Revengeful Deceptions

by Ursula Dukes

  While she lay in bed, Dominique found herself talking to Stephen and Teddy. She hoped that they were happy. She told Stephen that she would love him forever but that she was going to love Adam now too and the baby growing inside of her. Dominique told Stephen that she hoped that he would always watch over them and keep her love for him deep in his heart, and then she drifted off into a deep sleep.

  Chapter Twenty Seven

  Brandon slowed his rental car down to twenty miles per hour and shut off the headlights as he neared the cottage. Stopping and parking the car far enough away so that he wouldn’t be noticed, he set off on foot. He would spend the night in his mother's beloved garden shed, he remembered how he and Adam used to spend hours in the big shed building blanket forts and collecting all kinds of bugs, the one who caught the biggest was the winner.

  Brandon was always the winner. “And I will be again,” he said out loud. He would use his time in the shed to organize things and get himself ready. He'd left the two full cans of gasoline in the trunk of the rental and when the time was right, he'd go get them. But for now he took a couple hits and settled in for the night.

  Dominique awoke to quiet chatter outside her bedroom door.

  “I'm awake!” She shouted as Pam and Molly burst inside and playfully tumbled onto the bed.

  “Come on, come on, it’s your wedding day get out of bed, we made you a nice big breakfast!” they shouted gleefully. While Dominique ate what the girls called, her bridal breakfast, she watched as her bridesmaids began bringing in curling irons, hair straighteners, and all kinds of makeup. She had wanted them to all get ready together. “Makes me not feel so alone,” she told them last night before they all went to bed. “Oh Dominique you are not alone, we're all the family that you'll ever need, well besides Adam and his family of course,” Molly said with her signature giggle.

  “I cannot believe that I’m getting married today girls, things turned out so different than I expected. But I’m glad that they turned out this way,” she smiled as she finished eating and got out of bed. As she gazed out the window overlooking the back yard, she smiled at how beautiful everything looked. The cloudless day was bright and the sun bounced off the all-white tent that had been set up the day before.

  Gorgeous chandeliers hung from the center of the tent and off- white organza draped romantically around every corner and pole. “Muriel really outdid herself,” she told her friends. “And hopefully this little one will be up for the challenges that I’m sure today will bring,” she said rubbing her belly.

  “I'm sure the baby will agree, it is mommy's big day after all,” Pam said. “Now let’s get you into the shower, so you can start getting ready.”

  Adam barely slept last night and even though he stayed at the penthouse with his dad, he missed Dominique and couldn’t wait for her to become his wife. While he showered and dressed he couldn’t believe that within a matter of hours he would be married and holding his lovely bride in his arms. Adam knew that he was marrying an amazing woman and he was going to make sure that he told her so every single day for the rest of their lives.

  “Dominique you are simply breathtaking!” Muriel and the girls cried when Dominique stepped out from behind the dressing screen.

  “You think so? Do I look too big in this gown? Do you think Adam will like it? Maybe I should change, what do you guys think? Honestly? I don’t think I can do this, I'm not ready,” she said, her voice quivering as her breathing became shallow.

  Muriel was immediately by her side.

  “Dominique honey look at me, I need you to calm down, we're going to find your inhaler and after you take a few puffs you'll start to feel better Okay? But I need you to slow down your breathing first, that's it that a girl, see take a deep breath and let it out slowly Okay, that’s it. Now do you remember where you put it honey?”

  “I think it’s in my purse,” she said voice shaking.

  “I found it!” Molly shouted nervously.

  “Thank you so much,” cried Dominique as she recovered from the asthma attack.

  “No worries Dominique, I’m glad I could help. Now let’s finish getting you ready, it's almost time. You look amazing Dominique and you’re so ready to do this, you just had a bit of wedding day jitters that’s all. It’s over and you’re fine now. And I have it on good authority that Adam is here,” Pam said with a grin, as she added some last minute touches to the bride's hair and makeup.

  When the moment arrived, Dominique felt better; she was ready when Rob came to escort her down the aisle.

  “You look stunning Dominique, are you sure you’re ready for this?” Rob asked as he kissed her on the cheek and offered her his arm.

  “Ready as I’ll ever be,” she whispered for fear that the tears would flow freely.

  As the music began she held onto Rob tight as he led her down the aisle. All of her fears disappeared the moment she saw Adam, dressed in a tailor made tan summer suit standing underneath the beautifully decorated archway.

  Chapter Twenty Eight

  She took his breath away when he saw her. It felt like he was seeing her for the first time and it was the most surreal moment he had encountered so far.

  By the time the ceremony was over, Dominique was exhausted; she wished that she and Adam could start their honeymoon upstairs with a nap.

  But once the reception started and she got some food in her belly, the second wind caught her. She had even managed to spend most of the time on the dance floor with Adam and the rest of their guests.

  “I want you to take it easy Mrs. Caruso,” Adam whispered in her ear as he held her on the dance floor. “Mom told me that you had an asthma attack this morning, she's still worried about you and so am I.”

  “Nothing to worry about Adam I assure you, just a case of the jitters that was all, we're fine, really.”

  “Dominique, I want you to know that you and the baby are my life now and I will love you both forever.”

  “We will love you too, my incredibly handsome husband,” she said as she held his face in her hands.

  As the couple posed for more pictures and danced into the evening, Brandon sat and watched. He thought it incredible that no one had even recognized him. There was one point where he was sure he'd been spotted by Adam himself but realized that he was only looking in his general direction. They really think I just up and disappeared, he thought to himself as he made his way back to the shed. Well in a few more hours, you'll both realize that you were wrong, dead wrong.

  As the evening came to a close, Dominique and Adam very graciously thanked their guests as they boarded the rented shuttle buses that would be transporting them back to the inn where they would be staying the night, courtesy of their hosts, Jonathan and Muriel Caruso. Even though Adam had objected, his parents booked themselves into a suite at the inn. They told the newlyweds that given Dominique's condition, they were sure that she would rather spend their honeymoon night in the comfort of the cottage, and they were right. Dominique did not have the energy, or the desire to pack a bag and head off to a hotel for the night and Adam agreed.

  After they said goodbye to Jonathan and Muriel, Adam and Dominique breathed a sigh of relief. Although the day was wonderful, it was exhausting, and as the newly married couple headed upstairs to bed, Adam held her close.

  “You are so beautiful Mrs. Caruso.”

  “So are you Mr. Caruso,” she smiled wearily as she wrapped her arms around him and kissed her new husband. Knowing that Dominique was tired, Adam lead his wife into the bedroom where he removed her gown and gently tucked her into bed. Dominique welcomed the warmth of his body next to her as they kissed each other goodnight and fell asleep in each other’s arms.

  Brandon waited impatiently for the last guest to leave, and finally around 10 pm he noticed that Jonathan and Muriel were the last ones heading out. Well don’t they just look like the happy couple. Brandon fumed. There was his own mother, and the old man, both had denounced him and thrown him away like a piece of garba
ge.

  That old man never looked happier when that bitch told him to sever all ties. Brandon thought to himself, and why wouldn’t he be? Now he could give it all to his golden boy Adam. Enjoy it while you can pretty boy, because in a few hours, it'll all be gone.

  Adam smelled the smoke before he heard the alarms going off. Even as he dialed 911, Dominique lay still, next to him deep in sleep. As the smoke began to seep underneath the door, he gently shook her awake.

  “Dominique, baby get up there's a fire, come on baby wake up,” he urged.

  Dominique thought she was dreaming but once the smell of smoke hit her already sensitive nostrils, she sat up in bed. Panic set in as she tried to control her breathing as smoke filled the room. She didn’t know where her inhaler was and she didn’t have the time to waste trying to find it.

  “Dominique we've got to get out of here come on.” Adam took hold of her hand after they quickly threw on whatever clothes they could find and headed towards the sliding glass doors that lead to the private deck.

  “FUCK!” Adam cursed when he found the doors bolted shut from the outside. Someone's trying to kill us, he thought to himself. Dominique's anxiety began to rise as she and Adam both began searching for something to break through the windows. By the time Adam had managed to cause a crack in the thick doors, Dominique was in the middle of a full blown asthma attack. Everything in the room was turning either red or black each time she open and shut her eyes, it was as if she was in a dream. Adam knew that if she was in distress, the baby would be too. He could hear the sirens in the distance but he knew that he had to get Dominique to safety.

  Dominique was in total discord but managed to shove a wet towel under the door to try and keep the smoke out.

  “Adam, Adam, hurry baby please,” she wheezed and coughed before closing her eyes and losing consciousness.

  Adam was so involved with trying to break through the glass that he hadn’t noticed Dominique had passed out. In a panicked frenzy he kicked at the cracked glass until it finally gave way. As a burst of fresh air bellowed into the room, he turned and found Dominique lying on the bed.

  Fear set in as he scooped her up and made his way outside. The island fire department was pulling into the long private driveway to shouts from Adam to help his wife.

  “Please hurry she's pregnant and her pulse is weak!” A feeling of dread and fury showered over him as he stepped back and let the paramedics work on Dominique.

  “She has asthma! Please help her!” his voice shook with terror as he spoke.

  All trucks were called in to handle the large fire and by the time they had loaded Dominique onto the ambulance half of the house had burned to the ground.

  Everything was blurry when Dominique opened her eyes. She felt incredibly light headed and sudden flash backs of the moment when she was hit by the car came flooding back to her, except this time Adam was by her side.

  She pulled off the oxygen mask momentarily to speak to Adam.

  “Adam, the baby.”

  “You and the baby are going to be fine Dominique they're taking you to the hospital now baby, I love you so much Dominique.”

  “The last time you told me that, I never saw you again Adam,” she said in a tearful voice.

  Adam frowned, she was right. “Dominique I promise you, I’m not leaving you. I'll be right next to you.”

  “I love you Adam.” Dominique managed before passing out again.

  “Sir we really need to get her to the hospital, you can climb in next to your wife sir.”

  Adam felt helpless as he climbed in and watched the paramedics attend to his wife.

  On the way to the hospital, Adam called his parents.

  “We'll be right there son, just hold on.”

  “Muriel, get dressed as quickly as you can.”

  “What is it Jonathan?”

  “There's been a fire at the house.”

  “Oh my god, what happened, are the kids alright?” She cried.

  “Adam is but he's in the ambulance with Dominique. I'll phone the others in their rooms and tell them to meet us at the hospital.”

  Muriel felt her heart sink; she knew that if Dominique lost this baby, she would not be able to recover from the loss.

  Jonathan dropped Muriel off at the hospital and headed back over to the cottage. He wanted to speak to the fire chief and find out exactly how the fire got started. He also wanted to find out if the chief thought arson was involved because if it was, Jonathan had a pretty good idea of who set the fire.

  While he waited for the fire department to get things under control, Jonathan made a call to his investigator Paul and asked him to find and follow Brandon.

  “You want me to follow your own son Mr. Caruso?”

  “No, I want you to find Brandon DiNunzio. And so I don’t have to repeat myself, Peter DiNunzio is Brandon's biological father. I need you to find him, follow him and find out his whereabouts for the past few days. Get back to me as soon as you find out.”

  “Yes Mr. Caruso.”

  Jonathan was hanging up the phone when the fire chief approached.

  “Are you the homeowner, Mr. Caruso?”

  “Yes it’s our summer home, or it was,” he said looking dismally at the charred mounds of wood.

  “Sir it looks like arson, there was no way that this was an accident. Whoever set this, was trying to kill the occupants. They even went so far as to bolt the doors from the outside. Exactly who was in this house Mr. Caruso?”

  “My son and his wife were the only ones in the house, they just got married...well yesterday,” he said looking at his watch.

  “Well do they have any enemies? I mean you gotta be pretty cruel to try and kill somebody on their wedding night. And did I hear right that your son's wife is pregnant?”

  “Yes she is and if you don’t mind, I need to get to the hospital to check on her.”

  “Certainly, when I find out more I’ll be in touch sir.”

  As soon as Muriel arrived at the hospital, she pulled Adam into her arms, there was no time to talk as a nurse came out and rushed Adam into Dominique's hospital room. The moment he set foot in the room, a feeling of dread came over him. Several doctors and nurses where standing next to Dominique as she lie unconscious in the hospital bed. They all turned as Adam approached.

  “Mr. Caruso? I'm Dr. Wallen,” he said shaking his hand.

  “Hello Dr. how is my wife? Are she and the baby going to be alright?” Adam asked looking hopeful.

  “Mr. Caruso, your wife is expected to make a full recovery, however I’m afraid we lost the baby.

  Adam felt as if someone had grabbed hold of his heart and was squeezing the life out of it. He stood dazed for a moment and as the tears filled his eyes he could barely make out what the doctor was telling him.

  “Mr. Caruso, we did everything we could but there was too much smoke inhalation. Between that and the amount of time that your wife was unconscious, there was nothing more that we could do.

  Now your wife was in and out of consciousness during the whole procedure Mr. Caruso, so she may not remember what has happened, we thought it best that you be the first face she sees when she wakes up. If you need help with anything, just ask one of our nurses. I am so very sorry for your loss.

  The doctor gave Adam's shoulder a light squeeze before leaving the room. As the nurses silently filed out of the room, one of them brought Adam over to the chair and sat him down.

  “Sir is there anyone I can call for you, is there anything I can do?”

  Adam fought back tears, “Yes, if you would be so kind as to ask my mother to come in.”

  “Of course sir, I’ll send her right in.”

  As Muriel tiptoed into the room, she could tell by the anguished look in his eyes that they had lost the baby and as she held her sobbing son in her arms she couldn’t help but think of how they were going to break the horrible news to Dominique when she awoke. It wasn’t until much later that Adam even spoke to his mother who was still
cradling him in her arms.

  “How am I going to tell her mom, how?” He sobbed.

  “Son, we'll do it together, but the most important thing right now Adam is that the two of you get through this together.”

  “It's my fault that this happened you know if I had been paying more attention to her I would have seen that she was passed out. I am the reason she lost the baby.” This time his whole body shook with fear and sorrow.

  “She's going to wake up and find out that our baby is gone and she's going to hate me, she's going to wish she never laid eyes on me, look what I’ve done to her mom, just look at what I’ve done.”

  “Adam, sweetheart, oh my poor sweetheart, that's not true, none of this is your fault. Honey look at me, this is the result of some sick individual, not you Adam. Whoever set that fire is a very sick person and you had nothing what so ever to do with it. Now I want you to pull yourself together Adam because you’re going to have to be strong for your wife, you’re going to have to be there for her now more than ever Adam.

  Now come with me, we'll splash some cold water on your face then we will go and see if your father has arrived. Everything will be alright Adam, we will get through this together,” Muriel promised her son and took him into her arms once more.

  As she led him out into the hallway, Muriel was glad to see that Dominique's closest friends and Jonathan were the only ones in the small waiting room.

  Tears of sorrow flowed as Muriel told them the terrible news before breaking down herself. Pam and Rob held each other close as they relived the time when Dominique had learned that she lost her husband and son almost three years ago. “She won't recover from this Rob,” his wife cried into his arms.

  “Yes she will baby, she's strong, and we’ll help her get through it just like when she lost Stephen and Teddy.”

  Hearing that sent Adam over the edge, he didn’t want to think of the impending grief that his wife was about to endure all over again. Getting up from his seat he pushed through the small crowd and took off running, he wanted to run until he could no longer feel the pain.