL

“Stewart!”
My eyes go from my uncle’s lifeless body to the screaming old woman in her
white robe. She is my grandmother, Georgette Voncliff. She falls to him. Her
hands cover over his face but do not touch it due to the blood. She grabs his
wrist and feels for a pulse, but I know there is no rhythm, no beat, no
nothing. I know because I made sure there wasn’t.

           
“He’s
dead.” She stares up at me and her tears mean nothing to me because I know she
knew. Still I do not feel better. I feel no justice in the matter. I feel
nothing but pain now. Pure nothing and pain. “You killed him!”

           
“He…
He… He molested my mother.”

           
Her
eyes switch from mourning to knowing. “He was sick.”

           
“He
was sick and you did nothing for my mother. You let him get away with it!”

           
“You
know what would’ve happened to this family’s name if anyone knew?”

           
“Of
course… Of course public representation is all that matters. Never mind your
son fucking your daughter on a regular basis.”

           
“You
do not get to judge me!” She stands up. “Not when you have done this. You have
killed my son.”

           
“He
killed my mother.”

           
“Your
mother killed herself. She was sick. Both of my children were sick. It will
forever be the burden I have to bear. I have always cleaned up Stewart’s
messes. Now I have to clean up yours. Go.”

           
“No.”

           
“Fine.
You wait for the police and you tell them why you killed your uncle. You tell
him the secrets of this family and watch as the world ruins us and ruins you
and everyone around you. Your brother’s future will be destroyed and everyone
will know the truth about your mother. Is that what you want?”

           
I
throw the fire poker to the side because I don’t know what I want anymore. Then
again I do. I want everything to be better. I want Karlie.

HUGO

Her
trembling hands reach for her glass of ice water and she takes a sip, watching
my eyes pierced on her, imagining that night when Gabriel killed our uncle.

           
“My
mother was the one who pushed Uncle Stewart over the balcony, wasn’t she?”

           
“Yes.”

           
“That’s
how you fell out. You disowned her because of it.”

           
“I
did no such thing. She decided to turn her back on this family. The only time
she came to me was to complain about your philandering father.”

           
“Which
you spat about in her face.”

           
“I
told her the truth.”

           
“Ya
know I used to think that. I used to think my mother would come and just
complain about my father to you, but really she was just trying to get you to
admit it.”

           
“Admit
what?”

           
“Admit
that you loved her… admit that you loved her and you failed her. You even
failed your son. You failed as a mother and you failed as a grandmother.”

           
I
stand up from the chair as tears fall down from her eyes.

           
“I
loved both my children. I protected them.”

           
“You
protected yourself and you have lost both of them and you will soon lose
everything because the world will know what kind of club your son was running.
I will do everything I can to keep my mother’s name out of it. Good luck dying
alone. I’ve heard it’s rather depressing.”

           
Being
related to this family was always supposed to be like being a descendant of
royalty. Hell, it was being royalty. It was always just a name to me though. A
name that felt like nothing to me. So now I know why.

KARLIE

We
stand outside of Mandrake Capital. Its building is tall. One of the tallest in
New York. It’s always featured in magazines as one of the most beautiful
skyscrapers in New York with its tinted dark blue windows that glisten every
time it’s sunny out. Mandrake Capital in big letters in that same dark blue
except solid hover over us at the entryway.

           
“You
sure about this?” Juliet asks me looking up at the letters.

           
“Nope,”
I say. The two dopey looking security guards at the front desk check us out
once we come in through the revolving doors.

           
“How
can I help you?” one asks.

           
“Yes.
Karlie Fairchild here to see Jonathan Mandrake.”

           
He
checks the attendance sheet on his clipboard. “You are not on the list.”

           
“I
don’t need to be. Ring em up.”

           
Juliet’s
brow arches as she is impressed with my attitude towards the minor roadblock.
           

           
“The
Fairchild name is the definition of no worries.”

           
“I
see that.” We share laughter as the security guard hangs up the desk phone.

           
“You’re
good,” he says with slight envy that I not only have that plug but that I’m out
of his league.

           
It’s
quiet in the elevator and now that courage is starting to diminish. It takes
forever to get to the top floor. The doors open and we are greeted by a young
woman in black from her hair to her shoes.

           
“Mrs.
Fairchild, Mr. Mandrake has cleared his schedule so he will be able to see you
now.”

           
“I
bet he would.” I start to follow but then stop and face Juliet. “You’ve done
this. Faced him before.”

           
“You
haven’t?”

           
“No…
I haven’t.”

           
“He’s
not that tall.”

           
“What?”
I ask confused.

           
“He
has that confidence, that intimidating thing Hugo has, but at the same time he
doesn’t. When I came to him, I realized he wasn’t that tall like most men.
Hell, like even Hugo. He’s just as scared as the rest of us. He’s a scared boy
with daddy issues too.”

           
I
get that, so I roll with that and follow the assistant into the office.
Jonathan Mandrake is standing at the corner of his office with his suit jacket
off. His right thumb rubbing on his black suspenders as he looks me up and down
with annoyance.

           
“I
suppose you’re not here to tell me that the NeoLock deal is mine.”

           
“Sorry,
no.”

           
He
chuckles. “You know I must admit I thought you would aim higher in your retaliation
towards me.”

           
I
laugh a bit at that. “I thought so too at some point. I always tried and tried
to figure out something good but… I guess I just couldn’t do that to my
children’s grandfather.”

           
He
keeps the smug grin on his face, not showing any effect of the acknowledgement
of his blood.

           
“I
thought you didn’t get them tested.”

           
“I
did. Hugo talked me into it. I always knew the truth, but the confirmation was
needed.”

           
He
nods his head in amusement. “So what do you need from me now?”

           
“Did
you know that your wife used to get molested by her brother, Stewart Voncliff?”

           
He
laughs like it’s absurd. “Who the hell told you that? Hugo making up things in
his fragile head?”

           
“No.
Gabriel. He left a DVD for me with August and this box Scarlett Brayson had.
Inside the box is the truth about the Black Card Club. Stewart Voncliff started
the club for pedophiles like him. There are video files of each member raping a
child or teen. The youngest we saw was about seven years old. At least now you
know that it wasn’t you when you were denied by the club. It was them. It was
always them.”

           
“How
do you know Suzanna was one of them?”

           
“There
was a file on her in her brother’s file and Gabriel saw it. Who knows what age
she was. I’m guessing when she was a young girl. Gabriel deleted it so Hugo
wouldn’t see it.”

           
His
eyes wander around his office. His jaw is thin and tight as he ponders on what
I’ve just told him.

           
“Feels
like your whole world is crashing down, huh?”

           
He
makes his way to his desk and sits down.