The Kingdom Ch. 14

Jodie- inside is the deed to the suite as well as custody papers for Miss Huff. All that's needed to complete the exchange is to sign and notarize the documents. This can be done in person at the Trading Post or at any of the of the locations listed under the "Trading" tab in the Kingdom app. And to reiterate our conversation, if you're trading the suite, you'll need a new residence in order to assume custody of Miss Huff. Cheers,

-Laura Asher

I reread the note, and then proceeded to pull out the deed and custody documents from the envelope. My mind was distracted as I skimmed through the documents. I still couldn't get over how the suitcase had somehow landed back in my possession. I'd never been a big believer in fate, but this damn suitcase was really starting to give me second thoughts...

Staring at the suitcase for nearly a minute, I could do little more than shake my head in disbelief. What the hell was I supposed to do with it? I wondered. I was literally about to walk out the door!

Glancing back down at my phone, out of sheer curiosity, I tapped on the second of Eric's notifications, which expanded to read:

Message from Eric Chei:

So... We need to talk. Are you free???

As I read his message, a light bulb suddenly went off in my mind. I tapped the reply button beneath his message, which opened a chat window in the Kingdom app. Stuffing the documents and envelope under my arm, I typed back, "I'm available now. Can you meet at the suite?" In mere seconds, a reply appeared on my screen that read, "Be there in 3!"

Stowing my phone in my pocket I closed the closet door again and walked back into the kitchen. Tossing the documents on the kitchen island, I stepped into the bathroom to straighten myself up. I groaned as I saw my reflection in the mirror. My eyes were red and puffy, my cheeks were tear-streaked, and my hair was still matted from the rain. Quickly splashing water in my face, I quickly attempted to make myself look not so disheveled and chaotic.

After pulling my hair into a new ponytail, I exited the bathroom and passed the next minute scrolling through the "Trading Tab" in the Kingdom app on my phone.

Literally three minutes after I received Eric's message, I heard a knock at the door. I walked quickly back into the entry hall and opened the door to reveal Eric, wearing a yellow poncho. It was still pouring but the sky had gotten dark.

"Hey," Eric said, urgently brushing past me out of the rain. "Phew!" he added as I shut the door behind him. "It's nasty out there!"

"Looks it," I replied, courteously. "Want a towel or something?" I offered.

"Oh, I'm fine," Eric replied as he pulled his poncho off over his head. "These puppies do the trick pretty well."

"Well, come in," I said, walking into the kitchen and taking a seat at the island.

Eric tossed his poncho on the coat-rack next to the door and quickly joined me.

Without saying anything, I picked up the suite deed off the counter and held it out to him. A confused expression spread across his face as he took the document.

"What's this?" he asked, studying the papers

"The deed to the suite," I replied matter-of-factly. "It's yours." Eric looked up at me with a look of utter bewilderment. "I'm leaving," I added.

"Um... what?" Eric replied.

"Tonight," I clarified. "The Trading Post is closed, but if you follow me to the concierge, I can transfer the suite over to you when I officially checkout.

"Hold up," Eric said, shaking his head in disbelief as he laid the paperwork back on the table. "This morning, you commissioned my help to run a surveillance sweep and look into a mysterious web-link that you found. And now you're leaving?"

"Yep," I said resolutely, nodding my head. "There's... a lot you're not aware of. Things I'd rather not get into." I looked away, adding, "I've officially reached my threshold for crazy and I just need to get the hell out."

"So... you have no interest in hearing what I found out today? About the suite?" he probed. I shook my head. "The link?" I continued shaking my head. "About any of it?"

"I don't," I replied calmly. "I really appreciate all your help, but I'm moving on now. I'm sorry, Eric. I'm just done. I have to be."

After staring at me for a few seconds, seemingly speechless, Eric picked up the deed again and began skimming it over.

"You realize that by leaving, you'll lose all of your winnings from the hunt, right?" He asked, still staring at the paperwork.

"Yep," I answered quietly.

"And you understand that the Katie chick can't come with you?" He added.

"I am... totally fine with that," I answered truthfully. "Bitch is back in the kennel where she belongs." To my surprise, speaking this way about Katie didn't make me feel any better. As much as I was hurting, there was still a part of me that wanted to remember the sweet, kind, and trustworthy Katie that I thought I knew.

Eric gave a deep sigh as he continued staring at the paperwork in his hands. To my irritation, he didn't seem the appreciative of my gift. Instead, his reaction appeared to be one of utter bewilderment and irritation.

"So, what do you say?" I asked with a small smile. "You want unlimited pool access or not?"

Eric glanced back up at me from over the paperwork and said nothing for several seconds.

"Okay," he blurted out suddenly, laying the paperwork down and standing abruptly to his feet. "I'm already regretting doing this, because we both know how badly I want unlimited pool access. But there are things you need to know."

"Eric-" I countered, shaking my head.

"Just hear me out," Eric interjected forcefully. "Clearly, I don't know everything that's going on, and quite frankly, I don't need to know. It's not my business. But what I found out today- I think you need to hear it."

Frustrated by his persistence, I too stood up and stepped away from the table. "Look, I'm leaving. As in, right now," I said. "If you want the suite, you can come with. But I'm going."

"The profile from the link was a forgery," Eric blurted out. For a second, the two of us just stared at each other.

"What?" I asked, shaking my head.

"Whoever uploaded it," Eric explained, "created an unsecured domain name to make the file look like something from the Kingdom's archives."

Irritated that he'd successfully piqued my interest, I stood there silently and waited for him to expand. When he didn't, I replied, "Why would someone do that?"

"I have no idea," Eric answered. "It's been annoying the hell out of me all afternoon. What I do know is that both the phony profile and domain were created last night around midnight. And the profile was the domain's sole web element."

"Meaning...," I asked.

"What that means," Eric explained patiently, "Or at least what it looks like-is that someone was trying to pull a con."

My mind raced to contemplate what he was saying. "No," I replied, shaking my head. "That's a stretch."

"I do this for a living, Jodie," Eric replied earnestly. "This has all the signs of cyber fraud."

I opened my mouth, but could offer no explanation. "Why... would someone do that?"

"I was gonna ask you the same thing," Eric said softly. "Please be honest with me. Where did you get the link?"

I looked away, unclear of how to answer.

"Did someone give it to you?" He asked.

I hesitated before giving a small nod.

"Who?" he pressed.

"It... didn't show a name," I replied. "It was a private message and the sender ID just said 01." For a few seconds, Eric said nothing. He was clearly weighing his next words carefully.

"June said you came by the room this afternoon," he said in a softer voice. "She told me about your little... project in the kitchen."

"I really don't want to talk about it," I replied, trying to force it from my mind. I did not want to start crying again. But I could tell by Eric's expression that he wanted me to elaborate.

"Look-" I explained angrily, suddenly feeling that all-too familiar pre-cry sensation in the back of my throat. "I wanted to see for myself if Katie was actually allergic to peaches. So I poured juice from a can of peaches into an empty bottle and dabbed a little into some cuts that Katie had on her hands. Spoiler alert- she wasn't allergic! Okay?! She lied!"

I looked away from Eric trying desperately to avoid another emotional episode.

I really did not want to start crying again dammit! I bit my bottom lip to stop myself from losing it.

Eric didn't react for a moment, but rather stepped in closer to me. For a split second, I thought he was going to make the mistake of trying to give me a hug. But to my relief, he didn't touch me.

"I thought that may have been what you were doing," Eric said softly. "And am I right to assume that the canned peaches were given to you by the same person who sent you the link?"

I nodded, keeping my focus on the far wall as my eyes welled up once more with tears.

Eric sighed before responding, "I was afraid of that. Jodie, what you tested on Katie wasn't peach juice." Perplexed, I turned and met his gaze. "Those were canned apricots."

My stomach suddenly dropped as if I were on a roller coaster. "What?" I whispered as a tear rolled down my cheek. For a moment, Eric said nothing, allowing his words to sink in. "No," I rebutted, "I- I saw them. They were peaches."

"Peaches and apricots look virtually identical. Especially when they've been peeled and sliced," Eric explained softly. "But they actually belong to completely different families of fruit." Unable to speak, my jaw opened in horror. "Unless Katie was also allergic to apricots, she wouldn't have had a reaction."

"No," I whispered, shaking my head in denial.

"I tasted it myself, Jodie," Eric answered. "I'm sorry."

For a moment, I was frozen, unable to move, unable to speak, unable to breath. I felt as if the room was spinning around me and I was losing my balance.

"Oh god," I uttered before feeling my knees buckle beneath my weight. Eric quickly stepped forward and caught me mid-fall. No longer able to compose myself, the flood-gates opened and I started to wail.

With surprising strength for someone of his size, Eric lifted me up into the air and carried me over to the couch.

"It's okay," Eric whispered as he laid me down gently. "It's okay."

I continued to sob miserably while curling into a fetal position on my side.

"I'm sure nothing's been broken that can't be fixed," he said reassuringly.

I knew deep down that he was mistaken. There was little to no chance that the kennel would return Katie back to my temporary custody after my little stunt earlier. And even if they were willing, Katie surely wouldn't be. After how I'd treated her, how I'd falsely accused her and thrown her to the wolves... It seemed unlikely that she'd ever want to see me again. I couldn't see how there was any way to repair the damage I'd caused...

What made everything worse was the realization that I had single-handedly caused this entire mess. This truly was a fitting end to my tale. The inevitable culmination of a week filled with mistakes and arrogant underestimations.

I continued to sob uncontrollably into the couch cushions as Eric laid a throw blanket on top of me. I was inconsolable. I honestly couldn't recall crying this hard in years. Not since Uncle Henry had passed.

"Can I get you anything?" He asked courteously as knelt down beside me.

"No," I whispered between sobs. "Please just go."

"Are you sure?" He asked kindly.

Unable to answer him, I simply nodded my head.

After a long pause, he straightened up and replied, "Okay. Please let me know if you need anything. I mean it," he added, placing his hand lightly on my shoulder. I rolled over to face away from him. As much as I appreciated Eric's help and kindness, being touched, even if only on the shoulder, was the last thing I wanted right now. Eric took the hint and stepped back. "I'll check up on you in the morning," he added softly. "Try to get some sleep."

I heard Eric slowly walk away. Moments later, the door opened and closed, signaling that I was alone once again. This prompted me to wail even harder. No longer having an audience allowed me to really let loose. I sobbed for a good several hours. Each time I started to settle down, the image of Katie's horrified and confused face popped into my head, causing the water works to reset back to the beginning. As miserable as I was, I couldn't help but wonder how awful she felt, having to experience her pain in a place as horrible the kennel...

I despised myself. Probably even more than I despised Alpha. Even though Alpha had manipulated and deceived me, the more accurate truth was that I'd allowed myself to be played. I was the fool who walked right into his trap with open arms.

Alpha had been the real villain all along. Not Katie. Not even Annabelle. Alpha. He orchestrated this entire farce from the beginning. And just like Rasputin from Murphy's stupid story, Alpha had meticulously manipulated me into doubting everyone around me until he'd become my sole advisor. The one person who I'd feel comfortable confiding in and providing with the information that he so desperately needed.

And just as the Czar fell immediately after Rasputin death, my own demise arrived swiftly on the heels of Alpha's. And to cap off the story's chilling parallels, Katie's subsequent suffering would inexplicably bring new meaning to the haunting words of Mick Jagger when he famously sang of how "Anastasia screamed in vain"...