Deceptions
34-36
By Kellie
"Miguel, is that really
you?" Carmen whispered; a shocked look on her face.
"Yes, Carmen it is really me. That was quite a memorable funeral service
you gave for me. Enough flowers to fill a greenhouse, as I recall."
Pilar, Danny and Carmen all rose to their feet in shocked silence. Danny glanced
at Michelle as it registered with him that she had been with his father since
her disappearance from the lighthouse. Michelle quietly reached up and grasped
his hand and gave a slight nod to reassure him.
Pilar finally broke the silence and shakily asked, "Papa, how? Why?"
Michelle noticed how pale and faint she looked as David stood and grabbed Pilar
by the arm.
Michelle nudged Ray, who was seated next to her, and whispered in his ear,
"I think David needs some help with Pilar. She looks like she’s about to
faint. I’ll go get her some water." Ray walked over to David and Pilar.
He took Pilar’s other arm, caught David’s eye and nodded his head at a
nearby chair. Together, they managed to seat Pilar.
Michelle let go of Danny’s hand, but he maintained a tight grasp on hers. She
looked up at his face and asked, "Danny, are you okay?" He slightly
nodded a yes before Michelle continued, "Pilar looks faint. Can you let go
of my hand so I can go get her some water? I’ll be right back."
Danny removed his gaze from his father and looked towards Pilar. Michelle saw
that what she was saying had registered in his mind as he let go of her hand.
Michelle got up and picked up an empty water goblet from the table. She spotted
the pitcher of water on the sideboard and went and poured a glass before walking
over to Pilar. Observing that Pilar was still in handcuffs, Michelle held the
glass up to Pilar’s mouth and quietly told her to take a sip. Pilar did as she
was told, but never took her gaze from Miguel. As she circled the room, Michelle
noticed that Bernard, Nino, Edmund, and Dietz did not look surprised by
Miguel’s sudden reincarnation. They apparently knew about Danny’s father
also. Michelle took her place by Danny’s side and slipped her hand back into
his as the group continued waiting for Miguel to answer Pilar.
"Pilar, baby, are you alright?" Miguel asked.
Pilar suddenly overcame her shock and looked at her father with determination.
"Yes, I’m fine. Now answer my question. Where have you been all these
years and why did you let us all think you were dead?"
Danny finally spoke, "Yes, Papa, I’m interested in hearing the answers to
those questions myself."
Miguel looked at his guests and spoke, "Everyone please be seated, I will
explain everything before the night is over."
Danny pulled a chair out and waited for Michelle to be seated. Finally he took
the seat on Michelle’s right. Michelle watched as Miguel took the place at the
head of the table. Michelle couldn’t stay quiet any longer, "Mr. Santos,
I’ve noticed that Bernard, Edmund, Dietz and Nino don’t look shocked at your
presence. Would you please start on some sort of explanation? I believe some of
the surprise is passing. I for one would like to hear what you have to say, and
for the sake of everyone’s sanity, the sooner you explain things the
better."
His daughter in law’s obvious concern for Pilar impressed Miguel. He could
tell that she knew that Danny needed her nearby as he noted the way she only
left his side to get Pilar water. Holly Reade’s remark about Michelle putting
others first was definitely true. Miguel looked at Michelle and began,
"Michelle, you’re right, it’s time to explain everything. I guess I
need to start at the beginning."
"At the time of my death, the FBI was in the midst of an investigation into
my activities. I had begun to secretly turn our operations towards more
legitimate deals. Bernard and Nino’s father were helping me by silently taking
over some of the more questionable operations. I thought I had kept all of these
things quiet, but I found out that Carmen had not wanted me to change things.
She liked the power and money our business brought to the family, specifically
to her. I learned that she had been anonymously provided the FBI with the
information they needed to indite me."
"I wanted to spare my mother and the children the pain of a long public
trial, so I decided to fake my own death. I had been working with Edmund’s
father on several deals. I went to him with my plan to fake my death. He agreed
to let me come to San Cristobel and start over as Dax, his military aide.
Bernard and Nino’s father helped me set up the hit and they then smuggled me
to San Cristobel."
Danny looked at Bernard,
"You knew for all these years and never told me."
"Danny, I promised your father to never let you know. I’m a man of my
word," Bernard responded.
"So, you have been living in San Cristobel all these years," Danny
commented. "How come we never saw you? It’s a small island."
"I made it my business to know when you arrived and every place you visited
on the island. As a military aide, that wasn’t too hard to accomplish."
Danny stood silently for a moment, and then it occurred to him that he had seen
his father on San Cristobel once. "Wait, what about that firing squad. You
were commanding it. You almost killed me and Michelle!"
"Yes, son. I didn’t know it was you or that Michelle was your wife. You
see, not only did I try to avoid seeing you on the island for all those years, I
also avoided seeing any photos of my family. It was too painful to think about
my family moving on without me, so I tried to avoid the pain that came with
thinking about all of you." Miguel paused. Finally he explained how
learning about Michelle’s trial from Cassie had finally led him back to
Springfield. "I’m not happy with what your mother has done to our
family."
***
"Your mother is a master of deception, Danny. She has been at the center of a complex plan to destroy the happiness you and Michelle share," Miguel stated firmly.
Carmen finally spoke, "Miguel, it seems to me that you engaged in the biggest deception of all by letting us all believe you were dead."
"That may be true, but my one deception is nothing compared to all the deceptions that have been going on between the people in this room the last few weeks. It is quite a complex and tangled web that involves almost everyone in this room."
The room remained silent for several minutes as they all digested what Miguel had just told them. Finally, Danny broke the silence, "Papa, I think it's time for you to explain what you know about everyone in this room and why you brought us all together."
"Yes, son, it is. Let me begin with Theresa," Miguel remarked as he rose and went to stand behind her chair. Therese squirmed uncomfortably in her seat. Her eyes darted between Carmen and Danny, looking for rescue from what she was sure would be torment. Theresa wasn't sure how, but from the look in Miguel's eyes she knew he was onto her plans.
"This all began when Theresa went to visit Carmen at the jail the day after her arrest. Theresa told Carmen she would do whatever was necessary to get Michelle out of the picture. Together they came up with the little plan for LA and they manipulated Ray to make their plan work out. The first snag happened when you hid in that stairwell, Michelle. Theresa assumed you would take the elevator and leave the hotel without looking back. When you walked out into that hallway and slapped Theresa, she was so shocked that she slipped and told you things weren't how they appeared. When Danny came back, she knew you would be listening at the door when he questioned her about why she was in his bed. Theresa arranged for that bellman to call Danny so she could come up with a way to get rid of you. That's when she took the deception she had used with Ray about Danny being in danger and worked to make sure you believed it and would stay away to protect him."
Ray looked at Theresa for a long time. Finally, he spoke, "Theresa, because of my vows, I have to find forgiveness for you. Right now, I don't know how I'm ever going to do that. Using a persons love for family as a tool for manipulation; it's heartless."
"That's not all Theresa has been up to," Miguel continued. "Theresa was playing on all sides, planning to go along with whoever could get her what she wanted. Danny, when Michelle told you what Ray and Theresa had been up to, she started changing her plans again. She made it appear that she was going along with whatever you wanted and believed. When you asked if Nino was behind the threats, Theresa said yes and then looked for ways to insure he appeared to be involved. She found out about Dietz's involvement in the bombing with Nino and made sure you found out. She wanted you to be so busy keeping tabs on Dietz that you would not find out what she was up to."
Danny responded, "Yes, I did keep close tabs on Dietz, but I also had a tail on Theresa."
"What?" Theresa responded with surprise as she glanced over towards Edmund.
"Yes, I know about your meeting with Edmund, Theresa." Danny replied. "Why don't you tell us how Edmund fit into your little plan? On second thought, you probably couldn't tell the truth if you tried," he remarked sarcastically. "Papa, please enlighten us all about Theresa and Edmund."
Miguel walked over to stand behind Edmund's seat. "Edmund, my old friend, where shall I begin. I know, with Carmen. You see Edmund and Carmen's connection goes back to the disappearance of Catherine from San Cristobel. You see, Edmund had hit Catherine in the head and believed the injury he inflicted would lead to her death. Carmen arrived at the palace shortly after the altercation. She helped Edmund out by smuggling the injured Catherine off the island on a ship full of goods being smuggled into the United States. The men on the ship were instructed to deposit the injured Catherine on a beach where she shouldn't be found. We all know that she was found and eventually remembered her life as Reva. Carmen and Edmund have been conspiring together ever since that time."
Edmund silently gauged the reactions of everyone in the room. He was mentally contemplating whom he needed align himself with, Carmen or Miguel. He decided not to let Miguel continue; he should finish the story himself and put his own spin on things. Edmund knew he wouldn't come out smelling like a rose, but at least he could minimize the damage to his plans for San Cristobel. It was imperative that they remain his secret. "Miguel, may I explain the rest?"
Miguel nodded as he answered, "Yes, lets hear your version of everything."
Edmund rose from his chair and went to stand behind Carmen. She had the wide-eyed looked of a caged animal. She silently thought about all the things she and Edmund were blackmailing each other with and wondered which of her dirty little secrets he would choose to reveal.
***
"My dear Carmen, what shall I say? Hmm," Edmund wondered aloud.
Carmen testily muttered, "Get on with it Edmund, considering how things in this room are going, you might as well drive a few more nails into my coffin."
"So true," Edmund laughed in response. "Ah! I believe I'll stick with things between you, Theresa and I. You see, Theresa couldn't be seen visiting Carmen at the jail. I established a contact with an officer at the police station. He transported written messages between Carmen and I in exchange for a deposit into his daughter's college fund. That was how Theresa and I communicated with Carmen until her transfer to the county lock up. Since then, Carmen has been completely in the dark about what has been going on."
"Well, tell me, what has happened since my incarceration at the county jail?" Carmen remarked.
"I'm sure you could tell from the way Danny and Michelle embraced when she arrived here tonight, that your little plan to separate them had failed. You see, Theresa is just an amateur at such manipulations. If you had only consulted me first, we could have organized a plan that would have provided us with mutual benefits. While Theresa has been working both sides of the fence, I basically served as her sounding board. Theresa knew the type of reaction she would get when you learned she had failed to destroy your son's marriage. The next part of her plan was to use Nino and Bernard to involve Danny in a very questionable business deal. Her goal was to have Michelle learn about the deal. She used her own father as the front man to involve Bernard in the deal. Her father then suggested bringing in Danny."
"That was the deal you came to see me about the other day," Danny commented as he looked at Bernard.
"I had no idea it was a set up Theresa arranged until your father came to see me a day or two later. Then he and I began working to organize this little dinner party." Bernard replied.
"Edmund, how did Nino fit into this?" Michelle asked.
"My dear, Nino was supposed to grab you at the lighthouse after his meeting with Dietz. He was supposed to bring you here through the tunnel and make sure you overheard Danny and Bernard discussing the deal. That way you could not question the fact he was involved. You would have heard it straight from Danny. Theresa was hoping that you would then leave town since you have always said you could not stay with Danny if he was involved in questionable business dealings. If things had happened that way, Carmen would never have known about the missteps Theresa made with her plan."
Michelle glared at Carmen, who was calculating how to draw upon Danny and Pilar's sympathies. Inspiration hit, and Carmen began to cry silent, slow tears while muttering, "I did this because I love you, Daniel. You've always known how I felt about Michelle after Mick." She was sure that this emotional display would get to Pilar, who would later convince Danny to forgive her. It had never failed before.
Carmen was startled when Miguel spoke, "Don't use Mick as an excuse for your actions Carmen. Your idea of mothering turned him into a drug addicted monster. I know Michelle only did what she had to in order to defend herself from his brutal attack." Miguel moved so he was face to face with Carmen before continuing, "That attack was caused by the drugs he was using to forget about the emotional turmoil of being the thug you pushed him to become. You wanted Mick to be your enforcer, and in doing so, you destroyed our son. You are the one who is responsible for his death, not Michelle. Carmen, you put our son on that self-destructive path. From what I've heard about Pilar's involvement in Ben's murder and the cover-up afterwards, you were doing the same thing to our daughter. Carmen, your need to manipulate and control our children has destroyed Mick, put our daughter on a path to prison, and was about to destroy the happiness Danny had found."
Carmen cowered in her chair. She could not remember ever seeing such coldness and intense hatred in her husband's eyes.
Parts 37-The End