Deceptions

by Dana Mansfield

  “Jack, please, don’t watch. Don’t listen. I don’t want you to know.”

  “Shut her up a bit,” Crystal ordered with a snap of her fingers towards Vivienne. The doctor was not happy to be ordered around by Jack’s wife but did not voice the displeasure on her face. Instead, she filled a syringe with something and then injected it into Penny’s arm. Her begging came to a sad and whimpering end and her eyes halfway closed. She was not quite out of it.

  “Movie time,” Crystal said with sick glee as William started the first video. Penny whimpered but she was too drugged up to do anything more than that. Hearing the whimpers hit Jack in the heart, however.

  “Crystal, stop,” Jack said. “Do not hurt her anymore. I do not want to know what her secret is.”

  “Too late, Jack. You are going to watch this. If you don’t, I will have William kill Penny.” Jack knew he had no choice. Crystal pointed towards the laptop’s screen and giggled.

  The date on the video was from three days before they were reunited. Penny sat bound to a heavy wooden chair like the one Jack sat in but the background was different. She was slumped forward, naked, and drenched in sweat. William entered the picture and yanked Penny’s head back. She was bleeding from the nose.

  “Beck,” was all he said.

  “No,” she replied and he slapped her across the face.

  “Vivi,” he called out and the doctor approached with a full syringe. The video was in color so Jack knew the drug in the syringe was Red. Vivienne was slow in pushing the plunger and as the colored liquid slowly disappeared, Penny’s screams intensified until it was all she was doing. Her voice was so raw and Jack was surprised it still held out considering what he was watching was at the end of the weeks of torture.

  “Please make it stop!” she screamed. “Please!”

  “Beck,” repeated William. “Vivi will give you the antidote if you tell me about Beck. That’s all you have to do,” he explained and petted Penny’s matted, short hair. It was very creepy to witness and Jack wanted to look away but he knew if he did, Penny was dead. Even in his anger, he didn’t want to be the cause of her death.

  Another scream boiled in her throat and she thrashed in the chair. She began sobbing and struggling to breathe. After another scream that pained Jack, she cried one word.

  “Okay!”

  “Promise?”

  “Promise.”

  “Give her the antidote,” William said to his partner and within a few moments of a clear liquid entering the IV, Penny stopped screaming and collapsed against the back of the chair. She was exhausted and crying. “Now, my Pretty Penny, who is Beck.”

  “He was my mommy’s boyfriend,” she replied in the childlike voice. “Mommy and Daddy were never married. I was a bastard so she found Beck.”

  “Was your mother in love with him?”

  “Yes. In love with him and his money. She would do anything for him. She would give him anything.”

  “Did you like him?”

  “It didn’t matter if I liked him,” she answered. “As long as Mommy was happy, that’s all that mattered.”

  “You said she would give him anything. Isn’t that right?” Penny nodded and her crying intensified a level. “What was the thing he wanted most of all?” She shook her head and kept quiet. William slapped her. “You said you would tell me. If you go back on your word, Penelope, I will kill Jack.” Jack’s stomach cramped with these words. It was a terrible threat for Penny and on the video she snapped her head up.

  “You can’t kill him. He has to get back to his children. His children need him. He is such a good papa. Don’t kill Jack,” she begged.

  “I won’t as long as you tell me what Beck wanted, what your Mommy gave him without even a thought.” Again, her crying upped a notch. “Penny, what did Mommy give Beck?”

  “Me,” she replied. “He wanted me and she gave me to him.”

  “Why did he want you?” Penny shook her head again but kept talking.

  “He wanted to have sex with me.”

  “And did Mommy know this?”

  “Yes.”

  William crouched down in front of Penny and touched her cheek. The action angered Jack as he watched. “Penny, how old were you when Mommy gave you to Beck?” Penny remained silent and William slapped her again. “How old were you?” he demanded.

  “Nine,” she cried.

  “No,” Jack breathed and looked over at Penny on the exam table. She had just enough wits about her to understand what just happened and she turned her head away from Jack and cried quietly. Crystal jerked Jack’s head back in the direction of the laptop.

  “We’re not done,” she warned.

  “Crystal, please. I know enough. Do not make me watch anymore.” It was his turn to beg but his wife denied him.

  “You will watch it all.”

  “Nine years old,” William said on the video. “Beck was a pervert, wasn’t he?”

  “Yes,” Penny answered him with a sniffle.

  “How long did this gift last?”

  “Until a few months after my twelfth birthday.”

  “Why did it stop then?”

  “I became pregnant,” she cried. Jack sucked in his breath at this revelation. In fact, his breath was stolen by all the revelations and he felt the anger towards Penny dissolve. Her own mother had allowed her boyfriend to molest Penny. And then he impregnated her.

  “Then what happened?”

  “Beck was mad and he made Mommy make a choice.”

  “And that choice was?”

  “Either me or him.”

  “And she chose?”

  “Him. She dropped me off at Daddy’s house.”

  “And how did he take having his knocked up twelve-year-old daughter show up?”

  “He was mad. Very angry. He called Mommy but she said I was his problem now and…” Penny’s voice faltered.

  “And what, Penny?”

  “She lied to him about how I got pregnant. She said I slept around with older boys and didn’t even know who the father was. I did know; it was Beck. Mommy threatened me that if I told Daddy the truth, she would send Beck after Daddy and kill him. Daddy didn’t want me and tried to give me back to Mommy but then she and Beck were arrested for money laundering. Mommy took the fall for Beck and that’s why she went to jail.”

  “Pregnant at twelve,” William repeated. “What happened to the baby, Penny?”

  “I had just turned thirteen. It was a few days later and I went into labor but there were problems. When the baby came out, she was dead.”

  “Awe, that’s so sad,” William said with his fake sincerity. A memory jolted into Jack’s mind. He remembered Penny’s reaction to him telling her about Ellie’s birth. He had thought her reaction was just out of general shock when he told her that Ellie wasn’t breathing when she was born but now he knew why her face had gone white and she had to sit down on a nearby chair in the NICU at the hospital. She had just lost a baby five years earlier. “What happened then?”

  “I started bleeding a lot and the only thing the doctor could do to save my life was give me a hysterectomy.”

  “Did Daddy ever find out how you were knocked up?”

  “No, never.” Jack now understood the reason why she tried so hard to get her father’s attention. He died not knowing the horrific truth and he died never loving his own daughter which was all she wanted.

  “So no more babies for Pretty Penny. But you have Jack’s babies to take care of and from what I’ve heard, you are a most excellent nanny.”

  “I love his children.”

  “You love Jack, too. Right?” Penny nodded. “I know you’ve kept this secret away from him. You don’t want him to know and I don’t blame you. It’s terrible what happened.”

  “I never want him to find out.”

  William stood up and petted Penny again. “I can’t promise it won’t slip, Penny.”

  “No, please, don’t tell him,” she begged like a child. “I don’t want hi
m to know at all. I’m so ashamed.”

  “Then I’m going to have to have something from you to keep me quiet, Penny.” William nodded off camera and Landon came into view. “Penny, to keep your secret safe, you’ll be going with Landon now. You’ll let him do whatever he wants. Understand? He’ll have three days with you.” Penny looked at the two men and she nodded as her crying grew worse. She had made the choice to let Landon rape her to keep Jack from knowing about her childhood and the baby. Jack couldn’t help but let a few tears go. Crystal laughed at him and slammed the laptop shut.

  “Your Pretty Penny is nothing but a whore,” she sneered.

  “Get the fuck off of me, Crystal,” he demanded. A look of evil crossed her face again and she slapped him.

  “Still demanding, I see,” she replied but did remove herself from Jack’s lap.

  “You are sick and a sadist.”

  “I’m just watching my back,” she said simply. “I have my own interests to protect. That’s why I’m going to these lengths. That’s why I’ve gone to great lengths in the past.”

  “And all for money,” Jack spit out.

  “Money makes the world go round, Jack. You should know that.” Crystal walked around and around the chair, her steps slow. Jack’s mind was both spinning like crazy but also sluggish from the information overload. There was something that confused him. If Penny had been forced to continue the abusive relationship with Shane, why did he break the relationship off with her? He voiced that question and wondered if Crystal had an answer. She did not let him down. After all, she was the maniacal mastermind of this hell.

  “Shane was pissed about that but it was my idea,” she explained. “As you know, Penny’s a good fuck and it was nice to know Shane had someone else to play with when he needed a more… sadistic experience. Shane was a tender lover to me but he also had a dark side and dark needs I wasn’t willing to participate in. Penny had no choice. You should see the tapes Shane made, Jack. He loves to watch over and over what he did to her, what he made her do. And so do I. You call me a sadist but Shane is one through and through, just like his half-brother here, William.” Now Jack knew how Crystal found the madman. “Shane and I were already formulating this plan by that time and thought it best to distance him from you and Penny. The beating Shane gave her that night he dumped her was a warning, however, of who she was dealing with and a reminder to keep her mouth shut.”

  “And that is why she would not press charges,” Jack deduced.

  “Exactly.”

  “But you said this hell we are going through is because I wanted to retire. I had not made that decision until right before the kidnapping.”

  “True, but even though I wasn’t around much, I knew you were changing. Natalya was my little spy in the family. You became stingier with the money and I knew I had to start thinking of something to keep the money rolling in. It had been awhile since the last record so I wasn’t sure if the new album would sell up to my financial expectations. I know the business and unless you’re a teeny bopper idol, it’s difficult for traditional rock and roll bands to sell crazy amounts of albums. I figured by adding a little drama I could ensure more people would buy the album. Originally, this was just supposed to be a harmless two-week ordeal for just you but then Tony told Shane you were going to retire and I had to make sure the money continued for quite a while. That’s why I have you make those videos. Every time one is released, there’s a spike in album sales which, in turn, increases the press inquiries. It’s amazing how many outlets will pay for an interview. And if I include our little snots? I can count on being paid double or triple.”

  “What?” Jack asked. “What are you doing with my children?”

  “Celebrity kids sell, especially when Papa’s been kidnapped and harmed and forced to make humiliating videos showing just how awful he’s being treated. The money, my money, is rolling in.”

  “How dare you?” he growled.

  “How dare I? How dare you fuck Penny? Once William told me Penny was with you that night I kicked you out of the lodge, I decided to keep her alive because it pissed me off you turned to her once again. She deserves what William and his team have done to her. She deserves to have her freedom and security taken away. She deserves the pain and humiliation. Then I started reading your journals and I saw the entry about that weekend. I needed to know what went on at the cabin, needed to know if you two were more than just friends. I can’t believe you two-timed me!”

  “Seriously?!” he yelled. “You have been fucking Shane for years and you are mad at me for making love to Penny twice? You are fucking crazy!” Crystal slapped him twice. He didn’t feel the pain; he was too angry.

  “You were always so righteous about marriage, saying you wanted to emulate your own perfect parents and yet you go and fuck the help.”

  “Shut up!” Jack shouted. “Penny is not just the help.” Crystal slapped him two more times.

  “I know she’s not just the help to you and I hate that! I’ve always hated that! You were always so close and after the accident you were there for each other but you weren’t there for me.”

  “Because you ran off to Atlantic City and did not want to talk!” Jack countered. “I tried, Crystal, I did but you did not want anything to do with me or the children. I tried all the time. Penny and I only started talking at night while I was on tour because you refused to have your sleep disturbed. She cared to listen to me and after the accident I needed someone to talk to because I just buried two children. You were nowhere! Were you fucking Shane?!” Crystal slapped him again.

  “Don’t blame me.”

  “Do not blame you? This is all your fucking fault!” Crystal picked up the billy club that still lay on the floor and knocked Jack unconscious.

  * * *

  Chapter 32

  Hours later, he lay in a heap on the cold floor. Jack was shaking and probably in shock at what he just endured. When he came to after Crystal knocked him out, Vivienne took her maniacal butane torch to his left forearm, explaining why he had been bound so specifically so many hours earlier. Jack screamed as the sadist took her time burning off the name of each child. When she finished, he was soaked in sweat and his own urine. The pain had been more intense than he ever felt before and he had no choice but to lose control of his own bladder. His forearm was left in tatters of blood, blisters, and charred skin.

  Jack then was unlocked and strung up in a pair of manacles that hung from the ceiling. It was Penny’s turn to be a witness of torture as she was forced to hear Jack beaten for two hours. She was still sluggish from the sedative but it did not stop her from begging William and his crew to stop. They beat his entire body with a variety of instruments from bare hands to rubber hoses to thin canes that felt as if they were cutting him in two. No part of his body was spared as they aimed at his back, legs, chest, and even his genitals. The last thing they did was use the thin canes again on the soles of his feet until blood dripped from them. His voice exploded in agonizing screams as each hit bit into the sensitive skin.

  The pain was so intense he grew numb after they lowered him to the dirty floor and removed the manacles. It was an odd sensation but when he tried to move even just a slight inch, the numbness disappeared to be replaced by white hot pain. Through the entire beating and torture, Crystal watched with a sick smile on her face, often jeering at Penny and her desperate begging. This just humiliated Jack even more.

  “That was for two-timing me, Jack,” she said calmly.

  “Please, no more,” he begged with shame in his voice. He just couldn’t take any more pain. He’d been tortured for two hours and couldn’t take another minute and Jack realized at that moment how much stronger Penny was than him. She endured weeks of torture and he barely made it a few hours.

  “Don’t hurt him anymore,” slurred a weak voice. It was Penny. She was still begging for him, still trying to keep him from being hurt.

  “Don’t ever tell me what to do,” Crystal replied and smacked Penn
y in the head.

  “Please, Crystal, just let us go,” Jack said. “Look at what you are doing to us.”

  “Shut up,” Crystal ordered.

  “Think of the children,” he continued out of dire necessity and crawled over to Crystal. “They have got to be hurting so much. Why would you want them to go through this? They are just children, innocent children. Please, for them, just end this.” Jack rose up to his knees and reached for Crystal’s hand. “Please.” All she did was spit on him. Jack felt lower than dirt.

  “So, there you have it, Jack,” Crystal said, looking down at him. “Happy? You know the secret Penny was desperate to keep from you and you know why you’re in this hell.” She crouched down and touched his bearded cheek. Her touch felt like sharp ice to him.

  For several moments, they stared at each other. Jack looked upon the woman who was such a stranger to him now. He did not know who she was anymore.

  Crystal removed her hand and stood up.

  “I’ll be leaving now,” she said “I won’t be back.”

  “What happens next, Crystal?” Jack asked. His voice was sad and rough. He was spent. Crystal mulled his question.

  “For you two, you’ll be tucked away from the world. Your videos and your children will continue earning me the bucks but for tonight…,” she said looking off in the distance. “I feel like going dancing.”

  TO BE CONTINUED...

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  End Notes

  [1] brother

  back

  [2] Make it work back

  [3] Son of a bitch back

  [4] Yes

  back

  [5] Shit