The Brain vs The Heart - A Battle Royale
Chapter 18
It had been tough saying goodbye to Reid, especially the way it was done. They hadn’t gotten to kiss or hug or make plans or anything before Luke left the hospital to get on his plane to fly back to Illinois. He second guessed his decision to leave the entire flight home even though he knew their real lives continued with or without his permission. At that moment, Luke would have very much liked to just forget everything that wasn’t Reid. Or, just forget everything and have a drink. Instead he did neither. After considering spending the afternoon he suddenly had free at Grimaldi shipping, but decided against it. He needed companionship. He wanted to feel safe and loved, so he took his unexpected free afternoon to go visit his dad. There was so much he wanted to tell someone about Reid. Lucinda was in Baltimore with John, Casey was in Carbondale, and he knew his mom was out of the question. He was certain that Holden would be there to listen to him. Holden was absolutely the right choice. Luke had missed being able to go to his dad for advice all those months he had been in prison.
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“How’s it going son?”
“Oh, good and bad…. I’m sorry I haven’t been around a lot since you’ve been back from your trip to Europe. I take it the latest search for Damian didn’t turn up anything?”
“No nothing, but we cut the trip short obviously because of Ethan’s accident. Luke listen, you shouldn’t be worried about what is going on with Damian. You have a life of your own.”
“This search for Damian is important; you are important. We can’t ever get back all those wasted months you spent in a Maltese prison dad.”
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February 2010
Luke didn’t know what to do. He and Noah just had their first major fight since Noah’s eyesight had been fully restored. Noah walked out on Luke even though he really needed him. Of course he had only walked out because Luke let him go. Or at least that is what he tried to convince himself. Luke could tell Noah’s primary focus had already returned to his film. Noah was on his way out the door for an edit session when Margo showed up with news that a body, positively ID’d as Damian Grimaldi had been recovered off the coast of Malta. Noah said of course he could stay, postpone his session if Luke really needed him to, but Luke could tell he wanted to be anywhere but dealing with another Snyder family crisis.
Luke couldn’t keep the sarcasm out of his voice. “Noah, don’t change your plans because of me.”
“Come on Luke, don’t be like that” came out in a long exaggerated sigh.
“You were on your way out the door, so go on. I know that’s what you want to do.”
“I can’t very well leave you while you’re still so upset.”
“I don’t want you to stay because you pity me.”
“I don’t pity you, but come on Luke. I just, well, it’s not like you were even that close to Damian anyway, and he has done some pretty awful things. You can’t really be that surprised about what has happened to him. He has enemies. We both know that.”
“I know that he wasn’t a saint, but he’s still my father.” A single tear ran down Luke’s face. He didn’t even know why he was crying. Sadness certainly wasn’t his primary emotion at the moment. Luke’s breath hitched as he continued to keep himself from breaking down. “Don’t worry Noah, go. It’s ok. I won’t make you out to be the bad guy, I promise. I have to figure out what I’m going to say to my mother anyway.”
“You’re sure? I don’t want this to turn into another THING.”
“No, it’s fine, go. I love you Noah.”
“I love you too Luke.”
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Breaking the news to his mother had been confusing and frustrating and really sad. Lily had gotten some ring that morning she thought was from Damian and Luke had to explain to her that the ring and note couldn’t have been real. She didn’t want to believe it at first. She refused to accept he had been murdered and called Margo to find out what on earth was going on. That is when things got a whole lot worse. Margo confirmed that not only was Damian dead, but that Holden was being questioned.
It took less than a week for the extradition process from beginning to end. The Grimaldi family’s name and influence in Malta had a lot of pull internationally and because of that the Maltese government managed to get Holden shipped off in no time. Tom Hughes had been worthless in trying to block the extradition. And there was no help from the US Attorney General. Luke had less than fifteen minutes with Holden before he was led away.
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Holden was scared. Scared of what could happen to him in a prison in a foreign county. But he was more afraid of losing his family, their love and trust. He needed Luke to believe in him, for them to be allies. To know he would be able to count on him to take care of his brother and sisters. “Son, please don’t blame me for this. You can’t possibly think I have anything to do with what happened to Damian could you?”
Luke was still in a state of complete confusion over the events of the last couple of weeks, but wanted to try and make Holden feel better if he could. “I’m not blaming you. Of course I don’t think you would have had anything to do with this.” He was however afraid. Afraid he wasn’t ready to handle what was going to happen to him if he lost a second dad in as many weeks. And all that fear came out as an accusation. “But now I have this company, and so much to deal with and I just….I need answers. I just want to know what happened to my father.”
Holden let his frustration get the best of him and lashed out. “I’m your father.”
Luke flinched like he’d been hit. He blinked back tears. “This isn’t a custody battle dad, my relationship with Damian…”
“You don’t have to explain.” Holden’s shoulders slumped like the weight of the world had landed squarely on them. “You’re right, he is your father.”
“But in a very different way than you are. You’re the guy who raised me.” Luke placed his hand on Holden’s arm. “You are, and always will be, my dad. I know how much you love me, and I love you just as much. Family is more than just DNA. I’m a Snyder… your son…. always have been, and always will be, don’t ever doubt that.” Luke did not want to hurt Holden any more than he already had but he knew he needed to be honest. “I know Damian has done some terrible, inexcusable things, and I’m not defending him. But I can’t deny that I have a connection with him.”
Holden considered that, strangely proud he had raised a man who could be that honest. “As long as you don’t excuse all of the things he did and put you through. I know this has to be hard on you. You trusted Damian again and he walked out on you. Just remember that you and your brothers and sisters mean the world to me. There is nothing that I wouldn’t do for you.”
Luke looked at Holden intently then, searching, almost begging for the reassurance he needed that everything wasn’t falling apart. Somehow he knew Holden wouldn’t be able to give it to him. It was time to grow up and be the man Holden had raised him to be. “The thing is, Damian is dead, and now you’re being blamed….. I don’t really know exactly how to feel about all this because he was my father, and I’d grown to love him, even though I know he hurt a lot of people. And you’re my dad too and I know you would never take him away from me. I don’t know, but that probably makes me some kind of pushover huh?”
“You’re not a pushover son, you’re honest….. I’m going to be honest with you too. Luke, Damian was never worried about you. He was just worried about saving his own skin. He needed to get out of the country fast. If he ended up dead, and that’s a big if in my book, then I can only give you my word that it wasn’t at my hands. You need to brace yourself for the fact that we may never know what actually happened to him.”
“I don’t think I can accept that.”
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May 2010
Luke made one trip to Malta to visit Holden. He had been trying to go for months but Holden kept refusing to see him. Luke and Lucinda hired a private investigator to look into Damian’s death, but so far no new evidence had turned up. As far as the Maltese government was concerned they had the right guy and there was nothing else to look for. When Holden finally walked up to Luke’s table in the community room of the prison Luke could barely recognize him. His dad had lost weight, and had several cuts and bruises in various stages of healing.
Luke was furious. “Who is doing this to you?”
Holden couldn’t look him in the eye “Luke, just leave it alone ok?”
“No it is not ok. I want to know right now who is hurting you dad.”
Holden spoke so softly Luke had to lean in closer to hear him. “There is just this one group of guards, it’s nothing, don’t worry about it.”
Luke was having none of it. He may have been ok getting walked on in every aspect of his own life but he wasn’t about to let anyone hurt his dad. Luke stood up and shouted to everyone in the large room, quickly getting the full attention of both inmates and guards “all of you listen to me very carefully. Do you know who I am?” He looked around standing as tall as possible for effect. “My name is Luciano Eduardo Grimaldi.” Luke could hear the murmurs go up around the room. “Do you see this man who is sitting down at this table below me? He is like a father to me. If I should hear about ANYTHING at all happening to him I will be very unhappy. Do I make myself perfectly clear?” Luke looked around to see pointing and nodding. Content that his little speech would have the desired effect he sat back down.
Holden looked over at him with admiration and relief. “You didn’t have to do that son.”
“Of course I did. It’s about time that damn name of mine helped someone instead of hurt them.” Luke rested his hand on top of Holden’s and they just sat that way for a very long time.
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September 2010
Lucinda and John Dixon had been in Amsterdam for 11 days when Lucinda spotted Damian sitting at an outdoor café. She managed to keep herself hidden from him even when her instincts were screaming to run over to him and claw his eyes out. Instead, she took a picture of him on her phone and grabbed his glass from the table after he got up and walked away. The fingerprints on the espresso cup along with the picture and sworn affidavits from Lucinda and John as witnesses to the fact that Damian was very much alive were enough for the US Attorney General to rescind the extradition and require Holden’s release. Luke flew the Grimaldi jet, which only seemed appropriate, over to pick him up and bring him home. They stood in an embrace for what seemed like forever when Holden walked through the doors a free man.
“You didn’t have to come all this way just to accompany me home son. I’m sure you had much better things to do with Noah.”
“Well actually dad, not so much.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s a long plane ride. I’ll explain it all on the way. Let’s get you back home where you belong.”
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Present
Standing with Luke at the farm on the cool fall day, Holden couldn’t express in words how much he loved him and Lucinda for sticking by him during those horrific seven months. His son had proven over and over that he wasn’t just a Snyder, he was Holden’s son in every possible way. “I’m glad you came for a visit son, don’t get me wrong, but you know I don’t expect you to drop everything just to weigh in on another one of your mother’s and my dramas.”
“So things are the same with you and her then? No getting back together this time? I wasn’t sure since you took this last Damian search together.”
“I don’t think so son….It’s just too hard. I can’t get past her re-marrying Damian again last year. Then on top of that she stood by him for so long, I think she really believed I murdered him. I know she’s your mother Luke, but the things she has put me through I just cannot forgive, even if it hurts you in the process.”
“I don’t want her to be forgiven dad. I just want you to be happy. As far as Damian goes, the only good thing to come out of him being in Oakdale that last time was that he left me the company. I may not have wanted it before, but now I do, and I’m good at running it. As far as everything else, I don’t want anything ever again from Damian Grimaldi.”
Holden couldn’t help but let a smile stretch across his face. “So….enough about all that. You must have had a better reason than Damian, your mother and I for taking the afternoon off to come visit your old man. Care to tell me what that reason might be?”
“Well, now that you asked” Luke said with a smile on his face.
No Reid in this chapter….so the score will remain the same: Brain…. 7, Heart 10