Dark

My feet were getting sore standing around waiting for Monica to walk in. At any moment she would come in and notice me in the corner. She hated my guts, so I knew she would run her mouth when I called her on her shit.

After a little over an hour the front door opened. Not a word was spoken, but I could hear more than one set of footsteps. My heart was racing as I got ready to turn around.

I needed them to be in the right position for Jenny to capture her confession. It was a large room, but I heard as they got closer. Controlling my breathing to keep my panic attack at bay.

“You can turn around when you are ready dear.”, it was Monica’s voice, but she was being nice.

What do I do? “Shit.”, I whispered.

“I know you are scared, but I promise your baby is going to a good home. And they stressed the importance of financial stability. That’s why I wanted to meet you here…”, she paused.

“This is my family’s hotel. And our agreement will be completely confidential. I even have an NDA for us to both sign.”, she seems kind.

This was my moment. Phew, I took a few deep breaths. It was time to turn around.

I looked toward the floor as I turned around. My hood still covered my head and face. This was the moment I have been waiting for, but I was scared shitless.

“Oh, look at that belly, you are so precious.”, she encouraged me.

There was a chance she would be nice when she finds out it is me, not! This woman was going to go crazy. And the shoes next to hers looked very familiar.

I decided to lift my hands, grabbing each side of my hoodie before pulling it down. Then I pulled my hair from out of the inside, letting it flow down the sides of my face. One last breath, then I slowly looked up.

She gasped with her hand on her chest, “Leah! What the fuck is this?!”.

Her demeanor changed instantly. And Graham was with her, looking equally as shocked. I can’t believe he was still going along with her crazy plan for fame.

She charged at me, “You bitch!”.

Graham grabbed her arm, “Monica no!”.

She hit him with her free arm, “I swear to God if you don’t let me go I will kick your ass.”.

He didn’t wavier. She was tall, but he towered over he and was four times as wide as her. He kept his promise to me, never letting anyone hurt me.

“Let go of me!”, she yelled.

“Once you calm down.”, he spoke with authority.

She snatched her hand back, “Fine, let’s see what the little bitch has to say for herself.”.

Jenny was quietly tucked under the table getting a good view of the confrontation. Now it was my time to shine and she how far I could push her. She was going down.

“Why are you faking your pregnancy?”, I asked bluntly.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”, she was being coy.

“I saw you in the cabin, you didn’t have a belly. Then at the house, you all of a sudden grew a large round one.”, I accused her.

“You’re seeing things.”, she spat.

“Really then where is your belly today and why are trying to buy a baby?”, I asked.

Rushing toward me again, “Because you came in and fucked everything up. You are trash and he should have thrown you out a long time ago.”, she was in my face.

I put my hands up and pushed her shoulders away from me.

She swatted them away, “Don’t fucking touch me.”.

Walking back toward Graham. He handed her a piece of paper and she walked back toward me. Holding it out for me to grab.

“Name your price and sign this.”, she dropped it before I could grab it.

I bent down to pick it up. It was the NDA and she wanted me to sign it. She seriously thought I was going to give her a baby.

I laughed.

Almost breaking her neck, she whipped her head my way.

“What’s so funny?”, she squinted her eyes at me.

“You really think I am going to give your psychotic ass a baby to carry on your con?”, I tore it in half.

“You bitch! You set up a meeting with me and took my money!”, she yelled at me pointing fingers.

“Yeah, to expose the truth. I’d never be desperate enough to give you a baby. I just want to know why.”, I threw her paper on the floor.

I was really testing my relationship with Graham because he was the only person who could control her. She looked as if she was going to rip my head off. I wouldn’t put it past her.

Jenny still filming under the table, but I hadn’t gotten a confession yet.

“Why?”, she paced around the room.

“You see, Adrian is at the prime of his game. He knows my father’s business is less than legit. My father named him as the successor to his criminal empire in his will. An empire that should have gone to me.”, she started to explain.

I didn’t know who her father was until she sent Jenny the check. It clicked for me, but it hurt to find out Adrian was a criminal. Our whole relationship was based on a lie.

“Adrian would never be mixed up in something like that! All you do is lie and manipulate, but I won’t let you do that to me!”, I yelled back.

“Oh, really little miss trash? Then why am I having to frame a baby on him since my plan to kill my father didn’t work?”, she spoke the words that I needed, and Jenny got it on camera.

“Thank you.”, was all I said in return.

“For what?”, she asked.

I pointed at Jenny, “Say hi to the camera.”.

“You little bitch!”, she stormed over toward Jenny.

Jenny jumped up from under the table and started to run toward the front door. Monica had trouble running because the heels she wore were rather high. We finally caught her, and it felt good until Jenny opened the door.

Cameron and Jared were standing on the other side. Jenny opened it and jumped behind them. They didn’t take kindly to Monica rushing toward them.

Cameron stepped in her way, “Back off Monica. Where is Leah?”.

“Why is everyone obsessed with her?”, Monica spat.

“Because she’s carrying my baby.”, Jared spoke up.

“No, it’s my baby.”, Camron clapped back.

“It could be Adrian’s.”, Jenny chimed in.

Monica turned around and stormed over toward me. She was a woman on a mission, and I didn’t have a good feeling about it. Stopping halfway into the room she was looking nervous.

Cameron, Jared, and Jenny stayed by the front door watching as Monica paced around with her hands on her head. She was a ticking time bomb and it looked like she was about to explode. Everyone was just staring at her as silence took over the room.

No one expected her to pull out a gun from behind her.

“Monica put it down.”, Graham warned her as he inched toward her.

Jared pulled Jenny behind him as he watched her point the gun at everyone in the room. Graham was even surprised to see the gun pointed at himself. I didn’t dare move, but the back door to the kitchen was so close.

“No one fucking move.”, she fired a round into the ceiling as she started crying.

Pointing the gun at me, “If I can’t have his baby, then you…”.

She was cut off by people storming into the room with weapons drawn. There were four people, but what shocked me was Adrian leading them and Martin on his left. The part that left me speechless was seeing them in FBI vests.

“Monica put the gun down and put your hands up!”, Adrian ordered her.

“FBI? Are you fucking kidding me? I knew something was off about you.”, she was pacing while casually holding the gun.

“Put the gun down.”, Adrian ordered again.

No one in the room moved, but I felt the moment his heated gaze brushed my skin. His eyes were on me, and his mind was set on protecting me. Not sure how I felt knowing he had been lying to me this whole time.

“Do you really want to have a baby with little miss trash over here?”, her mascara was running, and she looked as if she were having a mental breakdown.

“Where’s the ledger?”, Adrian asked with his gun still aimed at her.

“You tell me, Agent Adrian if that’s even your real name.”, she had lost her mind.

“You stole it from behind the painting!”, he yelled at her.

She laughed, “Are you serious? The only thing that old man hid behind that painting was a stupid rusty key.”.

With the gun waving around in one hand, she placed the other in her pocket and pulled out an old key. She threw it at Adrian and laughed again. Her world was crumbling, and she was hanging on.

Her vendetta was now set on me. She looked at me as if I were the reason her world had fallen apart. She blamed me for the heartache that was set in motion before I was born.

She pointed the gun at me, “Do you love her Adrian?”.

"Monica don't! She's carrying my baby.", Cameron shouted from behind her.

She turned around and pointed the gun at him.

Jared raised his hands in surrender, "Please, it might be my baby and I love her.".

This made her blood boil as she turned back around pointing the gun at me.

"So Leah, who's the father of your baby.", she asked.

Adrian's head turned toward me and everyone waited for an answer. The answer I had been holding on too. This is not how I wanted the truth to come out, but with a gun pointed at me I had no choice.

"Monica, please don't. I planned to talk to each of them today.", I pleaded.

"Oh really? Before or after you showed up to con me?", she spat.

"Adrian needed to know.", I looked at him.

He his gaze never left me as he spoke, "Know what?".

There was awkward silence, but Monica spoke up, "Oh come on Adrian. Don't be stupid. I am not really pregnant and the bitch over here set me up. Offering me her baby, but only in a con to have her little friend video tape me.".

The heat coming from his gaze was enough to burn down the building. I wasn’t ready to die, but Monica had other plans for my life. The whole room was quiet as she made the decision to pull the trigger.

She was cold, "Well if I can't have his baby, neither should she.".

Everyone was tense as we waited for her to put the gun down. She was surrounded and Jenny was still rolling her video. There was no way she was leaving this room a free woman.

*Pop, Pop, Pop, Pop, Pop*

Shots all around were fired and at the same moment the whole room went dark.

-To be continued-