Brianne Sanders sat on the edge of her bed, her wedding dress laid across her lap, and tears were rolling down both of her cheeks. As she looked down at her beautiful white dress, a glazed look of despair began to spread over her face. She found this dress a year ago on clearance and bought it for her hope chest, thinking to wear the dress for a happy occasion, but this was not such an occasion.
Her wedding to Dirk Vander was to start in thirty minutes, she shuddered inwardly at the thought of the man and didn’t know if she could marry Dirk. She really didn’t have much choice in the matter, as her stepfather, Scott Williams had blackmailed her into this marriage.
Dirk was at least sixty if he was a day, and if she didn’t go through with marrying Dirk, her sister, Amy, who was just seventeen would be forced to marry him. Brianne would be twenty-one in two weeks, and she would do anything to protect her sister, even if it meant her marrying Dirk to do so.
This whole story started about a year ago, when Brianne’s father was killed, as all he had left his family was bills, bills, and more bills. He had a gambling problem and spent every evening at the nearby casinos playing the slots machines, most times losing. Whenever he ran out of money, he would simply use his charge card to get more, using each card until he maxed it out, then he would start on a new account. Now the credit card companies were all demanding their money immediately! Brianne’s mother, Ann, couldn’t keep up with all the payments so she had gone to the bank to see about taking out a second mortgage on the house.
The banker who helped her was Scott Williams, who was of friend of their father. She soon had the much-needed loan to pay off all the creditors, having just one payment to the bank each month. Scott knew something about her situation that Ann didn’t know, as he knew that Robert left a ten million-dollar life insurance policy for his family.
Robert had told Scott about the policy years ago when he first took out the policy. Scott figured he would marry Ann, get the money, and then run. However, it hadn’t worked out that way for Scott, as the insurance money didn’t pay out in one large sum as most polices did. Other than a small monthly allowance for the girls in case of Ann’s death, the policy had a year waiting period before it paid out any substantial amount.
For the next ten years, it paid out three hundred thousand a year. The balance of the rest of the money paid out on the eleventh year. In the case of Ann's death, the money was to be held in trust, and would be the girl’s when they were either turned twenty-one or were married, and then they would each receive their half of the money. Until then, the executor would have control of the money.
Scott didn’t think about Ann dying, she was in her thirties and still had many years left, or so he thought. Therefore, Scott talked Ann into marrying him, promising her that he would always take care of her, but Ann died of ovarian cancer before Scott ever got his hands on any of the money.
Shortly before Ann married Scott, she found out about the cancer and that it was too advance for any treatment to help her. She didn’t tell anyone the bad news, afraid if Scott knew she was dying, he wouldn’t marry her, and Ann wanted someone to take care of her two daughters when she died. Even when she married Scott, she still wasn’t aware of the insurance money. Because of the waiting period, the insurance company hadn’t called Ann, and since she didn’t know anything about it, she never called them.
As soon as Ann married Scott, he called the insurance company to ask when he was getting a check, it was then that he found out about the year waiting period. He was furious to say the least, as he planned to be long gone by then. Now he would have to wait around for a year before he could get his hands on a portion of the money, longer if he wanted even more of the money.
While Scott’s mind was busy on ways to get the money, Ann had her mind on dying. She wanted to spend her last few months with her family without them watching and waiting for her to die so she continued to remain quiet about her health.
Scott had no idea his new wife was ill, but if he had taken the time to really look at her, he would have noticed the slow decline of her health. Her face was pale and often pinched with pain. Brianne and Amy knew something was wrong, and when they asked their mother about her health, she would always deny there was anything wrong.
As the time tick closer to Robert’s one-year anniversary of his death, Ann’s health quickly worsened. Scott was making plans as what he planned to do with the three hundred-thousand-dollar check, but the month before Scott could get his hands on the money, he was burying his wife of less than a year. Now the money was lost to him unless he could devise a new scheme so he could get the some of the money.
Scott wanted to marry Brianne himself, but he had his image at the bank to think of, as it wouldn’t look good if he remarried so soon after his wife death, especially to his young stepdaughter. Then he came up with a new plan, his friend, Dirk Vander, would marry Brianne, that way he could get his hands on at least some of the money. Since Dirk was to marry Brianne, they figured he should receive the larger portion of the money, and he would give Scott one hundred thousand, keeping the rest for himself each year he remained married to her.
Now all Scott needed to do was put the plan into motion and do it quickly as the wedding needed to be before Brianne’s birthday, which was just two weeks away. Scott was afraid Brianne would cause trouble for him, so Scott and Dirk planed for the wedding to be the next day. Now all he had to do was tell her what he wanted her to do and then wait for the fireworks to go off. Scott knew Brianne didn’t like him, but that didn’t bother him in the least, as after tomorrow, he wouldn’t ever have to see her again.
Brianne was walking past Scott’s office when she heard him call to her, asking her to come in. How she hated this man and didn’t trust him either, thinking her mother had been desperate when she had married Scott. He reminded Brianne of a snake, a rattlesnake in fact, just waiting to strike with his deadly venom. She always tried to hide her dislike for him, but sometimes the hatred just seemed to seep out when she was around him. When she turned twenty-one next week, and receive some of her father’s insurance money, she and Amy were moving into an apartment, she couldn’t wait to move out of this house and no longer under his thumb.
“Close the door,” Scott ordered as she entered the room. “Sit down, because I have something important, I need to tell you.”
An expression of satisfaction showed in his eyes, which made Brianne wonder what he was up to now. She sat in the chair Scott indicated.
“Brianne, I want you to know that you and Dirk Vander are to be married tomorrow, and you will stay married to him for at least five years.” Scott announced, then he leaned back in his chair, placing his hands on his chest, forming a steeple with his fingers as he waited for her reaction. He wasn’t disappointed at by the look of shock on her face when she comprehended his words.
“Excuse me! What in the Hell makes you think that I would marry that filthy old goat and especially stay married to him that long?” Brianne shouted as she glared at him with anger that lit her eyes. “When I turn twenty-one you won’t have any say of my life.”
“I’m the legal guardian for you and your sister, and you will do as I say. Just so you know, I mean for this wedding to happen, and if you don’t marry Mr. Vander, Amy will. It is as simple as that. Now, what is your decision?” Scott smiled smugly at her, as he enjoyed her struggle to capture her composure.
Brianne just stared at him as the shock of his words hit her full force. Why in the world would he want her or Amy to marry Mr. Vander? Brianne knew evil lurked inside Scott’s body and wouldn’t put anything pass this man. He was up to something, but for the life of her, she couldn’t figure it out what it was.
She would have to do as he requested, unless she came up with a plan to get both of them out of this wedding blackmail. She wished she could just run away, but since Amy was involved in this too, she would have to be careful in her plans, besides, they didn’t have any money to live on until her birthday.
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“Well, what will it be?” Scott asked again, smiling as if he already knew what her answer would be. He seemed very pleased with himself as he watched her fighting to control her facial expression.
“Yes, I will marry Mr. Vander, but on one condition,” Brianne said bravely, speaking with a quiet, but desperate voice.
“You aren’t in much of a position to barter.” Scott saw the deadly look she gave him and figured he better not push her too far. “What is it?” He figured he should at least listen to what she had to say.
Brianne had to protect Amy, and the only way she knew how to do that was to have her with her. Now all she had to do was hope Scott would agree to her request. “I want Amy to come live with me, and for you to give up all legal rights to her,” Brianne stated, with her back straight, her chin up and looking directly into Scott’s eyes.
Scott hadn’t considered on this and had to give Brianne credit for her fast thinking. Now he and Dirk would have to make some changes in their arrangements. Brianne would be easier to manage with Amy living with her that is for sure. “Let me talk to Dirk, and I will let you know later.” He looked down at some paperwork on his desk, already dismissing Brianne from his mind.
When Scott talked to Dirk about Amy living with him, they both decided to keep the money split the same, except now, Dirk would receive the monthly allowance for both girls. He rubbed his hands together, already thinking of what he was going to do with more of the insurance money.
Later in the day when Scott told Brianne that Dirk didn’t care if Amy came and lived with them, she felt having Amy living with them would help her accept this death sentence. She still wondered how she was going to live with Dirk every day for the next five years. She didn’t know much about him, but she did know she didn’t want to marry him and spend any of her life with him. She especially knew she didn’t want to have sex with him. Maybe she would be lucky, and he would drop dead before the wedding night, but knowing her luck, he would probably live to be 100 years old and she would be stuck with him until then.
* * *
A knock at the door brought Brianne back to the present, and she looked at the clock to see what time it was. She frowned when she saw how late it was as she needed to get ready, Scott would be furious with her if she was even a minute late. The wedding was being held in Scott’s study, with just the minister, Scott, Dirk, Amy, and herself being present.
She walked over to the door. “Who is it?” she asked, as she leaned her head against the door and sighed as she wondered if she would actually survive this ordeal.
“Brianne, it’s me. Let me in,” Amy said.
Brianne opened the door and smiled as she took in the lovely sight before her, as Amy was already dressed in her beautiful light blue prom dress. She was a beautiful young lady, so beautiful that she could be a model.
Amy took after their mother in her looks, whereas Brianne took after their father. Brianne thought Amy looked like a beautiful delicate flower, whereas she thought that she was more like an old cactus. Brianne loved her sister and wasn’t jealous of her at all in any way, in fact, she was proud of Amy. In reality, Brianne was an extremely attractive woman; she just didn’t think she was pretty.
“Brianne, you aren’t ready yet.” Amy shook her head in annoyance. “Scott will be furious with you if you make him wait. Let me help you. No matter what you have told me, I know Scott has forced you into this scam of a marriage.” Amy looked at Brianne straight in her eyes, waiting for her sister to deny her words.
Brianne didn’t have the energy to contradict Amy’s claim. She just stared at Amy, wondering if she should tell her the truth? This wedding was affecting her as well, as she might as well tell her was this event was all about. “Amy.” She muttered.
Amy stopped fiddling with Brianne hair and looked at her sister. “What is it?” Amy waited for Brianne to continue, but she didn’t respond. “Brianne, tell me.”
Tears appeared in Brianne eyes. “Scott is…” Brianne paused for a moment and then looked away from Amy. “Never mind.” Brianne bit her lip to prevent the words from spilling out.
“No, please tell me.” She pleaded. “What is Scott doing?”
Brianne turned back towards her sister. “He is blackmailing me into marring Dirk.” She stated, then watched Amy’s face for her reaction.
Amy looked stunned and took her a minute to find the words. “How and why?”
“If I don’t marry Dirk, he will force you into marrying him, but I don’t know why. He wants one of us to marry Dirk, but for the life of me I can’t think why.”
“How could he force either one of us to marry Dirk?”
“He has legal custody of us.”
“What was Mom thinking of when she married that creep? So, what are you going to do?”
“I am going to get married today.” She shuddered at the thought of his hands on her body. “I don’t any other choices.”
Neither of them said another word to each other, Amy simply started helping her sister put on her dress. When Brianne was dressed, Amy started arranging the veil so it would correctly lie on her head. Finally, they were ready, with just two minutes to spare.
“I’ll go downstairs to tell Scott you are ready. Are you sure, you won’t change your mind? It still isn’t too late to change it,” Amy asked hopefully.
“No, I won’t be changing my mind.” Her mind was lethargic, without hope of any reprieve from this nightmare. “Let’s get this over with.” Brianne tried not to think about the wedding night. Surely, this must be just a bad dream one where she would wake up and everything would be as it should be, both parents would be alive, and life would go on as it once had.
Brianne thought back to all the good times she and her family had when she was younger, before her father started gambling. He would pile them all into one of their many station wagons, as he had several of them over the years, and they would head out on one of their yearly vacations.
Since they never had any extra money, they always went camping so they would pack up the tent, sleeping bags, camp stove, chairs, fishing poles, and floats and all the other necessary camping items. She knew of two trips to Colorado, but the first time she was just a baby. On their last trip to Colorado, she remembered how cold the nights were. Each night before they went to bed, they would heat up rocks by the fire. They would then wrap the rocks up in towels and put them in the foot of their sleeping bags to help keep them warm during the night. No matter what they did to stay warm, by morning they were always cold and shivering.
She could still remember feeding the little chipmunks in the park, who would come up to you and eat raw popcorn seeds right out of your hand. After filling their mouths until their cheeks were full, they would scamper away, empty their cheeks, and come back for more.
All of their other camping trips were taken in the great state of Missouri, since it was their home state, almost every place they went on their vacation wasn’t too far from home. They floated down several of Missouri’s rivers on rubber rafts and gone through most of the state’s numerous caves. They had gone on several steamboats over the years, which would slowly travel up and down the muddy Mississippi River. They made several trips to the top of the St. Louis Arch, which looked out high over the city. They visited the amusement parks in St. Louis, Branson, and Kansas City. She and Amy went to World’s of Fun, the Kansas City Park every year for as long as she could remember.
Branson and Kansas City also each had a water park., but Brianne liked White-Water, the water park in Branson was the best. She remembered the last time they were there, which turned out to be their last family vacation together. The park was excessively crowded that day, making the lines and the wait long for each of the rides. Suddenly storm clouds came in and covered the park with the threatening black clouds. When the lightening started, the park was quickly closed, and soon people started piling out of the park, trying to beat the rain to their cars. The rain never came and her family decided to stay around to see if the park would be reopened for the remainder to the day.
Just as they finally gave up and started to leave, the storm passed, the park was given the all clear, and reopened. Since most of the people had already left the park, the lines were now shorter and now they were able to go quickly through the line for the rides. They had to drag their mother out of the park that day because she was having such a great time. Now Brianne wished they had stayed just a bit longer that day at the park.
All their vacations outings abruptly ended when the casino boats came into the Kansas City area and her father was bitten by the gambling bug. Brianne didn’t see her father much after that. No one knows for sure what exactly happened on the day he was killed, only that he had finally won it big, big for him, anyway. He won ten thousand dollars on a one-dollar slot machine, so the police thought he was attacked on his way to his car with the prize money.
When he left the bank, he had ten crisp new one thousand-dollar bills in his pocket and when the police found his body, he didn’t even have a dime to his name. The police assume the assailant must have followed him to the bank, robbed him, and then killed him sometime after he left the bank. Neither the money nor the assailant was ever found.
* * *
Brianne heard the music start and she knew it was time to leave. She slowly walked down the stairs and into the study. When she entered the room, she glanced at Dirk, he wasn’t a bad looking man, just old and fat. Brianne continued walking until she was standing beside him, thinking she could do this, as she was doing this for Amy.
Brianne looked over to her sister and saw her sadly looking at her. “Please someone help us.” she whispered, tears of hopelessness appeared, in the knowledge that there wouldn’t be any help for them now. She leaned over and gave Amy a hug. It was at the exact moment the two girls embraced; they were all blinded by a brilliant light.