by Ford, Mia
I was in a hospital room. I was alone.
The room was quiet and peaceful. It felt nice compared to the chaos that I’d just been through.
Looking downwards I could see I was covered almost head to toe in thick bandages. Even between the bandages, the skin looking back at me was burned and disfigured.
I shuddered to think what the rest of me looked like beneath the bandages. I’d been burned almost to death. Most of my body was destroyed and it would never be the same again. I’d work on rehab for months probably and even at the end I would still need bandages to not terrify people. My life was over. I should have just stayed in the fire.
“Well, I see we are awake.”
I turned my head slightly to the voice at the doorway. Standing there was a tall, slender man with an athletic build. He reminded me of a swimmer or maybe a soccer player. His clothes were form fitting and indicated a man who worked to stay fit, but wasn’t crazily obsessed with it. He had a handsome, kind face, and he smiled with a relaxed warmth that instantly put you at ease.
He walked into the room and sat down in a chair beside me.
“I’m Taylor. Doctor Taylor Golding. I’m the one who found you,” he said.
“Found me?”
My voice was crackly as if it hadn’t been used in weeks. I remembered all the heat and smoke I inhaled. It had probably damaged my voice, maybe permanently. But miraculously my vocal cords and lungs had not melted. It paid to be thankful for small favors, right?
“I know it hurts to talk. You should rest your voice. But yes, I found you on the road. You collapsed in front of my car. I almost hit you.”
I tried to speak softly. “I was in a fire.”
“I know. We learned that the fire was in a mansion about a half mile down the road. It’s so far back I couldn’t see it. But I called the fire station and they confirmed it.”
“Don’t tell them I’m here!” I hissed. The pain shot through my throat and I couldn’t breathe. I squinted my eyes hard and waited for the moment to pass. My body shook violently as the waves of agony rocked through me.
“Don’t stress yourself,” Taylor said. “I didn’t tell them anything.”
“Thank you,” I whispered. “But why?”
“Well, you were mostly out of it when I found you, but you were mumbling a few things on the way here. I was able to put together that someone was trying to kill you and something about the twins…I figured it was best to wait until you were conscious and talk to you.”
“My husband, Ted—he tried to kill me. He took my twins.”
“Ok, then we need to call the authorities.”
“No.”
“What? Why?”
“Because. He has my boys. He might do something to them if he thinks I’m alive. Besides… prison is too good for him. I want him to suffer.”
Taylor looked deeply into my eyes. I could tell he thought I was crazy and that he was very concerned about everything I was saying.
“Look, relax,” Taylor said. His voice was very soothing. “You need to take your time and think about what you want to do. But this guy can’t get away with this. I’m sure the police can protect your kids and get them back.”
“No,” I pleaded. I told him who I was and that I was the owner of one of the largest cosmetics companies in the world. “Even if Ted does go to jail, I’ll be ruined by the publicity. My business—my family’s business—will be ruined. Besides, my husband has Power of Attorney over me. He has most of my fortune. The second he hears I’m alive he will pay someone to kill me so that I can’t testify and he can make it look like an accident. His reach knows no bounds. He is crazy. You have no idea how crazy he is. But he is also very smart. Please… just don’t do anything.”
Taylor sighed. “Ok.”
“Besides, I can never face my boys again,” I cried, even though the tears were painful.
“You are going to be fine,” Taylor said. “Your boys will love you no matter what.”
“You don’t know that. You don’t know me. I’m never going to look normal, am I?”
Taylor paused. He looked towards the hall as if making sure we were alone and no one could hear what we were saying.
“Well, I may be able to help you.”
“What do you mean?”
Taylor leaned closer. He was barely speaking above a whisper now. “There is a doctor. He is a friend of mine. He is the best plastic surgeon in the country. In fact, he is one of only a few people who can do this. He has just pioneered field research in lasers and he is able to combine it with new technology that actually reproduces cells. Basically, he can grow you all new skin.”
I stopped a moment. I was waiting for everything he said to sink in. There were too many thoughts spinning in my head. And I was so tired. I just wanted to sleep.
“What?” I asked.
“He can make you whole again,” Taylor said. “If you want. I’m afraid it won’t be cheap, though.”
“Money is no object,” I said. “I have money stowed away in a private offshore account that not even my husband knows about.”
“Ok,” Taylor said. “Now, what I’m saying is that he can remake you, but you won’t look quite the same. However, I assure you that you will be attractive as can be.”
“Why are you offering this to me?” I asked. “What makes me so special?”
Taylor smiled. “Anyone can see you are special. You deserve this and I’m going to help you get it.”
It was then that an idea began to form in my mind. I would wait just a little while until Ted assumed that his plan worked and I was dead. And then I could have had the police arrest him for attempted murder and get my kids back. After the procedure was done I would be able to return to public life and move this whole chapter behind me.
However, nothing is ever as simple as first planned.
Chapter Twenty
Ted
Three Years Later
I revved up the engine on the bike and it exploded like a thing of beauty with speed as it roared down the highway. The sun was shining brightly on my shoulders, the warmth of southern California was snuggling my body softly, and I felt like I was on top of the world. It was a great feeling, and one I had become accustomed to. It was enough to make you nostalgic, and it often did. I often thought back to times when I was struggling and looking at an uncertain future, but now I was the head of a few large corporations and there was absolutely nothing out of my reach.
Everything had worked out perfectly.
I pulled the bike into the large office building in front of me. I was there to have a business meeting with Jay Polling, the owner of the San Diego Padres. I had become very interested recently in buying the team and I was prepared to pay a hefty price. It had always been a dream of mine to one day own a baseball team. And now it looked like that dream was about to become a reality.
Parking the bike, I got out and walked across the parking lot. Along the way I smiled at a couple beautiful ladies who were walking by. They both kind of looked like the hot blonde I’d picked up at the club the night before. That woman was almost as insatiable in bed as I was. She’d almost worn me out.
I laughed about it then, knowing that I never had to call her again. And she’d probably be fine with it. When you had the kind of money I did now, love was not something you even thought about. Or maybe it was just me? I didn’t think so though. Most of the rich friends I’d made since becoming the sole owner of Daniels Cosmetics, as well as the owner and founder of Ridgeway MotoSports felt the same way I did. When you had that much money, you really didn’t have any room in your life for love.
After I was inside the building, I walked through the lobby to the elevator and selected the top floor. I was ten minutes late, but with what I was preparing to pay they knew better than to try to weasel me around. They would wait for me until I was ready.
If only Leia could see me now…
Yes, Leia… my departed wife. It was weird that occasionally I did miss
the bitch, but then I reminded myself of how sweet everything was with her gone and it always put a smile on my face. I’d been a bit nervous for a few months after the fire though. The cops never could find her body and she never turned up anywhere. It was basically assumed that she’d set the fire and faked her own death. It was not exactly unheard of for people in her position to become overwhelmed by their wealth and responsibility and to just disappear. The cops figured she’d turn up somewhere, but when someone with her kind of money wanted to disappear, it was easy for them to do so.
That explanation worked fine for me because it got me off the hook as a suspect, and it meant the cops were not really looking for Leia anymore.
Now, as for what really happened to my dearly departed wife… I had no clue. But it had been three years. The nearest I could figure was that she somehow made her way out of the house and survived long enough to get off the property. She either went deep into the woods and was eaten by critters or predators, most likely a mountain lion or a coyote, or she made it far enough for some random passerby to find her and died shortly later. She’d never had her DNA sampled before, as far as I knew. Hell, she probably had never even been fingerprinted. Even if they could get something from her mangled and charred body it probably wouldn’t have turned up anything.
If she was alive my ass would have been in a bit of a sling.
But with three years gone by it was definitely safe to say that my wife was out of my life for good.
And I couldn’t have been happier.
I flirted with the secretary when I arrived and she flirted back. It was almost second nature. I’m not sure if it was just the happiness I radiated or my newfound wealth, but it seemed that lately every woman I hit on was very receptive to me. Of course, the secretary probably knew why I was there. And the fact that she was turned on by money told me pretty much everything I needed to know about her.
It was kind of annoying, but I’d jump her bones anyway if she was interested.
“So, let’s talk some numbers,” I said sitting down in Jay’s office.
“What were you thinking?” Jay asked.
I laughed. “Come on. We’ve been through this. I’ve told you what I was prepared to offer and now you need to come up with a better offer than what you countered with earlier. My price isn’t changing. It’s a fair deal and you know it.”
Jay sighed. “OK. I can go five billion more and not a penny above that.”
I leaned back in the chair and thought for a moment. Then I got up and walked over to the mini bar in his office. I poured myself a bourbon without asking and stood there sipping it. He liked the good stuff. I could relate to this.
“I think we can do business with that,” I said.
Jay strode over to me and shook my hand then. “Pleasure doing business with you. I think you just bought yourself a baseball team.”
As I drove home on my motorcycle I could hardly believe what had just happened. I’d done it. Holy shit. I was the proud owner of a baseball team.
As I rode along ignoring the speed limit and the traffic laws I couldn’t believe the luck. No… that was wrong. It wasn’t luck. I’d worked hard for everything and I deserved every little bit of it. I didn’t care what anyone would say about it.
Including Leia, if she were alive. Of course, if she were alive she would have freaked out about buying something such as this. I hadn’t even bought a winning team, but it was the principle of the thing. Besides if I stayed in control long enough the team would start to win eventually. I would see to that. I already had it in my mind what kind of a staff I was going to put together to build that perfect team.
When I arrived home I poured myself a drink and went into the billiard room to shoot some pool. The twins were in pre-school for a few more hours and then I’d have the butler go and pick them up.
But then I’d have to hear them whining and screaming about one thing or another. They were really more trouble than they were worth, but sometimes they were mildly amusing. Besides the older they got the more they looked like me and that was always a joy. They were my kids.
I just hoped I could get the Leia out of them. Luckily they were so young when she died that they would never actually remember her.
I played a few games of pool and then closed the door, locking it when I heard the twins arrive. The first thing they always wanted was to spend time with me for some reason.
Well, I had things to celebrate today and I sure as hell didn’t want to celebrate it with them.
Chapter Twenty-One
Leia
“There you are.”
I kept my eyes closed a few moments longer. Taylor had spoken the words I’d been longing to hear for the past three years. And now it was finally here. The day had arrived when I would be free of surgeries and of my bandages. I was finally going to see my new self.
This had been my tenth surgery I’d had in the past three years. Each one required a few months of rehab and recovery before I could really move on to the next one. Each surgery was painful for days afterwards and I still looked the same wrapped up in bandages.
Luckily, I had plenty of money and I was able to live anonymously in a house I’d purchased about an hour outside of Orlando, Florida. This was where Patrick Stalwart, the surgeon friend of Taylor’s who was helping me rebuild myself, lived and worked. I could never possibly thank him enough. He would never understand that he’d actually given me my life back and I was forever in his debt. It had been such a long and painful road, but I knew that one day it would be all worth it. And now I was about to achieve the glory that I craved.
“Well, are you going to open your eyes or not?” Taylor teased.
“I think she is scared,” Patrick said in his nasally voice. Taylor and Patrick could not have been more different. Whereas Taylor was tall and athletic, Patrick was short and every bit the epitome of a bookworm. He was awkward and didn’t have a lot of social skills. But he was brilliant at what he did.
I opened my eyes slowly. Patrick was right; I was scared. The anticipation of seeing what I looked like after almost three years of continuous work and hiding behind bandages was too much. I hadn’t even been able to comfortably go out in public because of the bandages. I’d lived almost like a hermit. Luckily Taylor had been there with me as much as he could. He flew in most weekends to be with me. At first it had started out just as a friendship, but it had lately started to escalate into something much more. And even though he told me several times that he didn’t care about the bandages or the burns, that he found me beautiful inside and out no matter what, I still would not let myself be seen naked by him or anyone else. It was just too painful. I was filled with shame at my appearance. I felt disgusting.
But I cared for Taylor immensely. We’d become so close. The romantic spark between was almost immediate. The way he spoke to me as if I didn’t even look differently from other women, and the lengthy, in depth conversations that we had with each other that often stretched until the wee hours of the dawn---all of it was sweet, romantic, and filled with the connection that we shared.
I wanted him. I’d known that we shared something beautiful from shortly after I’d woke up in the hospital, where I stayed for almost a week before I was stable enough to be moved. I’d come close to death and if it weren’t for finding Taylor right then I would have died within hours. He saved my life. And for that I owed him everything.
Suddenly, there I was.
My eyes were wide open and I was there staring back at myself in the large mirror before me. I saw a woman about my age, possibly younger, with the same eyes I was used to, but a very different face. I was beautiful. I could say that as an observer looking at another woman I realized was very beautiful and admiring her from afar. Except, I was that woman. I was staring at myself.
Goosebumps rolled over my body and I started to shake slightly as a small panic attack overtook me. I felt almost sick, but giddy at the same time. It was the giddy feeling I’d felt as a five-year
-old on Christmas morning bouncing down the stairs as fast as I could without breaking my neck to get to the Christmas tree and see all of the wonderful, shiny presents that Santa had brought me.
“Is… that….” I tried, but I couldn’t speak. Tears rolled from the corners of my eyes and emotion tied my throat closed so that I couldn’t utter a single word. I was just too overwhelmed to breathe.
I was beautiful. I was even more beautiful than I’d been before. I almost felt that I didn’t deserve it. I was happy beyond belief, but at the same time I felt such insane guilt. If I hadn’t been born rich, then I wouldn’t have been able to pay for this. I decided right then that I would use my wealth to help others in a similar fate. Patrick deserved to be known the world over and when I was done with my ultimate plan I was going to make sure everyone knew that he and Taylor saved me.
“Yes,” Taylor said. He hugged me lightly from behind and rested his head on my shoulder, looking straight ahead into the mirror at my reflection. “That is you, my love.”
My love.
Taylor had never actually called me that before. He’d told me he loved me a few months prior and I hadn’t been able to say it back. I was too scared. I was still too full of shame and I still felt like a helpless victim. But I did love him. He’d been so amazing through it all and I knew that I wouldn’t have been standing there if it hadn’t been for him.
I was crying full on now. I couldn’t stop the tears. I was so happy, so overcome with joy and emotion. I didn’t feel I deserved it, though. I was aware of just how lucky I was. I’d been given a new lease on life.
But after the shock was over and I stood there embracing the new person that I now was—I felt a strong sense of calmness and a powerful sense of urgency.
It was time to start the plan.
* * *
“That sounds pretty perfect to me,” Taylor said. He lifted his glass of wine to his lips and finished the last few sips. Then he grabbed the bottle and poured himself another.