Donna was surprised to see an image of her mother appear on the screen. Her mother began to speak.
‘Hi D, There’s so much I want to tell you, but I’ve run out of time. If you’re watching this, then I’m no longer there to protect you, and the responsibility has been passed to your grandmother and your godfather. Listen to your grandmother. She is wise beyond imagination. She holds secrets in her heart, I never shared with anyone.
Although your birth was not planned, I have never regretted it for one second. You have been my rock and my safety net to reality. I love you, more than you could ever imagine.
Donna, most of the time, things are not always what they seem. Remember this - stand up for yourself! Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Don’t be afraid to say ‘no’ when you don’t agree and most of all don’t let anybody tell you, you can’t do something. You can, you just have to try. Be persistent no matter the odds. Above all things always follow your heart.
Things might sometimes get a little sticky, but I’ve learned in the end, love is the only real reality. When true love finds you, and I’m sure it will, be prepared to take a leap of faith. Often love can be staring you right in the eyes, and you miss it because you’re blinded by reality. Love has nothing to do with reality. It’s in a realm all its own, and therein lies the secret to peace and happiness…..’
Donna’s eyes glossed as she continued to stare at her mother’s image, frozen on the screen. Richard lifted her chin, so their eyes met. He smiled. “I know where you got your pretty looks.”
“She said my grandmother and my godfather. I don’t have a godfather, at least not that I know of. What does all this mean?”
“There’s more Donna, just wait,” Sir Richard said. A few seconds later an image of Donna’s grandmother appeared.
‘My dear, precious little girl. I can call you that because since your mother and father were taken, that’s what you’ve been - my little girl. Although I could never fill your mother’s shoes, I hope I have at least done my best.
I know you’re feeling very alone right now but, you’re not an orphan, at least not yet. There is someone else who will watch over you - your godfather. He has always been there, and he always will be, even if he stands in the shadows at times.
Donna, what I’m about to tell you is going to seem harsh. You may not want to believe it, but the man you knew as your father, was not by any means an honest man. He was involved with some pretty shady people that hold little regard for human life. His and your mother’s marriage was one of forced convenience.
Your mother endured a lot to give you as normal a life as possible. She didn’t love your father and never would.
Your mother and godfather were in love and had planned to marry. They were working together to expose Forrest and your father.’
The scene shifted to an image of Triplet Hall at Christmas. A young Sir Richard, remarkably similar in appearance to Richard was playing chess with another man in front of the fire. Donna recognised him as her father.
The view shifted to a woman at the dining room door. Donna didn’t know who she was. Richard recognised her as his mother.
… ‘Time to eat! Ricky, Donna, Ken, Trip. Come on,’ Martha called from the dining room.
Ken gave a sigh of relief. ‘Saved by the bird!’
‘You lucky sod,’ Sir Richard said. The camera followed them through into the dining room and watched them take their seats.
Marie started to seat a little girl next to her, and she protested.
Donna decided the little girl was her.
“No! Want to sit next to Unc Tip.”
The little girl jumped down, skipped to the other side of the table and climbed in the chair next to Sir Richard. A little boy beside her waited patiently as his mother prepared his plate and set it in front of him.
Sir Richard smiled at Donna and pinched her button nose. ‘Now, let’s see if we can get you started shall we,’ he joked, picking up her plate and filling it with food.
The little girl smiled and bounced in her chair with anticipation until the plate was sat in front of her. She took one look at the plate’s contents, pushed it away and turned to Sir Richard. Glaring at him now as she had then, the little girl folded her arms and said in a very mature and determined tone, “Unc Tip If I’ve telled oo one dime, I telled oo a towsun me no ike dem ittle geen babbages!” Everyone laughed.’
Sir Richard softly laughed to himself.
The screen cut to a still image of two children on a beach; the boy with his arm wrapped around the girl.
“Do you remember this, pet?” Richard softly asked. “It’s us.”
“No, I’m sorry. I didn’t even recognise at first, who the children in the movie were.”
Richard smiled. “That’s us when we were kids! Think, Donna - think back. Alright, listen. One day we all went down to the beach. You and I built a sand castle together. You used the red ribbon from your hair to make a flag for the top of the castle. The tide came in and washed it away. You cried, and I held you. I told you not to worry that I would build you another castle. My mother thought it was so cute that she took a picture of us. That’s the picture.” He pointed to the screen. “You couldn’t pronounce the R in my name, so you called me Icky.”
Donna grinned. “I can’t imagine you liked that?”
“I hated it! That’s why I still don’t like being called Ricky today.” He glanced at Sir Richard.
“But if that’s me then…?”
“There’s one more bit then we’ll get to the questions,” Sir Richard said. “This was recorded about a year ago.”
The screen faded, Sir Richard clicked on the next chapter in the menu. Richard was stunned to see an image of his father.
‘Hi Donna, this part of the movie and the rest of what you will see on this DVD, was not part of your original video. Through the years, I’ve kept close tabs on you. I’ve used some of my old movies to compile a digital scrapbook for you.
Your mother was my best friend, my lover and would have been my wife. Our plans for the future were destroyed when she was taken from me by the very organisation she and I were working together to expose. I should have pulled her out, but she was like you - high strung and full of fire. I will always blame myself for her death. For that, I will never forgive myself.
No matter what the future may hold, as long as I live, I will always be here for you, and see that you want for nothing. Above all, I promise, Unc Tip will never, ever, try to give you any more of those’ ittle geen babbages.’
Donna pressed her lips together and swallowed the lump in her throat. “I still don’t like Brussels sprouts, Sir Richard.”
“What about Mum, Dad?” Richard asked.
“I didn’t love your mother when I married her. It was a marriage based on duty. After Marie’s death, we grew together and learned to love each other.”
Donna furrowed her brow. “What was my father involved in?”
“Control, Donna,” Lady Triplet spoke up. “You may think that governments control the World, but they don’t. Governments are the mere puppets. It’s the puppeteers that control the show….”
“…This is not going to be easy for you, but you have to know anyway,” Sir Richard interjected. “Kevin Wilson used to work for me. We fell out over a personal matter, and he moved to the States, and started running D’Netics. Forrest has been behind D’Netics the entire time. It was Wilson who was responsible for your parent’s ‘accident’.”
Donna narrowed her eyes. “How?”
“Forrest recruited ex-service men involved in operation desert storm who had contracted Gulf War syndrome. These men were promised a huge compensation for their families since there was little that could be done for them. They had nothing to lose and Forrest found them easy prey.”
“I discovered Forrest was using them to set up a drug trafficking triangle,” John said. “They were using ships to move cocaine, from Port Canaveral to Novorossiysk, the main Russian port on the Black Sea. The cocaine was traded for arms, which were then transported by air to Afghanistan, and swapped for opium. On its journey, back to the States by ship, the opium was processed into heroin using a drugs lab, on-board. At each stage of the journey, they made a huge profit. It was the modern equivalent of the slave triangle.” John looked to Sir Richard.
“In the beginning, your father was completely unaware of the contraband. As far as Ken knew, what he was doing was legit. He never knew he was involved in an illegal drug ring. I’m sure he had his doubts, but, like all the others working for Forrest, the compensation was worth a little risk and his silence.”
Donna frowned. “And the authorities knew nothing about this?”
“They knew it was going on, but they could never figure out how the cocaine left or the heroin entered the USA.”
Donna shook her head. “Is the American justice system that inept?”
“Just because the authorities know an illegal operation is taking place doesn’t mean they can, or will act upon it immediately,” Lady Triplet interjected.
“To expose an operation like this can take years of planning and hundreds of hours of surveillance. Trust me,” John said. “Twice the ships involved were searched when they reached port. They found nothing. Donna that’s where your mother and Sir Richard were when things went pear shaped.”
Sir Richard set his empty teacup on the coffee table. “Years later, your father decided to do a company audit and was astonished to discover that the sewage company he purchased on behalf of Forrest was actually registered in his name rather than Forrest’s. He told your mother, and your mother told me. The only reason I could think of for the business to be in your father’s name was that Forest didn’t want it in his, to protect himself. It’s a technique often used in a dubious business.”
Sir Richard paused briefly. “My agents were investigating the sewage business. On the surface, it seemed legitimate. Forrest had put a lot of money into modernising the system. In fact, he’d put so much money in it; the sewage company was barely showing a profit. It just wasn’t the sort of business I would have expected Forrest to get in, and certainly not to keep unless he was trying to improve his image. If that was the case, why did he put it in your father’s name?”
“It wasn’t until we delved into the sewage company’s history that we discovered the reason. In the past, there had been little treatment of the sewage produced by the town. It had basically been put through the system, and then pumped out to open sea. There were a number of pipes, which in some cases, were up to five miles long. The local residents had apparently complained, when sewage was washed up on the beach.”
“Since the investment in the sewage company, the pipes were no longer used, but we discovered pumping stations still working on them for no apparent reason. Then we discovered Forrest Enterprises had a number of vehicles travelling in and out of the sewage company going to the pumping stations. The outlets of the pipes just happened to be where the ships anchored, when they queued at the port. We suspected that somehow, they were transferring the drugs to and from the pipes, and retrieving them at the sewage company. The Drug Enforcement Administration hadn’t considered that drugs could be transferred through a sewage pipeline.”
“Ken decided to go on an impromptu inspection of the business he apparently owned. Despite my better judgement, your mother insisted on going along. She wanted to get photographic evidence of what they found. They hoped to discover the means by which the drugs were transferred at the pumping station. This would have ended the operation, and we would have had Forrest by the testicles. At this point, Wilson became aware of your parents’ interests in his clandestine activities.”
“He of course, passed the information on to Forrest, and the rest is history. Forrest was forced to shut the operation down, which he did quite expeditiously. After unloading the final shipment, there was a methane explosion at the sewage company, which killed your father instantly. Your mother died on the way to the hospital. I don’t know if you remember, but we had to give your parents a closed-casket funeral, because of the damage done to their bodies.”
Donna nodded. “Yes, I remember. Didn’t anybody ask why my parents were there at the time of the explosion?”
“It was blamed on faulty pressure valves, and of course, the explosion destroyed the evidence. Forrest re-routed the business elsewhere. Wilson arranged the explosion, but always denied knowing your parents would be there.”
Donna tightened her jaw. “Their deaths weren’t accidental.”
“They were too convenient, and timely to be a coincidence. When I couldn’t prove anything either way…” Sir Richard said, giving his mother a quick glance, “I was forced to abandon any further action against Forrest or Wilson.”
“Why didn’t you tell me about Wilson’s involvement if you knew he was responsible for my parent’s death?”
“Because petal, it would have put you in danger. Until Forrest saw you at D’Netics, I don’t think he associated you with Ken and Marie. You were just a young girl when they were killed. Wilson knew who you were, but for some reason, said nothing. That’s the one thing that cast doubt on his involvement in their accident. I don’t think he realised that Forrest would kill them, and felt guilty for participating.”
“But you still could have told me when I got over here instead of waiting until now. You’re not involved with Forrest, are you?”
“Not directly,” John interjected. “But they are part of the same organisation.”
“I’m trying hard to comprehend all this,” Donna sighed.
“You see, petal. There is within The Order, a group of people like me who try to control its direction. We try to prevent the worst of the excesses. We can’t do this, unless we’re part of The Order. If we were on the outside, we would be either powerless or dead.” He hesitated, seeing the confusion in her eyes.
“Let me see if I can explain it in simpler terms,” Richard added. “I know you won’t like this analogy, but imagine a spider’s web. The threads radiating from the centre are members of The Order. Dad’s organisation is the spiral thread which holds it all together. As separate threads each would follow a different path. Like the spider’s web, when the wind blows; the threads become tangled. This leads to conflict and chaos. With the spiral thread, the whole web acts as a unit and is stronger and in harmony with itself. While Dad can’t obviate The Order, by working from the inside, he can at least lessen the maliciousness and maintain some sense of balance.”
“Donna,” Sir Richard interjected. “I’m not bad, and what I do is not bad either, but sometimes I have to make… difficult choices. Like the one not to be involved in your life. I wanted to be more than a shadow.”
Donna sighed. “I’ve made a few of those difficult choices myself, lately. What counts is you’re here for me now – both of you,” she added looking up into Richard’s eyes.
He smiled and kissed her forehead. “I’ll always be there for you, pet.”
“We all will,” Lady Triplet added.
“Do you have any questions, Donna?” Sir Richard asked.
“No… I’m fine, for now. If I think of anything, I’ll let you know.”
“If I should be away, you could always ask Ricky.”
Donna softly smiled. “I will….”
“So tell me,” Sir Richard said. “What do you think about the apartment and living at the castle?”
“I like the apartment, and the idea of living in a real castle is intriguing. It kind of makes me feel like Lady Guinevere in the movie First Knight.”
Sir Richard chuckled. “Good, because I don’t want you or Ricky to leave the castle grounds for any reason.”
Donna’s eyes widened. “You found out something about Tina!”