Sacrifices of the Soul, Chapter 31
 

The church was still. Completely quiet. A pin could have dropped, and it would have been  heard.

" What did you say?" , Chad asked.

" I am your father.", Julian responded.

The looks on the faces of the people in the church were priceless.

" Julian!", Ivy admonished.

" Julian?", Gwen asked.

" Julian?", Sheridan asked with a confused look on her face.

" Father?!", Ethan commented.

Eve looked up, from her tears, to go directly to Julian’s eyes. " What the hell are you doing?", Eve’s eyes screamed.

Julian got up from his seat, and walked towards the Altar. He didn’t get there, because out of nowhere, TC grabbed him by the collar, and began to choke him.

" How DARE YOU say something as foul as that. There is NO WAY that my wife would have given you the time of day, let alone had a child by you. You are SCUM, Julian Crane. SCUM!"

Sam is trying to pull TC off of Julian with little success, as he’s punching Julian repeatedly. Eve looks over at this scene in horror, and shakes her head.

" TC! Stop it!…..TC! STOP! It’s true! He is Chad’s father!"

TC stops in mid air, his fist ready to hit Julian again. He looks at Julian, and then looks at Eve, with a completely lost look in his eyes. He lets Julian go, and he falls to the ground.
Julian wipes the blood from his mouth, and TC looks over at Eve. He’s shaking his head.

Now, it was Whitney’s turn to be in denial. She goes over to Julian, and looks him in the eye.

" You’re every bit the liar that my father said you were. In order for this to be true, that would mean that my mother had an affair with you after marriage. My mother isn’t the type of woman who would carry on with a married man. Isn’t that right, Mom?" , Whitney asks, looking directly at Eve.

" You’re NOT that kind of woman. You would NEVER be that kind of woman, right?"

Whitney looks at Eve with a kind of desperation in her eyes. She goes over to Eve and demands it from her. " TELL THEM that you are NOT that kind of woman. TELL THEM!"

Eve had no answer for Whitney, she only lowered her eyes to look at the floor, in shame. Simone came over to Whitney, her tears gone, and only a stone face in its place. She gently led Whitney away from Eve, never letting the anger towards Eve leave her eyes.

In this moment of silence, Father Lonigan took the chance to step forward.

" Ladies and gentlemen, it seems as if we do have a situation here. May I be so forward as to ask those of you not directly involved to quietly leave the church."

In silence, nearly all the guests left, and the only ones left in attendance were the Bennetts, Cranes, Lopez-Fitzgeralds and the Russells.

Charity leaned over to Miguel, " My visions were right of the two of them."

" What?"

" I had visions of them as lovers. That’s why I went to the mental ward last year. I can’t believe I got put into a mental ward, when everything that I saw was true!", Charity said, with more than a hint of anger in her voice.

Sam went over to Grace. " I can’t believe this. We can’t leave, Grace. TC needs us."

Grace narrowed her eyes. " Yes, he does. Sam, do you realize t hat Eve’s been lying to TC ever since they met. " Grace glanced over at Charity. " Oh my God, Sam! Do you realize that we allowed Charity to be locked up, because we thought something was wrong with her mental state? Because, of course, she had to be wrong about Julian and Eve. And, it turns out that nothing was wrong with Charity! I can’t believe Eve would lie about it, drug our niece and lock her up!"

" I can’t believe the whole thing. Look at TC- he’s shattered."

" Oh, Sam, he’s in so much pain."

" Not only that, Grace. I’m scared. Scared of how his temper might erupt. We’ve got to stay."

Luis came over to Sam. " I don’t know what I should do. This looks like a private family moment."

" Luis, please stick around. I think TC might go crazy, and I’ll need all the help I can get to make sure that there isn’t a homicide tonight."

Ethan, who has made his way back to the pew where the Cranes are,  leans over to Ivy, " Mother, is what Father said true? Could he be Chad’s father? By Dr. Russell?"

" I don’t know, Ethan. But, we’re not leaving. "

Sheridan observed the scene with great interest. No one knew what to say. They were all standing there, in a daze.

Pilar made several signs of the cross, as she shook her head. " How can this be?"

Julian walks over to Orville, and looks him in the face. " Who paid you to kill …..this young man? Who?"

" Don’t you recognize me, Julian?"

Julian looked at him harder. " When I knew you, you weren’t Orville, were you?"

" No. I had many aliases. Made things easier. Who do you think paid me, Julian?"

" No. He wouldn’t have done that. He wouldn’t have harmed my child like that."

" He would have, and he did. Your child was marked for death….but, I couldn’t do it. "

It was Julian’s turn to shake his head in denial. " No. He wouldn’t."

" Yes. I got the orders from him directly. Eve never was going to have the chance. I was paid to intercept the correspondence, and the phone calls. I got the letters you sent Eve, and blocked your telephone calls. It was my job. I was paid to do it, and I did it. "

Julian knew that what Orville was saying was the truth, but, he didn’t want to believe it. He looked Chad, in the eye, and then looked at Eve, who was still sobbing on the Altar steps, and he walked away. He walked out of the sanctuary, and wound up wandering the church, until he was in the upstairs pews.

Sam went over to TC, and put a hand on his shoulder. " TC, how are you doing?"

" Fine, Samuel. I find out that my entire life with my beloved wife has been a complete lie, but, other than that, I’m doing ok."

" TC.."

" Sam, stop. I can’t deal with this right now. I can barely remember my own name. How could this have happened?", TC says sadly, and walks out of the church.

Kay moves over to Grace and asks her, " Mom, what are we supposed to do? Look at them, they’re in so much pain. Look at Simone. I know she’s not crying anymore, but, I’ve NEVER seen her look so….HARD. So cold. So unfeeling. That’s just not Simone."

" Honey, we have to be there for TC, Whitney and Simone. They have been torn apart by Eve’s lies."

" Aren’t you feeling sorry for Dr. Russell,  Mom?"

" Why? She lied to everyone, and she was responsible for Charity being locked up in the psych ward when she knew that Charity was telling the truth. She lied to TC about everything it seems, and now her lies have hurt everyone that she was ‘supposed’ to love."

" I don’t know. She looks devastated."

" She was found out to be a liar, Kay. That’s why she’s so upset. Eve’s the last person we should be concerned about. TC, Whitney, Simone….they truly NEED us."

Kay nodded at her mother, as she went into Grace’s hug.

Ethan began to get up from the pew, when Ivy took hold of his arm. " Ethan, where are you going? "

" I’m going to Chad, Mother. If he’s really my brother, then I should try to be there for him. His entire world has collapsed right now."

Sheridan, Gwen and Ivy all looked at Ethan. It was this part of them that each of them loved so much. Ivy was trying to think of an argument against him going to Chad, but, she couldn’t think of one so fast. " Alright, Ethan.", she sighed.

Ethan went to Chad, who was standing at the far left of the Altar.

" Chad?", Ethan said tentatively.

Chad turned around to face Ethan. " Hey, ‘Bro’. Seems like we’re kin." Chad laughs bitterly. " Never, did I ever think that finding out who my parents were, would cause this kind of pain. I was better off not knowing."

" Chad, I…"

" You know what, Ethan, Man? Please, don’t say nothin’. I know that you didn’t have nothin’ to do with it, but, I’m having a hard time looking at you, and not seeing an extermination sign placed over my head. You know the saying – guilt by association. You’re one of them, and I don’t wanna be ‘round any of them. Got it?"

Ethan nods sadly. " I understand. If you want to talk.."

" I doubt it." Chad turned his back to Ethan, who made his way back to the pew with the rest of the Cranes.

The church was quiet, except for Eve’s sobs, and hushed conversations, until they heard,

" YOU SONUVABITCH! I’M GOING TO KILL YOU!"

They all look up, and see that TC has Julian within his grasp, and is beating his ass.

" You Cranes don’t know how to do anything, but take. You take, and take, and destroy. Good people. Innocent people. Just to get what you want. It wasn’t enough that you took away my tennis dream, all those years ago, now, you had to take away my family."

All the while, TC is pummeling Julian. But, Julian isn’t down and out, he has a few moves of his own ready for TC, and punches TC in the mouth, and has a few words of his own.

"  Oh, please, Russell. Take away YOUR family. It’s the other way around, don’t you think? I knew her first. I had her first. She loved me first, and we had a child first. So, if anyone has taken away a family, it was you to me. "

This enraged TC even more, and whatever ground Julian had, was soon gone, as TC mercilessly went after him.

Ethan, Sam and Luis all made their way to the upstairs pews, only to realize that TC had chained the doors together from the inside.

" Father!", Ethan exclaimed, banging on the door.

" TC! Let us in! Don’t do it, Man.", Sam yelled.

" Come on, TC. He’s not worth it.", Luis yelled.

As the spectators below watched the beating unfold, they felt paralyzed and unable to make any contribution. Eve, watched in horror as her worst nightmare was coming true before her eyes. Then, out of nowhere, came a booming voice:
 

Amazing grace, how sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost, but now I'm found.
Was blind, but now I see.

The people turned to see Whitney singing at the top of her lungs. Simone came over and held her sister’s hand, and joined in with the singing:

'Twas grace that taught my heart to feel
And grace my fears relieved.
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed.

TC looked up from Julian, down to the Altar, to see his daughters standing there, talking to him in song. He looked back at the bruised and beaten Julian, and then, back at his daughters, the pain so evident in their voices, pleading with him to come to them.

When we've been there ten thousand years
Bright shining as the sun,
We've no less days to sing God's praise
Then when we first begun.

TC let Julian go, and slowly made his way to the door. He found the key on the ground where he had thrown it, and undid the lock, opening the doors. Ethan rushed in and went immediately to Julian. TC walked past Sam and Luis, and down the stairs, almost in a trance, to the Altar. He stopped when he got to his daughters.

Amazing grace, how sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost, but now I'm found.
Was blind, but now I see

" Daddy, I don’t know how I’ll get through this without you?", Whitney says, her eyes pleading with him.

TC takes both her hands and kisses them. " I’m sorry, Princess. I’m sorry that I let you believe that anything or anyone is more important than you and your sister. That’s simply not true. I don’t hate anyone more than I love the two of you. Let’s go home."

TC hugs both of his daughters. Eve looks up and sees TC looking directly at her. The look in his eyes was clear. It sent the message, " You are dead to me." Eve lowered her face into her hands, and continued to sob and they slipped out the back door.

Sam came back downstairs, and motioned to Grace, Kay, Jessica and Charity, that it was time to leave.

Luis came back, and told Miguel, Pilar and Theresa that they should go. Theresa shook her head, no. She was walking towards Chad, when he looked around the church, and then up and ran away, out the side door. Theresa went back over to Pilar, Luis and Miguel.

" You all go on. I’m going to try and find Chad."

" Theresita.."

" Mama. Chad has no one. I feel I’ve got to look after him. I’ve got to make sure he’s ok."

Luis nods, " Ok, Theresa. But, here, take my cellphone. If something bad happens, call me."

" Thanks, Luis. Mama?"

" Yes, Theresa?"

" If I find Chad, can I bring him home? He doesn’t have anyplace else to live. Remember, he gave up his apartment because he and Whitney were moving into their own house."

Pilar nodded. " Of course. Chad is welcome in our home, anytime."

Theresa kisses Pilar. " Thank you, Mama.", and off she went. The Lopez-Fitzgeralds left the church quietly.

Ethan helped Julian down the stairs, back into the church. " Are you sure you’re alright, Father?"

" I’m sure, Ethan." When they got to the Crane pew, Julian turned to Ethan and told him,

" Ethan, take your mother, wife and aunt home."

" Julian, aren’t you joining us?", Ivy asked.

" No. Go home with Ethan, Ivy." By the sternness in his voice, Ivy knew that Julian wasn’t kidding. They all filed out of the church quietly.

Julian approached a sobbing Eve. He sat by her at the Altar. He reached out for her.

" Eve?", he said quietly.

Eve looked up at him with frightened eyes. Frightened isn’t the word that Julian would use to best describe them. She was so shell-shocked that her body was cold. Her eyes were haunted, so sad. Julian knew that she didn’t know what was going on. He took her hands, and made her stand up. He held her up as they walked down the aisle of the church together. Julian'’ limo was still there, and they got in.

" The Harmony Hotel."

By the time they got to the hotel, the Manager met them out by the service entrance. He had it all arranged: a full suite on a secured floor. Julian took Eve up to her room. She was still shell-shocked, and didn’t know what she was doing. Julian sat her gently on the couch. He stroked her face gently. " Eve?"

She still looked up at him as if he were glass.

" I suppose you are tired. Wiped out from this. You should get some sleep. "

Julian led to the bed, and turned back the covers. He led Eve to the bed, but, not before he had her take a sedative that he had arranged to be there for her. He placed her gently in the bed, and pulled the covers on her. He was turning to leave, when she grabbed hold of his arm and wouldn’t let go for dear life. Julian sat on the side of the bed, and assured her,

" I’m not going anywhere. I’ll be right there."

Julian sat with her until she fell asleep. Then, he moved a chair into the bedroom, and sat in it, by her bedside.

<hr>

TC, Whitney and Simone entered the darkened house. How different the house looked now than just a few hours before.

" Whitney, can I get you something? Tea? Coffee? Anything?", Simone asked.

" No, Simone. I just want to go up to my room."

" Are you sure, Princess? We’re here for you."

Whitney goes and gives TC and Simone hugs and kisses. " I need to be alone right now."

Whitney climbed the stairs and opened the door to her room. It was still a mess from all the wedding boxes being around the room. Whitney went to the full length triple mirror that she had rented just for the wedding. She stood there, looking at herself in the mirror. A few hours ago, she had thought herself the luckiest woman alive. She had thought that all the years of playing by ‘the rules’, had paid off. She had it all: a future career, and a man she loved, with all her heart. She didn’t even know that she could love that deeply. She had felt so free earlier today. Loving Chad had freed up parts of her soul that she had no idea existed. She felt she could do anything.

She remembered their walks. Their talks. Their long kisses. The times where they got past first base, second base, and were even going to third base.

Whitney barely got to her wastebasket in time, so that the vomit would go in there. She kept on vomiting, until there was nothing left. She sat on the floor, looking at the pathetic picture she projected: she had kissed, had tongued, had been felt up, by her own brother.

Whitney grabbed a paperweight that was still in its giftbox and threw it at the mirror.

" DAMN HER!", Whitney yelled.

Damn her! Her perfect, oh-so-Sainted mother.

The image of perfection, her father had said too many times to count.

Your role model, girls, she could hear her father saying.

Lies. It was all lies.

She wasn’t perfect. She hadn’t had her ‘virtue’ when she married her father.

She had been Julian Crane’s whore and bore him a son to boot.

Whitney would never forgive her lies.

NEVER!

Whitney finally broke down in tears, and cradled herself to sleep.

[FLASHBACK ENDS ]

Whitney wiped away a stray tear. She had vowed never to talk to her mother again, and it was a promise that she intended to keep. Being on the straight and narrow had gotten her nothing. It was time that Whitney got what she wanted. She wasn’t going to let sentimentality slow her down. No indeed.