Mirror, Mirror on the Wall

by Lisa Ann Porter

  Reaching into a candy dish, needing something sweet to take the bad taste of the Chadwicks out of his thoughts temporarily, Stephen said nothing. Sable still had not looked in his direction.

  George continued. “What you don’t know is…” pausing, he glanced at his daughter. “Joseph Chadwick killed my mother,” a choking sound escaped Sable’s trembling lips, “and the only woman I have ever loved, Sable’s mother, my Jennie.”

  Jumping to her feet, Sable started pacing the office for something to do. If she did not, she would start screaming and may never stop.

  Walking to his daughter, George wrapped his arms around her to stop her pacing. Feeling her trembling in his arms was breaking his heart. Gently caressing her back, as he once often did when she was a tiny baby, Sable stopped trembling and started to cry. George’s heart twisted inside of him; he could never stand to hear her cry, and his arms tightened around her.

  Staggered, Stephen looked to Sable and then to George. George continued, “and Joseph Chadwick is Sable’s grandfather.”

  Stephen stood up so fast he knocked over the candy dish. Running his hand over his face, he looked at both father and daughter as if they were from another planet.

  He was so rigidly still, that neither George nor Sable knew what to expect, so George continued. “Stephen, I think it’s time you fill in the gaps that I haven’t been able to obtain about your parents.” Halting Stephen before he could speak, “No, don’t deny it. I have known for sometime something was missing from the information given to me…now…I want to hear it from your own lips. All of it.” His eyes pierced Stephen’s. Time for total truth.

  Knowing that George has always been straight with him, Stephen felt that George deserved to know the truth…all of it. While Sable and George listened silently, Stephen told them about his father’s invention that Joseph Chadwick stole. The invention, which made Joseph one of the wealthiest men in the world, had caused his father’s death.

  Pausing, “You see, my father felt so ashamed; he called himself stupid. Can you believe that? He invented something that revolutionized building and he called himself stupid all because he trusted Joseph Chadwick.” No one said anything. Stephen continued. “That scum was the cause of my parents’ death.” His voice quieted, “And he will pay.”

  George and Sable said nothing. Their hearts ached for Stephen. There was nothing to say that they knew of that would take away the pain. Joseph Chadwick had ruined so many lives.

  When it was all said and done, the three people in the office…George Van Cleef, Sable his daughter, and Stephen Hart looked forward to the pain that they were going to cause Joseph Chadwick.

  Each of them left the office with revenge and hatred burning in their hearts. None of them realized the changes within themselves…all three left the office differently than when they came in.

  The darkness of revenge, hatred, and unforgiveness was slowly eating away their hearts. The hearts they each would need to love again…to live.

  Chapter 29

  The press conference was all George, Sable, and Stephen hoped it would be and more. The reporters were like starving ravishing wolves, and the meal of the day was the Chadwicks.

  Several months ago two bodies were found in the city garbage dump. Their pictures ran in the paper asking readers for any information on the two victims. It was later discovered that the two were reported missing by family members and friends.

  Later, it was also discovered that they both worked with Flesh Films, a subsidiary of Mons Pubis magazine owned by the Chadwicks.

  Further investigations led to the arrest and conviction of Rorlo, real name Fred Dutmery, who in order to save his own skin, sang like a canary and told all that he knew to include whom he worked for, took orders from and reported to—Brad Chadwick.

  Rorlo, Fred Dutmery, was sitting in a state prison for two counts of murder and numerous other charges, was spared the death sentence. He would have gotten it, if he hadn’t given Lt. Brown information on the Chadwicks.

  Joseph Chadwick answered questions about everything from the death of George’s mother, the two bodies found (Amber and Ray), and to just how he came up with the idea that made him millions.

  By the time it was over, public opinion about Joseph Chadwick had changed drastically. Looking at George Van Cleef with pure hatred shining in his eyes, Mr. Chadwick gave all reporters present the photo shoot of a lifetime, and the media loved it. Joseph now knew who George really was, the skinny little kid who once worked for him so many years ago.

  Turning away from the flashing bulbs of cameras being shoved in his face, and the frenzy of questions he was not about to answer, especially to a bunch of bloodthirsty reporters, Joseph briefly stumbled on the podium steps, stopping cold in his tracks. He thought surely that he was seeing a ghost. A young woman, walking up to George, hugged him and then called him Daddy; she looked like she could be his dead daughter, Jennie.

  When she turned, and fully faced him with cold angry eyes, he knew in an instant the child that he was told had died the night of his daughter’s death lived. The child was George’s daughter, his granddaughter, whom he had never laid eyes on until now.

  Stunned tremendously, Joseph stood staring at Sable, unable to move, ignoring his driver frantically pulling on his arms trying to get him to follow him to the car.

  The last thing Joseph Chadwick saw before getting into his limousine were the furiously angry eyes of his granddaughter, haunting him with the face of his dead daughter, whom he had killed in a fit of rage.

  Rage. Rage he had regretted and lived in torment with every day of his life since the night of Jennie’s death. He had been unable to forget that dark chilly night no matter how hard he tried. Painful regret. No matter how hard he tried, he knew in his rage he had killed his own daughter.

  Jennie. He had not said her name out loud since that fateful night. “Jennie,” he finally whispered through trembling lips, as Sable’s face with Jennie’s haunting eyes shimmered through his tormented mind. His only daughter, whom he had loved and cherished, he thought in anguish, always greeted him every day of her life with hugs and kisses. Dead.

  In the back of the dark limousine, no one saw Joseph Chadwick’s tears of grief, as they slid down his twisted anguished face, falling silently, staining his five hundred dollar tie.

  Chapter 30

  The authorities questioning of a high-powered man like Joseph Chadwick, who brought so many jobs to the community, was top headline news for several weeks. The investigation ended with Joseph Chadwick being indicted for the death of his own daughter and for the death of George’s mother.

  The autopsy reports that mysteriously disappeared so many years ago, had just as mysteriously reappeared. It showed that Beth, George’s mother, had put up a good fight, and DNA evidence showed that the skin under her nails, as well as the bloodstains found on her clothing. belonged to Joseph Chadwick.

  Further digging into the Chadwicks’ family fortune unveiled layers of lies, false documents, corruptions and embezzlements, leaving no doubt that Joseph Chadwick stole Stephen’s father’s, Ben’s, invention. Unbeknownst to Joseph, Stephen’s father had drawings of his invention in an old trunk with other family keepsakes.

  Stephen found it after his mother’s death, and knew the drawings were the only evidence he had to prove that Joseph Chadwick had stolen his father’s invention. The Chadwicks’ family assets were frozen on orders by the federal court.

  The FBI launched a major investigation on the Chadwicks; this, coupled with the murders, made Joseph Chadwick newsworthy for months. His many businesses started to crumble, as investors pulled out by the thousands. No one wanted their names connected to the Chadwicks.

  Joseph Chadwick always presented a sense of strong morality to the public; in fact, he was instrumental in putting a local strip bar out of business, saying it was immoral and that children needed to see that morals still exist in today’s society.

  So when global media around the worl
d reported that the Mons Pubis, one of the most popular pornography magazines in the world, was owned by Joseph and Brad Chadwick, and that the two bodies found were employees of the Chadwicks, the Chadwicks’ empire came tumbling down like a house of cards.

  Joseph Chadwick decided to plea-bargain and was sentenced to twenty to thirty years in prison with no hope for parole. Brad Chadwick received twenty-five years for drug racketeering and employing minors to star in his porn movies.

  As Sable read all the gory details from the papers, one thing continued to nag at her, for the first time since hearing about the Chadwicks, she had to meet Joseph Chadwick face to face. She needed to know what kind of man would kill his own daughter. Her father tried to talk her out of seeing Joseph, but Sable would not relent, even Stephen could not change her mind. She had to talk to him.

  Chapter 31

  Entering the prison walls, Sable felt like her whole world was about to change. For as long as she could remember, she had always disliked, even hated, the Chadwicks because of what happened in college between her and Brad. And just think, the creep was her uncle.

  As she sat waiting for Joseph to enter the visitation room, she was wondering what she was going to say, then Joseph walked in dressed in prison wear. Gone were the designer suits. The Armani shoes. The five hundred dollar ties. He looked like how he treated most people…common. Neither said anything for several seconds.

  Gazing at him as though, if she looked hard enough, she could understand the man behind the orange prison jumpsuit, Sable took in every angle of his features. His eyes. Like her mother, she had his eyes. Momentarily glancing away, she held herself as if she were cold. She was not. This monster is her grandfather, she thought miserably.

  Joseph did not say anything as Sable gazed upon him like a scientist observing a lab rat. He almost felt like one. Staring at Sable, unable to deny what he was seeing, for she looked every bit of Jennie, down to the stubborn chin that used to anger him when she would openly defy him.

  Taking a seat across from her, “Well…” Joseph said, somewhat uncomfortable for he could think of nothing else. Sable, looking at him, still said nothing. “You sure look like my Jennie…” He could not keep the amazement out of his voice. “You sure look like my Jennie.” He sounded so sad, she thought.

  She sat there staring at him, unable to speak. Not knowing what to say. Just as Joseph was about to say something else, Sable slowly got up to leave, walking hurriedly toward the exit. She had to get out of there. Away from him.

  She had made it to the door without lashing out at him. Reaching to pull the door open, “No…please…please wait,” Joseph yelled across the room. The on-duty guard’s hands immediately went for his club.

  Standing for a few tense moments with her hands barely touching the doorknob, Sable turned around slowly and looked at the man she had hated for so long. She had no idea what she had expected from this visit. Maybe…closure.

  Looking up at the cracked ceiling, whispering to herself, “This should be punishment enough for what he has done, shouldn’t it? Why don’t I feel better?” asking no one in particular. His voice called to her and made her look at him once more.

  “I know that you have a lot of questions,” Joseph said, his voice full of uncertainty. “I would like a chance to explain—if you would let me.” Pleading, he reached out his hands to her. The guard on duty stepped in front of him, sternly reminding him that physical contact was forbidden.

  Sable said nothing. Turning her back to Joseph Chadwick, she walked out of the visitation room, and the confinement of the prison walls, vowing that she would never come back there again.

  The only thing she remembered clearly about her visit to Joseph Chadwick in prison was hearing him yell for her to come back and her determination not to.

  George was in his office reading the paper when Sable walked in. He could tell the moment she opened the door that she was in pain. As he stood up and walked around his desk, he saw that her eyes had unleashed tears in them.

  George opened his arms to his little girl; she laid her head on his shoulders, and cried, as he had never known her to cry before.

  Chapter 32

  The months following the Chadwicks’ indictments were tough on everyone. George was still haunted by memories of his mother and Jennie. He had carried them around for so long fueling his revenge. Now that justice had been served to Joseph, he wondered what to do next. Until he had the answer, he threw himself viciously into his work. Sometimes he slept in his office for days at a time.

  Stephen, who had been planning his revenge for so long, did not think of what he would do once he had it. Spending much of his time on the beach watching the ocean, wondering what he had to live for now that his parents were truly gone, he realized that he had no family. No close friends.

  Trying to throw herself completely into her work, Sable was plagued with thoughts of having a murderer for a grandfather who had killed her mother. Quickly realizing that overworking herself was not relieving the pain, nor taking away the dark memories, she spent a lot of time at the park sitting on a bench.

  Staring at the ducks in the lake, who had not a care in the world, she wished vehemently that she was one of them. Her wish did not come true. Whenever she would leave the park, life was still waiting for her.

  Lorna had broken up with Nick, who from time to time could be seen standing outside of her hospital room, just staring at the door. Never entering. She was not afraid of Nick, knowing that eventually Nick would leave. He did not love her. She knew it and understood that more clearly now. Their relationship has always been one sided; she just could not…would not…do it anymore.

  Her mother Jean had no idea how to communicate with Lorna. Jean had spent so many years talking at Lorna that she never learned to talk with her. Their relationship was strained.

  Forgiveness was hard. Having had Harry as a father did not help Lorna when faced with her mother. With all she had to come to grips with, having to fight the hatred coursing through her body whenever she thought of her mother was taking a toll on her body. She had a hard time holding down food; she vomited often.

  After sitting on the beach and watching the waves for a couple days, Stephen knew he had to have Sable in his life. He loved her. He loved her very much. He had avenged his parents, though he still felt numb inside; it did not bring him the peace inside that he thought it would. Though he did feel a sense of satisfaction, and a sense of justice, he still felt empty inside.

  He had not smiled in weeks, but the thought of Sable and having her as his wife made a slight smile cross his lips. Who would have thought, surely not him, but he loved her and wanted her in his life. Standing up, he dusted the sand off himself and went to give her a call. With each step he took, his heart pounded loudly, hoping that she would be home and would want to talk to him. Sable was about to leave her office when the phone rang.

  “Hello,” she said, as she was juggling papers from one hand to the next.

  “Hello Sable…how are you?” Sable froze as several sheets of paper scattered to the floor unnoticed; it never ceased to amaze her that his voice had a soothing effect on her senses, while scattering it into chaos at the same time.

  “Stephen…I’m okay; it’s good to hear from you…how are you?” she said breathlessly, quietly.

  There was a slight pause. “I’m well. I needed time to think…I miss you,” he ended softly.

  Sable smiled. It was the first time she had smiled in weeks. “I miss you too,” she said softly, as her once chaotic mind settled into a rhythm with her now pounding heart.

  Stephen knew as he listened to Sable’s voice that she was a part of him. “Sable? Will you have dinner with me tonight? I realize that it is short notice, but if you can…please?” he asked quietly, pleading, and she could not deny him if she wanted to.

  “Yes…I’d like that.” Breathless, she bent to pick up the scattered papers on the floor.

  “Okay…thanks…I’ll pick you up, say a
round 7:30?”

  “That’ll be fine. Could you pick me up at my father’s?” Her voice hopeful.

  “Sure. See you at 7:30 then.”

  “Yes.”

  It was a strange conversation for them both. Neither knew what to expect from the other. Neither one wanted to hang up the phone because they had not talked for days, much less have seen each other since the Chadwicks’ conviction. They both thought of one another, but neither had picked up a phone.

  It was Sable who finally spoke. “Stephen?” She was breathless and excited at the same time. When she did not receive a response, Sable said his name again.

  “I’m here. I just missed hearing your voice. I wanted to hear you call my name again,” amusement ringing in his voice, though he spoke barely above a whisper. She didn’t know what to say or think because her mind had turned to mush from that statement.

  Then after a moment of silence, Stephen told Sable that he would see her at 7:30 and that he could hardly wait.

  Sable felt like Jell-O. The papers she had picked up went scattering to the floor once again.

  Chapter 33

  Later that night…

  Standing at his living room window, George watched as Stephen and Sable drove away from his home. He felt certain that Stephen was going to be his son-in-law. Stephen had the same intense look in his eyes that he had for Jennie.

  Hoping their love for one another would be strong enough to survive the events of the past, George allowed the curtain to fall away. Switching off the lights, shrouding the room in darkness, he walked toward his bedroom in hopes of getting a good night’s sleep.

  After the mist of light rain, the asphalt on the streets was slick as ice. Red, yellow, and green lights flickering from the traffic lights reminded Sable of when she was a child watching the lights from the Christmas parade. It was not until she felt Stephen’s finger running down the sides of her hand that she realized he had spoken.