Richards was enjoying the pleasure of Maggie’s company tonight. Not his regular mistress, but he was in the mood for a redhead.
Knock, knock, knock, knock. “Maggie, be a doll and get the door while I get another bottle of wine.” “Okay, Tommy.” Barely covered with a silk robe that wasn’t even hers, Maggie went to answer the front door. That’s right, Richards had no shame; he gave her one of his wife’s silk robes. He couldn’t be seen buying women’s under things.
“Hello, can I help you?” An older man in a suit with his tie loose and rumpled, like he had been pulling on it, stood at the door. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me?” he said.
“Excuse me?” Maggie snapped back, changing her stance and putting her hand on her hip.
“Move to the side, honey,” he said as he pushed his way through the door. “Tomas! Tomas!” he yelled.
Richards came storming into the room. Holding a bottle of wine in one hand and waving the other in the air. He
recognized the voice of Edward Johnson his manager. “What the fuck, Ed? Why are you barging in here yelling?”
“‘Cause you’re a fucking idiot, that’s why?”
“What are you talking about?” “Come here, come here, let me show you.” Edward had been to the house several times and knew his way around. He walked farther into the house, heading for the TV room with Richards and Maggie behind him. He went over to the side table and picked up the remote, turning on the TV to a news channel.
Richards heard the voice of
Anchorwoman. “And our top story tonight; allegations have been brought up against Senator Tomas Richards. Richards, who has been known for his firm stance on issues concerning women’s rights, domestic violence, and child abuse. Senator Richards has been known as an upstanding family man during his tenure as a Senator and his most recent campaign for reelection. Allegations of bribes, kickbacks, prostitution, drugs, and even a charge of conspiracy to commit murder have surfaced. Signed testimonies from witnesses and interviews with alleged victims have been brought forward. We tried to contact Senator Richards for a statement on these
allegations, but received a no comment from his long time campaign manager Edward Johnson. We were, however, able to get a statement from Mrs. Richards’s attorney; Mr. King made this statement earlier today: ‘Mrs. Richards has known for some time of her husband’s extra marital affairs. She did not, however, have any knowledge of his criminal activity and at present has no financial ties with her husband Senator Richards. Mrs. Richards was convinced that the Senator was not going to stop his affairs, so quietly and privately, as to not attract attention and upset her family, she started divorce proceedings before she left for abroad.’ We were also able to get a brief interview with one of the alleged victims Stacy Whitmore.”
Stacy: “Yes, I was Tomas’s mistress for two years. I’m not proud of that, but I was young and in love. I came to Tomas one day and told him that I was pregnant. He told me to get rid of it, or he would. I refused to abort my child. Three days later, I was involved in a hit and run. I miscarried; however, the police were unable to get any information, witnesses or leads on the car that hit me. Even the surveillance tapes from some of the surrounding businesses had nothing; they had either gone missing or malfunctioned. When I told police that I suspected Tomas, they said they would follow up, but they never did.”
Anchorwoman: “We’ll have more testimonies and information for you as the news breaks.”
Ed clicked the remote, turning the TV off. Richards was standing there, still staring at the blank TV.
“What the fuck did I tell you? Never leave any trace; never leave a paper trail that anyone could pick up. I also told you how you planned to handle Stacy was stupid and not to do it. You did it anyway. Now, it’s biting you in your ass. I was on the phone with the news on my way over here. I can guarantee news vans will be surrounding your house within the next thirty minutes. And, you have this tart in your house when your wife is gone. How are you going to get her out of here when you’re surrounded?”
Maggie, obviously more beauty than brains, asked a very stupid question. “You don’t want me to leave, do you, Tommy?”
“Maggie, get dressed and get the fuck out now.”
“But—”
“I said now damn it!” Richards yelled.
Maggie huffed, flipped him the bird, and turned to leave. Edward ran his hand through his thinning grey hair and yanked on his tie again. “How they got all this together without me getting wind of it, or how they got so many so called victims to give statements all at one time I don’t know.”
“Calix,” Richards replied, “it had to be Calix; he’s the only one, next to his uncle, who could dig all this up. It might have even been his uncle. I knew there was some scam in the works when he pushed for Carol to leave with his mom. Carol started going over there all the time. When she said they were leaving early, she didn’t tell me the truth about why. I can tell when she lies. But she said they would be back before the wedding. She said Maria didn’t want to stay in Italy that long after all, and that the wedding would give her an out without offending her family. That lying bitch! She had to know,” Richards fumed.
“Tom, I’m sorry, but there is no way out of this. When they asked for my comment, they told me they have over forty different charges against you and even more notarized statements and witnesses to investigate. We’re a sinking ship, and I hate to do this, but I’m not going down for you. It’s every man for himself; I already called my lawyer to cover my ass. I came here as a heads up, for all the years we’ve worked together. Sorry, Tom.” Edward took a deep breath and started to leave.
Richards was stunned for a minute. But then went after Ed. “Ed! Ed, you can’t leave me now,” he called as he went after him.
“Sorry, Tom, get a lawyer. I’ve been telling you for a few years now to calm down, slowdown, be careful. You don’t listen!”
“Get a lawyer? What do you mean get a lawyer? I have David.” “Sorry, Tom, David won’t touch you. I barely got him to agree to take me; he doesn’t want to be tied to this either.” Edward reached the front door, opened it, and paused. He turned to face Richards one last time. “My advice to you is to leave, leave now and fast. Get your passport and run before the paperwork goes through and the news vans and cops get here.” He walked out the door and left. Richards stood there in a shocked silence, still holding the bottle of wine in his hand.
Chapter 23 Calix smiled as he flipped through the news channels. Channel after channel, the story was the same; allegations against Senator Richards were piling up. Every rat was jumping off the sinking ship that was Senator Richards. His longtime manager Edward Johnson had already lawyered up and denied knowing anything about the alleged events along with publicly
denounced Richards. Calix was happy he had kept his promise to Anya. Wedding or not, he gave her what he promised. At least, he did that right. He just hoped she was watching the news wherever she was. He had called his mom earlier, so that they could be prepared if anyone tried to contact Carol.
*** Anya was in the kitchen making a snack when her cell phone went off. Only her mother and Nicole had her number, and Nicole was currently still asleep in her room. She had come home late from work and only intended to sleep for a couple hours but was still sleeping, and Anya didn’t want to wake her.
After wiping her hands on a dishtowel, Anya went to answer her phone.
“Hi, Mom.” “Anya, have you seen the news today?” Carol’s voice had a hint of excitement as she rushed her question.
“No, I’ve been sleeping off and on today. I’ve also been watching North and South on DVD.”
“Turn off the DVD and switch to any news channel; it’s on almost every one.”
“Okay, what am I looking for?”
“You’ll know when you see it.” Anya did as her mother said and turned on the cable. She flipped through a few channels until she came to the evening news.
TV Anchorman: “And
more on our leading story; Tonight, allegations are piling up left and right not only on Senator Tomas Richards but also on his son Dillon Richards, who seems to be connected with his father in several embezzlement and fraud schemes. Wife Carol Richards and daughter Anya Richards have no financial ties with the Senator, and, as we mentioned earlier, Mrs. Richards's attorney made the statement that she had no knowledge of what was going on and had filed for divorce before going abroad. We will keep you updated as new information comes in. Next a petition…”
Anya muted the TV. “Oh my God, Mom!” “I know, over forty charges have been brought against him and more are coming in, witnesses coming forward with notarized statements. People our flipping on your father left and right. Ed even turned on him.”
“Ed? How did this happen?”
“How do you think? I told you about what Calix told his mother.” How could she not know? Only one man has ever threatened her father, and he had promised to do this exact thing as his wedding gift to her. Her mouth slightly dropped opened as she gasped.
“Calix, how did he pull this together so fast?” she breathed. “I don’t know. He called to let us know that we might get calls from the news channels asking me questions, but he never said exactly why. He wanted to make sure that I only let my attorney speak for me and to make sure I didn’t interfere. I am a little upset about Dillon, but, I guess, he has to learn. He’s young yet, maybe
redeemable.”
“Mom, you did your best with him. He chose to follow Dad. So, uhm, you talked to Calix?”
“No, Maria did. I have to be honest with you; I’m a little mixed up as to what to think about Calix.”
“I know.”
“You seemed happy with him.”
“I think I was.” “You know I loved your father once, and I forgave him many times for hurting me. You don’t know this, but he even hit me a couple of times. I started to see that he was never really sincere when he
apologized, and sure as his heart grew cold, my love for him died. Calix seems sincere. You ran out, canceled the wedding, told me, I told his mother, and he still kept his promise to you. A man doesn’t do that unless he’s sincere.”
“Mom, what are you saying?”
“Anya, the night you called crying, you told me the basics of what had happen. I know this is personal and may be hard for you to talk about, but how many times has Calix hurt you?”
Anya was quiet.
“Anya?”
“Just that morning.” “You lived with each other for over two weeks and you were never intimate after that morning?”
Anya was hesitant in answering her mother. What would her mother think of her? Enjoying being with him as she did. But she would never lie to her mother again. That’s how this all got started; Anya had kept the blackmailing from her. If Anya had come forward, things would be different. Then the thought came slamming into her head; would she want things to be different? Her voice was low—soft— possibly even timid. “We were intimate every day, sometimes more than once.”
“But, you said he only hurt you that first morning.” Anya cleared her throat as it had cracked when she started to speak. “Yes, only that morning. Every time after that… I–I don’t know what or how to say it. I didn’t stop him, but then I didn’t want him to stop. And, though I told myself I should not be enjoying it, I enjoyed every time we were together. I even–uhm–started us going a few times.”
“So, then for you to have been with him, wanting him and enjoying being with him, you had to have forgiven him for that morning. Anya, when you called that night you were frantic and upset. You told me the basics of what had happened, and I reacted automatically, trying to protect you. I thought you were scared of Calix and Vito hurting you, hurting me. That’s why I suggested such drastic measures. Now, Anya, I want you to be honest with me. What upset you that night, what scared you? I know my daughter, and I did not raise you to be meek. I raised you to be stronger than I was, to not fear the way I did. Given your father and brother, you had to be strong. If you were really scared, thinking Calix would hurt you again, I know you would have run sooner and taken me with you, since you thought I was in danger. So, what was really bothering you that night?”
“I don’t know, I just kinda panicked and snapped. I ran without thinking.” “I’m going to give you my thoughts and insight, and then I’m going to let you go. It’s really late over here, but I really wanted you to know what was happening with your father. Standing back and seeing the whole picture after talking to you and Maria, I think you are attracted to Calix. But, because of your father, you don’t trust men, and I don’t blame you. Calix and your father making that stupid deal just confirmed your beliefs about men. And, with Calix doing what he did that morning, it just added more fuel to the fire. He hurt you, and you hated him because of it. No one would blame you for that. However, deep down you were attracted to him, that’s why every time after that morning, and even that morning, probably, you enjoyed being with him. After you took that pregnancy test you were disappointed, weren’t you?”
Carol waited for an answer, but Anya didn’t give one, so she continued. “I think that when it hit you that you were disappointed about the test, you used what happened in the beginning as a reason to run, which again no one would blame you if that was your real reason. Although if that was the reason, again I think you would have left sooner. I really think you ran because some how you fell in love with him, and you are scared to be in love, not only because of how things went with your father and me, but also because you feel you shouldn’t love him with the way things started between you. Not every man is a Tomas Richards. Some men do make mistakes, but they sincerely repent, learn, and never make that mistake again. From talking with Maria, I’ve learned that Calix has never hurt a woman in his life, and she still doesn’t understand how that happened with you. She asked Calix, and his only answer was that he wanted you so much and when you didn’t return his affection, he shattered. He said that you affect him like no one ever has. Don’t be afraid to love, Anya. Without love, you wither and die inside. I love you, baby girl, think hard about everything, I’ll talk to you tomorrow. Goodnight.”
“Goodnight, Mom.” When she hung up, she dropped her phone on the couch and plopped herself down next to it. She had a lot to think about.
Chapter 24 Anya sat and thought about her conversation with her mother. Then she stopped and noticed that she had been toying with her engagement ring while she was thinking. What did it say about her that she didn’t take the ring off and that the thought had never come to her about taking it off or sending it back to him or that even on the night she left that she didn’t throw it at him? Her mother was right, there were deeper things hiding just below the surface. Was she ready to face them? She didn’t know.
Nicole woke up and came walking out of her room, yawning. “What time is it?” Anya, lost within her thoughts, didn’t seem to notice or hear Nicole. Seeing that Anya was far off in her mind, Nicole raised her voice trying to get her attention.
“Anya? Anya?” Anya started blinking rapidly as she came back to the present. “Hmm? Oh sorry, Nicole, I was just thinking.”
Nicole walked over to the futon and sat next to Anya. “What about?” “Oh, my mother called, and we had a long conversation. She also told me about this.” Anya raised the remote and flipped through the channels again to find a news station that was replaying the story on her father and brother. She finally found it playing on the twenty-four hour news channel. Anya turned up the volume and told Nicole to watch. Both girls sat and watch as the anchorman went from the beginning of the story to their newest updates on the situation. Nicole’s mouth dropped open in shock and awe.
“Oh my God! Anya, how did this happen?” Nicole’s voice was a little high pitched with her surprise.
“Calix,” Anya said simply.
“Calix did this?” She turned to Anya for confirmation. “I told you, didn’t I? About what his wedding gift to me was, that morni
ng when he threw my demands away, not agreeing with any of them. I asked for one last thing; to get my mother away from my father, and he said that would be his wedding gift to me. My mom mentioned that Calix warned her about press that may be calling her because of my dad. She and I didn’t have even an inkling that what he was going to do would be so, s…I don’t know.”
“Final, permanent, kick ass. I’m sorry but I am loving Calix right now. Hey, can he do the same thing to my dad?”
“Nicole, focus, what do I do now?” “Whatever you want. Your dad will be tried, convicted, and locked up
eventually. He should be arrested and charged soon. Don’t know if they’ll keep him in custody till the trial or not. Depends on the Judge and charges. Also depends on when the arrangement is set and all that legal mumbo jumbo. Your mom and you will be free. Wonder if Dillon will get probation or actual time, since there aren’t that many charges against him. Although, charges are still coming in. Hey, do you think Calix will be expecting you to come back and marry him?”
“My mom didn’t say anything, and Calix has been talking to Maria, so I don’t think so.”
“Then why would he do this if the wedding’s off?”
“I think to just show me that he would keep his promise to me.” Nicole turned and grabbed Anya by her shoulders and shook her a little. “Anya, this man loves you. How can you not see that?”
“He didn’t start off loving me, and he’s never said it.” “Okay, so I’m one hundred percent against abuse, but, from everything I’m getting, you hurt him, which is something he is not used to and acted out by hurting you. Which I in no way agree with, but everything after that, all his actions show that he has feelings for you, real feelings. No matter how much you try to reason against it, you have feelings for him too. If he had been a true bastard, he would never have let you leave; he would have hunted you down, and he would have taken your reneging on him out on your mother and father regardless of anything his mother says.” She let go of Anya and huffed out a breath of air. “Did the lab call?”
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