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“Vanessa, can I call you that?” Ivy interrupted.
“Sure.”
“Great. I know there are a lot of emotions surrounding this case. From what Carter has shared, you and he were more than just partners. He’s told us that he had a casual sexual relationship with you while his wife was presumed dead. We’re not trying to bring up any difficult memories. We’re just trying to help everyone involved.”
“I’m not sure what you’re saying, Ivy. Are you trying to be a mediator between me and Carter?”
“No, we aren’t mediators, but we were all once in the game and know how hard it is to have relationships. Honestly, I applaud those who can. But we all know this is a difficult, and possibly explosive, situation. It’s easy to blame one another or blame someone in error.”
“What are you getting at?” Vanessa didn’t like it when her voice sounded weak. It always meant Venom was coming. She couldn’t let him take over.
“I’m just sympathizing with you.”
“I don’t need your sympathy,” Vanessa snarled. She could feel herself losing control. “I’m not weak,” she screamed.
The group said nothing. She was spiraling in front of them. Carter wanted to go to Vanessa and try to calm her down, but he was afraid how Gwen would react. Instead, Vanessa looked around, and rose to exit the room.
Carter started to stand and stop Vanessa from leaving, but Ivy pulled him back down. He would’ve made things worse, so instead, he softly called her name. When she didn’t answer, he tried again.
“Nessa, honey, let’s sit down and talk.”
“Do not call me honey.”
“Sorry. I won’t ever again.” He hadn’t realized he’d used an endearment. He could see how he’d only added to her confusion.
Vanessa burst into tears. “Why couldn’t you just love me?”
“I wish I could have. I never meant to hurt you.”
Vanessa drew herself up tall. The timid and broken woman was no longer present.
The drastic change was felt, if not seen, by everyone.
“Well, I meant to hurt you. How stupid are you? All those months, she made you coffee and you thanked her for her kindness. You both were so pathetic. You deserve each other.”
“Who’s she talking to?” Byte asked what everyone else was wondering.
“Vanessa,” Carter began but stopped when she burst into a humorless laugh.
“Vanessa is not here anymore. You made her strong, and then you broke her. I’m the one who fixes what was broken. But in this case, I think I’ll leave her broken and will finally take the lead.”
Understanding what was happening, Voodoo didn’t want to spook Vanessa, but the plan had just changed. There was a new player in the room.
“And who are you? Do you have a name?”
“I’m Venom.”
“Venom, I’m Voodoo. I think we share something in common.”
“What?”
“We both want Carter to pay for hurting us.”
“He didn’t hurt me, but I can’t stand all the whining going on in here,” he said, pointing at Vanessa’s head.
“Who else is crying?”
“Valarie is whining because she lost Carter. Honestly, he’s not that special. I don’t see why Valarie and Vanessa act like they can’t live without him.”
