Divine Deception"New Beginnings"
I stare at the picture on my phone, down at the photograph taken back when this mission had first started. There I am looking back into the lens of the camera, my face clean while Gobias's is painted from ear to ear. Over my mouth is a smile, while faked, compared to now, I know that it was pure. I looked like a completely different person. My eyes held beauty. My faces was tight. There was not one bag under my eyes and it provides a point in time that I can reference. That was where it all started. And this is where I am now. It's been several months since the big day and pretty quiet on the home front since the moment I agreed to marry into this family. Vita hates me more than ever. She hasn't spoken to me in weeks and as much as I hate her, I can't say that it's a breath of fresh air. With her daughter out of the house and her commitment to keep silent, it leaves the house uncomfortable and eerie, especially when Nick goes to work and it's just the two of us.
On the positive side, the house isn't empty tonight. Vita's invited a group of friends over for dinner to announce that she will be running for mayor again and to snag some donations. Luckily I was able to invite a few friends of my own because I don't know how well I'd be able to act in front of a bunch of judgmental people again. Snowflake day and my wedding were enough for me and I know one of those days are approaching again. Out of the few people I do know, two are available. Charlie and Marlie.
"You are getting so big," Marlie says as she leans forward to my swollen belly and murmurs gibberish to whoever is inside me.
I haven't seen her in ages. Ever since the wedding day, we both have gotten incredibly busy. She tells me she got a promotion in business and also met a nice guy named Eric. "You should have invited him," I tell her, but she shakes her head and tells me that it's been a little tense between Charlie and him. The three of them live in the same small house and personalities had started clashing. It seems it's not just the Altos these days. It's too bad for Charlie, Marlie and Eric, though. At least Alto Manor has two floors and a dozen rooms for escape.
"And how about you?" She asks. "When are you due?"
"Due date's in a week."
"And what are your names?"
I glance across the room at Nick. "If it's a girl, she'll be named Delilah, after Nick's mother." I inhale deeply. "And if it's a boy, he'll be named after my grandfather, Matthew."
We are all called down for dinner. Vita's at the head so Marlie and myself take a seat at the other end. Grady, our manservant, brings out plates and plates of hot dishes, placing each one in front of us with precise technique and Nick finally makes his way to the chair next to me.
"How are you feeling, dear?" He asks me, kissing me on the forehead.
"Fine," I say softly. "A little tired, but I'm fine."
Vita taps the side of her wineglass to get everybody's attention. The Wanabango sisters are down the line. Men I have never met before are on the other side. Babe Hart, I recognize her from Snowflake Day. And many more. The long row of guests all give Vita exactly what she demands.
"Everybody, I would just like to thank each and every one of you for coming this evening." She takes a deep breath, wiping a tear from her cheek that was never there to begin with. "It's been four wonderful years leading and helping those of Sunset Valley. Crime has decreased. Taxes have been reduced and with all of that, we still have such beautiful people."
It takes everything I have not to speak up. Crime has decreased? I'm sorry. It hasn't decreased, it's just been hidden better than it was in previous years. I remember arriving at Nick's work back when Peters revealed what happened to my family. A company funded by the mayor herself. This isn't news to me, but it's still hard to swallow.
Vita raises her wine glass into the air for a toast. "With the election on the horizon, I hope that I can continue to lead this town to greatness!" The men and women in the room cheer and clink their glasses in agreement. As Vita brings her glass to her lips, the television turns on automatically.
Vita appears on screen with the words BREAKING NEWS at the bottom. She's in a bed, but not the one upstairs or in the one that used to be her daughter's room. No, it's sickly green, the light coming from the one working lamp next to the queen-sized bed, casting the look of mold over the whole room. She's got the cheap sheet tucked close to her as the arms of another man cradle her like some lost lover. It's not until I get a better look at him that I realize it's Grady.
"She's taken everything from me," Vita says.
Grady pulls her closer.
"I know." He kisses her on the head as she nuzzles her face into his chest.
"Let's run away.""Run away?"Vita looks up into Grady's eyes.
"We'll take the donations that I make during dinner next week and run off. We can leave and never look back. We won't ever have to see any of them again. Not Sadie. Not Nick. None of them. We'll just go!"A dinner plate hits the ground next to me and I turn to see Grady standing there. He's staring at the video that has since started replaying in the background. A woman speaker has come into view now, a news anchor.
"There's no word on how our signal was hijacked, but it seems the footage you just saw was sent in by an unknown source."Vita's guests get up from their seats and head for the door, spewing profanity at the one woman they had contemplated giving a donation to in furthering her career as mayor. They walk the door and get into their cars, not bothering to give the place another look.
Vita's eyes connect with mine. "You did this!" She screams at the top of her lungs. If I've ever seen her angry before, it's nothing in comparison to what I am witnessing now.
"Me?" I ask. I stumble to my feet in defense even if my stomach makes it difficult.
"You have been targeting me since the beginning, taken everything from me and now you've left me with absolutely nothing! No family, no friends... Not even a career!"
"Vita, I had nothing to do with this--"
"Save it, Sadie. I don't want to ever see your face again." She runs out of the room right as my phone vibrates in my pocket. I tell Nick that I need some air and take a step out to the front porch. The air is chilly with a hint of salt in it, yet after the heat inside, its briskness is more than welcome.
I bring the phone to my ear. "Hello?"
"Did you enjoy the show?"
My eyes narrow in confusion. I know the voice, but for the life of me I can't place it. "What? Who is this?"
"It just goes to show how little we've stayed connected to one another," they say. "Sadie, it's Reginald Peters."
My heart stops for a moment. Reginald Peters. The man who hired me to destroy Vita and the man whom I haven't spoken to for a very long time. My mouth goes dry and I have to clear my throat before I can speak. "Mr. Peters, how are you?"
"Not very well, I'm afraid. Sadie, I hired you almost a year ago to take down the Altos--"
"I told you it was going to take some time," I butt in.
"That's very true, but please understand my concern when I've seen little progress as of late."
I look down at my stomach. "I've come in contact with a few obstacles..."
"Your pregnancy you mean?" Peters snorts. "You do look as if you could pop at any moment. Lovely green blouse you're wearing, but tell me, should a woman so late in her pregnancy really be in heels?"
My eyes dart around me. How is he able to know that? He must have eyes on me, scrutinizing my every movement, my every flaw. A sharp pain hits me in my stomach, like a knife ripping through layers and layers of muscle. I grab the railing for stability as a thought hits me. "It was you," I gasp. "You leaked that video of Vita."
"And if you don't quicken this assignment, Sadie, I will be forced to do the same to you."
The pain intensifies and I don't think I can stand anymore. "Nick!" I yell back into the house.
"Safe travels to the hospital, my dear. I've sent out a taxi for you. Keep in touch this time." And he's gone.
"Nick!" I scream again as I crouch. He's at my side soon after and the taxi pulls up right as we make it to the end of the driveway.
"Keep breathing. Keep breathing," Nick coaches me, and as much as I know he's just trying to help, I want more than anything is to tell him to shut it. Just stay quiet. Whatever! His hand is in mine and I am squeezing it so hard that his fingers are turning white. He doesn't object, though. Instead, he's there, telling me I'm beautiful and that we're going to get through this together.
"Together," I repeat in something just above a whimper. I howl in pain right as the next contraction hits.
*
The next morning I am released from care with a beautiful baby girl in my arms. She's got my eyes, Nick's jaw. She screams at the top of her lungs every thirty minutes and has the name of a grandmother that she will never know. She's absolutely perfect. Delilah.
Nick opens the door to the taxi and we head home. We don't speak. We just look at the baby girl we've created. The child we will raise into a grown woman. Every time I fell asleep in the hospital, on instinct, I told her that I would never abandon her. I know Nick didn't understand me, but he never questioned it. One thing I love about him. He doesn't judge the things that I do. He just let's me do what I believe is right.
I look at him now. He's staring out the window as Alto Manor comes into view. I never wanted myself to get to this point. The point where I actually feel something for him. Could this be love? To be completely honest, I don't know. I rub my head to ward off a headache. All I know is that only one final piece of the puzzle is needed to complete this assignment and that is his death.
