Lies Inside (39 page)

Murphy walked in with an x-ray in his hand.

“See this little bone right here?” He pointed to a bone in her wrist on the x-ray. “That is your scaphoid bone. It’s the one that’s giving you problems.”

“Broken,” she nodded in agreement. “A cast then?”

“Yep, then we’ll do another x-ray in about ten days to see how it’s healing. You get to pick the color if that makes you feel any better.”

“What about black? Black goes with everything.”

“Black it is then. I’ll be back shortly.” Murphy excused himself just as Lane came back in.

“Good news. No charges.”

“Thank God,” she sighed. “What did you do?”

“I very politely let Rod and Mr. Jensen know that we had several statements from others at the party confirming your side of the story, and that you were indeed married and blissfully happy with your husband, who I hear was nice enough to call for some ice for the guy’s nose.”

“He was bleeding all over the grass, but if he would have made another comment like he did—”

Lane held up his hand. “Yes, one of the girls was perfectly clear on his statement. Let’s just say the kid is an idiot, and we let it all rest.”

“Fine with me, but his face broke my wrist.” Lucy let out a small laugh as the whole night’s events began playing though her mind. She really didn’t expect what came next.

“I’m proud of you, Lucy.” Her father kissed her on the forehead before nodding to Finn and leaving the room.

“I’m proud of you, too.”

Ten days went by in a flash. Lucy’s cast was replaced with a brace that drove her nuts, but Finn made her wear it anyway. Then, September was upon them and with it, their trip back to Montana.

They got there a day early to go over what they would have to do on the day of the sentencing. Finn and Lucy both wanted to make statements. They went over and over it in their three sessions a week with Dr. Styles and at home together. Finn knew he could do it, but he felt there was something he needed to do first.

In a hotel room in Montana, Finn, Lucy, and Max prepared for the Federal hearing the next day.

“I want to see him.”

Max sprayed the soda he was drinking out.

“You what?”

“I want to see him. Can you make it happen?”

“Finn?” Lucy looked at him confused and a little bit angry. “Why would you want to do that?”

“I need to tell him face to face that he didn’t ruin me. I’m not that little puppet of his anymore. I want him to see the truth in my eyes. I want him to know that his daughters are my family now. That Chloe loathes him for what he did to us, and no matter how long he spends in prison, he’s lost two of the most precious gifts he was ever given. He needs to know, and I want to be the one to tell him.”

Finn sat alone in a conference room at the courthouse. He nervously straightened his jacket. His tie felt too tight, so he loosened it. He didn’t really know exactly what he wanted to say. He wondered if he could be that strong or if he was just kidding himself.

The door opened and a shackled Viktor entered the room, followed by a very large guard.

Too late. It was now or never.

Finn took a deep breath as Viktor sat across from him.

“Hello, Finn. You wanted to talk?”

The lump in Finn’s throat was so large; he couldn’t imagine any sound ever being able to pass. Viktor just sat as smug as ever, piercing Finn with his intense stare.

Finn knew he had to show Viktor he wasn’t that lost little boy anymore. He was so much more.

“That’s right. I did want to tell you a few things before you go into solitary. You know that’s where you’re going, right? General population is just too dangerous for sexual predators like you.”

“A predator?” He actually laughed. “You make it sound like I sought out dozens of children and cast my spell over them. It was just you. It was always you.”

Finn saw the guard adjust his stance, obviously just as sickened as he was.

“What about Lucy? Why did you have to bring her into all this?”

Viktor sat back in his chair, took a deep breath, and clasped his hands together in front of his mouth. “Lucy, Lucy, Lucy.” His eyes settled back on Finn. “It was selfish, really. I liked seeing you smile. Those perfect angel lips.” He traced his index finger across his own. “She made that happen. It took some convincing on my part for Camille to go for it, but I won in the end. I always do.”

“You call this winning?”

“My mind is a steel trap. Anytime I want, I can remember all the times we had together. I’ve been thinking a lot about that day by the pool, when Lucy needed to be rubbed down. The way your hands caressed her thighs—”

“Stop it!” Finn stood up as he slammed his hands against the table. “Don’t you dare think about my wife that way.”

“Wife, huh?” He leaned in as he licked his lips. “So, you’ve joined the club. Welcome to marriage.”

“My marriage is nowhere near the sick and twisted relationship that you have with Camille. How’s that going, by the way?” Finn managed to sit back down in his chair. “Only seeing her, what, maybe when you’re in court or with your lawyers? You know you’re not going to be at the same prison. You know you’re never going to get to see her.”

The smile left Viktor’s face. “We knew this might happen, and we are ready to accept the consequences for our actions. It doesn’t mean we regret one moment of loving you. We love you, Finn.”

Finn started to feel more than nauseous. His bottom lip quivered as he swallowed to hold back the filth he felt rising inside of him. The hate, the anger, it was all there, screaming to get out. Finn knew he had to control it. He knew he was stronger. He knew he was the better man.

“For a man who claims to love so much, you sure like torturing the people you love most, but I never thought you would actually hurt your own child.”

He slightly nodded his head as his gaze focused on the table.

“I guess I should be glad they’re both so young. I hope Chloe can forget how you beat her and if there is a God, Olivia won’t remember you at all.”

“Those are my daughters,” he spat through his clenched teeth.

“They are nothing to you anymore. They are
my
family now. Even if you make it out of prison alive, I’m sure they will want nothing to do with you.”

“Those girls love me.” His eyes pleaded. Finn finally saw the first glimmer of pain. The satisfaction hit him like a drug high. He was feeling the euphoria from Viktor’s pain.

“Chloe detests you. You know what she said to me the night we left? She said she didn’t want to be with you anymore because she knew what you had done to me. She loves me more than she ever loved you. As their Godfather, I will always do what is best for those girls. What’s best for them now is making sure you never see them again.”

“Finn, please?” He was begging? Finn couldn’t help but laugh.

“Why would I ever help you now? You’ve brought this all on yourself. You lost your wife. You’ve lost your daughters. Not that you ever had me, but you’ve lost me too. How does that make you feel?”

The anger seethed inside of Viktor as he clenched his fists, his knuckles bright white.

Finn scooted the chair out from under him and rose to walk to the door. He dipped his head and felt a devious smile creep upon his face. He turned back for one last look and couldn’t help himself.

“Have fun in the showers. See how you like it for a change.”

Finn grabbed the door handle and turned. He walked into the hall feeling years of agony fall from his shoulders. He felt like a man, a real man, with a wife and a beautiful future.

Lucy stood at the end of the hall, her eyes pained and worried. He swept her up in his arms, swinging her around as if they were children again. Their laughter filled the hallway and earned them more than a few stares.

“It went well then?” she asked as he set her down.

“Perfect. It’s really almost over, isn’t it?”

“Yes.” She caressed his cheek with her fingertips and he pressed a kiss into her palm.

“You should take your seats. This judge is very prompt. We’ll be starting right on time.”

Finn and Lucy followed Max into the courtroom. Claire, Murphy, Lane, Aiden, Rylan, and Jack were all waiting there, and after hugging them, Finn and Lucy took a seat behind Max.

The guards brought in Viktor and Camille.

Finn couldn’t take his eyes off of Camille. She was nowhere near the woman he had seen only a few months before. She was much thinner, her eyes sunken in. The one thing that was always beautiful about her was her hair. The strands of black silk had all but disappeared. It was cropped short in the back with a slight wedge so it hit just in the middle of her neck.

She had been crying; that much was obvious. They sat her next to Viktor, who was able to take her hand. Finn saw a feeble smile on her face, but the tears still poured. Viktor brought her in to comfort her. Finn knew then the high he was feeling was the opposite of the absolute low she was feeling. He wondered if it could be guilt. She had spent all those years pretending to be his friend. Could she have been, in the end, just another one of Viktor’s victims?

The judge brought the courtroom to order. There were several formalities to get out of the way before they could make their statements, but Finn really couldn’t pay attention. He just rubbed Lucy’s hand and put on a brave face for the rest of his family.

Suddenly, Max pulled Finn out of his daze.

“Dr. O’Malley?”

Murphy rose from his seat and kissed Claire’s hand before patting Finn on the shoulder.

He walked to the podium and cleared his throat as he pulled a sheet of paper from his jacket.

“Your Honor. I am Dr. Murphy O’Malley. Finn is my son and Lucy is my daughter-in-law. Only after years of torture did I find out what these two people, people I once considered family, had done to my son. Even after I found out about Finn’s abuse, I still couldn’t protect him. It is my failure as a father and a friend that I wasn’t able to protect Lucy and my son. I will have to live with my actions for the rest of my life. I can only take solace in the fact that you will do everything in your power to keep these two monsters behind bars for as long as possible. My family is eternally grateful to this system for coming through for all of us in order to keep us safe. My one hope is that the Karpovs will spend their time realizing what they have lost and feel the pain and sorrow they have caused all of us. Just look at him,” Murphy pointed to Viktor, “The man I thought of as a brother.” His tears started to flow as Finn felt his mother pat his knee. “He has no remorse for what he has destroyed. My son’s youth. His own marriage to Camille. The precious little time he’d spent with his daughters. I spent years trying to be a friend and a mentor to him. All those years I trusted him, and he did this to my son. He has no heart. Camille made a choice to live that life with him, if that is even fathomable to the human mind. They both deserve the toughest punishment you can give them. Thank you.”

Murphy came back to Finn as he stood and took him in his arms.

“I love you, son.”

“I love you, too.”

He left Finn’s arms for Lucy’s awaiting ones. He kissed her cheek before wiping a stray tear from it.

“You’re up.”

Finn took Lucy’s hand and they both went up to the podium to begin their statements to the judge. He had gone over it a million times in his head, he thought it would be ingrained there, but there was nothing in his head of the speech he had prepared. What came out were sincere and honest words without fear.