Enthrallment

Enthrallment by Deidre Dalton is Book #4 in the Collective Obsessions Saga.

 

George Sullivan reunites with his long-lost love Susan O'Reilly. Their daughter Carly enters into an unholy alliance to secure her position as Liam Larkin's wife. As secrets unfold and more madness takes root, Carly plots a fatal and twisted scheme to exact revenge on the Larkin family . . .

From Chapter Ten

August 1991

Larkin City, Maine

 

    SARA SULLIVAN WRESTLED WITH the information given to her by her father for almost two months. Her initial excitement about having a half-sister was now tempered with the unwelcome knowledge that Carly was one of them. She was not only a Sullivan by birth, but a member of the Larkin family who Sara had collectively hated for many years.

     She felt it unjust that Carly had been kept in the dark about her dubious ancestry all her life, and it was time someone told her the truth.

     Although Sara promised Ben never to reveal the mixed heritage to Carly, she decided to renege after lengthy consideration. Without telling her father, Sara made plans to meet Carly on her own in order to illuminate her bloodline.

     It wasn't hard to find Carly, of course. As the owner of Harbor View Catering she was well-known in Larkin City. However, getting an appointment to see her was another matter. HVC's receptionist Julie Rooney was highly protective of her boss, requesting the whys and wherefores from visitors before agreeing to make an appointment, much less putting through a random telephone call to Carly.

     Sara identified herself as Mrs. Sara Halloway, requesting an appointment with Carly specifically to plan an event for her husband's crew at Knightshades. It was a ploy to get access to Carly, and it worked. Carly was obviously reluctant to turn away a business prospect, no matter how small the catering job, especially with the added benefit of spreading word of HVC to Glenburn.

     The HVC reception area was busy when Sara walked in one morning in mid-October. It was near the Halloween season, with numerous events for companies and private parties still in the planning stages. Sara felt a brief stab of guilt at her subterfuge, intruding on the chaos, but she let it slip away. There was never an agreeable occasion to impart bad news, so now was as good a time as any.

     When Sara was ushered into Carly's private office, she was struck by the physical similarities between them right away. Carly was on the telephone and did not notice her at first, so Sara had a moment to observe her older sister.

     Both of them were tall and slender with dark blue eyes, although Sara's were more on the violet side. Each sister possessed full lips and perfectly-shaped noses. They also shared similar facial features, such as the shapes of their eyes and small ear lobes, but whereas Carly had generous breasts Sara was rather flat-chested.

     Carly finally looked up and met Sara's eyes. She motioned her to one of the chairs in front of the desk, the telephone receiver still in her ear. Sara sat quietly, crossing her legs and smoothing imaginary wrinkles in her navy-colored skirt.

     "Sorry about that," Carly apologized after she ended the telephone call. "It's a busy time of year for us." She glanced down at her appointment sheet. "What can I do for you Mrs. Halloway? I understand you want to organize a Halloween bash for your husband's company. Are you looking for a lavishly-themed dinner party, or are you more interested in a cocktail reception with a selection of Halloween appetizers and drinks?"

     "That's not the real reason I'm here."

     "Excuse me?" Carly was startled.

    "My name is Sara Halloway," she admitted. "And my husband does own the Knightshades motorcycle shop in Glenburn, but that's not why I'm here."

     A flash of annoyance crossed Carly's face. "As I told you, I'm very busy," she said evenly. "I really don't have time for games, Mrs. Halloway."

     "Then I'll get straight to the point," Sara said crisply. "We have the same father, you and I. You know him as Ben Webb, but his real name is George Sullivan. You've heard of the Sullivan's, haven't you? Unless Shannon Larkin has forbidden any mention of us, which wouldn't surprise me, you must have heard the Sullivan name even if just in passing."

     Carly's jaw dropped. The presence of Sara Halloway and the news she was imparting was a worse shock than discovering Ben Webb was her father in the first place. If Sara was telling the truth, then Ben – or rather George Sullivan – had conveniently forgotten to mention he was blood-related to the Larkin's. Which meant Liam was not only her husband and third cousin, but Megan's half-brother and second cousin as well.

     "Are you some kind of nut job?" Carly managed to ask, her voice hushed. "Are you here to extort money from me? Just what kind of game are you playing?"

     Sara leaned forward. "This is no game, and I don't want your money."

     "How do you know about me to begin with?" Carly was aghast.

     "Our mutual grandmother spilled the beans in a letter written before she died," Sara replied. "And Ben filled me in on the rest."

     "Who the hell was our mutual grandmother?" Carly said, almost afraid to ask.

     "Her name was Jennifer Sullivan, formerly known as Jennifer O'Connor. She was the estranged husband of Jean-Claude Sullivan, and Ben's mother."

     Carly shook her head. "I don't understand. Why wouldn't my own mother tell me about all this? And why would Ben go to all the trouble to meet me and then hide one of the most important family facts?"

     "Mainly because of your hidden blood relation to your husband," Sara said. "I can't imagine your mother or Ben were anxious to impart that bit of information."

     "This is sickening!" Carly cried, rising from her chair. She whirled away from Sara and looked out her office window, seeing naught of Main Street below or the beautiful autumn day.

     She had thought nothing of allowing Rory Larkin to impregnate her, a secret she swore to carry to her grave. She knew deep in her soul that it had been morally iniquitous to encourage her father-in-law, but the end result which was Megan erased any lingering guilt she may have felt.

     Being married and sharing a bed with her husband-cousin for eleven years probably wasn't much different in God's eyes, but the possibility of Megan being the result of a double-genetic-whammy turned her cold. It was all very twisted and complicated, almost beyond comprehension. "At least I know what the 'S' on my rings stands for now," she thought waspishly.

     Carly turned to face Sara again. "Who else knows about this?" she asked.

     "About Ben, you mean?"

     "All of it!"

     Sara shrugged. "Ben's identity is known only to you and me, my husband, a friend of mine, and now I suppose your mother. However, I'm fairly certain some members of the Larkin family are aware of the blood relation they have to the Sullivan's. They just don't know Ben Webb is one of them because he quit using the name George Sullivan. He lived away from Larkin City for many years, and his appearance changed considerably by the time he returned in 1983. And I'm positive none of them realize you're a Sullivan. You didn't even realize it until a few minutes ago."

     Carly sat down again, her expression vacant. "What am I supposed to do?"

     "Live with it," Sara advised her. "Learn to deal with it, like I have. I've hated the Larkin family since I was a child, when Shannon used my brother Mike and threw him aside like a piece of trash. Knowing I'm related to them by blood infuriates me, but there's nothing I can do about it."

     Carly stared at her sister. "Why couldn't you leave this alone? Why not leave me alone?"

     "Because you have a right to know the truth," Sara replied. "What you do with the information is up to you. Frankly, I'm tired of the lies and deceit that have permeated my life. It's driven me to be scrupulously honest in all my dealings . . . well, for the most part anyway. I promised Ben I wouldn't tell you the truth, but I just couldn't keep my word this time."

     "What about your mother? Does she know?"

     Sara shook her head. "My mother doesn't know that Ben – or George as she knows him - fathered a child before marrying her, nor does she have any inkling that the Sullivan's and Larkin's are all part of the same family tree."

     "How is that possible?" Carly wanted to know. "It seems to be common knowledge in your little circle."

     "You'd have to know my mother," Sara said. "She's a very nice but simple person. She was devastated by the loss of my brother, but the Larkin's never thought to tell her Mike was a member of the family, so to speak. I'm not about to tell her about it. She's remarried now and happy, and I don't want to upset the apple cart. She doesn't deserve that kind of hurt, knowing my father betrayed her from start to finish."

     "You mentioned a friend of yours knows about all this, didn't you?"

     "Yes."

     "Who is this friend of yours?" Carly asked. "Do I have to fear exposure by a stranger every time I turn a corner? Will someone knock on my door one day and demand money to keep their mouth shut?"

     "I doubt it," Sara said cryptically.

    "Then tell me who your friend is," Carly insisted. "Don't I have a right to know that, too?"

     "You've probably never met her, but I'm sure you've heard of her. Marianne Chamberlain was Sean Larkin's first wife and the mother of Brose Larkin. I met her quite by accident a few years ago. When we figured out who was who, we had a lot to talk about."

     "This just keeps getting better and better," Carly said dissonantly.

     "Marianne hates the Larkin's as much as I do," Sara informed her. "Sean really screwed her over in the divorce, with a helping hand from his family. He was granted primary custody of their son, whom she rarely gets to see unless the visit is supervised. She never received any kind of monetary compensation, ether."

     Even though she had never met Marianne Chamberlain, Carly had of course heard about the woman. To listen to the Larkin's, one would think Sean's former wife was the devil incarnate who might lead poor Brose astray and down a path of mediocrity if given the chance. Carly almost felt sorry for Marianne, knowing that if it wasn't for the grace of her prosperous business she could be facing the same future.

     "So you trust Marianne?" Carly asked.

     "Yes," Sara declared. "It's also a great relief to share a mutual frustration with someone who understands completely."

     Carly went silent for several minutes in an attempt to organize her thoughts. Her first instinct was to thank Sara for the information, and then send her on her way. She didn't want to disrupt the comfortable rhythm of her life, and she had no desire to confront Ben and Susan with the truth of the matter. Their surreptitious version of events hovered too close to her own Machiavellian behavior concerning Megan's true parentage. She wanted to leave well enough alone, but at the same time she did not want to alienate Sara or eventually force her hand.

     "Is that what you're offering?" Carly asked at length.

     "Pardon?"

     "Are you offering me a shoulder to cry on? A relief valve for the injustice of it all? Chat sessions with you and Marianne to unload my troubles?"

     "If that's what you need, then yes I am."

     Carly appraised her sister. She was surprised by her willingness to believe Sara's story, but why on earth would she go to such trouble if it wasn't true? Besides, she noticed the resemblance between them, even though she denied it within herself at first. It might be beneficial for her to avail emotional support from Sara in the future.

     She leaned back in her chair, her demeanor suddenly calm. "This has been quite a year for me," she stated dryly. "First, I meet my long-lost father. Now here you are, my long-long sister with a boatload of disturbing revelations about the same aforementioned father."

     "Sorry."

     Carly held up her hand. "I'm not trying to be a bitch, truly I'm not. I was actually thinking we should make the best of the situation we find ourselves in, don't you? What's the harm?"

     "What do you mean?"

     "We should become friends," Carly said simply. "It's not every day we're given a chance to connect with family members we never knew we had before. It's probably a blessing in disguise."

     "But what about Ben?" Sara asked doubtfully. "What do we tell him?"

     "Nothing," Carly replied flatly. "He needn't know we've met. Let him and my mother play their little games. It might actually turn out to be fun."

     "How so?"

     Carly smiled deeply. "Revenge, Sara. Revenge. It's quite satisfying, you know. Someday when they get tired of playing their games – messing with our very lives in the process – we can have the last laugh because we've known about their perfidy almost from the get-go."

     "If you say so," Sara said, unconvinced.

     Carly laughed. "I have so much to teach you, little sister. Wait and see."