Vows for REVENGE

CHAPTER FIVE : The Threat

Diane POV

I rushed too fast all through town roads. My hands trembled on the wheel so bad that I nearly crashed into a car at the stop sign. Marcus sat beside me and didn't speak a word. He knew well enough that something felt so off.

Victor Cross. That name sounded old after ten years. I’d barely thought of him; it felt like I had forgot. But he was there deep down, pulling levers, making issues happen. He made James believe Catherine’s fibs. He made my whole life just crash down.

And now his letters are here to find me.

"Mom, just where exactly are we driving?" Marcus asked, very low.

"Home," I then spoke. "We are headed back home."

I parked in the space under my flat block, and sat still. Marcus waited, letting me move first. Once I moved, my legs felt like goo.

Inside our flat, I shut the front door tight and checked all the glass. All was just how it was when we had left. All seemed well. But none felt well.

I grabbed my PC and reread that mail. The words just made my belly hurt bad.

Diane, your plot is known to me, like a song stuck in my head. James Chen is your target, I see, to grind him to dust. I am privy to your secret chats and schemes, like a fly on the wall. But here's a twist you should know, like a hidden door. I orchestrated this whole game from the start, the puppet master. I was the wedge that split you two back then, a decade gone. Refuse my meet, and James will learn all, every hidden thread. I will spill that his own son danced in your plan, a painful truth. Marcus, your own flesh and blood, a weapon in your hand, exposed. Midnight, the old mill on Fifth Street, is our stage. Come solo.

The email ended with just a V, like a ghost's whisper.

"You are giving me the jitters, Mom," Marcus called, his voice tight.

I shut the laptop, a heavy weight, and walked to his side. He looked like a lost bird on the couch, small and troubled. I nestled beside him, pulling him close, a familiar scent. His hair smelled like sunshine and my old shampoo, a sweet memory.

"My bad," I confessed. "All is good. No need to fret, little man."

But Marcus pulled away, eyes searching, a radar for truth. "You are fibbing. You never did that before. What gives now?"

I yearned to shield him with adult words, things kids can't grasp. Trust me, I wanted to say, let me carry this weight alone. But his car words echoed, after the James meeting, a mirror held up. He was right. I have morphed. A liar, a plotter, a user of souls, a stranger.

"A ghost from long ago haunts us," I mumbled low. "A person who caused pain. They are now trying to make us suffer. But I'll set things right. You have my word."

Marcus gave a nod, but worry lined his face. Sadness filled his young eyes, a weight too heavy for his age.

My phone made a sound. It was Sandra calling.

"Diane, we must speak now," Sandra spoke before I could greet her. "Someone at my job told me Victor Cross seeks info on you. He seeks details of your work. He seeks insights on James Chen. What is all this?"

"How did you learn that name?" I questioned her.

"I did some searching around," Sandra replied back. "Since you hid your revenge plans, I sought to learn what was up. And I found stuff out. Really bad stuff."

"Tell all to me," I requested her.

"Victor Cross worked with James's dad," Sandra spoke up. "He wanted control after the old man passed. But James's father gave all to James, though. Victor felt rage then. He blamed young James for it. He sought to hurt James by wrecking his world. He learned about you and James by chance. He sought out Catherine, James's old love. He paid her to fib about the kid being not James's. He made James trust her words. He wrecked your life with purpose, Diane. It was a scheme."

I felt my soul split apart inside me.

Sandra piped, "Guess what? Victor's got a sneaky scheme. He'll whisper to James that you messed with Marcus just to sting him back. He'll twist things so James thinks you never liked him. Only wanted to hurt him using your own kid. He'll make James loathe you, snatching Marcus from both your worlds."

I gasped, "Seriously? No way he can pull that off."

Sandra sighed, "He's giving it a shot. Lawyer's on standby. He'll say you're unfit to parent, 'cause you plotted payback. He'll claim using your son as a weapon paints you as unsafe. Diane, end this game. Spill the whole truth to James."

I dropped the call like a hot potato.

Marcus watched me, puzzled. "What’s up?" he wondered.

"Just stuff," I fibbed. Inside, my thoughts were a whirlwind. Victor planned to ruin me. Steal Marcus away. Make sure everyone knew my revenge plot. Turn James against me for good.

But, surprise, he had no clue I'd done a U-turn. Seeing James weep at the sight of Marcus had flipped a switch deep down. I was starting to maybe let go.

My phone beeped with a message. James wanted to know, "Can we hang out again with Marcus tomorrow? Thinking of a basketball game. Pretty please?"

I stared at the message. Then a new sound, a strange rapping at the front door. Past midnight already. Nobody ever knocks this late.

I crept to the door, spying out the tiny hole. My insides felt like frozen water.

It became Victor Cross. He stood out in the hall, two dark suited men at his back. Also, he wore a grin.