by Amaya Black
“I only want to talk, Ms. Haughton.”
I was still trying to close the door. He clearly knew that Darien was gone or else he would have asked for him as well. Like the slow creep of a serpent, the reporter’s hand appeared and with one good shove, he pushed the door wide open. I tried with all my might to keep him out but I wound up stumbling and falling backwards.
I landed with a thud and found him standing over me, looking around.
“Beautiful house, Ms. Haughton.”
Slowly, he closed the door behind him and clicked the lock into place.
“I need you to leave!!!” I screamed at him, still on the floor.
My thoughts were now on defending myself. He took pause for a moment and then reached down and picked me up. I shoved his hands away and realized that he had spotted, Alex in the process.
“I have something for you, Allanah.”
My breaths were coming out in gasps. I wanted nothing more than for this man to get out of our home. A thousand different ways to end his life were going through my mind. Mainly, I wanted to protect my child; no court would convict me for self defense. Darien had installed cameras all over this house. In fact, I was sure he was probably on his way home right by the way the house phone was ringing off the hook.
“I…I don’t want it.”
“Oh, but I think you do. Do you remember while you were in New York and Darien spent every waking moment trying to procure the company Kobiyashi…”
My face had started to frown and he started to laugh. I did remember but I didn’t care what this man was trying to peddle. Then I remembered, Dana had worked for the company that Darien had procured. I remembered the feeling of being watched while in Dana’s bedroom.
“Did you know my sister?”
BANG!
I jumped and turned to see what had happened. Alex was in the kitchen throwing shit around. The man seemed uninterested in Alex. Still, I wanted him to leave. Having an intruder in your house and you had no weapon to defend yourself was scary as hell.
“I didn’t know Dana personally,” he began to walk around the living room.
It had gone quiet; the phone had stopped ringing. Life seemed to be walking out of the room and a mood had settled over the house. If this man had been a Care Bear, he definitely would have been Grumpy Bear. A shiver went through my body as he turned his eyes on me again. For the time I noticed that he had a messenger attached to his body that held a laptop.
“Kobiyashi was my company, Ms. Haughton. I want to show you something.”
I watched as he went and set up like he had lived here his whole life. The Macbook was carefully placed on the large glass and iron coffee table that wasn’t toddler proof at all. We would be getting rid of it soon anyway.
He pecked away at the computer then looked up at me, eyes still tired and introduced himself. “Ms. Haughton, I have forgotten my manners. I am Tenchi Kobiyashi.”
The name didn’t ring any bells with me. Should it have? I tried to comb over my memories and my thoughts but I had never heard of him. Only his last name as the last tie to Dana that I could find.
“Here,” came Tenchi’s voice, it sounded solemn and tired.
“You need to leave,” I replied. It felt as though I had been standing in quicksand and afraid to move. “I don’t care about whatever it is you want to show me.”
Pointing to the door, I tried to keep my voice level. The point was to show no fear; he would not get the satisfaction of knowing that he had me shook as hell. Glancing towards the baby, he was still occupied with eating.
“Ms. Haughton,” the stranger rubbed the bridge of his nose as if he were suddenly exasperated with me. “Come and have a look, and then I will go.”
“No, you need to before I call the p…”
The quietness that had settled over the house was gone suddenly. It had been replaced by guttural sounds, screams of passion and the familiar voice of a man I knew to well. The words I had been about to say died on my lips and I found myself standing next to the couch where Tenchi Kobyashi sat.
On the screen was a young Japanese woman with long flowing hair, eyes wide and completely naked sitting in the middle of a bed. I took notes that the sheets were black and that the room was familiar. Someone had walked in front of the camera and all you could see was a chest. When they back away, there stood Darien looking a few years younger but definitely him. And definitely stark ass naked.
I couldn’t tear my eyes away. I watched as he moved in that predatory way and climbed onto the bed and began to tie velvet ropes around her body. Began to bind her up in the ways in which I had let him do my own body.
Then, just as suddenly as the movie had started it was paused with the click of a finger. Tenchi seemed hesitant at first and then he looked up at me. Before speaking he again rubbed the bridge of his nose and took a deep breath.
“I have made copies of the videos. There are several, Ms. Haughton. It’s amazing how tricky fate is. How kind it can be. You see the woman in the video…young and beautiful, frozen in time. That was my fiancé, Kikiyo. And Darien Kiriakis is responsible for her death.”
Yup! If a bitch hadn’t been shook before, I was shook to the core now. My stomach had dropped like a weight on a fishing line and hit the floor. I needed to use the bathroom.
With a heavy sigh he reached into his pant’s pocket and pulled out something that he sat down on the table. It was a tiny USB port and I could only imagine the horrors of what was on the disk drive. Whatever it was, Tenchi Kobiyashi wanted it to hurt Darien. Maybe, he even wanted it to destroy him.
He rose then and then looked into the kitchen. I followed his gaze and saw that Alex was still clapping as if shit wasn’t popping off in the living room.
“He took my family from me. Look at the footage, Ms. Haughton. You decide if he gets to keep his.”
With that this strange man departed from my new house, leaving no evidence of his existence behind except that of the flash drive. I needed to know what secrets it contained. What did he mean that Darien had been the cause of his fiance’s death?
My cell phone started vibrating in the kitchen. I retrieved it and picked up Alex at the same time. He was such a good baby; he wasn’t aware a man had just invaded our bubble.
“Hello?”
“I’ve been calling,” Darien said.
I composed myself. “Yeah, some reporter stopped by. Wanted information on the whole Alex kidnapping thing.”
Darien was quiet for a moment. “Are you sure. The cameras said different. I can have someone there in just a moment...”
“No. He’s gone now. And we’re fine, anyway.”
“Lana, you sound extremely shaken. I’m going to come home.”
“NO!”
Alex’s head snapped back and looked at me like I was insane. I probably was but no one needed to know that just now. I took a deep breath.
“Seriously, Darien, we’re fine. I’m gonna put Alex down for a nap and probably start dinner. Homemade pizza tonight, okay?”
“Are you sure?”
“Positive. I’ll see you this evening.”
“Okay,” he was just about to hang up. “Lana?”
“Yeah?”
“I love you.”
“I know,” I said and hung up.
The lie had just come naturally to me. I didn’t want to tell Darien that the reporter had been some upset ex fiancé of a woman he had been sleeping with. Clearly, he hadn’t recognized the man on camera. I needed to determine exactly what was on that flash drive before I made my next move. Tenchi’s words hung in the air.
You decide if he gets to keep his.
Humming a lullaby to Alex, I put the phone back onto the counter hoping I had fooled his uncle. He seemed to sense that nap time was on the way as we walked into his nursery. Luckily, he didn’t put up much of a fight and laid right down in his brand new crib. I hung around for a few moments and talked to him before I couldn’t take it anymore.
I
snatched the hard drive from the table and went into Darien’s office. I had no idea if the computer in his office would even read the thumb drive but I was determined. If nothing else, I could call Cindy and tell her what was going on and she would help me figure it out. She would probably be thrilled to hack into another Kiriakis device for me.
I lucked out as the computer turned on and it didn’t require any sort of password. Praying to God and thanking Him for small miracles, I felt around for a USB drive spot and finally found one on the side of the monitor. With a slight snap the drive fit in perfect and the window came up stating that a drive had been connected to the port. It asked would I like to proceed.
Files upon files awaited me inside of the thumb drive. Video files that were dated for the years Darien would have been in college caught my eye. I started there first and opened them. They were all of him and Kikiyo having sex.
In each video the bindings became more and more intricate. It was as if she had guided him into this life style that he know practiced with me occasionally. I observed how very submissive she was to Darien, letting him be completely in control of every little way that he manipulated her body. He had done my body the same way.
My stomach started to boil a little bit. I couldn’t believe the shit I was viewing. Finally, I had to stop watching. When he had taken the riding crop out and had began to smack her ass and her mouth had started to form the perfect, “O” shapes.
I yanked the thumb drive from the port and stood up. My hands scrubbed over my face trying to wipe away some of the tension that had started to build up. Before long, I had started to get a headache. Checking on Alex, I found him deep asleep and smiling. Closing the door, I grabbed my phone and saw that Darien had called again but I didn’t call him back.
Taking our a pitcher of water from the fridge, I poured myself a glass of water. I probably needed something stronger than water and Advil but we were out of wine. Besides, it was too early in the day to even start drinking. Didn’t want to wind up like my mother and having substance abuse problems, now did I?
I found myself bracing myself on the edge of the kitchen sink, waiting for the pills I’d taken to work. My phone started buzzing and instantaneously, I knew it was Darien trying to check in. He wasn’t buying my story about nothing being wrong.
Lana, do you love me?
His text appeared on the screen when I tap the iPhones screen. He had never really asked me this before. He was a man that was extremely sure of himself. He would never question a person’s devotion to him. And yet, he had never thought that someone as devoted as Cassie would kidnap his nephew and soon to be adopted son.
I wanted to text back. Calm his fears down.
Silly question.
The dots started popping on my screen. It was the middle of a workday. He rarely texted me when he was busy.
But you didn’t answer. Have I done something?
My thumbs flew over the touchscreen. Don’t be crazy. Of course not.
The bubbles floated and then stopped.
Floated.
Stopped.
Floated.
I feel like you’re hiding something from me. What did that reporter say to you exactly?
“That is really rich coming from your secrets hiding ass,” I murmured knowing he couldn’t hear me. He couldn’t even see me as the security camera was only in the living room and front door areas of the house.
He said nothing. Just wanted more details about the kidnapping. Pepperoni on your pizza?
Darien’s reply text came quickly. Allanah, you wouldn’t lie to me would you?
You are being paranoid. Exactly what would this reporter have said to make you so crazy?
Darien said nothing after that. I put my phone on charge and went back into the office. I was determined to find exactly what it was that Tenchi had placed on the disk for me. He wanted me to find something on Darien and I needed to know exactly what had happened. Darien Kiriakis didn’t do paranoia, he was always cool calm and collected. Nothing ruffled that man’s feather. Nothing got under his skin; it had taken an infant to smile in his direction in order to illicit emotion. It had taken him a year to admit that he loved me outloud. Everything that he did was calculated down to the letter.
I looked to the aquamarine ring that I wore on my finger. I still wasn’t sure exactly why he had chosen to give me this ring but I knew that it meant a lot to him that I wore it every day.
The thumb drive slipped back into place within the port. Taking a deep breath, I scrolled the files until I reached the very last one that Mr. Kobiyashi had very generously titled Allanah Haughton. It was a video file. The cursor danced over and hovered over the file before I finally clicked it.
Darien and Kikiyo once again came into view. Kissing passionately in the room that I had now placed as the suite from Monaco where he had taken me for Aria’s wedding. Disgust swept over my body and hung in my throat.
My eyes followed his every movements as he wound rope around her body; she was practically hanging by her hands from the ceiling. And then she spoke in a soft voice and requested something I couldn’t quite here. Using the mouse, I dragged it back to that certain minute and then clicked play.
“Master, place the bag over my head. Please, I beg you.”
Her voice was tiny and petite just like she was. It was almost a squeaky sound that I found irritating.
“You must be patient. When I fuck you, I will place the bag over you head. Now be a good girl before I paddle you.” Darien’s voice was young sounding but thick and dripping with authority.
“I will not be a good girl,” Kikiyo spoke again. “Please, master the bag.”
“Fine, I will do it. I need to go and get the ice. You will wear it until I return.”
He place some sort of hood over Kikiyo’s face. Once she was fixed into place he walked off screen and perhaps out of the room. Moments passed by and I watched as she began to struggle and then the clip ended.
I sat there in shock.
Shock and disgust.
Basically, I had just sat and watched a snuff film that had involved the man I was in love with. He had never mentioned a Kikiyo or a Tenchi Kobiyashi. The trip to New York had actually spanned longer than needed, and Darien had never uttered a word about this woman.
I flipped back and forth in the closet and drawers. I pulled out sensible clothing and shoved into a suitcase. Breathing hard as I lugged the suitcase to the front porch, I noted the time. I probably had another twenty minutes before Darien got home, maybe a longer if someone stopped to get his attention on something. He came home by five o’clock on the dot most days.
Once Alexander was all the way square, I threw all our luggage into the black SUV that Darien had purchased me after our trip from New York. I had told him I didn’t want to rely on getting around with a driver. At the moment, my New York driver’s license still worked here but I was going to have to get it converted to a Greek one pretty soon.
I fiddled with the built in navigation, and even yelled “Hotel” at it. Finally, I figured it out and followed the root to my destination. Why had I just packed up and left. I hadn’t even left a note. I guess I just needed some time to myself to process the shit I had just seen on the thumb drive.
“Godddd motherrrrfucking damn it,” I screamed and swerved avoiding a pot hole. I had to have been about ten minutes into my drive when I whipped the car around. “Hold on Alex!”
Alex hadn’t been fussy before but he was stirring now. I whispered my apologies to my rough driving and turned into the driveway leading back up to the house. As I pulled in, I spotted Darien’s on black car and he was standing in the drive way, the door already ajar.
He looked both lost and like he had been waiting. He had already seen the car and I had no choice but to throw the bitch in park and get out of the car. I wanted to back out but it was already to late to do so. I wish I had never been so nosey. I wish that Tenchi Kobiyashi had never came bye this house and torn down my worl
d.
“Lana, I …”
“What?!” I snapped at Darien.
He seemed taken aback but he definitely knew that something was up now. That I had been lying over the phone about everything being fine. The ding from the door being opened was the only thing that could be heard for a few moments before Alex started to cry.
Darien went into daddy mode immediately and went to the car to tend to the baby. My foot stamped the ground because I knew he would see the luggage and would find out I had definitely been on my way to stay somewhere else.
“Come here, my boy,” I heard him trying to soothe our kid. He walked past me and into the house, the smell of Armani Exchange filling my lungs.
“Fuck!” I muttered then reached into the car to turn it completely off. I couldn’t very well just leave the baby, now could I.
Storming back in, I slammed the door. Darien was already in the kitchen and had Alex’s crying under control. He was sucking down a bottle of milk and was being spoon fed something in between. Guilt ran over me. I would have fed him eventually, like when we got to the hotel.
I came into the kitchen and Darien didn’t pause his task. “Will you tell me what that man said to get you to leave me?”
His voice sounded somber. I had never heard him sound this way before. I took in his body language and it seemed to read defeat in a lot of way. Darien seemed ready to pull in on himself.
“What could that man have said to make me want to go?” I asked.
“I’m not sure,” he spoke. He finished feeding Alex the yogurt and then casually leaned against the kitchen island. “But I know you want to go. I can feel your desire to go. Not to mention Lana, you have bags packed already.”
“I feel like I’m going to have to fight you for Alex,” I said. “Here we are a year later and pretty much the same situation. We never signed the adoption papers. As far as I’m concerned, Alex is mine completely.”
He sighed and hung his head. Alex seemed to take notice of the tension and looked between us. His look seemed to be simple but I read it as, “Here this bitch go making shit difficult.”
“Can we talk before you do anything crazy?”