Revengeful Deceptions

by Ursula Dukes

  “No you won’t mom, but it’s okay dad told me everything.”

  A look of wonderment came across her face as she and Stephen now stood in the living room, the same living room where they had shared many family nights watching movies and eating popcorn. Dominique tried reaching for him, but her hand went through him as if he were nothing but mist.

  “Stephen, why can't I touch you? I'm here to stay aren’t I?”

  “No Dominique you aren’t, you can't stay, you have to go back.”

  She began to cry, she then felt Stephens warm embrace. “Dominique you've got to stop what you’re doing, you can't go on like this. I know you've found love again Dominique and it’s alright, that’s what I want for you, but this revenge is tearing you up inside Dominique.”

  “Stephen, you don’t understand, I have to make the man responsible pay for what he did to you and Teddy, don’t you want justice for you and your son Stephen?”

  “Dominique, justice will be served but not by you, you will see that everything will turn out the way that it was meant to be and you have to learn to forgive so that you can move on with your life.”

  “Stephen I miss you and Teddy so much, please tell me that you both passed quickly, that Teddy wasn’t in pain,” Dominique's tears fell freely now but seemed to disappear the moment they emerged from her eyes.

  “Dominique let me put your mind at ease, Teddy and I felt nothing. We left one life together and woke up in another more beautiful one together. Now it’s time for you to live your life Dominique, Adam loves you and you love him.”

  “But Stephen I...”

  “Dominique it’s alright, Adam is the one for you, but you will lose him if you don’t stop this hatefulness, if you don’t stop, things are going to get very dangerous, you have someone else to think about now. Remember that. I love you Dominique always remember that. Teddy and I are just as happy in this life as we were with you, we love you. Sleep now, you need your rest, your resting for two now,” he smiled before disappearing.

  “I love you too.” Tears ran down her face as she watched not only Stephen and Teddy, but the whole house turn into mist and slowly disappear.

  It was Sunday afternoon, and Adam could not sit still, they had been at the hospital for over seventeen hours and were still not allowed to see Dominique. “She's been through a significant trauma the doctor told them, she needs to rest.” He found himself pacing back and forth in the hospital waiting room. Neither his mother nor father could console him.

  “Honey please try and sit down, I’m sure they are doing everything they can and will come out shortly and talk to us.”

  “Your mothers right Adam, come, sit down let me get you something to drink, some coffee or something.”

  “Mom, dad, I appreciate what you’re saying but please stop trying to make me feel better, it’s not helping.”

  “Son lets step outside and get some air, it'll do you good.”

  “Yes Adam, go outside with your father I’ll call you if they come out, go on now son, everything will be alright now.”

  With the gentleness of her words, Muriel always had a way of soothing her son.

  Adam and his father stepped out into the coldness of the December day, the sky was the clearest he had ever seen and he wondered if Dominique would survive to see it ever again. He looked up and silently prayed that she would.

  “I got here as fast as I could, is mom okay?” Adam met Brandon's question with a swift uppercut to the jaw and several more followed until sheer exhaustion forced him to stop, this time his father did nothing to stop him.

  “What the fuck is the matter with you Adam?” Brandon stumbled to his feet, spitting out blood along the way.

  “I know what you did Brandon, I know you hired some jackass to kill Dominique you sick son of a bitch only they aimed for mom too! What do you have to say for yourself you piece of shit!”

  Adam held Brandon by his collar inches off the ground, while Brandon dangled in front of him; Adam thought how easy it would be to snap his neck.

  “Let me the fuck down little brother, you’re confused you don’t know what the fuck you’re doing.”

  “Oh I’m thinking perfectly straight Brandon,” looking at his father, Adam had enough.

  “Dad I can't do this anymore,” Then turning towards his brother he let the words come out,

  “Brandon I know. I fucking know what you did to Dominique’s family you son of a bitch I KNOW!”

  Brandon clenched his fists as he turned from his father to his brother repeatedly.

  “Yeah, that’s right Brandon I know, I’ve known for a long time now, I know all about how you and Nick were out in New Hampshire selling a kilo of coke for DiNunzio, I know it all Brandon, how dad covered up the whole thing for you, I know how he got rid of the car, I know why he sent you to Italy and I know that you've been trying to come between me and Dominique but I never thought you'd go after her with such a vengeance Brandon, tell me, what did she ever do to you? You killed her husband and her little boy and now you want to kill her too?”

  Jonathan looked at his son, “Brandon you know who Dominique is don’t you? How son? I kept that from you for a reason.”

  “Well it looks like I found out doesn’t it and so did Nick, yeah, that’s right he figured it out months ago. He just didn’t tell me, and he never got the chance. After he got shot by Dominique I started to wonder why he would go after her, so I broke into his place and found her picture on his laptop, a picture from the accident saying that she was the wife of Mr. Stephen Greenway. Listen, Dad, Adam, you don’t understand, Nick found out who she was and he was going to do us all a favor and get rid of her but then your girlfriend shot and killed him and now it’s up to me to fix this. Dad don’t you see, I've got to get rid of her before she tries to get rid of me!”

  “Jesus Christ son, this has all gone way too far. This has got to end now Brandon, whoever you hired to kill Dominique almost killed your mother too. Brandon, Dominique saved her life.”

  “Dad I would never put mom in any kind of situation like that I’m sorry but she's okay right?”

  “No thanks to Dominique son, now this has got to stop.”

  “Now you’re gonna tell me right now who the fuck you hired Brandon and you’re gonna call him off do you understand? Or I’ll go to the police myself!” Adam barked.

  “Go ahead and try it Adam, just don’t forget; you knew what happened to Dominique’s family. And little bro, I’m no lawyer but doesn't that make you an accessory? Or have the laws changed and even if you got off, you would still have nothing to gain because once Dominique finds out that you knew all along and you didn’t tell her, well let’s just say that's not going to go over to well with her now is it little brother?”

  “Brandon, call off your dog and do it now.”

  Brandon lied, “No can do little brother, he's gotta finish the game bro, those are the rules but I suppose I could try to call him off, but you and dad have to do something for me first.”

  “Just what would that be Brandon?” Adam could hardly control his anger.

  “Dad, you know it’s not good to have her around so you’re gonna have to fire her, no more job means she'll more than likely want to leave town, and for your part Adam, It's simple, you end things with Dominique, send her packing, that is if she recovers, and I’ll call off the hit.”

  “What? Why? No! You’re gonna call it off now Brandon.”

  Jonathan found this moment to be a perfect time to step in. “Son, maybe that’s not such a bad idea.”

  Adam whirled around in protest and faced his father, “How can the both of you still be thinking of yourselves when she's lying up there in a goddamn hospital room fighting for her life? And what about all that this is your chance at finding love Adam, huh dad? What about that?”

  “Son I thought this would work but it can't. If you let her go then she can move on, your brother will call off the hit and Dominique will be able to survive. Son think about it, you c
annot protect her 24 hours a day and we both know that things like this are a done deal and if he doesn’t call it off, she'll die for sure son and do you want that to happen?”

  Adam gritted his teeth, “I'll take her away from all this, and the both of us will go.”

  “Adam, can you really spend the rest of your life or hers running? Never seeing your mother again Adam, think about her for a minute will you? It will break her heart if you left. Are you willing to give up absolutely everything? I don’t think so son, you've got to let her go, it’s the only way.”

  “Just think little brother, if it weren’t for me you would have never met her, I wish she had been in that goddamn car that night too.” It wasn’t until he said it that Adam knew his brother not only had no empathy but he had no heart either. His brother, Brandon Caruso was full of nothing but evil.

  Before Adam could react, his father slapped Brandon hard across the face, stunning him.

  “All this Brandon, the reason why we're standing here has nothing to do with Dominique, or Adam. It’s all you Brandon, all you. Now I suggest you make that phone call and make it now.”

  “Yes dad.” The hell I am, Brandon thought to himself.

  Adam had to walk away; he walked away from his brother and his father and cursed into the night air. He cursed until his voice was hoarse; until he let his father put his arms around him and hold him in his embrace. The life that he had planned to share with Dominique was over and he didn’t have the heart to go into her hospital room and tell her. Instead, he asked his mother to do it and simply walked away.

  Dominique woke up in excruciating pain, her head was bandaged and she could hardly breathe. It was as if there was a hand holding onto her lungs and their grip was extremely tight. Her entire body felt like it was on fire and she didn’t know if that was a good or bad thing.

  “Welcome back.” said a nurse who had walked into her room. “How are you feeling?”

  “I feel like I’ve been hit by a car.” Dominique couldn’t help it, she knew she shouldn’t joke but at the time it was exactly how she felt.

  “A sense of humor, I like that, tells me you’re alive and among the living Miss Foster, that’s a very good sign, the doctor will be with you in a minute.”

  Dominique wondered why Adam wasn’t by her side, the doctors most have told him to wait.

  “Miss Foster, how are you feeling? I'm Dr. Singh, you’re a very lucky woman Miss Foster, besides having a mild concussion and three badly bruised ribs you and your baby are going to be just fine.

  The room suddenly seemed a lot smaller, it was as if the whole world was caving in and Dominique was to sink right into the middle of it all.

  “Excuse me Dr. are you sure?”

  He let out a chuckle, “Yes Miss Foster I am 100 percent sure. Of course we'll have to wait for someone from obgyn to come down and give you a thorough examination but yes, congratulations Miss Foster, am I guessing you had no idea?”

  “I wasn’t sure Dr. thank you. Dr. is there anyone here to see me?” Dominique needed a distraction and she was hoping that Adam would be that distraction, she would wait before she told him. Wait until she was out of the hospital and healing.

  “Yes, there is, I’ll go ahead and send them in, but not too long, you need your rest.”

  Dominique was expecting to see Adams face but instead Muriel was the one who burst through the doors eyes stained with tears and looking incredibly grateful and appreciative. “Oh Dominique honey the doctor says you’re gonna be alright, you've got some broken ribs and cuts and bruises but he just might be able to send you home in a couple days.

  Dominique you saved my life, and I cannot thank you enough.”

  Dominique couldn’t help but sense that something was wrong, Muriel was quite nervous.

  “Muriel, where's Adam?”

  Muriel burst into tears as she relayed what Adam had wanted her to tell Dominique.

  “Oh honey, he knows everything,” she cried.

  “What do you mean everything Muriel?”

  “Dominique Brandon knows who you are, he confessed to Adam and his father that Nick found out who you were and that he had planned on killing you. He told Adam that if he let you go he would call off the attempts on your life Dominique and Adam agreed. He said it wasn’t fair to you to keep you in danger. And Dominique? It appears that my husband Jonathan knew who you were all along, but he kept it from all of us.”

  “Oh Dominique, I am so, so sorry,” Muriel cried.

  Dominique felt as if she'd been hit all over again. She had secretly suspected that Jonathan was somehow involved but she never thought that Adam could be.

  “Muriel, what are you saying? Are you saying that Adam knew that his own brother killed my family and he held it from me? How long has he known Muriel? How long?”

  “Honey, he found out a little before Nick got killed, oh Dominique I am so sorry this has all gotten way out of hand. What are we going to do?”

  Dominique wanted to curl up and cry. She wished she'd died or at least stayed asleep so that she could spend more time in her dream with Teddy and Stephen, but Stephen told her that it wasn’t her time yet and that she had another life to worry about, the life of the little baby growing inside of her. She knew the time had come, it was now or never.

  Chapter Twenty One

  “Muriel I’ll tell you what we're gonna do, you’re gonna get in touch with Molly and Neal, have Neal come here first thing in the morning, tell Molly she needs to go to work because we don’t want to arouse suspicion. Me, you and Neal are going to sit here and put our plan in motion.

  Neal can fill Molly in later on. There's no more time for planning, it's now or never Muriel, the only difference is that your husband is more involved than we thought but I know what you've got planned for him so I’m going to concentrate on Brandon, he's the one I want. Now I know it’s a whole lot sooner than we planned but are you ready to do this Muriel because there's no going back, once we start it we've got to see it through.”

  “Dominique after what I learned today, I’m more than ready, I’m going to go make some calls, and you need your rest. Oh Dominique,” she said holding her hand. “Are you ready for this? You'll be on your own after it’s all done.”

  She felt the familiar sting of tears as she said to Muriel, “I'm ready Muriel, I’m pregnant but ready.”

  “Oh my dear god, Dominique are you sure you want to go through with this? You've got to tell Adam this changes everything!”

  “No it doesn’t Muriel, we stick to the plan do you hear me, Adam knew about Brandon and didn’t tell me. He knows what his brother is capable of but he still chose to take his ultimatum. No Muriel, it doesn’t change a thing.”

  “But Dominique, you kept the fact that you knew it was his brother that committed the awful crime from him. And I know for a fact that the only reason he didn’t tell you was because he is in love with you and he just wanted you to move on with your life. Please, you promised you wouldn’t hurt him and keeping your pregnancy from him will do more than hurt him.”

  “Yes I did promise you Muriel and trust me when I tell you that I need to keep this from him for now, please listen to me, I know what I’m doing Okay so please, just let's stick to the original plan and have Neal here first thing tomorrow, can you do that? For me? Please?”

  Dominique was fading, everything was surging on her and she didn’t know how much more she could take.

  “Yes Dominique, I understand, you get your rest. We'll see you in the morning honey. Again, I am so very sorry that this happened to you, and I’m going to do everything in my power to make sure it all turns out alright, for each of us.” Muriel left the hospital room more anxious than ever now to help Dominique exact her revenge.

  Dominique was glad for the quiet; she needed the time to think. Adam had left her high and dry in the hospital. He hadn’t even come to say goodbye, Brandon and his sick ultimatum, she thought to herself. Adam knows everything now, it’s all out in the open
and after the New Year; he'll know that his child is growing inside me.

  My god thought Dominique, just yesterday Adam told me that he loved me and I said the same and now look at me, I'm lying in a hospital bed and Adam is completely out of my life, it’s as if none of it ever happened. She thought to herself as she drifted off to sleep.

  Besides going to work, Adam couldn’t find the strength to leave his condo. He wanted to stay inside, he wanted the memories of Dominique to remain all around him; in the bed she shared with him. Her clothes that were hanging in the closet, and she still had things stored in the bathroom. He hoped that when his mother broke the news to her that she would understand why he had to let her go. It was for her own safety, that Brandon would have her killed if he didn’t break things off and he knew that if he was there in her hospital room, there would be no way that he would ever want to leave her. No, he told himself, its better this way. I'm sure by now she hates me anyway, he sighed as he began packing up her things.

  It wasn’t until three days later that Dominique was released from the hospital. Molly and Neal had come to collect her. Muriel wanted to be there as well but had to make a trip to Wellesley to check on her parents. “Tell Dominique that I will be by her place later on tonight,” Muriel had told Molly when they spoke on the phone. “We'll finalize everything when I get there, just as long as she's feeling up to it,” Muriel whispered into the phone.

  Dominique was glad to be out of the hospital and back home, back home at her place. She half expected Adam to be parked outside, but she knew that wasn’t going to happen and it was a hard thing for her to accept. She knew that he still loved her. Muriel told her that he hasn't left his condo in days and had been working from home.

  Dominique was sure that if she told Adam she was pregnant with their child he would drop everything and go to her, but she wasn’t ready to tell him yet, she wanted to wait until it was the right time. She also wanted to make sure that Brandon was completely out of the picture because now, it wasn’t just herself she had to be worried about, it was her baby that needed looking after.

  And she had no doubt in her mind that Brandon Caruso would kill her and her baby if given the chance. But maybe Adam wasn’t ready to be a father, she thought to herself, if he could walk out of my life so easily after I’ve been hit by a car, what would he do if he found out that he was going to be a father?