Quentin’s grim expression deepened as he shook his head and leaned forward. “That motherfucker wasn’t against child porn. He broke it off because he wanted a bigger cut.”
My mind raced from all the implications and before he could say more, I was already piecing together the rest.
I’d been played.
“Arthur was cashing in on the majority of the share because he was supplying the fresh talent. How do you think Arthur was so successful keeping his business undetected by the Feds? Mario was his eyes and ears, and for that, he believed it should have been a fifty-fifty partnership. When Arthur refused, Mario decided to break it off and start his own line of business while stealing from Arthur’s supply.”
“How do you know this?”
“Because I was his first recruit.”
Son of a bitch. “And Diana?”
“She was a convenience he made useful to get his business up and running.”
“He used his own daughter?”
“To him, he didn’t believe he was selling her. That motherfucker made us do sick shit to each other every day in front of a camera. We were just kids, man. We had no clue what we were doing. He coached us through it. Showed us what to do. When we complained too much, he beat us.”
“And then what happened?” I asked though I already knew.
“You showed up.”
“How did my appearance change things? I wasn’t there long before he brought me to the States.”
“Mario is sloppy as hell and isn’t as nearly as careful as he thinks. I overheard a lot of his business dealings. I didn’t understand much of it then, but I remember all of it. The bureau got word of him spending too much of his time outside of the United States jurisdiction. Arthur had business dealings in Canada, as you know, and within the States. They pulled him from the case because he had apparently failed to bring the bureau evidence that would allow them to convict or at least bring him in with a good chance of the charges sticking.”
“He was found out.”
“Big time. The bureau began investigating Mario. He lost his job, but the only reason they weren’t able to convict was because he was never caught with anything illegal.”
“Meaning us.”
“Bingo. He brought us here to save his own ass. Being caught with us meant a conviction and time behind bars and becoming the bitch of a beefy inmate named MacDaddy.”
“Where was Diana being kept? I never met her.”
“With her mother, I assume. We were never left together long before and after sessions. He brought her in when he wanted to film and she always left after.”
“Why would he bring Diana here knowing you lived in the same city? He had to know I would find out.”
“He wouldn’t think you’d care.”
“Why do you say that?”
“You impressed a lot of people back then, Keiran. You were able to channel your emotions and throw away childhood possibilities and become what they needed of you.”
“Are you trying to say they broke me?”
“Didn’t they?”
“I wasn’t afraid. I didn’t show fear.”
“But how much did you let them take from you?”
Quentin was actually older than I was by two years. Without medical records, we were able to lie about his age. Somehow, even then, we knew the significance of staying together. Q spent months in foster care while the agencies and local law enforcement attempted to track down his parents, but after nearly a year, no one stepped forward to claim him. He was eventually taken into the care of a couple. We’d never spoken about it before, but I knew he had possessed a small ounce of hope that he would find his parents. The parents who likely sold him to buy a hit or a beach house in Malibu. It just all depended on how much they thought he was worth.
“You were there, man. You did the same as I did. You made the same sacrifices.”
“And when I was finally free, I was able to let go. Can you say the same?”