“No Luke. The boy buried there is not your son. Lucky is alive.” Emily watched Luke’s reaction. She hoped this wouldn’t be too much for him.
Luke looked stunned and worried. He couldn’t count the number of times he dreamed that Lucky was alive. He often thought he saw his son. Once in a while he embarrassed himself by calling Lucky’s name. He never got so bad that he told another person. What could have caused this? “Emily he is gone.”
Emily shook her head. “Lucky came to see me. He is alive.” She said plainly.
“Darlin’ I saw his body? Why are you doing this?” Emily’s insistence was really beginning to hurt him.
Emily looked annoyed. She knew Luke would have a hard time accepting this. However, she hoped Luke knew her well enough to know she wouldn’t hurt him. “I am not playing a game. Lucky is alive. I need to find him.” She looked deeply into his eyes as she spoke. She hoped her sincerity would be visible.
Luke decided to humor her for a moment. “You said he came to see you. When was this?” Luke asked. Maybe if he heard the whole story he could find a way to convince Emily it was all in her head.
A look of guilt appeared on Emily’s face. He was going to kill her. “I saw Lucky five years ago.” She said softly. She promised Lucky she wouldn’t tell Luke until he was ready to come home. Even knowing she had no other choice, Emily felt she betrayed Lucky.
“Darlin’ he died five years ago.” Luke answered. Suddenly everything was beginning to make sense.
“I saw Lucky in October. He “died” long before that.” Emily responded. Luke didn’t believe her. “I am telling the truth. Lucky is alive.”
Another situation seemed far more likely, Luke thought. “You were going through a rough time. Alan and Monica didn’t trust you. Nikky boy was to busy knocking up the Kitty Kat to be the friend you needed. Elizabeth couldn’t decide if she wanted to moon over Vlad Jr or Jason. The only person listening to you was Juan. You were taken from him. You needed a friend.” Luke explained harshly.
“Are you saying I invented Lucky?” Emily asked indignant.
“I do it too. When I a hurting I see him. I want to see him so badly that I imagine him. It seems real, for a while.” Luke responded. He understood Emily’s reaction. He didn’t understand why her hallucination stayed with her so long.
Emily shook her head. “I am not making this up. I am not crazy.” She stood to leave. She could find help elsewhere.
Luke panicked. He wanted to help her. He wanted to show her the truth. He didn’t want to admit he hoped she was right. “Tell me about seeing him. Was it from a distance? Did he speak?”
Emily softened. This couldn’t be easy for Luke. She should give him a break. “I saw him on the street. A couple of days later he showed up in my apartment. He stayed for a week. Then he disappeared.”
A week? His hallucinations never lasted for that long… Maybe… No. Luke wrestled in his mind. “Why didn’t you call me then?”
Emily blushed. If she had it to do over again she would. “He asked me not to. He wanted to tell you himself.”
Luke glared. “He didn’t. Why are you telling me now?”
Emily breathed in deeply. “I need your help.”
It was like pulling teeth. “About?”
Emily sighed. She had to tell him the whole story. “Lucky’s death was faked by a man named Caesar Faison. He worked with Helena to hold Lucky. They were going to use him as bait. Lucky escaped before they could do that.”
Luke looked at Emily. It seemed far-fetched. However, Faison worked with Luke. Could he have wanted Lucky to insure that he would receive all the diamonds? Was it something else? Did he really believe all this? “What did he do to my son?”
“You don’t want to know.” Emily said softly.
Luke nodded. He wanted to know. He needed to know. But he needed to prepare himself mentally for what he would hear. He knew that much. “You said you needed to find Lucky. Why now?”
“Faison started sending threatening letters. He shows up wherever I am. I have gotten away so far. I don’t know how long I will be able to do that. Lucky needs to know Faison is after him. I also need to remain safe.”
Luke looked concerned. “Why would Faison go after you? You spent a week with him five years ago. Why does he think hurting you will help him get Lucky or me?”
“It isn’t me he is after.” Emily said as she leaned over and hit button to page Claude.
Luke was dumbfounded. “Who?”