Ginger Fox Part 2

“Are you jealous, Gim?” I blink several times, shaking my head rapidly.
“Of course not, where did you get that idea?” I shrug, stretching my shoulders and trying to avoid the curious eyes of the stunning blonde. “I just want to know why Jonathan called a lawyer to interrupt the conversation with the detective.”
I bring up the topic to shift Baby’s focus. Looking back, the presence of the woman does seem odd. Why would a lawyer be here at the mansion? Dexter was just speculating; it could have been a request from Bob’s mother, hence his insistence.
“Damn, that man is unbearable! Why can’t he just stay off the island with Bob’s mother at the hospital or forget about us?”
“Baby, Dexter isn’t accusing anyone, and he’s not the police. He’s just a private detective. Why did Jonathan call the lawyer?”
There are so many questions I’m starting to suffocate from them. Why was this woman here? Why didn’t Lorane talk to her sister and stay on alert when Dexter appeared?
“Gim, it’s complicated…”
“Baby, what really happened that day?” I rub my chest, feeling a sharp pain in my heart. There are too many lies and secrets; this is becoming a snowball effect.
“I didn’t push that boy, you need to believe me. And as much as I want to tell you that it was Lorane, I don’t know. I swear I don’t know, Gim.” Baby holds my fingers between hers, making our eyes meet. “When I arrived, I only saw Bob’s body at the bottom of the stairs, and Lorane was on the floor, crying.”
“Why doesn’t she tell her sister? Why doesn’t she just tell her sister it wasn’t her? If Bob really tripped and fell, as she says, why not say it looking her sister in the eyes?” Baby closes her eyes, shaking her head negatively, biting her lips.
“I didn’t tell you the whole truth about Lorane and Bob…” She releases her words between sighs, tilting her face to her shoulder.
“What do you mean? Lorane isn’t his aunt?”
“Lorane is Bob’s aunt, that’s right…” The stormy gray in her eyes makes me hold my breath. I’m overwhelmed by what the truth might be about Lorane and Bob’s connection.
“What are you hiding, Baby? Why are you uncomfortable with Dexter?”
“Bob wasn’t eighteen when he was involved with Lorane; he was sixteen.” My lips part in shock. I’m even more disgusted by the relationship between the two relatives.
“How could she have the stomach for that? It’s already sickening that she was sleeping with her nephew, but him being a minor at the time… That’s a crime, Baby!”
I pull my hand from hers, rubbing my face with more distress. My brain is working, piecing together all the facts. Lorane hides what happens with Jon… She also takes care of him… Lorane spends more time with Jon than anyone else in this mansion… Jon is only three years younger than when Bob was involved with her… But even at thirteen, Jon can pass for a fifteen-year-old; his body structure is similar to Baby’s and Jonathan’s…

"How could she?"
"Don’t ask me that, because I don’t even know what that idiot was thinking. All I know is that her sister suspects something but isn’t sure what. She thought I was having an affair with Bob and that Lorane was covering for me. Once we ran into each other, and she called me a pedophile whore." — I walk to the bed, collapsing my body on the edge. "That’s why Dexter keeps confronting me. That crazy woman must have told him what she thinks."
Balls and balls of yarn, all tangled up, clinging to each other, like in a basket of lies.
"This happened here." — I’m not asking; it’s a confirmation, and her eyes tell me I’m right. "My God!"
"It was hell back then. Jonathan wanted to kill Lorane when he found out..." — Baby goes silent, as if she’s stopping to hold back the words before they escape her mouth. She’s hiding something.
"What else, Baby?" — Using her hair to block my view, she turns away, walks around the room, and wraps her arms around herself. "Baby, why do I feel like you never tell me everything..."
"There are things that aren’t my place to say, Gim." — Her whisper comes out ragged. I see her shoulders tense as she takes a deep breath. "The stupid Lorane told Bob about James; she must have been drunk, but the problem was that Bob was in love with her. That little shit blackmailed me, saying he’d tell everyone the truth about James; he didn’t want to be separated from Lorane."
I understand Baby’s stance now. It’s not Lorane she’s protecting, but James's dead identity. She’s protecting the Roy family from a scandal. God! I want to scream at her! Why doesn’t she let everyone know the truth? Why all the lies? Lies are like dirt in a sewer; eventually, they come back, and when they do, they splash filth everywhere.
"Baby, Baby... It’s getting worse every moment."
"I know, Gim. That’s why Jonathan had to call Freire. It’s not just about us; one thing leads to another. Do you have any idea how many important people are connected to Sodom? The list of practitioners is extensive! Many of them are high-ranking, royalty, the White House, the Russian mafia..." — Baby moves, facing me with her sad eyes. "Jonathan becomes a target if a scandal falls on him. Roy risked everything for me when he freed me. My brother knew all the consequences, and yet he went to bat for me."
It’s not just a family scandal; it’s more than that. Loose ends pull on other loose ends. When I participated that night, it was just out of curiosity, just to know what it was like. But now I see it’s much bigger, it has a frightening dimension. Faces hidden behind silicone masks, egocentric desires that could be considered sick... This is a media feast; there wouldn’t be a single newspaper in the world not investigating Sodom’s practitioners.
"God, this is so crazy..."
"No. It’s Sodom!" — Baby rubs her face, drops her arms, and walks towards me. "When my father killed her..." — The corners of her lips tighten, almost in disgust. And once again, Baby refers to her as "she" and not "my mother."
"Your mother?" — Her mouth tightens a bit more, just nodding.
"My father was a cold man, never showed any feelings or weakness, but he had one weakness: the sick love he felt for her... He exposed everyone when he lost his mind. We were on the brink of bankruptcy until Roy took over. The council didn’t blame Jonathan for my father’s scandal. Her death brought some investigations opened by journalists who wanted to know more about my father, saying he was involved in some cult..." — Baby shrinks back, her fear on display. "Sodom intervened before more speculation started and some names surfaced. Many mouths were silenced, and they went back to anonymity."
"Until Jonathan was old enough to ascend to the council?" — I observe the marks on my wrists thoughtfully.
"Yes, because they know Roy is like our father, a Machiavellian and brilliant mind at the same time. But one thing is certain, the council doesn’t forgive twice..."
Jonathan didn’t marry just to silence Lorane; he was ensuring Sodom’s protection and saving the Roys. If Lorane’s bitch of a sister opens her mouth or finds out about Bob’s troubled relationship with the aunt, it will expose Jonathan, a target that must be eliminated before the media starts a witch hunt.