The Devil You Know: Chapter 35

By the time that Viki and Blair sat down at the Metrocourt’s restaurant, Tina had arrived, having been called by Viki.  Blair offered the redhead a small smile, as she had at last come to an understanding with Todd’s other sister.  Drinks were ordered and Blair began to tell them what had been happening.


“Todd and I were having a meeting today with Lucy about the Nurses Ball.  Then, without warning, Todd turned white as a sheet and passed out.  But before that, he said ‘Peter’.  And since we got back from the trip, he’s been acting, I’d almost say, haunted,” Blair told the sisters.

“He has been acting off,” agreed Tina.  “He gave me a hug for no reason and he’s been almost…kind as well,” Tina told Viki. 

“And I know the trip to Chicago affected him more than he’s saying,” Blair said.

Viki shook her head.  “When I called him about it, all he mentioned was meeting with a Connie Bensoncroft.  But now, I just met Harry.  Todd didn’t say a word about him to me.”

Blair smiled.  “Harry was his mother’s last husband, like Todd said downstairs,” she began.  Then she told them about the visit.  “When we arrived at his house, it was filled with pictures of Todd, from the time he was a baby.  In fact, I have some back at the house, if you’d like them.  Harry gave us a lot.”  Blair shook her head at the memory.  “They were all that Peter allowed Barbara Manning to take from the marriage.”

Viki looked down at her plate.  “That poor woman.  I can’t imagine what she went through, not being allowed any contact with her son.  And it was all because of Father’s will.”

“I don’t think you’ll be too offended by this comment Viki, but between your father and Peter Manning, they have both done a number on Todd,” Blair said.

Viki offered a grimace in return.  “Blair, when you were in Chicago, what happened, really?”

Blair took a sip of her drink as she began.  “We met up with Harry at Barbara’s grave.  Then we went back to his house for lunch.  That was where all the pictures were.  And it went along very nicely.  But we brought up the divorce and that Peter had custody and Todd had to get out of the room.  I then filled in Harry on a lot of Todd’s life in Llanview until we were…interrupted.”

“Interrupted by what?” Tina asked.

Blair weighed what to reveal, but decided to tell then about Todd’s impromptu piano recital.  “Harry had a piano in his house.  It had been his wife’s, she taught on it.  Anyway, as we were talking, we could hear someone playing it.  When we went into the room to see who it was, we found Todd there.  And he was playing beautifully, with no sheet music out.”  Blair sat back, as shadow passing over her eyes.  “Viki, your brother has surprised me so many times in all the years I’ve known him.  But this, this shocked me the most.  And it turns out, it wasn’t the first time he had played.”  She pulled out the email copy of the recital article and handed it to Viki. 

Viki took it and read it over.  What it said surprised her.  She would never have pictured Todd playing anything, but much less being called a prodigy?  And yet, here was the story.  The picture that accompanied it was also surprising and sweet.  He was smiling widely, his hands on the piano keys.  As a tear slipped down her cheek, she handed the paper to Tina.

“He was such an adorable little boy,” Tina murmured vas she looked at the picture.  “I wish I’d known him.  I wish this was the brother we got.”

“Did Todd have a memory of playing the piano?” Viki asked.

“Not really.  Sam asked him, but he really didn’t answer it,” Blair replied.  “I actually got this article while we were at the reception.”  She looked sheepish for am minute.  “I learned something and had Spinelli do some digging the morning of the wedding.  Anyway, I pulled Victor aside to ask him about his piano playing. As in, if he remembered it from his childhood or from the memories of Todd’s he was given.  He said they were from Todd.”

Nobody said anything for a minute until Tina said, “Something must have happened to him to make him forget.”

“Something did,”  was Blair’s response.  “I also learned the night of this recital, Peter Manning beat his wife and put her in the hospital.  Todd saw it and ran off, ironically to Harry’s house.  He was a neighbor from down the street.  Later on Harry tried to convince Barbara Manning to leave Peter.  She finally did, but it was only after a few more years.”

“Oh, God!” Viki gasped. 

“Poor Todd,” Tina said.  She shook her head.  “That has to explain so much about him.”

“Harry tried to help Barbara get custody of Todd, before and after they got married, but because of the wording of the trust fund…”Blair’s voice trailed off.

“Peter Manning was able to keep custody,” Viki finished.

“From what Harry said, all Barbara Manning wanted to be was a mother.  And she was able to be, but it all got lost in wills and trust funds.  And the needs of the child were never the concern, by Peter or by the courts,”  Blair said.

“Why didn’t Barbara Manning go to Father with the information about what type of man Peter Manning was?” Tina wondered allowed.  “I mean, wouldn’t he have wanted his son to be raised by someone who actually wanted him?”

Viki closed her eyes, a memory playing out in her head.  When she opened them again, she looked at Blair.  “The day Todd met with the literary trustees, ‘Jean’ brought out Father’s diary from the time of Todd’s birth.  It was shockingly…clinical.  Not a breath of concern or caring that he was giving his son away.  And no concern for what it was doing to Irene.”

“Maybe that’s why Mother seemingly went crazy.  Victor Lord was basically throwing away his son and she wanted to get revenge?” Tina asked.

“Whatever the reason, Peter Manning did a lifetime of damage to Todd.  Then his parents inflicted more on him, even while barely being there.  And my fear is that he will never recover,” Blair concluded.  She looked at her watch.  “Oh, goodness, I need to go pick up Sam from school.  Viki, Tina, we’ll see you at six.”  With that, Blair was gone. 

Clint and Cord approached the table a few minutes later and Cord and Tina left to get ready for dinner, while Clint joined his wife.  As the waiter was bringing drinks to them, Harry Redding entered the restaurant.  He noticed the Buchanans and came over to their table.  “I hope I’m not interrupting you, Mrs. Buchanan, but I was wondering if I can talk to you about the trust that was set up for Todd.  I have a few questions that may be relevant to my case.”

Viki offered a smile and motioned to an empty chair.  “Please, call me Viki.  Whatever I can help you with, I would be more than happy to, but I’m afraid I may not know much.”

“Anything will be appreciated, Viki.  And please, call me Harry.”  He sat down and ordered a glass of tonic.  “From what Todd told me, he received the money when he was twenty-five.  Were you aware of this bequest before that time?”

“I never knew Irene Manning had any other children by my father.  I learned of Tina when she was in her twenties and it wasn’t until a man showed up in town with her diary that I learned there was a son.  He turned out to be pulling a con job on me and my family, but in the end, he slipped up enough that my sister Tina learned who was really the heir.”  Viki realized it was a bit of a whitewash, but she didn’t really want to air all of their dirty laundry to a virtual stranger.  “In fact, I was one of the last to learn the truth and I didn’t believe it at first.  I’d known Todd for a few years before that, he was a fraternity brother of our son Kevin and he drew Kevin into…a mess.”

“The rape,” Harry said simply.

“Yes.  But Todd is very different then he was then,” Viki quickly added.  “In any case, even after we learned the truth, we tried to keep our distance from Todd.  And at the time, I was going through emotional turmoil.  I wasn’t in the best frame of mind to deal with another sibling.”  Viki let out a short laugh.  “I was just mentioning this to Tina and Blair.  The day we met with the trustees, I brought my father’s diary and the way he wrote about his dealing with Irene and the Mannings were like reminder notes.”         

“Victor never mentioned he had a son?”  Harry asked. 

“My father never mentioned any of his other children.  And then last year, the whole family learned that Todd had a twin brother, who was brainwashed to believe he was Todd,” 

“Interesting.  How is the other brother factored into the trust?”

“He’s not.  In fact, Todd and he have come to blows over it.  Eventually, Todd spilt the inheritance.  With Todd now in Port Charles and Victor, his brother, still in Llanview, they each have fifty-one/forty-nine shares of the two media properties,” Viki explained. 

“And Peter Manning was paid out of the trust for Todd’s care?”

“That was how it was supposed to be.  But it was plainly obvious that Todd had no knowledge of who he was at the time, so that would lead to the contention that Pater never told him.  Todd didn’t even know he was adopted until just after Peter’s death,” Viki concluded. 

“Is there anyone with the trust that I can speech to about the legal details?  I would like a fuller picture and with all the subterfuge that went into this, they would be likely to have a greater knowledge of it,” Harry asked.

Viki gave him the information.  “Mr, Redding…” she began.

“Harry, please,” he corrected her.

“Harry, when we are over at Todd’s later, I would like to ask you, not to bring up this talk,” she requested.

“Viki, you have my assurances, I will not say a word.  If I need to talk to Todd about it, I will do it at another time,”  Harry responded.  “But, meeting the family he has shouldn’t sully anything that effects him from his past.”  With that, the lawyer left.

After he left, Clint looked over at Viki.  He knew that, even now, talking about her father took a lot out of her.  Add in what the old man had done to this other children, and Clint worried for his wife.  He took her hand and kissed it.

That simple gesture calmed her frayed nerves.  Even as the years went on, they still hadn’t lessened the cruelty of Victor Lord.  And it seemed that every year brought to light a new crime he had committed on his family.  Todd had said years ago that they were cursed and while she didn’t believe it, it did feel that way at times.  Looking at Clint’s loving face, though, soothed her.  “Thank you, for always being there.  Through all the craziness.  The lost children, and back from the dead brothers.”  Her mind flashed back to the worst time in her life and how Clint had been there for her, even though they weren’t together at the time.  “Through all of it.”

“That’s what you do for those you love,” Clint replied as he lifted her from her chair and out of the restaurant. 


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