Intimate Betrayal (34 page)

“But why? Why, Celeste?” Reese pleaded. “Just because you and my mother had a childhood spat at a birthday party!”

“No. It was much deeper than that. Sharlene was not my real sister.”

“What?” Reese and Victoria blurted in disbelief.

“Your grandfather, Reese, Paul Winston, was married before he married your grandmother April. He was married to my mother, Della. Della never married my father and I don't even know who he is or was. All I ever knew was Paul. I adored him. I was his special princess. When Della died and he married April, we were a family again. I was the center of their world until Sharlene was born.

“She was their natural child, born out of their love. Day by day I began to take a backseat to Sharlene. I suppose something inside of me snapped the day of the party. I believed that everything that was important to me—my parents—Sharlene had taken away. I was no one, nothing. I didn't belong. And a part of me died, the human part, and the first time I felt alive again was when I fell in love with Hamilton.”

Hot tears of remorse so deep and pervasive that they shook her body, streamed from beneath Celeste's closed eyes. “The lies must end here. I can't leave this life with the weight of my guilt.” She looked from one to the other. “I don't expect the two of you to ever forgive me for all that I've done. I can't forgive myself. My only hope is that somehow the two of you will find a way to be there for each other. You may not be bonded as blood relatives, but you are bound by the ties of family, something that I tried to destroy by my own sick sense of values. You have a father, Victoria, and I never let him be that for you. And because of what I did to him, he took his hurt and pain and turned it outward. He's going to need you in the months ahead. I hope you can find a way to be there for him. He doesn't deserve your animosity.” She turned to Reese. “I know I took everything away from you and even enjoyed the fact that even your memory had been taken. I can never make that up to you. But I am so very sorry, Reese. So very sorry,” she sobbed.

“I may never understand the depth of your hurt, Aunt
Celeste, or what you have done. But I do know that I cannot let it cripple me any longer. I have my memory back, Aunt Celeste. I…remember them. I remember my life. I have that to keep with me always. And maybe you did resent me and maybe you…could never truly love me. But you did care for me. I know that, deep in my heart. No one who didn't would have seen to it that I had the best doctors, the best school, clothes, an education that couldn't be rivaled. I may not have had your love, but you gave me everything else that you were capable of giving. For that I will always be grateful.

“As much as you may have believed yourself to be uncaring—beneath all of your pain was a heart.” She reached out and squeezed Celeste's hand, blinking away her tears. Finally she was free. She felt as if she were on the highest mountaintop seeing the world through new eyes, breathing in the clean, crisp air that swept away the darkness that had captured her mind and spirit. She was finally free.

Victoria and Reese stood facing each other in the parking lot of the hospital; their eyes saying all the things that were in their hearts.

Victoria stretched out her hand and Reese placed hers in it, then pulled Victoria to her. The two beautiful women, one light, one dark, hugged and rocked each other, their tears mixing together and cleansing them.

Celeste had simply closed her eyes and passed away, leaving them both with the challenge of forging a new legacy for themselves.

Victoria stepped slightly back and sniffed, emitting a nervous laugh. “I…only knew what it felt like to have a sister for a very short time.” She swallowed the knot in her throat. “I'm glad now that it was you.”

Reese stroked away Victoria's tears. “It doesn't have to take blood to be sisters or family,” she said softly. “It takes a common kind of love and respect.” She smiled.

Victoria's brilliant green eyes sparked with joy. “That sounds real good.” She knew from that moment forward that her life would move on. Looking at Reese, she realized that even though she would always have a place in her heart for Max, she could truly wish happiness for them both.

 

Victoria'd said that she would make all arrangements for her mother and Reese promised to return for the services in three days, sooner if Victoria needed her.

As the plane soared across the sky, all Reese could think about was getting home and calling Maxwell. She needed to hear his voice again. She needed to tell him that she didn't want to live without him, that he was the most important person in her life and she didn't want to waste any more time. She needed to tell him that she loved him.

 

Maxwell had tried unsuccessfully to contact Reese off and on all day. He wanted to hear her admit what she'd done. His inability to reach her only gave more credence to his belief that she'd betrayed him.

He'd had to fight off frantic calls from Mioshi, who threatened to break the contract if Maxwell couldn't find a way to stop the takeover.

By three o'clock P.H., Inc., had purchased 35 percent of M.K. Enterprise's stock. Harlan had set up the alternative account and had held P.H., Inc., off by buying 40 percent and transferring it to the new account offshore. It was costing Maxwell a fortune and as it stood now, he was out of liquid capital. If P.H., Inc., went for the big push, M.K. Enterprises would be ruined.

His phone rang and he snatched it off the cradle. “Yes,” he barked into the phone.

“It's Harlan. Listen, there's just twenty percent of shares left. Hold on…five percent just got purchased. There's still
fifteen. If P.H. buys it, they will be majority stockholders in your company. A hostile takeover will be inevitable. What do you want me to do?”

“Raise the price to fifty.”

“I hope that does it. The increases haven't stopped them so far. I'll put it in pronto.” He paused. “Are you a religious man, Max?”

“Why?”

“Because I think you'd better throw up a prayer or two.” He clicked off.

Absently Maxwell hung up the phone and squeezed his eyes shut. For several moments he sat perfectly still in silent meditation, purging his mind and spirit of the corrosive energy that was poisoning him. The soft knock on the door brought him fully alert. He swiveled his chair in the direction of the door, just as Carmen came in.

“Max. I brought you something to eat,” she said placing a tray on his desk. “You haven't had anything all day. It's nearly five. It's just a sandwich and a salad, but you need something,” she insisted.

He gave her an empty smile. “Thanks, Carmen. Just leave it. I'll get to it.” Food was the last thing on his mind.

Carmen eased alongside of him and placed her hand on his shoulder. “Everything will work out, Max. You've worked too hard for it to happen otherwise.”

“Does the staff know what's gong on?”

“There's some buzzing but nothing substantial. I'm not sure most of them realize the implications.”

He nodded his thanks. “Hopefully there won't be anything to alarm them about. So far everything is under control.”

“And it will stay that way.” She smiled. “Just have faith.” She patted his shoulder in her motherly fashion and walked out.

No sooner was he alone again when the phone rang. He grabbed it on the second ring.

“Yes.”

“It's over. The last fifteen percent was just purchased.”

“Just don't tell me P.H., Inc., got it.” Max heard the chuckle in Harlan's voice and the knot in his stomach eased.

“Then I won't.”

Maxwell collapsed into his seat, threw his head back against the soft theater as a gush of relief burst from his lungs. “Do we know who bought it?”

“No. I could try to find out, but it won't be right away.”

“Listen, you've done plenty,” he congratulated. “And you know what, it doesn't matter as long as my company is safe.”

“Sounds good to me. It's been a helluva day. I'm cutting out. I'll talk with you during the week. Congratulations on a fantastic initiation, my friend.”

Maxwell chuckled. “Thanks, Harlan, for everything.”

“It's my job.”

 

It was after midnight when Reese dragged herself into her apartment. She couldn't even begin to put the events of the day together in her mind. Too much had happened. The enormity of the level of deceit was too much to handle. All she did know was that she needed to talk with Max and she wouldn't wait another minute.

Tossing her coat carelessly across the couch, she kicked off her shoes and carried them with her into the bedroom. She sat on the edge of the bed and stared at the phone. Taking a fortifying breath she picked up the phone and punched in Maxwell's home number. She bit down on her bottom lip while the phone rang.

“Hello,” came Maxwell's groggy voice and Reese's aching heart filled with joy.

She swallowed hard. “Hi, Max. It's me, Reese.”

Maxwell shot up in his bed, his heart hammering. His fatigue instantly vanished and was replaced with the rage that had simmered on slow burn all day.

“Reese.” He snorted. “Your little plan didn't work. I saved my company.”

She felt as if she'd been catapulted into the Twilight Zone. “W…what!” she sputtered, her heart beginning to race with fear. “What are you talking about?”

“Don't play the innocent waif, Reese. It doesn't become you,” he spat. “You know what you did, and I, like a fool, trusted you with valuable company information. You sold it to the highest bidder. Tell me, Reese,” he bit out in contempt, to mask his anguish, “how much did Phillip Hart pay you for the tip?”

Reese was so stunned by the accusation that she couldn't form the words to defend herself.

“Speechless? That's so unlike you,” he taunted. “I guess you said everything you had to in your article.”

Finally Reese found her voice. “I have no idea what you're talking about but if you think for one minute that I would sell you out, then you can just go straight to hell, Max! Never once did you give me the benefit of the doubt. Never once did you ask me anything!” she screamed in the mouthpiece. “You're so paranoid about yourself and your life you still think everyone is out to get you. Even me.” Her voice lowered and she laughed sadly, because she refused to let him know that she was crying. “Everything between us meant nothing, Max. And do you know why? I'll tell you. Because you've learned nothing from all we've shared. And I feel sorry for you. I only hope that you'll find happiness with yourself because you're the only one who can tolerate you. Oh, and I thought you'd want to know, your father and Larry had nothing to do with my parents' deaths. Have a nice life, Max.” She slammed
the phone down so hard it toppled from the nightstand and crashed to the floor.

For several unbearable moments, she sat motionless on the bed. She was certain that at any moment torrents of tears would fall. But her pain was so deep, so complete that she was numb with the agony.

 

Two weeks had passed since Maxwell had spoken with Reese and every hour of the day of those two weeks, her condemnation rang in his head. Could he really have been so wrong? But fact was fact. The article was crystal clear and she wrote it. Yet she denied having betrayed him. The incongruity battled with his rational way of thinking.

Methodically he paced in front of his office window and realization finally struck him. He hadn't been thinking rationally. He hadn't since the day Reese Delaware walked into his life. Maybe it was about time that he did.

He crossed the room and dialed Harlan's number.

“Harlan Black.”

“I need to run something by you.”

“Shoot.”

“Remember when I said I think I knew who P.H., Inc., was?”

“Yeah.” Harlan adjusted his designer glasses and opened the two buttons on his midnight-blue Armani suit. He sat back, tapping a gold Cross pen on his desktop.

“An article was written in
Visions Magazine
the night before about our Wall Street move. How much bearing could that have had on what happened?”

Harlan didn't even have to think about it. “Not much if any at all. Perhaps for the last-minute shopper who wanted to try their hand at something new. There wasn't enough time between the article's release and the opening bell to mount the kind of attack we saw. Whoever P.H., Inc., is was
knowledgeable long before then. They had time to check your financials, get background on you, your staff, your viability, make projections, meet with their members and a broker to plan. I can't see that happening overnight.” He paused. “What I think you need to check, unfortunately, is your inside people. Whoever your enemy is, he or she is close. I would think it was someone who was promised something major in exchange for the information.”

For the first time in two weeks, Maxwell began to breathe a little easier. The heaviness that had settled in his chest lightened. There was an enemy in his camp, and he was going to find out who it was.

Carmen knocked and came in carrying the dreaded accordion folder.

Maxwell groaned.

“I know you hate it, but it's the beginning of the month—bill time.” She grinned wickedly.

“Thanks loads, Carmen,” he dragged out sarcastically.

“My pleasure,” she teased. Then on a more serious note she asked. “How are things going with your father?”

Maxwell exhaled a long sigh. “They're still investigating but it looks like they'll lessen the charges because he came forward. He will be dismissed from the Force, however, no matter what happens. Murphy's been indicted for his participation in the chemical warfare testing on the American soldiers and the attempt on the lives of the Delawares. But he's naming names. A lot of people are going down behind this. They gave Victoria immunity for cooperating.”