Deceptions
30-31
By Kellie
Michelle sat silently on the
sofa as she studied Danny’s father. She was sure she had seen or met him
someplace before. There was something about his voice and his demeanor that was
too familiar for him to be a stranger. She watched as Miguel stood and walked
over to a window. His stance and posture was ramrod straight, military like.
"Oh my God! I know where I’ve met you before – the firing squad in San
Cristobel. You were commanding the squad, the Colonel."
Miguel stood speechless for a moment. He had hoped that Michelle would not
remember that day. Finally, he turned and looked at her and replied, "Yes,
I’m Colonel Dax, or at least that’s who I’ve been since my so-called
death."
"You were going to kill us before Josh and Prince Richard stopped
you," she said in a near whisper. "You were going to kill your own
son." She turned her eyes up towards his with a shocked look.
Miguel wasn’t sure how to begin explaining all of this to Michelle. He had
wanted to forget about that horrible day when, unknowingly, he had nearly
ordered his son’s death. Ever since he had studied the first surveillance
photos, he had been praying that Danny and Michelle would have forgotten his
part with the firing squad. He had not seen any photos of his son since leaving
Springfield until the report from his agent arrived. The moment he saw the
picture of Danny, his heart had dropped when he recognized his son as one of the
people he had nearly executed.
Michelle spoke in a loud whisper, "How could you order your son’s death?
Why should I continue to go along with your little plan for tonight? Give me one
good reason why I shouldn’t march out that door and get Danny!"
"I guess you deserve an explanation, Michelle. I’m not sure where to
begin. Most of it was going to be explained to you tonight."
"I’m not waiting any longer. You will either start explaining things or I
will get my husband."
Miguel knew from his research that his daughter-in-law was a person who didn’t
back down. He quietly began, "When I left Springfield, I used my connection
with Edmund and Richard’s father to start a new life. I went to work for him
as an advisor. Eventually, he placed me in a commanding position with the
military forces on the island. That day at the palace, I had no idea who you
were. All I knew was that you and Danny were with the people Josh Lewis had
brought to San Cristobel to abduct Catherine, Reva to you. To make a long story
short, I did not see any pictures of you or Danny until a few days ago. You see,
Richard started having the Springfield Journal delivered to the palace for
Cassie. I happened to see the Santos name on a headline and asked her to tell me
about the story. She filled me in on your trial and kept me up to date
throughout it. After it was over, I couldn’t help becoming more and more
curious about how my children had turned out. I had always been able to put my
feelings aside to protect my family, but all the years of not knowing caught up
with me. I had a surveillance agent sent here to gather some photos and
information about my family. I even broke down and called Bernard. When he
filled me in on that whole mess with Theresa and Ray, I decided I needed to come
back and straighten out the mess Carmen was making of our family."
Michelle sat motionless for several minutes as her mind processed everything she
had just heard. Finally, she remarked, "I know you gave me the short
version of all of this. I know there is more, but I’ll bet that you are
holding that until tonight."
"You are an insightful young woman, Michelle. You are right, the rest of
the story will come out tonight. In the meantime, I have a story I want to hear
from you."
"What do you want me to tell you about?" she inquired.
"Tell me about you and Danny. I want to know about how you ended up married
to my son."
Michelle knew from the things Miguel had said so far; he had done his homework.
She looked up with a tear in her eye and said, "You want to know about
Mick, don’t you?"
"Yes."