Page 48 of Enchant Me

At the same time, Mason’s laughter rang out from across the lawn. Damien turned in that direction and smiled. He knew the man still hadn’t recovered all of his memories after his ordeal, but he’d never lost his sense of humor. Now both Alaine and Liam joined the laughter, and Damien assumed they were telling stories of their adventures over the years. He could only wonder how Alaine’s adventures with an oven compared to the other men’s, who all seemed to be rolling at something Alaine was saying.

Alaine spread his arms, his voice rising, and Damien picked up on the word soufflé. That’s when he decided he had to go see what was going on. He reached the second group right as Alaine reached the punch line, something he could tell because all the men were choking with laughter.

“I swear,” Alaine said. “You should have seen the Prince’s face.”

He turned, his smile wide as he clapped Damien on the back. “Congratulations, my friend. I am so happy for you.”

“Thank you.”

“Come,” Alaine added, leading Damien aside. “If you don’t mind. I need to speak with you for a moment.”

Damien nodded at the other men and let Alaine lead him out of earshot.

“I wasn’t sure if I should bring this up tonight or not, but I know that it’s important even though it might spoil the celebratory mood.”

Damien stiffened, dreading what was to come. “What’s happened?”

“I only bring it up because of that horrible note that you showed me on Saturday.”

“Go on.”

Alaine cleared his throat. “Well, someone sent me a video. It’s—well, it’s of you and Sofia, my friend.”

Damien felt his stomach curdle. “I see. I’m sorry you had to see that.”

Alaine shook his head. “No. It’s me who’s sorry. Like I said before, I was oblivious to everything that was going on. I wish I hadn’t been. Perhaps I would’ve been able to help. I’d like to help now. I’m guessing that there’s something bigger than just the note taped to your wife’s portrait.”

“Yes. I’ve received several videos, including one that was never released to the court.”

“To the court?”

Damien explained how the court ruled to dismiss the murder charge after receiving the evidence of child abuse at his coach’s hand. “I was given the originals of all of the documents, tapes, and photos that were sent to the court anonymously. There was one video that we’ve seen these past few days that wasn’t included in those.”

Alaine took a step backward, his brow furrowed. “I don’t know what that means? Does that mean that there’s someone out there who was involved in all this?”

“I don’t know either.”

Alaine frowned. “My friend, I’m so sorry that I never knew any of this. I always believed it was the three of us, but really it was just you and Sofia, with me tagging along.”

Damien shook his head, “No. Not at all. You were a light for both of us. You’re one of the reasons that Sofia and I had good memories of those years, and not only bad ones. We three were the only good memories.”

“Is it true that she died saving Nikki?”

Damien nodded. “Sofia had done something extremely foolish, and she got both herself and Nikki into a terrible spot. But in the end she did what was right. And because of that I still have my wife, and I will always be grateful to Sofia for that. I loved her, you know, just not the way she wanted me to.”

Alaine nodded. “I know,” he said. “I loved her, too.” He sighed, then met Damien’s eyes. “I don’t know how I can help, but I wish you the best, and I will do anything you need. I hope you know that.”

“Of course,” Damien said. “Maybe I should have told you all of this long ago, but I always thought it was too heavy a burden to put on anyone else.”

“I understand. And I have forwarded you the video I received. If it’s different from the others you will know. If you need to examine my phone or try to trace it, just let me know. I know your team has skills in that regard.”

“I will, and thank you.”

Alaine nodded, looking a bit sad and a bit bewildered, then walked away towards where Liam and Mason were still laughing over their past adventures. Damien turned to go back to the patio, meeting Ryan coming from the opposite direction.

“Got a sec?” Ryan said.

“What’s up?” Damien said, hearing the serious tone in his friend’s voice.