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Alex
I've never been so angry in my life, but I need to keep a clear head while I tie up some loose ends. Even though the situation with Orla gave me the excuse I needed to clear out for a few days, it also takes my and Kase's relationship in a whole new direction. I know he was keeping something back from me regarding the bitch's condition and it irks me that he's started keeping secrets from me. I need to ramp things up and that means starting off with Vince and then moving on to Orla. I need to be more careful than ever to be able work quickly. For the next couple of weeks, she'll be weak and recovering. Taking her own life needs strength. A clear head and no doubt the doctor gave her painkillers to keep her pretty much out of it. Trying to take her out of the picture now will raise too many eyebrows. For our relationship. He's not a stupid man and I need to remember that by not overplaying my hand. I drive towards the city, I think of ways to put myself back on track to bring him back to me. One thing's for sure though, if he thinks that I'm going to be all Mary Poppins to the woman who's stealing my future then he's got another thing coming.
I've been back at the house for three weeks now and things are not going according to plan. Kase has become more distant and we're fighting more often because I refuse to play nice. I can't get close enough to her, to figure out a plausible way to get rid of Orla. Something that wouldn't raise suspicion, but she's rarely alone and we're never alone in the house together or even upstairs. Kase and I lay in bed watching TV. He lifts the remote to change to the news. Usual politics, wars and catastrophes. The breaking news label appears, and the anchor reports on an unfolding story.
"The body of Vince Conti, a known criminal and notorious underworld figure has been pulled from the East River and identified by police. Police have no leads or suspects in the murder and are appealing to anyone with information that can aid their investigations to come forward. Conti was a known associate of the Gambino family and was known to police and the FBI." The broadcast moves on to celebrity news and Kase changes the channel a few times before saying goodnight. He's become cold and distant. We haven't had sex since the night I returned, and he's made no move to initiate it. I keep placing Orla in the box and he keeps letting her out. He insists that it's not necessary anymore but won't tell me why. He only says that he trusts her not to try anything and that she's been punished enough. It's often the cause of our fights. SHE causes our fights and I'm done, she's got to go.
The next morning when I open my eyes, I'm in bed alone. I get up and head to the shower. I can see something in my periphery and head to the window to see what it is. Orla and Kase are walking on the grounds, and I know something is different between them. It's affection, and it makes me crazy. I rip off my clothes and step into an ice-cold shower and scream until my cheeks burn. I pound my fists against the tile until one cracks and my hand bleeds. The sight of the blood calms me. I get out and towel off before getting dressed. Kase's car is leaving and for a moment I think that he's taken her somewhere, but then I hear her coming up the stairs. She’s going to her room. I don't hear Kase's car and for the first time in weeks, we're alone. I come up behind her and grab her by the neck and pull her toward our room and the box. She whimpers but otherwise doesn't scream or say a word. Suddenly Kase roars from behind me.
"What the fuck are you doing!" He screams at me.
"I'm putting this bitch where she belongs!" I scream.
"No! No more!" He picks up the box and hurls it out of the closed bedroom window, shattering the glass as it plummets to the asphalt below and splinters into pieces.
"What the hell is wrong with you!? Are you in love with your father's killer? Is that it?" I scream.
"You don't know what the fuck you're talking about. Leave the girl alone. Don't test me, Alex!" His words are said through clenched teeth and, as angry as I am, they terrify me. He's a dangerous man, and I forgot that for a moment in my rage. I try to change tactics.
"I'm sorry, baby, but I don't understand what's going on. I leave for a week and everything's different. It scares me!" I make myself cry. A trick I learned as a child to get out of trouble quickly. He softens.
"Orla, go to your room." She hurries off, and he looks at me. "We'll talk about this later. Hands off her. I mean it." The warning is clear.
I wait until I'm sure that he's left. The simmering rage boils over, and I head down to her room. I dismiss the maid bringing her breakfast. She's afraid of me, I can tell, and the sense of power I feel for the first time in weeks makes me hard. Her hand rattles the doorknob, but I have locked it. She can’t get out now. I smack her across the face and pull her by the hair to the ground. I claw at her jeans and panties and force myself inside her. Muffling her screams with my hand.
CHAPTER 17
Orla
Ilay on the floor of my room, and I refuse to cry until he leaves. He pulls up his pants but bends over and spits words at me.
"If you say anything about this to Kase, I'll kill you and your family." He will do it, I wait until I hear his car start and drive off before I cry. This is my chance. I need to run while they're gone. I don't know how far I'll get because I can't move fast. Especially now after being raped, but I have to try. There probably isn’t much time, but I shower to get the smell of Alex off of me and change my clothes. When I get out of the shower, I think about which direction to head off in, but I have no idea where I am or how I'm going to get home. I think about asking one of the servants for help but know that they'll never defy Kase and even if they were willing, I couldn't risk their safety. I sink to the bed and put my head in my hands and start crying. Enough Orla! No more running! Death would be a relief now, so no more running and hiding. No, we fight!
I curl myself into the fetal position as I plan on how I'm going to blow this house of horrors up from the inside. I'm going to make that mother fucker pay.
In the hours that follow, I plan the downfall of Alex using the only thing I have the information that I garnered from what I overheard during his call. I just need to do this properly and precisely. There's no room for error or miscalculation. I know now that this monster will not rest or be satisfied until I'm out of the picture. He's capable of anything, and I'm not going to be a bug on the windshield of his quest to conquer Kase.
I hear Kase's car return. There's a knock at my door and he comes in. He knows immediately that something is wrong. I refuse to tell him what happened.
"You've showered and changed your clothes. Did he hurt you?"
"Not as badly as he hurt you and my family." I reply. He looks confused.
"What are you talking about, Orla?" He asks.
"I'm going to tell you everything because I have nothing more to lose. He took the last part of me about an hour before you got back." He tries to interrupt and storm off to go find Alex, but I grab him." Please, you have to listen. If I don't tell you this now, I may never find the courage again. "Remember the afternoon that you put me in the coffin and left?" I ask him, "You were angry. You left and slammed the door. Alex didn't know I was in the box?" I can see him zeroing in on the day I'm referring to.
"Oh, yeah. He was in the shower?" He says.
"Yes. He didn't know I was there, and his phone rang. The man was demanding money from him. I think I could only hear Alex's side of the conversation and shouting from the guy on the phone." I pause.
"Alex told him that he'd get him the money. As long as you never found out that he was the reason that the deal went south, the one that led to your father being killed."
"Why are you doing this, Orla? Your father took responsibility for my father's death!" He barks.
"I don't know why he did that - you need to ask him that, but I'm telling you the truth. You have to believe me." My eyes are cloudy with unshed teardrops. "I'm not lying. I've never lied to you, ever. He said that he was the reason that the Russians pushed up the prices, leading to your dad believing that they were trying to put the pressure on him."
"Your father could have told you that." He says. His eyes don't leave mine.
