Part Three

Twelve Years Earlier

"What the hell do you mean they dropped the deal?" William yelled into the phone. His study door was closed but he was sure that Grace had heard it. That woman had ears like a hawk, she heard everything that went on in the house. He lowered his voice. "Can they pull out this close? Didn't they sign that contract already?"

<<Yes, sir but there was the escape clause which they felt it was necessary to use. They wouldn't give any reasons other than something to do with unsavory business practices.>>

"For Christ's sake. What the hell do we do now? Who was it who leaked the God damn information on the deal? This should have been clear cut. You promised no problems, Richardson. What they hell went wrong?" White rage burned in William as the implications of the lost deal sunk in. Heads would roll for this.

William slumped into his seat, shocked by the sudden turn of events. This deal would have netted him somewhere in the vicinity of 4 million and that was into his own pocket. Of course the hidden parts of the deal were a big secret that only a few knew and the client wasn't suppose to find out, not even after everything was said and done, so someone must have leaked the details to Hettinger Inc.'s head man Mark Hettinger.

The behind the scenes deal that William had set up with two other investors had been lucrative for Parker's firm as well as their firm but only until the stipulation that it never see the light of day. Dummy corporations had been set up to cover the flow of money, foreign accounts and other no-traceable financial transactions had been put into operation in order to cement this deal. Hettinger's withdrawal would be a significant blow to the company, both financially and personally.

<<I don't know yet, sir but we are looking into it. I even suggested a few minor changes but they won't budge. I am sorry, Sir. Do you have any other orders?>>

There was silence for several long minutes while the anger continued to course through William's body, his rage consuming him. Finally he spoke… "Find everything you can on Hettinger, find me something to prevent his withdrawal."

<<What if I can't?>>

"Then make something up. Hettinger hasn't got as much to lose on this deal as we do, Richardson. You make sure he folds back into our little deal or you will find yourself seeking alternative employment."

<<Yes, SIR!>>

Hettinger was known to be a scrupulous man who would not tolerate anything illegal or immoral in his business dealings. This would explain why he would draw out of this deal, though it pissed William off to no end. This was the exact reason why the more sordid bits of the deal were kept out of the contract negotiation.

God, this was frustrating. No it was beyond. Four million dollars lost because of one man's inability to accept a few minor indiscretions. And Jesus they weren't even illegal. His hand swept out and threw everything on his desktop to the floor with a loud crash.

"William?" His wife called from outside, her soft voice. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine!" The words were harshly spoken and instead of scaring her off, it brought her into the room. He sighed angrily. He didn't need her nagging shit today, not after his news.

Grace glanced around, slightly shook up at the hint of raw violence strewn around the room in the form of broken and shattered desk accessories.

"Grace, get out. I don't want to deal with you right now." William rose and moved to the side bar where he proceeded to pour himself a stiff drink.

"Who was that on the phone, William?" Grace asked, ignoring the angry gleam in her husband's eye. She knew he had a temper and that she was tempting fate by remaining but her son was due home shortly and she didn't want his father to be angry enough to take it out on his first born.

Without warning, William grabbed her arm and threw her away from the mess. "I said get out, Grace."

Grace fell to the floor, her heavily pregnant body hitting a small table causing it to crash to the floor in pieces. She cried out with the pain of it. Holding her delicate belly she rose, her eyes fearfully trained on her husband's furious face.

"Was it you Grace? Did you leak the details to Hettinger? I know you've been tutoring his son. Maybe you got friendly with the old man and decided he needed to know." Parker advanced on his wife who recoiled before him

"Please, William. I have no idea what deal you're talking about. Tell Hettinger what. I thought you closed that deal already?" Grace felt confusion warring with her fear. She'd never seen her husband like this. This anger was something new, more than before. For a spilt second she was relieved that Jimmy was with the daycare. She didn't want him to witness his father's anger, nor did she want him to get hurt should his father decide use the five year old as a punching bag.

"The deal, Grace?" William sneered. "What do you know about the deal? You know the one that was worth four million dollars? The one you said you didn't like because it would take advantage of poor Mr. Hettinger."

"I didn't tell him anything, William. You know that I… " the hand the hit her came from no where. The back hand blow cut across her cheek, snapping her head back. She had no chance to stop herself from falling, from hitting the desk, from screaming out in severe agony as she felt something inside herself rupture.

Blackness threatened to overtake her just as she felt arm embrace her and words whispered in her ears of sweet apology then nothing.

At the hospital, doctors did everything they could. Grace had been admitted with a ruptured uterus requiring immediate surgery to try to save the baby.

Steven Peter Parker had been born two months premature and because of the severe trauma from the birth he would require constant supervision. The doctor's were concerned for his health and wanted to keep him incubated for several weeks until his full growth potential had been reached. His small three pound four ounce body was strained enough.

It was just before Steven was to be brought home that they learned of the brain damage that had been caused by the beating. He would never be a normal child. They weren't even sure he would survive childhood. If he did manage to reach adulthood, his brain would remain in a child-like state forever.

That had been the straw that had broken the proverbial camel's back. Grace couldn't cope with knowing what her husband was capable of doing. She left shortly after that, leaving her two sons with the sadistic man they called a father.

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