* * *

She followed Ben into a private room where they could talk. How private it was, she didn’t really know. There was always the possibility that they were being watched and listened to, but in light of recent circumstances she didn’t know if that mattered anymore.

She observed Ben. He stood before her but his focus was on the glazed glass on the door, and through that where he could see Taylor and Brian sitting together on one of the board benches. Taylor was resting her head on Brian’s shoulder.

It was evident that the sight of it hurt Ben, and deeply too.

She felt like saying something, something comforting, but couldn’t find the words amongst her worry over Wade.

“She knows, right? About Brian? You told her?” He slowly returned his gaze to her and the sadness in his gray eyes got to her.

“She knows,” Regina confirmed.

“She looks like she took the news well.”

“Not at first.”

“I’m losing my kids,” he stated, pressing down on his lips.

The statement made her worry even more about Wade. “Ben, right now you have the privilege of knowing what’s going on with Wade. I know nothing. Taylor loves you, and it doesn’t matter what you did, she’ll always love you.”

He focused on her as she spoke, seeming to appreciate her words.

“She just has room in her heart for Brian, too. Now please tell me what’s happening with Wade.”

He rested against the wall and sighed. Then he looked at her for a few agonizing seconds, as if he was contemplating his next words. “It doesn’t look good, Regina. The woman was stabbed. They found a knife with Wade’s fingerprints all over it. They found him with her, covered in blood.” He filled her in on everything Wade had told him, and when he was finished she understood the haggard worry she saw displayed in his composure.

The situation was beyond the point of things not looking good. It was hopeless. Wade looked guilty. There was no way around it. He looked guilty.

Tears ran down her cheeks.

“Ben, there’s seriously nothing we can do?”

“I don’t know, Regina.” He shook his head. “I can’t think of anything. It would be different if she was already dead when he went to her house. But they were together, neighbors reported hearing arguing and the window smashing. All roads point to guilt and make him look bad.”

“What happens now? Will he go to prison?”

Her heart broke when Ben nodded. “Most likely. We have court in two hours, I’m going to prepare for that.”

“Ben, this has to be the psycho’s work. Whatever you know has to come out now. Everything has to come out. It will help if the police know all they can about this person.” As far as she knew, all the police knew was what she told Detective Fray. That was weeks ago, after Taylor’s accident, when the police were investigating. A lot more had happened since, including her receiving a severed finger in a package, but there were still questions floating around that needed to be answered.

She assumed Detective Fray had been in touch with Ben but couldn’t be sure. What she was sure of, now more than ever, was that they all needed to do whatever they could to resolve this crazy situation.

To her surprise he nodded and agreed. “Yeah. I know. I just don’t know what will happen after.”

“Ben…I know you know more than what you’ve told me.” She looked at him sternly. “Who is this person, Ben? Who is doing this to us?” Days ago when she asked him, he seemed to know. He acted like he did and wasn’t telling.

“I have my suspicions.”

Good, at least he was talking. “Tell me, who do you suspect? And what could you possibly have done to make him do all of this to us?”

He’d told her that Wade found out from Merissa that their psycho was a man. Regina had suspected that but never really said.

“I did something to someone he cared about, someone he loved,” he replied in a cautious voice.

There was a knock on the door. When it opened, Detective Fray came in.

“Hi,” he said and looked at them both. “I heard what happened and came straight away.”

“Thanks detective,” Ben said. He spoke like he knew him, so she figured her assumption of them meeting was correct. “My wife has a few things she’d like to tell you if you have time to talk. I have to prepare for court.”

“Of course, but while I have you both here, I needed to talk to you about the finger.”

Ben narrowed his eyes. “What about it?”

Detective Fray looked at him then back at Regina. “Does the name Jackson Donovan mean anything to you?”

Ben froze when he heard the name and Regina’s heartbeat sped up. Jackson Donovan was Ben’s right-hand man. Way back when they first got married, Jackson did everything with, and for, Ben. That was who she overheard him talking to when she found out about the oilrig disaster. It was Jackson. Jackson falsified all the documents in relation to that to make it look like Ben had done everything he was supposed to, and that that accident was a legitimate, unfortunate one.

Jackson did all the dirty work.

The last thing she heard of him was years back when he was imprisoned for rape and attempted murder.

“The finger is his?” Ben asked with caution.

Detective Fray nodded. “Do you know him?”

“He used to work for me.” The freaked out look on Ben’s face gripped her, highlighting the seriousness of the situation.

Regina thought back to her meeting with Cora, who was still investigating the technical side of the matter. Cora was the first to imply that the finger was a message. It seemed like she was right. The finger was definitely a message, indeed.

From the look on Ben’s face, she realized that the message was for him.

* * *

* * *

She felt ashamed of herself.

Truly ashamed of herself. Wade was her soulmate, the man she loved with everything inside her, but she turned her back on him when he needed her the most. Jumping ship at the first sign of trouble.

The thought brought more tears to her eyes and she could barely see the road ahead of her.

Not wanting to alert anyone of her situation with Wade, Chloe had stayed in a hotel last night. She’d called her parents after she booked her flight. Then she switched off her phone, not wanting to speak to anyone else.

What a big mistake.

She’d gotten to the airport only to be greeted with a news broadcast that Wade, her Wade, had been charged with murdering Merissa.

Charged. Actually charged.

It was only then that she’d switched on her phone and received a host of voice messages from everyone. Regina, Taylor, her parents, and God, even Wes. They all knew what had happened and she’d known nothing.

She was perhaps the one person who should have known what was happening to her boyfriend. It was pitiful that she didn’t, pitiful that she thought of herself first when she’d gained knowledge of the hardest and worst thing that had ever happened to him.

How could she have left him? How?

And the worst thing was, if she hadn’t left him, none of this would be happening. None of it.

He would never have gone to Merissa’s house. She didn’t know what happened, but in her heart she knew that Wade would never have done anything to harm Merissa. He didn’t kill her. She didn’t need to be told details to know that part. Especially given all that had happened over the last few weeks with this psycho.

It had to be them. Even though Merissa appeared to be working with this person, Chloe was willing to bet her life that something sinister must have happened to her because of that. Something to hurt Wade, which this definitely was, and Chloe had helped them put her love right into the trap.

Her heart went out to Merissa. She’d only shown Chloe anger and malice, but the reasoning behind that was understandable and she didn’t deserve to die.

The minute Chloe saw that broadcast she’d practically flown to her car, and here she was now, driving to the police station.

It was just after seven and the morning traffic was just building up as people made their way to work. If she’d been any later she would have gotten stuck in the traffic.

She could just see the police station ahead of her now. There were reporters outside and officers trying to control them. She didn’t know how the hell she was going to get past. There were so many of them. Too many.

But she tried anyway.

She parked and ran over to the first officer who was just guarding the entrance to the station. He was a tall, muscular man with dark blonde hair, like Wade’s, and a goatee.

“Please can I go in? I’m family,” were her first words.

“I’m sorry but we can’t let anyone go in. You’ll have to make other arrangements,” the officer responded quite rudely.

“Please, is there no way I can get in?” she begged, but now he was just ignoring her.

Chloe did the next best thing. She called Regina, who answered after the first ring.

“Regina, I’m outside. I can’t get in,” Chloe blurted, tears streaming down her cheeks.

“Sweetie, don’t try. Head to the beach house. We’ll meet you there,” Regina instructed, her voice sounding weak and ragged. It was evident that she’d been crying, too.

“I need to see Wade,” Chloe cried.

“You can’t.” Regina’s voice was so faint. “None of us can.”

Her heart sank when she heard that. “They won’t let me see him?”

She looked back to the building, scanning over it with all its windows and symmetrical shape. Wade was somewhere inside.

He was here, and she couldn’t see him.

“Sweet girl, head back to the beach house. I’ll explain everything then. Don’t try to get in. We’ll be there in about an hour. Okay?”

Chloe thought for a moment, then released the breath she’d been holding. “Okay,” she agreed. What else could she say?

She continued to stare at the building before her with all the people milling about. It was horrible. Just days ago she had to face reporters when the whole thing broke out about Taylor and Richard.

As harmful and as malicious as that was, this was so much worse. So much worse.

She made her way back to her car where she allowed the tears to fall, cursing and blaming herself for the situation. Chloe must have stayed like that for a good twenty minutes before she was able to gather the strength to go to the beach house.

Kelly greeted her the minute she stepped out of her car, and true to her word, Regina was there within the hour, along with Brian and Taylor.

Chloe rushed into Regina’s arms and that was when she truly broke down.

It was so bad that Regina had to take her out onto the terrace, away from everyone else, so they could talk. She filled Chloe in on what was happening with Wade, sending her worries into spirals of fear and hopelessness. There was nothing anyone could do. Not even Ben, who she knew was one of the very best lawyers anyone could ever get. Right now, guilt pointed at Wade. There was nothing that supported his testimony and nothing that supported his innocence. Not even the whole psycho issue. They thought the two incidents weren’t related and there was nothing to suggest a connection. Without the background of that problem, Wade had no alibi, no context to his story.

She didn’t know what they were going to do.

“I left him,” Chloe cried through her tears. Regina dabbed her eyes with a tissue. “How could I do that? This is all my fault.”

“Chloe, this is not your fault.” Regina shook her head. Her sea green eyes held a wealth of love and compassion.

The dryness in her throat made it feel prickly and she struggled to talk. “It is. I found out what happened with Merissa and I left him.” She assumed Wade must have told Regina about his past with Merissa and their baby.

“He told me everything on Sunday,” Regina confessed. “Chloe, you’re his girlfriend and you probably acted like most women would after hearing something like that. You can’t blame yourself for any of this at all. This is bigger than just you leaving him because you found out about his past.”

Regina looked at her with understanding eyes, understanding Chloe didn’t feel she deserved.

“Regina, he wanted to tell me the night before. I saw how hard it was for him, and I just freaked out. With everything else going on, it was all too much.”

“I get it. I do. It’s been too much for everyone, and no one would blame you for leaving. Tell me what happened.”

Chloe found her voice and started talking. By the time she got to the part about Merissa confronting Chloe at Runway and taunting her about the psycho, Regina was fuming.

“It’s all part of this person’s plan.” Regina shook her head and brought her hand up to her cheek.

Chloe nodded. “Yes, big time.”

“This is all such a mess. One big mess.”

“I know, and I don’t know how we’ll even start to fix it.” Chloe frowned.

“There are just so many loose ends, but yet they connect, and in ways that I couldn’t imagine. Chloe, it’s not safe for you to stick around. It really isn’t.”

“I’m not going anywhere. I’m never leaving Wade again, ever.”

A tear ran down Regina’s cheek as she looked at her. “I am in awe at how much you love my son, but sweet girl, we’d both be devastated if something were to happen to you.”

“Regina, I’m in awe at your compassion for me, but I can’t tell you how much I regret leaving him last night. It was so stupid, and I just can’t leave again. I’m in this for him, and for you all. I don’t care how safe or unsafe it is for me. I’m staying.”

“Oh Chloe, Chloe. I don’t think I could have ever hoped for someone better for Wade than you. He certainly reached past the stars when he got you.” Regina covered Chloe’s hands over with hers.

Warmth seeped into Chloe’s skin, but she wished she could feel the comfort it carried.

“Thank you.” Chloe replied, but again she didn’t feel like she deserved the compassion.

She acted so far from what Wade needed last night. So very far from it.

* * *

Wade was transferred to the secured unit at Avenal two days later, after his court appearance, where he would stay to await his trial, set for a month’s time.

A month.

Wade would be imprisoned for a whole month, and in one of the roughest facilities Chloe knew.

When Regina told Chloe, she felt like everything inside her crumbled.

Arrangements were made for her to see Wade today. She’d get ten minutes with him. Just ten minutes. That was all.

Her hands shook as she waited behind the cubicle with the glass separating her from the chair that Wade would be sitting in. The telephones were on the separator wall between visiting stations. One for her, the other for him.

The whole thing reminded her of one of those prison films and seemed unreal.

The door before her on Wade’s side opened and her heart expanded when she saw him come through. However, it just as quickly shrank away into despair and anguish as she observed him, dressed in orange and shackled with handcuffs, coming through with a guard. What was worse was his face. He had a black eye and the right side of his face was bruised up like he’d been beaten.

She winced when she saw him and fresh tears streamed down her cheeks. The guard hustled Wade over, unlocked the handcuffs so that he could use the phone, and stood next to him. Wade lowered to the seat and raised his eyes to meet hers.

Shame filled her as she looked at him. Shame filled her at the thought that she never stood by him when he needed her the most and she left when he asked her to stay.

The first thing he did was reach out to her, resting his hand on the glass. The gesture gripped her soul in a way that she couldn’t quite describe. She reached back to him and pressed her hand on the glass, too, within the outline of his, and she broke down again.

They savored a few seconds of that simple but intimate moment, then he reached for the phone and she took hold of hers.

“Baby,” he breathed into the receiver. It was so weird to see him in front of her, watch his lips moving and hear him like this through the phone.

It was torture that she couldn’t just throw herself into his arms and feel his touch on her skin. It was agony looking at him and seeing the extent of suffering on his face and in his eyes.

“Wade,” she cried, trying to stop herself from shaking and wasting the little time they had by crying.

“Baby, you shouldn’t have come back.”

“I shouldn’t have left.”

He shook his head firmly at her. “No, baby, the best thing you did was to leave me.”

“No. It was the worst.”

“No, baby. You can’t be with me. I shouldn’t have…” He held her gaze and a look of pain filled his eyes.

“Don’t,” she breathed. “Don’t tell me you should never have been with me. Hearing you say that will destroy me.”

“You were always too good for me, Chloe. I was selfish to drag you into this mess, and it would destroy me if something happened to you.”

She shook her head trying to protest, but he stopped her.

“Chloe, look at Merissa. She died just because she knew me. Please go to France where you’ll be safe and forget me.”

“I love you,” she told him, refusing to listen. How could she forget him?

“And I have always loved you.” He nodded. “How stupid of me to not know that all these long years. I remembered the other day, I was thinking back to the first time I felt like this about you. To the first time I knew I loved you. I was six years old. Your mom reminded me of when I used her stockings as a zip line. I jumped out of the window at your house, the stockings broke, and I fell and broke my arm. I remember looking up and seeing you about to jump after me. That was the moment when I first felt like this. When I thought, she’ll die if she follows me.”

It was too much. The walls of her chest were caving in as she listened, and her heart was pounding within her at such an intensity that she found it hard to breathe.

“Wade.”

“Baby…you’ll die if you follow me.” He held her gaze then placed the phone back on the hook.

“Wade!” She was crying out his name, but of course he couldn’t hear her. Devastation overtook her and squeezed her heart, she couldn’t believe what was really happening. What he was saying, what he was doing.

Blinded by her tears, she watched him as he walked back out with the guard, never looking back. Leaving her.