* * *

“Time to go, my friend,” Aaron said to Zeek.

This was where they would part. Who knew what would happen after this.

Zeek sat next to Jackson’s headless corpse, finishing off his sandwich. Aaron didn’t know which was more gross, Zeek eating a shrimp cocktail sandwich next to a corpse with maggots coming out of it, or Jackson’s corpse itself. Both turned his stomach.

Taylor was right to faint. Jackson’s corpse was disgusting. He’d left it there for effect more than anything, but Zeek, as like with most gruesome things, hadn’t seemed to mind.

“You sure you don't want to run this side?” Zeek asked, munching away. There was a little bit left. The corner of the bread with a little bit of sauce. Aaron watched with disdain as Zeek tossed it where Jackson’s head used to be. It landed right in the middle of it and the maggots scattered. Zeek laughed, fascinated by the sight.

“No,” Aaron told him. They had a great plan put together for this amazing location. He's chosen this area for the old mining cave. Most of the passages were still intact, but where they were was restricted due to its instability. Restricted access meant that no one ever came down here unless invited.

Tonight was going to hold a wonder of drama, blood would be spilled, and maybe more heads would roll. “I need to be deal with Benjamin.”

He was going to the other side, on the other path. Both paths connected but there were separate entrances.

He took one last look at Taylor.

She'd been a weakness for him, possibly the one person who could have swayed him. But he had to do what was necessary. She had to die.

He planned to finish everything and everyone here, then get the hell out of town with his family. The billion dollars would take care of them for years to come.

As he was about to leave, Chloe woke up and started to look around. She didn’t see Jackson sitting next to her.

Her eyes landed on Aaron and then on Zeek.

“Richard.” Tears ran down her cheeks. “What are you doing?”

He wasn’t doing the whole introduction thing again, and definitely not with her. Of everyone, he couldn’t stand her. Hated her to no end.

She’d never been accepting of him when he was going out with Taylor, and he saw the pleasure it gave her when she threw him out of Taylor’s hospital room when he came to visit after her accident.

He’d have no sympathy for her tonight.

“Not Richard, the name’s Aaron.”

She looked as shocked as Taylor did, but without the hurt. That was understandable. There was no love lost between them.

Chloe shook her head at him as more tears spilled down her cheeks.

“I believe you already know Zeek.” Then he motioned at Jackson, ready to introduce him, but she started screaming and drowned out anything he was going to say.

Zeek started laughing and made his way over to Aaron. They closed the door behind them as they left the room, leaving their three victims to themselves.

He smiled to himself. This had well and truly turned into something spectacular. There had been hiccups along the way, but this was the result he was hoping for. He had everyone exactly where he wanted them to be.

They went out into another room that led to different paths. The place could be like a maze, but as like that, if you knew your whereabouts, you’d be able to maneuver your way around quite easily. Anyone just coming into the place would have no hope, but they’d been here for over a year, plotting and planning.

This was the old control room. Zeek had fixed it up so that they could use the space for surveillance. Up until last week, when Regina’s minions had scrambled the system, they’d been able to have eyes everywhere. They used this place, and his apartment in L.A., as a base.

Looking on the monitor now, he could see the guests had arrived.

He laughed at the whole scenario. The directions both he and Zeek gave were different and led to opposite sides of the cave. Wade was on the path that would supposedly lead to Chloe and Taylor, and Regina…

She’d arrived with Brian. She was on a path that led to nowhere.

Aaron didn't have Ben.

That was a ruse. The muffled sound Regina heard on the phone was Zeek. Aaron had given the same message to Ben and Regina, letting them know each other were in danger.

Regina was here, but surprise, surprise, no Ben. Neither knew about Taylor and Chloe.

Regina was about to find out. Ben, on the other hand, would find out that everyone he loved got blown to smithereens. He’d blame himself for not coming and the guilt would drive him mad. That would be Aaron’s final act. He’d find Ben and shoot him in his head. This would all be over then. Aaron would go home to his wife and children and leave this place with all its evil.

“Let’s do this, man.” Zeek beamed as he looked at Wade entering the cave from his entrance.

Aaron shook his head. He couldn’t believe that idiot came alone. His ego would be his downfall.

Aaron put his hand out to shake Zeek’s. “Pleasure doing business with you, man. I couldn’t have pulled this off without you.” He’d looked into all the family enemies and found several willing participants. Zeek and Merissa were the people who had the most impact.

Zeek shook his hand and took a bow.

“It’s been real. Now, let’s put these people in their places. Show ‘em what we’re made of.”

“Indeed,” Aaron agreed. They walked out of the room and onto a balcony, waiting for Wade, Regina, and Brian to get to their designated points.

Below them was a chasm, a deep drop of about a hundred meters. This was where the majority of mining took place back in the days of looking for gold. There were a number of sites like this in the cave, with the largest drop being over a hundred feet deep. That was a natural occurrence, most likely from an earthquake. That was the part that was most unstable and likely to give way at any time.

Wade arrived first, looked about him, and then up to where Aaron and Zeek were standing.

“Asshole, get down here and fight me like a man. What are you doing all the way up there?” Wade balked, looking at Zeek. His tirade was, however, drowned out by the sight of Regina and Brian making their way in from the opposite side.

They were at least ten meters apart; below them was the chasm.

Regina looked from Aaron to Wade and then back to Aaron.

“Richard, it’s you?” she said.

“I should start with a grand intro. I’m Aaron, a.k.a. Richard, the mastermind of this operation. I have been your observer and watcher, watching and waiting to deal judgment on you people. I hope you loved my lovely drawings. My man, here, is Zeek, the tech. He’s been my eyes and ears. My right-hand man.”

“We don’t give a shit who you are,” Wade retorted, balling his fists. “Where are Chloe and Taylor?”

“Chloe and Taylor?” Regina cried with surprise and fear.

“The girls are here?” Brian asked.

This was so much better than he thought. The drama, the excitement. It was riveting.

“Yes, they are here,” Aaron declared. “So here’s what you’re going to do. Regina and Brian, you may take the door on your right. That will lead you to a computer where I will meet you to do the bank transfer. You may then have Ben. Wade, Zeek has your instructions.”

Zeek had some crazy plan for Wade.

“If you all survive our set tasks, you just might be able to stop this bomb from exploding.” Aaron pulled out the miniature bomb from inside his jacket. It looked small and harmless but was designed to pack a punch. It contained a quarter of a microgram of plutonium. Equivalent to five thousand tons of TNT. Once activated, the effect was to cause a ripple of explosions. It would take out the whole mountain. He held it out for them to see. “I think you can deal with this one, Regina.”

The looks on their faces were classic. He couldn’t help but laugh out loud. This was it. The moment of reckoning. The day for justice.

It wouldn’t bring his mother back. Nothing would fix the loss he still felt, but this was something.

The show was about to come to an end.

* * *

* * *

Wade looked to Zeek who straightened up on the balcony, looking all smug.

If Wade could get his hands on him he’d snap his neck in half. Murder was something Wade never thought he was capable of until he found out Zeek killed Merissa. Today sealed the deal. These crazy bastards had Chloe and Taylor. They’d fixed everything so that his mother and Brian were here, too. And his father?

Where was he? Wade didn’t know what had happened.

“So tell me, idiot, what do I do?” Wade cried.

“Calm the hell down, Wade,” Wes hissed from the small, undetectable microphone in Wade’s ear.

Aaron may have talked Zeek up to be his eyes and ears and tech, but Wade had his own eyes and ears and tech.

He and Wes had detoured to Wes’ house, which to Wade looked like something from a Marvel comic book. Like Iron Man’s house. Wade figured that was the look he was going for. They’d stopped to get supplies, Wes called it.

What he came out with was some surveillance equipment that allowed him to stay outside and keep in touch with Wade and see all that was happening inside. Wade didn’t know how Wes did these things, but it was amazing how his brain worked.

They’d called Detective Fray, too, who of course told them to stay and let the police deal with things, but there was no way that was going to happen.

“Come and find me, once we do the transfer you can have the girls and figure out how to get the bombs off them.”

“Son of bitch, you’ll take those bombs off them now!”

“Take the door to your right, Wade. I hope you enjoy the games ahead.” Zeek laughed.

Wade watched, seething as he and Aaron took a grand bow and walked through opposite doors. Wade then looked across at his mother and Brian. “What are you guys doing here?” he asked them.

“We got a call from Aaron saying your father was taken.”

And they came? Both of them?

“I’m going. I don’t want to prolong this nightmare.”

“Mom, this is a trap. You guys go back outside and let me deal with this.”

“Son, I’m sorry, but I’m not going anywhere,” Brian interrupted.

“And I’m not leaving you. Ever again.”

Wade looked at his mother as she spoke. She was looking at Brian with sad eyes.

“Okay, guys. Let’s do this and be careful. We meet back on the outside.”

His mother nodded. “Be careful, Wade.”

Wade sighed and walked through the door to his right. He’d come here as a kid on a school trip. He’d never come up as far as here, though. The idea of going into a mountain was cool when he was younger. Him with that element of danger and love of adventure. Now that he was older, he knew the real danger that existed in venturing off into a mountain like this with caves that went on and on. The old mining ones were the worst. The most dangerous.

“Wade, stop,” Wes said.

“What’s up?”

“I’ve just hacked into the surveillance of the place so I can see where you are. Zeek’s rigged the whole passage with all sorts of traps. You’re going to have to seriously trust me.”

Wade chuckled to himself, maybe he was going mad and had lost his mind from all that had happened. “I trust you.”

He did trust Wes. He never thought he’d live to see this day, but he trusted the guy.

“You’d better, because you seriously need to.”

“What am I up against?”

“Sections where there’s no ground, bear traps, snares, and walls with knives. Minus the chasing bolder and the snakes, we’re talking the making of an Indiana Jones film,” Wes babbled on.

“Shit. What do I do?”

“Use the flashlight I gave you and make sure you can see at all times. Also, there’s a path that leads straight to the girls, but you’re going to have to cross a swinging bridge to get to it. To get out it’ll be best to use the tracks. Those are fine. There are solid tracks leading down the east and the north. Try to aim for the north side of the mountain, but the important thing is you all get out.”

“What about the bombs, Wes? It sounds like they both have active bombs, and there’s a third.”

“Just get them to me. Detective Fray is on the way, too. I’ve told him about the bombs so we just need to get to the right side of the mountain in time.”

This sounded crazy. “Okay, let’s get going.”

“Put your flashlight on.”

The minute Wade did, he saw a row of bear traps all waiting to snap him up. Zeek had laid them out so that it looked like it was all part of the rubble. If Wade had taken one more step, that would have been it. His foot would have gotten caught. Then he would have fallen, and set the rest off around him. One of them would have taken his head off.

This whole thing was literally a trap.

“There’s a path to your left. Walk carefully along it and then shine the flashlight to the center when you get to the end.”

Wes wasn’t kidding about this whole trusting thing. This was trust beyond measure.

Wade did as instructed, got to the end of the path and then shone the flashlight. A large wooden door came into view. It seemed to have some motion-detecting sensory because it lit up when Wade got closer.

“What’s this, Wes?”

“The mother of all traps. You have to get the code right.”

“What code?” Wade couldn’t see anything.

“Put your hand on the door or something.”

Wade placed his hand lightly on the door. When he did this, the middle of the door lit up in green and showed some Egyptian symbols on some square panels that eased out of the green light.

“What the fuck is this, Wes? How the hell are we supposed to get this right?” This was insane.

“Give me a minute,” Wes said.

Wade was still standing there at least ten minutes later. “Wes, come on, let’s just guess what this thing is. Is it a game?”

“I’m guessing you have to decode the sentence and press the panels in order. This guy is good.”

“Better than you?” Wade had to ask.

“Clever, but not better. The symbols don’t make any sense. I don’t think the intention here is to let you through. None of those form a sentence at all. Hold on.”

Wade waited a minute.

“Wade, there’s a hole at the top that may be just big enough for you to get through. There is a drop on the other side, though, so you’d have to be careful to climb down.”

“I rock climb. That should be easy.”

“Try that.”

Wade put the flashlight in his mouth and grabbed onto the closest rock that jutted out. That helped him to lift himself up. Once he got to the top, he could see the hole Wes talked about. It was to the left of the door frame.

Twisting himself around, he pummeled himself over to it and, yes, it was just big enough to slide through. Wade got to the other side and looked through, holding the flashlight down.

It really was a long drop, for sure, so he’d need to be careful.

“Watch your step, Wade,” Wes cautioned.

Wade did. Just like before, he grabbed onto a rock that came through and climbed across that way.

“How dare you cheat me?”

He suddenly heard Zeek’s voice. Wade wasn’t sure where he was, but his voice echoed around him. “I’ll teach you, Wade Vanderville.”

Shit, the first blade pierced his arm. Wade held the flashlight up to see the vague outline of several arrow-like blades raining down on him. One went straight into his hand and made him lose his balance.

Before he knew it, he slipped and fell.

* * *

* * *

“You should have turned back,” Brian argued. He’d been trying to tell her this since they got here, but she wouldn’t listen.

Originally she just thought they’d come here for Ben, and had said to him that Ben wasn’t his responsibility. But now that she knew both Taylor and Chloe were here, she was besides herself with worry and was determined to get to them the minute she was able to.

This damn place was like a maze and she got the feeling that they were wandering around in circles.

She also got the feeling that Richard—Aaron—knew that.

God almighty. She couldn’t believe that Richard was Aaron. When she explained that part to Brian, he was enraged.

“I’m not turning back, Brian, so stop asking me. We have to keep going together,” she retorted. Regina couldn’t believe he expected her to listen. Then what would she do, go back to the car or something and sit there?

No way. She stopped abruptly and looked around. He stopped, too. This was insane, where were they? She’d assumed that where Aaron wanted them to go wasn’t that far from where they’d been. But yet, they’d walked around twisted paths that she swore led them down farther into the mines. One section had gone up, but that was the only ascent they’d come across. She just didn’t know if they were going the right way. Thank God they’d had the good sense to bring flashlights. Actually, that was Brian’s idea. He’d taken one look at the address, saw it was literally the mountain, and knew in an instant that they must have been going inside the mines.

How was Wade doing? She’d wondered that from the second she’d seen him. In that moment, she saw the essence of this whole trap take fruition.

“I don’t know if we’re going the right way,” she stated, running her hands through her sweaty hair. It was so hot in here and she was hardly dressed for the occasion.

“It’s the only way we know,” Brian replied. He was hot, too. His hair was wet with sweat and slicked down to the back of his neck. “We have to just keep going.”

That was literally all they could do. Keep going. Keep pushing forward. Keep moving.

So she did.

Aaron had a bomb. She wondered what they’d do about that. No part of this excursion felt like he was going to allow them to leave alive. She felt that no matter what they did, the end result was for them all to die in the worst way possible.

Again she wondered how Wade was doing. All by himself on the other side of the mountain, where only God knows what he must be going through.

The earth suddenly gave beneath them and the walls shook. It felt like that time when she went to India and there was an earthquake.

Brian took her hand at the same time she saw the floor behind them crumbling away, as if something was picking it apart.

“Run!” Brian yelled and tugged her into motion. They ran as the floor caught up with them, but then it wasn’t just the floor—the ceiling and wall above them were crumbling away, too.

“There, let’s go down that path,” she directed, pointing down a narrow passage.

Brian pulled her along as quickly as he could. However, he wasn’t quick enough. A cascade of rocks came tumbling down on them, separating them. She let go of his hand as a rock hit her on her head, and in that moment she lost him. Before her, now, was a solid wall of rocks.

“Regina!” Brian called to her from the other side.

Thank God, he was okay.

“I’m here!” she called back.

“Regina, stay there. I’ll get help and come back for you.”

What choice did she have? The floor behind her was no more, so she couldn’t even go back the way she came, and there was a wall of rocks in front of her. She looked up and shone the flashlight. An idea crossed her mind.

What if she went up? Up to where the ceiling crumbled. With only about two meters of floor behind her she didn’t feel particularly safe waiting around here.

“Brian, I’m going to go up.”

“No, stay there!” He sounded panicked and worried for her. “Regina, please.”

“It doesn’t look stable here. The rest of the floor could give and I’d have nowhere to go besides up, and then that may not be an option.” It was true. That could definitely happen.

“Okay, please be careful. I’m going to go down the passage we saw. But go up first and shout back to me so I know you’re safe.”

“Okay… I’ll try now.” She hadn’t climbed anything since she was in her teens. She only hoped that she could pull this off. She placed the little flashlight between teeth, used the wall that was already there and the rocks that had just come down to stable herself, then she moved up.

Holding her breath, she secured one foot then the other on the formation, shining the flashlight as best as she could in front of her.

She released that breath when she poked her head out of the top and shone the flashlight around. The area up here was much wider, at least twice as wide as where she previously was.

“I’m up, Brian, and I’m safe,” she called back. “The area looks stable so I’m going to go this way.”

“Be careful,” he returned. “Regina…” His voice trailed off.

“Brian, are you okay?” Her heart pinched at the thought of being separated from him.

“No, I’m not, bellezza. Just in case this is it, I love you.”

That was a horrible thought she didn’t want to contemplate. “Don’t you dare say that to me! I love you, too, and this is not it. I’ll see you in a little while.”

He didn’t answer for a few seconds, then she heard him clear his throat. “Be careful.”

“I will,” she promised.

Regina continued up onto what was now her floor. It was best to keep moving. Just in case she lost this section, too.

This mine was off limits for a reason. She’d always heard how unstable it was. She’d bet their presence alone had caused the floor to crumble.

She looked back to where she came and thought of Brian. Getting back to him was a must. This couldn’t be it for them. She wouldn’t allow it.

She continued on this path for about fifteen minutes. There was a faint light ahead of her that flickered. She followed it, speeding up as she went along.

When she got to the end of the path, she saw it twisted onto another path and the light was part of a cascade of old lamps fixed to the ceiling. She followed the path and it brought her to what must have been an old work area. There was an office area, a cart on a track, and more connections that led to other paths.

Worst of all, though, was a deep drop into the chasm, which screamed certain death, beyond a very unstable-looking metal frame rail.

They’d called Detective Fray before they left, but never got to speak to him. The message they left, however, was enough, and she was sure the police would come to their aid. She and Brian had just left the house, despite being cautioned to stay home and allow the police to handle it. That was what the officer she spoke to said.

The thought was tempting, but what made her go were Aaron’s taunts of not knowing who else she may be able to save. He was clearly referring to Taylor, Chloe, and Wade.

“Resilience,” said a voice from one of the corners. She knew that voice all too well to not recognize it.

Aaron walked out from the shadows with a broad smile on his face. The lights brightened as he did, bringing him into full view.

“Richard, oh sorry, I mean Aaron.” She knew now wasn’t the time to be cocky or arrogant, and definitely not with him, but she couldn’t help it.

His smile widened. “Had you all fooled, didn’t I? Did you know I even worked as one of your gardeners for a year and none of you even clocked on that I was the same person when you met me as Richard?”

“How was that possible?” She couldn’t imagine that.

“Beard and moustache, and I died my hair blonde. Good disguise, but still. It just shows how oblivious and self centered you people are.”

“Or that you had nothing better to do with your time,” she shot back.

He didn’t like that comment one bit. The offense he took to it was all over his face as his smile fell. “I was on a mission; your husband killed my mother.”

“That had nothing to do with me. However, this all became everything to do with me, seeing that I now know who you are. You could have done anything you wanted, why did you feel that you had to hurt my daughter the way you did?” It was her right as a mother to defend her children and sort out those who hurt them, physically and emotionally.

“She was a pawn,” Aaron said in a cool, calm manner.

“A pawn?”

The smile returned to his face. “Yes, my dear Regina. Being a gardener allowed me to get on the grounds of your house. When I posed as an intern at Ben’s office, that allowed me to get access to his accounts and affairs. God, I loved stealing from him.”

She’d forgotten that someone was embezzling money from Ben’s companies. Of course, when they realized the seriousness of the situation and all was revealed, guessing that everything was related was obvious.

“But,” Aaron continued with a laugh, “being Taylor’s boyfriend gave me everything I needed. Everything. No one questioned me being in your house at any time, no one questioned me being at Runway. No one ever questioned me for anything, and I was able to get access to your lives, just like that.”

It was a creepy thought that crawled inside her and made her feel sick. This man had gone to great lengths to be sure that he hurt them, all of them.

It made her sick.

“Where are my family?” She was done talking. “Where’s Ben, Taylor, and Chloe?” She needed proof of life before she did anything else.

“Well, despite my attempts, Ben never came.”

“What do you mean he never came? You said you had—” She was so stupid. Realization dawned on her. Ben was never here. This was part of the trap.

Aaron laughed again. “I called him and gave him the same message I gave you, except that I told him I’d send parts of you to him. It’s funny, you two just got divorced and yet you came so quickly to his aid. And he, well, like I said, he’s not here. He never came for you, Regina. How does that make you feel?”

Feel? She was too numb to feel, so the question was pointless. How was she supposed to feel knowing that a man she was married to for well over thirty years hadn’t come to her rescue when he was told she was in danger?

Now look at her.

“And Taylor and Chloe? Are they here? Is Wade following a wild goose chase?”

“Oh, they’re here, alright. And you’re totally right about Wade. He’s definitely on a wild goose chase, because he’ll never get to them. He’s probably dead by now, knowing my devious little friend and his mad skills.”

She drew in a sharp, husky breath and swallowed hard.

“No!” she screamed at him. “This whole thing is off. You’ll never get a cent from me.”

He sighed, reached into his pocket, and retrieved a hand gun. It was a revolver.

Aaron held it out to her and that manic smile retuned. “Oh, I think I will. Now, one billion dollars, please.”

She froze, unable to move.