“Wow!” was my sole quiet comment before flicking my cigarette bud into John’s garden, earning me another disapproving look from Grandpa, and walking back inside.
They were staring Logan down as he was sitting on the sofa looking like a beaten dog.
“What did I miss?” I asked them.
“Nothing.” Uncle John sighed.
“All right. Let me take over, then.” I said, as I turned towards the sofa.
Instantly there were a lot of concerned glances coming my way while Logan pushed himself further into the cushions, as if he hoped the piece of furniture would swallow him up. I guess they thought I would try to beat the truth out of him, because there was a breath of relief going through the room as I sat down in the armchair opposing him.
“I already know about the videos, Logan. I also already know how many you took and what they show.” I informed him, so he knew how useless an attempt at lying would be.
“How!?” Maggie asked.
“I have remote access to all of his devices. Phone, laptop, even his Smart-TV.” I said, matter of fact.
“Wait! Do you have access to all of my ... our devices as well?” Maggie asked, afraid.
“Anyway,...” I said, answering her question by ignoring it. “No sense in telling me made up crap, Logan. Just tell me what’s going on so I can deal with it.”
“So
“And just how exactly do you plan to contribute?” I asked, while rubbing the bridge of my nose. This was just going to be one of those days. “Do you have any experience in dealing with blackmail? Or data recovery? Or device security? That’s all things I deal with at work. You feel confident in going against armed men trying to extort money and sex from you? Remember, with the material Golden Boy gave them, getting the police involved would be a guaranteed prison sentence. For you!”
When Aunt Danielle didn’t respond, I continued.
“Logan?” I said in an expectant tone.
“I owe them some money.” Logan finally spoke in resignation.
“Define ‘some’ money.” Uncle John asked.
“About ... sixteen-thousand dollars.” he answered quietly.
“How much have you already paid back?” I asked.
“Maybe eight?” he said, uncertainty in his voice.
How the fuck could this moron not know EXACTLY how much money he gave away!? And how the fuck could it be just $8,000!? Claire took $2,200 from my bank account after she already gave him as much as she could!
“Does that number line up with what you gave him?” I asked Claire and Aaron, who looked at each other for a moment before nodding, though the shared look told me they had given him a lot more than six grand. Even after all this, they still covered for him.
“Fine...” I sighed, feeling my anger rising again. “How many of your videos do they have?”
Logan hesitated, his eyes wandering over the people surrounding us. “All of them.” he finally answered quietly, causing the rest of the assembly to look at me questioningly.
“Everyone but Granny and Gramps are on those. And me, of course.” I answered their silent question, causing a collective wail to ripple through the group. “And they are explicit enough to earn each and every one of you a prolonged prison stay. Apart from Ava and Maggie, of course, since he hasn’t made any videos since he left for college. They were still underage in the ones he has.” I added.
Uncle John went to a cabinet and got himself a Whisky, but was quickly joined by all the other adults in the room.
“Good Idea.” I said and turned to Ava. “Princess, go to the kitchen and get us some beers.”
She looked at me in amazement, then quickly at the parents who gave her a short nod, and finally at Logan. Logan, she watched longer. He was still sitting there, shoulders slumped, and head bowed. Ava’s eyes came back to me, and I felt like she was appraising me in some way before she finally got up and walked into the kitchen.
I used the time to go over my options. When she came back and we had taken our first sip of our beers, Maggie spoke.
“So ... at least we’re fine?” she asked carefully.
“Sure!” I cheerfully confirmed, but the cheerful tone slowly morphed into annoyance as I further explained the situation to her. “If your definition of ‘being fine’ involves your parents going to prison for a decade or two, and me into a group home after the media told the whole nation about your sexlife, then yes, we’re absolutely fucking fine!”
That caused her to keep quiet for the rest of the discussion.
“You wouldn’t go into a group home!” Grampa argued, accompanied by Granny, who was still comforting Claire, nodding vehemently. “You just said Susy and I are not in those videos, so you could just stay with us!”
I had thought about the possible consequences of their activities since I learned about them, so I knew what this situation meant for us. How could they have done all this for so long, and never prepared themselves for being discovered? I was growing more frustrated and irritated with these people by the minute, and it made its way into my voice.
