The Fidelity World: Shattered (Kindle Worlds Novella) Page 13

  “Stop, please stop,” I cried out. “He did rape me! I was too scared to come forward. I would have…” I realized what I was about to say and stopped.

  “You would have… Would you like to finish that statement?” He paused and waited. “No? Then I’ll continue with my story. According to Mr. Spencer, you invited him up for dinner—in fact, he brought dinner for you, didn’t he?”

  “I didn’t invite him. He just showed up!” Why did someone have to drag this shit up again? I just started to live again. I wanted to fucking kill my father and Regina for their help in getting justice for me.

  “Miss Summers. He just happened to know you ordered takeout. Didn’t you call security and tell them you were expecting a visitor?”

  “No! I told them I ordered takeout!”

  “And Mr. Spencer just happened to show up with dinner after you informed security you would have a delivery? Convenient.” He fucking smirked. He wasn’t done and was about to go in for the kill.

  “Stop! Stop!” Tears fell fast on my shirt.

  “Mr. Spencer admits the two of you engaged in kinky but…” He extended the word but. “…consensual sex. He believes your invitation that night was a scam to extort money from him.”

  The room was silent except for my crying. I tried to process all the things that the detective said, and it all came together. Bryce was right—they would never believe me.

  “Would you like to know what my captain thinks?” he asked mockingly.

  “No! It’s not true. You really think I wanted to be beaten and raped repeatedly?” It was now a screaming match for us.

  March waited until the room fell quiet again and nodded his head toward the window. “My captain, he thinks you invited Mr. Spencer up and seduced him to play out your fantasy. When Mr. Spencer left, you had an accomplice help stage your rape claim in order to collect money.”

  “I never asked for a fucking dime—I didn’t want anything from him. Not his fucking money and I sure as hell didn’t want him to shove his dick inside of me!” Anger took over, allowing me to find the voice I needed to project the injustice of his words. My words were loud and full of spite; I was positive the entire building heard me screaming at Detective March.

  Bam.

  The solid wood door slammed against the wall and chairs scattered as my mother rushed in to protect me.

  “Leave her alone.” Warm arms wrapped around my back and pulled me into her embrace. My father and Regina stood a short distance from her. My mother’s protectiveness only fueled the detective's determination to pull me into the sinkhole he found himself in after the newspaper’s report.

  Fuck. Why didn’t my father just let it go? Justice. The blank look on my face answered March’s question. His eyes sparkled, and he went in for the kill.

  “Miss Summers, isn't it true that you actually have a financial agreement with Peyton Harrison?” He waited for my answer. “You were paid a large sum of money and in addition, he supplied you with a scholarship to Northwestern, a luxury apartment, and monthly deposits into your account…” He let his words drag. “… and in return you fulfilled his kinky sexual fantasies.” A loud gasp filled the room as he went on. He looked up and locked eyes with Regina. “Mrs. Harrison, are you married to Peyton Harrison?”

  “What the fuck is he talking about, Melissa?” Regina’s high heels echoed off the floor.

  I sank deeper into my mother's chest, hysterical. My mother released her arms and pulled my face to hers. “Peyton and you? Is what he is saying true?”

  I tried to divert my eyes away. Unfortunately, they fell on my angry father. "You sold yourself like a common whore?"

  March pushed on. “In others words, a prostitute for Mr. Harrison.”

  Detective March knew what he was doing—divide and conquer.

  All eyes locked on me and their look of pity when we arrived transformed into looks of disgust. I did what I had always done when upset: I ran. Pushing out of my mother’s arms, I scattered toward the only way out.

  Regina’s hand came up and grabbed my upper arm before I could get out of the room. "You little whore. I treated you like my own. You slept with my husband!” She let go of my arm, brought hers up, and slapped me across the face.

  My father and the detective stood by and watched. My mother pulled me away from her. She was still protecting me, but the hurt and sadness in her eyes destroyed me more than being called a whore.

  The last thing I heard as I ran was Regina’s voice. “You are nothing more than a gold-digging whore!” Chairs slid across the concrete floor, and people pushed out of the way as I ran to the exit to escape the hell I had just endured. I refused to stop or look at anyone as I maneuvered through the police department. The doors were just yards away when I collided with a human brick wall, and I stopped dead in my tracks.

  Peyton stood there in his expensive suit and glared at me. His eyes held me in place, too scared to move. There was nothing but hatred and anger pouring out of his eyes. “I warned you.”

  ‘I warned you’ is all he said before he stepped around me. I was no longer worthy of his time. That was all the encouragement I needed to run straight to the front doors and into obstacle number two. A man dressed in typical chauffeur attire stood next to a black limo parked right in front of the police station.

  “Miss Summers, please get in the car. My employer would like to have a word with you in private.” His voice was direct, leaving no room for negotiations.

  “No.” I wasn’t about to get into another fucking limo—that is what started this shit in the first place, delivering me to the Infidelity offices and sending me straight to my demise.

  The driver approached. “Get in the car—this is not a choice. I suggest you don’t anger him any more than you already have.”

  There was no way I planned on getting into that limo. It would be probably the last thing I did. I nodded and then took a step toward the limo. I needed him to believe I would get in; then I would run. Another step and the driver grabbed my upper arm and leaned down.

  “Don’t,” he said and shoved me into the back of the limo, and the door slammed shut. My body landed partly on the seat and partly on the floorboard.

  “Miss Summers, I appreciate your agreeing to meet with me. We have a lot to discuss.” The man who sat opposite of me leaned back, picked up a drink, and held his cigar to his mouth. “Drive, Peterson.”

  “Sir, anyplace in particular?”

  “Somewhere private.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  We surged forward, and the dark window behind my head rose before his belittling began. His speech was soft, but the voice was monotone and serious.

  Cold, lifeless eyes watched me while I pulled myself up into the seat. He stared at me like I was the prey, and he was the hunter. My head would soon be mounted on his wall for all to see. A trophy for future opponents not to fuck with him. "Miss Summers, I’m Alton Fitzgerald.” He sipped the last of his drink and set it on the bar. “Listen closely.” He took a breath. “First, this…" He pointed to the two of us. "…meeting never transpired. Right now, I have five very influential businessmen and a senator in my office.”

  “What does that have to do with me?”

  He leaned forward, and I could smell whatever he had just drunk on his breath. “As I was saying, I am meeting with several high-power businessmen who will attest to the fact that I never left. Any attempt to report our time together and you will look like a bigger lying slut than you do now.” He stopped to take a puff from his cigar. “I’ll give you one guess who they will believe, and it’s not you.

  “Now, let’s move on to the reason for this little conference.” Another drag as he leaned back and blew out the smoke in my direction. “I will try to dumb it down for you to understand.” He placed the cigar in a crystal ashtray. “My investigators discovered evidence that this isn’t the first instance of false allegation you’ve made in order to force wealthy men to give you a settlement.” He stopped to observe
me. “Are you following, or do I need to dumb it down a little more?”

  "That's a—" The words stuck in my throat as large hands wrapped around my neck and kept my lungs from inflating with oxygen. His face turned red in anger, and in that moment, I realized he reminded me of Bryce.

  "You are a dumb bitch. Now shut the fuck up and listen."

  The tears I held at the police station leaked from my eyes. My life flashed before me, and the only thing I saw was all the wrong decisions I made over the last year. All the mistakes I made were because of my need to prove myself.

  Alton continued his speech as if his hands weren’t wrapped around my neck, choking the life out of me. My hand frantically pulled at his as I gasped for air. Consciousness wavered, and he released me and shoved me back in the seat. Lightheaded and dizzy, I slouched against the leather seat as fresh air entered my body and refilled it with life.

  “Miss Summers, you will recant your statement about Bryce, and in exchange, I will ensure that charges against you for filing a false police report won’t be pressed. Once Bryce has been formally cleared, the documents of all the other false rape charges will disappear.” He stopped to make sure he had my attention. “If you don’t recant your statement, all the documents, including your signed contract with Infidelity, will be released to the papers and prove that you are a gold-digging whore. He stopped and waited for me to agree. When I didn’t, he became more irritated and finished his threat. “Be assured, other men you’ve accused of rape have already confirmed that you liked it rough. I promise that no college, business, or man will ever look at you again.”

  He picked up a crystal decanter and poured himself a drink and lowered the screen behind me. “Peterson, my meeting with Miss Summers is finished.”

  The car stopped, and the back door opened. “Goodbye, Miss Summers, I really hope we don’t have to meet again.”

  Chapter 20

  The Escape

  Hours later

  Melissa

  Exhaustion wouldn’t even begin to cover how tired I was. First, Detective March interrogated and humiliated me, calling me a whore more times than I could count. I had been slapped by my mother’s best friend. Peyton dismissed me again and showed his true colors when I ran into him. Then I was shoved into a car, threatened, and now dropped off in the middle of nowhere.

  The interview with March stripped away almost all of my dignity. And the little bit I had left was taken by Alton Fitzgerald. I may have been stripped of my self-respect but that is when I realized that I gained something else: the knowledge that they didn’t break me.

  My phone and purse were still at the police station, or maybe my parents had gone back to the hotel by now. Either way, I had no money or way to contact anyone to pick me up, so I was stranded. I also wasn’t sure I was ready to face my mother and father, and I knew I didn’t want to face Regina.

  Trying to contemplate the mess of my life, I walked along the sidewalk to a little park. I recognized where I was. It wasn’t far from Peyton’s apartment. I followed the sidewalk, walking to a bench under a tree at the back of the park. I sat and watched an occasional jogger as he or she ran through the trails.

  “Miss Summers, may I sit with you?” a soft feminine voice said from behind me.

  “Why?”

  I didn’t bother to look up as a woman came around the bench. I didn’t care. I just wanted away from the damn cruel world. Hell, the sun had started to descend toward the horizon. I should have been scared that I was just approached by a stranger, but I wasn’t. I didn’t care anymore. No one could hurt me any more than I’d already been hurt.

  I might still feel physical pain inflicted upon my body, but nothing else could faze me anymore. I was dead on the inside even though my blood still pumped through my heart. A big part of me was lost; I just hadn’t realized how much until this moment.

  “I’d like to help you,” the woman said.

  “Oh. I've had enough help for a while,” I answered dismissively. “I think I’ll pass.”

  “May I call you Melissa?”

  I lifted my gaze toward the nicely dressed woman still standing before me. “Honestly, I don’t care what you call me as long as you leave.”

  “I believe you.”

  “What do you believe?” I was on the verge of tears. “That I don’t care… because I don’t. Or that I want you to leave? Because I do.”

  “May I sit with you for a few minutes?” she asked.

  “Fine.” I nodded to her and scooted over to the other side of the bench.

  The woman sat and leaned toward me. “I know Bryce Spencer brutally beat and raped you.”

  My head snapped back toward the woman. “What?” I wrapped my arms around my body and leaned forward and rocked. Soft cries filled the air as her words sank into my thoughts. She was the only other person besides my mother to validate my rape, the only other person who believed me. I didn’t even know this woman. But her words were something I’d needed to hear since that terrible night. I don’t think I had realized how much I needed to hear the words out loud until they were spoken. It was like a weight lifted off of my shoulders.

  “My name is Deloris Witt, and I’d like to help you if you’re willing to help me.”

  As I jumped up, the validation I’d felt seconds ago vanished. “I fucking should have known. You want something from me too. I’m out of things to give. I’m empty. Why can’t everyone just leave me alone?” I turned to walk away.

  She stood and placed her hand on my shoulder. “Please sit. It's not what you think.”

  Exhaling a deep breath, I sat down and waited for the other shoe to drop. It always did.

  “Melissa, I want Bryce Spencer punished, but I need your help.”

  “I can’t come forward. Everyone already thinks I’m a gold-digging whore.” I looked every which way but at her, not wanting to see the pity in her eyes before that emotion turned to disgust. I’d seen it too many times.

  Mrs. Witt placed her hand on my chin and turned my face back to hers. “Listen to me. You’re not a whore.” Deloris spoke slowly and quietly. “Bryce is a rapist. You didn’t ask to be raped.”

  “No, but I sold myself. So I’m no different than a whore.”

  I tried to turn my head away, but she kept it in place.

  “Listen to me. You made a choice. It might not have been the best choice, but at the time it seemed like your only choice. We have all done things we later regret.” She placed her hand over mine and clasped it. “You aren’t the first person to ever work for Infidelity. You won’t be the last. Earning money as a companion isn’t an invitation for a man like Bryce to take what you didn’t want to give. Your correlation is inaccurate. You made a decision to follow a dream, not to lose it.”

  I didn’t know how this woman knew so much about me. “Who did you say you are?”

  “I’m Deloris, and I want to help you.”

  “But you want me to do something. What do you need me to do?” I asked suspiciously.

  “I would like you to disappear for a while,” she said with a smile.

  “Disappear? How? Where? Why?”

  “The how is what I want to do for you. The why is not important, but the where... well, that’s up to you. Think of my offer as a paid vacation to anywhere in the world. What do you say? Would you like to get away and leave all of this behind you?”

  Chapter 21

  Free at Last

  Weeks Later

  Melissa

  I thought I’d made the decision to live my life when I signed the contract with Infidelity. I’d believed they’d offered me a chance to be free.

  I was wrong.

  They’d offered a chance at a dream, but it was never freedom.

  I was owned, degraded, and manipulated into a life I didn’t understand. Obstacle after obstacle had been thrown at me since my sixteenth birthday, and now I saw that each one had been constructed by someone whose only desire was to possess me. My dreams were insignificant in hi
s scheme to control me. Everything that occurred had just been a means to an end.

  I hadn’t realized how one decision would bring me a lifetime of debt with a liability that I would never be able to repay. The price continued to grow. Each decision I’d made since that time had come with a price higher than the original commitment I’d accepted.

  The decision to break my silence, which my father made for me, came with a much higher price tag than either of us expected. Once Pandora’s box was opened, my life and the lives of others were forever changed and altered. Once opened, I’d acquiesced, giving statements and wanting justice for the crimes against me, but not at the cost of my reputation or life.

  For once, I chose to benefit myself. I took Mrs. Witt up on her offer. I willingly walked away from my life. I had completed the first journey, now it was time to start the next.

  Since the report of my disappearance, I’d learned more about the people in my life than I probably wanted to know. No one was immune from corruption and deceit. I’d watched the news about my disappearance and interviews of people who claimed they loved and missed me. These were the same individuals who’d ignored or humiliated me on a daily basis. And yet their remarks were but another abuse against me. My life had become entertainment and a way to have their fifteen minutes of fame. And then there were others, those whose comments appeared in articles and news clips, those who claimed what a beautiful person I’d been, when in reality all they were doing was protecting their lies and keeping their agendas.

  Peyton was one of the biggest liars of all. Deloris let me know that my father’s car accident wasn’t an accident at all. It had all been a scheme masterminded by Peyton years prior. The money my father was supposed to collect from his insurance company was intentionally held up in the review process to ensure that I followed the path he wanted for me. It was one reason my parents were so desperate for money. I now understand why my dad was so determined to hold someone accountable.