by Skye, M.
They were lost in each other’s eyes when Alex thought about Allison coming home soon and looking for them. “Baby, can I pass you your robe? Alli will be home soon and I doubt you want her to see us naked,” he chuckled.
“You're right, but you need to put something on too,” she replied and headed over to the dresser.
He took her hand and pulled it up to his mouth to place a gentle kiss on it while they both found something decent to put on. He looked at her adoringly while getting dressed; he couldn’t wait until she was his wife, and had their child. He was also looking forward to them having full custody of Allison, and he knew that day would occur sooner than later.
***
Over at the police station, Ben and his lawyer were in the interview room answering questions about Maria’s murder. “I told you I didn’t kill her! I have barely spoken to her in nearly thirty years,” he exclaimed.
“We would almost believe you if you hadn’t gone to such great lengths to hide your past with the victim,” Vanzetti snarled.
Melissa, who was watching through the two- way mirror with Bianca, was listening with an expression of shock on her face. She couldn't believe what she was hearing; she knew that Ben and Maria had a past, but she never believed he would harm her. “Ben, I would advise you not to say anything further,” his lawyer warned.
“No, I have to respond, they have nothing on me to keep me here. I don’t care what you think you know about me and Maria. You are off base with all these allegations, I would never kill her, I loved her,” Ben yelled with a hint of emotion in his voice.
Vanzetti wasn’t buying any of his story. When he reached in his bag and pulled out the pictures of Maria’s hospital visit before she left Ben, the conversation took a turn for the worst. “Where did you get this shit?” Ben asked and jumped out of his seat.
“Your handy work, now sit your ass down. You did this to her, just like you did this,” he said and pulled out the pictures from Maria’s autopsy.
“I can’t see her like this get those away from me,” Ben said and pushed them across the table.
“No, look at her!” Vanzetti yelled and held the pictures up in his face. Ben’s reaction was not what he expected. When the pictures were directly in his face, he freaked at first, but when he took a closer look, he snatched the pictures out of his hand. He studied the pictures silently for a few minutes and then flipped them over with tears in his eyes.
Vanzetti had to admit that he felt as if Ben did care about Maria, but most crimes this vicious were crimes of passion. He could tell there was something unresolved between them, but he also knew that Ben had a temper that flared out of control. He had seen as much while they searched the house.
“If you care so much for the woman, then why did you beat her almost to the point of being unrecognizable?” Vanzetti asked calmly, trying to inspire Ben to come clean.
“I’ll admit, I did that because she wanted to leave me. I couldn’t let her just leave,” he replied coldly.
“That is enough Ben,” his lawyer said sternly.
Vanzetti was thoroughly pleased with the outcome of the interrogation. Although he did not get the confession he was fishing for, with all the evidence and the documented violent past they established, there was no doubt in his mind that they could secure a conviction. As Vanzetti left the interview room, he flashed both Ben and his lawyer a confident smile; he knew this would be an open- and-shut case.
On the other side, he found Melissa slumped down on the floor, clutching her chest. He had no idea that she was watching the whole interrogation. He could tell it was wearing away at her.
“Mrs. Hanover, I’m sorry you had to learn all of that. I’m sure it was devastating to hear that your husband could be so calculating.” He offered her a comforting hand.
“When can we see him?” Bianca interjected before Melissa could voice a response.
“Just who do you think you are, and what are you doing here?” Vanzetti asked, while sizing Bianca up.
“I am the mother of his only grandchild, and I would like to know if I could see him,” she replied with her hands on her hips.
Vanzetti looked past her and looked to Melissa. “Mrs. Hanover, if you would like to see your husband, You can go and talk to him before we formally charge him.”
Melissa’s thoughts were running a million miles per second, but the last thing she wanted was to see Ben. She felt guilty. All these years, she had the knowledge that Ben was a cold-hearted bastard, but she did nothing to stop him. With all she knew about him, she thought he would never hurt Maria when he had all but admitted his love for her every time they got into a debate.
“She can see him if she wants, but I’m leaving. Lock him up and throw away the key,” she said before leaving the room. As much as Vanzetti wanted to deny her access, he agreed to let her see him. He had seen and heard about her antics and wasn’t fond of her.
“Give me a few minutes to get him out of my interview room and then he is all yours,” he replied and stormed off. After his interaction with her, he suddenly felt as if he was barking up the wrong tree with Ben. During their conversation, Ben had been so insistent that he hadn’t killed Maria, and now he was beginning to believe him.
Bianca sat down and waited patiently; she couldn’t believe all this was happening it felt surreal. When her phone started to ring, she silenced it quickly and sent a text message. It simply said I’ll be there shortly. After about thirty minutes, Vanzetti came back to lead her down a long hallway where she would be able to speak to Ben and his lawyer.
She wasn’t going to be aware the room was bugged. Vanzetti just had a feeling that she knew more than she was letting on and if he could get proof, he could charge her as an accessory. Once she got into the room, she quickly took a seat. When Ben suddenly excused his lawyer, she was caught off guard.
He waited until the lawyer was out of the room and the door was shut before speaking. “Bianca, I want you to look at me and read my lips because what I have to say I can’t say too loudly.” When she nodded her head yes he started talking quietly.
“I want you to take my Allison and leave this forsaken town; there is an account set up for you guys and a house in Vermont.”
“I can’t do that. I won’t,” Bianca said and stiffened.
“I don’t understand, I thought you wanted to keep Allison away from Alex and Meg as much as I did,” Ben said, sounding confused. “You know I never cared for that twit Meg. She is so much like her mother and I never could get past the fact that her mother left me for her useless father. How dare she!” He snapped and banged his fist on the table.
When she began to laugh sinisterly, his expression hardened and he grew irate. “Just what in the hell is so funny?”
“You are old man,” she whispered quietly. “You know you would be nowhere without me, how dare you laugh in my face,” he retorted angrily. “You just don’t get it do you? You hate Meg for what her parents did, but did you ever think about my parents?” Now Ben was thoroughly confused. What could she have meant by that?
He had researched everything about her parents and he didn’t know the people. Her dad, George, was an investment banker in Baltimore and her mother, Rosita, was a loan officer. They both led mostly boring lives. “I bet those wheels are turning in your head,” she said and laughed.
“What is the meaning of all this? You tell me what you're aiming at right now,” Ben demanded.
“I know you looked into my past because I know your type. What you didn’t count on, was that my past wasn’t actually my past. My name isn’t Bianca Leonora, my name is Bianca Leon. George and Rosita Leonora are my grandparents, they adopted me,” she whispered smugly.
“This can’t be! He didn’t have…”
“He didn’t have what Ben?” she interrupted. “He didn’t have other children.”
“Well news flash, he did. Meg isn’t his only child. My mother was pregnant with me when that whore Maria busted up our family.”
“Yes, and now you're going to pay not only for what you did to Maria, but for what you did to my father.”
“I didn’t kill her!” Ben yelled angrily.
“Maybe, maybe not, but they can prove you did, I made sure of that.”
“You did this!”
“No, I merely told them where to find your murder weapon,” she said and stood out of her chair.
“Where in the hell are you going?”
“I’m going back to your house, to gloat with your shrew of a wife over the demise of your reign of terror. You and your little girlfriend ruined our lives, and now we finally have the ultimate revenge. Getting your son will just be an added bonus,” she said and turned to leave.
“I don’t believe you, Melissa would never help you, she hates you,” Ben said harshly.
“You would be surprised what she would sacrifice to get you out of the picture,” she laughed.
“Alex will never love you, you're always going to play second to your little sister with him, just like you did with your father. You know, right before I shot him he begged for me to spare her and Maria. He never once mentioned you or your mother. I bet that still eats at you,” he said and laughed.
“He didn’t know about us! If he had never met that slut Maria he would have been there for us,” she screamed.
“Your pathetic mother couldn’t hold a candle to Maria, much like you to Meg. You will never have Alex as long as she has a breath in her body,” he snarled.
“That’s why she won’t be breathing for long,” she whispered, and abandoned the room.
Ben was in total shock by what she had implied and by what he had admitted. For over twenty-six years, he had kept the secret that he had murdered Richard Leon from everyone but Maria, and now he had openly revealed it in a police station of all places. He knew everything that had gone on there was recorded, but he knew to push her to admit anything, he had to hit her where it hurt.
The truth was that Richard had in fact pleaded for Meg and Maria’s lives before he took his last breath. He would never forget the helpless expression in the man’s eyes for as long as he lived. It was something he could never get past. Every time he looked at Meg he saw Richard’s hazel eyes staring back at him. She was always a reminder of what he had done and he hated her for it.
Once Vanzetti saw Bianca speeding down the hallway, he and Ben’s lawyer slipped back inside the room where he was sitting and closed the door behind them. “Now do you want to work on that plea?” Vanzetti asked knowingly. Ben was in shock by the turn of events, and for the first time in his life he felt powerless. “Ben, we were able to record your conversation with her and with a little surveillance, I think she will lead us to the real killer, but that can only happen if you cooperate.
“I’ll do it, but you have to do one thing for me first. You have to call my son Alex. I need him to know everything and why I did what I did.”
“I’ll make the call to get him here,” Vanzetti said and stepped out of the room.
His lawyer was sitting there, growing more and more agitated by the minute. Ben was going against every shred of advice he had offered and he was sure he was going away for a long prison stretch. He was baffled by Ben’s admission of killing Richard Leon, but he figured it must have been eating away at him for the past twenty-six years.
“Are you sure about all this Ben?”
“I have to do this Broderick. You have known me for many years and you know I have been nothing but selfish. It’s time I paid for my crimes as well. I may not have killed Maria, but there is blood on my hands just the same. None of this would have happened if I hadn’t killed Richard,” he responded.
“How should I spin this? Can we say it was self-defense? Did he threaten you in any way?” Broderick asked, trying to work up a defense.
“No old friend, I did this. He abandoned his wife for Maria, but he was no threat to me. I killed him simply because I was jealous,” he replied quietly. “All these years I have held on to this and showered my resentment on their daughter causing my son to withdraw from my life.”
“So you're simply giving up?”
“I’m just doing the right thing for once in my miserable life. I had no right to take his life or to try to keep Maria in mine. Losing her was my own fault and I should have let her be free to live her life in peace.”
Broderick was thrown by his last statement. “What else did you do?”
“Maria moved away with Richard and then he disappeared. She met Emilio shortly afterward and started a life with him, but I never gave up looking for her. When I finally found her, I moved my family here and pursued her once more. She made it abundantly clear that she wasn’t coming back, but I threatened her. I told her that if she didn’t get rid of Emilio then I would do it for her,” he explained.
“Ben, you didn’t,” Broderick exclaimed in shock.
“I did. I wrecked their family with my jealousy and alienated my family in the process. So you see,
I’ve lost everything because of my obsession with Maria.”
Broderick could see the remorse in the old man’s eyes and felt a little sorry for him. He knew that he had brought everything on himself, but he still had sympathy for his situation. With this new revelation, there was no doubt in his mind that Ben was going to be away for the rest of his life.
Once Vanzetti returned to the room, he told Ben that he could not get Alex to agree to come down. Ben was disappointed, but he understood. He knew Alex would probably never forgive him for the terror he had inflicted on the woman he loved.
He only hoped that he could win Aiden and Matt back, but if he couldn’t, he could at least live with the satisfaction that he protected them. There was no way in hell he was going to let that Bianca do anything else to Alex or Meg, he at least owed them that much. He knew at that point he was going to have to rely on the police to clear him and help Alex and Meg.
He knew they didn’t have any solid evidence to go on, but hopefully she would slip up and then they would have her right where they wanted her. His thoughts drifted to the insinuations she had made about Melissa. He knew she hated him, but he also knew she would never willingly hurt her boys. She loved them more than anything in the world.
While trying to come up with a plan of attack, he thought of Bianca being in the house with Melissa. She had no knowledge of the situation and would be blindsided by anything Bianca might try. “Broderick, you have to get to Melissa before it’s too late, that bitch is at our house,” Ben said with a scared look on his face.
“I’ll call her and get right over there,” Broderick exclaimed and raced out of the room. To his dismay, the phone just rang until one of the maids answered to tell him that Melissa had not been home. When he tried her cell, it rang until he got the voicemail. He took this as a bad sign and decided to get the boys on the line. He knew they would come together for their mother.
Chapter 11
Clearing the Air
“This is so frustrating,” Gio exclaimed as he sat with Maddie looking over some files for work.
“What has you so worked up?” she asked, sounding confused. He didn’t want to say what his real problem was. Before he had met her, he ran into Sean in the hallway on a call that seemed a little suspicious.
He could tell it was a woman on the other end by the way he was talking. He didn’t know how to tell her that he suspected that he was cheating, and with no proof, he didn’t want to say anything and be wrong. “Well out with it.”
“I just can’t get this stuff finished. With Meg working from home, it’s a little difficult for us to finish our reports together,” he lied.
“Well here is a noble idea, why don’t you just drive out to the country and work with her?”
Gio s
hifted his head to the side considering her suggestion and decided to do just that. “Are you sure you will be okay here if I leave?” he asked.
“Yeah I’ll be fine, we are working on different things anyway. I have some things to finish before dinner and you're distracting me,” she said and waved him off.
Gio was glad to be going to see Meg, but he felt bad for leaving Maddie. He wasn’t sure, but he could sense that she felt like something was off with Sean too. He would never admit it to her, but he was secretly hoping they would break up; the last few encounters he had with Sean hadn’t been pleasant.
He always looked so fidgety and nervous. Gio, being the suspicious big brother he was, cornered Sean about his antics. He claimed it was work that had him on edge, but he knew otherwise. He was bound and determined to figure out exactly what it was, and today’s incident only made matters worse.
While Gio was packing his things up, he looked over at Maddie; she didn’t know he was watching her and let out a deep breath. Once again, his protective big brother instincts took over. “I don’t want to hear one word young lady, you're coming with me. Pack your stuff and let’s go,” he demanded.
Honestly, she wanted to get out of that house before she went crazy. Seeing Meg would be a welcomed distraction. “Okay, you twisted my arm. I’ll go,” she said readily. He didn’t think she would agree so easily, which just made him think he was on the right track about Sean.
While in the car, Gio called Meg to be sure she was home and not too busy for their visit and she told them to come by. She sounded distracted, but he decided he would inquire about that once he got there. He knew the transition had been a little rough with that snipe Bianca trying to block their access to Allison.
He was so proud of the way Meg took to Allison. He knew if they couldn’t get along, there would have been no hope for Meg and Alex, but thankfully that wasn’t the case. She loved the little beauty, and Allison loved Meg in return. It was odd though. Allison seemed to not even care when she was away from her so-called mother. He decided that would be a problem for another day.