Fear and betrayal - the perspective of Tio

I don’t think I’ve ever been this scared in my life—not even when Lee was working for The Company. Should I have protected her more? Without a doubt. Did I? No. Why not? Because I was terrified that they’d tear us apart. And then there was the pregnancy… I know it was part of her undercover assignment. She was “forced” to sleep with several men, but it wasn’t rape—it was for gathering information. Was the pregnancy planned? No one really knows, or at least that’s what the former heads of The Company claimed. Lee won’t tell me, either. Honestly, I doubt it was intentional.

When Joe and the law enforcement officials took me down to the basement of The Company HQ, I thought I was going to faint. I’d heard the stories—torture, starvation, sleepless nights… a constant, suffocating silence, with nothing but surveillance until you either died or ended up in prison.

I had no idea what they were planning to do with me until we reached the basement. It had been converted into some kind of makeshift office, part therapy space, part psych ward. But it wasn’t the kind of psych ward you see in the movies. It was meant for former Company members, to put through a therapy program with people they trusted. What confused me was that I had never been part of The Company, yet everyone seemed to know exactly who I was.

They assigned me three psychotherapists: two men and a woman. One was there for the psych evaluation to be performed on me, another for diagnostics to see if I can be diagnosed with PTSD or something, and the last for treatment, whatever that meant. There were two others in the facility, but we were given a private office. I shared a few things that I knew, and everything I’d overheard while being near Lee during the whole nightmare.

But I was there for five weeks before I started talking in therapy. I talked about my purpose in Lee’s life, how I got some involved with The Office, but I shared everything that I knew  

“I went drinking with some of the people she worked with—both inside and outside The Company. Some were spies, some weren’t. Most of them wanted to bring down The Company, and back then, I didn’t understand why. But now, I get it. They played with people’s lives, manipulated hearts, and killed each other. I knew whoever had Lee imprisoned wanted her dead and would cover it up. They were trying to take over The Company and align with countries involved in crimes against humanity. I tried to pass this on to Lee, but she already knew it all before I could tell her.”

“We don’t believe you,” they said. “We have evidence—Lee has evidence—that you were involved somehow. You need to tell us everything you know! There isn’t much time, Tijuana!”

“There isn’t much time for what?” I asked, my mind racing. “Is her life at risk?”

“She’s six weeks pregnant,” they replied. 

“According to new laws, she has until the eighth week to get an abortion,” they insisted. “Do you know what scopolamine is?”

“Yes, I know,” I said. “I’ve heard of it, saw Lee use it when necessary, but I never used it myself.”

“We don’t believe you!” they snapped, showing me pictures and videos of me going through Lee’s hidden medical bags, pulling out the scopolamine.

In the footage, I could see myself injecting Lee with more than what was necessary, asking her questions, and gathering information. Then, I had made several calls.

“I don’t remember any of this!” I protested, shaking my head. “I want to say this isn’t me, but I know Lee—she’s got state-of-the-art security you guys don’t know about!”

“We believe you were programmed,” they said. “Ever seen the Jason Bourne movies? You were trained the same way. We just need the names of the people who did this to you!”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about!” I kept insisting, my voice growing more frantic.

They escorted me back to my room and locked the door behind me. Because of whom I was married to, I had a private bathroom and a mini-fridge, so at least I didn’t have to worry about food or leaving the room.

Hours later, a new psychiatrist came to see me. He introduced himself, but I was so shaken that I couldn’t remember his name. We discussed using hypnosis and EMDR therapy to help me uncover what had happened.

Two weeks later, I received devastating news: Lee had gone through with the abortion and filed for divorce. Since I was considered competent, I was to sign the divorce papers without any hesitation. I wanted to stay married to Lee, to help her raise Anthony, and to be a father to him—but she needed to keep herself and Anthony safe. So, I signed, and the documents were sent back to Kay’s office. Two days later, I received a copy of the finalized decree. Lee had changed her and Anthony’s names, erased every trace of their old lives, and disappeared into hiding. Only Kay knew where they were, but since this was all handled through her office, it was covered by attorney-client privilege. Nothing could break that bond. If it did, Kay would face jail time for contempt. She was protecting them from me—and from anyone else still looking for them.

Days later, the new psychiatrist, the other three therapists, and a medical doctor who had treated Lee for her injuries from the job all came into my room. Along with them was the director of the quasi-psych hospital, and they had a plan. They wanted to administer scopolamine to me, to see what I truly knew. For hours, I resisted, unwilling to surrender, determined to protect Lee, Anthony, and most of all, myself. I wasn’t sure if there was something I was hiding from myself, but I couldn’t risk it. Finally, I signed the consent forms.

They took me through the tunnels to a hospital that was affiliated with them, placing me in a heavily guarded room. I ate, hydrated, and went to the restroom—under constant guard—before the injection. To ensure I wouldn’t fight back, they strapped down my arms and legs while they inserted the IV. Once they were sure I wouldn’t struggle, they unstrapped me.

“When did you meet Leandria?” they asked.

“Five and a half years ago.”

“Where?”

“At a bar.”

“Which one?”

“Quagmires, five blocks west by southwest of here.”

“Did you intend to meet her?”

“Yes.”

“Who insisted you meet her?”

“Three men—two Hispanic and an Italian.”

“Their names?”

“Vic, Vin, and C.”

“Last names?”

“I asked, but they never told me.”

“Did you report to them afterward?”

“I did. I told them I’d done what they asked: bought her drinks, charmed her, and got her into bed.”

“What did they say?”

“The strangest thing. They asked how she was in bed, and when I told them, they were all surprised. She wasn’t exactly relaxed with them. They said she was a bit of a freak.”

“That’s not what we meant. What did they say afterward? Did they want you to keep seeing her? Did they know you weren’t part of The Company?”

“Since Lee and I are divorced now, it’s clear they wanted me to see her again, but they never intended for us to get married. At one point, they all wanted to marry her, but for some reason, they never went through with it. I think it was because Vic was married, Vin was a cheater, and C had a girlfriend at the time, though he wasn’t happy with her. He wanted to be with Lee—whatever name she goes by now.”

“But did they know you weren’t part of The Company?”

“Yes, they knew. They wanted someone from outside The Company to spy on her, to make sure she was following the rules they set when they took over.”

“What rule was that? The cardinal rule?”

“That Lee had to marry someone outside The Company. Doc and Joe were already out of the picture. Once The Company broke apart, she could’ve married any of them if she wanted to, but she didn’t. She wanted to marry me. She thought I would protect her, not hurt her.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“I hired Samantha and her brothers—Giacomo, Giovanni, and Giuseppe—he went by George for years, Jacques, and Marvin.”

“Why did you hire them?”

“I was supposed to scare her, but that didn’t work, so I hired them to kidnap her.”

“Why?”

“Once Lee realized The Company wasn’t a true part of the government, she wanted to tear it down. Samantha convinced me The Company was working with the government, and I believed it was a legitimate operation. But it wasn’t sanctioned by the government. It was just The Powers That Be running things.”

“Who are The Powers That Be?”

“Samantha is my ex-wife. She joined The Company and left me—someone who didn’t believe in any government—to raise our kids. She introduced me to her brothers, the black sheep of the family. No one ever mentioned the triplets, and now I see why. The kids were eventually put into foster care, adopted by families who could give them a better life than I could at the time. Samantha convinced me that she, her brothers, and their friends could help me get my kids back before they were adopted.”

“So, you’re saying The Powers That Be are Vin, Vic, and C?”

“Exactly.”

“You’re telling us that you got unintentionally involved in Lee’s kidnapping and possible death because three of her former lovers—now her former bosses—hired you to get her to fall for you, so they wouldn’t have to marry her because they didn’t think she was worthy of them? And in all of this, your first ex-wife convinced you to kidnap or kill your second ex-wife because she was trying to dismantle an unauthorized government system she was part of, even though she wasn’t a citizen of that country?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“Do you realize how absurd this sounds? It’s like you conspired to kidnap and possibly kill an innocent woman who ended up marrying a liar because she thought she was doing the right thing by trying to bring down a fake government department—all because you were about to lose your kids?”

“Do you know what it feels like to lose your kids? I never wanted Lee hurt or killed. I just wanted to stop her, to some extent, but she kept getting seriously hurt. I tried to call it off, but they wouldn’t listen. They gave me back all the money I’d paid, and I donated it to charity because I didn’t want to be tied to the money that could’ve ended up killing the only woman I ever loved.”

“We know,” they said in unison.

“My children are Jacques and Marvin,” said the new psychiatrist.

“Samantha, Giacomo, Giovanni, and Giuseppe are ours,” said the one male psychotherapist and female psychotherapist.

“I am their uncle,” said the remaining psychotherapist. “I never married, nor had any children.”

I stopped talking, exhausted. I fell asleep, praying they wouldn’t pull this again when I woke up. If they truly believed I could’ve been involved in having Lee—the love of my life—kidnapped or killed, then I’d end up right alongside my former conspirators in prison.

What felt like years later, the psychologist and psychotherapists woke me up. I ate, showered, got dressed, brushed my teeth and hair, then met them in the day room.

“We don’t know what to make of what you told us three days ago,” they said. “We spoke with the legal representatives of everyone you hired. There was some confusion about who hired whom. Sam—sorry, she prefers to go by Samantha—said that she hired you the day you married, that she put money in a private account in your name, and that you knew about it. She claims that’s the money you used to hire her, her brothers, and their cousins. You gave us a different story. We don’t know who to believe.”

“I’m sure you want me to pack up my things and end up in the same prison as my ex-wife and her insane family—well, the ones still in her life, at least. But that’s not happening. I have the right to request a different facility, but ultimately, it’ll be up to a judge to decide.”

“We took longer than expected because we administered a bit more scopolamine than usual. You stayed in the hospital for forty-eight hours under observation, but you were fine. You slept through most of it, both there and the last twenty-four hours here. We had you hooked up to IV fluids and a feeding tube to make sure you didn’t get dehydrated or go hungry. During those seventy-two hours, we sent the videos and recordings to Kay, who then forwarded them to Lee. She replied to Kay, and here’s the bottom line: Lee doesn’t believe you were as uninvolved as you claim. She requested that, on her behalf, several federal agencies interview you later today to figure out just how much you were involved in the kidnapping and murder plot against your most recent ex-wife. Through Kay, Lee made it clear that she wants nothing more to do with you. She believes she’s too close to the situation to make a fair judgment and thinks the federal agencies, who have no connection to any of us, you, or her, will be able to do a better job.”

“Who will be there as my legal representatives? Will you guys be there to confirm my competency?”

“We’re not sure. Our legal department is handling your representation. One of us will be there with you, but the decision will be made by legal. We don’t know if it’ll be one of us four who’ve been taking care of you, or if it’ll be someone else who’s familiar with the case but not as closely involved.”

“Do I need to wear a suit? Should I pack anything? Write any letters?”

“You’re fine the way you are. We’ve been told this interview should last no longer than two hours. The last thing we want to do is give you this letter from Lee. She sent it to us directly, and Kay knows most of its contents, though she wasn’t thrilled it didn’t go through her first. We want you to read it before we send it to the interviewers.”

I nodded, my hands shaking as I opened the envelope:

My dearest Tio,

I’m sure you’ve heard by now that I decided to have the abortion. I couldn’t bring another child into this world without its father. I was able to get early genetic testing, and the pregnancy was barely viable—the child would have faced severe struggles growing up. One day, I may share the details with you, but I can’t right now.

As for the divorce? I knew you were somehow involved in the plots my kidnapping and eventual death. I trusted you to always find me, to protect me—not harm or kill me, whether by your hand or someone else’s. I understand you wanted to get your children back, but there were other ways—legal ways. You didn’t need to lie to me. I knew the truth the whole time.

The former Powers That Be wanted you to protect me from them. Vic would never leave his wife for me. Vin, with his jealousy and history of violence toward me, and C—like Vic—wouldn’t leave his girlfriend for me. In the end, I was never worthy of them, and honestly? That’s fine with me.

I fell in love with you, Tijuana. You helped me heal from them, but in the end, you betrayed me. You promised me you’d never reach out to Sam or her family, but you did. Over and over again. You broke my trust. You shattered my faith. Your desire to get your children back from their new families—and your reluctance to start a new one with me until recently—led to even more people chasing after my son and I. Yet, I am still in love with you.

I’m no longer Leeandria, and my son is no longer Anthony. I’ve changed our identities. I’ve changed mine so many times that I don’t even know who I am anymore. I’ve forgotten my native language, most of my family, my favorite foods, my music. But now? The only person knew who I was during all of this was my brother. As you read this, he’s being told that both Anthony and I died in a house fire, killed by smoke inhalation.

This will be hard for him to believe. He knows how much of a light sleeper I am, how alert I’ve become since having Anthony, and that I’ve taken precautions—smoke alarms, carbon monoxide detectors, and fire extinguishers throughout the house. It’ll seem convincing, though. There will be bodies found that resemble Anthony and me. The bodies will be so charred that dental records won’t work, but the fire investigator, the medical examiner, the pathologist, and everyone else involved have been bribed. They’ll confirm our deaths. Because of you, my brother will now believe that I’m dead. He won’t take this well. I’ll never see him again, maybe in many years when he’s senile or at his funeral depending on who dies first.

Kay told him you’re being evaluated, so if you tell him that Anthony and I are alive, he’ll think you’ve completely lost your mind.

After today, if you’re free from this bizarre mental hospital or from prison, don’t look for me. Once you’re out, Kay and government agencies will be watching you. If you ever type our names—Anthony’s or mine—expect a visit from government officials. Don’t say my name unless you are asked. The only time you should mention it is if they ask about our divorce and my death in the fire. My death has to be believed.

Goodbye, Tio.
Sincerely,
Leeandria and Anthony”

I stared at the letter, trying to wrap my mind around what I had just read. It was like a punch to the gut.

“Do you know the contents of this letter?” I asked.

They told me they knew about the contents of the letter, but they had signed an NDA with Kay, preventing them from disclosing any information—past or present—regarding Lee and Anthony. No judge could break that NDA. They helped prepare me as best they could for the interview, and when it was time, the legal team came down to speak with us.

“Tio, since the death of Leeandria and her son, Anthony, I’m pleased to announce that Kay is now free to represent you as your attorney, should you ever need one,” the legal assistant declared proudly, unaware that my ex-wife was still alive. “She told me in the past that Lee spoke so highly of you, and Kay felt it would be a good way to honor her legacy by offering her services to you now.”

“Thank you, Kay,” I replied sincerely. “Will I have a mental health representative with me during this interview?”

“Unfortunately, no,” the legal assistant said. “However, your therapists and psychologist have signed affidavits confirming that they believe you are competent for this interview. They found no mental health concerns other than exhaustion from dealing with the wrong people and the death of your wife.”

“Thank you,” I muttered, then turned to Kay. “Is there a place we can talk privately?”

“Yes, follow me,” she said, guiding me to her car.

Once inside, she mentioned she was recording the conversation to send to me later. I asked if she could tell me where Lee had gone, but she advised me to drop the subject due to attorney-client privilege. She explained she couldn’t share anything I discussed with her with Lee. We spent the next twenty-five minutes preparing for the interview.

“It’s going to be tougher than what you experienced in the hospital with the scopolamine, okay?” she said. “The doctors were looking for truthful answers, and that’s what they got—up to a point. The federal agencies are going to want more detailed information, like how you met Sam, her family, and your involvement with them.”

I nodded, feeling my hands sweat and my stomach churn. We left her car and headed to the legal office for the interview. And let me tell you, it was more intense than Kay had prepared me for. They asked me the same questions over and over, trying to catch me in a lie or see if I would change my story. But I didn’t.

They showed me financial statements spanning the last fifteen to twenty years, records from my phone and computer, and even any rude comments I’d made to others. They dug into my work behavior and past write-ups. By the time they moved on to my mental health, Kay had provided the affidavits from my psychologist and therapists.

When the agencies finally finished with Kay and me, I felt worse than when I’d lost my children to the foster care system. Kay led me to the day room where my therapists were waiting. They all sighed heavily.

“Tio pretty much told them the same thing he told us,” Kay said. “He explained how he met Sam, her family, and how he got involved with everything. The agencies can’t touch Vin, Vic, or C—they were all working for those agencies and were just following orders from their higher-ups. But those higher-ups have already been named and are in prison.”

“What?” the psychologist asked, clearly shocked. “Who are the bosses now in prison?”

“Sam, Giacomo, Giovanni, Giuseppe, Jacques, and Marvin,” I said, still processing it all. “The six of them were involved in breaking off from the actual government. They wanted to do the things the government wouldn’t, like making deals with terrorists and reporting everything. They no longer had anyone to answer to, so when they became The Company, they were free to operate however they wanted.”

“Go on,” the therapist encouraged.

“After the breakaway, they could act with minimal repercussions. That’s how Vin, Vic, and C got me involved. They wanted me to protect Lee, but they didn’t realize that Sam was my ex-wife. She’d changed her name back to her maiden name, and I was still in love with her. My mission was to make Lee fall in love with me. I used the money Sam had given me for our wedding to hire her and her family to kidnap Lee. But when they found out I was going to ask Lee to marry me, they pushed things further. I tried to stop them, but they didn’t listen. They returned the money which I didn’t want. When Lee and I married, I thought it would protect her, but instead, she was pulled further into The Company’s grip. Vin, Vic, and C used their power to reclaim control over the organization. None of us were focused on what was best for Lee—we were all acting separately, trying to protect her in our own ways, and look where it got us. Lee and Anthony are hiding now, her brother thinks they’re dead, and it’s my fault. And now here I am, stuck in a mental hospital, just wanting to get out.”

“So where does that leave you, Tio?” one of my therapists asked.

“Well, I’m stuck here for another three months, getting treatment for everything, and officially deprogramming myself from all the inter-governmental work. I’ve got PTSD and need to go on antidepressants for a while. I won’t be able to work in any government job, here or abroad, but at least I’ll keep my benefits.”

“That’s good, Tio,” another therapist said. “At least you’re getting the treatment you need.”

“The downside is that because your former family, none of you can continue treating me. It’s considered unethical. The interview panel said none of you can work here while I’m a patient. They’re sending you all to another country until three weeks after my discharge.”

“Got it,” they said. “We already figured as much. We’ve passed everything on to our colleagues, handed in our phones and computers, and left our offices as is. We’ve left the keys with the department head. Anything else, Tio?”

“Yes,” I stammered. “I don’t want to see any of you again. Nor do I want to hear from any of you. Once you leave, new locks will be installed in your offices with higher security. All recording devices will be destroyed. You four will have permanent restraining orders against you. If any of you come within 600 miles of me, you’ll be arrested and sent straight to prison with your kids. You won’t be visitors, you’ll be inmates. You were all part of the plan to kidnap and murder my one true love… Lee.”

The therapists left immediately, knowing that if they didn’t leave right then, they’d be arrested. I had no issue with them anymore. I just needed to move on with my life and learn to live without Lee by my side. I am going to miss her terribly but I know that she and Anthony are somewhere out there alive and safe.