Chapter 95 The meeting
"Alessandro and Farrah are here." Mom strokes my hair. "We have to talk."
My eyes are swollen, and I have a headache, the events of the last few months just too much to bear. Will I ever have an easy life? All just because I dated the wrong person?
Miguel is also calling me, but I just don't have the heart to pick up.
T.J. is also there, but he's not sitting down and being nonchalant, he actually looks worried too.
"Are you okay?" Aunt Farrah asks, and I just shake my head.
"Do you remember Ben sending you a picture of me meeting with a mafia guy?" Uncle asks.
"Yes."
"That guy was worried about a drug that has come up in his streets that he wasn't aware of." Uncle continues. "It's a date rape drug, something never seen before. When the victim is drugged, they become overly sexual, so if there is video evidence, it looks consensual. I think maybe that's what happened with Simon."
Wait.
The night of the engagement. I didn't remember anything, and I was sick the next day.
"Do you think I was drugged, too?" The words feel strangled coming from my throat.
I didn't even consider something like that could happen to me, even when I'm out I'm always careful about the drinks I have.
Dad curses under his breath, looking at my uncle with murder in his eyes. "And this fucking guy is untouchable? I swear I'm going to kill him!"
I knew that wasn't really me in that video, because I had no intention on sleeping with Ben that night. I was going to come up with an excuse or something.
"Miguel is coming back to New York soon."
My head whips up at the mention of his name. " What does he have to do with this?"
"I told you Ben is protected." Uncle tells me. "I've sent out some feelers, and nobody wants to bring him down, so we have to be smart about it. Miguel is going to try and destroy him from the inside."
Just how close are Miguel with my uncle exactly?
"Baby girl." Mom squeezes my thigh. "Do you trust Miguel?"
He loves me. I know that in the very fibre of my being. He said he wanted to protect me.
"Yes."
"That's the other thing I wanted to talk about." I don't like the sound in Uncle's voice. "We spoke about this briefly before, but I think it might be best if you stepped away from Miguel until this whole mess is sorted out."
It feels like a dagger is going through my heart.
He's right.
I know he's right.
But it doesn't make it any less painful.
"We don't want to tell you what to do, I know this sounds like it, but Ben is really dangerous." There is real fear in Mom's eyes. "And look what happened to Katherine. We can't lose you, Madison, we just can't."
My tears fall with hers.
"Maybe when all of this is over and done, you two can try again if you're meant to be together." Aunt says. "And trust me, I know what it feels like to be away from the one you're supposed to be with."
Why did it have to be Miguel that my heart yearns for? Life just had to be more complicated and let it be him.
"I feel like all of this is my fault." I wipe the tears from my eyes. "Gregory lost a prestigious position and now Simon. What if he never forgives me?"
"It's not your fault." Aunt Farrah shakes her head. "You can't be held responsible for another grown-up's decisions."
"But if they weren't close to me, this would never have happened to them."
Everyone is quiet, even they know it's true.
I don't know what I did to deserve Ben, maybe I was a bad person in my previous life or something.
"Robert is missing." T.J. pipes in. "I don't know, I have a feeling he's just being used. There's nothing in his background to make me think he would gain anything from doing this."
"Missing how?" Oh god, another person I should feel guilty about. "Do you think Ben did something to him?"
"I don't know. Apparently, he went to work this morning, and just abruptly left with no explanation." T.J. looks pensive. "I have my tech guy looking into him, and someone watching his apartment."
I don't think I can add any more people to my list that I should feel guilty of.
"If we kill Ben, all problems are solved." Dad says, and even Uncle is surprised at his words.
Dad may be in football, but he's the least violent person.
And I hate to admit it, but I agree with him. Ben seems to be the number one problem here. And not just for me, to other innocent people too.
"Why do you think he's doing all this?" Aunt Farrah asks me.
"I wish I knew." I'm supposed to know him, but his acting over these years deserve numerous awards. "Maybe something is wrong with him psychologically, something that has never been diagnosed."
"Or maybe someone." Aunt Farrah says.
"What do you mean?" Mom asks, always trusting my aunt's instinct.
"There's something about the mother that doesn't well with me." Aunt Farrah says. "And if she is the one behind everything, our problem might be bigger than what we thought."