THE GREAT BETRAYAL

THE GREAT BETRAYAL

By Millenia Black

The characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

Copyright © 2006 by Millenia Black, Inc.

ISBN:

All rights reserved. The characters and events portrayed in this novel are the sole property of Millenia Black, Inc. and no other person alive or dead. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review.

Acknowledgements

To God—thank you. For everything.

To my family. Thank you all so very much for your love and encouragement.

To Claudia Garner. Thanks so much for the guidance, advice, and support. They’re always invaluable.

To Miss Elizabeth. I have never forgotten you, or Trixie.

And finally, to Daddy. Timothy Aldred. Global. Without you, this wouldn’t exist. Here’s to “code green.” Love you always, Daddy.

PROLOGUE

Palm Beach, Florida

Summer 2006

They had no
idea they were about to be discovered.

Their rendezvous locale was a posh, cozy residence the man had leased near the Intracoastal Waterway—nearly five years ago.

Since that time, the quiet comings and goings, as observed by a vigilant neighbor, suggested more than a little impropriety…the elderly neighbor surmised that the couple was having an illicit affair.

But tonight, even the neighbors would feel the shock waves.

The powerful shock waves of the forbidden.

Forty-five endless minutes
.

That’s how long she lay in bed, anxiously awaiting her lover’s arrival.

When she finally heard the front door opening, the woman smiled, snuggling deeper into the fluffy pillows and cool, silky bedding. Her breathing steadied, tension disappeared, and her forehead relaxed.

They still had a solid hour to spend together, and he was now all hers!

But if she’d only known what was to happen on this night. That her secret was about to explode and change her life forever…she would not be smiling.

The nature of their affair made the explosion inevitable.

There was only so much sand in an hourglass, and now their time was up…tonight would be the last.

The last of the secret rendezvous.

As he entered
the house, the man noticed the vanilla-scented candles illuminating the hallway that led to the bedroom.

What was he doing here with her?
Again
.

He’d tried to end it so many times…why couldn’t he?

Placing his briefcase near the door, he allowed the soothing atmosphere to combat the effects of the day, and took a deep breath.

Okay. One more time.

Inhaling the sweet ambiance, he removed his tie and tossed it over a barstool.

Quietly he strolled into the bedroom. And as always, there she was. Lying against the creamy pillows, waiting for him.
No secrets. No lies. No past.

Just lying there wanting
him
.

Holding her gaze, he removed his clothes and climbed into the bed. He breathed deeply, trying his damnedest to release the burdens and disappointments of recent months.

Of recent years.

He took her into his arms and closed his eyes. “Tonight,” he whispered, spooning the now familiar curves of her naked body, “I just want to lay here and hold you.”

She laced their fingers. “You okay?” she asked, concerned. “Something wrong?”

“
No more than usual. I just…” He hesitated, squeezing her. He couldn’t say too much. “Tonight I just want to lie here. Just need to shut out the world and not think too much.”

“
Hmm.” Turning in his arms, she planted a gentle kiss on his lips. “Okay, just relax then. I’ll be right here.”

They nestled together, their legs intertwining. After a little adjusting, his head rested lower, cushioned by her breasts. They enjoyed the quiet tranquility they had begun to find here. They never suspected that—this time—it would not last.

“
Oh, my God! Nooo!”

The violent, bloodcurdling scream broke them apart.

They both recognized the voice. It was her.

Her
!

Holy shit
.

With a deafening crash, the bedroom’s window shattered and shards of glass showered them on the bed.

They’d been discovered.

She—of all the people in the world—had found them!

They jumped from the bed.

PART I

Chapter 1

Clearwater, Florida

Early 1985

“
Elvis
? You’ve got
to be kidding me, Jeff. We’re not naming her Elvis.”

“
Come on, don’t be that way. Elvis could work for a girl.”

“
Yeah, well, not this girl.” Leslie Phillips rubbed her eight-months-pregnant tummy. “She’d be the laughingstock of the entire universe!”

Jeffrey’s smile grazed her cheek where their faces touched.

They were sitting up in bed together, her aching back supported by his broad chest as she relaxed in his arms. Elvis Presley’s
Moody Blue
album played on the stereo as Jeff’s palms stroked her tummy.

On account of Jeff’s newfound adoration, their home was filled with all things Elvis, right down to the life-sized
Elvis: That’s the Way It Is
poster that hung on the bedroom door. And now Jeff wanted to brand their poor unborn child with his obsession.

He tried again. “Okay, then…How about Elvis-Ann?”

Heaving a sigh, Leslie shook her head.

“
Elvissa?”

She trembled with laughter, Jeff’s hands jiggling atop her belly.

“
Elvisalynn?” he continued, deep in thought. “Lynnelvis?”

Now Leslie cackled so hard the baby started kicking. “Oh, boy…you’d better stop!” Guiding his hand across her stomach, she snickered. “You feel that? That’s your Elvisalynn beating me up in protest of those ridiculous names!”

Feeling the firm thumps, Jeff feigned chagrin. “Well…what about the ridiculous name you and Mom want her stuck with?
Audrey
. Who the hell names their kid Audrey anymore? That’s so yester-century.”

Finally recovered, Leslie pinched his hand. “It is not. Audrey is a pretty name.” She gently began tracing Jeff’s nail beds, running her forefinger over them. “But, really, honey—you’re not serious about naming the baby Elvis, are you? You
are
just joking…right?”

He nibbled on her cheek. “Well…maybe calling her Elvis outright
is
a tad much…but what about something Elvis-related?” He bit his lip, thinking. “Hey, I got it!” He tapped her hand. “How about Grace? You know, for Graceland?”

Leslie turned her head, staring at him. “Jesus, Jeff. Is it that necessary to tie her name into him? If I had known you’d get this crazy, we never would’ve gone to Memphis to see Ingrid last year. You’ve seriously just been nuts ever since!”

She reached around for the phone, placing it in front of them on the bed.

“
Oh, boy. There she goes. Calling for reinforcements.” Jeff made a face and stuck out his tongue.

Leslie dialed Jeff’s mother in Memphis. “It’s official, Ingrid. Your son’s gone completely nuts.”

Hundreds of miles away, Ingrid Armstrong laughed. “Why? What’s he done now?”

“
Now he wants to call her
Grace
! Short for Graceland.”

“
Oh, no. Put him on. I thought we settled on Audrey…”

Leslie gave Jeff the phone. He stuck his tongue out again.

“
So, what is this?” he said sternly, pretending to be offended. “A wife-mother team up? What’s so wrong with Grace, ladies?”

That night the debate went on until well after midnight. In the end, though Jeff remained disgruntled, they reached an amicable compromise. It was perfect.

Audrey Grace Phillips
.

The following Sunday was Jeffrey Phillips’s twenty-sixth birthday. To celebrate, a few of his closest friends planned a festive barbecue at Glen-Frost Memorial Park.

His mother, Ingrid, and younger sister, Beth, flew in from Memphis for the occasion.

Jeffrey Phillips was a tall, lean, blond-haired, blue-eyed young man with charming features. A senior in the top of his class at the University of Clearwater, he’d decided to apply to medical school after graduation. He wanted to pursue a degree in neurology.

Jeff’s father had been L. Humphrey Phillips, a successful real estate mogul who’d pioneered much of the major industrial districts in Memphis, Tennessee. Though he’d been married when he and Jeff’s mother met, they’d fallen in love and had two children together. Having always adored his second family, Humphrey had seen to it that they were very well looked after.

L. Humphrey died of a brain aneurism when Jeff was six, and Beth only two. To his credit, his will provided amply for his “illegitimate” children, ensuring a prosperous financial and academic future, and he did not deny them the right to his name.

Thanks to his late father, they’d led a very comfortable life, enabling Jeff to fulfill his dream of lounging on the beaches of Florida once he’d graduated from Memphis High, a move that ultimately led to his future wife.

Leslie Sanders was a high-spirited redhead with eyes Jeff called “emerald gems.” She was just seventeen when they met, in her last semester of high school, but before too long Leslie knew that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with Jeffrey Phillips. He became her whole life, saving her from an unhappy upbringing.

He’d had a rare appreciation for the things that matter most in life, and it was so endearing that she’d gravitated toward him like no other guy before. Jeff Phillips exuded an air of vulnerability that clutched at Leslie’s own vulnerable heart. She’d grown up swooning with the greatest Hollywood love stories: Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy, Clark Gable and Carole Lombard. They were all seared into her romantic hopes and dreams.

And when she met Jeff, she seared another onto the list: Jeffrey Phillips and Leslie Sanders.

One afternoon, about a month after they’d met, Leslie left school early and accompanied Jeff to pick out furniture for the home he’d just purchased. Unbeknownst to either at the time, they were shopping for the home they would soon share together.

About a week after the furniture was delivered, when Leslie got home from school, there was a gift in the mail: a large poster featuring the entire cast of the hit show
Dynasty
. Jeff knew she never missed an episode.

The note read simply:
Thanks for the “woman’s touch.” The place is beautiful
.

When they had been dating about four months, Jeffrey began studying for finals, which limited his free time.

He asked Leslie to come over one evening to grill him on the material. They wound up working until two a.m., and Leslie was late for her first-period class the next day.