Uncovering You: The Complete Series (Mega Box Set) (132 page)

Funny. For some reason, seeing Rose—not Esteban, not Hugh—is the trigger that evokes my deepest determination. I feel it taking hold of me, together with my forgotten strength, just like the time I committed to signing Jeremy’s filthy contract.

Circumstances are different now. The cast has changed. But my motivation, my focus, is one and the same.

I have to get back at them. All of them. Let them do whatever they want to my body. I’m already an expert at removing myself from that.

I almost let them have my mind.
Almost
. But seeing Rose, finding Hugh—I know it’s no longer mindless cruelty I’m being subjected to. There is a reason behind everything.

And if there’s a reason, it means there’s a cause. And that cause makes my situation seem a lot less futile. I feel—a little bit, at least—that I have the chance, however, slim, to become the master of my fate.

All the things Jeremy taught me, intentionally or not, are surfacing again.

I sit taller. I readjust the robe on my shoulders. I even bring the plate back to me, pick up the knife and fork, and cut into the fried bird.

I take my first bite and smile at Hugh as I chew the rubbery meat.

I swallow.

“Not as good as Charles could have made it,” I comment.

Hugh laughs. He tilts his glass toward me in a mocking toast. “Well done, Lilly,” he says. “Here’s to your returned strength. I warned Esteban that you would be difficult to break. He assured me his men had the means. It seems my pupil was mistaken.”

I pull up everything that I know, everything that I’ve ever been told, about Hugh.

He works from the shadows. He’s sly, deviant, and never puts himself in harm’s way. He must be absolutely certain that we are secure here to reveal himself to me.

“You’ve been planning this for a long time. Haven’t you?” I ask.

Hugh shrugs. “The groundwork has been there for years. It was only your entrance into my son’s life that made it possible.”

“You posed as Jeremy’s confidante for how long?” I wonder. “You made him believe he turned you loyal.”

“For a time, he had,” Hugh says. “Of course I was angered when he took over my company. Angered but proud—as a father should be. But I always make contingencies, in case things change.” He looks around the room. “You were that change, Lilly.

“You see,” he continues, “retirement…does not suit me. When I find myself with nothing to do, my thoughts turn to insidious paths. Back to all the wrongs that have been done to me. Jeremy’s greatest mistake,” Hugh muses, “was inviting me to dinner that fateful night. Seeing Rose sparked all of my forgotten ill-will. No,” he corrects. “Not forgotten, suppressed.”

He stands and walks to examine a painting on the wall. “An extraordinary piece. Don’t you think?” he asks. “Your father, had he been given the chance, could have produced one much like it.”

I stare at him, caught off guard. “What?”

“Your father,” Hugh repeats calmly, reaching out to trace the golden border without looking at me. “Paul. The one responsible for my dear wife’s death.”

His fingers fall away. He turns to me. “What? You think I didn’t know? Of course I knew the bitch slut was sneaking around behind my back. I let her think she was safe, for the longest time. Let her believe in the illusion. Because, in the end…” he chuckles, “…all it took was one little match to snuff her flame.”

My eyes widen. “
You
were responsible for the fire?”

Hugh smiles and rubs his hands together. “I had to find a way to get rid of her, you see. But
shh
.” He presses a finger to his lips. “Don’t tell Jeremy. He still believes Paul is at fault.”

“You…you set him up!”

Hugh laughs grandly. “He was the perfect scapegoat. Don’t you think? I knew everything that went on in my home. You think I could not see the love and devotion that my little Jeremy showed toward his mother? I’m no fool. I knew he would be consumed by hatred for the man he deemed responsible. Hell, if he knew that
I
killed her, he might have even assaulted me in his rage.”

Works from the shadows. Pull the hidden strings.
My thoughts repeat themselves before coming to the terrifying conclusion:

Hugh has been the puppet master all along!

“I’m sorry, Lilly. But it seems I pulled you into all this, however unintentionally, long, long ago. I’m glad that you don’t blame my son anymore. He doesn’t deserve it. I’m even gladder that you could arrive at that decision of your own, without waiting for this little revelation of mine.

“So I know more about your father than you would think. I know more than Jeremy does. Did you accept his explanation that Paul’s drug habit caused the illusions? Ha.” Hugh sneers. “Recreational drugs don’t have that power. It takes serious chemicals to do that type of permanent damage. And did you know, back in my heyday, I controlled one of the largest medical suppliers in the country?”

The surprise that flashes across my face must be very evident. Hugh catches it and smiles. “No? Jeremy never divulged that information? Well, then.” He returns to his seat and drums his fingers across the table. “That makes for an interesting development. I was in charge of all sorts of hazardous goods. My company provided the raw materials to all the researchers and laboratories throughout America. The chemicals needed to formulate new drugs before FDA approval. Somewhere there, in my arsenal, I’m sure one could find something that would induce some… life-long schizophrenia. Don’t you think?”

He sits down. “So yes. I know about Paul and his artistic talents. I was the one who visited him at Cedar Hills and convinced him he must hide it. But I found some of his drawings in the house, after Jeremy and Rose and Charles left. I thought he might have shown them to you. Looks like my suspicions were right.”

“You planned all this from there. Didn’t you?”

“Like I said: The groundwork was laid long ago. I just needed the proper, um,
motivation
to set things in motion. Seeing Rose sparked that. How much easier could it be, to form plans with a woman, when the third member of your company is deaf?” He laughs. “Poor Charles. The man never had a clue.”

“What do you want?” I ask. “Why are you telling me all this?”

He tilts his head. “Well,” he considers, “for one, I like making my achievements known and appreciated by all those involved. You represent the absolute apex of that. You are important to my son. For all that he’s done to me, you thus become the opportune object for my revenge.”

He chuckles. “Listen to me. ‘Revenge’. What a funny word that is. It’s defined your relationship with Jeremy for the longest time. Has it not? And only now, when that part of your life has come to a close…
poof
, the word pops up again. Ah.” He looks up. Footsteps sound to my right. Instead of looking, I keep my eyes on Hugh. “Thank you, Rose. That’ll suit her nicely.”

I stiffen, but still don’t turn my head, as a silky wig is placed on my crown. Bright purple strands of latex fall into my eyes.

“My son’s whore,” Hugh proclaims. “Fitted with the stripper wig that suits her best. A very nice choice of color, Rose.”

“I thought so, too,” she says sweetly, and retreats once more from the room.

I tuck the hair behind my ear when she’s gone and look at Hugh, unflinching, unaffected.

“Hmm.” He regards me. “I doubt Jeremy would find you so alluring now. You’re pale and skinny, and…there’s something off about your eyes. Isn’t there? They look haunted. You may as well be a ghost.”

I don’t rise to the taunts. I know full well what I look like without eyebrows.

“He’ll be given the chance to prove himself to you, soon, don’t fret.” Hugh says. “Now, Lilly, the other reason I am telling you these things…which I’m sure you’ll appreciate…is that I must cement you to me. To us. Esteban was very fond of the enterprise he had. You know the takeover didn’t sit well with him. Who would have thought he’d have found such a willing ally in a Stonehart Industries board member? And I in him?

“Ironic, isn’t it? Jeremy put me on his board because he thought he could control me. And yes, for a long time, he did have the influence to make me meek. I did as I was told, supporting him against the others when I was asked. I even helped him get to you in the airport in Boston. Do you remember? Of course you do. You have such a sharp little mind.

“But you miscalculated too, Lilly. Do you recall how you cast me aside when I came to your door and asked you to take that letter?” He reaches into his coat pocket and pulls out a sealed envelope. He throws it on the table.

It slides to a stop out of arm’s reach.

“You should have taken it. It may have helped prevent…” he gestures at me in a distasteful manner, “the situation you currently find yourself in.”

“What was it?” I ask.

“A note from Esteban,” Hugh says, “that I told him had been delivered to Jeremy long ago. It was an offer, with very reasonable terms, to take Dextran back. Unfortunately, Jeremy took weeks and weeks and weeks to formulate a response. A response that never came. Esteban became distraught, then desperate. And things devolved into… all this.”

Hugh smiles again, a little sadly. “How unfortunate. If Jeremy had seen the letter, and Esteban had received some sort of response, you wouldn’t have been taken captive. What’s more—oh, and this must sting—you now understand how you landed yourself here. Because of your own refusal to accept my help. I warned you. Didn’t I? You sneered and cast me aside.” He laughs. “Look where that has gotten you.”

I stare at Hugh, trying to formulate some sort of plan. I still don’t know what he wants. Esteban wants his company back. Perhaps he’s further gone than that. I saw the madness in his eyes. Hugh, by comparison, is completely sane.

Sane, and yet
insane
, at the same time. The things Jeremy did to me when he was Stonehart were at least done with some goal in mind.

Now? Here? I don’t see the endgame.

That is just a tiny bit frightening.

“So now that you know all that,” Hugh says, “you have become dispensable. You see how I cannot simply have you let go. But, my dear, sad for you, letting you go was never an option. For now, what you are… is bait.

“And you must know, Lilly, that to catch the biggest fish, the bait must be swallowed whole.”

Chapter Seventeen

LILLY

I’m shoved back into my small white prison by a pair of crude hands.

I stumble, fall. But as soon as the door closes, instead of staying down, I lift myself up.

Anger and rage pulse through me. They overwhelm whatever despair was there before.

I go into the bathroom and turn on the cold shower on with the press of a button. Icy water falls from the shaft.

I step into it, afraid no longer. The cold takes my breath away but it also revitalizes me.

I embrace it as it purges my body of all the crimes that have been done to it.

I emerge, dry myself, and put on that same cotton robe. I’ve found my determination. I’ve found my purpose. I may be caged away, but I refuse to feel helpless anymore.

I’ll find a way out. Somehow, I will. Or, if that’s not possible—if I am to actually meet my end here—then I will make it
such
an end, that I will die knowing that my life has had meaning.

But I don’t intend to die. For now all I can do is wait. Wait, and wait, and wait until I am given the chance to capitalize on whatever comes next.

--

A few days later, Hugh visits me in my room. He brings Rose.

She is unapologetic and entirely free of guilt. She stands aside and lets Hugh control the conversation. But, I can see the pride shining through her eyes.

Hatred. Hatred such as I’ve never experienced, even with Jeremy, even when he was Stonehart, burns through my body. All of it is directed at her. Her deception, her trickery. The crimes that she committed against Jeremy when he was still a boy.

She
is the worst kind of human. She is living scum. Loyalty, trust, compassion—none of those things mean anything to Rose.

If I go out… I want to take her with me.

Hugh draws my attention to him with a snap of his fingers. “Here, Lilly,” he says. “Look here. Not at Rose. You are not allowed to speak to her.”

I tear my eyes away, consumed by hatred, feeling it heat up my insides like a physical thing. No, I’ve never experienced anything that can come close to this with Stonehart. Not once.

Hugh smiles. “Very good,” he says. “I’m going to need a favor from you.”

I lift my chin. “What?”

“I’m going to need you to write my son. For some reason,” He shrugs, as his shrewd eyes continue to dance. “Your Jeremy does not put as much faith in video footage as others might.”

“What do you want me to say?” I ask through gritted teeth. I clench my fists, doing everything I can not to succumb to the temptation to attack Rose on the spot. I would tear her eyes out. The manipulative bitch! I know that I could take her, and Hugh, too, even in my malnourished state.

But the two guards looking in through the open door? They would destroy me. I don’t want to suffer another rape at their leader’s hands.

“Tell him that you are being taken care of. Tell Jeremy that you are safe—for the moment.” He reaches into his pocket and withdraws a Ziploc bag with my dark brown hair. “Your letter will be accompanied by this.”

Rose steps forward and places a single piece of paper by my side, together with a small bit of darkened charcoal.

“We couldn’t risk you giving into temptation with a pen,” she says, smiling her motherly smile. “I can see the hate in your eyes, Lilly Ryder.” She laughs. “For all we know, you might have tried attacking me with it.”

All too true
. I think, picking up the sliver of hardened ash.

“Jeremy won’t believe me unless I know what you want,” I tell Hugh. “How could he think I’m safe? He’s not an idiot. I’ve been here for more than a month!”

“Maybe ‘safe’ was a poor word choice.” Hugh admits. “How about, ‘still alive’? Would that make things better?”

“More realistic,” I grumble, staring daggers at the two of them.