“Yes, my darling. He’s wonderfully dead. But Jameson insisted I tell you my story. It appears he’s fond of you and believes it might benefit your healing process,” Victoria explained.
“Then you know about Jameson, too,” she said sadly.
“Yes, I’m aware,” Victoria said. “I take it you have a problem with him?”
Caroline’s gaze drifted to Victoria. “We grew close while he searched for Rebecca. He left unexpectedly, but he promised to find me. I clung to his vow for months, only to discover he’s James’ son. I can’t seem to get past his name.”
Victoria sighed. “Of course, now it makes sense,” she said, rolling her eyes. “Shall we go for a walk? I find fresh air tends to allow me to breathe when I must discuss something as dark and ugly as James.”
They rose and went outside, walking the long driveway of the ranch.
“Parts of my story aren’t relevant to you, so I’ll skip them. You know the cruel inner workings of James’ organization. Ivan and I returned to the States to protect someone else who fell victim to my husband, Kassie Winters, formerly known as Kassie Stanton, Phillip Stanton’s wife. He hurt her and her family asbadly as he did yours.” Victoria turned and waved her arm. “This farmhouse used to belong to her family. She’s the one who funds this place along with us.”
“Because she wants to help victims like me,” Caroline guessed.
“Don’t let Rebecca hear you call yourself a victim. You and I are survivors. The victims represent the people we haven’t gotten rescued yet. You’re here, Caroline. Jameson ensured your safety.”
“I don’t understand. Why did he ask you to fly all the way here to give me a history lesson?”
“Because I know what happened to James Stanton. Jameson felt you need some closure,” Victoria admitted.
“If you left and returned, then you must know James evaded the police. I researched it online,” Caroline said, glancing at her as they continued their walk.
“During the trial, James suffered a heart attack. He played the weak victim while he still coordinated an attack on Serenity Mountain to murder Kassie and take her daughter. We located him and arrived before the police and the FBI. Ivan and I took him. I kidnapped my former husband. He got to experience what it felt like to live in a cell of his own making. He got three meals a day with no source of entertainment. He spent his solitary days with nothing to do but reflect on all his sins.”
Caroline stopped and turned to Victoria. “But it’s against the law.”
Victoria tsked. “He broke it first. I finished it.”
“Is…he still alive?”
“Unfortunately, no. He did try to escape once.” Victoria chuckled. “Foolish man. I endured seventeen years of humiliation and degradation while I planned his demise. Your mind can go to places that even shock you. In the end, one of the guards noticed James losing weight, and I ordered a doctor toexamine him. The physician diagnosed him with cancer. When I came to visit him, he begged me to let him die. Cancer can be a bitch. I asked the doctor to treat him. He let us all suffer, and he thrived in our misery as we prayed for death to take us. In those last days, I think he realized a lot about human suffering and how it felt to die alone.”
“Does Kassie know you took him?”
“Yes. We’re family. She only asked not to know what happened to him. She put her past behind her and has a wonderful future with her husband and children. She’s made us grandparents,” Victoria said proudly. “I have an entire mountain full of them.”
Caroline absorbed everything Victoria told her. “What about Jameson?”
“What about him?” she asked.
“He used to work in Serenity. The leader sent him here. Why does he seem bitter about it?” she asked carefully.
Victoria walked over to the fence post and leaned against it. “When Ivan rescued me, he killed James’ mistress after learning she taunted me cruelly and caused me even more misery. Phillip, my son, followed James’ path, and they plotted to kill me and take over the empire I never knew I owned. When Phillip died, I had already mourned the loss of my child. James, however, didn’t take it well. Thinking I died, he never connected his mistress’ death to Ivan. Jameson became his new protégé. James convinced the poor man Kassie destroyed his business and cut off all his contacts. He owed more money than he could repay.”
“Jameson doesn’t seem foolish enough to believe James,” Caroline said thoughtfully.
“Poor Jameson became a product of a mother who didn’t care for him, and a father who never acknowledged him. When he finally got the attention he craved, he desperately wanted tobelieve James. When he reached out to Matthew for a position on a security team watching Kassie, they did a background check. Jameson already anticipated the move, and his record appeared stellar,” Victoria said, frowning at the memory.
“Jameson fooled him, too,” Caroline whispered.
“Yes. James assigned Jameson to enter Kassie’s circle and bring her to him. While the security team got ordered to another mission, Matthew and Jameson watched over Kassie and my granddaughter Emma. The two of them unknowingly showed Jameson the true meaning of family. When Jameson learned James’ plan to kill Kassie on her wedding day, he rushed to her friend’s house to help. James shot him in the stomach.”
Caroline struggled to breathe, thinking of the bitter pain of betrayal.
“If he risked his life for them, why didn’t they keep him?” she asked, confused.
“A team can only be as strong as its weakest link. Leo knew if he kept Jameson, his men would never trust him. Kassie and Samantha insisted they do something to help him. Leo made the right choice in giving him a position here. As you know, Jameson grew bitter in his hospital bed. He embedded himself deep into the trafficking ring before Leo got wind of it and stopped him. Julio became a neutral party, and they worked together. Jameson feels betrayed, but it was for his own good.”
