“How long was she cheating on my father?” Maria leans against my chest. “Is there anything about my life that isn’t a total fucking disaster?”
Another name catches my eye. I pull out a tape labeled Z. Lancaster.
Holy fucking shit. This needs to be called in. I know only one Zoe Lancaster, and Axel needs to know what we’ve found.
44
LIAM
“What’s that?” Maria looks at the tape in my hand. I let her take it from me. “Z. Lancaster? I swear there’s something familiar about that name.” Brows pinched, and a little nibble of her lower lip, the woman is something else.
My thoughts turn back to yesterday when I kept her in bed the entire afternoon. I wish we were there now, instead of this wretched place.
Maria inserts the tape and presses play.
She amazes me. There’s no other way to describe how completely enthralled I’ve become by all things Maria. The way she deals with this discovery not only impresses me, but it shows the depth of her character.
Maria is strong inside and out.
The video plays out. Zoe wanders through a rose garden, stopping every now and then to smell the beautiful blooms.
We don’t have sound. For some reason, that’s not working, but Zoe picks one of the roses and turns toward the camera. As she approaches, the video zooms in on her cleavage.
Whoever filmed these videos is a tits man.
The view shifts and an older man comes into view. I’ve seen him before.
“That’s Zoe’s father.”
“Her father?”
“Yes. Do you know where this video was taken?”
“It was taken here.” She points to the screen. “Those are the rose gardens out back.” Maria twists around. “What does her father do?”
“He’s a lawyer. He hired the Guardians to rescue his daughter, but they live in California, not here. What would he be doing out here? And why would he bring his daughter? That doesn’t make sense.”
“This video is a few years old.” Maria leans in to peer at the screen. “Maybe he was doing something for my uncle? Or my father?”
“Your father?”
“Yes. My father was still alive when this was taken.” She points to the lower left of the screen, where there are numbers too tiny for me to see.
“Well, Zoe’s finishing up college now. If your father was alive when this was taken, she had to have been in high school.” I shrug.
I don’t date college co-eds precisely because high school girls know how to dress up and look years older than they are. Unlike Marco, jailbait holds no interest for me.
“Well, from this, I’d say about sixteen in this video.”
A chill runs down my spine. Zoe would’ve been the same age as Sybil was in that previous video, but Zoe wouldn’t go after Marco like Sybil did.
According to everything Axel says, Zoe crushed on him since she was the age of five. I don’t see her suddenly jumping into bed with an older man. Although, Axel wouldn’t have been around when Zoe was sixteen. He’s several years older than her and had enlisted in the Navy by then.
It’s a weird connection and I don’t like weird connections. There’s always a thread; something that pulls it all together. I add it to the list of things I want Mitzy to take a look into.
Despite my concerns, there’s nothing revealing on the tape with Zoe. It looks like whoever filmed this was just having fun videotaping a pretty girl.
The film cuts out and static fills the screen.
“I’m sure these things have sound.” Maria examines the video camera.
“Considering what we’ve seen, do you really want to listen in on any of it?”
“Not the sex parts. But if this Zoe is somehow connected to my family, don’t you want to hear what they’re talking about?” Maria twists the video camera around, checking out all the buttons. “There’s got to be a button somewhere …” Her voice trails off as she turns the clunky video camera upside down and every which way. “Ah, here it is.” She flicks a tiny switch and garbled static fills the room.
New footage plays.
Maria gasps.
It’s another sex tape.
Muriel and Marco make a second appearance. This time Marco goes down on Muriel.
Maria doesn’t turn away. Her brows pinch as I try to imagine how something like this must feel. Her mother’s adultery has to hurt.
When the whole disgusting thing is over, Muriel gets off the bed and pulls on her robe. With the sound finally turned on, we hear every disgusting word that comes out of her mouth.
“That was fun.” She faces the camera and grins in a cruel rictus of victory. Muriel crosses the distance, closing in on the camera, as her cold eyes flick to the side. “What about you, honey? Did you enjoy watching your brother fuck me? Did you hear the way he makes me scream? The way he ate me out was divine. Don’t you think?” The camera shakes as she spins it around.
Tied up on a chair, gag in place, Milo Rossi stares at her with rabid hatred. His muffled shouts are unintelligible, but fury fills his features.
“Do you know what the perfect heart attack drug is?” She runs the back of her bony fingers along Milo’s cheek. Muriel leans down to kiss him, then turns her face to the camera. “Cocaine.”
He struggles wildly in the chair.
“And did you know it can be especially dangerous for men who are predisposed to heart attacks? Isn’t that what your doctor said? You’re at risk? Need to slow down? Make some lifestyle changes? Well, I want to help you make a permanent lifestyle change.” She tosses her head back and cackles.
Kneeling down, she messes with something outside of the camera angle. When she stands, she holds a box of plastic wrap. She opens the box and pulls on the plastic film. While Milo Rossi bucks in his seat, becoming more frantic, she calmly wraps the film over his mouth and around his head, leaving his eyes and nose exposed.
“Let me educate you on the dangers of cocaine. Your heart will beat faster. The drug will constrict your blood vessels, making it harder for your heart to pump. That strains your heart as it’s forced to work harder to move blood through your body. Cocaine also spikes your blood pressure. You might stroke out before you die.”
She finishes wrapping his head and steps back to admire her handiwork. In the background, Marco swings his legs around to sit on the edge of the bed. His hand goes to his groin where he slowly strokes his cock.
“I’ve been reading up since you went to the doctor. Did you know that over a quarter of the people who die suddenly after using cocaine have atherosclerosis? Isn’t that what the doctor said? You have atherosclerotic coronary artery disease?” She leans in close, whispering in his ear. “Cocaine can be deadly for someone like you.”
She holds up a small tray with a mound of white powder on it.
Milo’s eyes widen.
“Don’t worry, love. All you have to do is breathe.”
Milo bucks, thrashing his head back and forth.
Marco slips off the bed, fully nude and fully aroused. His cock bobs between his legs as he moves around to the back of the chair. He grabs Milo’s head, immobilizing him, as Muriel places the cocaine under Milo’s nose. He snorts, blowing a cloud of fine white dust into the air. Muriel jumps back and laughs.