by Colora, R.
I see Estelle sitting on the sofa with her knees up to her chest and her arms wrapped around them.
I realized the emotion in his words and on his face couldn’t be faked even by the best of actors. He felt loss and pain over what happened between him and my mother. I could see it in the hunch of his shoulders.
"I will only tell this story once so can you Skype Dr. Franklin so I don't have to tell him?"
“Dr. Franklin, do you have a few minutes? Estelle wants to talk, but doesn't want to tell her story again."
"Yes, let me get to my den so I can take notes."
Chapter 3
"From as early as I can remember, my father always seemed cold and indifferent towards me. I would hear him yell at my mother that she focused too much of her attention on me. They would get into these horrible screaming matches then you would hear sounds sometimes it was a crash or a slap.
There was one time I heard glass shatter. When I went to see what happened, my mother was trying to get up from a broken coffee table. My father told me she slipped and fell, and I was told to go to my room. Every time my mother was hurt, my dad would force my mom to say she had an unfortunate accident, I was almost five the night she died.
My father had come home with blood on his shirt, he had lipstick all over his face and collar, my mother was begging him to move away. The men he was involved with were bad, but he yelled at her, telling her she was ungrateful." I can feel the tears welling up in my eyes.
"She put me to bed and told me a story of a magic swan named Antonia that carried a little princess to a faraway land after her stepfather left her in the forest to be eaten by wolves. She kissed my forehead and told me to go to sleep because when the sun came up we would go to the park and she would buy me ice cream.” I clench my eyes shut.
She kissed my head and said, “Remember my heart, il n'est rien de réel que le rêve et l'amour."
I hear Antonio whisper "Nothing is real but dreams and love." I nod.
"They were still arguing, then I heard the belt noise. I walked down the hallway to look in her room, he was standing over her hitting her with the belt, she kept trying to get up, but he kept hitting her. When he turned I ran and got under my covers."
"Can I please have a minute?" I ask.
Kennedy goes to get me a bottled water and Tristan brings over a box of Kleenex.
"My mother came into my room, she had on her coat and her purse was across her body, I remember it being odd because I never saw her wear her purse like that." My stomach acid is churning as I continue my story.
"She whispered ‘Come, mon trésor, we are going away.’ Once we got to the hallway, Edwin was waiting and asked where she was going.
She said she was leaving, she didn't want me to grow up like this. He stepped towards her, but she moved, and she pulled me in my room, sat me on the bed and told me she would be right back.
I didn't listen, I walked to the door and watched Edwin grab her by her coat and throw her down the stairs. He didn’t even look like he cared. He walked down to the bottom of the staircase and called his men. I moved so I could see what was happening, I watched as his men came in with a blue tarp, they rolled my mother in it and tied it with rope to keep it closed, and they carried her out the door like an old rug!"
I’m trying to hold in the tears, but my throat is hurting. "I waited and waited, but she never came back. When I asked where she was, Edwin told me she didn't love me. She is with the man she loved and that she left me.”
I hear Elena mutter an Irish curse under her breath.
"When I cried, he slapped me so hard it stunned me because I had never been hit before." I rub my face remembering the feeling of his palm across my face.
"I could never leave the house, he hired tutors to homeschool me. I wanted to learn about everything, so I read and learned that I have what's called an eidetic memory, I can remember a large amount of information with detail. It’s easier if I can gather things visually, I retain auditory information, but prefer things to be written. I can read about twenty thousand words per minute. I was tested when I was twelve. One tutor suggested I might be gifted, and Edwin wanted to know what my I.Q. was. He seemed proud when my I.Q. was estimated at a hundred and eighty seven. That was a few years ago, so I’m not sure where I would score right now." I shrug and feel the color spreading across my face. I hate telling people about myself. It feels like I’m bragging.
Everyone is shocked at this revelation.
"Let me get this straight," Easton says "you're telling us your I.Q. is up there with Stephen Hawking?"
"No, Stephen Hawking's I.Q. is only a hundred and sixty, so for all intents and purposes my intelligence is a higher level, but I couldn't tell you shit about wormholes or mathematical theories.”
"I used programs to learn Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, Mandarin, and Russian. I can also speak Arabic.”
I paused before continuing with my story and take a deep breath.
"He would come home drunk, find where I was hiding in the house and called me names—his favorite name was bastard. He told me he couldn't stand the look of me. I always assumed he meant I looked like my mother, since I assumed I looked like her. I look nothing like Edwin, and there weren't any pictures around of my mother, so I only had my memories.”
"On my twelfth birthday, he was angry with me because the chef made me a cake, and I had two pieces. That's when he punched me in the face, grabbed me by the hair, and took me into the bathroom. He made me stick my finger down my throat so I would throw up.
While I laid on the bathroom floor crying he said, 'Tenga mucho cuidado si no quieres perder tus líneas.'"
"What does that mean Estelle?" Rhydian asked
"It's an old Spanish saying. It means ruin your womanly body or get fat. After that he put me on a strict diet, I had a half of a grapefruit for breakfast and another piece of fruit for lunch. For dinner I had a salad or sometimes a small 4 ounce can of dry tuna. I was given a diet pill that suppresses my appetite, I was weighed twice a week.
A little before my thirteenth birthday, he started looking at me strangely. He would watch me do simple things like brush my teeth, or comb my hair. He was always watching.
The day of my fourteenth birthday, he told me we were going somewhere special. He bought me a new dress and fancy soap. He took me to dinner, and I could eat whatever food I wanted, but by then I could only eat a few bites. I didn't have room in my stomach. He got so angry that I wasted the food, when we got home he made me sit at the table in front of the food from the restaurant, and when I couldn't eat it he slammed my face on the table breaking my nose. He told me I didn't appreciate all the love he gave me, and how I was just like my mother.
He panicked when he realized my nose wouldn't stop bleeding so he took me to the emergency room. He ordered me to tell them I had an accident, that I wasn't paying attention and walked into a door.
The next day I went to a plastic surgeon who gave me this nose. Edwin picked it out of a book.
After that I didn't see him a lot, he seemed to always be away on business. Which was fine with me, it meant I didn't have to be his punching bag." I folded my body putting my arms around my knees, I looked out the window. I didn't want to see anyone.
"Right before my fifteenth birthday, he came home and told me to get dressed, he was taking me somewhere special. We went to a penthouse apartment not far from here. There was a man there. He looked young, but I would guess he was in his early thirties. I thought it was his apartment, but it wasn't, it was Edwin’s fuck pad. The man kept commenting how beautiful I was and how lucky he was. I didn't know what he was talking about.
I sat there like an idiot, I had no idea what was going on.” I can’t stop the tears now.
"Edwin handed me a soda. It tasted funny, but since I had never had soda I thought it was normal. I felt funny, heavy like I was moving slowly."
I got up and moved Kennedy’s iPad so it faced the TV screen. I took the heart from under my
shirt, pulled the pieces apart and plugged the flash drive into the media slot on the TV. All the files were listed by date. I picked the first one dated July 9th, 2006, clicked on it and walked into the kitchen. I stood there in the kitchen lost in my thoughts.
I could hear the sounds of the TV trying to break into my consciousness. The sounds of my crying and begging Edwin for help. Then suddenly the there was a crash. I spun around and looked into the living room to see that Rhydian was smashing the TV leaving everyone with shocked faces.
He walked over and gently cupped my cheeks wiping away my tears with his thumb. "We saw enough of what happened, I refuse to sit here and watch anymore of the hell you lived through."
"There were hundreds of videos on that flash drive. “Antonio said visibly shaking with rage. “I didn't know about you, Estelle. I swear to God, I had no idea you existed. If I had I would have protected you. I would have gotten you away from that fucking monster."
I say nothing. I grab the flash drive put it back together and slip it back around my neck.
"The videos get worse as time goes on. Sometimes he would just tape himself beating me, sometimes,” I walk over in front of the group and lift the back of my shirt up so they can see the scars from the belt buckles and whips. I lift the front of my shirt and show them the razor marks and burns. Everyone is pale and trying to hold back the tears. My eyes are finally dry, I’m done crying over these scars and the men who put them there. I’m not going to allow myself to feel sorry about what happened to me another day. Stacy, Elena, and Kennedy are crying so hard they are hyperventilating.
"It's over, that life is over. Kennedy saved me the day he beat me and left me for dead. Dr. Franklin has helped me a lot over this last year, but now Edwin is out and he is coming for me. He wants the twenty million dollars I have in trust and this flash drive around my neck. He won’t stop until he kills me. The break in at my place today and him leaving the tarp on my bed was to remind me what he did to my mother, and a promise of what he's going to do with me."
"The building in the video, I know where it is, we own that building." Elena says. "That Manky Langer raped and tortured a fourteen year old girl in a building we own, I think I’m going to be sick."
After all of this, everyone leaves. I think tonight was a lot to process and deal with for everyone.
It's just Rhydian, Antonio, and myself left when I hear "Kill him." I look at Dr. Franklin's face on the iPad screen. I'm in shock, I'm sure I wasn’t the only one in the room.
"When he comes for you because you already know he will, he’s already left you a warning. When he is dead, call me, and I will make sure you’re on the flight manifest for the day before he is discovered. You can’t be suspected of having any role in his death in Denver if you are in mental hospital in New York. We don’t know if his associates will come after you, if they feel you had anything to do with his death, so it needs to look like an accident or suicide."
"Yes,” I say, "It's time for Edwin to have an unfortunate accident." The minute the words leave my mouth I feel relief. I have a plan and I’m finally going to be free.
Rhydian's POV
My mind is racing, my princess isn't answering her phone. I’m about to storm Mayò’s house, but realize I can’t do it alone so I call for back up. Within twenty minutes, everyone is at my house, and we are trying to figure out the next step, when in comes princess with a giant behind her. I don't think I've ever seen someone this tall in real life. I'm not ashamed to admit that I'm a little terrified that my doorway is blocked. The standard doorway is almost seven feet, and this man had to duck down to enter, so I'm guessing he is seven feet tall or taller. I can see he is also as wide as a truck; he’s maybe three hundred pounds of solid muscle. He looks like he could bench press all of us in one shot.
Looking at Estelle next to the giant, whose name is Antonio De Luca, there is no doubt he is her father. They look almost identical, except her features are soft and feminine. Seeing her next to Antonio, I wonder how I ever thought she could be related to Edwin Mayò, when she is almost six feet and Edwin Mayò is almost dainty—behind his back they call him the Napoleon of Denver. Once everyone is seated, Estelle agrees to tell her story. Once she starts, the entire room is entranced, sucked into the horror that is unfolding with every detail. Even though my knee is bouncing and I feel my mother reach over and pat it, she know I only bounce my knee under stressful situations or when I’m extremely angry. I’m enraged and disgusted and I also feel so proud that my girl survived everything she did.
I’m grateful because I know in my heart she is my soul mate and we belong together. When she stands up and puts the flash drive in my TV, I'm not sure what to expect. I see it says one out of six hundred and twenty six; she clicks the first and walks into the kitchen. The screen comes to life and Edwin and an unknown man are talking. Estelle is obviously drugged, and as she is led to the bed, the man shows Edwin his phone with a transfer confirmation on it for one million dollars. Edwin sits in a chair and from the angle of the camera you can see the whole room. I suddenly feel my pulse racing, and I hear my mom ask us to turn it off. We know what will happen, but we can't look away. I think we need to confirm the hell Estelle crawled out of.
When it starts you can see the glee on Edwin's face. Estelle is screaming and begging for help. I hear her calling for him to protect her, but he unzips his pants and watches. The unknown man is telling Estelle to call him daddy, and the more Estelle fights the rougher he gets. Oh god, I can't take anymore. I want to burn everything to the ground.
I grab the aluminum baseball bat I keep by the door and beat the shit out of the TV, but the sound is still going. Finally, I pull it off the wall and the cords snap. No one says a word, no one wants to say what we are thinking. We knew Estelle had been abused, but we weren’t expecting anything like what we saw on the video. Seeing how emotionally depleted Estelle is everyone says goodbye before leaving. There is silence until we hear a voice come from the TV stand.
“Kill him.” We all turn towards the iPad with Dr. Franklin’s face on it. He has said what everyone is thinking, but no one was brave enough to say.
“It will come down to you or him. Figure out your plan, when you have it in order and everything is taken care of on your end, call me. I will take it from there, Estelle. I look forward to seeing you soon.” Then the doctor was gone.
It was Antonio who spoke first “I need to call one of my men. I trust this man with my life.” I nod my head and within fifteen minutes there was a call from downstairs.
“This is Salvatore Ricci, he is my second-in-command and has been my best friend for the last twenty years." Antonio introduces the man to us.
“Hello Mr. Ricci. I’m Rhydian Kerrigan and this is Estelle Roux” I say. He looks from Estelle to Antonio and back to me.
“You have a daughter, Antonio? How could Celine not tell you?” Mr. Ricci looks at Estelle then his friend.
“Yes, I found her today." He looks at me and I see pride in his face when he says the next thing. "She was my five o’clock pro bono case Gavin called me about. She knocked Tank unconscious in about four minutes. But then his face turns cold and unreadable “She was raped, tortured, and sold, then beaten and left for dead by Edwin Mayò. She was his victim and prisoner for twenty three years until she escaped last year. He videoed over six hundred of her attacks. She has it on a flash drive, and he is trying to kill her to access the trust Celine left for her,” Antonio said.
“We should have killed that motherfucker years ago. I know you let him live because of how you felt about Celine, but his death is twenty five years overdue.” Salvatore said with a serious face.
“I have a plan” I say. “My family owns the building where Edwin’s apartment is located I will hack the security system and put the camera feed on a loop so Estelle can get into the building undetected. Once she gets in she will make her way up to the apartment, the security system is set up so that as soon as the door is open the owner gets a text
message letting them know their unit has been entered.”
“We will have less than sixty seconds to get out of the view of the cameras at the entryway so the only one seen in the apartment is Estelle. When Edwin arrives Estelle will tell him she wants to come back. She can make up her disobedience, he will send his guards away so they can be alone.”
“Once his guards are gone, Estelle will have him isolated and at her mercy, if anything should go wrong the three of us will already be inside the apartment. Whatever happens, that motherfucker doesn't make it out of there alive.”
Chapter 4
Rhydian's plan went off with no problems. I’m now sitting on Edwin’s sofa in his penthouse. I'm in nothing but a demi cup bra, a thong, stockings, and garters under my trench coat. When Edwin walks in he has a smirk on his face.
“You have been a very bad girl, Stella.” Edwin said with a sneer on his face.
“I know papa, but I hope I can fix things between us.” I cooed. While trying not cringe at the sound of my voice and the words coming out of my mouth.
His smiles, he thinks he has won; that he has finally beaten me. He tells me to remove my coat, and I let it drop at my feet his smile grows wider. He dismissed his guards for the evening.
“You know, Stella, I was wrong to keep you so skinny all those years. I much prefer all these curves you have developed.” He appraised my body and licked his lips.
“Thank you papa, I’m glad I still please you.” I replied looking down at the bulge in his pants.
“Have you missed me, Stella?” He asked sweetly, and I have to swallow my vomit.
“Yes, papa I have missed you very much. Do you forgive me?” I smile sweetly.
I keep telling myself not to throw up; I have to get within striking range.
“Good girl. I want you to crawl, Stella. Come show me how sorry you are.”
So I drop to my hand and knees.
“You know what I want, Stella” he rubbed his fingers across my lips smearing my lipstick.