Chapter 61 Chapter 61
TESSA: Because she covered up for Alex for two years, she lied, manipulated, and deceived my father and everyone in Fredericksburg. Alex and Gracie moved in when I was a teen. My father took a trucking job and was on the road, she was my guardian and for two years she allowed Alex to assualt me.
PAYNE: What?
TESSA: Yes, the day he killed her was the day I finally had video proof that she couldn't deny. I didn't know he would kill her. But I showed him, and he walked out, and then I heard the shot. I ran towards their room but remembered the recorder. When I ran back to the kitchen, the recorder was destroyed, and that bastard stood there smiling. My father would have killed him too, but he grabbed me and had a knife at my throat.
PAYNE: You expect me to believe you were raped for almost 2 years and no police report was made.
TESSA: Yes, they were in the church. Women's leader Alex thrived at school in all sorts of clubs, making me seem mentally unstable. Detective Ryan James, now retired, was in charge. Even though I fucking ran, that bastard still hunted me. I ended up in witness protection. They never could pin anything on him. If he is missing, then good. I hope that bastard dies and suffers worse than what he did to me.
The door opened and a man in a suit walked in. He put a briefcase down and stood beside me.
“I am Micheal Walters. “Ms. Jansen’s lawyer,” he said, and I looked at him. The detective looked at me.
PAYNE: You called your lawyer?
MICHAEL: No, she didn’t; someone called on her behalf.
He opened his briefcase and placed a folder down onto the table.
MICHEAL: I am a lawyer of one of her friends. The file before you contains everything, documented by Detective Ryan and Ms. Jansen: abuse and everything. I am not here to stop her or you; she is free to answer your questions. I am just here to make sure nothing happens to her, legally speaking.
The detective grabbed the file and opened it and began reading through. He stood up and began pacing as he read. I figured Zaiel was the one that sent a lawyer, but how did she know? . He stopped pacing and looked at me.
PAYNE: The yellow roses?
TESSA: He gave me yellow roses every time after he… After he raped me, he gave me those disgusting yellow roses. After I ran, every time he found me, I would find yellow roses outside my door and inside my apartment, and then I would have to run all over again.
PAYNE: This is messed up.
He sat down and looked at me.
PAYNE: A few months ago a report came across my desk. A Caroline Rusland made a report with the local law enforcement. Her husband, Mark Rusland, was missing and had been for months. Then the second report Her brother-in-law, Alex Rusland, also disappeared. I did a check on both brothers and saw that they had a few run-ins with the law; that's where Aurthur Jansen's name popped up. I asked Mrs. Rusland, and she named you, said you were probably behind it, and were trying to ruin her husband’s and his brother’s lives.
TESSA: The last time I saw Alex was when he chased me off the subway in Manhattan as I was heading to work, and he was very much alive.
PAYNE: Anyone see him?
I let out a sigh.
TESSA: Zaiel Rhyland. He was in the garage of Athena Tower when I ran in. My knees were scraped, and there was blood on my head. He saw him.
PAYNE: How sure were you that it was Alex and not Mark?
TESSA: Honestly, I don't know which one of them it was, but the one that lived with me and raped me almost daily was who I knew to be Alex Rusland; the one that ran me sounded exactly like Alex.
PAYNE: okay Then, I’ll reach out to the former detective and Mr. Rhyland and get this all straightened out.
I walked out of the police office two hours later; the lawyer was beside me. When I got to my Jeep, Zaiel was leaning against the Jeep, dressed in a suit.
“I was still here when Jax got the info, so I sent Micheal. I won’t interfere in your life. I promised I would let you go, and I’ll keep that promise, but I can also promise you one thing, beauty. I’m not going to let anyone fuck with your life, not now, not anymore. I’m headed back to New York; take care of yourself,” he said before walking away.
I watched him as he walked away, and I got into my Jeep and headed home. I was tired, already done with the day. The second I was home, I went straight to the shower and stood there. After my shower, I headed straight to the kitchen and grabbed a beer, then headed to bed. I woke up Sunday morning feeling drained. I had a light breakfast and then relaxed throughout the day. I was about to sit down and have lunch when I heard the pounding coming from my front door.
No one knocks like that; they were loud, aggressive knocks. I looked at my food, debating whether whatever was on the other side of the door was worth it. I groaned as I set my beer down and made my way over. I yanked the door open, ready to just sign for whatever, but stopped.
The woman standing there was kind of rustic; she was definitely not simple. No big jewelry, no designer handbag, just a perfectly crisp, plain white linen shirt tucked into dark trousers that looked like they were chosen for practicality.
Her hair was a reddish-brown color, pulled back into a severe, tight ponytail that gave her face a kind of sharp, angular look. She wore almost no makeup, but her expression didn't need it to be intimidating.
Her eyes, light and intensely focused, didn't bother with a smile; they just raked over me and the front hall with a cold, assessing scrutiny, like I was an item on a checklist she was grading. The air between us went instantly flat and tense.
She just stared at me. "I'm Caroline. Mark Russland’s wife. What did you do with my husband and my brother-in-law?" she asked. I slammed the door in her face. She continued pounding on the door. I turned the TV on and turned the volume up and drank my beer. I was not going to get involved in this shit.
She kept that shit up for almost fifteen minutes; yea, she was going to be a problem. I texted the detective to let him know what happened; he replied, saying he would handle it. I decided to put it out of my mind and continue with my routine, but I couldn’t.