Coming Clean

"What happened?", I asked as Wayne, Alana and I begin to head to the exit of the club. It was nearing two o'clock in the morning now.

"Dexter came here looking for you", Jackson sounds way too calm but I brush aside the thought, "he was asking about a chip that is supposedly important. He also knew that I helped you and your friend".

I don't know what to say. I thought after I had agreed to meet with Dexter in a couple of days that he would stop looking for me.

I guess not.

I can't exactly explain that to Jackson though. So instead I say, "I'm sorry Jackson. I'll take care of it".

"You have two days to get him off my back, this is not my fight and I won't be helping you anymore after this".

Sighing, I walked up to our car and leaned against the car door. "I understand".

Besides two days is all I need.

When I hang up, both my friends are standing behind me with curious expressions. There's no doubt they just overheard my conversation with Jackson.

My eyes meets Lana's first, before I look over at Wayne. "I'll explain tomorrow guys. For now let's just go home".

******************

I've barely slept a wink before I'm rudely awaken at seven o' clock. There something about that horrendous sound though, something familiar...

Oh no!

In a flash I am jumping out of bed and sprinting downstairs hoping that I am wrong. But alas, I find Wayne, Alana, mom, Adrian and Adrianna in the living room downstairs.

No one seems to notice me though, as I slowly descend the stairs. Alana and Wayne are downing their cups of coffee like it's nobody's business.

Adrianna is still crying quite loudly but the second I step into the room though the conversation dies down and all eyes are on me.

"What's going on here?", I ask suspiciously. Adrianna immediately quiets down at my voice and turns to me with outstretched hands waiting for me to take her.

I happily oblige taking the small baby girl from Adrian's arms and she giggles leaning into my shoulder.

Everyone seems shocked that I managed to pacify the baby with no effort at all.

I smirk at Adrian, "Apparently she loves me more than you", I tease, and the others laugh, "now, about why you're here".

"I told him to come", mom answered with a serious expression. "We'll discuss that further after breakfast though", she practically ordered then motioned for us all to go to the dining room with her and everyone submissively complied.

Breakfast was awkward. Alana and I sat beside one another. With the memory of what had happened last night hanging over our heads like a guillotine. We were going to have to talk about it sooner or later.

The tension was getting so thick in the air that it felt suffocating. Adrianna was the only one who didn't seem to mind.

"So Blake", mom says with her hands clasped on the table top and looking me dead in the eye. "I called your friend here because I think it's time you finally let them in on the truth. I want you to tell them everything".

My eyes widened so much I'm surprised they didn't fall right out of their sockets. Why was she talking about this all so casually.

I did plan to explain last night to them but not ALL of what's been happening.

She couldn't be serious.

"I'm completely serious", she seems to read my mind as her eyes narrowed into a glare that made me flinch.

But I didn't understand. Why was she treating me like this now? We were on such good terms yesterday.

She was reminding me of the Heather from almost two years ago. But why?

I was confused until she continued, "I know about your plan to meet with Dexter behind my back, Blake", she stood up abruptly from the table. "You promised to let me handle this but you lied. You're not the only one involved anymore Blake. Dexter knows about your friends now. He will hurt them to get to you. The least you can do is let them know why their lives are in danger", with that said she leaves.

All eyes at the table turn to me, curious and confused. I had forgotten that we weren't the only people here during our heated conversation.

But was she right? Should I tell them everything?

I guess I didn't have much of a choice now. The cats already out of the bag.

"Blake what's going on?", Adrian asks.

Wayne and I share a knowing look. He knows most about what's going on but he doesn't know everything.

"I'll explain everything", I say as we all abandon breakfast and head upstairs to the library to talk.

****************

"What is this all about Blake", Alana asks as she sits beside me on one of the sofas in the library.

"Yeah", Adrian agreed. "I know you said it was too dangerous before and you didn't want me involved".

"Mom's right", I say, more to myself rather than as an answer to them.

"Are you sure?", Wayne sit across from us with Adrian. Adrianna is asleep in one of the rooms, "if you do this then there's no going back".

I look at him with a small smile. "I know but you all deserve the truth. I have to be honest".

They all nod but no one says anything else as the room plunges into silence.

"I guess I should start from the beginning", I take a deep sigh. "As you all know, my dad died while I was in high school. But he didn't name Heather his successor in his will, he stated implicitly that I was to take over when I was twenty but he also had shares in Johnson Global which he left to my mom. She succeeded him as president of Johnson Global and she later married the CEO who is now my step dad. In his will my father entrusted his own company to his best friend Dexter Winter. But it was always mom's intention for me to take over her position at Johnson Global after her, so when I decide to study art instead of business at college. Well, you all know the story of how she disowned me".

"I met Zadia a year later I didn't know who her dad was at the time but we liked each other and we started going out for a while. After not speaking to me for over a year Heather shows up at my door one night asking for my help. Apparently Johnson Global had made some bad investments there was money laundering involved. Turns out Johnson Global wasn't as clean as I'd thought and they weren't as successful as mom made them out to be, in fact, they were on the brink of bankruptcy. If the money wasn't replaced soon before anyone noticed it was missing, not only would her and her new husband's company be in ruins but she'd get in trouble with the IRS and could end up in jail"

"She wanted money and she asked for my help. So I helped her".

"How did you find the money to help a company that was nearly bankrupt?", Adrian asked suspiciously.

I looked over at him feeling the disappointment I had felt back then all over again.

"I had only just accessed my trust fund when I turned nineteen. All fifty million dollars was spent helping her. But that wasn't enough. I had no choice but to approach Dexter Winter himself the man currently running my company. He refused to help me at first, I didn't have any power at the time. Until I turned twenty I wouldn't and still don't have any real power in my own company so we came to a deal. He wouldn't relent, so I agreed to his terms that I'd marry his daughter if he loaned me the remainder of the money Heather needed. If I married his daughter then our families would be permanently connected and he would still have some degree of control in my company when I took over. It was his perfect plan"

"When I met his daughter a few weeks later and found out it was Zadia, the girl I was actually dating. I was more than relieved, we kept it a secret from our parents so they wouldn't know we already knew each other"

"We fell in love and got engaged as planned. Or so I thought but it turns out that I was played. Zadia and I meeting before wasn't as accidental as I'd thought. My mom had it all planned out months ahead when she found out her precious company was at risk. And Zadia, she was all too happy to scheme with my mom to marry the heir of the Arcadia Group of Companies. In the end I spent every last dollar I owned helping Heather only to find out that she had stabbed me in the back"

"So I called off the engagement. I knew Dexter wouldn't be happy about it so I made Zadia agree to tell him that it was a mutual decision and our separation would only last until I graduated University. But I had no such intention, by the time I graduate I'd have control of the company then Dexter would have no more power over me. Even though he accepted our 'temporary' separation we had to renegotiate the terms of our agreement, it was his form of revenge for my disobedience. If I wasn't with Zadia then I'd do all the dirty work Dexter's company wanted to keep under wraps and pay off my debt little by little, that way he'd have leverage on me, it was a form of blackmail, he had proof of my shady actions which he could use against me in the future. But Heather though, she was completely in the clear.".

Alana stood up and her eyebrows drew together as she asked, "What do you mean dirty work?"

"I'd make certain deliveries for him, pick up packages, represent him in meetings or collect money from other people who owes him. Whatever he wanted, I'd be his bitch. He paired me up with Wayne on one of my pickup missions as my permanent partner. In time we began to work together for him and we became friends. I later learned that he was using Wayne to keep an eye on me".

Almost as if on cue everyone turns and looks at Wayne who dramatically blinks his eyes.

"It was a long time ago", was his excuse. "Besides, were friends now".

"Anyways", I cut him off, "My trust fund was now virtually nonexistent. So I needed a new way to make money to pay for college. Heather was nowhere near being able to pay me back and I had little to no resources left. A few days later a girl approached me with the most bizarre proposition I'd ever heard".

Alana looked away from me and blushed when she remembered the encounter.

I couldn't help but to laugh a bit, "It was Alana she asked me to pretend to be going out with her and help her break up with her boyfriend. I didn't do it at first until she offered to pay me. That's essentially how the exit strategy came about".

Adrian we the only one who looked confused. Before he asked, "What's the Exit strategy?".

He just so happened to ask this at the same time Wayne asked, "What did your mom mean our lives were in danger".

My eyes passed between my two friends deciding who I should answer first.

Finally, after taking a deep breath I turned to Adrian and my eyes hardened as I said my next words.

"Dexter called me the other night. And he threatened Adrianna".