Wednesday, January 7, 1987
JFK International Airport
New York City, NY
It is after 10 pm, Diana Carter sits in a row of seats along a cash of windows. It is too late to go home tonight. Three years ago she would have felt angry and alone sitting in this airport. She has changed a lot in the past two and a half years. Diana is now confident and sure of herself, even though she hates the idea of facing her father again. Certainly coming home at midnight would ring too many old bells for both of them.
She still has the hundred dollars in her pocket that cop in San Diego gave her for the spa. Diana can’t help but to think about how she saved that cop’s life. When she teleported into the back of that truck she had no idea what she would find. Officer McCoy was nearly dead from the two gunshot wounds. Diana’s ability to speed up the woman’s own healing was what saved her life. Diana is even a little impressed with herself that she has gained so much control of her power that she could heal the cop just short of perfect, to leave small wounds. She also left enough bio-energy in the cop so those wounds should be completely healed by now.
Diana is sure Officer McCoy will have some questions about what really happened. But she is also sure that the cop didn’t believe her story about going home to New York. That cop will spend all of her time looking for Diana in San Diego.
Diana reaches into her pocket, pulling out the money. Where is she going to find a Motel for a hundred dollars even at the airport? She spreads the bills apart to discover there are not two fifties but three. “Now we’re talking,” Diana whispers to herself. She gets up from her seat and marches to the Information counter. “Excuse me, but could you tell me where the cheapest and cleanest Motel is around here?” she asks the attendant.
The attendant looks haggard like she has been here for more than ten hours. “That would be the Big Apple Motel just before you get to the Beltway.”
“Thank you,” Diana says hoisting her bag onto her shoulder. Diana makes her way through the airport to the side with a view of the Beltway. Looking out the floor to ceiling plate-glass windows she spots the Big Apple Motel sign. It can’t be more than a mile away. She looks around, the breezeway is empty. She concentrates on the Motel sign and she vanishes from the airport.
Diana reappears atop the Motel’s forty foot sign. It’s no surprise considering it was her only view point from the airport. The cold January night has already begun to sap her strength. Even at this hour there are still too many people milling about below for her to jump down. After all, New York is the city that never sleeps. Diana spots an alley off to the side of the Motel office. With urgency she teleports to reappear in the alley before her power weakens more.
Entering the office there is an older woman behind the counter and a young man, not much older that Diana sitting in the lobby smoking a cigarette. She has seen his type before and prefers to not meet anymore men like him. Walking up the counter she says to the woman, “I’d like a room for the night, my flight got in rather late.”
“Yes, of course Dear,” the woman replies opening the guest book, “Sign here and will that be cash or charge?”
“Cash,” Diana answers picking up the pen. It is odd signing her name for the first time in over two years. Almost like it is the first time. No, it is the first time in this new beginning to her life, she thinks.
“That will be $120.00 dear,” the woman says handing Diana a receipt to sign as she spouts off some rules to which Diana really doesn’t pay attention. Diana takes the three fifties from her pocket to hand them to the woman. “Fresh new bills, how nice,” the woman says looking past Diana to the young man smoking. “Johnny, get over here and help this nice young lady to her room!” she shouts as she hands Diana her $30.00 in change.
“No, that is fine,” Diana says turning to the guy who has gotten up to put out his cigarette. “All I have is this bag.”
“Well, if you need anything, no matter how late it is, give me a call, name’s Johnny,” the guy says grinning at her with his cigarette stained teeth.
“I’m sure I’ll be fine,” Diana says looking at the number on the key. “Room 22, right?” she asks.
“That’s right down to the left,” the woman behind the counter says smiling.
Diana walks down the outside of the building to her room not looking back to the office. She really doesn’t need to know if that creep is watching her walk away. Getting into the room she locks the door and drops her bag on one of the twin beds. The room really isn’t that bad. It appears to be clean, just outdated a little. It has cable TV though! Diana turns on the Television and tunes it to MTV. Oh, how she has missed MTV these last two years. Her music has always been her saving grace, her escape from her problems.
Whitney Houston, Billy Idol, and Rod Stewart play on the video channel as she dances along. Diana dances alone in front of the television to video after video for at least an hour before feeling hungry. She remembers seeing a McDonalds’ down the street, she still has $30.00 left. “Wow, junk food!” she says out loud, another thing she has missed cooped up on that island.
Diana cleans up a little and heads out of her room. In the parking lot she spots Johnny from the Motel office sitting in a classic 1969 Mustang. She tries to ignore him but he gets out of the car and calls to her, “Is there anything you need help with sweetheart?”
“Are you watching my room?” she asks as he steps up onto the pavement.
“Just want to be on hand if you need a dance partner,” Johnny says making it clear to Diana that he has been watching more than just her room.
Diana leans into his ear whispering, “You’re dreaming Johnny boy.” Then she touches his cheek giving him the smallest of invisible shocks of her Bio-energy. Johnny collapses into her arms. “You are quite a charmer, aren’t you?” Diana tells the unconscious stalker as her density increases along with her strength. She drags the voyeur across the parking lot to lay him out on the hood of his car. Then she continues on to the McDonalds’ putting the creep out of her mind.
It is nearly midnight when she walks into the fast food place. The place is empty except for the five employees behind the counter. Diana orders a Big Mac value meal with large fries and a Root Beer. She sits at a table at the back of the restaurant. It is the best Big Mac she has ever eaten or at least eaten in two years. Looking up she watches as two men enter the fast-food place wearing ski masks. You’ve got to be kidding she thinks to herself. “Is this anyway to start my new life?” she whispers.
The bigger of the two men pulls a gun from under his jacket to point it at the young woman behind the counter. “Give me the cash girly,” he demands.
“We only have twenty bucks,” the girl replies.
At the table Diana remembers the necklace given to her in Zeeza. She lifts it from under her shirt and coat. Moving her hand over the surface of the gem at the center of the pendent, the necklace vanishes taking her facial features with it. Diana teleports up to the counter next to the two men. “Is twenty bucks really worth all of this?” she asks the crook.
The masked man turns to look at Diana but his mind cannot perceive her face as he stares directly into it. “What, what are you?” he asks as he steps back away from her.
“I’m the girly that isn’t afraid of your gun,” Diana replies. Her words cause the masked man to react by shooting at her. She has trained for years for such an event. Her control of her density increases as the bullets are caught in her heavy coat not even scratching her skin. Diana’s only thought is to get back to her Big Mac as she grabs the guy’s gun to crush it. Five sets of eyes behind the counter are on Diana as she takes hold of the guy’s bare forearm throwing the man to the floor. Where she touches his arm it glows pink as her bio-energy knocks him out. His friend has seen enough as he tries to make a break for the door. “Not so fast loser, hang with the big boys, go down with the big boys.” Pink Bio-energy beams shoot from her eyes to hit and stun the second crook. Her job done, Diana teleports back to her seat to deactivate the necklace.
By the time she finishes her sandwich she hears the sirens of the police approaching. Time to go, she thinks. Getting up from the table to dump her trash, she heads for the door. “You have to wait for the police!” the girl behind the counter shouts.
“Think again!” Diana replies continuing toward the door.
The girl notices the bullets holes on Diana’s coat. “It was you!” she shouts. “Mr. Gallo, she is the one who stopped them!” Diana knows that once she gets outside, the cold will take her strength, so she envisions the alley next to the Motel and she is gone from the McDonalds’.
As Diana walks from the alley back to her room she sees a Police car in the parking lot. Stopping to take a look to see Johnny being arrested. “Those aren’t my drugs!” he shouts loud enough for her to hear as they shove him in the police car.
Well at least I can sleep easy tonight, Diana thinks as she opens the door to her room, No more visits from Johnny.
Thursday, January 8, 1987
The Condo of William Carter
1292 Third Avenue
New York City, NY
After spending the night in a low rent Motel by the airport, a twenty year old Diana Carter stands at the door of the condo she shared with her father with her keys in her hand. She looks up and down the hallway, not much has changed in the three years she has been gone. Maybe a new coat of paint on the walls or new upholstery on the chairs at the elevator. On her shoulder hangs the large bag that contains everything she will need to begin her life anew here in New York City. Her bullet holed coat draped over it. The years her android duplicate spent at Stanford nearly earned her a diploma. Shanna’s magic gave her those two and a half years of knowledge to go along with it. But she must first face her past before beginning her future and that frightens her most of all.
She takes a deep breath and reaches out the key for the lock. She is not surprised when her key no longer fits the lock. She can easily believe that the first thing her father did when she left was to change the locks. Diana drops her old keys back into her bag. Locked doors are no longer a problem for her now that she has mastered her powers. She lowers her oversized bag to the floor. It takes only a thought for the density of her atoms to lessens. She steps forward passing harmlessly through the solid door. Once inside, she turns to unlock the door and retrieve her bag.
Inside the luxury condo nothing has changed since she was last there except the few framed photos of her mother are gone. No one appears to be home, she hesitates to call out. Sitting her bag on the floor by the door, Diana strolls into the living room. The room feels as it always did, empty and lonely. This was never a family home to her. Most of the time she was alone and when she wasn’t she was arguing with her father. Her fear of him and herself are gone now. She is a confident woman and not the scared little girl who ran away from this place almost three years ago.
Taking another deep breathe, she is ready to get this over with now. “Dad!” “Dad, are you home,” she calls out. There is no answer. Diana walks to the dining room. There is an inch of dust on the table. She drags her finger through it as she walks to the kitchen. “Dad?” she calls out again to no response. There are eight more rooms in this condo so she continues on. The Laundry room seems pointless, her father never did a load of laundry in his life that was women’s work. His office would be the next obvious place.
Diana steps quietly down the hall to her father’s office. She always dreaded that room. It was the one place in the condo from which she was most forbidden. The door is open slightly and she can hear someone moving around inside. Diana stands in the hall for a moment gathering her nerve. Then she throws open the door. “Dad, I’m home!”
“Oh my god,” Diana whispers at the sight of the woman going through her father’s desk. “Aunt Jean?” Without a word the blonde woman hurries across the room to embrace Diana who stand motionless in the doorway.
“Diana!” “It is incredible to see you!” Jean Carter says hugging her long lost niece. “Oh my lord, where have you been?” “We hired a detective to find you!”
Diana closes her eyes, lost in the embrace for a moment before she answers. “I was away at school,” she finally says tears in her eyes.
Jean breaks the hug, “That is odd, William said you ran off.”
“Wishful thinking on his part, I’m sure,” Diana tells her aunt. “Where is dear old Dad?” “He must not be here if you’re going through his desk.”
“Come here, Diana, sit with me,” Jean says guiding Diana to the leather couch. “William, your father passed away three days ago.” the aunt tells the niece expecting the girl to burst into tears. Diana sits stone faced at the news of her father’s death. “He had been sick for the past year with the same kind of cancer as your mother.” Still no reaction from the girl so Jean asks, “Are you alright, dear?” Diana pushes her hair back from her cheeks. “He asked for you in the end.”
“Now that I know is a lie!” Diana finally responds. “If anything, I’m relieved.” “I dreaded the thought of facing him again now that I know the truth.”
“The truth?” Aunt Jean repeats. “What truth?”
“That’s not important now,” Diana says not wanting to drop anymore bombs, yet. Diana gets up from the couch and walks over to the desk. “I guess you were looking for his papers, then,” she said sitting down in the desk chair and glancing over the desk top.
“Yes, your Uncle Zac needs some things at the office,” Aunt Jean replies standing up.
Diana looks at her Aunt Jean fully for the first time, She appears heavier than the last time she saw her, not the perfect size two anymore. Aunt Jean’s belly seems a little out of proportion for her body too. “Aunt Jean are you pregnant?” Diana asks.
Jean Carter smiles as she touches her belly, “Number two actually.”
“That is fantastic” Diana says smiling. “Where is my little cousin?”
“She is with her nanny, her name is Jessica, by the way,” Aunt Jean tells Diana. “I can’t wait for you to meet her.”
“Me too,” Diana smiles glancing down into the bottom desk drawer. In the drawer the corner of a book peeks out from under some pages. She reaches down brushing the pages aside. She recognizes the book instantly, it is her mother’s diary. Diana casually hides the book in the drawer again. “Did you find the papers you need?” she asks. Diana will definitely be returning here later to read that diary.
“Yes, I think so,” Aunt Jean says gathering some papers from the desk.
“Great, I’m dying to see Uncle Zac, let’s go!” Diana says getting up from the desk chair.
The Simpson Building
303 7th Avenue
New York, NY
Diana and her Aunt Jean take a cab through Manhattan, catching up on the past two years along the way to Carter Industries’ offices. The company of diverse interests that William and Zachary Carter built together appears to still be doing well. Diana can’t help but notices several familiar faces in the office from when she would visit her Uncle Zac here as a kid. Jean leads Diana straight to her husband’s office.
“Wait here for a minute, he is going to be so surprised,” Aunt Jean tells Diana outside the office door before she slips inside. Diana stands there smiling at the receptionist for a few minutes before Jean flings the door open shouting, “SURPRISE!”
“Oh my GOD!” Zac Carter exclaims as he jumps up from his desk as Diana steps into the office. The Uncle rushes to hug his favorite, and only niece. “You are a sight for sore eyes!” he tells her as he kisses her cheek. Unlike Aunt Jean he doesn’t ask where she has been. Instead he says, “You couldn’t have come home at a better time!”
“Well I better get going,” Aunt Jean says. I need to pick up a few things for that welcome home dinner before Deb gets home with Jessica.” “You two catch up and I’ll see you tonight for dinner Diana,” Aunt Jean says giving the girl a hug and kiss.
“Sweetheart, I forgot to tell you Deb called,” Zac says, “She’s going to be a little late getting home with Jessica, the show ran over.”
“That’s fine, gives me more time to shop,” Jean says giving her husband a kiss goodbye.
“And we all know how you love to shop,” Diana jokes. Aunt Jean just smiles pulling her credit card from her purse.
Once Aunt Jean leaves Uncle Zac’s face takes a much more sober expression as he returns to his desk. “I need your help Di,” he says looking through the papers Jean brought from the condo. “These aren’t right.”
“Of course, Uncle Zac anything, what do you need?” Diana replies sensing the seriousness of the situation.
“You always knew where your father kept his secret papers didn’t you?” Uncle Zac asks.
“Well not to brag, but I do know he had two safes in the house,” Diana answers. “Why what is wrong?”
Zac Carter sits back down at his desk with his head in his hands. “I know there is nothing I can say to make you respect your father any less than you already do, so I will just tell you.” Diana can see the pain in her beloved Uncle’s eyes as she sits down at the desk across from him to take his hands. “After you left your father began to associate with some rather questionable people.” “He made some risky deals with them that I warned him about.” “Now that he is gone those contracts have come to term.” One of the men, a Ben Watkins wants the leverage your father held on him back and I haven’t the foggiest idea what it is or where to find it.” Uncle Zac hangs his head low again, Diana can tell that he is almost in tears over these events.
“Uncle Zac what is it,” she asks concerned.
“They have taken Jessica and her nanny Deb, as collateral,” Zac confesses. “Jean has no idea what is going on and I only have until dusk or he says we will never see them again.” Diana moves behind the desk to put her arm around her Uncle.
“Why haven’t you told Aunt Jean?” Diana asks calmly.
“You weren’t here when she was pregnant with Jessica, it was a hard pregnancy,” Uncle Zac confides. “This one has been going so well, I don’t want to upset her with worry.”
“I understand and I can help you, I know where to look,” Diana tells him. “We will fix this mess together without Aunt Jean knowing or getting upset.” “You stay here and I will go back to the condo to find what we need.” She sobs slightly for his pain and fear. “I need to go now,” she says standing up.
“Hurry please,” Zac urges as Diana heads out the door.
Diana storms through the office for the ladies room. She can’t be angry with the mess her father has left in his wake. All she can do is concentrate on making it right. She has no time to waste. In the stall of the ladies room she focuses on a rooftop ten floors above from where she stands now. Her body slides between the dimensional fabric to arrive on the rooftop she has seen many times before this day. The city looks different to her somehow, smaller. Diana can see the Radcliff building from where she stands, it has always been her beacon to find her way home.
She is lucky that it is an exceptionally warm day for January in New York City. Beginning a sprint across the roof she jump over the distance between the Simpson Building to the next. It brings back more memories of her teen years as she crosses the city toward home. She is taking a big risk doing this in the daylight, but the only family she has left is at stake now. It takes no time at all to cross the ten city blocks to the Radcliffe building. Diana’s last jump is home just in time as she can feel the chill in the air finally draining her strength. She finds that the rooftop access door lock has been replaced since her last visit. She no longer has a need to break the lock when she can simply pass through the solid steel door.
Diana makes her way down the stairs to her father’s condo. The safe in her father’s bedroom is her destination. It was on one of her more out of control times with her girls that Diana searched the condo for cash that she found the safe in the back of her father’s closet, hidden by his suits. Pushing aside her father’s many suits Diana finds the safe right were it was the last time. She has no idea about the combination, but she doesn’t need it. It is brute strength that tears the safe door open. The safe is packed full of papers. Diana pulls out a thick brown packet and searches through each one of the folders inside it for the name Ben Watkins. Three contracts have that name on them. Closer inspection of the contracts shows Diana the papers are like nothing she had ever seen before and not completely legal. Each contract mentions a property in a different boroughs of the city.
Diana contemplates the situation to concludes that these contracts and the actions of Ben Watkins does not make him a trustworthy man. Chances are Jessica and her nanny are being held at one of these locations. To Diana it seems that finding them on her own is their best chance for survival. It is three o’clock and time is running out. Diana knows traffic in the city would make it impossible to search all three places by dusk. She will have to rely on her own means of transportation.
The first site is that of a former office building in Manhattan where she finds a vacant lot under construction filled with workers. Not a place to conceal a kidnapping. Arriving at the second location Diana lifts the necklace from under her shirt to activate it. This is a warehouse that holds more promise she thinks, but in the end no answers. Lastly Diana makes her way to a boarded up six story apartment building in the Bronx. Diana’s main concern has been the return of her cousin and the nanny, whatever deal Watkins had with her father matters little to her but she knows that to prevent this from happening again. She must find a permanent solution. Over the past two hours she has given this solution some thought and she thinks she has found the answer. Now all she needs to do is find Watkins and the girls.
Like the previous two searches she begins from the roof. Breaking open the stair access door is not necessary, leaving it locked prevents anyone else from escaping. Diana prefers to quietly pass through the door. Remaining intangible makes her footsteps on the stairs nearly soundless. Her arrival on the roof has gone completely unnoticed as she finds the first look out on the top floor of the building huddled at a window with a rifle. One of the tricks she learned while she was away makes it unnecessary for her to even enter the room to subdue the man.
Stepping into the doorway she returns her density to normal as the man spins around. Two pink beams strike out from her eyes rendering the man unconscious before he can utter a word. The necklace that makes her face unseen also makes her invisible Bio-energy appear pink. Diana uses a lamp cord to tie the thug up and the man’s own shirt to gag him if he wakes up. She continues her investigation. It makes sense that more men would be posted on this floor as lookouts. Diana quickly finds them and they join the first in slumber.
It is on the fourth floor that Diana discovers a much different decor. The rest of the building has pretty much looked abandoned, the fourth floor does not. Phasing through the wall into one of the apartment she finds what appears to be a residence. Looking in the refrigerator it is clear that someone does live in this apartment, definitely male. At the moment no one appears to be home. Phasing from one apartment to the next, all ten appear to be inhabited right down to working phone lines.
Heading back down the stairwell Diana can finally hear voices ahead. Slipping into the hallway the third floor is again different. This floor is set up like office suites. She follows the sound of the voices to a core office in the center of the floor. She can hear several men talking one of them referred to as Mr. Watkins. This must be the place, she thinks. Now to find the girls. The carpeted floors hide the sound of her footsteps as she increases her body’s density as a precaution.
Suddenly a hand is over her face and mouth. Diana is pulled back against the wall by her arm as a man whispers in her ear, “Well beautiful what are you doing here?” “How would you like to come up to my place for some fun?” The thug’s plans are cut short when he feels a warm shock on his hand that touches her face. He crumbled to the floor and Diana steps away from him.
“Jerk,” she whispers under her breath as she pulls him up by his arm. Diana lifts the two hundred pound man up so as not to drag him down the hallway to a closet at the end. She lifts him inside the maintenance closet and secures him. Returning to the hall she looks for the room he might have come out of behind where she was standing.
Finding a possible location, she peeks her head through the door to hit the jackpot. A young woman and toddler lay unconscious on a sofa. Diana passes into the room to check the occupants. They are just both asleep. She tries to wake the Nanny with no success. “That will be enough of that young woman,” a man says from behind her. Diana turns to see three men standing at another door to her right. “How did you get in here?” the center man asks.
“Mr. Watkins I presume,” Diana says smartly.
“You know me, but who are you?” Watkins asks as his men pulls a gun from jacket pockets. “That face trick is a pretty good one.” “What’s your secret?”
Diana ignores his question asking, “What have you done to them?”
“Just some sleeping drugs to make them manageable,” Watkins answers. “I should have assumed that Zacary Carter was as big a skunk as the brother.” “Joey, Donny let’s add this one to our collection of sleeping beauties.”
Diana smiles as the men approach her. One of them taking out a hypodermic needle. He’s going to save her some bio-energy, she thinks. The thug moves at her with the needle and she quickly overpowers him to turn the drugs back on him sticking him with his own needle and pushing the plunger.
“Bitch!” the man shouts stumbling back.
The other guy grabs her, pushing his gun to her head. “Hold still,” he commands jabbing her in the arm with another needle. When he pulls the hypodermic back the needle is bent and broken. “What the f….” His expletive is cut short as Diana gives him an elbow to the gut. She grabs his hand that holds the gun and shocks him out. Then she turns to the boss man who has moved to standing over the sofa. He holds a gun on the two girls.
“Carter and I had a deal!” he shouts. “Either I get those contracts or I kill these two!”
“Oh the contracts,” Diana says. “I found them.” “Having a degree in pre-law I was confused when I first read them.” “Then I thought about it for a while and I realized those contracts where all that was keeping you out of prison.” Diana slowly steps closer to Watkins as she talks making him turn the gun away from the girls and onto her.
“Where the hell are those papers? BITCH!” Watkins shouts at her.
“Let’s see,” Diana teases. “I brought them with me.” “What did I do with them?” she asks feeling over her body as if to check her pockets.
“Give me what I want or I will take it from your dead body!” he threatens. There is a low sound of sirens outside not at all out of place in the Bronx.
“Oh now I remember, I dropped them off at the FBI white collar crimes unit on the way here.” “Did you know that old office building you own is right down the street from the FBI complex.”
“NO!” Watkins shouts firing the gun at Diana. Ben Watkins has no idea what happens next as Diana moves too fast for Watkins to react. The gun is across the room and he is unconscious at the touch of her hand.
The FBI is moving in fast on the building leaving Diana little choice but to sneak the unconscious girls out of the building down the fire escape. Carrying Jessica and holding up Deb on the street Diana flags down a Taxi. “You need some help there?” the driver says jumping out of the cab.
“If you could just get the door and get us out of her I would be greatly appreciative,” Diana says struggling to get the woman and toddler into the taxi as quickly as possible as the black man holds the door open for here.
“Where are you headed?” the driver asks as he gets back into the driver’s seat. “Hospital?”
“No, uptown, 1292 Third Avenue,” Diana replies. “They are just asleep.” As they ride home Diana places her hands on Deb speeding the drugs through her system until she regains consciousness.
“What happened where am I?” Deb asks.
Diana tries to keep Deb calm, “I’m Diana, Jessica’s cousin, my Uncle Zac sent me to find you two.” “The two of you should be fine, I’m going to get you home.” “Do you have any idea what happened?”
Deb holds her head as she thinks through her day, “The last thing I remember is we were at Gymboree when a man sat down next to me on a bench.”
“Do you remember what he looked like?” Diana asks. The man Deb describes is one of the men Diana left unconscious at the brownstone. Diana thinks of how Uncle Zac kept all of this secret from Jean. If she continues the deception no harm, no foul, Deb has no idea she was even kidnapped.
Diana pulls Jessica onto Deb’s lap as they near the condo, she revives the toddler. Diana has never used her powers on a child before and she is very cautious. Before she knows it the little girl is crying in her nanny’s arms as they pull up in front of the building. “You two go on up, you might not want to mention this to Aunt Jean though.”
“What about you?” Deb asks.
“I have to stop back at the office,” Diana tells her. “Uncle Zac and I will be home soon.” The Nanny and her charge get out of the taxi and walk to the building. Deb takes a final look back at Diana in the taxi as she closes the door.
“That was amazing what you did,” the taxi driver says over the seat. “Where to now miss?”
“The Simpson building,” Diana answers sitting back in her seat. How is she going to explain all of this to Uncle Zac, without telling him the truth?
The Simpson Building
303 7th Avenue
New York, NY
The ride is far too short for Diana as the cab comes to a stop at the Simpson building where Carter Industries is based. “If you could give me a minute so I can run inside and get money to pay you,” Diana tells the driver. “What is the fare?”
“That’s okay Miss I was just glad to help you in your time of need,” the driver says handing her a business card that reads, Lincoln, Private Taxi Service, Anytime of the day or night. “Name’s Archie Lincoln, you ever need help again just give me a call.”
“I will definitely do that, I will make sure you get that $67.98 too.” Diana tells him looking at the meter.
It is already getting dark by the time Diana gets back to her Uncle Zac’s office and he is at his wits end. Diana calms him by explaining what has transpired. “I haven’t let your secret out, I’m going to leave that up to you,” she tells him. “But there is something you should know.” “Ben Watkins is not the only man my father had contracts with, there are others.”
“I can’t go through this again,” Uncle Zac moans. “What could Will have been thinking making deals with such devils?”
“Actually, Dad was the devil in these deals,” Diana tells him. “He held a lot of sway over the men and women with whom he made these contracts.” “The only way to be safe from them is to get to them first.”
“Right now all I know is I want to go home and spend the night with my family,” Zac says packing up his briefcase.
The Condo of Zacary and Jean Carter
1292 Third Avenue
New York City, NY
After dinner Zac begins to explain the events of the day to Jean and Deb. Diana interrupt before her Uncle can fully explain how much danger everyone was in, “So, Uncle Zac has offered me a job to deal with these special clients that my father took on.” Zac Carter is shocked by what Diana has just offered. “I’ve just decided to accept his offer, I’ll be staying in New York until all of my father’s deals are all cleared up.”
After Jessica is put to bed Diana retreats upstairs to her father’s condo. She finally makes it to her old room to find that it has been stripped of all of her belongings, not a trace of her remains. It is like she never existed. Diana takes a shower in her old bathroom she wrapped her hair in a towel after slipping into a nightgown she brought with her for Magic Island. Diana looks to the golden necklace laying on the vanity. It has come in use today, it is something she should not let out of her sight for now. Diana puts the piece of magic jewelry back around her neck.
Returning back to her father’s office she sits in his old squeaky desk chair. Diana retrieves her mother’s diary from the desk drawer. She can see that the lock clasp has been cut. That prick, she thinks. Inside the front cover there is an inscription that reads.
Diana my beautiful daughter,
I have instructed your father to give you this diary upon my death.
I hope it makes everything clear to you.
I hope it doesn’t make you hate me for how I lied to you.
I hope you never forget how much I love you!
The few sentences are enough to bring tears to Diana’s eyes. The diary is like a letter written directly to her from her mother. As she reads, every secret her mother kept from her is revealed. Diana is a quarter of the way through the book when she is so overcome with emotion that she must lay it down on the desk. She stares at the book finally know why her father changed after her mother died. She understands why he had so much hatred inside of him. But that is no excuse for the way he treated her over the years.
“Knock, Knock,” her Uncle Zac says standing in the doorway. “I know it’s late but we need to talk.” He looks at her red rimmed eyes. “Are you alright?”
“I’ll be fine,” she replies wiping her eyes with her hand. “It’s about the job you never offered isn’t it?”
“Partly, mostly it is about how you did it?” Uncle Zac asks. “I saw on the news how Watkins was arrested today by the FBI.” “He and his men were found unconscious after an anonymous tip.” “There was no mention of the girls and Deb is confused about what happened, she says she woke up in a taxi with you.”
Diana gets up from the chair and walked around the desk to face her Uncle. “I’m not the same scared, angry girl I was when I left here three years ago,” she tells him. “And I have this,” Diana says touching the necklace around her throat. It vanishes taking the details of her facial features with it.
“Oh my god, Diana your face!” Zac exclaims.
“Calm down,” Diana says touch the invisible necklace again to reverse the effect. “Just a little trinket I picked up to hide my identity.” “It makes the seen, unseen and the unseen, seen.”
“Di, is that really enough?” “Hiding your identity and not being scared doesn’t mean what you do can’t be dangerous,” Zac tells her. “I read through some of those files you found, William made some very risky deals with some very dangerous people.”
“I know that, that is why it is me who has to clean up this mess,” Diana replies. “You can’t go to the authorities you could be implicated as well.” “I’m the only one who can do it to protect you, Aunt Jean and Jessica.” Zac steps forward to hug his niece, her heart has always been a big one. It is then that she decides to reveal herself. His arms pass through her body as if she is a ghost. Zac Carter staggers back in shock.
“Oh my god, you’re a ghost!” Zac exclaims.
Diana giggles, “No Unc, I’m not a ghost.” She returns to normal to reach out and touch his face. “I’m very much alive, just different.” Zac touches her hand on his face it is warm and soft. “Mom always called it special, she made me hide it.” “I’m not going to hide it anymore, I’m going to use it!”
“I don’t understand, how is this possible?” Zac asks moving to sit down on the leather couch.
Diana lifts her mother’s diary from the desk, “Most of it is in here,” she says. “William Carter wasn’t really my father.” “When he read Mom’s diary he found that out.”
“That is what changed him,” Zac surmises. “After you left he had a DNA test run using hair from a brush you left behind.” “I didn’t see the results until after he was sick, when I was going through some of his files.” “I’ve always loved you as my niece, it never mattered to me who your father was to me.”
“So you know it too,” Diana suggests.
“Diana you should know there were some strange markers in your DNA that the lab couldn’t identify,” Zac tells her.
“Mom never knew who or what my father was, but I do.” “He was the reason I can do the things I can do, why I am special.”
“I always knew what Will was doing to you wasn’t right, I just didn’t know why he was doing it,” Zac tells her. “That is why Jean and I stepped up, tried to get you away from him.” “The summer we sent you camp, we sued William for custody.” “He didn’t even contest it.” “But it was a mistake, because of your age and having no proof of abuse we lost.” “All the courts were willing to do was order him to move the two of you closer to us.”
“That is why we moved to the city when I came home?” Diana says in shock! “I thought my life was over and he only got worse to me!”
“I know, that is why it was a mistake,” Uncle Zac tells her. “I’m sorry, I only wanted to help you.”
Diana sits back down on the edge of the desk staring at him. “What’s done is done,” she says. “I know I was as much at fault as anyone for the things that happened afterward.”
“I know, that is why I love you so much,” Diana says sitting down on the couch next to him taking his hand. “You may not be blood, but you are still my favorite Uncle!” Diana gives Zac a hug that they hold for a while. “So do I get the job?”
“How could I ever say no to you?” Zac replies as they break apart. “Are you sure you will be safe dealing with these low lives that your father made deals with?”
“If the rest are like Watkins, then it should be a breeze,” Diana tells him.
“Then be at the office tomorrow morning at eight and I’ll see what I can do about getting you some office space,” Zac said with a smile. “I know better than to question you after all of these years, but I hope you know what you are doing!”
“Do you think I could have a cash advance on my first salary,” Diana asks as Zac gets up to leave. “I could use some new clothes.”
In that case make it noon and I’ll have your Aunt Jean come up to take you shopping at 8 am sharp,” Zac grinned at her. “Don’t keep her waiting you know how she loves to shop.”
“As if I could,” Diana giggles taking his arm to walk him to the front door. “One last thing, I know you don’t want to upset Aunt Jean, but it might be a good idea to get her and Jessica a security detail.”
“I’ve been thinking the same thing,” Zac replied giving his niece a hug goodnight. “A very discreet one.”
The Pentagon
Unit-55
Washington, DC
The lower levels of the Pentagon house many divisions not seen by the public eye. One of those agencies is Unit-55. It is housed in two offices, the only identifying thing is the plate on the door that reads “UNIT-55”. The outer office is furnished with a console of computer banks and four standard metal desks chairs that face the door. There are no personal items, photos, or other name plates. Behind that are file cabinets, printers and the door to the inner office. The inner office at the back of the room doesn’t show any acknowledgement of personal ownership either.
A black man in his late twenties dressed in fatigues sits at his position at the console searching through computer files on a screen. On his chest pocket flap he wears a simple name plate, “Capt. R. Pelton. ” It is midnight and a second man dressed the same enters the office to take his position behind the console next to Pelton. “Capt. Y. Xian,” his name plate reads on the Asian man’s shirt who is also in his late twenties. “It is official, we have lost a pawn, Benjamin Watkins.” “He was arraigned by the FBI a few hours ago,” Pelton tells Xian.
“You are going to have to inform the General,” Xian replies. “He’s going to love being drug in here at this hour.”
“Already done,” Pelton replies. “And you are right, he’s not happy.” “Watkins was one of Carter’s pawns.”
“Do you have an address where he was arrested?” Xian asks as he enters his password into the system to log-on.
“A brownstone in the Bronx, here I’ll send you the address,” Pelton replies.
“I’ll get the satellite images for the last twenty-four,” Xian tells the other man. “How did Carter screw up like this?” “The General will surely dispose of him!”
“Too late, he’s already dead,” Pelton reveals.
“How did that get past us?” Xian says in a panicked tone.
“Don’t know, but the best part is the FBI got an anonymous tip that sounds like Carter’s files on Watkins,” Pelton explains. “No telling how much the Feds know at this point.”
Just then a third man enters the room dressed the same as the other two, his name plate reads simply, “the General”. The General does not look happy. He is a tall, imposing man, standing over six feet with short cropped blonde hair and piercing green eyes. He could be considered a handsome man in his mid-forties if not for the permanent scowl on his face. “What do you have!” he demands walking behind the two seated men.
“From what I can gather the evidence used to charge Watkins is the same information that Carter was using to keep him a pawn.” Pelton explains. “The FBI has not acknowledged how they got the files, beyond finding them on the desk of the head of the White Collar unit.” “Carter died a few days ago but a retrieval team was never sent to his home.”
“I know,” the General replies. “Send one now, I want all of Carter’s files returned at once!”
“Already done,” Pelton replies hitting the “enter key” on his computer.
“Sir, I have satellite video of the last twenty-four of the brownstone,” Xian interjects.
“What brownstone?” the General asks.
“The brownstone where the FBI arrested Watkins,” Xian replies. “This is the roof an hour before the bust.” “Watch what happens.” The other two men move closer to watch the satellite video of the mid-day rooftop. Everything appears as it should, until a figure on the next roof makes a hundred and fifty foot jump across the city chasm.
“What the hell was that?” Pelton exclaims at the sight on the video. “Was that a person?”
The General is not as shocked at the sight of the jumper as his men. His experience in the world goes beyond that of the norm. “Zoom in I need to see the face,” the General instructs.
Capt. Xian makes a few keystrokes to move the video back and zoom in. “This is the best I can do,” Xian says. “The clothing appears female but I can not get a clear look at the face or head.”
“Then find me the FBI headquarters footage for a few hours before that,” the General instructs. “If that person is involved in the arrest of a pawn I need to know who she is!” The General then turns to go in his office closing the door and shades on the windows.
Alone in the outer room, “I’ve never seen anything like that, have you?” Capt. Pelton says to Xian.
“It would seem that the General has, he didn’t even react,” Capt. Xian replies as he connects to the downtown FBI headquarters to hack into video surveillance.
“Does he ever react to anything?” Pelton queries.
Friday, January 9, 1987
The Condo of William Carter
1292 third Avenue
New York City, NY
After her Uncle Zac left Diana returned to reading from her mother’s diary. So many more of the mysteries of her childhood were revealed to her in her mother’s words. She had more tears and some laughs as she read but when she was finished she felt complete. It was like her mother talking to her from beyond the grave to share her love all over again. It was 1am before Diana even knew any time had passed.
Unfortunately the only bed in the condo was her father’s. The thought of sleeping in it was not first on her list of things to do when she goes home, but the only other option was the sofa in the living room and she knew how uncomfortable that thing could be.
As she approached the door to her father’s room she heard an unfamiliar noise. Opening the door, the first thing she spots is the whole cut in the plate-glass window. She can also see that there are ropes hanging down the side of the building outside. Oh my god, someone is in here she thinks. All other women her age home alone would turn tail and run. Not Diana Carter as she steps into the room. The closet is the origin of the sounds. She tip-toes toward the large walk-in closet.
Standing in the doorway she sees them. Two men dressed in clothing with masks and lights on their heads. They look like burglary miners to her as she speaks, “Can I help you gentlemen find something?” Diana hadn’t really been thinking it through until they moved toward her in the darkness. How would she explain her actions if she took any, flashes in her mind as one of the men throws something at her. It is some kind of grenade that explodes spreading gas through the room. Caught off guard, Diana begins to choke and cough as the two men push by her back into the bedroom.
Reaching the window the men are out and down the ropes the several floors to the ground by the time Diana follows after them. “Damn it!” she shouts looking out the window at the empty street below. Whoever they were they were looking for something in the safe and they knew where it was, she thinks. So they must have known what was in it. At least now I can call the cops about the broken safe and have someone to blame it on. It is a good thing she left those other paper at the office with Uncle Zac.
When the police arrive half an hour later there are two patrolmen and a detective. The patrolman clear the condo and go to the roof to collect the ropes. The third man, Detective Prussia is a handsome black man in his late thirties, Diana would guess. He is over six foot tall with short natural hair and a tightly trimmed goatee. From the look of his broad shoulders and tight fitting suit she also would guess he spends a lot of time in the gym. The detective interviews Diana starting with the basics like her name. “Do you live here alone, Miss Carter?” he asks with a strange look in his eye.
“Actually this is my father’s place,” Diana replies.
“Where is your father?” Detective Prussia asks.
“He passed away a few days ago,” Diana replies. “I’ll be staying here until the reading of the will, at least.” The thought of continuing to live in this condo is repulsive to her.
“So you have no idea what was in the safe?” the detective asks.
“No, I knew it was there, but I don’t know what was taken from it,” Diana tells the cop as he gives her a suspicious look. “My father and I haven’t been on the best terms the past few years.”
“From the looks of the damage it took a great deal of strength to open it,” Detective Prussia suggests. Then the detective asks a question Diana never expected. “Miss Carter, Have you ever spent time at the Midnight Bar?”
The Midnight Bar? Diana thinks, that is the place where Boss Jordan murdered Gina. Why would this guy be asking about that place? “No,” Diana lies confused by the inquiry. “Never heard of it, why do you ask?”
“Some years back it was run by a guy called Boss Jordan, he had several different illegal operations in play out of the bar,” Detective Prussia explains looking for another reaction from the young woman like he just got at the mention of the bar.
“Do you think he had something to do with this theft?” Diana asks hoping the detective is wrong. Boss Jordan is someone she never wants to see again.
“No, he got run out of town years ago, few years back he got locked up in Jersey,” Prussia tells Diana as he looks up from his notepad. “He went to jail telling a tale of how some teenage girl and her friends framed him.”
“Sounds like crazy to me,” Diana replies wanting to change the subject. “Is there anything else you need officer, it is rather late and I have an early appointment tomorrow.”
“Well in that chase I guess I have everything,” the detective says handing her his business card. “After the reading of the will call and let me know where you are staying, in case I have more questions,” he says sternly.
Is this guy hitting on her? she thinks as she takes his business card. But still the questions about Boss Jordan were strange.
In the elevator one patrolman asks the detective, “What was all the stuff about Boss Jordan, he’ll be locked up for another twenty years over in Jersey?”
I know that girl,” Prussia replies. “She may not remember me, but I remember her.” “She was in the Midnight Bar the night Jordan stabbed that girl, Gina Metcalf.” “She is the one, she was there that night too.”
“You mean the one that knocked you out with a touch,” the other patrolman snickers.
Next morning Jean Carter arrives at William Carter’s condo at 8 am sharp, she has never been so eager to get there before today. Jean has no idea about Diana’s late night meeting with the police. She lets herself in as Diana is finishing her breakfast. “I need to buy some food too if I’m going to be living here,” Diana says putting her dishes in the washer.
“You remember the funeral is tomorrow and the reading of the will is right after,” Jean tells Diana.
“Of course, we talked about it at dinner last night,” Diana replies. “Why?”
“When your father bought this condo it was with his own money, not the company funds,” Jean explains sounding more intelligent that Diana ever thought she could.
“Ya, so?” Diana says heading into the living room to get her bullet holed coat. “I need a new coat too.”
“Zac said William changed his will not long after you left,” Jean reveals. “You might not be inheriting it, so you might not want to get too comfortable.”
Diana shouldn’t be surprised that her father would have cut her out of his will, but it never really crossed her mind. “It would be just like him to leave me with nothing!”
“Don’t worry Dear, your Uncle and I disgusted it last night,” Jean says putting her arm around Diana’s shoulders. “If it comes to that he can arrange a condo for you through the company.”
“That would be great,” Diana tells Jean. “Now where to first?”
“I thought we would start at Macy’s for some business suits, you have to look smart to work at Carter Industries,” Jean says with a grin.
“Hey, I’m smart!” Diana argues.
“You know what I mean,” Jean replies.
The woman run late shopping so Zac tells them they might as well wait until Monday for Diana to come to the office. After all this is a lot to do over the weekend.
Saturday, JANUARY 10, 1987
The Simpson Building
1292 Third Avenue
New York City, NY
Diana found it hard to sleep Friday night, so she is up early on the day of her father’s funeral. She and Aunt Jean had picked out the perfect outfit for the event but now that she has it on it just doesn’t feel right. Diana feels like she needs some time to clear her head. When she lived here before the thing that worked the best for clearing her head was doing things she knew she shouldn’t be doing. Looking to the alarm clock on the nightstand it is still five hours until the funeral service begins at ten. Diana goes for her new purse. Uncle Zac gave her some money to buy food or anything thing else she might need until she gets her first paycheck. In her purse she finds the two business cards she was recently given. Taking the first one she dials the number on the phone, it does say anytime of the day or night.
“Hello, is this Archie?” she says cautiously. “This is Diana Carter, you gave me a ride the other day with my sleeping friends.” “I have your money for that ride and I was hoping you could give me another ride if it is not too early.” “Thank you so much, Archie.” “You remember the address, 1292 Third Avenue.” “I’ll be out front in a half an hour, thanks again.”
A half an hour later Diana is getting into Archie’s cab, paying him the money from her previous ride and giving him an address she barely remembers. As she rides Diana can’t help but to think of Gina on the day of her father’s funeral. She has at long last come to terms with her friend’s death. Diana now accepts that Gina’s death was not her fault. Boss Jordan is solely to blame for Gina’s death and Diana has made sure he is paying for his crimes. Gina’s parents buried her up state where they moved after her death. They had two other children to protect, so she couldn’t blame them for moving. But going to Gina’s grave is a three hour drive.
It is still before dawn when the cab comes to a stop. “Miss, are you sure this is the right address?” Archie asks over the seat.
“Please, call me Diana,” she tells him as she looks out the window at the boarded up building. “This is it, just give me a minute.” Diana gets out of the taxi to look up at the front of the boarded up Midnight Bar. It is no surprise that without Boss Jordan it ended up like this, a rundown dump. She thinks back to the first night she was here. How it all started out so exciting and ended so horribly.
“I figured you would show up here at some point,” a man says walking across the street behind her. She turns to see Detective Prussia stepping up onto the sidewalk next to her. “Do you remember this place now, Miss Carter?”
“I was just curious to see what you were talking about,” Diana replies still trying to hide the truth.
“Curious to find a bar that has been closed for three years,” Prussia comments. “How did you manage that with the yellow pages?” “You really aren’t a good liar, Miss Carter.” “You should stop doing it.”
“What is it you want from me?” Diana asks turning to face him.
“The truth,” Prussia tells her. “I was there that night and I’ve been trying to figure out what happened ever since.”
“What night?” Diana asks still playing coy.
“The night you started the riot with Boss Jordan and the Tigers,” Detective Prussia explains. “I was one of the first cops to arrive.” “You were blinded by rage and when you touched me, it was like my nervous system switched off.”
It is clear to Diana that she doesn’t remember everything that happened that night. Fessing up now would make no sense if she didn’t know if what he is saying it true. “It was nice to see you again, I have a funeral to go to,” Diana tells him getting back into Archie’s cab.
“Is everything alright?” Archie asked over the seat.
“Fine just fine,” Diana replied.
“Where to now?” Archie asks.
“Anywhere but here.” Diana replies. “Just make sure that jerk doesn’t follow us.”
“Not a problem, Diana,” Archie says with a wink. As Archie drives Diana slumps down in the back seat. Her new life hasn’t gotten off to a very good start, she thinks. It starts by quitting school and running away from something Robin did. Then she finds out that her father was a bigger asshole than she knew. Next she volunteers to clean up his mess? And now a cop is on her ass for something that happened six years ago. What could possibly happen next? It is still dark as Diana watches out the window. Archie heads out of the city on the Beltway. She checks her watch, there are still over four hours until the funeral. The taxi exits off toward Jones Beach. Diana hasn’t been to the beach in years.
Arriving just at dawn Archie stops the taxi in a barren parking lot. We got here just in time Archie says as he gets out of the car. Diana gets out too, following him around to the front of the taxi. The warmth of the hood of the car is invigorating to Diana. They watch the sun rise in silence.
“What made you think of this place?” Diana asks.
“When I was but a boy my father would bring me here to watch the sunrise.” “You seemed troubled like I used to get, I thought you needed to get away, to recharge, this always helped me,” the cab driver answers.
“Thank you it is beautiful,” Diana replies. “It has been a rough couple of days.” “I’ve got my father’s funeral in a few hours and I really don’t want to go.”
“Oh, I am sorry,” Archie says to Diana.
“Don’t be, he wasn’t a very nice man,” Diana says. “The thing I dreaded about coming home was facing him.” “When I left here years ago I hated him with all of my heart.” “In some strange way he robbed me of closure.”
Diana and Archie sit at the beach parking lot for about an hour before they get back in the taxi and he drives her back into the city to the funeral. She spots Uncle Zac and Aunt Jean who stand next to the coffin at the front of the funeral parlor. She is apprehensive at first about approaching the casket until Jean takes her hand.
“He was really sick at the end we thought it was best to keep it closed,” Aunt Jean tells her. Diana takes her place with her Aunt and Uncle as they greet the guests. Diana meets a lot of people who worked with her father and uncle. Not many of them seem to mourn the loss of her father. Some of them didn’t even know that he had a daughter. One person she does recognizes, Iris Nelson, her father’s secretary. She has brought her ten year old son with her, he is the only child at the service.
The second person Diana recognized in line is Detective Prussia, what is he doing her she thinks. He just gives Diana a smile as he shakes her hand moving on to her Aunt and Uncle to speak with them. “Diana this is Detective Prussia, he was working missing persons when we filled about your disappearance,” Aunt Jean tells Diana as the detective eyes her again.
“Oh, you reported me missing to the police?” Diana questions.
“William refused to tell us where you had gone, we had to do something,” Uncle Zac says. “Because of the legal agreement made when we sued for custody we had no choice.” Reporting her missing when she left was a sweet thing for the Aunt and Uncle to do but it was clearly coming back to bite her in the ass from the look on Prussia’s face. Diana wishes someone had told her about the custody agreement back then, who knows, maybe she could have moved in with Uncle Zac and Jean rather than going to Magic Island.
When the Carter family took their seats and the service begins Diana’s mind begins to wander. She thinks about all that has happened. How horrible her life was when she lived with her father. Diana thinks about the life she wants have now. The pastor’s words wash over her as he speaks about a man he didn’t really know. Sitting in the pew between Uncle Zac and Aunt Jean all of the anger Diana has felt over the years slips away. Before she knows it is happening she begins to cry. Jean leans closer putting her arm around her shoulders as she sobs. Uncle Zac does the same and for the first time Diana knows who her true family is.
After the funeral in a separate room from the where the service was held William Carter’s stuffy lawyer begins the reading of the will. There are only a few people in the room. Diana is surprised to see Ms. Nelson and her son take seats at the back of the room. Uncle Zac takes Diana’s hand as they sit down, “There is something I have to tell you before this starts,” he whispers to her.
“I already know, Aunt Jean told me,” Diana whispers back. “I’m fine with it.” Zac nods his head and continues to hold her hand. She has always been comforted by him and is glad that this part of her life is almost over.
The lawyer reads off several smaller inheritances then moves on to the larger ones. “To my brother Zacary, I leave all of my controlling business interests making him the sole owner of Carter Industries and all of its debts and incomes.”
The lawyer continues to read, “My condo at 1292 Third Avenue, New York City and all of its contents are to be sold at fair market value, all of the proceeds to go to my faithful assistant Iris Nelson.” “All of my remaining savings and assets are to go to my only son, Liam Nelson Carter to be held in trust by his mother Iris Nelson until he is twenty-one years of age.” “So ends the reading of the last will and testament of William Carter.”
Then Zacary Carter gets up to approach the desk to sign the final paperwork prepared by the lawyer. Diana stands up to look to the small boy at the back of the room almost in shock at the thought that he got everything. There was no mention of her at all! Iris Nelson takes her son by his hand to walk to the front of the room toward the desk. She stops for a moment in front of Diana to say, “He told me you weren’t really his daughter, that your mother tricked him.”
“I wish he had told me that instead of treating me how he did,” Diana replies. “Your son will be better off with his money than him as a father!” The lawyer calls Iris forward and she turns away from Diana as Uncle Zac returns.
“Are you alright, Diana?” he asks.
“I’m fine, I kinda thought this was going to happen, Aunt Jean warned me yesterday,” Diana replies. “Did you know about the boy?”
“Yes, I thought you did too,” Zac replied. “We found out when William was in the hospital.” “Iris even had DNA testing to prove it.” “But what I really have to tell you is much more important.” “Before your mother passed she had me set up a life insurance policy without telling William.” “You were the sole beneficiary and when she passed I put it into a trust fund for you.” “Remember the summer we went to South America” Zac asks.
“Yes, but what does that have to do with anything?” Diana quizzes.
“I was the administrator over your secret trust fund over the years,” Zac tells her. “As such I was able to invest some of the money for you when we were down there.” “I had to do it in a place that William wouldn’t find it.” “The fund has grown to almost three times what it start out as when your mother passed.” “You only need to sign a few papers and the money will be yours in a few months when you turn 21,” Zac said as tears filled Diana’s eyes again. She embraces her family that has always loved her even now that they know she is not blood to them. Suddenly she knows everything is going to be all right from now on.