Chapter 65

Anna
A light in the darkness.
A small lit flame floats in the air.
I should have known.
I should have known ignoring the problem wouldn't make it go away. Alan was right. We can't run away from our problems. We have to be brave. I thought that's what I was doing when I went home last night and pulled out the letter I had originally ignored, the one that feels like a lifetime ago that I received.
It was Jed's handwriting, I knew it would be, but somehow when I opened it, doubt dreaded my mind. The letter was the same as the others, facts about our past, secrets hidden all around the world. Everything I would need to put my father away.
I put the letter into my safe hidden under the ground of my bedroom's closet, along with the pictures and all the other letters and I went to sleep.
Now, as I stand here in my doorway, while the light, the burning orange and yellow light flickers, I wonder if I were meant to stare harder at the letters.
"Annabelle." The shadowy figure calls out.
The light burns out and smoke rises above where it was. Father was never a smoker, and a part of me can't help at to wonder if the cigar he had just smoked, came from Colombia. I walk further into the room. I have no idea why father called me over and over again in the car. If I weren't with Alan I could have answered it, but I knew ignoring his calls would result in a very angry man standing before me.
"Father." I reply back.
Father stands and walks toward me. Every part of me wants to run. Run back to the awaiting beat up old Toyota that is no doubt waiting out front for me. Alan always did wait a few minutes to see if I would come back down.
I never did.
I always wanted to.
"I wanted to be upset that you were with that King boy, but I had him looked into, and saw something that could help us." I await what father could possibly mean by Alan helping us. There is no way father would want an outsider helping us.
"Sit, Annabelle." Father demands, and my legs take me over to my couch.
I sit as father walks over and sits on the opposite couch so that we are facing each other. It's been years since I've been this close to father and my heart pounding at my chest is the indication I need that this is not a good talk we are about to have.
"Tomorrow is a big day, you know that don't you Annabelle?" I nod my head like the good little girl father trained.
"And you know that I need your cooperation. One hundred percent of it, yes?" Nod.
"There is another thing I need you to do for me. And this Annabelle, will be your biggest mission yet." I wait and wait and once father deems the dramatic affect over, he reveals his plan.
"I want you to get as close to the King boy as you can. I know you are friends with him, but I need it to go further. Be with him Annabelle, intimately. Focus on just him and after some time, show him the family business. If we can get him into the business, we will have a shot at something amazing."
Father's eyes nearly glaze over with possibilities. He isn't looking at me anymore. His mind is elsewhere. I don't know why he would want me so close with Alan. None of his behavior is making sense.
"Father, I…"
"You will do this Annabelle. I need his family connections, and you will make that happen for me. After tomorrow's meeting, I want you on this mission and one hundred percent committed to it."
My mouth must look like a gaping hole because I cannot gather any words. Father wants Alan's family connections? How could I be such a fool? Alan's father has recently decided to run for state senate and if he wins, father will see that as a shoo in for him and the business.
"Father, even if Alan would go for something like this, his dad never would. His dad is a good man, he's kind and loving and wants people to follow him for all the right reasons, not the wrong. Your plan will not work." I have to be extremely careful with how I speak to father. I can tell he is a bit unhinged and can't help but wonder if part of that is maybe, just maybe, he can't find Nicholas either. Was Jed right?
Father lunges across the coffee table and grabs my neck quickly. I try and fight his arms off me, but he is too strong for me, he was always too strong for me. I claw at his arms over and over again and he finally calms down enough to give my airways some air but doesn't entirely let go either.
"How dare you doubt me girl. I own you, I own your brother. Did you forget what I am capable of? It has only intensified since Cole went into hiding. You will do as I say Annabelle, or the boy dies." Father let's go and I inhale all the air I can muster. I begin coughing and can't contain the sob that accompanies each one.
It's been a long time since father has laid a hand on me, and although it's been years, he has a way of making me feel like it was just yesterday. He always had that ability. I cover my neck while shaking and can already feel the damage done to my voice box.
"Tomorrow we will meet at the prison. And you will know exactly why I say that I own both you and your backstabbing brother. Do not be late Annabelle." With that he storms out of my apartment and I am left a sobbing mess laying on my soft carpet of my living room.

"6….7….8….9….10. Ready or not, here I come." I yell at the top of my lungs.
I can't see anyone, but I know their hiding spots well enough to know where they are. My mission is steady but not moving to father's standard pace. He said I need to start making myself a little more known.
I jump of the tree trunk and go in search of the ten kids at the birthday party that are in hiding. I pass kids hiding behind a dumpster, kids hiding behind the enormous barbeque grill, and kids hiding behind the outside wall of the obnoxiously large house we were invited to.
Nicholas Cole, the man father desperately wants to impress, is throwing a birthday party for a neighbor of theirs. I say neighbor in a lose term seeing how we had to drive almost an hour out past Nicholas' house just to get here.
I had asked mother why we drove so far just to go to a child's party and she explained that Nicholas was interested in the father of the birthday child as a potential investor. I wasn't too sure what that all meant, but I was guessing the child's father was important.
My focus intensifies as I count my steps to the one particular child I'm looking for. This is only the second time the Cole's have invited our family to mingle with theirs, but not for a lack of trying on father's side. I have heard father on the phone with him several times, requesting play dates. Since this is our second time meeting up, I'm going to go ahead and guess most of those requests were denied.
I reach my destination and see the dark brown hair I have been searching for. We have been playing hide and seek for the past two hours and he likes this specific spot. It's right next to a gate, His brown hair waves back and forth in the wind and when I turn the corner of the wall, I see he is not into the game at all. In fact, he is sitting there, staring at the sunset over the hills from the open gate. I want to leave him be, I want to let him have his quiet serene moment, but my mission comes first.
My mission always comes first.
"Gotcha." I say in the smallest voice I can muster up. Mother taught me that boys like girls who sound young.
Jared turns around from his sulking spot and lifts his lips a tad bit. He doesn't look too long at me. In fact he seems to look past me. I turn around and see his father, Nicholas Cole, and my father talking with the birthday boy's father. I turn back around to Jared and get ready to say one of my many rehearsed lines when he beats me to it.
"This is a stupid game. I don't even know why I'm here." He says, and as he's walking away I say something that wasn't rehearsed. I say something I didn't spend hours learning from mother. I say something truthful.
"Yes, it's a dumb game. Finding someone that clearly wants to remain hidden. Seeking out a lost soul. It's a terrible game because it doesn't allow for an ending. Only a constant cycle of hiding and being found."
Jared moves closer to me but before he could say anymore, his father comes barreling down the driveway.
"Jared, Maggie, let's go, now!" He yells and Jared scampers over to the awaiting car. I look over to father and see his scowl growing towards me.
Tonight, I will be beaten. I didn't accomplish my mission. I failed, and tonight I will be punished accordingly.

I awake with a gasp.
Another nightmare.
Another memory of my past.
They are becoming more and more frequent and I find myself wondering if my self-conscious is trying to tell me something. The memories are in order and are extremely vivid but other than the horrors on my past and reminding me what a monster I was, they have no other relevance.
I look at the time on my nightstand.
Seven nineteen am.
I stand, stretching out my soreness and walk over to the bathroom. After doing my business, I stand at the sink and look at the bruises on my neck. I knew I would have them this morning, but I've forgotten how bad they look the next day. I can wear a scarf or a turtleneck and since it's winter in New York, it won't seem off.
I text my assistant manager Carrie, just to make sure she remembers she is supposed to open for me today and once I get the response that she's got it and to enjoy my day. I head into the shower and begin the day that will no doubt cause even more nightmares.
The prison is located on the outskirts of town. It's large. Larger than I would think and despite the greenery surrounding it, inside the larger than life gates are full of sand and dirt. I park in the parking lot and look around for father's car. It's been years since I have seen father drive and even then, he would often change his vehicles up, so what I'm looking around for, I do not know.
I adjust my scarf as I head towards the entrance. I decided to wear a simple outfit. Dark blue jeans, knee high boots, a turtle neck sweater and of course my scarf. I go through the tedious necessity of signing in to visit someone in prison. I sign the waivers, I go through the metal detectors, I get frisked, everything. The entire time, I am looking out for father but I'm sure like a shadow, he will be there without me even noticing.
I am lead down the long hallway and into a room that is designated for family and friends to visit their loved one and for lawyers to go over the many ways of getting their client out. The room is enormous. It feels a big as a cafeteria for a school. There are no windows and only two doors. One that leads to the outside world and the other that leads to the never-ending prison.
There is one other person in the room, an older lady with graying hair and she is so far, sitting alone. She has a knitting set in her hands and it's giving me and indication of how long I can be here waiting for Jed. I sit in a corner, waiting for my brother to come through one door and father to come through another.
Ten minutes and eighteen seconds later, the door, the one the two guards carrying guns are in front of, opens and another guard comes out pulling a long chain with two inmates attached to it. One is an older man, maybe late sixties with a graying beard, and a limp.
The other is the man I haven't seen in over six years.
Right after I got out of college Jed was arrested for something father should have been behind. After finding out the truth, I went to father and told him I quit the family business. It took a few weeks and lots of broken limbs, but I was able to walk away from it all.
Jed looks different. Instead of his straggly, thin and tired usual self, he looks much better. His usual long greasy hair, is now an almost military style haircut. He has gained weight but the appropriate amount. He is all muscles and tattoos and when he looks over at me, he does something I never expected from him again.
He smiles.
The guard releases him and the other inmate who is starring straight at the woman in the corner, who has put her knitting tools away. The guard says a few hushed words to Jed and the other guy, and with two nods his way, he releases the chain-link and they walk towards us. I'm on my feet automatically when he comes to the table. I stand there frozen, starring at the man that was once a boy that just wanted to protect his little sister.
"Belle, you look beautiful." He says to me and my knees buckle at hearing him speak for the first time in six years. My heart aches for the fact that this meeting will eventually be interrupted by the man responsible for all of this.
For the man responsible for all of our turmoil.
"Jed." My throat feels like it's closing, and I can feel tears building at my eyes. Before I can say anything more, the other door opens, and in walks father.
Jed's whole demeanor changes. His fist ball and I feel the tension radiating off him in waves. Jed was always an angry person. Ever since I can remember, anger helped him steer himself into his missions. He was able to do things I never could. Now though, it appears his anger is controlled, even when it comes to father's presence.
Father walks in alone. The guard watching over that door, doesn't even bat an eye at him. He is wearing a long trench coat and a three-piece suit. His black fedora is hiding his eyes as he walks over to our table he looks up, and smiles.
"Shall we begin, they only give us so much time." Father states, Jed and I both sit simultaneously, and I swear to God, if this situation wasn't so damn tense, I would laugh at how funny it is that we all haven't seen each other in years.
"I called you here for a reason Jebidiah. I want to start an alliance. I want us to be partners. The conditioning worked perfectly on you two and with Cole behind the scenes, we can rule this business."
I stare at Jed, then to father. I look over at the clock, hanging high on the opposite wall.
Twelve thirty-seven.
"You cannot be serious. You think I would work for you when I get out of here after what you did to me?"
"Son, don't be dramatic. You were a part of the family business. I am in charge. I could not go to prison. It was you job to protect me, that way the business could go on."
"You could have told me we had a traitor amongst us. You could have warned me what would have happened. I know you think I'm no more than a scapegoat for you, but I'm also your goddamn son." Jed says through his teeth.
One of the rules of this place upon visiting is no touching and the inmates cannot get angry or cause a scene. I know Jed is trying to reign it in, but he just may lose it and I can't afford for that to happen.
"Jed, father's plan must be permitted. We don't have a choice in the matter. I don't know what happened all those years ago, just what I was told by father, but I do know that father is not giving us an out this time. He's got someone watching Alan, Jed. He's threatening his life."
"And not just his." Father begins with a smirk. "Your sister's life will be in your hands Jebidiah. Show him you neck Annabelle."
I close my eyes and count to ten. When I reopen them, both men are looking at me with narrowed eyes. I look down at my lap and that's when I feel Jed's fingers pull my chin up slowly. I don't look to the guard, I don't look at the clock, I look into my brother's eyes, the same one's that resemble mine, and I trust them. I know this will destroy his sanity of being helpless in here and what's worse, he will blame himself. But, for now, I trust in my big brother.
I nod my head slowly and pull down my scarf. The outlines of the bruises are large enough that you can see them past my turtleneck shirt, but I pull that down as well. Jed doesn't ask, he doesn't wince or even blink. He shows no emotion whatsoever. But I know my brother. Inside he is imagining all the ways he can destroy father without thinking twice about the consequences.
"That was me going easy on her Jebidiah. Do not make the mistake of underestimating me. I know what you two have been up to, and it's taking everything in me not to put a bullet between your eyes, but I'm your father, the man that raised you both, you owe me to see this forward." With that father stands, fixes his tie, and heads to the door.
I look over at the clock and fix my scarf back in place.
Twelve fifty-one.
It already feels like the longest day in history.
"You still count Belle?"
Jed has been calling me Belle since I was born. He couldn't pronounce my real name and hated the nickname Anna. He always felt it was too normal for me.
I nod my head and look from the clock over to his face. It's strange, he doesn't look he has aged to me. His body may be different, and his hair is much shorter, but he still looks like the young Jed that went away at the age of twenty-seven.
"Father knows Jed. He knew from the beginning what we were doing. What we were planning. How could he have known?"
"All my letters and pictures go through an officer to approve before leaving the prison. My guess is he bought one of them and they read everything before they go out. He mentioned Alan, what does he have on you Belle?"
"Father came into my salon last week. Told me he knew what we were up to but instead of making us pay, he wanted us to do something for him. He wanted the business to run again. Nicholas Cole went away, Jared and his half-sister Candice, pulled all their intel together and put him away, but because of some bullshit technicality, he was released. He disappeared from the FBI a few weeks ago and since then, father has been setting his claws deep in Cole's money and people."
Jed nods his head at me but doesn't say anything. He knows I didn't answer his question. I'm not ready to talk about Alan to anyone. Having him calm me down last night, show me that he knows me better than I know myself, has my heart and head fighting. Father wants me closer to him because of his connections, my head wants to tell him everything and run away with him forever, and my heart doesn't know any better than to protect him.
"We need to keep going Belle." Jed says, and I look over to the clock once more.
One twelve in the afternoon.
We only have another eighteen minutes.
"We have to put father away for good. Trust in the number I gave you. That person needs to remain disclosed, but they are here to help. Father has connections in prison but if I'm right, I won't be in here much longer." I look at Jed in shock.
I don't know his actual charges, but I do know one of them included illegal child transportation and kidnapping. It's hard to believe with those charges he could be out in a few short years, but I won't say anything. Jed knows this world better than I do and right now I trust him.
"I don't know how to do this Jed. I'm not one of dad's men. I'm not a spy who keeps tons of secrets and ten different personalities. I feel like I'm going insane. I just want a normal life. How can we keep trying to put him away if he knows everything going on?"
"Don't worry about that. I'll figure that part out on my own. Just continue doing what you're doing Belle. We're close, trust me. A few more details of information and we will be done." Jed takes a deep breath and looks down at his hands, he knows we only have a few more minutes. Jed never needed to look at clocks. He could always feel the time.
"You can't have a normal life Belle. Not now. Normal isn't what a Delula was ever blessed with. But I promise you, if you help me, if you help me destroy this business and put him away forever, I will give you as much normal as I possibly can."
Tears pull up at my eyes, but I refuse to let them fall. Our time is up, I can see the guard approaching us, but don't move a muscle. Right before the guard moves over to our table and taps Jed on the shoulder, I stand and gently touch Jed's cheek. I won't let him down and I'm done playing defense.
"Why didn't you let me visit you before Jed?" A single tear falls from my eyes and Jed stands up and allows the guard to clasp his handcuffs to the long chain accompanying him.
"Because Belle. Believe it or not, you're too pure for this place."