Circle of Deception

by Skye, M.

  The trip over was quiet, as both parties in the car had things on their mind. Maddie was going over her failing relationship, while Gio was thinking of Maria and how much he missed her. She had always meant so much to him and now she was gone. He just wanted to know why.

  Ben had been arrested for her murder, but something just didn’t sit right with him about that. He knew they had a past, but why would he wait twenty-six years after the fact to exact his revenge? It just didn’t make sense. When they pulled up to the yard, they found that Aiden and Emily were also there.

  For whatever reason, Gio didn’t feel good about this. The call from earlier echoed in his head. The distraction in Meg’s voice and the fact that she didn’t tell them about Aiden and Emily being there all seemed like a bad omen.

  Marisol was quick to open the door once she heard the doorbell. The look on her face said it all as they made their way inside. The living room was filled with loud chatter, but when the stunned faces looked up and saw Gio and Maddie, they grew silent. “What is going on here?” Maddie asked anxiously.

  No one spoke, they just looked at her with angst. Emily seemed nervous, the way she was fidgeting her hands didn’t escape Gio’s radar. “I want to know right now,” Gio demanded. Just when Gio finished his rant, he looked over to see Allison standing on the railing with her tiny hands on her cheeks. He felt horrible for frightening the child and immediately flew into fits of apologies.

  “Come here princess Alli, uncle Gio is sorry about making you sad,” he said and extended his arms to her. When she saw his gesture, she flew into his arms willingly.

  “I’m sorry too, I made everybody mad when I showed them my other uncle,” she replied with tears on her cheeks.

  Meg looked at the frail little girl and felt awful for leading her to believe that they were mad. They were only caught off guard by her revelation. “We are not mad at you sweetheart, you just surprised us that’s all. See look,” Meg said and flashed her a big smile.

  When Allison saw her face, she brightened up. “Now sweetheart, let Marisol take you upstairs while we talk to your aunts and uncles,” Alex said and kissed her forehead. Marisol appeared and took her upstairs, and then descended to run her daily errands.

  “Does someone want to tell me and Maddie who this uncle is that has you all in such an uproar?” Gio asked.

  You guys better sit down,” Emily said and passed them the tablet they were all staring at.

  Maddie was confused by what had them in such an upheaval. “I don’t get it, this is just a picture of all of us. Of course she recognizes her uncles, all three of them are in here,” Maddie said sounding annoyed.

  “No, she wasn’t talking about them, look who else is in the picture,” Alex said.

  “Okay so she thinks Sean is her uncle, big deal, she calls all the guys her uncle,” Maddie replied.

  “Think about it Maddie, she has never seen Sean in person. Ever since she came to town, Sean has made it a point to stay away from us. Haven’t you wondered why?” Alex asked knowingly.

  “He has just been busy with work, that’s all,” she said trying to convince herself.

  “He has been playing us for years, he is sleeping with Bianca, Maddie. Alli said she saw his picture at her granny Rose’s house standing with his arm around her mommy. You even said it yourself that you thought he was seeing someone else,” Meg said sadly.

  “So I’m supposed to just take the word of a five year old? How do you not know that Bianca planted that seed?” Maddie huffed.

  “You can believe her, because I think the same thing. I didn’t want to tell you, but when I arrived at your house, I saw Sean on the phone. The way he acted made it seem as if he was talking to another woman,” Gio admitted.

  “Oh god,” Maddie said, and slid down on the couch.

  Gio quickly rushed to her side and wrapped his arms around her. He looked over and saw Emily, who was still looking rather nervous and started in on her instantly. “Emily, why do I feel like you have more to add to the story?”

  “I don’t think any of it is relevant, I’m just having some old hazy memories,” she said quietly.

  Gio decided to let go of his interrogation of her for the moment and focus on Maddie. When her cell phone rang, she picked it up with shaky hands and looked at it before answering. She saw that it was Sean calling her and dropped it to the floor.

  Gio rushed to pick it up and threw it back in her hand. “You pick this phone up and handle your business,” Gio demanded. “Get him over here now.”

  Feeling rejuvenated by his words, she snatched the phone and answered confidently. They all sat back watching in awe how quickly she flipped the switch and went into battle mode. Maddie was simply amazing throughout the phone call. As much as they knew she wanted to crumble, she held her cool and even talked him into coming out to the house. He promised her that he would be there within thirty minutes, and they couldn’t be more thrilled.

  Finally, they might get the info the desperately needed to get rid of Bianca for good. “That was good work sis,” Gio said and patted Maddie on her back.

  “If it was so good, then why do I feel as if we just made a big mistake?” she asked timidly.

  ***

  “This is a mistake, why can’t we just leave here? Everything is already ruined, we could start fresh somewhere else,” Sean said.

  “We will do no such thing. I’ve helped you immensely over the years and you owe me.”

  “I can’t go over there and lie to Maddie, she will see straight through me,” he replied anxiously.

  “You are going over there, we must keep up pretenses until I can get Alex back,” Bianca retorted.

  “You have to know, Alex will never leave Meg for you. You should cut your losses. Hurry and cash in on that money Ben left you and skip town, it’s your only choice right now,” he said trying to break through to her. The look on her face said she wasn’t taking any of his warnings to heart, and he decided to try to salvage his own life before it was too late.

  “How do I get myself into these situations?” Sean asked himself as he made his way out to his car. He was beyond trying to reason with Bianca. He knew she was severely unhinged from their earlier conversation. His only hopeful feeling came from the fact that when he called Maddie, she seemed to be in a good mood which meant she was none the wiser about his connection to Bianca.

  With any luck, he could push Bianca out of town before any of their sorted past came out. He was cursing himself all the way over for his involvement in everything. He found himself thinking if only he could have handled his behavior better years earlier, then he wouldn’t be in this situation.

  He could tell when he left that Bianca was up to something, but he prayed he could turn it around to his advantage and gain the support of the others. If he had to, he would dime her out to keep himself unscathed. It was never his plan to get so deeply involved, and he still couldn’t fathom why he let it go so far.

  He never meant to stay with Maddie so long or to get so entangled with her family, but there was something about her that drew him in. He was only supposed to be there doing a job, but somewhere along the way he fell in love. For five years, he had kept up this story and he had to admit that he had grown attached to his new life.

  He was comfortable and home free, until the engagement party. When Bianca showed up with Allison, he felt his world crashing around him. The look on her face told him that she knew what she was doing. Was this payback for her plan backfiring, or was she just that miserable that she wanted everyone else to be miserable as well? Regardless of what Bianca’s motivations were, she was wreaking havoc on his perfect little existence. He had worked so hard to get those people to accept him and he would be damned if he let her ruin everything.

  When he pulled into the drive he cursed again to see that everyone they knew was there. He wasn’t sure what was going on, but he had an eerie feeling. When he talked to Maddie, she told him that she was there with Gio and that Emily an
d Aiden were there as well, but when did Melia and Matt show up?

  This little gathering was becoming a three-ring circus, and all he wanted to do was get in there and see where Maddie’s head was. He had to prove his alliance before all hell broke loose. He was sure that Bianca had something more up her sleeve, and he wanted to be there to give them more reasons to doubt her.

  When Gio let him in, he could hear the hushed chatter of his friends and slowly walked over to where Maddie was sitting and placed his hand on her shoulder. She didn’t seem any different, she seemed relaxed and that put him at ease. Once he could fully relax, he slid down on the couch where she was sitting and sparked up a conversation.

  “Melia, Matt, when did you guys get here?”

  “You know, it’s confusing because Broderick called and told us he hadn’t been able to reach mom, but she called us almost thirty minutes ago and told us to meet her here,” Matt replied.

  “Well where is she?” Sean asked while scanning the room.

  “You know our mom, she probably stopped off somewhere. I am a bit worried though,” Aiden said.

  “Why is that?” Sean asked, trying not to sound too eager.

  “Well when Broderick called me, he said there was some things he needed to discuss with us about dad. I don’t know what he could possibly tell us about dad that we would want to hear. I hope they lock him up forever for what he has done to Maria.”

  Sean had been on edge when the conversation started. When he heard their reluctance to speaking with Ben’s lawyer, he felt his confidence return. “Yeah I know what you mean, how could he do that to such a sweet woman,” Sean said.

  Gio had been watching Sean closely and noted that he seemed to get nervous when Ben’s lawyer was brought up. He knew then and there that Sean was hiding something major. He hated himself for thinking this, but maybe Ben didn’t kill Maria, maybe he was telling the truth.

  Every time he looked over and saw Sean stroking Maddie’s hand, Gio got the sudden urge to rip him apart. He had no proof, but his gut was telling him that Sean was as guilty as sin. Maybe if he jumped it off, they could draw it out of him.

  “So Sean, the funniest thing happened when we got here,” Gio said trying to bait him.

  “What was that?”

  “Allison looked at a picture of all of us and called you her uncle,” he replied and chuckled.

  “I wonder where she got that from. Maybe it’s because she knows I’m her aunt Maddie’s boyfriend and she knows that Meg is adopting her,” he offered nervously.

  “Yeah that’s probably it,” Gio said, sounding unconvinced.

  “And actually, I have a confession to make,” Sean said and got out of his seat.

  “Now this I have to hear,” Gio exclaimed and sat up straight.

  “I wanted this to be done somewhere special, but what better time than being surrounded by all of her friends and family. Madeline Cardoza will you marry me?” Maddie was appalled that he would have the nerve to suggest something so asinine, and she was all fixed to tell him where to go when suddenly, the lights went out.

  The house broke out in hysteria as they all scrambled to provide some light. Sean was losing his cool and screaming out for them to turn the lights on. He was deathly afraid of the dark, which was a secret only Maddie knew. He was freaking out and fumbling around in the dark like a crazy person until Matt flipped on his cell phone light.

  Alex and Gio set off in search of the breaker box to flip the switch, while the remaining guests huddled with the light from Matt’s cell phone. Allison was at the top of the stairs screaming at the top of her lungs when Alex finally got the lights to come back on. When he saw her panicked state, he rushed to her as did Meg.

  Happy to be able to see again, Gio quickly made his way back into the room where the others were to make sure everyone was fine. Everyone looked okay except Emily, who was sitting with her hand over her mouth looking like she had seen a ghost. Gio rushed to her and grabbed Aiden along the way.

  Only the two of them noticed the distraught look on her face, and they had to know what caused it. “Em, baby, what’s wrong?” Aiden asked with a concerned look on his face.

  “I remember, I remember everything,” she whispered only loud enough for them to hear.

  “What do you remember honey?” Gio asked knowingly.

  “It was him, Sean. He was the one that raped me,” she uttered quietly.

  “I’ll kill him,” Aiden screamed and charged at Sean. Meg and Alex saw the scene unfolding in their living room, and Alex screamed for her to get Allison out of there.

  “Take her to her room and you wait with her,” he yelled out as he sprinted down the stairs.

  “I need to get down there,” Meg exclaimed.

  “No!” He swung his hand out in front of her. “I won’t have you in the middle of this. If they mess around and hit you by mistake there will be hell to pay,” Alex said sternly. Meg knew not to argue with him when he was in one of his projective rants, so she just took Allison and headed to the room.

  Alex and Matt both struggled to pry Aiden off Sean while everyone else sat by watching everything transpire. It was Alex who finally convinced Aiden to release Sean, while Matt threw him to the couch and held him down. “You tell me what the hell is going on and you tell me now,” Matt demanded with his hand on Sean’s throat.

  “Your crazy ass brother just jumped me out of nowhere,” Sean supplied breathlessly.

  “You tell them what you did,” Aiden screamed and tried to lunge back at Sean. This time, Gio stepped in with Alex to restrain him. The commotion was so thick, and the tension so high, that they didn’t even hear the front door open and shut. The argument was in full swing. They didn’t even notice that someone slithered up the stairs and set off towards the bedrooms.

  “All of you stop your yelling and someone calmly tell us what’s going on here,” Melia said above all the raised voices.

  Emily knew that if she didn’t tell the story, it would never get out, so she started in. “When the lights went out and Sean was yelling he triggered my memory. The night at the party, he was the one who brought me my drinks. He carried me out of the party, stripped, and raped me,” she cried out.

  “Are you sure?” Melia asked with a hint of shock in her voice.

  “Yes I’m sure, he didn’t like the dark either,” Emily said quietly.

  “You bastard. How could you do this?” Maddie screamed and jumped on Sean. She was beating him senseless, and the guys just stood back and let her. She had every right to be angry; for the past five years she had been dating the man who raped one of her oldest friends.

  Sean wanted to tell her that Emily was mistaken and that it wasn't him, but he was tired of lying about it all these years. The fact was he had raped her. All through college, he had a thing for Emily and she never gave him the time of day. She was always so wrapped up in Aiden which drove him insane, but that night at the party he saw his opportunity to finally have his shot.

  He approached her, but she shot him down again and he got angry. He was so pissed at her for thinking she was too good for him, so he decided to teach her a lesson. He continued to bring her drinks all night, slipping something in the first few for the desired effect.

  Once she was out of it, he made his move by taking her to a hotel room and having his way with her. He was careful not to talk too much or give her any inkling that it was him, but he made one crucial mistake when he mentioned his distaste for the darkness. That one mistake proved to be his undoing.

  Gio, Aiden, and Matt all banded together to pull Maddie off Sean and then drug him outside. The girls followed closely behind them holding up Maddie who was still screaming obscenities at Sean. “You get your shit and get the hell out of my house. We are finished!”

  He tried to plead with her, but that only fueled her anger further, and she tackled him again, this time, she pinned him down in the grass. Everyone but Alex was outside trying to keep her from killing him. He had stayed behin
d because he wanted to check on Meg and Allison. With all the commotion, he wanted to make sure she wasn’t stressing out.

  Maddie was still beating Sean when they heard it. A gunshot that rang out from one of the upstairs bedrooms. The noise startled everyone in the yard and they tried to race inside only to find the door locked.

  Fortunately, Aiden still had his cell phone to call for help. They could reach 911, but the closest officer would take thirty minutes to get there because they lived so far away. That was not a good sign, whoever was shot could have bled out by then.

  Alex ran up the stairs with his heart beating out of his chest. He was more afraid than he had ever been in his life as he ran down the hall kicking in every door in sight. “Meg, Allison, talk to me,” he screamed as he raced down the hallway.

  “Daddy we’re in here, we need help,” Allison yelled from the guest room. He could tell by the tone of her voice that she was frightened, but at least she was okay. He was now worried that Meg was hurt, she still hadn’t said a word, and he felt as if his heart was being ripped out.

  When he finally reached the guestroom, he found a trail of blood leading to the side of the bed. He was blinking his eyes rapidly hoping to walk around and find that everyone was okay. When he saw Meg slumped over a still Melissa, he went numb.

  He saw the blood, but he couldn’t tell which one of them was hit. “Meg, baby, are you hurt? I’ll get help for both of you don’t worry,” he said and tried to roll her over.

  “If you call anyone, I’ll kill her,” Bianca said stepping out of the corner pulling Allison up in her arms.

  “What are you doing?” Allison called out with tears streaming down her face.

  “Baby it’s okay, daddy's here. I won’t let her hurt you,” Alex said trying to reassure Allison.

  “You're making empty promises to this brat. The only way you're going to save any of them is to admit that you love me,” Bianca screamed.

  “I’ll tell you whatever you want just let Alli go,” he pleaded.