by Emma Easter
Trisha laughed without humor and Audrey chuckled. “That is not going to happen and you know it!” Trisha said.
“Are you really sure about that? Even if the court doesn’t grant me full custody, then they will grant me joint custody, especially since I am Ruby’s biological father. I have a clean record, a good job, and a very convincing reason, which I will not tell you, for being absent from her life. I bet you’ll enjoy sharing me with your daughter. Just like you have always said to me, I’m not a very responsible person. Who knows how Ruby will fare when she is with me?”
Trisha’s mouth fell open and Audrey barked at him, “You are a monster, Stan Coleman!”
Stan shrugged. “Just get my money ready in two weeks, Trisha.” He turned around, walked to his car, and drove off.
Trisha put her hand on her forehead and shut her eyes as fear gripped her. “What am I supposed to do now? Are you sure I shouldn’t just give him the money he is asking for?”
“No, you shouldn’t!” Audrey said. “He’s blackmailing you now. I promise you he won’t stop even after you give him the money. It’s your share of the inheritance Dad gave to you and to your family. Stan has no right to it.”
“But you heard what he said. What if the court grants . . .”
“Trisha, I agree with Audrey,” Sienna said, interrupting Trisha. “Don’t give in to Stan and his blackmail.”
“I wish I could get him arrested now,” Audrey said. “But unfortunately, we don’t really have anything on him.” She sighed and put her arm around Trisha’s shoulders. “Let’s go back inside,” she said.
They went back into the house and Trisha sat between Audrey and Sienna. “I don’t think I can go on that trip anymore,” Trisha said.
Audrey did not know what to say. She wanted to tell Trisha not to let Stan’s words affect her and to come on the trip with them, but Stan’s threats were serious and at this time, Trisha was right. She had to stay in Rosefield and try to find a solution to it all.
“Maybe I should stay behind and be with you, Trisha,” Sienna said.
Audrey nodded. “I think I want to stay as well, Trisha.”
“No, no!” Trisha complained. “Both of you should go with Ken and Bryan. Frank will be with me. I will be okay.”
“No, Trisha,” Audrey said. “Remember that last trip we took to Spain? You couldn’t go because you gave birth even though we all planned to go. We can’t let that happen again. We will stay and solve this problem together. Besides, it will not be the same without you on the trip.”
Trisha smiled at Audrey and then at Sienna. “Thank you so much. But are you guys sure? Because I will understand if you go without me.”
“We are sure,” Sienna said.
“Our plans to go and see Faizan have been such a rollercoaster ride,” Audrey said. “One day we are excited about going, and the next we are deciding that we can’t go, and then changing our minds once more.”
“All because of Stan,” Trisha added.
“Not just Stan,” Audrey said. “It was also because we thought our husbands could not go and we didn’t want to go without them.” She recalled the incident that had happened some days ago when she thought she was pregnant. She said to Trisha and Sienna in a small voice, “I took a pregnancy test a few days ago.”
Sienna’s mouth dropped open and Trisha’s eyes widened. “Are you pregnant?” Trisha asked.
“Unfortunately not,” Audrey answered. “I felt nauseated and was throwing up and I really thought that I was pregnant; so did Ken. When I did the test, however, and found out that I wasn’t, I was so crushed. I never want to experience that feeling again.” She leaned back on the sofa and closed her eyes. “Guys, I think it might be time for me to give up on having a baby.”
“No, Audrey,” Trisha said. “You will have your baby. You just need to stop stressing about it.”
“Trisha is right, Audrey,” Sienna said. “Just trust the Lord and give it time.”
Audrey smiled, but in her heart, frustration was building up. The doctor had said nothing was wrong with her or Ken, and yet they couldn’t get pregnant. She put aside her concerns and frustration and changed the topic.
They began to talk about the small party they would throw to mark their parents’ anniversary. After about an hour, Audrey stood up and said, “Well I need to get home now. I have to tell Ken that we cannot travel anymore.”
“Oh, Faizan will be so disappointed,” Trisha said.
Audrey nodded. She hugged her sisters and left Trisha’s house. She got home and made her way to the bedroom to find Ken. Just as she stepped into the bedroom, her cellphone rang. She opened her purse and brought out her phone, and then answered, “Yes, who is this?”
The officer she had spoken to about Derrick said, “It’s Hammond, Chief.” Audrey smiled. They still called her Chief at that station.
Ken entered the room. He had apparently been in the bathroom. He smiled at her and she smiled back. She raised a finger to let him know she was on the phone.
“Yes, Hammond. What is it?”
Officer Hammond told her once more that Derrick was still asking for her. “He keeps insisting that he needs to speak to you about something important. Something about Stan.”
Audrey raised her brows. “Did you say Stan?”
“Yes, I think that’s the name he’s been calling. The staff at the psychiatric hospital told me he’s mostly recovered now, and he sounded sane enough when I spoke to him.”
Audrey frowned, wondering why Derrick wanted to speak to her and how it concerned Stan. Finally, she said to the officer, “Okay, thanks. I will go and speak to him tomorrow.”
After the call ended, she turned to face Ken.
“What was that about?” he asked.
She told him what the officer had said about Derrick. “I will go and see him tomorrow and hear him out.”
“Tomorrow? But we are supposed to travel in the evening tomorrow, Audrey.”
“About that. Ken, we won’t be able to make the trip anymore.” She told him everything that had happened when she was with Trisha; how Stan had come and demanded that the money he was asking for should be given to him in two weeks instead of the agreed three months.
“Trisha is distraught,” Audrey said. “Sienna and I promised that we would stay here with her since she cannot travel with everything that’s going on.”
“Oh my Lord!” Ken exclaimed. “We’re changing our minds again? And I still haven’t gotten through to Faizan. I’ll have to try once more and see if I will get him on the phone and tell him that we can’t come anymore.” He put his hands on Audrey’s shoulders. “I was really looking forward to the trip.”
“I was, too,” Audrey said. “I was looking forward to seeing Faizan and that women’s camp. It’s unfortunate that Stan has ruined our plans.”
Ken sighed and brought out his phone from his pocket. He dialed a number and put his phone to his ear. After a while, he removed his phone from his ear and said, “The number is still unavailable.”
“Well then, Faizan will be angry with us, but there’s nothing we can do,” Audrey sighed.
“I’ll keep trying to call him,” Ken muttered.
Audrey nodded and went to get something to eat.
The next morning, she went to the psychiatric hospital. She sat on the manicured grounds, waiting for Derrick to be brought to her. A few minutes later, Derrick walked toward her, led by a young woman in white scrubs. As he came closer, she studied his face. She had expected his eyes to look wild like they had years ago when she had interrogated him after he was arrested for trying to kidnap Sienna. Instead, he looked almost like his old self. He had the same smirk on his face that he usually did, and he walked confidently. Soon, he would leave this place, but, unfortunately for him, he would be going to jail.
“It’s so good to see you,” he said to Audrey as he sat on the chair in front of her.
Audrey said nothing. She continued to study his face while he looked at
her with an amused smile. Finally, she said, “You wanted to speak to me, Derrick?”
“I decided that since I’m going to jail once I leave here, I’m not going down alone.”
Audrey leaned forward and nodded. “Okay. I am listening.”
He began to narrate a long story of betrayal. The more she listened, the angrier she got. He told her about how her father had confided in him about the inheritance and how he had plotted for a long time to marry one of them in order to get his hands on it.
He had succeeded in winning Sienna’s heart, but when she walked away from him, he got angry. Without her, he could not get the money. And that was why he had kidnapped her. When he was caught and realized that he would never be able to have the money and that all his plans had been in vain, something broke in him and he lost his mind. But now, he could think clearly again. He told her that Stan had been involved in his plans. “He would have left Trisha a long time ago if not for the inheritance,” Derrick said. “Stan was to stay with her until we could get the money, but his philandering ways ruined our plan, at least temporarily. The only option I had then was to kidnap Sienna and try to force her to marry me.”
After Derrick finished narrating his story, Audrey leaned back in her seat and said, “So Stan was your accomplice.” She smiled as an idea presented itself to her; an idea on how to get rid of Stan once and for all so he would stop bothering Trisha. Stan was not the only one who knew how to make threats.
“Since I have told you all this,” Derrick said, “Can you help me so my sentence will be reduced?”
Audrey shrugged and stood up. “I can’t help you,” she said. “I am not a police officer anymore.”
“What?” he stared at her in disbelief.
“You’re worse than I even thought you were. I hope I never see your face again.”
He began to plead, “Surely there is a way you can help reduce my sentence?”
She walked away without looking back. He had taken advantage of her baby sister and their father’s trust.
She hurried to Trisha’s house. If they could get Stan back to the house in time, she could tell him what Derrick had just revealed to her and solve this issue once and for all. Then they could all still travel this evening to see Faizan.
She got to Trisha’s house and rang the doorbell. When the door opened, she immediately walked into the house.
Trisha looked at her. “You are here, Audrey. Was Ken able to get through to Faizan yesterday?”
“No,” Audrey answered. “But I have very interesting news for you. Where is Sienna? She will want to hear about this, especially since it concerns Derrick.”
“Derrick, Sienna’s ex?”
“Yes,” Audrey answered.
“Let me go and get her,” Trisha said and immediately left the living room. She came back a minute later with Sienna, and they all sat together on the couch.
Audrey told them about the call she’d received and about going to see Derrick in the psychiatric hospital. She told them everything Derrick had said to her. When she finished, the expression on their faces ranged from anger to dismay.
Sienna said, “I can’t believe this. So Derrick plotted from the beginning to marry me just so he could get his hands on Dad’s inheritance.”
Trisha shook her head, disbelief etched on her face. “And Stan did the same to me. He is truly a monster. I cannot believe I was married to such a person.”
“That’s why I came here quickly,” Audrey said. “We need to get Stan here as soon as possible and let him know his secret is out. That is how we will get rid of him once and for all.”
Trisha shot up from the couch and picked up her phone from the coffee table. She dialed a number and put it on speaker.
Stan’s voice came on the phone and Trisha said to him, “Stan, please come over right away. I have something to tell you about the money.”
“You have my money now?” Stan asked in an eager voice.
“I have information about the money. Just come now.”
“I’m on my way,” he said.
When the call ended, Trisha hissed and said, “What a greedy soul! I cannot wait to get rid of him permanently!”
They started discussing specifically what they would tell Stan until they heard the doorbell ring. Trisha stood up from the couch and went to the door. Audrey and Sienna followed behind.
Trisha opened the door and nodded at Stan. She looked back at Audrey and Sienna and then faced Stan again. She said, “You have something to tell Stan, Audrey.”
“I sure do,” Audrey said.
Stan stared at her with a curious expression on his face as she began to tell him about her visit to the psych hospital to speak with Derrick. She told him everything Derrick had said to her and watched with satisfaction as the smug smile on his face melted away. As she spoke, his face grew redder and redder. Finally, after she finished, Stan closed his eyes and did not utter a word.
“Don’t you have anything to say now? You wicked blackmailer!”
Stan still did not speak and Audrey said, “Now you listen to me, Stan. If you don’t want me to call the police and have you arrested, you will leave Trisha and Ruby and everyone in this house alone. In fact, you will get out of town and never return.”
Stan opened his eyes and nodded eagerly. “I will get out of town,” he said. Audrey could see that he looked relieved. He had obviously expected them to call the police.
“You better leave now,” Audrey said to him. “By the time I leave Trisha’s house, you must have left Rosefield. If I spot you anywhere in this town, you will be spending a very long time in prison. Do you understand?”
He nodded, backed away, and then turned around.
Audrey called his name and he turned back to her. “I don’t want to hear that you ever tried to call or contact Trisha ever again, do you hear me?”
“Yes,” he said.
“Go!” Audrey ordered.
He hurried to his car, got in, and zoomed away.
Trisha fell into Audrey’s arms and hugged her tightly. “Thank you, Audrey,” she said. “What would I have done without you?”
Audrey smiled and said, “That’s what big sisters do.”
Sienna wrapped her arms around Trisha and Audrey and said, “Thank God that is over.”
Audrey was the first to pull back from her sisters. She wiped away the tears from Trisha’s cheeks. Turning to look at Sienna and then back at Trisha, she said, “Well, I guess we should all get ready to leave for the airport. Sienna, tell Bryan to start packing!”
Sienna chuckled and Trisha beamed.
“As for me,” Audrey said, “I’ll have to go home and tell Ken that our trip is back on. Poor Ken. I hope he has not gotten through to Faizan because we will have to call him again to tell him we’re still coming.”
Trisha laughed. “I hope this is the last time we change our minds.”
“I hope nothing else comes up,” Sienna said.
Audrey nodded. “Okay, girls, I’ll see you in the evening. Who is driving us to the airport?”
“Certainly not you,” Trisha said, laughing again. “You drive as though you’re chasing a gang of criminals.”
Audrey laughed. “That is not true.”
Sienna said, “It is true, Audrey. But I guess that is what happens when you’ve been in the police force for years.”
“Okay, then,” Audrey said, “See you guys later.” She turned around and left the house, her heart filled with joyful anticipation.
Chapter Sixteen
“Leila, please wake up!”
Leila’s eyes flew open and then she shut them again as someone shined a bright flashlight in her direction. She rubbed her eyes and slowly opened them. Looking up at the person who had shined the flashlight, she whispered harshly, “What in the world, Sherifat? Why are you waking me up in the middle of the night again?”
Immediately after she asked the question, she knew exactly why Sherifat had woken her up. Reza was probably here ag
ain. But why did Sherifat need her to go with her on her secret rendezvous with Reza?
“Reza and Abdul are here. Abdul wants to speak with you.”
Leila groaned. “That Abdul doesn’t give up, does he?”
Yesterday, Sherifat had begged Leila to accompany her to the men’s camp to see Reza, but Leila had refused. Even though she had told Zainah that she would give Abdul a chance, she was still reluctant to do so. However, time was running out for her. Since there was no chance that she and Malik would ever be together, and since she wanted children, she had to move on and take what she was given now.
Leila sighed. “Hold on, let me get my scarf,” she said. She stood up and went to get a scarf, which was folded with some of her clothes near her sleeping rug. She wrapped the scarf around her shoulders, quickly braided her hair, and went out of the tent with Sherifat.
Reza and Abdul were waiting some distance away from the tent. Sherifat ran to Reza while Leila walked slowly toward Abdul, who had an uncertain smile on his face.
Sherifat and Reza were already whispering to each other when Leila reached Abdul. She forced a smile and said, “How are you?” That was all she could think to say to him.
“I’m very good, now that I have seen you,” he said to her.
She stamped down the urge to roll her eyes. She had told him she wasn’t interested the last time he was here, yet he had come to see her again. She said to him, “So, Abdul, I have decided to give you a chance.”
His eyes immediately lit up and he beamed. “You have?”
“Yes,” she answered him.
“Thank you. You have made me very happy,” he said.
She nodded but said nothing. She turned to look at Sherifat and Reza once more and then her breath caught in her throat when she saw the way they were looking at each other. She looked away, envying them. She’d once had this—a love that shined so bright it could light up the whole camp. But now, she had to settle for someone whom she felt absolutely nothing for. It was so unfair.
Abdul glanced at Sherifat and Reza and said to her, “Should we move to the other side so we can talk privately?”