Two female voices woke him from his deep sleep. One of them sounded somewhat familiar. He could not hear them so well, yet he was able to recognize it in seconds: it belonged to Michelle. Gradually, they picked up volume, as he sensed the pain in his head growing stronger by the second. Another feeling made his stomach chill with fear. His hands were tied behind his back and his ankles were tied to a chair. James opened his drowsy eyes to slits, witnessing a very intense argument: Michelle, screaming at a middle-aged woman. The high ceiling and the luxurious interior left him with no doubt: he was back in Michelle’s living room.

“I never agreed to this!” she screamed at the stranger, pointing at James. “Let him go!”

“Go get some sleep, my dear,” the elderly woman smirked. “You look like you could use it.”

“Michelle…” James whispered. “What is this? What am I doing here?”

“Rise and shine!” The stranger put some force in her nasal voice, turning her attention to him as Michelle squeezed her lips. “How nice it is of you to join us, Mr. Farrell.”

“How do you know my name?” He squinted at her. “Who are you?”

“Maureen Harden.” She replied, staring down at him with a smug smile on her face. “Diana Ellis’s mother; her real mother: and I’m going to make you pay for what you did to my little girl, you son of a bitch!”

“Oh, God…” James gave an exasperated huff. “She was adopted?”

“That’s right.” Maureen said with a nod.

“I didn’t do anything to Diana.” He spoke, his voice becoming fainter. “It was an accident.”

“An accident which you caused!” she cried, pointing at him as her voice echoed back off the walls of the living room.

“She was fucking my best friend!” James stentorian voice rumbled like thunder. “I didn’t force them to run after me!”

“She’s sweet, isn’t she?” Maureen cast a rapt glance at Michelle:. “great voice; killer body; but just a pawn. Just like your sweetheart. You see, I used them both to get to you. You really must be something, Mr. Farrell. Olivia ended up falling for you, and after Michelle met you, she didn’t want to proceed with the plan.”

“No…” A gasp of despair left his lips, as he dropped his gaze from her intense stare. “What plan?”

“Pinning Thomas’ murder on you didn’t work. I was impressed by your sweetheart’s performance, though. She looked very committed to her role. I thought she was acting, waiting for further instruction. But, I had other plans for her. I gave her a six-figure job in Washington: Public Relations Expert in ‘Atlas’ Records. She didn’t take it; she didn’t want to leave you.” James’ eyes became black with shock. He glanced at Michelle, disbelief written all over his face. “This sweet-ass girl here was supposed to seduce you and then accuse you of sexually assaulting her. But, she wouldn’t do it. I offered her more money. She said ‘no’. She wanted to become a singer. I couldn’t allow that.”

Once again, James couldn’t believe his ears. Unable to force another word out of his throat, he stared up at Michelle, who had already dropped her head into her hands and burst into loud, wailing sobs.

“Don’t look at her!” Maureen shouted, “Look at me!”

“You said Diana was your daughter.” James spoke in a wobbly voice. “Where have you been all this time?”

Maureen tore her gaze away from him, squeezing her lips.

“I was in Europe,” she sighed. “I had to give her up. I was just nineteen when I had her.”

“Let me go, Maureen.” James put a little force in his voice. “You’ve caused enough pain.”

“I don’t think so.” Maureen replied in a stiff tone as she returned her gaze to his face. Before he knew it, she had pulled a gun out of the inside pocket of her coat, and had it pointed down at him. “This is for my baby, you bastard.”

“No!” Michelle cried, lunging towards her. With her left hand, she pushed Maureen’s arm to the right, just before the gun went off. The loud bang echoed in the living room, as a bullet hissed past James’ ear. Maureen landed hard onto her right side, banging her head against the floor. Her gun slipped through her fingers and scraped across the floor. Michelle landed flat and hard on her chest. Quickly rolling onto her back, she sat bolt upright, with her gaze locked on Maureen. Relief flashed through James’ eyes, as he realized that Maureen had been knocked unconsciousness. At that very moment, a large man barged into the living room. Michelle whipped her head right and grabbed the gun from the floor.

“Don’t even think about it, asshole!” She yelled, pointing the gun up at him, as he reached for his own weapon. “Drop it, or I swear to God, I’m going to blow your fucking brains out!”

The stranger then slowly pulled his gun out of his belt and dropped it in front of him.

“Kick it over here and then you get over here!” Michelle commanded. He reluctantly complied, as she rose. She took two steps back, maintaining a tight grip on the weapon. “There’s a pair of handcuffs in her pocket. Tie yourself to the radiator.”

“Cut me loose.” James said in his tension filled baritone as Maureen’s bodyguard bent down to locate the handcuffs.

“Wait until he does what I said.” Michelle urged James to have some patience, her breath short.

“There was no uncle, was there?” He wondered. “This is her place.”

“I’m really sorry, James.” Her voice lowered further, as the man passed him by. “I didn’t mean for any of this to happen.”

“It doesn’t matter.” He whispered, looking away from her, as the stranger did as he had been told.

“Just another betrayal: just another woman greedy enough to agree to such a horrible plan. I think I’m living in a nightmare. You shouldn’t be surprised, James. You’ve seen it all before. You shouldn’t have left the mountain: not for Olivia; not for Michelle; not for anyone.”

“She deserves the worst for what she did.” Michelle stated, releasing his hands from their bounds. “But, I still haven’t figured out how to punish her.”

“Michelle…” James croaked. “Who killed Laurel? Do you know his name?”

“Daniel Markham.” She responded, moving around him. “I overheard her talking on the phone with him.”

“Call the police.” He advised, as she cut his ankles loose. “Don’t give them your name. Just tell them you know who killed her and who paid him to take that poor girl out.”

“What about you?” Michelle inquired, as they both stood up. “What are you going to do?”

“Try to forget.” James let out a desperate whisper, struggling to hold on to his temper. “About you… About her…”

“James…”

“Get out of my sight.” He grumbled, clenching his jaw. “I never want to see you again: ever. What a waste. What a big, fucking waste…”