The Dirty Divorce (25 page)

“Well, when you were a little under a year old, I went to jail and I sent your Aunt Celeste to go live with your mother and father. During that time, Celeste discovered she was pregnant with Carlos after I’d been in jail for a few months. I was released and my charges were dropped before Carlos was born.” He suddenly stopped. “Are you listening to me, Rich?”

“Yeah, of course I’m listenin’.”

“Well, a month or two later I got a call from your mother and she was in tears. She told me that she had caught Celeste and your father in bed together while I was in prison. She thought when I came home from prison that Celeste would go on her way and she wouldn’t have to worry. What upset your mother the most was the resemblance in looks that you and Carlos possessed. She thought that I should get a blood test.”

I was stunned at the news that my uncle was tellin’ me and I knew exactly where he was goin’ wit’ everything. “So, what happened?”

“I ended up getting a test. That’s when I found out that Carlos wasn’t my son. I never said a word to anyone, but your mother. This was a secret that we kept all of these years.”

I began to scratch my head. “So, are you sayin’ that Los was really my brother?”

Uncle Renzo gave me a funny look. “What the fuck do you mean was? You’re talking like he’s no longer here.”

I needed a quick comeback. “I didn’t mean anything by that Unc.’ I guess all this shit you’re tellin’ me, got me all fucked up.”

“I hate that we kept this from you and Carlos all these years, but yes, Carlos is your only brother. I’m sterile, Rich. I’d been that way for years, and I don’t think your Aunt Celeste could handle that.”

“Why didn’t you all tell me?” My voice was a little shaky. Killin’ Carlos hurt even worse now. It felt like my heart had been ripped out my chest.

“There were so many times that I wanted to say something to you. Why do you think I stayed at odds with your father all the time? He betrayed me, so my punishment to him, was to raise both his boys to be just like me, the brother that he hated so much for choosing this life.”

“So, Aunt Celeste never knew that you found out before she passed away?”

“No, she never knew that I was aware. I’m sure that she always had doubts. I’m just sorry that I never gave you all the chance at a life. I was so caught up in my own insecurities and selfishness that I deprived you and your brother of a real life. Now, look at you both. Carlos is missing, and you’re so deep in the game, there’s no turning back. I’m sorry.”

“This can’t be true. Uncle Renzo, this can’t be true. No…my only brother. He wasn’t my brother!”

“Yes, Rich, he’s your brother. That’s why you have to find him. He needs to know.”

“My mother didn’t tell me I had a brother. Now he’s dead and I can’t tell him how much I love him.”

“What do you mean dead? Rich, is there something that you aren’t telling me?”

“No, I mean…he’s probably dead,” I quickly said. “Are there any more family secrets I don’t know about? I can’t believe you introduced me to this life because of a vendetta you had against my father.”

“Rich, dammit, I’m sorry. I want to make things right. I would do anything for you boys. Carlos is still my son no matter what.”

I was stunned. Couldn’t say anything else at the moment.

“Well, I’m leaving, but I do expect you back in L.A. by the weekend. Marisol needs us both by her side until we figure out what’s going on with your brother.”

When he said my brother, the sounds of that made my heart bleed. I let Uncle Renzo out and decided that I needed my daughter by my side. I didn’t plan on tellin’ her the news I learned. I felt so alone, so I decided to give her a call.

“Yes, Daddy.” She didn’t sound excited to hear from me.

“How are you, Baby Girl?”

“Busy, how are you?”

“Wishin’ my daughter wasn’t still mad at me and wasn’t puttin’ another nigga in front of her father.”

“Oh, like you’ve put your way of life in front of me all these years.”

Her comment hurt. “Denie, I just need you right now.”

“I have an exam in the morning and I’m studying right now. I’ll come to see you tomorrow.”

“Okay, that’s all I ask.”

“Bye, Dad.”

I sat on the sofa and stared at my phone. Tryin’ so hard to be strong and not call Jade, I called Marisol instead to check on Mia.

“Hello Rich, any news on my husband.”

“Not yet. Where are you?”

“I’m at the hospital. I don’t know what to do. I’ve always been strong and been able to deal with anything thrown my way, but this is something I just can’t handle. Where’s my husband?” she cried. “I just pray that he’s alive!”

“Yeah I know. I hate to think the worst,” I replied.

“Oh my God, please don’t. I don’t wanna think that way either.”

“Look, Marisol, you shouldn’t be alone at a time like this. I’m here for you. I’ll fly back by the weekend okay? In the meantime be strong and give those babies a kiss for me. Oh, and if Carlos calls, call me right away.”

“Okay, Rich. I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

“Oh, Rich if you talk to Lisa, please tell her to call me. She won’t return any of my calls. Maybe she has a clue that’ll help us find Carlos?”

I got extremely quiet for a moment. “Will do.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Lisa

I woke up with an upset stomach, feeling like I had to throw up. Back and forth to the bathroom all morning, finally I let it all out. It was just clear mucus, no food at all. I had Denie bring me some toast and ginger ale to settle my stomach. As I laid in bed trying to get myself together, I began to have so many evil thoughts, and my head and heart both were heavy. My mind had been working overtime on different ways to destroy Rich’s life the way he’d destroyed mine. The divorce was obviously something mild and not enough to destroy Rich for good. Besides, we had to wait too long for the actual court date, so after much consideration I thought I’d hit him where it would hurt the most; with his pride and joy…Denie.

She’d been in heaven ever since I allowed her to see Nelson; something I knew Rich would never approve of. I gave Denie and Nelson my word, that it would be our secret. That was all a part of my plan to keep Denie at my house so Rich could continue to pay the bills. He’d made it very clear that Denie would be eighteen this year and as soon as she left for college, he wouldn’t have to worry about doing anything else for me. Little did he know, I had a plan that was gonna change his life forever. He was gonna pay for all of the pain that he’d put me through over the years, especially taking Carlos away from me.

My phone rang and at first I thought it was Marisol. She still continued to call daily. I knew she was just calling to see if I knew anything about Carlos, so to avoid interrogation I ignored her completely. When I looked at the caller ID, I sighed. It was Rich.

“Yes.”

“Why haven’t you returned any of Marisol’s calls?”

“What do you think, Rich? Unless you want me to tell her where her husband really is thanks to you?”

“Stop talkin’ reckless on this phone, you stupid bitch. Your Goddaughter Mia is in the hospital, so that’s why she’s callin’. Didn’t you get any of her messages?”

“I didn’t listen to them. What’s wrong with Mia?”

“She was diagnosed with Leukemia. I’m flyin’ back to L.A in a couple of days. I don’t expect you to fly out there, but Marisol really needs you right now.”

“Oh my God. I didn’t know.”

“Well, if you answered the damn phone you would know.”

“Listen, you need to calm the fuck down.”

“Just call her back!” Rich yelled then hung up.

He obviously still hated me, but the feelings were mutual. Thinking about the devastating news, I felt really bad for Mia. I loved those kids and I knew it was extremely hard for Marisol since Carlos wasn’t there by her side. Putting our differences aside, I decided to give her a call once I got in my car to go see my lawyer.

“Hello.”

“Marisol, it’s me. I just talked to Rich. How’s Mia doing?”

“Lisa, she’s in really bad shape. She’s gonna go through her first round of chemo next week.”

I could tell she’d been crying. “Damn, I really hate to hear that. How are you holding up?”

“It’s a lot on me. I’ve lost twenty-five pounds since she first got sick. It’s been tough, especially since Carlos is missing.” She sounded miserable. “Have you talked to him?”

“No, I haven’t. Give Mia a kiss for me and keep me posted on her condition.”

“Thanks for calling me Lisa, it means a lot.”

“Well, you’ve been there for me all these years, through my troublesome marriage. Now, it’s time for me to be there for you.”

“Lisa, I’m really sorry about Jade and Rich. Please believe me, I didn’t know they were together,” Lisa said.

“It’s cool,” I lied. I was still bitter about that shit, and had no plans to forgive Marisol for not telling me about the happy couple.

“Take care, and try to visit your Goddaughter whenever you get a chance.”

“Okay and I’ll keep her in my prayers.”

I hung up the phone really feeling sorry for Mia and not really giving a damn about Marisol. If Carlos were here, he definitely would’ve been by her side every step of the way. I loved Mia and wished her no harm, but this would’ve certainly made Marisol and Carlos’ marriage even stronger, so in a way I’m glad he wasn’t around. We might not have been together if he’d known that night his daughter was sick. Suddenly, my evil side kicked in when I thought, would I rather Carlos be dead without me or alive with Marisol.

Nursing my upset stomach, I snacked on some saltine crackers and a Canada Dry, which seemed to help a bit. As I was getting in the car, Jermaine sent me a text to let me know the owner of the shop he worked in was having a huge party at Club Layla. I instantly contemplated about not going because I wasn’t in the mood to be around anybody.

Then again maybe I should have a night out on the town with Jermaine. I thought about how he really knew how to cheer me up, especially Jermaine’s friend Dike. I laughed to myself thinking about how much fun I had with them the last time I got my hair done. After thinking for a few more minutes, I finally replied back to Jermaine telling him that I would let him know if I was going by eight. Even though I couldn’t tell him, my decision really depended on how much I got done for the big showdown, Operation Destroy Rich.

My lawyer’s office was on K Street in downtown D.C. which didn’t take me long to get to at all. The only thing that was annoying was trying to find parking. All of the lots were full, so I had to get change at the hot dog stand and park on the street. After feeding my meter, I entered the office building’s revolving doors and headed toward the elevators. However, I decided to take the stairs since the elevator was taking so long.

When I walked into the office, I was greeted by the receptionist, Ginger, who was such a dingy blond white girl. She was originally from Houston and had a sweet southern personality as well as an accent.

“Hello, Mrs. Sanchez, Mr. Leach is expecting you. I’ll buzz him right now and let him know you’re here.”

“Thanks, Ginger. How’s your daughter doing?”

“She’s fine, getting tall. Did your son get released yet?”

“No, that’s one of the reasons I’m here.”

“Well, I’m praying for you.”

I smiled. “Thanks. I need all the prayer I can get.”

When she called Mr. Leach, he was ready for me to come inside. His office was small, but ran professionally. There were two other lawyers who practiced at his law firm, his sister Sherise and another lawyer Evelyn Sharpe. All of the hustlers kept Evelyn on retainer if they couldn’t afford Mr. Leach because she was known for getting all of them off. When I walked in, Mr. Leach greeted me with a hug as usual.

“Hi, Mr. Leach,” I greeted.

“Lisa, how many times do I have to tell you to call me John?” he asked after sitting down at his desk. “So, where are we with everything? Are you still going through with the divorce?”

I thought about what Rich said about not trying to give him one, but I wasn’t about to give up. “Yes, I am. Is there anyway we could rush things along? I really need to get on with my life.”

“Well, D.C. law requires that you all be separated at least six months before you file. You know the whole reason for the separation is so couples can determine how assets will be split, who will get custody of the children, who’s responsible for what debt, things like that.”

“I don’t care about any of that. He can have everything, and Denie can go live with him. I just want my divorce. Hell, we’ve been separated for more than six months.” It didn’t matter to me if John knew I was lying. I had to get rid of Rich...fast.

John pushed up his glasses. “Why didn’t you tell me that in the beginning? We could’ve taken another route.”

“Okay, so now that you know, I need you to file for my divorce asap,” I replied.

“You know, Mr. Sanchez didn’t sound too happy about this divorce when we spoke over the phone,” John informed.

“I don’t care about that. Just do what I asked!”

John quickly wrote something down on a piece of paper. “Okay. I’ll see what I can do. Is that all you needed today?”

“No, I need you to get my son out of jail.”

“Well, I’ve been working on that, but your son is facing some serious charges. We might have to look at a plea deal.”

“I don’t want him to spend another day in jail, so how much do I have to pay to make this go away.”

“Lisa, I would do anything for you, but it’s a little more complicated.”

When John went on to explain the details of the case, it didn’t sound good. With his charges, Juan was gonna have to take a five year plea deal at the minimum. I tried over and over to explain to Juan that his only route was to turn against Rich, but he still hadn’t given me an answer. I even wrote him a letter the other day letting him know how much I needed him. Maybe the more I pressed him, he would eventually see that giving Rich up, was the best answer.