“Stephen, seriously! No one in their right mind would have expected him to be the bad guy here. No one. This is not your fault. I certainly didn’t see it coming.”
“It’s my fault that I didn’t wake up when he took you.” His voice was soft as he stared into her eyes.
She stared back incredulously.
“Stephen, I’m only going to tell you one more time… because I mean it so completely. This is not your fault. None of it. The guy snatched me so fast that you couldn’t have helped me even if you had heard. It wouldn’t have been possible. But let me tell you something else. It was you--- remembering you that gave me the strength to kick down the door and escape.”
“You kicked down a door?” The incredulous look on his face made her smile.
“I know, hard to believe, right? It turns out that I’m kind of self-sufficient.”
She grinned good-naturedly, all the while rubbing her dirty, bloody feet. She wasn’t sure that she would ever be able to wear heels again, not that it mattered.
“Why, though? What did he want with you?” Stephen stared at her, perplexed.
As Tom drove, she continued to tell Stephen everything, including the part where they had to return to the house to get Diedre. By the time she had finished, she was shaking-both from the memory and from the feeling of immense relief that she was safe.
“And I still don’t know exactly how he came up with using me to get to his step-dad, but that’s exactly what it is about,” she concluded. Stephen lifted her hand and kissed it, then stared at it as it visibly shook. He grasped it soothingly.
“Sydney, don’t think about it anymore. You’re safe now. As far as I know, he hasn’t released that video to any news channel. Yet. Maybe if we can get to your dad and explain everything… well, maybe he’ll know what to do. But I just have to tell you—you are so brave that it blows my mind. I’m so proud of you!”
She leaned into the softness of his shirt and inhaled his clean scent. He wrapped his arms around her and she closed her eyes. She had been so afraid that she would never see him again. With his arms around her, she felt as though she was safe from the world. It was heaven.
She had barely closed her eyes before Stephen’s voice penetrated her bubble of serenity.
“Sydney, what are we going to tell your parents?”
Her eyes snapped open. “The truth. My dad’s got connections much higher than Detective Daniels’.”
Tom smoothly pulled up to the gate of her parents’ neighborhood and while the big red truck idled noisily, Sydney handed the guard on duty her identification. He examined it, handed it back and waved them through, although he did look at her curiously. She decided that she probably looked less than her best after not showering for two weeks.
She showed Tom where to turn and then nervously stared out the window as the luxurious homes passed her window. Each one of them was magnificent and a year ago, she wouldn’t have thought twice about them. They were simply a part of her world. Now, as she passed them, she wondered fleetingly what kind of secrets the families inside of them were keeping. Because apparently, everyone had secrets. The world was not a simple place.
“Sydney…” Stephen’s voice trailed off before he cleared his throat and tried again. “How do we know that we can trust your father?”
Tom pulled into her parents’ cobblestone driveway at just that moment and Sydney stared up at the massive house looming in front of them.
“We don’t.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
The look on Jillian Ross’ face was priceless when she answered the doorbell. She looked perfect, of course, in a pair of linen trousers and silk shell blouse. A multi-layered string of pearls adorned her neck and Sydney wondered for the hundredth time in her life if wearing pearls was a prerequisite for being a political wife. Her mother owned strings and strings of them.
“Well, look what the cat dragged in.”
Jillian almost purred with bitter satisfaction as she stared at the bedraggled group in front of her. Her gaze flitted up and down the length of her daughter and the corner of her lip curled.
“Sydney, would it hurt you to shower? You might not live at home, but people still know who you are.” She wrinkled her nose in disdain.
“Mom, can we come in? We have something extremely important to discuss with dad. It’s absolutely critical.”
Sydney hated pleading with her mother, but there was no way around it. Seeing the gloating expression on her mother’s face was torturous.
“I told you that you would be back. But remember what I also told you… you aren’t welcome now. You made your bed. Now go lie in it.”
Jillian started to close the door, but Stephen’s hand flew out and firmly stopped it.
“Mrs. Ross, we really need to see your husband. I know that you are angry, but I also know that somewhere in your icy heart, you must love your daughter in your own way. This is a matter of life or death. Do you really want to risk your daughter’s life? I’m not exaggerating in the slightest.”
Jillian’s mouth had formed a perfect O as Stephen spoke and as he finished, she snapped it closed.
“What do you mean life or death?” Stephen’s dramatic statement had given her pause.
“I mean that we need to see Senator Ross. Right now.”
Jillian silently gestured for them to come in and then led them through the house to the big mahogany doors of the senator’s study. She knocked quickly before she entered. She didn’t wait for him to answer.
“Rand, Sydney’s here. With some…er, friends. They have something important to discuss with you, apparently.”
She waved her thin hand toward them dismissively, her bored tone suggesting that she wasn’t overly concerned or interested by their visit. Nonetheless, she remained to hear what they had to say.
Sydney pushed through the doors and stood in front of everyone else as her father rose from behind his desk and made his way across the room to them.
She had forgotten what a commanding person he was. A person could feel it, just standing near him. It emanated from him in an almost tangible way. Everything about him screamed Powerful.
Randall’s face was instantly concerned as he took in the group in front of him, including his daughter’s bedraggled state. Sydney knew that he was probably well aware that it took something earth shattering to get her back home. When he absorbed Deidre’s bedraggled condition, the look on his face immediately changed to alarm as he turned to face his daughter.
“Sydney, what’s wrong? What’s going on here?”
At the concern in her father’s voice, Sydney suddenly felt all of the emotions that she had been repressing over the last few weeks come rushing back to her at once. Her face crumpled and she began crying softly, her shoulders shaking.
Before Stephen could step forward to embrace her, her father had already moved. He pulled his daughter into his arms in the comforting way that only a father can. Sydney cried against his chest, soaking his Armani shirt as her father gently patted her back.
Stephen quickly explained the situation to her father. When he had finished, the look on Randall Ross’ face was nothing short of murderous. He stepped away from Sydney and paced back toward his desk.
“That sick animal thought he could use you to get to me?” he thundered from across the room.
Sydney flinched. She had never seen her father lose his temper, not even once. He was usually too busy trying to pacify Jillian and being politically correct. But now, his face was distorted in anger and a vein throbbed visibly at his temple.
“Not you so much, Daddy, as Paul Hayes.” Sydney’s voice seemed small in the cavernous room and she slipped right back into her familiar pattern of addressing her father as “daddy” without even realizing it.
“Apparently, Paul molested Harrison from the time he was small. I can tell you… Harrison is twisted now. He’s crazy. And he’s out to bring Paul down. You are just collateral damage to him because of your…involvement with P
aul.”
“My involvement with Paul?” Randall’s face flickered with confusion before he was distracted by Danny.
“You haven’t told me the significance of this boy, yet.” He motioned toward Danny, who was trying to hide behind Tom in the doorway.
“He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. That’s all. He tried to help me and now he’s in danger, too. And maybe his parents are too. Maybe you should send someone to let them know the situation. And we definitely need to let them know that Danny’s okay. I was afraid to do it while we were there because his parents don’t realize that they can’t trust Detective Daniels. I didn’t know how to convince them of that. His parents don’t even know he’s safe yet. And Deidre. Deidre needs help, dad. She doesn’t know exactly how long Harrison kept her in that house, but he did horrible things to her. And she hasn’t eaten in weeks.”
As Sydney spoke, Deidre appeared to get even weaker, leaning into Stephen for support. Her dirty face was pale and she closed her eyes. Her knees shook and Randall’s dark eyes scanned the girl’s face before answering.
“Yes, I can see she needs help. I’m going to make some calls. Why don’t you take little Danny upstairs so that you can get him cleaned up and maybe he would like a nap, as well. He looks dead on his feet.” The senator smiled engagingly at the boy before returning his attention to Sydney.
“Stephen and Tom can stay down here with me and Deidre can go with your mother to the kitchen to get something to eat, before she cleans up. I think getting some nutrients in her is the most important thing. Also, I don’t think it’s a good idea for Tom to go back into that neighborhood just yet, do you?”
Tom broke in with his easy-going, country way.
“No, sir, I think you are probably right. I think I can rest here a spell while you folks figure things out.” He grinned and squeezed Danny’s shoulder. “Go on upstairs with Sydney, son. I think everything’s going to be okay now.”
Everyone began to file out of the study, but Randall grabbed Sydney’s arm gently and pulled her back.
“Princess? I’m really sorry about…. well, everything. You’re my only daughter and I haven’t expressed it as much as I should have, but you are everything to me. I’m really glad that you came to me. And that you’re safe. I feel horribly that I didn’t even know you were in trouble. I’m sorry that I let you down. It won’t happen again.”
His face was sincere, his eyes misty. Sydney studied him for a moment before she leaned up and kissed him on the cheek.
“Thank you, daddy. I’m glad I’m here, too.”
She turned and softly walked from the room, taking Danny’s hand and leading him upstairs. His little gasps of shock as he absorbed his surroundings made her smile. It was odd, because now that she was back here after being at Stephen’s, this grand house seemed much too excessive. It was large and perfect, like a museum. Much too perfect to actually live in.
She ran a bubble bath for Danny in a guest bathroom and left him to bathe while she went to soak in a hot bath of her own. Her bedroom was perfectly clean. Stella had picked up every article of clothing that Sydney had left strewn about when she had left in such a hurry. Everything was hanging neatly in the closet now. Sydney felt a twinge of guilt for being so spoiled back then. She had caused Stella quite a bit of unnecessary work.
She passed through her room and ran a bubble bath in the sunken marble tub. She quickly washed her hair under the faucet and then slathered conditioning balm on it, twisting it up on top of her head to keep it out of the water as she soaked. She lay back until she was chin deep in bubbles and closed her eyes. The feeling of washing away the grime of the past few weeks was heavenly.
After she had soaked for a good twenty minutes, she sat up again and scrubbed every inch of her body with a loofah. She felt the compulsive need to get rid of every trace of that little house. She rinsed her hair and then stepped out of the tub onto the thick bath mat. Her fingers looked like wrinkled prunes, but she didn’t care. She was clean.
Her favorite skin care products were still lined up on the bathroom counter, so she liberally applied lotion to her arms and legs before she stepped into her closet to find something to wear. She opted for jeans and a simple t-shirt.
She only wanted to wear one piece of jewelry. A silver Tiffany bracelet that her father had given her once. The heart was engraved, “Princess.” It was still in one of her massive jewelry boxes. She found it quickly and snapped it onto her wrist.
She used to think that her father didn’t think the she was important enough to spend time with. But she had watched his face closely earlier. He was really upset by everything that had happened… and he did love her. Maybe it wasn’t exactly the way she wanted it to be, but who really had exactly the relationship that they wanted with their parents?
A soft knock on her bedroom door interrupted her thoughts. Before she could get to the door to open it, her dad stuck his head in. She couldn’t even remember the last time her father had come into her room, it had been so long.
“Sydney? Are you alright?” He asked in concern. “You’ve been up here a while.”
“I’m fine. Now.” She smiled warmly at him. “It feels so good to be clean and safe. Daddy, I really am sorry…. About everything. I’ve missed you.”
As she spoke, she twisted her bracelet absently around her wrist.
“Sweetheart, I’ve missed you too.”
Sydney’s head snapped up in surprise. Her father had used an endearment. Had she completely misunderstood him all along?
He crossed her room and perched on the edge of her sofa, which made her smile. He looked completely out of place in her ultra-feminine room. Even though he was elegant for a man, his large frame looked a little like the Incredible Hulk sitting on her delicate couch.
“I’ve contacted the FBI. They’re sending someone here and as soon as they arrive, we’ll call for medical help for Deidre. We don’t want to chance the ambulance calling in to the police until the FBI arrives. But Syd, while we wait, there’s a couple of things I want to get off of my chest. Do you mind? It will only take a few minutes.”
“Of course, Daddy.”
Sydney situated herself so that she was squarely facing him, curiously waiting for him to continue speaking. Her leg bounced nervously. She hadn’t been able to truly calm herself down yet. Her nerves didn’t seem to realize that she was safe.
“I’m so sorry about not waiting to see you at the hospital. I let myself become influenced and went against my better judgment. But that is no excuse. I should have realized that even if you didn’t think you wanted to see us, you still needed your parents during such a difficult time.” He stared at her earnestly, with genuine regret in his voice.
Sydney gaped at him in confusion and shock.
“Why would you think that I didn’t want to see you? I cried for months because I thought you didn’t care. You never even contacted me to see where I was. For all you knew, I was in a homeless shelter. And if it weren’t for Stephen, I would have been. When I left, mom closed my bank accounts. I had no money. You wouldn’t even have known if I had starved to death!”
Randall stared at her in shock.
“Sydney, what are you talking about? Your mom didn’t close your bank accounts. And you spoke with your mother several times. We knew where you were. You told your mother that you hated us and didn’t want to see us.”
Even though he stated it as a fact, his voice was suddenly unsure.
“Didn’t you?”
“Um, no. And yes, mom most certainly did close my bank accounts. I left with $85 dollars in my pocket and that was all I had. She told me that if I took my car with me, she would report it as stolen. And I didn’t hear a word from either one of you until mom came to see me at the cafe and told me to come home. You know… after the text incident.”
Sydney realized that her voice had gradually crept up a couple of octaves and made a conscious effort to calm down.
“What text incide
nt?” Randall’s brow was wrinkled and he seemed as confused as Sydney felt.
“The text that you accidentally sent to me instead of to Paul Hayes. Surely you remember.”
“Sydney, I have no idea what you are talking about.” Her father’s voice was firm. “I haven’t texted you in months. Accidentally or otherwise. Your mother felt that we should respect your wishes and not contact you until you had gotten all of your resentment out of your system. She thought that would be for the best.”
“My mother. Okay, things aren’t making sense here.”
The wheels were spinning in Sydney’s head and she couldn’t quite put the puzzle pieces together.
“It seems to me that mom has been lying to you. Nothing she told you was true.”
“It appears that you are right, but to what end? Why would she want to drive a wedge between us?” Her father was genuinely puzzled, that much was apparent.
“Daddy, this is really embarrassing and I don’t want to ask… but..are you gay?”
Sydney forced the uncomfortable words out, trying not to blush. It didn’t work. Her cheeks were flaming.
Randall Ross went completely still, his face impassive as he stared at the floor in front of him. After a minute, he asked stiffly, “Why would you ask that?”
“That was the text. It was a text that appeared to be from you to Paul Hayes, only you sent it to me instead. If you didn’t send it, someone with access to your Blackberry must have. That leaves your assistant or… mom. But why would she do that?” Sydney was beyond confused.
“Sydney, I’m not gay.”
Her dad squared his shoulders and looked her in the eye.
“This is not a conversation that I ever thought I would have with you. But it appears to be necessary now.”
He took a deep breath and started talking, gazing into space as if he was seeing his memories unfold in front of him. He twisted his thick gold wedding band absently all the while.
“Another Senator came onto me, a very good friend, months and months ago. We were spending quite a lot of time together trying to draft up a bill that we both felt strongly about.