Authors: Missy Johnson
Scandalous (9 page)
Chapter Sixteen
Roman
I tug the sheets from under me, turning to face the window, my frustration at not being able to get to sleep mounting. I can hear the soft buzz of the television in the background, and knowing she is here keeps bringing me back to our conversation earlier.
Anna still alive? My heart pounds as I try to wrap my mind around the idea. It’s impossible. There is no way that could’ve happened without me suspecting something, and Marisa would never have taken things that far.
What the fuck is Carlos playing at, filling her head with rubbish like that? Did he think this took the focus off the fact that he abandoned his kid? Angry, I sit up, throwing my legs over the mattress. I reach for my jeans, zipping them up, and throw on a shirt.
Beth looks up at me, startled as I storm through the living room.
“I thought you were sleeping.”
“Yeah, I tried that. Look, I have to go and see Carlos. I need to sort this out,” I mutter, grabbing my keys.
Beth jumps up and races to my side. “I’m coming with you,” she replies.
I start to shake my head and then realize talking her out of coming is going to take more effort than it’s worth. “Fine,” I sigh. “Let’s go.”
Carlos opens the door and shakes his head.
“Seriously? What do I have to do to get some fucking sleep?” he grumbles. He holds the door open, letting both Beth and I in. “I’m assuming you told him?”
“Of course she fucking told me,” I spit, clenching my fists by my side. “What the hell is this, Carlos? Why make something like this up? You think it wouldn’t get back to me?”
“I’m not making it up,” he says, his voice quiet. He sighs, sitting down on the couch. “Look, I can show you what I found. Hire your own investigator, whatever you need to do, but your daughter is alive and well.”
“I can’t listen to this shit anymore,” I mutter. I stand up and glare at Beth. “Are you coming?” She nods, quickly walking over to me. I storm outside and over to my car, not waiting for Beth.
She slides into the seat next to me, her cheeks flushed.
“Are you okay?” she asks, her fingers stroking mine. I sigh and close my eyes, her touch soothing.
“I will be. I don’t know what to believe, Beth.” I curse loudly, leaning my head back against the seat. The thought of Anna being alive…I can’t even describe how amazing it feels, but what if it’s not true? How can I put myself through all that pain again? It would be like losing her twice.
“Would you forgive yourself if you didn’t at least look into this?” she asks.
“Probably not,” I mutter.
“Then maybe that’s your answer.”
**
I shift anxiously in my seat, waiting to hear my name called. Beth sits next to me. We are the only people in the small waiting area, outside the office of one of the top private investigators in LA.
I feel sick. My stomach is a ball of knots and I haven’t eaten properly in days. It’s been two weeks since I first sat in his office and told him my story. Two long weeks of trying to concentrate on my life and not think about how it may or may not change.
“You okay?” Beth asks, curling her fingers around mine.
I nod. “Nervous,” I laugh.
The door opens and Peter nods at me, motioning for us to come in. I stand, trying to mentally prepare myself for bad news. We walk inside. I close the door behind me and then sit down next to Beth. My hands are clenched into fists in my lap as I wait nervously for him to speak.
“Well,” he starts, “let me begin by saying in all my years doing this I’ve never had a case like this.” I nod, but find that hard to believe considering we live in LA. “So, you’re probably eager to know whether your daughter is in fact alive.”
I nod. “That was the whole point of coming to you,” I reply, my voice gruff.
He reaches for a cream colored folder that is sitting to the side of his desk, flipping it open. He turns it around and lays it in front of me. Leaning forward, I study the contents. I immediately recognize Marisa in the photo. She is laughing and hugging a man who I assume to be her husband. Alongside them is a young girl. My heart begins to pound as I take in her long golden hair and pale skin. Even though I haven’t seen her in so long, I know it’s her. It has to be.
“She is alive,” I mumble.
“I can confirm that your daughter is alive and well, and living in Manchester, England. This folder contains all the information we were able to uncover, including addresses, her school, interests, medical reports. Basically everything you’ve missed over the past seven years.”
I sift through the information. There are so many photos of her. I’m a mass of different emotions, from sheer happiness to absolute sorrow that I’ve missed so much of her life. I’m so angry at Carlos, but indebted to him forever, because if it wasn’t for him I never would have discovered this.
“I don’t even know what to say,” I mumble, shaking my head.
“Have you thought about what your next move is? You could have this woman extradited back to the states. I can only imagine the number of charges she would be facing. No judge in the world would deny you custody after what she did to you.”
I glance at Beth. My next move was the furthest thing from my mind. I had all this information and no idea what to do with it.
“We will actually be in London from next week for nine months while Beth shoots a movie.” I hesitate, wetting my lips. “But I’m not sure it’s fair of me to rip Anna away from the only home she’s known. She would hate me forever if I put her mother in prison.”
“How is she going to feel about her mother when she hears what she did to you?” Beth interjects. I shrug, still not convinced uprooting her is an option.
Peter stands up and walks over to a tall filing cabinet. He rummages through a drawer, eventually pulling out what looks like a business card.
“Here,” he says, handing it to me. I take it.
Andrew Faulston, Family Law Attorney.
“He is one of the best in the country. Might be worth calling him and finding out what your options are.”
“Thanks,” I murmur. I look up at him, this time my eyes meeting his. “Seriously, I can’t thank you enough for all of this.”
“So, what now?”
We are standing outside the investigators office. I’m trying to get my head around all of this, but it’s hard. I don’t know what to do. More than anything I want to see my daughter again, but is that the best thing for her? Who knows what Marisa has told her about me.
“I don’t know,” I mumble. “I guess we go to London and take things from there.”
Beth nods. “This is good news, Roman. It may not feel like it at the moment, but you’re life is about to change for the better. You’re getting something you never dreamed possible.”
She’s right. My little girl is alive. I thought I’d never get to see her smile again, but I’m being given that chance. And I’m going to make the most of it.
Chapter Seventeen
Roman
Seven years.
I’ve missed out on seven years of her life because I thought she was dead. For seven years I blamed myself. I punished myself. Hell, the law punished me. Even after my acquittal, people still thought I did it. Once you’re tarnished with something like that, you can never undo the damage it does.
I sit on the bleachers watching them play. She’s good, every shot easily sailing through the net. I can’t drag my eyes away from her, almost as if I’m afraid that if I do she’ll be gone.
It took an investigator three weeks to find her living in Manchester, England, with her mother and stepfather. When he presented me with a folder full of current photos and information, it was like a blow to the heart. I was overwhelmed with happiness and sadness at the same time. I felt like I’d missed so much, yet at the same time gained everything. It was like a second chance.
I take a deep breath. Beth’s hand snakes around mine. I smile as she squeezes, so thankful for her support.
“Are you okay?” she asks, eyeing me sympathetically.
I nod and turn my attention back to the game. But I can’t focus. All I can think about is what if she doesn’t want to know me.
My eyes fall on Marisa, who is standing by the edge of the court. I see her disappear outside and I know now is my chance. Blood pumps through my veins as I jump up. Beth glances at me, alarmed.
“I just saw Marisa. I’ll be back soon, okay?” I explain.
“Do you want me to come?” she asks. I shake my head. This is something I need to do alone.
“You left me to rot in prison, Marisa. But worse than that, you let me believe that my own daughter was dead!” I yelled.
“I’m sorry,” she whispers. Her shoulders slump forward. She lifts a hand to her face to wipe away tears. “If I could take back what I did I would, Roman.”
“How did you do it?” I ask. “How did you convince everyone, myself included that she died?”
“My-my boyfriend at the time,” she stammers. “He took care of everything. He had a lot of friends in high places. Nothing was out of his reach. I’m so sorry. You have to know that.”
“I don’t know shit because you shut me out of my daughter’s life,” I roar. “I’m looking into my rights. I could have you thrown in prison, you know that right? What you did would have you put away for years.”
“Please, no. Please, you can’t do that to me. I’ll do anything,” she weeps, her eyes wide. “Please, Roman—”
“I wouldn’t do that to Anna,” I reply, my voice hard. “I’m here for nine months. I want regular contact with my daughter, and then she will be coming back to the US with me. I’m not going to stop you from seeing her. She’ll fly back every school holidays.”
“You can’t take my baby away from me,” she cries, grabbing my arm. I shrug her off.
“You had no problem doing to me. What did you tell her about me?”
“That you were killed,” she replies, her voice barely audible.
“You’re going to have fun explaining that one to her,” I say bitterly. “I want to meet her. Today. Once her match is over I want to speak to her.”
“Okay,” she agrees, avoiding my eyes. “You…you won’t tell my husband about what happened, will you?”
“What, does he think I’m dead too?” I ask. Color rushes to her cheeks and I laugh. Why would that surprise me? “No. Your dirty little secret is safe for now. I’ll meet you back here after the game. Just you, me and Anna, okay?”
She nods. Turning around, I walk away feeling like a weight has lifted off my shoulders. I was one step closer to reconnecting with my daughter.
I can’t concentrate for the rest of the game and when the final siren sounds, my nerves kick into overdrive. I wait impatiently as the teams huddle on the court for the post game debrief. Anna’s team won, thanks largely to the thirty points my girl scored.
As they begin to file off the court I stand up. Beth mouths “good luck” to me and I force a smile. I feel like I need all the luck I can get. I walk outside, my heart thumping in my chest. Over by a large, imposing tree I see them. Anna is bouncing around Marisa excitedly, her long ponytail blowing in the wind.
Shoving my hands in my pockets, I walk over. Marisa looks up first, her eyes meeting mine briefly before she turns her attention back to Anna. She kneels in front of her and says something, but I’m too far away to hear what. Slowly, Anna turns around. My heart thumps as she looks at me with a frown. Did Marisa tell her who I am? I have no way of knowing what she’s thinking as she stares at me.
I edge closer, praying I’m doing the right thing. I have no idea what to say to her. How am I supposed to explain where I’ve been for the last seven years? Does she even remember me?
“Dad?” Her voice trembles as she holds her hands in front of her.
“Hey baby,” I say, my voice thick with emotion. “I wasn’t sure you’d even remember me.” I’m vaguely aware of Marisa backing away to give us some privacy. “How are you?” I ask.
She shrugs. “We won, so I’m good. What are you doing here?”
“I came to see you.” The words feel so inadequate and don’t even begin to explain why I’m here.
“Why now? Mom told me you were…that you had…” Her voice shakes as her words abandon her. “Where
were
you?”
“I made some mistakes, Anna, but I want a chance to fix them. I want to get to know my daughter again. Will you give me that chance?” The easy way out would’ve been to tell her everything, but as much as I hate what Marisa did, I didn’t want Anna to hate her. I hold my breath, waiting for her to respond. Finally she does. She steps forward, placing her arms around my neck, hugging me. Then she utters four words that bring me to tears.
“I’ve missed you, Dad.”
Epilogue
Three years later
Roman
Anna waltzes into the room, throwing her bag on the floor. I raise my eyebrows as she grabs the TV remote and falls onto the sofa.
“Big day?” I say, my voice dry.
She rolls her eyes and pushes her long hair away from her face. “You have no idea how hard Ninth Grade is, Dad. It would be so much easier if classes started at noon. I’m not a morning person.”
“Poor baby.” I laugh, kicking her feet off the cushions, and sit down. “Maybe if you spent less time on your computer at night you’d get more sleep?”
“God, you’re such a drag. You’re no fun at all,” she teases. I shake my head, glad she knows next to nothing about my past.
I can’t describe how perfect my life is right now. Beth and I are married and Anna lives with us full time. Having a thirteen year old daughter is a challenge, but it’s a good challenge. Everyday I learn something about myself because of her. She pushes me to be a better person, and I’m thankful for that.
I sold Scandalous soon after we returned from London, though not before I fired Scarlett. Beth’s only request was that she could be present when I fired her. I’m working full time as a private investigator while Beth is continuing to explore her acting career. She gained a lot of interest from producers after she was up for best actress at the Oscars for her last role, only losing out to Cate Blanchett.
Anna loves that her stepmother is a movie star, and Beth loves having a shopping buddy. In many ways, Anna and Beth have a sister kind of relationship. Anna still doesn’t know the truth behind my disappearing from her life, and she wont find out about it from me. Marisa has kept her end of the deal, allowing Anna to live with Beth and I. she’s made no trouble for us since I confronted her in London.
Coop and Mia married last fall. Beth and I attended the wedding, and surprisingly I enjoyed myself. Both Mia and I have been making an effort to support Coop and Beth’s friendship and I think they appreciate that.
Beth and Carlos have begun forming a relationship, though I can’t see her ever truly forgiving him. They talk, and she’s civil toward him, and he accepts that that may be as good as it gets for them.
I can’t imagine life getting any better than it is right now. Being able to watch my daughter grow into a woman is something I thought I would never be able to experience. Having Beth by my side makes it even more special. It’s crazy how things can be so fucked up, but turn around completely in a matter of seconds. I know how quickly life can change, so the most important thing for me is to live each day like it’s the last.
No regrets.
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