Secrets and Deceptions

For CEO Gwendolyn "Gwen" Dawson-Finley, the last few days had been quite busy--mainly centering on a search for a new assistant. Her last one, Bethany Baxter, disappeared without a trace, and unfortunately for Gwen, this was not isolated, as she was the second to come up missing in the last five months. Gwen's search ended when she found the perfect choice in Darcy Royce, who made a fantastic first impression on her new boss.

"Well, Darcy," Gwen said, "From the looks of your résumé, you're clearly experienced in this exact position. Welcome aboard; you can start right away."

"Thank you so much!" Darcy exclaimed. "I promise you, I am hard-working and dedicated, you won't be disappointed!"

Gwen was extra relieved to have ended her search, as she feared it was getting in the way of spending time with the one person who was the most special to her: her wife of five years, Rita Dawson-Finley. Even as a week passed, Darcy's hiring even served as a topic of conversation later that evening at the household. "Glad to see you haven't been bringing your work home with you," Rita commented. "Guess that new assistant has been wonders for you. What was her name again?"

"Darcy," replied Gwen. "And yes, she's been a Godsend."

"Just watch out for her, Gwennie," said Rita. "Because you know how assistants can be...working that close to someone powerful. That last one you had..."

"Bethany?"

"She seemed to have eyes for you, Gwennie."

"I doubt that, hon," replied Gwen. "And I trust that Darcy won't cross that line." Weeks went by, and Darcy continued to be a "Godsend," as Gwen described her. During that time, Darcy appeared to be more and more eager to work closely with her boss, and portrayed herself as being excited to work late nights if she was needed. One evening, Gwen phoned Rita that she would be working late, and that extra time required Darcy's help. Sure enough, they were finished quicker than Gwen expected, but Darcy appeared to be displeased. Gwen didn't pay attention to Darcy's demeanor, until Darcy suddenly kissed her.

"Darcy?!" Gwen exclaimed, taken aback. "What the hell?!"

"I'm sorry," said Darcy. "I just couldn't hold myself back anymore. We've worked a lot together and in that time, I've developed feelings for you. And I just know that you feel the same about me." Gwen was still trying to come to terms with what was happening, and took a long pause before finally getting herself together and responding. "OK, Darcy," she began, "this is wrong on so many levels. First off, you're my assistant, I'm your boss. And secondly, I'm married!"

"Well, Gwen," said Darcy. "You seemed to get some pleasure out of telling your wife that you'd be working late. I know I certainly did." Darcy continued her advance towards Gwen, who stopped her assistant in her tracks. "Look, Darcy," said Gwen. "This is a professional environment, and if you can't respect that or my boundaries, I'm afraid I have no choice but to let you go. I'm sorry." Darcy stood heartbroken and stunned over Gwen's words, and pleaded with Gwen to reconsider, but Gwen wouldn't hear it, simply pointing at the door--symbolically ejecting her now-former assistant.

Gwen didn't tell Rita about Darcy, because she didn't want to be on the receiving end of an "I told you so" from her wife. However, on the following day, Gwen received threatening emails on her workplace laptop, with messages such as, "You can't get rid of me!" and "You're mine forever." The harassment continued for days, but Gwen kept it hidden from Rita, as she believed that Darcy was the culprit and she'd handle it. But one day, Rita heard the doorbell ring and rushed to the door, only to see a package for Gwen. Gwen opened the box, only to find that it contained a dead rose and a card with the same message: "You can't get rid of me!"

With the threats now hitting home, Gwen called the police, leading to the couple being interviewed at their home by the lead detective, Kendra Dennings. "Thank you for coming, Detective," greeted Gwen. "It has been a frightening ordeal--it's been going on for days."

"So you are being stalked?" asked Kendra. "Do you know who's behind it--the emails and the rose."

"Her name is Darcy Royce," answered Gwen. "She is...well...was my assistant. I had to let her go because...she came on to me." The last part of that statement shocked Rita. "What?!" exclaimed Rita. "Why didn't you tell me about this?!"

"Because you warned me about Darcy, and I didn't listen," replied Gwen. "I just didn't want you to rub it in my face." However, Kendra had her own expression of alarm when Darcy's name was mentioned. "Your wife has every right to be concerned, Ms. Dawson," said Kendra. "Because I've heard Darcy Royce's name before. She has a bit of a track record: aggressive stalking."

"I told you about those assistants." said Rita. "I can't believe this is happening again."

"I'm sorry, 'again'?" Kendra asked with a stern expression on her face. Her expression increased due to Gwen's own demeanor, as she appeared to be shameful, almost like she was hiding something. "What does your wife mean by, 'again'?" Gwen didn't want to answer the detective's question, though Rita gave her a look of empathy and support towards Gwen. "It's OK, Gwennie," she said sweetly.

"I had an affair with one of my assistants," Gwen confessed. "Well, actually I wouldn't call it an affair. It was only one night. Her name was Laura Bennett, I ended it right afterwards, but about a day later...she turned up missing." Gwen held Rita's hand as she gave her confession, still carrying guilt. "How long ago was this?" asked Kendra.

"About five, six months ago," answered Gwen. "And I told Rita about it right after; luckily, she forgave me, but she's been wary ever since."

"I just want my wife to be careful," Rita said sweetly. "I love her so much. Plus with two of my wife's assistants disappearing like that, and now this."

"Detective," Gwen asked, "do you sense that Darcy might be involved in either of the disappearances?"

"Given Ms. Royce's past, I wouldn't rule it out," replied Kendra, as she rose out of her seat before giving the couple her number, "Here's my info; if you ever see her pop up again, give me a call."

The following day saw Gwen working with her temporary assistant, Brenda, though she hadn't heard anything from Darcy. Even so, Gwen was on her guard in case her former assistant popped up; all the while, Gwen remained stunned that she hadn't checked into Darcy's history more thoroughly, and started to blame herself for her recent and continuous ordeal. Gwen remained in deep thought in her office, and even had a terrifying vision of Darcy going after her, only for Brenda to bring Gwen back to reality.

"Mrs. Dawson-Finley?" said Brenda. "Call coming for you--a Detective Dennings." Gwen thanked Brenda before taking the call. "Detective?"

"Ms. Dawson," said Kendra, "we found a body."

"Is it Darcy?" asked Gwen.

"It is a blonde woman as you mentioned," said Kendra. "Though this one is in a red dress." Gwen expressed immense horror as she came to a shocking conclusion. "Oh my God," she said, "that's Bethany. She was my last assistant, Darcy replaced her."

"It gets worse," said Kendra. "This discovery comes after another body was found. However, while it appears that Ms. Baxter had been deceased for two weeks at most, we found another female who appeared to be dead for months." Gwen quickly figured out that the second female had to be Laura, meaning that both of her last assistants had been killed, but by who? "Ms. Dawson," said Kendra, "have you seen Darcy Royce at all?"

"I haven't," was all Gwen could say.

"Well, continue to keep an eye out," said Kendra. "Based on this discovery, she's capable of anything." Gwen became more fearful than ever, and was in disbelief that she had once hired a possible killer. Later that evening, Brenda was walking to her car and set to leave from work, when she is suddenly held at gunpoint by a masked figure, who later pistol-whipped Brenda before abducting her. News of Brenda's abduction reached Gwen the next day, and she was ordered to take that day off due to the pending investigation. As she was on her way home from running errands, Gwen heard a familiar voice from behind her.

"Gwen?"

Gwen turned around and saw Darcy behind her, and she quickly became alarmed. "Stay away, Darcy!" Gwen shouted.

"Wait, what?" asked a confused Darcy. Gwen remained on her guard, as she was thoroughly convinced that Darcy was dangerous and could have sinister intentions for her. "I'm warning you," said Gwen. "I know about your past. I'm just mad at myself for not seeing it sooner."

"What are you talking about?" asked Darcy.

"Come on, Darcy," said Gwen. "I found out that you had been arrested for aggressive stalking! And now it seems you've graduated to kidnapping and murder!"

"What?!" exclaimed Darcy, who was taken aback by Gwen's statements, but she calmed down and composed herself. "OK, yes, I was arrested for stalking, but I swear to you, I haven't killed anyone. I've been hiding mainly out of shame over how I crossed a line with you, I know it was wrong, and I had been trying to leave my past behind and better myself. I did learn about the other two girls and the other one being abducted, but I swear, Gwen, I had nothing to do with any of that. Please, Gwen, you have to believe me."

"Honestly," Gwen responded, "I don't know what to believe right now. I do know one thing, I'm calling the police!" Just as she was about to get her phone out, Gwen saw Kendra suddenly appear. "That won't be necessary, Ms. Dawson," she said before giving a glance at Darcy's direction. "Looks like I arrived in time. Darcy Royce, you're coming with me." Kendra took Darcy into her custody, while Gwen got in her car and drove off.

"Take your hands off me!" Darcy shouted before running off to an alley, where Kendra had her cornered before holding her at gunpoint. "You have nothing on me, I'm innocent!"

"Oh, really?" Kendra asked coyly. "So you're trying to tell me that you didn't kill those two girls? And you deny pistol-whipping that other girl, Brenda?" Darcy was taken aback by Kendra's last statement. "I didn't do any of those things," she said. "But how do you know that girl's name...or how she was attacked? Because I only heard about it recently." Kendra suddenly stood silent and frozen after Darcy made her statements.

"That's my problem: I talk too much," Kendra said, right before she took her gun and struck Darcy's head, knocking her out. She later dragged Darcy and placed her in the back of her car, and it was at this exact moment that her cellphone rang, with Kendra quickly answering.

"Where are you?" a modulated voice asked.

"It's done," was Kendra's only answer before entering her car and driving off. Later that evening, Gwen mentioned her encounter with Darcy to Rita, who appeared to be concerned. "And she just came up to you out of the blue?" Rita asked.

"Yes," answered Gwen. "She tried to say that she was innocent. I didn't know what to think. I honestly still don't."

"She's unbalanced, Gwennie," said Rita. "And she's dangerous; hopefully she gets caught." Suddenly, the couple heard the sound of broken glass, and later saw that a rock had been thrown through the front window. Having built up immense confidence after her encounter with Darcy, Gwen rushed out the front door to confront the vandal, figuring that Darcy was the culprit. During her search, Gwen ended up tackled by the hooded vandal, resulting in a struggle that resulted in Gwen seeing the attacker's identity.

"Detective Dennings?"

Gwen was stunned to see that the vandal was none other than Kendra, and following her discovery, Gwen began to put the pieces together. "It was you all this time," she said. "The emails, the rose...you attacked Brenda, didn't you?" Kendra flashed an evil smirk at Gwen as she stood back up. "You're pretty clever, Ms. Dawson," the villainous detective commented. "You truly figured out our little scheme."

"Our?" asked Gwen.

"Well, I wasn't working alone," said Kendra. "You did know that, didn't you...Gwennie?" Gwen didn't have time to react to Kendra's last retort, as she was suddenly chloroformed from behind by Rita, who gave a fiendish smile at her incapacitated wife.

Gwen suddenly woke up and found herself inside an abandoned cabin. She wasn't alone, as not only did she see Brenda, she saw Darcy as well, as both women were tied up. At that moment, Kendra entered the cabin with Rita, and to Gwen's shock, the women embraced each other and kissed each other passionately. Gwen's attempt to rush after the illicit lovers was halted by Kendra, who held Gwen at gunpoint while Rita smirked.

"What's wrong, Gwennie?" Rita asked smugly. "Are you angry? Upset? Hurt? Good. Now you know how I felt when you messed around with that whore!"

"Rita," said Gwen, "how many times can I apologize to you? It was just one time, one night, one stupid mistake."

"It was only once," said Rita, "but only because I made sure it would be just one time." As Rita's evil smile grew, a cold chill overcame Gwen, as she came to a very frightening conclusion. "You killed Laura?" asked Gwen.

"You know, nothing truly ends an affair better than a scarf wrapped around a whore's pretty little neck!" Rita exclaimed with sadistic glee. "I was solving two problems: I eliminated an obstacle, and I cured your addiction. Well, at least until you hired Bethany."

"I never slept with Bethany!" shouted Gwen.

"Only because I never gave you the chance," said Rita. "That's where Kendra comes in." Rita gave another kiss to Kendra, this time on her right cheek, before continuing her villainous confession. "See, after meeting Kendra," she continued, "I realized that we were both in oppressive relationships. I was married to an uncaring adulteress, and she...well, I'll let her tell it.

"All these years putting away bad guys, and all I get is a piddly little pension." vented Kendra. "Sorry, that just won't cut it. Then Rita came to me with a simple proposition. Nothing big, just had to kill Bethany, and then get rid of these two. An easy million-dollar payday."

"A million?" asked Gwen. "From where?"

"Part of my inheritance, sweetie," answered Rita. "After we kill you, of course." Gwen backed away in fear, but that only drew Kendra closer to her with her weapon still in hand. "Please, Rita," said Gwen. "You don't want to do this. I love you, I always have." Gwen's pleas and declaration were only met with an evil laugh from Rita, whose twisted delusions and desire for revenge truly engulfed her.

"Spare me!" cackled Rita. "If you truly loved me, you wouldn't surround yourself with blonde bimbos like those two! I have someone who truly loves me now, and after I grieve at your funeral, I'll be on a nice, tropical island with my new sweetheart, and your millions!" The evil Rita gave as stern and serious glance to Kendra, before giving the order: "Shoot her!"

Just as Kendra was about to kill Rita, she was suddenly distracted by Darcy, who fell over while tied to her chair. Kendra rushed to Darcy with her gun pointed at her, but as it turned out, it was a distraction, as Brenda had somehow broke free and ran off.

"Get her!" Rita screamed at Kendra, though Kendra ended up tackled by Gwen, who later wrestled Kendra for the gun. The struggle took a fatal end, as the gun fired and struck Kendra, killing her instantly, with Rita screaming in horror and cradling Kendra. As for Gwen, she freed Darcy and made her escape after finding Brenda, but their quest was interrupted by a gunshot striking Brenda's leg, with Darcy and Gwen turning around and seeing a gun-wielding Rita.

"You took away the woman I love!" the deranged Rita shrieked. "Now I'm going to kill every last one of you!"

"Please, Rita, don't do this," said Gwen. "You're better than this. What happened to the woman I married?"

"Oh, shut up!" shouted Rita. "I am so sick of you thinking you're so much better than me! And don't pretend you cared so much about our marriage! But you know what, I will do you this one last favor, my dear wife. I'll just get it over with and kill you first, and make your precious whores watch!"

"Please..."

"Goodbye, Gwennie," Rita said as she was set to pull the trigger. At that sudden moment, Gwen was stunned to hear a commanding voice shouting from behind all three of them.

"Drop your gun and put your hands up!"

The trio turned around and saw a male detective with his gun pointed at Rita, while moving slowly towards the maniacal villainess. "I said drop it now!" he shouted, with Rita finally lowering her weapon before she was handcuffed by the detective, while the backup officers rushed inside the cabin for a thorough search. "Sorry for the shock. Detective Richard Hastings. Looks like we arrived just in time."

"Thank you so much," said Gwen, "What brought you out here?"

"We were actually on the trail of Detective Dennings," Hastings answered. "There were suspicions that she was engaged in some criminal activity, and all of the pieces led us here." Hastings found out from one of the officers that Kendra was inside, deceased, which was followed by Hastings taking Rita into his custody, facing several charges of homicide and the attempts on Gwen, Brenda, and Darcy, with Brenda being sent to hospital for her gunshot.

In the week that passed, Darcy actually worked alongside Gwen as a temporary replacement for Brenda, who began a relationship with Darcy in the process. Darcy was elated to have Brenda in her life; though the circumstances of how they first met were perilous, it still resulted in a moment that served as the ultimate redemption for Darcy. As for Gwen, her nightmare was over, though she was still haunted over the fact that the woman she was married to for five years had harbored such hatred and resentment towards her, feelings that drove Rita to madness. In all, the three women were thankful that they were alive and well, and were moving on from their shared peril.

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