I looked at the clock as I sat at my desk. It was just a few minutes before 4:00 pm. In about an hour, I would be heading home to start the weekend. I always looked forward to weekends, but this one was special. Tomorrow – Saturday – marked 20 years since I married Katie, and I couldn’t wait to whisk my lovely bride away for a weekend of wild sex at the lakeside resort cabin I had reserved.

I picked up the photo of Katie I kept on my desk and looked at it closely. It was a picture she gave me years ago. It was transcribed, “To the love of my life, Tom.” That’s me, by the way – Thomas West – Tom to my friends and family.

Katie and I were high school sweethearts who married shortly after graduating from high school. Katie insisted we wait until our wedding day to have sex. She said it would make our honeymoon that much better. I have to admit – she was right.

My parents were happy for us and gave me a check for $100,000 and keys to a townhouse they used as a rental property. “Just to get started,” my father told me at the time. The money, he explained, was the first payment from a $5 million trust fund he first set up for me shortly after I was born. And, he added, I would receive a similar payment every year.

He told me he started the fund not long after my birth mother died. I knew that she had died not long after my birth, but I never pressed him about it and he never talked about her. About a year after she died, he remarried, and that was the woman I knew as “Mom.”

I considered joining the military after graduating, but was turned down, thanks to the fact that I had been diagnosed with diabetes as a child. It was kept under control with diet and a regimen of pills I took every day, but I didn’t let that stop me from playing football or taking martial arts classes.

Katie and I went to college together. She wanted to be a teacher and I wanted to follow my Dad into the business world. Our plans were interrupted when Katie became pregnant with our only child, Jim, just six months after we married. Katie had a very difficult time giving birth to him and on the advice of our doctor, had her tubes tied after he was born. She took time off from college to take care of our son, and went back after he started kindergarten. She got her teaching certificate and went to work at a local elementary school.

In the meantime, I finished my degree and went to work for Ryder Industries as an accountant. I remember the day I told Dad about my job.

“Ryder Industries, huh?” he asked. Ryder Industries had been in business for nearly 75 years and was a very well-established company dealing with manufacturing and logistics. They had a huge client base across the country and an impressive portfolio with a lot of potential for growth.

“Yeah,” I told him. “They’re starting me off as an accountant. Good pay, and the benefits are terrific.”

“Good. I’m proud of you, son,” he said. “I hope it works out for you.”

I remember being somewhat perplexed by the way he made his comment. I could tell that while he was proud of me, there was something else bugging him. I considered asking him about it, but held back. My father wasn’t one to volunteer any more information than necessary, and I knew that bugging him about it wouldn’t get me anywhere. So I dropped it.

The next 16 years were what you might call “normal.” We worked, came home, took care of our family – lather, rinse, repeat. My job didn’t require any travel except for the occasional seminar, but we did take time out for an annual vacation, usually during the summer months when Katie didn’t have to work.

I quit taking marital arts classes about five years into the marriage due to time constraints. Raising a child on top of working and taking care of a house tends to do that, I guess. I didn’t talk about my job very often, but my father did suggest a few times that I consider exploring my options. I couldn’t help but wonder why he would suggest that, but let it drop.

As a whole, Katie and I were happy. Sure, we had ups and downs like every married couple, but overall, things were good. Our love life was pretty stable, but dropped off a bit as we got older. About a month or so ago, though, I began to notice some changes in Katie. At first I chalked it up to the fact that school was out and she didn’t have to go to work every day.

She had periods where she became withdrawn and aloof. A few times, she had gotten a bit snippy with me. I couldn’t figure out what it was I had done, and tried to talk to her about it. She would just dismiss me with a wave of her hand before stomping away. A bit later, she would come back, apologizing for her behavior.

That was about the time I learned I was being considered for a vice president’s position that just opened up. I was told I was one of two people vying for the slot. I learned later the other person being considered was Alex Marlow. Alex was a good man who deserved a promotion, but I thought I was a better fit for the job. I didn’t say anything to anyone about the promotion, choosing to wait until I knew definitely one way or the other, so I didn’t think that had anything to do with it.

Then it hit me. Things were changing around the house. Jim had just graduated from high school and had accepted an appointment to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. In fact, he was on his way there now. Perhaps, I thought, it was the idea of becoming empty-nesters that was bothering her.

That’s when I came up with the idea of a weekend getaway for our anniversary. I decided to make it a surprise for her, hoping that would snap her out of her funk.

My desk phone rang at 4:15, bringing me back to reality. I picked it up and was greeted by the voice of my secretary.

“Mr. West,” she said. “Mr. Henderson just called and said you need to go see him, ASAP.”

“Thanks, Rhonda,” I said. Jacob Henderson III – or “Jake,” as he liked to be called, was the CEO of Ryder, and when he demanded your presence, you didn’t keep him waiting. I figured he wanted to talk to me about the promotion.

I stood up, checked myself in the washroom mirror, adjusted my tie and headed to the elevator. On the way up, I pulled my smartphone out of my trouser pocket and set the audio record function to record for an hour, just in case. I always did that when I went into meetings for later review, just in case I might have missed something important. I put my phone back in my pocket just as the elevator stopped.

I got off on the 15th floor – the floor that housed all the company’s top executives – and made my way to Henderson’s suite, which took up much of one end of the floor. His PA, an attractive brunette named Brenda Harris, looked up at me when I walked in.

“Mr. Henderson is expecting you, Mr. West,” she said with a slight smirk. I wondered what brought on the smirk. What’s going on here, I asked myself. “Go on in.” I nodded my head and opened the double door to Henderson’s main office.

“Ah, Tom, come on in,” he said with a smile as he waved me inside. I came in and sat in the chair he indicated, which was directly opposite a couch and coffee table set up at one end of the office. “Get Mr. West something to drink, will ya, Harvey?” he ordered, looking at a large man in a suit. I knew that Harvey Strauss was one of Jake’s personal security guards and wondered where the other guard was. Henderson always kept two guards near him at all times, for some reason which escaped me. I had heard rumors over the years, but none of them were ever confirmed.

Harvey poured some bourbon in a glass and handed it to me. I didn’t drink very often, but Harvey knew I preferred my bourbon neat, just like my father does. I accepted the glass and thanked him. Harvey nodded his head, but said nothing and didn’t even offer a smile. Come to think of it, I don’t think I ever saw the man smile.

Henderson walked to the couch and sat down. I noticed he had taken his jacket off and rolled up his shirt sleeves. Henderson was a big man, barrel-chested and muscular. He looked good for being in his mid 50s, I thought. He took a sip of his drink then set it on the coffee table and considered me for a moment before speaking.

“Go ahead,” he said with a smile. “Take a drink. It won’t kill ya to loosen up a bit.” I took a tentative sip of the bourbon before placing the glass on a coaster he had on the coffee table.

“Thank you,” I said. “What can I do for you today, Mr. Henderson?” Jake smiled before saying anything.

“That’s what I like most about you, Tom,” he said. “Always so polite, always so accommodating. I was telling Brenda a couple days ago that I don’t think I’ve ever seen you get agitated about anything. How are things on the home front, by the way? Everything okay between you and your wife?” I nodded my head.

“Yeah, everything is fine,” I said. “Our son just left for West Point, so we’re adjusting to that. I had planned on taking Katie out this weekend to celebrate our 20th anniversary.”

“Married 20 years?” Jake asked. “Congratulations. Well, I didn’t call you up here to shoot the shit. Not that I don’t like you – I do. I wanted to talk to you about the upcoming promotion. As you know, it’s between you and Marlow. There’s just one or two things the Board needs before making a decision.”

“I see,” I said. “And what does the Board need?”

“They want to know how flexible you are,” Jake said. “How you respond to stressful situations. How far you’re willing to go to achieve the company’s goals. You realize that when you become an executive, your work day doesn’t end at 5:00 the way it does now?”

“I figured that to be the case, at least to a point,” I said. “Surely the Board has seen my reviews, gone through my personnel file.”

“Yes, of course they have,” Jake said. “But they need more. They need to see for themselves how you might react under fire, so to speak.”

“I’m sorry, Mr. Henderson, but I’m afraid I don’t quite understand,” I said. He smiled and took another sip of bourbon.

“You will, my boy,” he said. “Tell me, how solid is your marriage?”

“Very solid, Mr. Henderson,” I said, taking another sip of my drink. “Why?”

“That’s good to hear. You see, I’m afraid you’re going to have to cancel your weekend plans,” he said. “If your marriage is as solid as you say, I’m sure your wife will understand.” He looked at Harvey and gave a slight nod.

Harvey went to another door, opened it and came back to stand behind my chair. I felt a bit uncomfortable with that and wondered what was about to happen. Then I saw the other guard, Lenny Jameson, come through the door, but he wasn’t alone. Katie was with him. He led her to Henderson and stepped back. I was shocked at what I saw.

Katie wore a very short backless dress. The front of her dress was open all the way to her waist and it was clear she wasn’t wearing a bra. The hem of the dress fell just a couple inches below her ass. She looked in my direction but didn’t seem to recognize me. I looked at her face and saw her eyes. She appeared to be drugged and I thought I saw something white on one nostril.

“Katie,” I said. “What are you doing here? Why are you dressed like that?” She looked at me but didn’t respond. Her eyes appeared to be glazed over and it was obvious she had been drugged. I looked back at Henderson.

“What is the meaning of this?” I asked. “Why is she here, dressed like that? She’s obviously drugged. What did you give her?” He laughed at my question.

“Oh come on, Tom,” he said. “You’re a smart boy. What do you think she’s doing here? And yes, I gave her a little something – something I cooked up myself. Makes ‘em hot, wet and compliant. Keeps ‘em that way for a very long time. I even gave her three times the normal dosage.” He nodded at Lenny, who untied the strip of cloth at the back of her neck.

When he let it go, her breasts were exposed. I could see her nipples were hard. Henderson reached up and tweaked one of her nipples. Katie didn’t respond. I started to stand up, but I found that I couldn’t move my arms or legs. What the hell? Then it hit me – Harvey put something into my drink as well. But what?

Henderson looked at me, an evil grin on his face. He looked back at Lenny, who was standing behind Katie, and nodded his head. Lenny unzipped her dress and let it fall to the floor. Except for her high heels, Katie was now completely naked. That’s when I saw that she had been shaved. Still, she didn’t move. Henderson reached out and stroked her shaved pussy then looked back at me.

“I prefer my women shaved,” he said. “Don’t you?”

“She’s not your woman,” I said angrily.

“Oh, now you’re getting agitated, I see,” he said. “And we’re only getting started.” He reached out and ran his finger along her slit before inserting one finger into her pussy. Katie closed her eyes and gasped but made no move to get away from him.

“Get the fuck away from my wife,” I blurted out in rage as Harvey held me down with both hands. Henderson looked at me and laughed.

“Or what?” he asked menacingly. “You’ll kick my ass? Unless I miscalculated, you can’t even move right now.”

“Get away from her, you son of a bitch,” I growled. Henderson laughed again and unzipped his trousers. He dropped his trousers and boxers and motioned to Lenny. The big man pushed Katie down on her knees in front of Henderson.

“Watch this, little man,” Henderson said. He turned to Katie. “Suck, bitch.” Katie obediently opened her mouth as she took Henderson’s cock in her hand. “Suck it all down your pretty little throat.” Katie put his cock in her mouth and began sucking him. I tried to fight against Harvey’s grip, but was unable to move. I sat there helpless as Katie eagerly sucked Henderson’s cock.

“You motherfucking son of a bitch,” I yelled. Henderson looked at me before sitting down, his erect cock pointing up. He took Katie by the arms and sat her down on his lap facing me. As I was forced to watch, he easily slid his cock into Katie’s wet pussy. Katie began fucking him, rocking her body back and forth. She slid up and down on him and I could see her juices on his cock.

“Your wife’s pussy sure is tight, West,” he said. “I’m going to really enjoy this.”

Her eyes remained glazed as she moaned in pleasure. It was as if nothing else mattered to her and nothing else existed in her universe. Henderson began fucking into her hard, and soon, he erupted inside her. I could see his semen flowing out of her as he extracted himself. He pushed her off of him and glared at me with a sneer.

I was trembling with rage at this point and I fought to break free from Harvey, but I still couldn’t move my arms. I looked at Katie, who was masturbating furiously on the couch, her legs spread wide. It was as if nothing mattered except her next orgasm. I looked back at Henderson.

“I’m going to fucking kill you, you son of a bitch!” I yelled. Henderson simply looked at me with a smirk.

“Now, is that any way to talk to your own flesh and blood?” he asked. “Such language. And in front of your dear sweet wife.”

“She’s not going to be my wife much longer,” I said angrily. “And what do you mean, flesh and blood?”

“Oh, you mean no one’s ever told you?” he asked.

“Told me what?” I responded.

“How my father knocked up your birth mother in front of her husband?” Henderson said with a sneer. “That’s right, West, you and I are half-brothers.”

“That’s not true,” I said, shocked. “Why are you doing this?”

“Several reasons, actually,” he said. “First off, because I’m the CEO and I can do whatever the fuck I want. Call it executive privilege if you wish. Secondly, I’ve always wanted to cuckold my little half-brother. You don’t think I brought you on board because of your grades or your abilities, did you?”

“You mean,” I began.

“That’s right, West,” he said. “I knew your birth mother’s husband when he worked here for my father. I was a young man at the time, not even out of high school. I worked here during the summer and on weekends, mostly in the mail room. I worked my way up the ladder and here I am holding the job my father once had. I kept a loose tab on you and when I saw you had graduated from college, I put out the word that if you applied for a job here that you were to be hired.”

“You’ve been planning this all along?” I asked.

“Of course,” he said. “I call it the ‘long game.’ I knew this time would come. It was only a matter of time. And now, I own your ass. And I own your wife. That brings me to the third reason I’m doing this. I intend to take back what was taken from my father.”

“What do you mean, taken from your father?” I asked. “I never met your father.”

“No, but the man you call ‘Dad’ did,” Henderson said. “He sued my father and the company. Where do you think the money for your trust fund came from? Now I intend to take back what’s mine. And I’m going to take it out of your wife’s ass.”

“You’re sick, you know that?” I asked. He shrugged his shoulders.

“Maybe,” he said. “It is what it is. So, here’s how it’s going to work, Tom. You’re not going to divorce your wife. She’s going to need the extra money to help support her new lifestyle. As I said before, she belongs to me now. She will become my personal corporate whore, and you’re never to touch her again. She is to be available to me on a moment’s notice 24/7. In fact, I’m taking her to New York for a couple days or so to introduce her to the Board. They’ve taken an interest in her as well. Don’t worry. I’ll bring her back, maybe a bit worse for the wear.”

“You’ll never get away with this,” I said. He laughed.

“I already have,” he said. “And there’s not a damn thing you can do to stop me.” He looked at Lenny and nodded his head. Lenny stepped in front of me and smirked.

“Nothing personal, Mr. West,” he said. “I’ve always liked you. I’m just doing my job.” With that, he hit me in the face, hard. I saw stars and finally blacked out after the third punch.

...

I woke up and knew right away that I was in a hospital room. I could hear the buzzing and beeping from instruments attached to me and I saw the plastic IV that was in my arm. My mouth was dry and my head hurt something awful.

I looked around and saw my Dad sitting in a chair next to my bed. He heard me stir and looked over at me. He looked like he hadn’t slept in ages. He saw me try to speak and called for a nurse. A young woman in a nurse’s uniform came into the room and checked my vitals before giving me an ice chip to suck on. She gave me another after the first had melted. After I had a couple more chips, I licked my lips and tried to speak.

“How long?” I asked.

“You’ve been here for about four days,” Dad said as the nurse left the room to get the doctor.

“Four days?” I asked, shocked. “That means this is...”

“Tuesday,” my father said. “I got a call from the hospital late Friday afternoon. They said you were dumped in front of the Emergency Room. You’ve been out ever since. What happened to you, son?”

“Later,” I said, seeing the doctor come into my room.

“Good afternoon, Mr. West, I’m Doctor Pierce,” he said. “I’m glad to see you back with us. How do you feel?”

“Like I’ve been run over by a truck,” I said. “I hurt all over.”

“I don’t doubt it,” he said. “You took quite a beating. Nothing’s broken, but you do have a couple of bruised ribs and you had a slight hematoma. We were concerned that you might have suffered a concussion.” He checked me out and made notes in my chart. “We’re going to get some X-rays done, and I want to keep you over one more night for observation. If all goes well, we’ll be able to let you go home tomorrow. I took the liberty of calling the police. It was quite obvious to me you had been attacked and we have an obligation to report possible criminal activity. I know they want to speak with you. Do you think you’re up to that?”

“Yes, doctor,” I said. “Most definitely.”

“Alright,” he said. “I’ll call them and maybe they’ll be here by the time you get back.” He motioned to the nurse, who made a call. A few minutes later, I was taken to Radiology for X-rays. When I got back to my room, a man in a suit was talking to my Dad. After I was situated, the suit pulled out a set of credentials and introduced himself.

“Mr. West, I’m Detective Ryan Blackstone,” he said. “Can you tell us how this happened?”

“Yes, I can,” I told him, taking a sip of water. I told him everything I could, then remembered my phone. “Did you find my phone?” I asked my father.

“Yes,” he said. “Your mother brought a charger and plugged it in. I figured you might need it.” He unplugged the phone, which had been sitting on the table next to my bed, and handed it to me. I noticed there were some text messages from a couple numbers I didn’t recognize and decided to check those out later.

I found the audio I had recorded and played it back for the detective. We could hear everything, including the blows to my body. I paid special attention to what happened after my beating.

“Alright, get him outta here,” we heard Henderson say to the two guards. “Take him out the back way and drop him off at the hospital. If anyone asks, just say you found him that way, understand?”

“Got it, boss,” I heard Lenny say. We heard movement, probably from the guards moving me. Then we heard them talking as they tossed me in the back of the car.

“Careful,” Harvey said. “Don’t wanna get blood on the seats.”

“I’m trying, but he’s one heavy son of a bitch,” Lenny said.

“Aren’t they all?” Harvey said, laughing. We heard doors slamming shut, then the recording ended.

“We have video from the hospital security system,” Ryan said. “According to that, they drove up, opened the door and tossed you into the parking lot before driving away. A couple of ER techs saw you laying there and brought you inside. We were able to make out the license plate of the car. It’s registered to Ryder Industries.”

“I called your HR Monday morning to let them know where you were, and they told me that Henderson already said you’d be out on sick time for a week,” Dad said.

“Any word from Katie?” I asked. Dad shook his head.

“No, son,” he said. “None. I tried calling your house and her cell ever since I got the call from the hospital. I left voicemails but I haven’t heard anything from her.”

“She’s probably still in New York,” I said. “God only knows what they’re doing to her.”

“I’ll put an APB – All Points Bulletin – out for her,” Ryan said. “Do you have a recent photo of her?”

“I do,” I said, pulling up my photos.

“Good,” he said. “Send that to me along with a copy of that audio recording. I’ll send the picture to the NYPD and ask them to do the same. I’ll also swear out an arrest warrant for Henderson and his goons and forward that to the NYPD as well. I’m assuming you want us to press charges.”

“Absolutely,” I said.

“Alright,” he said. “We’ll take it from here, Mr. West. You just rest and let the professionals do their job, okay?”

“Okay, Detective,” I said. “Thanks.”

“We’ll be in touch,” Ryan said. “We may have some questions later.” He pulled out a business card and handed it to me. “Call if you think of anything else.” After he left the room, I looked at my Dad.

“Is what Henderson said true?” I asked.

“Yes and no,” Dad said. “It’s true that his father had his way with your birth mother and it’s true he made me watch. But it turned out your mother was already pregnant when that happened. She just didn’t know it at the time.”

“What happened?” I asked.

“Well, after it happened, I filed for divorce,” he said. “She kept telling me it was just a mistake, that she still loved, you know, all the usual bullshit. I wasn’t about to hear it, though. I moved into the guest bedroom and refused to have anything to do with her. I also filed an alienation of affection lawsuit against Henderson and the company for allowing it to happen. You could still do that back in those days. Shortly after that, she learned she was pregnant and the court made us wait until after you were born before going any further.”

“Couldn’t you get a DNA test done?” I asked.

“You were born in 1982,” Dad said. “That was before they used DNA for paternity. We had blood tests done, but those were inconclusive. It turned out that you, me, your birth mother and Henderson all have the same blood type. I won’t bore you with all the details, but things just got worse around the house. Your birth mother started abusing alcohol and drugs and died of an overdose about six months after you were born.”

“Damn,” I said.

“The lawsuit against Henderson and Ryder went on, and we settled out of court,” my father said. “That’s where I got the money to start your trust fund. As part of the settlement, I agreed not to disclose any of the particulars about the case. That’s why I couldn’t tell you anything. About a year after all that, I met Patricia. She fell in love with you the moment she laid eyes on you. Insisted on adopting you after we got married. She wasn’t able to have kids of her own, but in her mind, you were, and ARE, her son.”

“So how did you learn that I really am your son?” I asked.

“You remember that motorcycle accident you had when you were 16?” he asked. I remembered that all too well. I was riding on the back of Jimmy Riordan’s bike one day. He was usually very careful, but that day he hit a slick spot on the road and we took a tumble. Fortunately, we both wore helmets and that’s what saved our lives. I still got banged up pretty good, though.

“Yeah, I remember,” I said.

“Well, I had the hospital do a DNA test,” he said. “I just HAD to know the truth one way or another. The test came back and showed there was more than a 99 percent chance I am your father. Which means that your birth mother was already pregnant with you when Henderson took her.”

“Well, as far as I’m concerned, you ARE my Dad, no matter what any test might say,” I told him, causing him to smile. “What happened to Henderson?” I asked.

“He died of a stroke about the time you went to college,” Dad said. “His son stepped up and became the CEO. I had hoped the younger Henderson had learned from his father’s mistakes, but it seems I was wrong.”

“That’s why you weren’t too enthusiastic about my going to work there, isn’t it?” I asked. He nodded his head.

“Yes,” he said. “I wanted to tell you, but I couldn’t. I wish to God I had now.”

“It’s not your fault, Dad,” I said. “I just don’t know how Katie could’ve fallen for his bullshit. After all these years, it just doesn’t make any sense.”

“Who knows,” Dad said. “It sounds like she was drugged and had no control.”

“She may have been drugged, but something just doesn’t sound right,” I said. “What was she doing there in the first place? And wearing that dress?” Just then we heard a tap at at the door. “Yes?” I hollered out. The door opened and Brenda popped her head into the room.

“Can I come in?” she asked meekly.

“Sure, Brenda,” I said. “Come on in. What do you want?” She held a vase full of flowers and a large card.

“I wanted to bring this by,” she said. “Everyone in the office chipped in and bought it for you. They also signed the card.”

“Thanks, Brenda,” I said. “Set the flowers down over there,” I added, pointing to the counter next to the bed. She handed me the card and set the flowers down. Then she turned to face me.

“I want you to know I’m really sorry about all this,” she said.

“You knew what Henderson planned to do?” I asked.

“I knew he was planning something with your wife,” she said. “I didn’t know about ... this,” she added, pointing at me.

“What happened?” I asked.

“He gave me a company credit card that morning and told me to pick your wife up,” she said. “Said she was expecting me. He instructed me to take her out and buy her the shortest, sexiest dress we could find and take her down to have her hair done. He also insisted she have a bikini wax done. A full Brazilian wax. I had a pretty good idea what he intended. It’s not the first time he’s done it.”

“So your boss uses you to prepare his whores?” Dad asked. Brenda’s face turned red and she had the good sense to look down. “Did you know he drugged her?”

“He drugs all the women he sleeps with, Mr. West,” she said. “He likes to experiment. Said he wants to create a ‘Super Ecstasy’ or something.”

“Has he ever used it on you?” Dad asked. She nodded her head.

“Once,” she said. “He gave me a tiny bit. Said it was just a quarter of a dose. Had me going for an hour or so.”

“You know how much he gave my wife?” I asked. She shook her head.

“No, I don’t,” she said.

“He said he gave Katie three times the normal dose,” I said. Her eyes widened and she brought her hands to her face.

“Oh my God,” she said. “I had no idea. Your poor wife was probably climbing the walls for hours. I’ll bet she didn’t even know you were in the room. That stuff really does a job on you.”

“When I came into your office, you knew what was going to happen, didn’t you?” I asked. She nodded her head.

“I knew,” she said. “But I didn’t know he was going to have you roughed up like this. Honest.”