Uncorked (39 page)

Mitch sat at the bedside waiting
for Emily to wake while Charlotte spoke outside with her son and husband. His
phone vibrated. He glanced at the screen, but did not answer. It was Craig. He
was probably calling to check on Emily, anyway. Seeing Craig’s number appear on
the phone reminded him of Chella. He was still so angry with her, but he knew
she cared about Emily. It must have been agonizing for her not knowing what was
happening. Perhaps he would send her an email or text massage later. For now, all
he cared about was Emily.

Fifteen minutes later, Charlotte
returned to the room. “Did she wake yet?”

“No.”

“You look exhausted. Why don’t
you get a nap? You didn’t even sleep on the plane.”

“I have a lot on my mind.”

“Call her.”

“Charlotte, let’s not have this
conversation, please. All I want to do is focus on my daughter.”

Chella sat on
the chaise by Craig’s pool
gazing at ripples from the wind. She wondered how Emily was. She was afraid to
open her laptop and see more images staring at her, afraid to check her email.
She was close to losing her mind. Many things she could prepare for—to fight
back if she was physically attacked, to make sure her living quarters were
safe. No one could have prepared her for how violated she felt. If the images
were publicized, she’d feel that way over and over again.

Craig sat beside her. “Darling,
why won’t you call him? What’s wrong? Everything was perfect last night. What
happened between you two?”

“Remember that noise we heard
last night at dinner?”

“Yes.”

“I think that might have been
someone tampering with our vehicle. Craig, last night wasn’t an accident.
Someone cut the brake line. Mitch is so angry with me. He blames me for Emily
getting hurt, and he’s right. It’s my fault.”

“Why would he blame you?”

“He brought Emily here thinking
it was safe. In his mind, the attacks and the threats were over. I never told
him about the threats, or the rat incident. It happened during that crazy
period. His father was sick, there was the whole bone marrow transplant then
his father died. There was always something. If he had known about these
incidents, he wouldn’t have brought Emily here. He told me last night that he
couldn’t trust me. Liability was the word he used to describe me.”

“As a father, I can tell you most
of that talk comes from fear. From what you told me, he found out about this at
a time when he didn’t even know his daughter’s condition.”

“He told me it was over.”

“You two will work this out.
People say things they don’t mean when they fight.”

“You didn’t see the fury in his
eyes.”

“I have no doubt he was furious
with you. He needs some time to get past this. Right now the two of you need
each other a lot more than you realize.”

“This should have never happened.
I feel like I need to leave, get a fresh start somewhere else. This person has
managed to infiltrate every aspect of my life, hurting the people that I love
in the process. They have the potential to cost you millions of dollars, not to
mention more in PR to fix things. I can’t allow that to happen. I need to stop
the bleeding somewhere.”

“You let me worry about that.”

Mitch was relieved
as he watched Emily open her
eyes.

“Daddy…”

“Hi, Sweetie. How do you feel?”

“My head hurts.”

“We had a little accident,
Sweetie, but you’re going to be just fine,” he said, enclosing her hand in his.

“What’s that on my arm?”

“It’s called a cast. You have a
broken arm. We can get different color markers and get all your friends to sign
it.”

“Like Megan did?”

“Yes, exactly like that.”

“Daddy, where’s Chella? Was she
hurt in the accident, too?”

“No, Sweetheart, she’s fine.
She’s back in San Diego.”

“I thought we were in San Diego.”

“Not any more. We flew you to
L.A. this afternoon. You were asleep the whole time.”

“Is Mommy here?”

“Yes, she’s with Micky and Uncle
George right now. I’ll go get her.”

“Daddy, what’s wrong? You look
sad.”

“I’m fine. I was a little worried
about you. I wanted you to wake up.”

“Once my headache goes away, I’ll
be perfect. Can you get Mom and Micky?”

“Sure, Sweetie. I love you.”

“I love you, too, Daddy.”

Mitch got Charlotte and Micky.
His phone vibrated. He realized it was Craig calling again.

“Hi, Craig.”

“Hi, Mitch. How are you?”

“Been better. I’m sure you know
what happened last night.”

“I do. How’s the little one?”

“She’s better. She had a
fractured skull and a broken arm. Both required surgery. She’s awake now,
though.”

“What’s the prognosis?”

“The doctors see no reason why
she shouldn’t make a full recovery. She’ll be in the hospital for a few days
for observation.”

“Kerry’s still here. Maybe if I
bring her over for a visit it might cheer her up.”

“We’re not in San Diego anymore.
We brought her on the air ambulance back to L.A. I didn’t want to take any
chances leaving her there.”

“I understand. Do you have any
idea how long you’re going to be gone?”

“A few days, maybe a week. I’m
not leaving until she’s been released from the hospital.”

“I think there’s something you
need to know.”

“What’s that?”

“I’m really worried about
Chella.”

“Craig, I’m still angry with her.
You don’t need to fight her battles for her.”

“This isn’t about the fight you
two had. Chella called me frantic this morning. Someone was in her condo.”

“What? Is she okay?”

“Physically? Yes. Emotionally?
She’s a wreck. Mitch, she was drugged, and whoever did it took off her clothes
and snapped graphic, nude photos of her.”

“God. Was she—?”

“No, thank God,” Craig
interjected.

“She feels hurt and violated, and
now she’s scared as hell this person might publicize the pictures.”

“How many pictures are there?”

“Hundreds.”

“Where is she now?”

“I convinced her to stay with me
for now, but it wouldn’t surprise me if she left. San Diego, I mean. She’s been
completely humiliated, and she’s afraid of how this will affect my business if
those pictures go public.”

“Thanks for letting me know. And
for looking out for her.”

“You’re welcome. We’ll be
thinking about you and the little one.”

Mitch ended the call, pounding
his fist repeatedly on the wall.

Would this nightmare never end?

Chella lay on
the bed with the laptop opened
in front of her, afraid to press the power button. Her phone rang. Mitch’s face
was on the screen. Despite wanting to know how Emily was doing, she was torn
about saying anything else to him. On the fifth ring, she answered.

“Hi.”

“Hi.”

“How’s Emily doing?”

“She’s going to be fine. She asked
for you today.”

“Really? What were her injuries?”

“She had a depressed fractured
skull, and her arm was broken in two places.”

“If I could do this over again,
I’d do it differently.”

“Chella, we don’t have to discuss
this right now.”

“Would it be okay if I came by to
see her?”

“We’re not in San Diego, I flew
her back to L.A. earlier today.”

“Can I call her to say hello?”

“Sure.”

“Thank you for calling to give me
an update. I’ve been worried about her.”

“Chella, I know what happened to
you. Craig called.”

She stayed silent, not sure how
to respond or what to say.

“I’m so sorry,” said Mitch.

“I’m sorry, too,” she whispered.

“When I get back we can talk.”

“I don’t want your pity. You made
it clear last night how you felt.”

“Some of those things I said in anger.”

“You were right, Mitch.
Everything that’s happening now is exactly what I was afraid of ten months ago.
You’re right. I’m a liability to you and anyone I’m close to. I can’t allow
that to happen anymore.”

“I shouldn’t have said that.”

“Why? It’s the truth...”

“I don’t want to fight with you
about this right now.”

“I’m not fighting with you. I’m
stating the obvious. Spend time with Emily. Make sure you send her my love.”

“Chella, don’t do this.”

“I have to go. Bye,” she replied
then ended the call.

Mitch was beginning
to regret many things he said to
Chella the previous night. He should have never blamed her for Emily’s
accident. And, although he was torn about how to handle a future with her, he
made things more difficult for himself when he told her it has over. Now that
he heard her saying it out loud, he realized what a huge mess he created for
himself. She was pulling away again, maybe this time for good.

Chella thought long
and hard about what her next
move would be. She had to make a plan, so without further hesitation, she
switched on her computer and waited for it to boot. She was almost afraid to
look but when it came on, a picture of Mitch lit up the screen. They had been
so happy on the boat that day. The trip to Morro Bay was the highlight of their
weekend. She traced the outline of his face with her fingers.

She decided to resign from her
job, effective immediately. That way, they would not be able to use the
pictures to embarrass Craig or his company. She would work on a report on how
to see her promotion through to completion, including an outline of tasks and
responsibilities and a list of team members she thought that would be able to
execute them. She would be willing to help and work behind the scenes through
Craig, but she did not want to be listed as an employee of the company. When
she finished the report, she crafted a resignation letter and printed
everything out. She would hand it to Craig first thing in the morning.

The next day would be the
beginning of the rest of the rest of her life. With no job and nothing tying
her to San Diego, she looked at her next steps as a process of self-discovery.

After three hours of sleep,
Chella showered, packed the few things she had pulled from her suitcase the day
before, and called a cab to pick her up. She went to the main house where
Maggie and Craig were fixing breakfast in the kitchen together.

“Hello, you two. Good morning.”

“You’re up early,” Maggie said,
kissing her on the cheek. “Sit. I’ll get you a cup of coffee.”

“I thought you’d sleep through
the day,” said Craig. “You barely got any sleep last night.”

“How would you know?”

“I looked through the window a
few times.”

“Checking up on me?”

“Yes I was, and I’m not ashamed
to admit it.”

“I was up so late, because I was
working on a report for you.”

“Chella, no report could be so
important that you’d have to work through that hour of the night on
Thanksgiving weekend.”

“Actually, there is. Craig, I
love you, and I appreciate everything you’ve done for me. That’s why I’m
resigning.”

“Chella, that’s not necessary.”

“It is. Whoever took those
pictures intends to use them. I have to be proactive, play my cards carefully.
Aaron and this other person might be ruining the little life I have left, but
that does not mean I will sit around and let him take the people I love down
with me.”

“Chella…”

“There’s nothing you or anyone
else can say to change my mind. I’ve left you a detailed report of how to see
this promotion through until the end and the team members I feel are capable of
executing each task.”

“Where will you go?”

“I honestly don’t know. I promise
I’ll be in touch with my new telephone number and email address within the next
few days.”

“What about Mitch?”

“He’s the love of my life, but
he’s better off without me. Until the police resolve this, you all are. I have
to do this. You and Mitch would continue to help to your own detriment, and I
can’t allow that to happen. Besides, I don’t think he’s certain about our
future anyway.”

“Stop being ridiculous. Anyone
with a good pair of eyes can see how deeply in love with you he is.” Maggie
responded, buttering toast in front of her.