Forced Perspective

“I am so so sorry”, was the first thing out of my mouth

“Please tell me you love me?” her eyes desperately looking into mine,

“I love you so much, to think that….”

“Shhhh”, she used a weak hand to guide me in, and I kissed her, sweet and gentle. Then, I crawled on the bed and trying not to disturb any of the equipment attached to her. I wrapped my arms around my wife, my beautiful wife that had been through so much. Then we cried together until we both fell asleep.

The following day, the hospital staff bought a unique double hospital bed in, I could stay with Dianna. She had an IV drip and was on some painkillers and other drugs. So she, and by an exemption, we would be in the hospital for a few days.

Lather in the afternoon, Tim and a female officer came by. With them was Norman, June, Jack, Cindy and Paul, my lawyer. Tim and the female officer, Karen was her name, needed a statement. So Dianna asked Paul as our lawyer and me to stay as she talked. It was almost as horrific as what I had imagined.

Dianna had gone around to my parents to talk to my mother about my fight with them. She had wanted to be an olive branch between them and me. However, she also wanted a few of my documents, including my original birth certificate and a couple of other legal documents.

She was there around twenty minutes, sitting with my mother on the couch we always sat on at their place when Joan brought them all a cup of tea. She recalled the tea tasting a little strong but didn’t think anything of it until she woke up, naked and strapped face down on the bed a few hours later.

“Oh, look, the mistakes little whore is awake now,” laughed Greg grabbing her hair and spitting in her face. “Mr high and mighty mistake thinks this one is so amazing, so pure, that there is nothing she can do wrong. Well, guess what bitch, we’re goanna make you ours, and the mistake is goanna raise kids that aren’t his,” Greg laughed hysterically.

“Enough, Greg,” said my dad walking in the room with both Joan and my mother. “The boy’s little princess didn’t play ball with us the last few years, after everything we did for her. She thinks we forgot and that she’s untouchable. Well, now she’s going to learn how this family really works.” He looked at my sister. “Joan, go and get everything. Martha, make sure that we are not disturbed. Greg welcome the boy’s wife just like you would welcome him home.”

With that, Greg got a sadistic grin on his face and began to drool and lent over, raising one fist above his head and struck Dianna on the left side of the back. Dianna screamed. “Welcome to the family bitch!”

With that, Joan re-entered the room carrying some vials and needles. She had a big smile on her face. Again my dad instructed and directed. “Now everyone gets undressed. It’s time to take care of the guest of honour.” Everyone started undressing. While both my father and Greg had some muscles, they both had beer guts and small cocks. “Now, just to explain everything to you, my dear,” my father leaned into Dianna, stroking his cock with one hand. “With the exception of the boy, I fuck everyone in this family. But I know you are not going to join us willingly, so we’re going to give you a little hand. My beautiful Joan has with her is a strong sedative. They use this for a few different things, including Brian surgery, where the patient needs to be awake but unable to feel. With this drug variant, if we have it right, you will be semi-aware and feel everything, but you won’t respond or move. ” At this point, Dianna began to struggle against the bonds. “Greg!” another fist slammed into her back. Dianna cried out then stayed still. “That’s better. Now what’s going to happen is your going to join this family fuck. Greg and I are going to fuck you and fill you with our cum, we’re going to do this every two weeks until your pregnant, and you’re going to give the boy his treatment so that when you’re pregnant, you will make it look like it’s his.” He laughed, Dianna was applied and tried to scream, Greg raised a fist, and Dianna flinched. The pain in her back was already aching. “Now Dianna, see I can use your name, see how I can be reasonable, I just stopped Greg from striking you again. If you play ball with us, we will look after you.

“Now you’re going to let the boy raise our kids, just like their his for a few years. And you are going to play nice. If you say anything, I will let him know we’re fucking you, and let me know our history!” Joan then reached over and stuck a needle in Dianna’s arm.

“Done, she will just a few minutes Dad,” Joan positioned her naked body in front of Dianna. She was disgusted seeing her husbands younger sister naked and enjoying this torture.

“Excellent, go get the lube, you know where it is! Now Dianna, as I was saying, you’re going not to say a thing to the boy, or it’s all going to come down on you. He will kick you out, and you will be homeless. So tonight, we are all going to have our turns with you, and tomorrow you’re going to go home and let him know you talked late into the night, and it was easier to stay here.” He didn’t know at the time that I had been trying to call Dianna, and my mother had responded with a text saying Dianna wasn’t there. Joan handed Roger a tube, though, which he squeezed some on his hand then rubbed it all over Dianna’s pussy.

“Dianna, know this, just as he is not my son, we’re going to make sure that you will never have his!” he hissed, his now cock entering Dianna as she screamed.

From there, everything got very blurry, whatever the drugs were kicking in. She recalled sobbing in her last moments of awareness, desperately wanting to wake up from the nightmare. She believed they had taken her pussy and ass several times, at some point she thinks they may have peed on her. She recalls having no orgasm; she was just used. At one point, she thought she heard Harry’s voice and tried to wake up enough to scream, but she couldn’t. The next thing she recalled was a blanket being put over her as she came back to some sense of reality, then coming in and out of dreams and waking up with Harry here beside her.

By this point, she was crying almost uncontrollably. Dianna, my wife, had been beaten, abused, assaulted, raped, taken against her will, drugged and tortured by people that were supposed to be my family. I wasn’t upset anymore; I was angry. No, as I listened to her tell the story, I was beyond angry. I was going to destroy them. My Father, my mother, my sister and yes, even my neglecting mother! They would have to crawl down into the darkest pit of hell to find any respite from the wrath that was coming their way. How could any sane person do what they did? For the umpteenth time in my life, I wondered what the fuck I had done to them to have them treat me like this.

After taking Dianna’s statement, Tim and Karen bid us farewell and would come and check on us later. Everyone else was about to come back into the room when a thought struck me. I asked everyone to give Dianna and me some more time. They were a little perplexed, but sensing that this was something serious, they closed the door and let us be. They knew a little of what had happened, but I doubted that our friends knew the whole story. As they closed the door, Dianna looked a little worried, and I will admit that I was also a little concerned. My wife had been abused before we met and had also just been used by my own family. I wasn’t sure what problems we were facing between us, physically, sexually, phycological. But I knew that she had not gone out to betray me, it might hurt, but I would need to be there for her. Right now, she was still processing. I knew at the very least we were going to need a damm good phycologist for both of us. But at this point, I was pretty sure that Dianna was in a lot more pain than I was. I lent back on the bed and wrapped my arms around her, and just held her for a few minutes, no words were exchanged, and Dianna had broken down again, sobbing. Her hand had again tightened like a vice on my arm. I knew that this would be something that would happen a lot for the next little while. I was sad, we had an incredible relationship, but it had been tarnished. Damm them, why did that have to do something so cruel to me, one of their own blood! That thought brought back the anger, and I seethed for a moment, but the thought of blood brought the idea from before back to mind, which Dianna had just mentioned to me. As Dianna settled down again, I knew I had to ask some tough questions.

“Di, I am not going to ask if you’re ok. I know your not. I’m not. And I want you to know that I am still totally and absolutely in love with you even after everything. So I can tell you we’re going to get through this, and I would like to get through it together, ok?

She turned and looked at me, she had taken off her glasses, and her beautiful brown eyes were ringed red, her face was blotchy, he nose was running. She was a woman in distress, but as she looked at me, I think she knew I wasn’t going to run. She was searching for hope, and she needed an anchor. I so desperately wanted to be that. But I had to know more.

“A few minutes ago, as you were telling us the story, you mentioned something, something that I had never heard anyone say before. Do you mind if I ask you about it? If you don’t want to talk about it, let me know, and I’ll leave it be, ok?”

She nodded

“You mentioned the statement, ‘He’s not my son?’ Dianna, what did he mean? He’s not my son?”

For a moment, she worried, then looked at her hands, then she looked at me. She was struggling to talk and kept looking from me to her hands, but she told me. “My love, this is one of the things I have wanted to tell you. It was why I was after the documents from your mother. One of those documents is an old DNA test that they had on you. Roger is not your biological father”.

So many things just fell into place.

“So all these years, they all knew and kept it from me, why?

“From what I understand, they didn’t know until you were around three years old, then you started growing up it came to light that your mother had an affair. You weren’t built like your father and brother; your hair was the wrong colour, these sorts of things. Honestly, I don’t know all the details, but that is where all the anger against you comes from, they view you are not part of the family, you’re an outsider to them, they had to put up with you, and I believe that Roger would only provide what he had too and not one bit more. And you might suspect the affair is why your mother never stood up for you. You were her shame, the ‘mistake’ that Roger thought should never have happened. Greg and Joan are his, but you we’re not”.

“You knew?”

She hung her head and nodded

“Yes, I found out a few months after we started dating, it was accidental as I was viewed pretty much just one of the family friends at that point, your family didn’t know we were dating, and I was loathed to tell them, as you were fast becoming the most important thing to me. I had left my prescription sunglasses at their house. I kind of walked in on Roger, sorry I can’t call him your dad anymore, having a go at your mom over something you had done, I think it was over your chemistry patent. He mentioned that since you were not his son, he shouldn’t have to put up with your attitude and that you owed him for raising you or something along those lines. They knew I had heard the last bit, so Roger walked out of the room, and Martha confided in me a few things.

She paused for a moment, took a breathe and continued

“There is more, Martha confided in me and showed me the DNA evidence, and she also hinted that she had a letter from your real father to you, but Roger would never allow you to see it. These are what I wanted to get for you. They are the reason I went to their place the other afternoon. I had hoped that I could get Martha to give me the documents without Roger being there, as they should be in your possession. I wanted to tell you so badly, but I couldn’t tell you the story because it wasn’t mine to tell. I knew Roger would never tell you. However, I was trying to get your mother to stand up for you at least once to tell you the truth”.

I sighed. My life was feeling more and more like a mess. I suppose it had been forever. I just never knew. I needed to move forward, though, and I thought of my next question, this one could hurt my already fragile wife.

“Why couldn’t you tell me?”

Dianna looked down at her hands and didn’t say anything for a long time

“Di, why didn’t you tell me? I need to know. There is a pain inside me right now, and I need the pieces of the puzzle to help put me, put us back together.”

Her nod was almost unperceivable.

“This is a hard one Harry, do you recall right before our first time, I freaked out, calling myself damaged. I was not the pure woman I was supposed to be, not the virgin that I thought you deserved?”

I laid my hand on her arm, “Of course, I didn’t care, I wanted you to be mine, and you gave yourself wholly to me. ”

Tears dripped down her face onto the hospital bed, but she continued. “What I could never tell you was that I had an uncle that was still alive before I met you, I didn’t know it until I was almost out of high school, but he was a blood relative. The child protection agency thought it would be good to get me to live with a family member, have some stable roots, and all that jazz. Well, good old Uncle Clinton was not the family type. Oh, he took the money all right, but he didn’t want a child. He drank a lot and even did some fairly hard drugs. One night he came into my room and”, she paused, sobbing, he hand holding mine like her life was about to expire, “He came into my room and took me against my will, he took my virginity and ruined me.” she cried, and I held her. I had never even suspected the loving, caring, dedicated sexual vixen that would fuck me three ways from Sunday had such a horrible childhood. “About three months later, he died, overdosed on a bad batch of whatever he was taking. I hadn’t been living there very long, but it was one of the worst times of my life. But I was now eighteen, and he left me nothing in his will, so I was back on my own will, only a little money and a just few clothes to my name. I managed to arrange a part-time admin job with a company while I enrolled and started college, It wasn’t a lot of money, but it paid a few bills while I waited for the government study allowance. I found a cheap apartment with a couple of girls, which is where I met Cindy. But my issue was the company where I found work. It was a construction company, and you can guess which one.”

Yep, one guess MJG Constructions, my former father’s company.

“I had been there about six months. Roger always liked to invite people from the office to spend time at his gatherings. I think he thought it built culture or showed he was an awesome boss, something like that”. I nodded, we had always been told to be on our best behaviour when the rolling crew of ‘friends’ attended the regular gatherings. “Well, after six months there was a day where Roger came into the office and spent a whole lot of time talking to everyone but me. I was doing a lot of the admin, assisting in scheduling workers on jobs, getting the trucks rostered, that kind of thing. But after Roger did the rounds, he came and sat down on the side of the desk. He told me that he would like me to come to the next gathering, that he had a son that he would like me to get to know. He explained that you didn’t fit in with the family, but as I was ‘nerdy looking’, his words, that you might like me. I was a bit taken back by the nerdy-looking comment, but he went on to tell me he knew about my uncle situation and that he could keep me employed and keep my history with my uncle under wraps with the company if I would come and get to know you.”

I shook my head, putting more pieces of the puzzle together

“So, my father, sorry, I mean Roger, my ex-father, non-father, something like that set us up?”

“Yes, what I didn’t learn till later after I announced you as my boyfriend”, she smiled at that, the first happy memory all day and I felt the sun peak from under the clouds, “What I learnt was that he introduced us because he wanted a way to get at your money. He knew from your relationship that he could never ask you for money. There was too much risk you would rebuff him. That point stained even the relationship with your mother. So he planned to use me as a lever to get things out of you. However, I quit working there once my college money came through. That happened not long after we met, and he didn’t get to use me that way.”

“So, how did you know about it then?”

She took a deep breathe, “He told me, it was after I announced us dating, he told me that if I didn’t do things his way that he would tell you that my uncle had, done things to me, he told me that he would make sure that you would never touch me since I was a slut and damaged goods.”

“How did you respond”,

“It was really hard. I was falling for you hard, so I didn’t want to lose you. Also, him calling me a slut, hit me hard. Still, I also knew you enough to know you would make your own choices, So I told him that I would be the mediator if you and the family needed to talk about things, but in no way would I ask you for money, that was yours, he could threaten me, expose me, but I would not betray you in that way.”

Suddenly it was like a weight that I had run around with for years that I never knew was lifted off me.

“Dianna, before you say anything else, I need to say something to you’, she looked at me, and I could see anxiety building. She had just told me something that could end our relationship if I wanted and was ready to burst again, and I felt her hands go even tighter on my arm. I patted her arm in return.

“You are the most incredible, amazing woman I have ever met. I loved you so much before I knew this history. I loved you as the centre of my universe, and I did not think I could love you more. When I saw you on that bed in my parent’s room, it was as if everything inside me was torn out, that my heart and soul were removed, and I was just an empty husk. Apparently, once I got to the police station, I was almost catatonic. My world had collapsed so badly. I had loved you so completely that I was lost to everything.”

She was about to break, again the tears flowed. She looked down to her lap, “You say loved. Has what they did to me changed your love for me?”

“No’

She looked up at me

“No, if anything, my love for you has become stronger than before, Dianna, my love, you have been used, betrayed, you have fought for me and never once have you done anything that would dishonour me. You went to that house to get something you thought I should have. Yes, you didn’t tell me everything, but in the light I day, I cannot fault your logic and even amid this shitstorm we are in, you’re still fighting for me, for us. Dianna Other, I could not love you more than I could right now. And I can tell you that there is going to be some fucking wrath poured out on those that have hurt you, you can bet.” I paused and got hold of myself. “Baby, I know this is going to be hard, we’re going to struggle a lot, but if you have me, I will be there every step along the way!”

With that said, I leaned in, grabbing her jaw and kissed her, deep and long, letting all my feelings of love flow into her. It lasted for a long time before there was a knock at the door. Jack put his head in.

“Hi, is everything ok?”

“No, it’s not Jack. We are not ok. However, we have each other, and we will get out of this!” I responded, “But yes, bring everyone in. If Dianna is ok with it, I think there are some things that I think you all need to know”.

Everyone came into the room, and with Dianna’s permission, I gave a summary of the last week and some of the family secrets that had been kept back from me. As I told them about my former family raping Dianna, Jack and Norman got into a serious pissed off mood. Then, when I told them about the fact that I was not Roger’s son, that my mother had an affair or something like that, they were astounded. Then, when I told them about the plan to use Dianna to get her pregnant and extort money from me, they were embarrassed for me.

I laughed, “Well, it backfired. I got the best of them with that, I got an amazing woman that we are going to stay together, and now all that money is going to go into making them all pay!”

We spent the rest of the afternoon talking. After a while, Dianna withdrew into herself as some of the revelations about her past came out. Tim knocked on the door and came in. Everyone else sensed it was time to head off and left, letting us know they would check in with us first thing tomorrow. Tim gave us the update. They had a couple of leads on Roger and Greg, but that the moment they were still at large. My mother and sister were still locked up and had a visit from their company lawyer. Tim wasn’t sure if he would be their lawyer much longer after hearing the charges were on the girls and what they would be for the men when they were caught. The company and family finances had not been frozen; however, that was also only a matter of time.

We spent a few more minutes chatting, and he left, letting us know he would keep us informed.

I sent a message to my lawyer letting him know I wanted to talk about bailing out MJG. Despite everything, there were a lot of people that relied on that company for income. If the business was viable, I could perhaps purchase it and keep them employed. However, I wasn’t sure the lawyers would need to look at it.

That night we slept in the big hospital bed together, wrapped in each other’s arms. Dianna was going to be in for another two days before they would release her, they were doing complete work upon her, and she needed to speak with the hospital counsellor before letting her go. Fortunately, Norman and June had brought clothes and comforts from home for both of us, so we were good for creature comforts. In the morning, we showered together in the tight hospital cubicle, and while I think we both wanted to play as we would typically have, we just washed each other and held each other, feeling just a little bit of safety in each other’s arms. Later that day, Dianna’s doctor, a woman by the name of Marge Hill, came in. Dr Hill ran through most of the bloodwork, noting that Dianna was in good health and could be released tomorrow despite everything. However, she wasn’t done.

“There is something else we need to talk about of a sensitive nature; usually, we do this one on one with the patient, so would it be ok if your husband leaves the room?”

Dianna grabbed my arm, “No, it’s ok, dr. Hill, you can say anything in front of my husband.”

Marge nodded.

“Ok, I had to check. During your blood screening, we noticed some hormonal indicators in your blood that were a little different than normal. In the trauma that you have been through, some changes are normal, the body goes through a lot of stress, but these indicators are something of more maternal nature,” she closed out, seeing if we followed her logic

“Are you saying that I am pregnant?”

Dr Hill nodded her head in the positive.

“Yes, you’re pregnant. And after what you have been through, it is the reason why we usually talk one on one; we need to authorise some paternity tests when the time is right.”

Boom! There it was, it was possible that not only me, but my fucking ex-father or my ex-brother may have knocked up my wife. I didn’t know how to feel, and neither did Dianna. We were both confused. Dr Hill jumped in.

“Look, I know this is hard for both of you, but can I ask if you were sexually active in the lead up to your current situation?”

I gulped and looked a Dianna, and she nodded.

“Dr Hill, we have been trying for a baby the last few months, and before this ‘situation’, we have been very sexually active almost every day.”

“If that is the case, there is a strong possibility that you are the father. However, as unfortunate as this situation is, I do need to inform you there is a possibility that your father or your brother conceive the baby cold.”

“Ex-Father and ex-brother”, I growled

She nodded, “For what it’s worth, I am sorry, however hiding the truth no matter how hard helps neither of you.”

“Is it possible that you can give us a few minutes? We need to talk!” I managed to croak out.

“Not a problem. Look, I’ve got several patients to see, and when I come back, I am going to bring prescriptions for what you will need moving forward; take your time and talk to figure out your next steps.”

She looked at Dianna, “Regardless of what you decide to do, know that that man beside you is one of the best I have seen. Not only has he been here with what has happened where most men would run from the hills, but I can see a determination in his eyes that I have yet to find. I just hope that one day I can have that too.” It felt like there was a story behind that, perhaps a lost love or something. But Dianna knew she spoke the truth; I was standing beside her. She had chosen to stand beside me in a wildly fucked up situation and had paid a hefty price.

Dr Hill closed the door on her way out, and for the next few minutes, we said nothing and stared at everything except each other. We needed to break the silence and talk

“How do you feel Di?”

“Honestly, I don’t know, I’m pregnant, and I didn’t know. I know I should feel happy, excited as we’ve wanted this since our honeymoon, but I am having difficulty being happy. I mean, with everything that has happened,” she stopped and swallowed, “What if the baby is not yours?”

“I don’t know, my love, I mean in some ways I feel the same, I am so, so angry at them, I feel so helpless and guilty that I didn’t protect you, I keep thinking that I failed you. And I am so scared that the baby is not mine. I just wish I could go back in time and stop you from going over there!”

“I know, I don’t recall much, but I was scared. The bits I do recall were horrible. I think I threw up once or twice, I remember wanting you to burst in and save me, and I wish I could have been awake to call out to you when you were there. Now, this!” She gestured down at her belly, which was not yet showing any signs of pregnancy, but she was petite, so it wouldn’t take long.

“What do we do Di, do we keep it?”

We had never really talked if we were pro-choice or pro-life, and neither of us was particularly religious.

“I don’t know. I am confused; what if the baby is yours and we don’t keep it?”

I had to agree, “Also, what if the baby is not mine. Does this baby deserve not to be loved by two people that were wanting a baby just because of something done by someone outside our ability to control?”

Dianna agreed

“Harry, if we kept the baby and found out it was Greg’s or even Rogers’, she shivered, “How would you feel?”

I wasn’t sure how to respond, “Honestly, I don’t know at this moment. Anger is my first reaction. However, we want a baby, and you’re pregnant. Do we know how long it could be before we could have another baby or even if we could have another baby if we did not keep it?

“Right now, we are struggling because all of this is fresh, we’re in pain, I do want to believe that I could get past that to hold our baby in my arms, I don’t know that I could pass up the opportunity to love our baby just because they came about in horrendous circumstances.”

Dianna gave me a mournful smile, “You know you just said ‘our baby’?”

I smiled back, “I think this is our choice, we still get the paternity test when we can, but this, I said, putting my hand over her tummy, “Will be our child.”

We talked about what this could mean, and while I think we were both a little uncomfortable, we wanted to try this, “Besides, I was not a wanted child, I was a mistake, even if this is not mine, I want the opportunity to show the love that I never got!”

We both agreed, we knew it wasn’t going to be easy, but when Dr Hill returned, we let her know, and I could tell she was happy. The following day Dianna was discharged, and we headed home. At home for those first few days, Dianna was always in the same room as me. She was never far away, and honestly, I didn’t mind it that way. I was working from home and was planning to head back into the lab in a few weeks. When I did, I wasn’t sure how Dianna would go without me; however, I might see if I could get Cindy or June to come round and help her out. We also have a psychologist come each week to spend time with both of us. We had a lot to deal with separately and together. We tried to be understanding, though we were angrier at the family and ourselves than each other in both our cases.

When it was time to head back into the office, I need not have worried; the girls were more than happy to help out, and Dianna understood that I couldn’t stay away from work forever. The first day was trying; when I got into work, everyone checked in on me, asking over Dianna. They didn’t know the full details. However, everyone knew that something terrible had happened with my family and that my ex-mother and ex sister was in jail while the police hunted my ex-father and ex-brother. When I got home, Dianna was instantly by my side, she tried not to make it too obvious, but everyone knew. So over the next few weeks, we developed a pattern, Dianna would come to work with me a few days a week when I didn’t need to be in the lab, and other days Cindy and June would come and spend time with her.

About six weeks after the ‘situation’, as we were now calling it, Dianna and I renewed our wedding commitment with a healthy bout of sex. It wasn’t the most earth-shattering lovemaking episode, and at first, we were both a little awkward, but suffice to say, we both came, and we fell asleep content. I was apprehensive that she wouldn’t want me after the situation with Roger and Greg, but honestly, she just wanted me to reclaim her for myself. At the same time, she was worried that what I had seen would put me off her. Honestly, I was a little out of it for the first few minutes, and it’s been one of the few times that I haven’t eaten her out from the beginning of sex. But we got through it, and over the next few weeks, we got back into somewhat of a regular pattern. The only thing that really got between us was her growing belly. At what was assumed to be 18 weeks, we went for a scan; everything was looking good, and we found out that we were having a girl. I was over the moon, and any paternity issues were locked into the back of my mind. Dianna was showing now, and I think she was relieved that I was getting excited. We decorated the nursey beside our bedroom in pinks and purples and got beautiful vinal decals for the room that our daughter would hopefully love.

I also figured that it was time to put one of my family issues to rest, and I contacted Tim to arrange to go and see my mother and sister. I had not seen either of them since that night. A few weeks before, while I was working. Martha and Joan had been charged with a list of offences as long as my arm. They were due in court in around a month. Until then, they were remanded in custody, as they call it, in jail. Roger and Greg were still at large. Initial reports were that they had been spotted on the other side of the border. However, a more recent report had them closer to home. As a safety precaution, I had twenty-four-hour security guards at the house and work. Both Dianna and I had personal panic buttons with GPS signals, and security could respond on average within five minutes around the area. If we planned to go out other than work, we let our security detail know. Until Roger and Greg were caught, we were a little paranoid as they had abused me for years and raped and beaten Dianna.

It was a Saturday afternoon when we ended up in the visitor’s room in the local jail. Tim had come with us and had agreed to sit outside the visitor’s room with Dianna while I sat with my mother first then my sister. Both women had decided to meet with me. The room was similar to what you can imagine from seeing the movies, plain green wales, a metal table and chairs bolted to the floor, though there was no one-way mirror that I could see, though there was a video camera up in one corner. The officer who escorted me in pointed that out and let me know it was video only so they could ensure that no one got hurt.

About five minutes later, my mother was bought into the room, and she was in a pair of brown coveralls and white shoes. She was handcuffed, and I was asked if I wanted her handcuffed to the bench, for which I declined. Besides the attire, my mother looked like she had aged twenty years in the last couple of months. Her hair was tied back but not well maintained, her eyes looked sunken, and her lip sported a couple of tiny scars. Finally, she sat down on the seat opposite me, and the guard went out and closed the door. She just looked at me, I wasn’t sure who was going to start, but she beat me to it.

“How’s Dianna?”

I expected questions about me, perhaps the usual apology. Asking about Dianna was not the first question I expected from my mother.

“She’s good. She’s outside, and she’s pregnant”.

For a moment, her eyes took on a stern look, then she relaxed.

“Pregnant, I don’t know if I have the right to ask.”

“No, you don’t. You have forfeited every maternal right you ever had with what you have either done, condoned, supported or ignored that was done to Dianna or me; however, to answer your question at this point, we don’t know. We are hoping that it is mine; however, after that night, we know its possible that it could be Roger or Greg’s

She nodded, just looking broken, “Harry, I…” she trailed off

I filled the gap. “I’ll be honest. I don’t know if I should call you Mum or Martha now. I have so much anger in me against all of you. You all hurt the woman I love. So I’ll admit I’ve called you a lot worse over the last few months, there is part of me that wants to call you mum, but I just don’t think you fucking deserve it.

She nodded again, “Martha is fine.”

“And anticipating the question you are going to ask next, yes, we are keeping the baby regardless. If the baby is not mine, then I am going to love it with every ounce of my being, unlike how your prick of a husband treated and raised me, this child will know love.”

“So Dianna told you then?”

“Yeah, it came out. How could you, mum! I mean Martha, it appears that everyone knew that I was not Rogers son, except me. How could you keep a secret from me like that for so many years! I knew I was built differently, but I honestly never suspected as I just thought I got my genes from your side of the family; however, that’s not the fucking case, is it?

She looked away for a few moments and brought her hands to her face to wipe some tears away from her face. I looked at her with no sympathy, I had tissues in my pocket, but she wasn’t getting them from me. She looked back at me and appeared to be weighing a few things, then came to some decision.

She looked at the wall as she told me where I came from. “Back in my late teens, I had a boyfriend, George. He was a slim guy, quite smart; he made me laugh, he kissed me gently, and we even gave each other our virginities. But not long after high school, George and his family moved out of the area. We spoke at a long-distance for a while, but we both knew it would never work, so we agreed to break up. Back then, women didn’t attend university as much as they do now, so I looked for a job, and I ended up working for a construction firm doing bookkeeping. Now I wasn’t the best bookkeeper, but I was good enough. However, while I was working there, I caught the eye of one of the labourers, Roger Other. George and Roger could not have been more different in their approaches to me, where George was relaxed and gentle, Roger chased after me, and unlike George, Roger chased hard, he was aggressive, and he wouldn’t take no for an answer. I ended up dating him for almost six months before he got me into bed, and it wasn’t long after that we found out I was pregnant with Greg. Roger’s father demanded that I marry him, so we did, and I gave birth to Greg. It was not long after we had Greg that George came back into town. Your father, I mean Roger, had just started his business, so he was out all the time. George looked me up, and we reconnected.” Martha fell deeper into her memories

“It was like high school again. George make me laugh unlike Roger ever could; he brought me gifts and made me feel loved. I suppose it was that feeling, along with Roger being out of two nights combined with a couple of bottles of wine, that got George and me back into bed. Well, suffice to say, I got pregnant again. Oh, I fucked Roger silly when he came home. I felt so guilty about cheating on him, but I never told him that another man had been around until much later. When you were born, Roger was ecstatic. He had two sons, his business was hard work, but he was putting in the hours to make it provide for his family and young sons. He wasn’t really home, so I raised both of you as best I could. I pretty much knew that you were not Roger’s son, though and got a DNA test which confirmed it. I never told George, and I let Roger fuck me senseless and impregnate me with Joan my guilt was so large. Perhaps about a month after Joan was born, and you were starting a growth spurt that Roger noted that you looked different. He worked on me for weeks, and eventually, he got it out of me that I had slept with someone else, and you were the result.” She winced at the memory.

“Roger beat me pretty hard that night, and I think one of the only things that saved my life was Joan crying and needing to be feed. As it was, I had to sit in a chair outside your room, rocking Joan back and forward to stop him from going in there and killing you outright. After that, he pretty much disappeared for a month. After that, I never heard from him; however, the money kept coming for groceries and the house, so I kept my head down and just looked after the three of you.

“When he came home, he demanded everything. When it came to you, he just went cold. He wouldn’t speak to you. You were three years old at the time, and once when you went up to him, arms outstretched asking for daddy, he reached out to you, and once you were in reach, he just slapped you. I had to run and pick you up as you cried on the ground. I took you to your room and settled you down. When I came back out, he told me that if I didn’t want my bastard child dead, I would keep you away from him. But He said to me that I was never to tell anyone. I don’t think he thought the fact of being cuckolded by his wife was good for his reputation.

“So I kept you away from him as much as I could. I think you were around eight when I believe that Roger told Greg, Greg had the same mean streak that had come out in Roger, and I believe that is when you started getting the abuse from Greg.”

I nodded. That was about right.

“Roger told me to let you learn to defend yourself and that if I stood tried to stand in the middle, both you and I would be out on the street in an instant as both whore and bastard of a whore. So I let Greg beat you. If he couldn’t beat you for some reason, Roger brought me over to him, and Greg got to slap my bare ass till it was red. Usually, later that night, Roger would take me forcefully. Over the years, I had hoped that you would run away or something, but you didn’t. Instead, you stayed and took it. I was both proud you could take it, but so sad you didn’t react or run away.”

“That’s because I had no friends, Roger, Greg and Joan made sure of it. I was stupid enough to defend Greg and hid my bruising because I thought that family looked out for each other. I have learnt that’s not the case in our family, and that includes my mother.”

My jab stung, but again she nodded

“Your right.’ She sighed, “I will not defend my actions or myself from you, I deserve every part of hate and anger you have for me, but you deserve to know the truth.”

Now it was my turn to sigh, she continued.

“When you got the scholarship, I was overjoyed. Finally, finally, you were going to be able to get out from under the family and make your own way. I had hoped that I would be able to see you free. When you started dating Dianna, I was doubly happy, she had not only loudly proclaimed you hers, but she also defended you when your father, sorry Roger, tried to put pressure on her.” There was a slight smile on her lips, “I was actually pretty proud of her that day. Very few people have stood up to Roger over the years”.

“The only time before that when someone got one over on him was when you made your discovery and put in for your pattern….”

“Patent”, I interrupted

‘Right Patent. When you filed for your patent and Roger figured out what that meant, he was livid. He beat me pretty bad that night; he also had both Greg and Joan beat me too. It took almost a week before I could leave the house. Even though I was expected to still cook and clean everything. All three of them took to calling me slut that time.”

“Are you expecting sympathy?”

She laughed, but it was a dry laugh devoid of humour, “No, Harry, I don’t expect not do I deserve any sympathy from you. Again, this is just about what happened, nothing else.

“I think that was when Roger started planning to try and take your money away from you. I knew that Dianna had worked for Roger, and he had some plot in mind with the two of you together. And when all of a sudden you had nice cars, good clothes, you started filling out a little, and there was passion in your eyes, but most of all you were not sharing your money with the family, Roger got the impression that since he allowed you to live and he believed that you thought he was your father that he was entitled. After all, you were this slut’s bastard child that he had been pretty much forced to raise.

“That day when you had your spat as all of us and stormed out, Roger again got angry and started planning. He went off the deep end and was planning to get Greg, Joan and myself to help him kidnap Dianna and impregnate her with his children. He figured that if a child were born that was his and not yours, then you would raise it to age, and then he could claim your money as it was his child, not yours.”

“But Mum, Sorry Martha, that’s not how it works.”

“I know, sweetie, but that was what he was thinking. However, they took the opportunity when Dianna came up that day to get the DNA report and the letter from your real father that I had stashed away. Joan called Roger and Greg and had them on the way home while she drugged Dianna’s tea and when she passed out, she slapped me, telling me to know my place, and we waited till the boys got home. I will take to the grave the shame I feel for not getting Dianna out of that place. When Roger and Greg got home, then they stepped her down and… and…” she was struggling

“Beat and raped her”, I supplied. Mum nodded. I noticed real tears in her eyes for the first time, and they weren’t for herself.

“Roger ordered all of us to strip, and while each of the boys had their time with Dianna while she was out under the effects of the drugs, I was forced to be in the spare room. I was being used to keep them ready for their next turn. So when you came around, I was sitting and waiting for the next person. I threw a robe on and desperately tried to send you away, partially because I knew what you would find, but I was scared they would kill you or, worse, kill Dianna. So I sent the text message when you called, hoping you would think she never came to the house. But I also didn’t know the three of them had planned for you to find them with Dianna like that. I am so sorry for that. Neither Dianna nor you deserved any of it. It is all my fault because I was a cheating whore.” She never looked at me once, but I could see that the brown prison coveralls were now stained a darker colour with her tears.

“I think I can accept that.”

She continued, “I am assuming the rest, you know. I have to believe that as Dianna and yourself as still together that you have filled in a lot of the blanks?”

“Yeah, but I still have a few questions.”

“I will do my best to answer them.”

“Ok, was Roger fucking Joan?”

“Yes, ever since she was of age, Roger also made Greg fuck me and made me eat their cum out of Joan’s vagina. Please don’t ask me anymore about that, I will tell you, but I would prefer to leave that incestuous side of things alone.”

“I can understand that. My next question, You said you have a DNA report and a letter from my real father. Can I have them?”

She smiled, and this time it was with the first bit of genuine warmth I had seen from her in years.

“Yeah, Harry, you can have them, I was about to get them for Dianna when everything happened, but they are still buried under a false panel in the bottom of my winter clothes draw. If you can get to the house and ask my lawyer to grant you access, you can retrieve them yourself. Unfortunately, I imagine that I will not be able to get out of here in the near future”.

“I don’t Imagine so. This next one is hard for me to ask. Did I ever do anything wrong that made you not love me?”

Before I could pull away from the table I was resting my hands on, she reached her handcuffed hands over and put them on my hands. “No Harry, you never did anything wrong. It was me that did it all wrong. I thought that by keeping you at arm’s length, by taking the worst of the beatings and not helping you, I would protect you from the worst of what they could do to you. But I was wrong. From my perspective, I thought I was doing all I could to keep you safe, though I will admit that perspective was forced through a certain lens. I love you, sweetie, and I know this means nothing to you, and the words sound hollow, but I really do love you. I am so proud of you of everything that you have accomplished. You are ten times the man that my husband is. I may never get the chance to say it again. But I do love you, and I will always love you. I am sorry for everything. You are my son, and I have screwed everything up. However, if today has helped you to get some things right in your head, and it is given you closure to help you move forward, then it is all I can ask for.”

With that, the conversation hit a dead end. Mum pulled her hands back, and we looked at each other for a bit. Then, finally, she stood and moved over to the door, and a guard came to open it. As she walked through it, she looked back at me. “One last thing sweetie, they may have called you the mistake, you’re not, you were conceived in the act of love between George and me, you are my greatest accomplishment, and if we never speak again, know that I will always be proud of the man that you have become.” And with that, she went out.

I sat there for a few minutes. It appears that my mother had it as hard if not worse at home, regularly being beaten like me, but also being raped by her husband, son and daughter. My family was seriously fucked up. I didn’t take long, though, before there was a knock on the door.

“You ready for the next one, Mr Other?” the guard asked

“Yep, bring her in”.

If mum looked terrible, then Joan looked worse, wearing the same coveralls that mum was. Joan sat down at the table and glared at me. Her hair was short but wild; she had a fresh scar on her cheek and looked like she had not slept in days. When she wasn’t glaring daggers at me, she looked around the room like the walls were going to jump out and grab her. For a princess that had everything handed to her, this must have been very different to her. I must admit that while after talking with mum, I could understand her point of view, but Joan, who was supposed to be my sister, was a complete mystery to me.

Again it wasn’t me opening the dialogue. “You know, there are a lot of criminals in here that know who you are”, Joan told me as a statement of fact.

“And I worry about that; why?”

“There are quite a number of their family that work for you or one of your suppliers. It appears that you’re quite a celebrity around town, you young, rich, and help create lots of jobs. Apparently, you happy to help charities, including ones that get criminals on their feet”.

“None of this is news to me, Joan. I work hard to support the community. After my upbringing, I want to help people. If it costs time, money or a little sweat, then I’ll do it.”

“There it is, the self-righteous prick that my family has raised that is not even a blood member of the family, he’s so far stuck up himself that he cares nothing for us, and I’ve been in here almost a month, and all I hear once they know I’m your sister is how great you are for helping everyone. Yet in all this time, you have done nothing to help me!”

I cocked my head to the side, questioning her last statement, “Help you, Joan, after everything that you have done to Dianna and me, why the fuck would you think that I want to help you?”

If she was affected by the venom of my snap back, she didn’t show it. “Because I’m your sister, you are supposed to protect me, use your money and influence to get me out of here”.

“Why would I want to get you out of here?”

“Again, I am you, SISTER! Don’t you care about me? A few of the criminals here found out what we did to that slut Dianna, and they come to find me in the middle of the night and make me do things!” I would not have thought she would be so opposed to it for a woman who made my wife and my mother do what I assumed were similar things. But I supposed it was different when the shoe is on the other foot.

“Joan, let me set the record straight here for a moment, first. Don’t ever let me hear you call my wife a slut again. You, your father and your brother all drugged her, raped her, and of course, it was against her will. She is the victim here, not you. And as far as helping you, you can go and fuck yourself. You have the audacity after what you did to Dianna, to what you have done to me, to ask for help!” I laughed hard in her face, and she drew back,

“Let me remind you of why. There was a time years ago when your father was at work; your brother was too busy in his own importance to help you learn to ride a bike, so you that you asked me to help. Do you recall the bike? It was a girl’s first bike, tassels on the handles, a basket and a big noisy bell that you liked to ring. As no one else would help, I spent the next few weeks helping you to learn to ride. It was some of the best memories of my childhood, I was helpful to someone, and you were happy and excited to have me help you. For once, I got to be a big brother, and at that time, I had a little sister who loved and adored me. We even went riding around the neighbourhood together, brother and sister just out and about. Not long after that, I suspect your father and brother told you something of the secrets about me that I have only recently learned. Because almost overnight, you grew cold to me, you no longer wanted to go riding. I had been asking for a few weeks, and then one day it happened, when I asked you if you wanted to go for a ride, you sneered at me and told me, and I quote ‘Fuck off mistake, if you ever think I am going to ride with a loser like you, then you are sadly dreaming’. It was that afternoon that my sister died. Since that time, I don’t think you noticed or that you even cared that I never spoke to you. Every conversation that we had was indirect. Even your prick of a big brother talked to me directly, but you, no, you took my love for you and threw it back in my face. It died with one sentence that you never tried to put right. You can’t accept that you are in here because your own selfish actions are your own problem. No, Joan, I won’t lift a finger to help you. Actually, I will make sure that you get the maximum time to pay for your crimes. You say they are criminals in here. Well, look in the fucking mirror. Oh, and those help programs that I help fund you mentioned earlier, I am going to make it known that if any of them try to assist you that I will pull the funding they get from me.”

I stood, this meeting just about over.

“I asked for this meeting today to see if there was any remorse in your heart. After everything that you did, I wanted to know if you had any regrets about what you did to my wife or if you even cared for me at all. However, from the moment you walked in the door, you didn’t ask about Dianna. You never even asked about me. You didn’t even remotely come close to trying to apologise or say sorry. All you cared about was your fucking selfish desires. No Joan, you are dead to me, and you better get used to these walls because, with everything you have done, you’re going to be here a very long time. And as for money, you will never see a single cent from me. When I walk out the door, if I have it my way, we will never meet again.” I took a small object from my pocket and put it on the desk. It was a small figuring of a bike, very similar to the one I taught her to ride. “But I will leave you with this reminder, a reminder of better times when a brother and sister learnt to ride together. I will morn the sister I lost that day. I will always recall fondly the time that time we spent on our bike together. However, I am sure you will remember me for a long time. Goodbye Joan, and go fuck yourself!”.

I knocked on the door, and the guard extorted me out. My last look at Joan was her head downcast the little bike figurine sitting on the table.

Sitting in the reception area, Dianna and Tim were sitting and quietly talking. They both rose as I approached. Dianna slide into my arms, her now very pregnant belly pushing up against me.

“How did it go?” Tim asked

” in some ways, just how I thought it would, in others very different. I think my mother is in true regret of everything that happened. She never asked for help or tried to pass the blame for anything; rather, she is trying to take the blame for everything. I also think from what she told me that she has suffered at the hands of Roger, Greg and Joan more than Dianna and I put together.” Dianna gasped. “What surprised me is that she asked about Dianna as her first question”. I looked down at my pregnant wife in my arms and smiled. “Joan, however, was a different matter. She only wanted me to ‘spring’ her, never tried to make amends, never asked anything. I think that Roger has truly poisoned her again me, and I will ensure that the charges are enforced on Joan.” I gestured to the walls of the prison. “In my view, she can rot in this place.”

We talked for a while, and I could sense that Tim wanted to let us know something.

“Guys, I’ve had a report overnight that one of the trucks from Rogers company yard was stolen last night and that security footage showed two people looking a lot like Roger and Greg breaking in. We’re on high alert, and our community watch has been looking out, but please be careful over the next few days!”

We assured him that we would be on the lookout and both Dianna and myself made sure we had our panic devices on us. I also called our security firm and let them know they would double the patrols around the house and the office as a precaution. It had been an emotionally draining afternoon. The conversations with my mother and Joan had tired me out, and with a pregnant wife, she also got tired quickly. So we were happy to head straight home as I was looking forward to a light dinner and some time in front of the TV snuggling with Dianna tonight.

We headed out to my mustang, and I helped Dianna into it. As I helped her in, I realized that I would have to get another car, something easier to get kids in and out. While I loved my car, it just wasn’t a practical family car. Perhaps another jeep or a range rover might be ok. But, as I hit the ignition, I thought no, a four-door v8 AMG might be fun. We had not even exited the prison carpark when Dianna started with her questions.

“Harry, are you truly done with your mother and sister?”

I thought for a moment

“With Joan, no, I can’t see any resolution there. The knife went too deep, the wound too open, and the scar is always going to be ugly. I said some things there that I am not proud of saying to someone I once called sister, but I won’t take them back either. My mother, I don’t know. I felt she was pretty truthful with me for the first time, and if it is the truth then, she has been through a lot more than us. Also, a lot of what she told me matches what you told me in the hospital”. I snapped my fingers. “Oh, she told me where I could find the DNA report and a letter to me from my real father.” I got sad then, “She also told me that my real father was the real true love of her life. I don’t know how much she truly loved Roger versus being forced to stay because of three, well, two and a half kids, but I am a little biased when it comes to Roger, so that I couldn’t say for sure. There is a part of me that wants to forgive her. I think she truly cares but had no way out.

We had pulled up to an intersection, traffic there wasn’t much traffic around this time of the evening, and we were sitting at a red light, talking about the day, emotionally drained but happy to be moving forward when the truck came barreling towards us. Instead of driving through the intersection like normal, as it went through the lights, it swerved, and in the early evening twilight, its headlights lined up directly on my driver’s side door. Sitting in the driver’s seat with an almost maniacal smile on his face with Greg. Beside him screaming in joy, was Roger.

Chapter 4 — Fighting for our lives!

They say that there are moments in your life where everything slows to a crawl, your life flashes before your eyes, and you can reflect before you get caught up. I can tell you that everything did slow down from my point of view, but I didn’t see my life flash before my eyes, and that was a good thing. I had moments to react, or I would be dead. The way that Greg was driving the truck, they were aimed at the side of the mustang, in moments, they were going to plough directly into my driver’s door, and it would crumble and likely kill me. As it was, the momentum would most likely seriously injure if not kill Dianna sitting in the passenger’s seat beside me.

Without thinking, I put the accelerator to the floor, and all 550 kilowatts of power in the enhanced mustang engine came to life. The car started to accelerate rapidly through the intersection, but it wasn’t going to be enough. The truck had momentum, where I was trying to move from a standing start. They collided on the rear quarter of the car, connecting almost in line with the rear wheel, “HOLD ON!” I yelled at Dianna. The initial impact was causing the screaming of metal and stressing of plastic before it breaks. We were spun out of control, the mustang still under acceleration but all of the momentum-changing from moving forwards into careening sideways. Once, twice and then almost a third time before we came to a stop. We looked at each other.

“Are you ok, are you hurt?” I asked Dianna. She shook her head.

“I don’t think I am hurt. Are you ok?”

“Yeah, I think so”. I grabbed my panic token, held it up to Dianna and pressed the panic stud. She did the same thing, held it up and pressed the button, and we both saw the tiny LED lights glowing on each, meaning they had been activated. Hopefully, in a few minutes, we would have help. “It’s Roger and Greg. They rammed us.” I tried to look around the car to find where the truck hand ended up and noticed that it was almost directly in front of us with how the mustang had spun around. We were virtually facing back the way we had been coming. We were lucky the car had not spun further, or we could have flipped over the traffic island on the other side of the intersection. The truck, however, ran into the traffic light pole as it deflected off the side of my mustang. Peering at the truck, I could see that Roger and Greg were a little stunned but climbing down out of the cab. I wasn’t sure if we should stay put, get out and run or face them. Staying in the car was not a bad idea. All the windows were intact, which was hard to believe with the force we were hit, though there was a massive crack in my driver’s side window.