A Fortunate Accident – Chapter 24

At the spaceport, Takemo pops out of an autocab and trots up to meet Saif, Kalvin, Marcelo, and me on the sidewalk.

“Thanks for letting me tag along to get back to the shuttle,” he says, shouldering his bag. “We’re just going to drop by your ship first?”

“Yeah, I need to speak with my employees there and swap out a few things from my bag.” I lead them all away and into the winding passages of the spaceport.

Takemo pulls up next to me. I set a brisk pace through the spaceport, eager to get moving again.

“Hey, so I’ve been thinking a lot about… stuff. And I’m wondering what to do with your mom’s ship.”

“Uh-huh.”

“What do you think I should do with it?” he asks, keeping up at my side.

I glance over at him. “I don’t know, and I don’t care.”

His lips twist. “Well, see, I don’t feel right owning it anymore. And I don’t feel right giving it back to her either.”

I stop and face him, anger boiling up in my stomach. Takemo has been ever present as of late. Why does this man keep hanging around when he doesn’t even like me?

“What do you want from me? Permission to do something?” I ask, my voice grating.

He narrows his eyes. “Yes?”

“Is that a question?”

“Yes?” He repeats.

I sigh, and some of the heat in my belly melts away. I’m too tired to deal with this.

“Cut my mom loose with a severance package and sell the ship.”

“But it’s where you grew up. You don’t want it back?”

I slow my steps for a moment. There was a time when I wanted the ship. It was going to be my future.

But now? It only represents my awful past. It’s the prison that held me as a kid. It’s a sign of my failures.

“I never want to see it again.”

“Are you sure?” he asks, and this time I narrow my eyes at him. “You’re sure. Okay.”

“Besides, it’s yours to do with as you please. It’s none of my business. I don’t even know why you’re asking.”

“Skylar…” Takemo starts, but Saif directs him ahead of us, and Kalvin falls in next to me.

“Be nice,” Kalvin whispers. “Takemo’s only trying to be helpful.”

I huff. “Why does he care? He doesn’t even like me, and he thinks I hate him.”

“That’s not true,” Kalvin insists.

“Forget about what happened in the jungle. He called me a ‘lazy, hotheaded, and undesirable offspring’ like two weeks ago. He doesn’t like me. I have no idea why he’s sticking around.” I drop my voice. “Probably looking for the right opportunity to piss me off again.”

Kalvin’s brow furrows. “I can’t imagine him saying that.”

“Believe it. Saif witnessed most of it.”

“But he’s been helpful and kind lately. Maybe you should give him another chance.”

I sigh. “Maybe. Until he decides I’m hateful again?” My wristlet buzzes, and it’s Ai. “Hold on. Ai is pinging me.”

“Hello, Skylar. I see you are approaching our terminal in the spaceport. I must inform you that Dominic is here, and he’s stationed himself in the bay across from the Amagi.”

“Fuck,” I breathe out and come to a stop. “Is he there all the time?”

“Pretty much. He seems to be in stakeout mode. There’s a log of his movements in your account. But since he hasn’t been near you physically, I haven’t alerted you before now.”

I pick up my pace. “Call the spaceport police, Ai. Send them over to Dominic’s location. I’ll be right there.”

I push past Saif and Takemo. “That’s it. I’ve had it.”

My legs move at double speed as I stalk through the hallways of the spaceport and head to the outside gangways. Fury burns inside of me so hot I’m on fire by the time I reach the bay across from the Amagi. I round the corner, and Dominic jumps up from his seat on a construction crate.

“Get the fuck away from my ship, Dominic.”

“Skylar,” he says, his smile growing. It falters a moment when the guys join me. “I see you’re finally back.”

“Your petty stalking behavior is the height of desperation. You’re not getting my ship, no matter how much you harass my crew.”

“It’s not your ship.” Dom shakes his head. “It belongs to your mother, and you’re going to give it back.” His jaw tightens, and he takes a confident step towards me. “You are going to end this war of lies and confess to everyone that your mother was a good woman who never hurt you, never laid a hand on you.”

I’m so hot with anger my face is ready to melt off.

“So many lies,” he says, jabbing his finger at me. “We took care of you. Clothed you. Fed you. You did nothing but spit in our faces.” He laughs at the guys behind me. “And now you’ve conned these men into believing you’re some kind of saint. You should be grateful for everything we gave you.”

I’m immobilized by my memories of my childhood, how brutal they were, how my clothes were hand-me-downs from my brothers, and how I went hungry so many days and nights while my family feasted like nobility. Dominic’s version of my life is so much kinder and nicer than what I lived.

Am I wrong? Did I exaggerate the things that happened to me?

Doubt tiptoes into the back of my head and plants a tiny seed, one I can’t ignore. I’ve asked myself these questions a lot lately. I had almost shrugged this off just a few days ago, but now, they are more prominent than ever.

“The Amagi was a short-term loan,” Dominic insists. “You will give it back. We have the lawyers drawing up the papers right now.”

“Fuck you and your lawyers,” Takemo says, stepping in front of me.

Whoa. I wasn’t expecting that. His hand reaches back to move me closer to Saif and Kalvin.

“If anyone could repossess the Amagi, it was me for your debts. But guess what? I couldn’t touch it because it belongs to Skylar one-hundred percent.”

This shuts Dominic up. He opens his mouth to speak again, but Takemo steps into his space.

“Your continued harassment of her is pissing me off enough for me to sue you.” He throws back his head with an evil laugh. “Oh, I would just love to have you raked over the coals for this bullshit.” He points at Dominic. “Your lawsuit threat is nothing but bluster. And if you think you’re going to get this ship when I couldn’t, then you are sorely mistaken.”

Dominic leans to the side so he can see me. “If you think this is a cut and dry case, then you are sorely mistaken. I don’t actually have to win back the Amagi. Instead, I can bury you in court cases and drain all of your money until there’s nothing left for you but to sell your ship and your body to the highest bidder.” He spits on the ground in front of me. “Fucking whore.”

Takemo’s arm cranks back, his hand curled into a fist. I inhale a sharp breath and leap just in time to catch his arm before he slams his fist into Dominic’s face. Dominic scrambles, his eyes wide with fear. He knocks over the construction crate and falls to his ass briefly before jumping to his feet.

Kalvin grabs me and pulls me to the side, and I drag Takemo with me. Saif stands between Dominic and us.

“Everything’s going to come out eventually,” he warns Dominic. “The starvation, the slavery, the abuse — you will pay for it all.”

Dominic laughs, and my blood cools. “See? You have conned them with your lies,” he shouts at me. “Lying bitch. You didn’t get what you wanted, so now you’ve concocted this story, huh?” He raises his eyebrows. “Good luck proving it.”

I hate him, but he’s right. The gleam in his eyes tells me he knows he’s done a thorough job of scrubbing the video, the only evidence I have against him. I trust Carlos, and I pray that he’ll find something, but my stomach is hollow looking at the triumph in Dominic’s eyes. Maybe I’ll never be able to win this. Maybe I’ll never have enough to prove my childhood trauma to others. And over time, more people will become skeptical of me and my stories because, let’s face it, they’re almost unbelievable. That whole ‘believe the victim’ thing only goes so far without proof.

The doubt blooms from a small seedling to a budding flower.

Has it all been lies? I thought I trusted my memories. Could Dominic actually be right?

Footsteps pound up the gangway, and police officers round the corner, their eyes searching and catching everything in a millisecond.

“What’s going on here?” the lead officer asks.

“I want him arrested.” Takemo yanks his arm from mine. “This man has been stalking and harassing us. I want him behind bars.”

“Is this true, miz?” the officer asks me.

I nod, too shocked to open my mouth.

“He’s been harassing you?”

Snap out of it, Skylar.

“Yes,” I blurt out. I point at the Amagi. “This is my ship. He’s been coming here almost every day, harassing my crew and me. I’m sure your security footage will back it up.”

He nods a few times while looking at us. “I see. Sir, come with me,” he says, reaching out for Dominic.

Dominic steps away. “Don’t touch me.”

The officer jerks his head at the other officers he brought with him, and they descend on Dominic like dogs on a fresh meal. He struggles, punches, and kicks, and the lead officer holds out his arms to push us away from the fray.

A zap rips through the air, and Dominic goes limp. I yelp and leap back against Kalvin. He wraps his arms around me.

“Sorry, sir,” one officer says. “I know you don’t like us to use the stun guns, but…”

The others haul Dominic off, his limp legs dragging on the gangway.

“I guess we’ll add ‘Resisting Arrest’ to the charges,” the lead officer says. “Sorry about that, miz. We’ll put him in lock up, and then we’ll place an AI tracker on him. He won’t bother you again.”

Of course, he’ll bother me again. And next time, he’ll be even more pissed and violent. It won’t end well for me.

“Thanks,” I croak out, my throat dry and scratchy.

I watch the officers haul him through the doors to the inside.

That doubt flower sits in my head, mocking me.

I could make this all go away right now, but it doesn’t seem right. If I give the ship to Mom and Dominic, I’m admitting that I don’t believe my own memories of what happened. I’ll never be trusted again. I won’t even trust myself. I can’t do that.

There’s no turning back. Dominic has crossed a line, and now I have no choice anymore. This is about to get public and very, very nasty. Sweat beads along my top lip as I imagine what I’m in for, what my network is in for.

But I have to fight him with everything I have because he’s only going to keep coming back and coming back and coming back. I need the money from India Dellis. I need the lawyers. And I need my network most of all… if they don’t leave me because of this.

It’s time to get back to work.