Revengeful Deceptions (3 page)

 
“Stephen would not want you getting involved
in this Dominique but I made a promise to you to help and that's what I’m
doing. Now you also understand that whatever you decide to do from here on out,
I cannot help you, you've got to do this alone or with someone who you can trust
completely, but I cannot help you.”

“I understand Rob, I do, this is my
burden and I have to carry it alone, I understand. You have been a great help,
thank you for everything.”

When Rob handed her the manila
envelope containing all the information that would lead her to her husband and
son's killers he also handed her a gun, a gun that he knew she was able to use
because Stephen had taught her how years ago. Before leaving, Rob wished her
luck in whatever it was that she was going to decide to do.

I can't wait to get out of here,
she thought to herself as she stood in Teddy’s now empty room. It had taken her
almost two years to complete the task and despite Pam and Rob’s offer to help,
she had decided to do it alone. She wanted to be able to say goodbye little by
little. Some days after work, she'd spend hours just smelling little Teddy’s
clothes and stuffed animals, others she’d spent determined to get through it
all without paying much attention to anything in particular, those days were
the hardest. But she had finally gotten through it and everything was packed.
She would be donating most of it, including the furniture to good will.
Perhaps
another little boy will be able to enjoy these things while he grows up
,
she thought to herself as she stifled back tears.

It had been much harder to pack up
her son’s belongings than her husband’s. She had kept a few articles of
Stephens clothing and on nights when she was feeling especially lonely, she
would spread one of his sweatshirts out on the pillow, and sleep next to it.
Sometimes she would cry into it and imagine that he was still there holding
her, and there were times she felt as if he really was.

Time to move on,
she told
herself as she sat in the kitchen and poured another cup of coffee. A lot about
Dominique had changed over the past year. She was always a tea drinker when
Stephen and Teddy were alive, but now she only drank coffee, and lots of it.
The longer she stayed awake the better,
less nightmares,
she told
herself with every cup that she drank. 

She had also gotten a lot thinner,
and started drinking more. She no longer looked at the world as beautiful and
hopeful. She knew that her beautiful and hopeful world ended on October twenty
fifth, the night Stephen and Teddy died.  And what made it worse was that
the police never found out who had ran her husband and son off the road. Oh,
some had called it a terrible accident but Dominique wasn’t convinced.

Even though the police found two
extra sets of foot prints at the scene along with partial tire marks that they
were able to conclude came from that of a large SUV, it seemed that the
evidence had disappeared right about the same time that the FBI took over the
case. Even though Stephen worked for the FBI, it didn't seem to make a
difference to them.  They had told Dominique that although they were very
sorry for her loss, it seemed that there was not enough evidence to prove foul
play and, that Stephen and Teddy just happened to be in the wrong place at the
wrong time and that it was simply fate.

But thanks to Rob's tireless
investigating, he had told her that someone was there, someone could have
helped but instead they walked away like cowards, filthy mother fucking
cowards. But now Dominique knew exactly who they were and there was no way she
was going to let them get away with it. No, she'd been waiting for almost two
long years and now the time had finally come for her to do what she needed to
do. Armed with Brandon’s last name and possible whereabouts in Boston, she would
find out the rest by doing a simple search on the internet. Finding out about
Nick Kilarmo was a bit trickier than she'd hoped but her main concern was
Brandon.

Brandon was the son of a high
profile attorney named Jonathan Caruso. Jonathan was the top partner of his law
firm, Caruso, Lawson and Dorr. He had another son who was also an attorney at
the law firm and his name was Adam. While Brandon was considered the black
sheep of the family, Dominique concluded that Adam Caruso, who was shown in a photograph,
was incredibly handsome with his dark looks and by all appearances seemed to be
the successful golden boy.

She thought it funny how with his
dark wavy hair, green eyes and chiseled features that he looked more like the
black sheep of the family rather than his fair haired blue eyed brother.
Adam
Caruso is extremely handsome.
She thought to herself as she stared at the
photo of Adam, Brandon and Jonathan Caruso. 

As far as she was concerned,
Jonathan and Adam Caruso had nothing to do with the deaths of Stephen and Teddy
but she needed a way in, and
getting a job at the law firm would be perfect
she
thought to herself.
But just how would I be able to do that?
She
wondered. She realized that she needed to ask Rob for just one more favor and “It
should be very easy,” she said when they spoke over the phone.

She had simply needed Rob to use
his connections to try and land her a job at the law firm. “Something menial
Rob, nothing that would raise suspicion, I don’t want anyone to know who I am.”

“Alright Dominique but I’m gonna
need you to post a resume using your maiden name and then send it to them,
apply for something secretarial alright?”

“Consider it done Rob and thanks.”

Once again Rob came through and
before long, Dominique was granted an interview for a clerical position.

Dominique knew the police had all
but given up trying to find out who caused Stephen and Teddy's deaths so it was
up to her now, and after half a year of no leads, the police told Dominique
that the case was now cold and that she should try and move on, that’s when she
gladly accepted Rob's offer of help.  Even if she wanted to move on she
wouldn’t be able to, not until her husband and sons killers were brought to
justice, but Dominique knew that the only way her boys would receive justice
would be if the killers confessed, and judging by their past actions she knew
that it would be a long shot, so if she couldn’t get justice for her boy's, she
would get revenge, and she’d have a much better chance of that happening once
she moved to Boston and got herself right in the heart of things.

Chapter Five

Dominique couldn’t wait to get out,
get out and leave this place. There was nothing left for her here and she had
wanted to distance herself for a long time now and the sooner she was able to
do it the better. All she was waiting on was a call from the movers to go over
everything and confirm her move – in date. 

The idea of moving to Boston had
come about so fast, but once she was offered the job at the firm, she knew
there was no way she would commute back and forth every day like Stephen, who
didn't mind the long commute at all. It was well worth it he'd told her, and
besides he always had coming home to see her and Teddy to look forward to, and
oh how he loved coming home. 

Anyway, it seemed to her to be the
perfect place to start over; the hustle and bustle of a big city would be just
what she needed to start a new life, away from the quiet and the bad memories.
No more would she have to pass by where the accident had occurred and stare out
into the empty space and wonder where her son’s body had landed, no, she would
try and leave the bad memories behind and take only the good with her.

Once she accepted the job offer,
she contacted a realtor who was more than happy to show her some properties.
Most had been way out of her price range. Even though Stephen wasn’t an agent,
his job had allowed them to live quite comfortably.

They had been married for nine
years and every day she could feel their marriage getting stronger and
stronger. But that was all gone now, someone had taken that away. She knew now
that with it being just her, she would have to get something much more
cheaper
, and with the job she just landed at the law firm as
a file clerk, she knew that whatever she found was going to have to be
something incredibly cheap.

Thanks to an online search,
Dominique found a one bedroom brownstone for rent, and when the realtor showed
her the brownstone in Boston’s south end, she was sure that Dominique would not
find it to her liking and suggest seeing something more upscale. At first
Dominique was taken aback by the small size and location of the place because
for a moment she had forgotten that she was all alone now. The place would suit
her just fine. She’d even gone ahead and filled out an application. “Don’t you
want to see the other properties I have scheduled for us to look at?”  The
realtor was surprised at Dominique’s somewhat hasty decision.

“No, this will be just fine,” she
said running her hand over the mantle of the fire place.

“Okay, but keep in mind that this
is not the best of neighborhoods Mrs. Greenway.”

“Oh, I’m well aware of that and
it’s Miss Foster now, I’ve gone back to my maiden name,” Dominique shuddered
and fought back tears as she realized it was the first time she had said it out
loud.

It had been quite easy for Jonathan
Caruso to find out about Dominique. He was after all a well-known attorney who
had handled some very high profile cases in Boston. So when he asked his
private investigator to do some digging it didn’t take long for him to find out
that Dominique was now the widow of a gov’t employee. Her husband had worked
for the Boston Division of the FBI
  At
first
Jonathan was alarmed at finding this out but his investigator put his mind at
ease once he informed him that Stephen Greenway held a position as an
intelligence analyst, a non-agent position. For almost two years Jonathan had
her watched and for two years it’s been a walk in the park.  Especially
after the police all but gave up trying to find out who killed her husband and
son.

“Now can I come back Dad?” his son
Brandon had asked during one of their telephone conversations. Jonathan was
hesitant at first, but after listening to Brandon beg and plead and tell him
how he’s changed and things will be much better as he’d like to get into his
father’s law firm and do good, Jonathan couldn't resist. He gave his son the
okay to come home.

When Jonathan's investigator
alerted him to the fact that Dominique had actually gone to his firm for a job
interview, Jonathan made sure that she was hired for the clerical position, and
no one dared question Attorney Caruso.
This will be the perfect opportunity
for me to keep a much closer eye on her, and since she's gone back to using her
maiden name, no one will know who she really is. I don’t want to have to hurt
her but I will if things get out of hand and she finds out.
He thought to
himself as he left his office for the day.

Dominique had spent all night
packing, today was moving day and she did not want to forget a thing,
I want
no reason to have to come back here
, she thought to herself as she made one
last check around the house. She was leaving most of her furniture behind, and
selling the house as is. She had told the realtor that once the house sold, she
would conclude all business through fax or mail, she did not want to return to
the house under any circumstances. “If I am starting a new I want to really
start a new,” she told her good friend Pam as they were taping up boxes one
night. She had packed a small box of photos and mementos’ to bring with her and
everything else she had either donated or put in storage, “I'd rather pay a
storage fee than deal with it all,” she told her friend.

The day was going to be a gorgeous
one as the sun was already shining brightly on the September morning. By the
time the movers arrived, Dominique was enjoying one last cup of coffee with Pam
and Rob.

“Oh Dominique I hope you know what
you’re doing, Boston isn’t the same as New Hampshire,” exclaimed Pam.

“I do know what I’m doing Pam and
I’m counting on Boston being a hell of a lot different!” Dominique said without
hesitation. “This is definitely going to be good for me Pam; I have to do this
because you and I know that if I don't, and I stay here, I’ll go crazy.”

“But Dom, you won’t know a soul
there; you’ll be all alone in that big city.”

“Well then, I guess you guys are
going to have to come visit me often.” Dominique glanced at Robert while giving
her friend a reassuring hug. “Trust me Pam, I need to do this and if for some
strange reason, things don’t work out I can always come back right?”

“Absolutely,” cried Pam.

Dominique knew that she had only
made that last comment to her friend solely for her benefit; she knew that
there was no way, whether things worked out or not that she would return. She
had told her boys that she was leaving during one of her trips to the cemetery.
While she dug tiny holes and planted perennials, she told them that she had to
leave; she couldn’t stand the memory of how much they must have suffered.

Even though she had gone through
months of therapy, she could not stop thinking about those moments before and
after the accident and what they must have gone through. She believed that the
moment the accident happened was the same moment that she was mysteriously
awakened from her deep sleep.

“You were passing over then weren’t
you boys?” She whispered to the granite headstones. Although Dominique wasn’t
sure if the bad memories would fade once she left New Hampshire, she was more
than willing to give it a try. With her own parents having passed some eleven
years ago, she had no other close family to speak of and Stephen's family had
tried to keep in touch, but after a year, the phone calls became less and less.
It seemed like she was the only one intent on finding her husband and son's
killers.

“It could turn out to be very
dangerous for you Dominique, but I believe that if you tell only those that you
need to tell who you really are, then you can pull this off,” Rob had told her
one night in private when she was over for dinner. Neither one wanted Pam to
know what was going on. “The less she knows the better,” Rob had told Dominique
and she had agreed.

“Thanks for your concern Rob but
things can only get dangerous for those who have something to lose and we both
know that I have absolutely nothing to lose and I’m not afraid.”

 
“Trucks all loaded and ready to go ma’am,”
said the husky mover wiping sweat off of his face.

“Great, I’ll be right with you
gentleman,” she said as she handed them bottled water.

“Well I guess this is it,”
Dominique said turning to her friends and taking each one’s hand in hers.

“You have my new address and my
cell hasn’t changed so feel free to call or text or come on down to visit
anytime you like. Now no tears Pam, we promised, it’s just too much here for me
now so let’s just say see ya and leave it at that, I’m not ready for a goodbye
and you shouldn't be either.”

Pam swallowed her tears as she
hugged and kissed her friend.

“See ya Dominique and call us when
you get there!” They both chimed in.

“See ya, I will,” said Dominique as
she climbed into the packed Volvo. And after taking one last look at her
friends standing in front of the house that she, Stephen and Teddy shared, put
the car in reverse and backed slowly out of the driveway.

As he got onto the elevator and
made his way to the penthouse that his family called home for ten months out of
the year, Adam was anxious to see his older brother Brandon. It had been years
since he’d seen his brother.  Adam had taken the trip to Italy a year ago,
not only to check on his brother but to have a short vacation as well.

They had a wonderful time spending
most of it with family and old friends. Now Brandon was on his way home, and
Adam hoped that the relationship between Brandon and his father would be less
strained given the amount of time they had spent apart. He knew that his
father, Jonathan Caruso, did not accept the fact that Brandon was not at all
interested in pursuing a career in law.

Brandon chose to be on the law
alright, but it just so happened that it was on the wrong side of it and he
made sure that no matter what wrong thing he did, he told those who caught him
exactly who his father was and that pretty much earned him a free walk.

Adam often wondered exactly what
his brother did that warranted him a two year sabbatical in Italy. Neither
Brandon nor his father would tell him when he asked about the strange
circumstances surrounding his brother’s two year hiatus. Especially since
Brandon was not only the most undeserving of a trip to Italy, but he also hated
it and had no issues saying so.
Had to have been something that would
tarnish the family name,
thought Adam as he headed into the family room.

Adam greeted his mother and father
while pouring a drink and settled down beside his mother on the sofa. Adam
decided again to ask his father why he sent his brother away so hastily.

“So tell me again Dad why was it
that you sent Brandon away in the first place?”

Jonathan looked at his son sternly
before replying.

“I sent him away because he asked
me to son, now why do you keep pressing the issue? Why not just drop it?”

“What difference does it make
anyway? He’s on his way home and that’s all that matters,” said Muriel as she
got up and began pacing the room. There was no denying the fact that she was
excited to see her oldest son.

Not wanting to upset his mother on
this happy occasion, Adam decided to keep his mouth shut. The first chance they
were
alone,
he was going to press his brother for more
answers.
Something is going on and I have every intention of finding out
what it is
, he thought to himself as he noticed his father averting his
glare.

Almost three hours after they had
left her home in New Hampshire, Dominique and the movers arrived at her new
brownstone in Boston. Dominique had to admit that she was a bit excited at the
prospect of moving into a new place and starting a new job.
It took me
almost two years to get here but I’m here,
she thought as she unlocked the
door to her new home.

Brandon felt good as he got off the
plane and into the car his father had sent for him. Although he was glad for
the car and driver, he couldn’t wait to get home and get behind his own set of
wheels. His father had gotten rid of the Escalade the very night that Brandon
had killed Stephen and Teddy. He claimed that it held too much evidence. When
Brandon protested, Jonathan angrily replied, “Unless you want to drive it to the
police station and explain to them how you got into a little fender bender and
took the lives of a father and son, I suggest you learn to live without it.”
Brandon knew that getting rid of the car was the right thing to do and besides,
his father had recently purchased a brand new Cadillac sedan for him.

 
“You kill anyone else son and you’re on your
own.” Was the only comment his father had told him during their conversation
before his flight back to the states. Brandon told his father that he had changed,
that he wanted in on the family business. He knew he couldn’t be a lawyer
without a law degree, but his dad had assured him that he would find something
at the firm for him to do, something legal, something that would keep him out
of trouble. 

Brandon knew it wouldn’t last long,
he’d work at the firm for a while but sooner or later the urge to run with Nick
and his old crowd of gangsters would get the better of him and he’d slip into
his old ways.
I’ll just have to be more careful,
he thought to himself
as the driver pulled up in front of the penthouse.

The cost of moving had turned out
to be a very expensive one as Dominique handed out cash tips to the three
movers.
But it will all be worth it in the end,
she told herself. 
She already felt a weight off of her shoulders while she began to unpack. 
A few hours later, her bedroom was furnished and decorated; the living room
however was still loaded with boxes and bags strewn about. “Time for a break,”
she said as she grabbed her purse and headed out the door.