Love Me? The Trust Me? Trilogy (2 page)

"Miss Taylor, are you sure you should be doing this today?"

I look at him and shrug. He opens the front passenger door for me, and I make my way awkwardly into the car.

"Miss Taylor, have you eaten anything since I saw you last?" he asks anxiously. I look at him and shake my head. He exhales abruptly and starts the car.
What's with the constant nagging? I'm alive, so I must be eating something.
We drive in silence to the office.

"Do you want me to come in with you?"

I shake my head and I step out of the car. I walk up the stairs to the automatic doors and I see the reception desk where Josie and the other girl are working calmly. Josie spots me and looks at me sympathetically. I ignore her. I know how she really feels. She doesn't want Aiden anymore now that he's been branded a criminal. I continue to the elevator, taking the ride to Aiden's office. My heart starts to pound as I get closer. The doors open, and I see Rachelle sitting at her desk. She looks me up and down, her mouth drops open as she sees me. I ignore her stares and I walk into the foyer, take a deep breath, and walk toward my desk. The flowers he gave me on my first day are all shriveled and decayed.
How fitting...

I walk toward Aiden's office. I enter, shut the door behind me, and lean against the closed door. I feel panic rip through me as my breathing shortens. I exhale staring at his untouched desk. The memory of us together before he was arrested fills my head. I picture myself sitting on his desk as he kisses me. I sigh and shake my head looking over to the boxes that Alistair has placed on the floor. I walk over to his desk and look at the photo of us at Skye's birthday party. My eyes start to well with tears as I place the photo into the box.

Alistair slams open the door as he enters the office. "Good, you're here. Now get his
shit
out of here as quickly as you can. I don't need his
crap
lying around as a reminder. I can't even call him my son, that
fucking
pathetic excuse for a man!" He walks back out as quickly as he came in, slamming the door shut as he leaves. How can he say that about Aiden, about his son? My head is pounding while I continue packing his office, and I feel the urge to vomit. I run quickly from the office to the bathroom. I barely make it in time, expelling bile from my mouth into the toilet bowl. I slide to the cold tiled floor, shaking all over and crying into my hands. I feel an overwhelming sense of loss and loneliness. I look up and see Brielle walking toward me. She winces and holds out her hand to help me up.

"I saw Father storm back into his office, and I realized that you must be here. I thought I'd come down and see how you are."

"Thank you. I could really do with your support at the moment."

She hugs me tightly. "I know how you feel. I can't seem to shake this depression either, but at least we can be here for each other."

I nod, and with Brielle's help, I find the strength to pull myself together. I walk to the sink, wash my face and hands, and we head out toward the office area. We notice straight away that Rachelle is not at her desk. As we get closer to Matthew's office, we hear voices. I halt suddenly and stand outside his office door so they can't see us. Brielle looks at me strangely, but I put my finger up to my lips, gesturing for her to be silent.

"You didn't see what she looked like Matt. She's a mess. You did that to her, and I helped."

"As if I care. She'll get over it. She'll move on and forget all about Aiden by the time he's out."

"I don't know, Matt. She looks devastated, and I feel guilty."

"Don't feel guilty. Aiden deserves what he got, and we are reaping the benefits."

"I know the rewards for this are monetary, but destroying their lives is not what I signed on for."

"You need to pull yourself together. It's imperative that we remain united. Aiden deserves this, and I'm enjoying every single minute knocking him off his high horse, the arrogant prick."

My hand moves up to my mouth in shock, and Brielle lets out a gasp. I take out my phone, open the recording app, and press record, my hands shaking violently. Brielle steadies my hand with hers as I position my phone just through the doorway to video record their conversation.

"I don't think that ten million dollars is going to help my conscience, Matthew, but I love you. I'll follow along and trust your decisions."

"Rachelle, it's not just about the money. It's always been about ensuring my position as vice president so I can take over from Alistair when he retires. This place will be ours, Rachelle. We will own this corporation, and it'll be worth way more than ten million. We'll be rich beyond our wildest dreams, and we can do anything we want. Don't you see, setting up Aiden was the best thing we've ever done? Rachelle, think about it. He does seven years, four if he behaves himself, and then he's out. He can start his life again. In the meantime, we'll reap the rewards. He's a tough guy. He'll be fine.

"Anyway, I've enjoyed destroying Alistair's little family. It's been awesome to sit back and see his world collapse right in front of his eyes. Alistair has always put Aiden before me while I'm the one working my ass off and making all the money for the company. Alistair will regard me as his number one son now that Aiden is out of the way. He'll take me under his guidance while I take him down from the inside. Just goes to show that even with my messed-up childhood, I can be the 'good son' and not the spawn of Satan, like my mother used to call me. I'll enjoy showing Mother just how clever I can be when I own this huge conglomerate, and I'll make sure she gets absolutely nothing.
Stupid bitch
!"

My emotions start to run riot while I record their conversation, first anger then bitterness then elation as I realize we may have something to use to help Aiden. My hands continue to shake as I listen.

"Matthew, I think we should take what we have and go. Go somewhere, another country maybe, and start again."

Matthew sighs. "Look, we've everything we need right here. We don't need to run. Anyway the detectives would've taken the embezzled money out of our account by now. We don't have any money to run with. We need to play this out. What gets me about all this is how easy it was to set Aiden up. The Swiss bank account idea was genius, and so easy to manage over the Internet. Your idea of planting the original transfer receipt and with-compliments slip we used was exceptionally creative; who knew you could be so deceptive? It was so easy to pull off using Aiden's name, his computer and cell phone to transfer the money between the various accounts. Hopefully, in a year or so Alistair, the old fucker, will croak; and then this will all be ours. If not, we can always help him along. I heard arsenic does a great job in small doses over a long period of time."

My eyes widen with shock. Now he's planning to kill Alistair? Oh. My. God. I stop the recording, look at Brielle, and signal with my eyes to the elevator. We run to the elevator, and I press the button continuously, hoping they don't come out and see us. Finally the doors open, we enter, and I press the close-door button frantically. The doors close, and I breathe a sigh of relief.

"Oh my god. Jeni, I think we have the evidence we need to help put them where they belong."

"I know, and we have recorded evidence as well. I can't believe Rachelle is in on it. Matthew, yes, I believe that. But Rachelle? She had me fooled."

The doors open to the main reception area, and we walk briskly to the parking garage where Mike is waiting.

"Mike, Mike,"
I yell as we both run toward him. He quickly exits the car and walks toward us. I stop at his side. I puff, out of breath, feeling lightheaded and dizzy. Mike holds on to me as I stumble in front of him.

"Miss Taylor. Are you okay?" Mike asks, putting his hand on my back to steady me.

I gather my breath and press play on my phone. He watches the conversation closely between Matthew and Rachelle. First there is a look of shock on his face then he smiles brightly.

"Quick, get in the car, both of you. The first thing we need to do is take this recording to Jenson."

***

We arrive at Jenson's office, park, and enter the building. I explain to Jenson how we overheard the conversation and recorded it. He watches the recording carefully.

"This is a very serious matter, especially since Alistair's life has been threatened. Unfortunately, unless you have the permission from the recorded parties, this recording is not admissible in a court of law. However, there is enough here for me to delve further into the matter, especially considering there are two people who witnessed this conversation. I'll play this recording to the police and the Director of Public Prosecutions. This will help the police obtain search warrants and the Director of Public Prosecutions can, if he feels the evidence is compelling, prepare a motion to quash the conviction. We're still within fourteen days of the guilty verdict and sentencing so the defendant can move for a judgment of acquittal.

There may be more evidence that we haven't found. Matthew admitted to Rachelle how he set up the Swiss bank account, so I should be able to trace this back by seizing computers and checking though phone records. This is something we were not able to do before the trial, because there was no evidence linking their involvement. Now, we know who, and placing them at the scene will help authenticate how they managed carry out the embezzlement. If you don't mind, may I please retain your cell phone? I want to take this to the police and Director of Public Prosecutions today and get started by lodging the motion and filing The Memorandum of Points and Authorities form which is a declaration of facts with the court, so we can start to clear Aiden's name."

"Yes, please take it. Let me know if you need anything else from me."

"Jeni, you and Brielle may or may not be called before the judge and the Director of Public Prosecutions to explain what you overheard. I'll be able to help you both with what you can and cannot say."

"We will do whatever you need to help clear Aiden's name," I say, and Brielle nods in agreement.

"Good. All right, leave it with me. I'll call you as soon as I know more."

We leave Jenson's office. Mike leads us back to the car.

"Right, first I'll drive Brielle back to the office, and then we're going to get you something to eat. I know you must be hungry. What do you feel like?"

"Whatever, I'll eat anything," I get into the car. "Can I borrow your phone, Mike?"

"Sure." He hands me the phone and I dial Sarah and then Callie.

Mike pulls up at O'Connell Finance and ushers Brielle out of the car then pulls back into the traffic. He enters a drive-thru and orders something while I'm still on the phone with Callie. We drive back to the apartment, and Mike comes up with me. We walk into the living room with two large bags of food and some super-sized colas; Mike places them on the dining table and takes a seat.

"Now eat," he says sternly.

I take out the food from the bags. It's a feast; I look at Mike and smile.

"Thought you might be hungry."

I eat so quickly that I don't even realize Mike is watching me; he has a beaming smile from ear to ear.

"You look happy."

"I am. One, you're talking, and two, you're eating. It's a pretty good outcome all 'round."

"Thanks, Mike, for everything," I say, suddenly feeling very full for the first time since I can remember. However, all that food is sitting badly in my stomach. I probably shouldn't have eaten so fast and so much.

"Anytime, Miss Taylor, and if you need me at all throughout the night, please call.

"Of course, thanks, Mike, and thanks for the food."

He puts the rubbish in the trash, gives me a hug, walks to the elevator then turns towards me. "Good job, Miss Taylor," he says then steps into the elevator.

I feel better, better than I have in days. I place a movie into the DVD player then make my way to the sofa and spend the rest of the day relaxing.

***

The room shifts to darkness as Aiden rolls over on his tattered mattress, shivering uncontrollably. I watch him through the bars as a single tear rolls down my cheek. A glimmer of something dark stands in the background while he tries to sleep. His eyes are closed as the figure floats toward him; dark, endless, black nothingness fills the room. Aiden opens his eyes. He rolls over to see the blackness drifting toward him; he sits up on the bed, his back to the wall. His face is full of fear then the darkness surges, lifting him from the mattress by the neck, strangling him. Suddenly a ray of light shines in from a hidden window, disabling the darkness, turning it to a pure beam of white light. A harmonious glow engulfs the room as the darkness is submerged into nothingness. The light gently lifts Aiden, laying him back down on his bed. A smile crosses his face when I reach out to him. His hand touches mine, and the feelings of hope and love flood the room. He rests his head down, his hand in mine, and he closes his eyes as calm washes over him. He finally feels free.

I cuddle into Mr. Snuggles. The nightmare has changed, and it's not so frightening anymore. Sitting up in our bed, I push off and make my way to the en-suite to fix my hair and brush my teeth. I walk to the closet and choose a nice, flowing pink dress; I slip it over my head and smooth it down my hips.

A few weeks have passed, and Jenson's been keeping me updated with all the latest information. Once the hearing is over, and if it goes in Aiden's favor, the judge will file a motion for an after jury verdict or discharge. The judge will then set aside the verdict and enter an acquittal. Jenson has found a lot of discrepancies and feels that with the Director of Public Prosecution's help the hearing will go in Aiden's favor. He's educated me on what to say in the judge's chamber today when I'm called. I feel ready to help free Aiden, although I'm very nervous.

I enter the light-filled kitchen and put on some toast and coffee. I move to the sofa to eat my breakfast while watching TV. I hear the chime of the elevator as Sarah and Chris walk in.

"Hey, Jeni, Mike was in the parking garage and swiped us in," Chris says.