UNMASKED: Sequel to Behind the Mask

by Heather Carnassale

  She paused to finish off her glass of wine then said, “It was when we arrived at the apartment building and stepped into the elevator that my memory came flooding back.”

  A hushed silence filled the room.

  “It was just the two of us, and all of a sudden it hit me; Liam was the masked man I had been locked inside of the vault with. But I didn’t let on to him that I figured it out, so when the doors opened, I hurried off and feigned being sick,” she said. “And the instance I got inside my apartment, I grabbed my laptop and brought up that grainy bank surveillance video of the five masked men, the video I had studied a million times and always focused on the tallest man, well I realized why he always stood out to me, he was the one in the vault,” she said. “It was Liam.”

  Warren abruptly stood up and barged out onto the balcony. Penny immediately looked at Remi. “He just needs some fresh air.”

  “Maybe you should take a little break,” suggested Beth. “Mom, I just want to get this all out,” she replied. Beth wrapped her arms tightly around her daughter and embraced her. “I know sweetie, but give yourself a minute to breathe,” she said. Penny followed Warren outside to get him to come back in. Remi spied Marlene and her dad chatting in the corner, while Olivia stood off to the side, by herself. Lying to her was something Remi deeply regretted and knew it had ruined their relationship. Olivia would never forgive her.

  Once Liam’s parents were back inside, Remi once again took the spot in front of her audience and told the rest of the story. “Even though I was almost positive Liam was the masked man, I played it cool with him for about a day, just to be sure,” she said. “Then I came up with a ploy to get him to come over to my place, and my plan was to confront him and get him to confess.”

  “Did he?” asked Marlene. Remi just smirked. “Yeah, after I pointed a gun at him and produced the ski mask.”

  Tony smiled with fatherly pride, knowing the gun he had purchased for her had been worth the investment. “Of course, Liam wasn’t concerned about me shooting him, he was more worried about me accidentally shooting myself,” she said, chuckling at the irony. “I had forced Liam to put the mask on, and I remember the moment he slipped it over his head and down his face,” she said then sighed. “It was surreal.”

  “I was so angry at him, but once he started to tell me everything about the day of the heist, and how he had remembered every word that I spoke and every action I did while inside the vault, I began to see things differently,” she said. “And then he explained about carrying me to the exit and making sure that I was safe, how could I turn him in?”

  Remi focused her attention towards Olivia. “When someone saves your life, regardless of the situation, you feel indebted to that person, so I chose not to call the police, but in return, I made Liam promise he’d leave Philadelphia.”

  “Which he obviously didn’t,” Olivia snidely commented. “No, but he had a very good reason,” said Remi. “He was still concerned that Charles was a threat to me, so he made it appear that he had moved out, by packing up and physically getting out of the apartment, but what he did was just rent an SUV, park it out here in the lot and keep watch.”

  “Keep watch?” asked Beth.

  “Yeah, he umm, kind of lived inside of the SUV for a couple of days, all the while making sure I was okay,” explained Remi. “Which Liam’s instincts were spot-on, because one night he noticed a suspicious looking man attempting to break into the building and when Liam confronted the man, the two got into a fight, and the man ended up slicing a four-inch gash into the lower left section of Liam’s stomach.”

  Though most had known about the wound, many didn’t know the extent of the injury. “Of course, Liam being quite resilient, was able to bust the guy’s nose before all was said and done, though I think Liam got the worst of it,” she said. Remi then explained that Liam didn’t have his cell phone on him at the time and was too injured to go too far, so he had sought her out for help. “I immediately knew something was wrong because he sounded weak and vulnerable, which was very unlike Liam, so I let him into my apartment and did the only thing I could think to do,” she said. “I helped him.”

  Hearing that warmed Marlene’s heart because she always felt his unwillingness to open up to anyone and how he stubbornly kept people at bay, would make it impossible for him ever to be cared for or loved by someone. “Liam was a mess, he had a cut on his face, but initially I had no idea just how badly injured he was. He hid the severity from me. All he kept saying was that he just needed to rest. Therefore, I let him seek refuge on the couch, but it didn’t take long to notice the immense amount of blood on his t-shirt, that I knew wasn’t from the superficial cut on his face,” she said. “He reluctantly lifted up his shirt to reveal the gash, and it was then I realized he needed more than what I could offer him. I feared he’d bleed out or there might have been major damage or the wound would get infected, so I called a friend who happened to be a student doctor and told him I needed his help.”

  Remi neglected to admit that the unnamed doctor was Scott. Nor planned on fessing up, as she decided protecting his identity was the right thing to do. Though, Tony and Beth quickly deduced whom their daughter was referencing. “Liam wasn’t too thrilled that I had gotten outside help but he had no choice, the wound needed to be stitched, and he refused to go to the hospital, so I made an executive decision,” she said, smirking quite proudly, which provoked a grin from Warren who seemed impressed that Remi was able to take control of a situation, especially one that involved his hardheaded son. “My doctor friend was able to thoroughly clean out the wound, seal it with sutures, and gave him antibiotics,” she said, as she briefly closed her eyes, envisioning Liam lying on her couch, helpless. That night had changed everything between them because it was the first time, Liam needed her. She sighed with content, louder than intended, her intense love for Liam visible to everyone in that room but Olivia appeared as if she could care less. Her disdain for him lingered as Remi’s trip down memory lane went on. “After Liam slept a while and rested up, he finally entrusted me with the entire story and showed me the diamonds,” she said, purposely avoiding looking at Olivia. “Obviously you all know what happens next, which was the shooting at the warehouse,” she said. “But you need to know that Liam had no idea that I was following him that night, I went there on my own volition because I was worried about him.”

  Tony immediately chimed in, “What the hell were you thinking putting yourself at risk like that?”

  The logic was screwed up, Remi completely understood why her father would question her not-so-smart actions, but at the same time, she wondered if he had been listening to anything she’d been saying. “I guess I didn’t think,” she replied, sensing his disappointment in her.

  “Anyway, that night Liam had thought the meeting was with Charles. However, he found Tom there instead, who was hellbent on revenge. He wanted the diamonds and wanted Liam dead, which he almost succeeded in pulling off. It was obvious it wasn’t Charles who had sent the guy to the apartment building that night, it had been Tom, because he knew exactly where Liam’s injury was,” she said, slightly shivering remembering how that all played out. “And having that knowledge, gave Tom the upper hand when he and Liam fought because he was able to inflict a lot of damage to the wound.”

  Remi shook her head, still unable to believe it herself while telling how Liam’s gun fell out of reach. “He was helpless, and in pain, he dropped to his knees, and that’s when and Tom stuck the barrel of his gun right at Liam’s forehead and had him right where he wanted him,” she said as she noticed tears welling up in Penny’s eyes. “But the one thing Tom hadn’t counted on was me showing up,” said Remi. “The moment he spotted me, with my gun aimed at him, his attention shifted from Liam to me, but before he could pull the trigger, I shot him!”

  Tony and Warren both grinned at the same time. “But I only wounded him, and Liam didn’t know where the shot had come from or that it was me, so when he turned around, an
d saw who it was, of course, his immediate instinct to protect me kicked in because he knew Tom wasn’t injured enough not to try and kill me,” she explained. “Liam motioned for me to run but before I could move, Tom pointed his gun at me, but fortunately Liam managed to grab his gun off the floor and shoot Tom first. Which ultimately killed him.”

  Remi smiled widely. “He saved my life again, but after taking care of him the night he was injured and after distracting Tom long enough to stop him from putting a bullet into Liam’s head, thus began our little dalliance into who could save the other more.”

  That garnered chuckles from everyone in the room, even the hardened Olivia couldn’t refrain from the wryest of smiles, though she tried hiding it by covering her mouth with her hand.

  “Now you all need to know is what transpired after that was all my idea,” she said. “Liam was one hundred percent ready to face the consequences and take full responsibility for his actions, but I wasn’t about to let that happen, so I was the one who came up with the idea of planting the diamonds on Tom,” she admitted to a flabbergasted audience. “Liam was against it. He felt it was a bad idea but I was adamant, and because his stitches had opened up, he was in too much pain to argue with me, so Liam went along with the plan and stuck the bag with the diamonds in Tom’s hand while I called 911.”

  With a forlorn expression beginning to takeover Remi’s face, she turned to Olivia. “I really wanted you to have those diamonds back, but I also didn’t want Liam to get into trouble, and I don’t expect you to understand it or ever forgive me for lying about what I knew, I just wanted you to know the whole story,” she said. “Our story.”

  For the first time, Olivia showed some compassion. “Regardless of what his initial motivations were, he risked a lot for you,” she said. “And I’ve always believed you don’t know what it’s like until you’ve walked in someone else’s shoes, it wouldn’t be fair for me to pass judgment on you when I have no idea what it was like to be a hostage or have my life threatened. Or to have that strong of a bond with someone who would be willing to lay their life on the line for me.”

  Unable to curb the tears, Remi started to cry. “You won’t use any of this against me?”

  Olivia shook her head. “No, but I need time to process all of this.”

  Remi nodded. “I understand.”

  Then unexpectedly, Olivia put her arms around Remi, and while giving her an endearing embrace, she whispered, “I do have to fire you though.”

  Remi couldn’t help but smile because she had seen that one coming a mile away. With a simple thank you for the wonderful opportunity that Olivia had given her, the two women unceremoniously ended their working relationship. Before she left, Olivia told her that she would give her a positive reference if she ever needed one. It wasn’t necessarily forgiveness, but it was close enough. Remi took a minute to gather her thoughts then out of the blue, Marlene asked, “Do you know the meaning of the name Liam?”

  Remi shook her head no. Marlene proudly proclaimed, “It means, strong-willed warrior, guardian, and protector.”

  A single tear trickled from Remi’s eye, as Marlene declared, “That’s our Liam.”

  Remi could barely utter, “It sure is,” because her emotions had gotten the better of her. “I didn’t mean to make you cry,” she said, apologizing. Remi smiled through a barrage of tears then whispered, “I love him.”

  Marlene nodded, “I know you do.”

  Penny hated to interrupt the tender moment, but they had tons of work to do regarding Liam’s case, so they needed to leave, but thanked Remi for generously including them. As Penny grabbed her purse, Tony asked, “What kind of time is Liam looking at?”

  “I’m guessing twenty-five to life,” she replied. “Hopefully with parole, maybe twenty, if he’s lucky.”

  Remi grabbed onto the corner of the kitchen counter, presumably to brace herself from falling over. Tony then questioned about the deaths of Jenna and Wendy and if Liam was considered an accessory to those murders. Remi immediately panicked. “Could he be charged?” she asked. Finally, Warren interjected. “There are reasons why he shouldn’t be.”

  “Such as?” questioned Beth.

  “He confessed to his role in the heist, gave Charles up to the feds, which in turn led them to Mitchell Denton along with the fact that he saved Remi’s life, all of which should give him immunity when it comes to their deaths,” he explained. Remi mumbled under her breath, “But not enough to keep him out of prison altogether.”

  Warren had to gently remind her that Liam wasn’t innocent he just decided to do the right thing. She just nodded, as she desperately tried to hold back from just crumbling into a complete mess. Marlene did what most grandmothers would do she comforted the crying young woman by holding her. “Keep your chin up,” she said, sweetly kissing Remi’s cheek. She exuded such compassion and kindness, her bond with Liam was something the two women had in common, which made Remi feel all the more special. Penny said she’d call tomorrow to keep her updated on everything. Remi thanked them all for coming. Warren placed his hand on Remi’s shoulder, and though he thanked her for the invitation, she also got the distinct impression that he was also thanking her for looking out for his son, he just didn’t come out and say it. It had been a 180 from how Liam had described his father or even from the first time she had met him earlier that day. It wasn’t conventional in any sense of the word but found it comforting in some strange way.

  After Liam’s family had left, Beth asked, “Did you eat today?”

  Remi shrugged, which was all her mother needed to get into the kitchen. “What can I make you?”

  She shrugged again. “I’m not hungry.”

  “You have to eat something.”

  Remi knew arguing was pointless, so she agreed on scrambled eggs. As Beth began rummaging through the refrigerator, Remi sat down and asked her parents, “Are you guys disappointed in me?”

  Beth sighed while glancing over at Tony, before responding, “Oh honey, we aren’t disappointed, but we wish you would have come to us and told us what was going on.”

  “I’m sorry,” she said in a hushed tone.

  “We will always love you, no matter what, don’t ever forget that,” her mother affirmed. “I love you guys, too,” she said, smiling as Tony wrapped his arm around her. Beyond worried, Beth suggested, “Why don’t you come sleep at home tonight.”

  Remi appreciated the offer but stressed that she wanted to be by herself. They understood but weren’t happy about leaving her alone. Her dad kept talking about how he still couldn’t believe Liam was one of the mercenaries. In fact, he and Beth were having their own conversation about Liam, but Remi tuned them out as she fell into her own little world. Thinking about the house, Miami, and possibly moving down there. Then, of course, she thought about Liam being in that jail cell. If only this were a terrible nightmare or they were stuck in some alternate universe, and tomorrow she’d wake up, snuggled up next to him, in his king-sized bed, all safe and secure. The moment her mom slid the plate of eggs in front of her, Remi snapped back to reality. She had barely picked up the fork when she told her parents that they could go. Beth sort of shot her daughter a curious look. “I’ll eat; I promise,” she said, knowing what her mom was thinking. “If you need us, any time of the night, we are just a phone call away,” said Tony, as he kissed the top of Remi’s head. “Thanks, Daddy,” she murmured. It took them a few minutes to vacate, as Beth dawdled, not wanting to leave Remi alone. She forced in a few bites of eggs to appease her mom and to speed up their departure. Once they finally left, Remi got what she wanted—to be alone. Of course, it sounded good in theory, but when the sudden realization that Liam was probably never coming back to his apartment or to her, sobered up any buzz she might have gotten from that half bottle of wine she managed to guzzle all by herself. So, as she spotted the bottle still perched upon the counter, she debated if she should just polish the entire thing off. Getting drunk seemed like a good way to numb the pain,
even if only temporarily. After she had taken a swig of the wine, she glanced at the set of keys to Liam’s apartment. With no one to stop her from venturing next door, she grabbed the keys and bottle then quickly ushered out where she soon encountered firsthand, the yellow police tape. It was strapped tightly against the door, frame to frame. Remi took hold of one end, and with total disregard for authority, she ripped it off. Since the investigators obliterated the deadbolts during the search, Remi only needed to unlock the doorknob. The destruction of Liam’s handy work had been a sad sight to behold, just one more brutal shock to her dismal reality. The moment she stepped inside, here eyes popped at what she saw. The apartment looked as if it an F5 tornado had torn through it. The damage bordered on obscene. After standing in the doorway for a few minutes, she turned towards the kitchen, where they had rummaged through every drawer, cabinet, and nook they could find, searching for whatever they could to use against Liam. She instantly thought about all the conversations they had in that kitchen, and the night of Abby’s wedding, where they finally gave into their feelings and kissed.