#van dyer

"Got all that?" Shawn asked, looking over to Shania who nodded. He turned his attention to Haley who nodded, tapping her ear twice. "You don't own the police in Bridgeport and considering that's where you kidnapped Marcy Bennett from, I believe that it falls completely in our jurisdiction. I thought we'd have to goad the information out of you but your massive ego did the job for us." He motioned for Haley to take Hanson and lead him away from the potentially dangerous situation on the roof.

"Hah!" Van rolled his eyes. "So you had Shania record a confession and Haley sent it to the Bridgeport police department, is that it? God, technology is amazing. But you know what's even more amazing? Money. And the fact that if everything comes to light, your two friends are going to prison for a very long time. Life, even. Shania put a man behind bars falsely and Haley laundered money for me. That also doesn't mean you'll find where the girls are."

"I know where they are," Samara said defiantly, pulling her arm from Van's grip. She shakily put some distance between the two. "I'll testify anything they want to know, and Nathan will too. How do you think we got here, to this point?"

"About a year ago, I received an anonymous tip about a child missing from the Hidden Springs hospital records and when I did some digging I found that it could very possibly be Blair and Bentley's supposedly dead daughter.  That's how I started my investigation and got in contact with Nathan. I promised him I would get him out of his mess if he fed me information when he could. It was all weak substantial evidence until he finally confirmed two things. One, that you had a baby hostage and two, that you were head over heels in love with Samara so if I was going to bust you I had to use her. I didn't know how everything lined up but you left the ransom note that Shania knew was in your handwriting. Once I heard her side of the story I pieced all of it together. Well, almost. I don't know your motive."

"You want to know my motive? Oh, I have nothing against any of you really. You're obviously a fine cop and Shania and Haley are smart girls." He shrugged. "But $East wanted Bentley's money and when Kiara died, he knew the money would stop flowing. So, he asked if I could handle the situation so that his hands remained cleaned and that Bentley and Barrett would suffer for trying to go against him. But, then everyone else wanted to get involved and I had to take care of each of you individually. Cameron's sexual assault case, Barrett and Caige in jail..." Van reached up to scratch his face. "Blair and Bentley's baby were the last piece of collateral $East was going to use against you all. You see, if $East is unhappy the economy of Hidden Springs, my Hidden Springs, suffers."

"Oh my god," Shania mumbled to herself. "You're a crazy son of a bitch. You..." She looked up at Shawn and shook her head. "I'm sorry. I..." She reached into her back pocket where she had placed the gun Shawn had given her in case she needed to defend herself from Van. She held the weapon up with shaky hands. "I know you said to use this only in an emergency if Van tried something but...he ruined so many people's lives because of some stupid power trip. This all ends here."

One Year Later...

Samara looked into the empty halls of Van’s mansion with apprehension. This was the place she was held captive for months. Months that felt like years. A harrowing ordeal that she had to hide behind false smiles and proclamations of love for a man she had detested. “This is it? It’s finally over?”

“Yes it is, Ms.Jude.” Derek nodded at his client with a small polite smile. Though anyone could see the exhaustion in his eyes as he fought the court tirelessly to get Samara what she was owed. “Mr. Dyer’s house is all yours. The remainder of the money he owes you as his widow will be transferred to your bank account from his family. Though believe me, they are not happy.”

“I didn’t do this,” She mumbled, biting her lips which were sticky with dry lipstick from a long day of court proceedings. “Van forced me to marry him. He made me sign those papers. I wouldn’t have ever gotten mixed up with him if I had a choice.”

“I know,” Derek assured the worried girl. Her exhaustion was paired with a look of sadness that he hadn’t seen leave her eyes since he had met the young woman almost a year ago. “Which is why I fought so hard. Van isn’t alive to apologize, so this will have to do. But I’d say it’s a pretty good deal. You own his mansion, have millions of dollars in your bank account, and you even got a cute kid out of the deal.”

“Thanks to you.” Samara smiled at that. “Thank you for getting me custody of Hanson. He’s had it harder than all of us throughout this ordeal. No one knew what was going on at home. The poor thing.”

“He’s safe with you,” Derek said confidently. “I believe that wholeheartedly.” The two exchanged more pleasantries before Derek bowed his head. “I do have to leave now. I have someone waiting for me, but enjoy this life you’ve been given. Don’t feel guilty about it. Van did terrible things and this is not even a fraction of what you deserve as his repentance.”

Once out on the roof, Samara felt she could finally let out the breath she was sure she was holding since she had met Van. It was dark, much darker than she had anticipated. A secluded moment alone, just the three of them as a family. "Isn't the night sky just beautiful?" Van asked, leading her to the railing where she could look out into the lively city. The same city she had loved preforming in.

"So beautiful," A voice had said, but not one that Van was hoping for. Much to Samara's relief, she had seen the man she was hoping to meet all this time, Shawn Gray. He held a pistol in his hands tightly, aiming it directly at Van. Standing next to him were two girls, probably not much younger than Samara herself. "The game is over. Let go of the child and the girl."

"Wow, finally. The big conclusion arrives, does it? A little less climactic than I had anticipated, but I suppose I did leave myself open. Hard not to get distracted by my little Wren." Van took hold of Samara but shoved Hanson towards Shawn. "A show of good faith. Take the child."

"We're not bargaining here," The girl with blue hair said angrily. "The show is over. We came to Hidden Springs like you wanted. Now give us the baby."

"I didn't ask you to come to Hidden Springs so that you could get those girls back," Van said, feigning shock. "Is that why you all came out here? Oh no no. That's not how this works. So you managed to follow me and slip onto the roof when I stole away with my wife, that doesn't mean you have the upper hand. Shania, you should know this well by now. And Haley, have I not pardoned you of your misgivings? It's a shame that you'd turn on me."

"I'm tired of hiding," Haley said. "I thought I could move on with my life and make something of myself but your threats have always loomed over my head. When I heard your speech and saw the disgusted look on Samara's face, I knew you had gone too far. It's over."

Samara had recalled the moment she had truly lost all hope for ever getting to leave Van's clutches. He stood on stage, addressing a crowd of hundreds, at least half of them reporters- with one arm tightly wound around her waist and the other over Hanson's shoulder. "Thank you guys for having me today at Hidden Springs Art Expo." He spoke on and on about how thankful he was to be given this opportunity. Then, finally, as if forgetting his grip on his newfound family, he stepped back and instructed them to introduce themselves.

Samara stood, silenced by the lull of the crowd and the impossible nature of her situation. Until she had seen a familiar face in the crowd. The one that Nathan had told her to look out for. Shawn Gray, the cop from Bridgeport. She swallowed hard and waved to the audience. Some waved back, others even cheered. But one thing was the same- they all wanted to know who she was and why she stood tall next to someone as illustrious as Van Dyer. "My name is Samara Jude and I'm...Van's fiancé."

"No need to be modest honey," Van had said quickly, raising her arm up to the crowd so they could all gasp in awe at the size of the ring he had put on her finger. "We're officially married. Signed the paperwork and everything. And this little guy is our son, Hanson."

Samara wondered if the kid's actual parents would surface after seeing him with a man as wealthy as Van. But perhaps he'd pay them off. It seemed that Van had always gotten what he wanted, no matter what the cost. Hanson waved at the crowd and said something cute that Van had instructed him to. The crowd cheered, but as they roared Samara had lost sight of the brown haired male. If Nathan was right, he was her ticket out of here. She had to apologize to him for being so cruel. She couldn't let Van suspect anything. This was a dangerous game they were playing. Van droned on and on about the importance of art and fashion, but eventually his talk was over and they were allowed to leave the stage, not before being rushed by fans wanting an autograph and photo op with Van who denied them (as politely as she had seen him be in her whole life).

"What do you say, we go and spend some time out on the roof?" The glamorous man asked once he was out of earshot of the large crowd of mostly females. "I could use some time away from the lights, and I want to ask you something."

"I don't really have a say in these things anymore, do I?" Samara asked, recalling the last few hours of being paraded as Van's trophy as they walked the convention floor. "Now that we're married, you own me, right?"

If you want to read the chapter in full over on wordpress, here it is! Otherwise, the rest will be posted to tumblr in the next 2 hours or so. 

Debating on writing a summary up until this point but the next gen is going to be slightly detached so any new readers will be able to jump right in. 

Nathan's breath caught in his throat as he looked at Samara in the charcoal gray dress that sparkled as she carefully walked into the room. Her heels clicked on the wooden floor as she neared him. "Hanson," She replied calmly. "Van would like to see him. Where is he?"

"Playing with the girls," Nathan replied, slapping his hand on his cheek to snap him out of his trance. "Does Van need him right away?"

"He's coming with us to this art expo," Samara explained. "And he needs to pick an outfit to wear. Van wants to show him off..." Samara squeezed her eyes tightly. "As our son. Mine and his. You also need to take the girls and prepare them to be sent to an orphanage. After that, I don't know what Van wants to do with us. I'm sure I'm never leaving but, he may let you go."

"You realize that I'm not leaving without you, right?" These words were barely above a whisper, as if he was scared someone might pick up on them. Everyone knew that Samara was Van's property and any affection towards her would put a target on Nathan's back. "I stayed here for this long, I can stay a little longer until this plan blows up in his face. Then, we can..."

"Don't say it," She hissed back. "That's not how this is going to happen. Now, get my son ready and do as you're told." Though her words were harsh, there was no other way to protect Nathan from Van's wrath.

"Okay," Nathan replied, lifting his arms up defensively in front of him. "I'll have the girls dressed and ready once they're awake."

Samara stood frozen in place, looking at her reflection in the mirror. This was the songbird that Van had always lusted after. She no longer recognized the woman as herself. The Samara Jude she had become accustomed to had been playing house with two toddlers, a young boy, and a man she had just met. "Do you like it?" Van quipped from his seat on the bed. "I thought this one would compliment your eyes rather nicely."

"It's nice," Samara mumbled, feeling her lips tremble. "Why am I dressed up, anyway? Don't you want me to watch the kids? You said I had to earn my keep here..."

"They're being taken care of already," Van said. "We're going to be getting rid of the girls soon anyway. What I want has delivered itself straight to my doorstep." Samara was curious by what he had meant, but worry overtook her. He wanted to simply get rid of the girls? "Relax, I won't be hurting them. They'll be sent to some adoption firm or something. They'll have a good life."

"Their parents!" Samara cried. "You have to return them to their parents!"

"I don't have to do anything," Van said, his voice rising as the anger spread across his face. "My little Wren, you're not supposed to fight with me. You just sing." He stood up and stepped towards her menacingly. "I will not be returning those girls to their parents because the boys of Chain Link..." His voice trailed off and he backed off from the girl. "You wouldn't understand."

"I wouldn't?" She asked softly, trying to use her charms as she inched closer to him. "Isn't my job to sing to you and make you feel good?"

Van held onto Samara’s waist tightly as the two of them overlooked the balcony of the expensive penthouse suite he had taken her and Hanson to.  The mountaintops that the two of them had been looking at were magical. When she was younger, this was a dream she always had. Cuddling into the arms of a man she loved, listening to his heartbeat against her back as they gazed into the sky. Their child, a few feet away, playing happily. But this wasn’t that moment. She had no attraction to Van at all. Whatever relationship he thought he had with her was one sided and based in delusion. She could never love someone who had so callously kidnapped not one but two babies, and forced a man to care for them or else he’d be turned in for a murder he didn’t commit.

“This will be our life from now on,” Van whispered against her ear. “You, my lovely wife, and our son. We’ll have to give him a younger sibling so he doesn’t get lonely. I was thinking perhaps one of the girls, but having one with our genes sounds much more appetizing, don’t you think?”

“Wife?” Samara asked, shutting her eyes. “Do you intend to propose?”

“Why propose if we’re already married?” He asked, snaking his arms around her torso. “I’ve made the necessary arrangements, so in the eyes of the law we are husband and wife. I was afraid, seeing the way you talked about those toddlers, that you’d try to leave me. I don’t want to hurt you, but you know too much, my little songbird.”

She felt his grip on her tighten, but she didn’t cry out. Not with Hanson so close behind the pair. He was a child who Van had taken in to keep her in line, she was sure of it. As long as there was a child involved, he knew she’d go along with any of his wishes. “This isn’t the way to court me. You only have to ask, Van.”

He chuckled bitterly as he nuzzled his head into her neck. “You would say, no. I tried to be patient and wait for your consent to our being together but I can see in your eyes that you think I’m a monster like everyone else. Perhaps it was my fault for allowing you to get so close to Nathan. I won’t hurt you, but you’re not leaving. At the expo today we are announcing our marriage to the public, and the adoption of Hanson officially.”