Time: Present Day

Location: HereAfter

Carter was beginning to understand. "So you're saying Amelia's my Mum, and she was raped, and this Peter from next door is my real Dad not Roger? Is that what you are trying to make me believe Teacher?"

"Was she raped Carter Cheval? Have you been paying attention? I fear not."

"That's what my uncle thinks!" Carter offered.

"You are not your uncle, Carter Cheval." Teacher ventured.

"Do you have to keep using my surname like that. It's starting to piss me off. Can't you just call me Carter or Cart?" he asked.

"You will be many Carters, Carter Cheval. In time it will become clear to you why I call you this, and it's not just to piss you off as you so elegantly put it."

"Calmer dear Carter, watch and really see and feel," said Amelia, "I'm sad that you are upset that I'm your real Mum not my sister."

Carter felt bad but said nothing. He realised he didn't have to . . . She already felt . . . she could read his mind. . shit, this is awkward he thought. She laughed.

"Okay I will play along. So where's my Dad - Peter? What happened to him?" Carter asked himself.

Teacher answered, "Watch and learn how cruel some can be, and how your life can be changed forever, depending on the choices you make."

Tony and Peter were in Amelia's room. She had been out of intensive care for a day now. Monique and Jean asked had Don if Tony could interview her with Peter present to try get to the bottom of all this . . . the true bottom. They had already assured Don and Vera that they were prepared to give Peter the benefit of the doubt until proven otherwise. Not so Uncle Tony though.

Carter watched as Tony tried to do a job on Peter.

"Hi honey," Tony said to Amelia. Amelia ignored him and gushed a flirty hello to Peter. Peter blushed. She thought he looked so cute, then she saw the handcuffs. She could see her parents were just outside the door with Peter's Dad and Mum.

"Amelia . . . I need you to tell me if this is the man who raped you." Amelia was speechless! "It's okay, you don't have to be scared of this little prick. I've got handcuffs on him!"

Amelia got really upset now and called out to her Mum. "Please Mum . . . we need to talk!"

"It's alright, Amelia, you just have to formally identify him and I'll take it from there. You won't have to worry about this bastard ever again." Tony gestured to the Chevals to stay outside . . . wait. . . . outside. He held up his hand in a stop signal.

Peter finally broke his silence, "I didn't rape anyone let alone, Amelia. I love her! We are going to get married. Aren't we Amelia? Tell them, Amelia, pleeease."

Amelia was taken off guard but recovered quickly, "Peter didn't rape me. I want my Mum in here."

Tony reluctantly indicated that Monique, just Monique, could come in.

They hugged and kissed, the tears flowed on both sides, "I'm so sorry" Amelia said.

Her Mum said, "No it's me that's so sorry darling. It's all my fault, I nearly killed you."

Amelia looked confused, "No it's my fault. Peter didn't rape me, we've been . . . I've been planning this for months, ever since you made plans to go to the snow. I knew Peter wouldn't be able to go. I was going to think of some reason why I couldn't go at the last minute, then I didn't have to. I got Glandular Fever! It was perfect timing, I thought. Anyway, the point is, I planned it all so we could be together all weekend. We've been secretly seeing each other whenever Pete was back in Sydney. But we had just talked about what we might do. Then it sort of just happened. Peter was lovely. It was me that was the bitch. Please don't blame Peter, I think I love him!"

Peter looked relieved. "Wipe that smirk off your face. This isn't over by a long shot," said Tony.

Monique started telling Amelia what had happened. How the combination of Glandular Fever and aspirin plus Bonjelo had nearly cost her her life. Tony wheeled Peter roughly out of Amelia's room and left her with her mother. Amelia waved to Peter as they left, blew him a kiss and said "I'll see you later Pete." She never did.

Carter couldn't work out why his uncle had such a dislike for Peter. He started to get an uneasy feeling about his favourite uncle. Perhaps he wasn't the man he purported to be. Then it came to him out of the blue or should he say out of the white!

Teacher said, "You see now Carter Cheval".

Tony was infatuated with his niece! He had fantasized about being the one to deflower her. Peter had robbed him of his fantasy. He had to pay dearly.

Tony was angry now. He sat Peter down next to his father, turned to Don and Vera and said, "This is what's going to happen. I am charging your son with rape, drug trafficking, dealing with a drug of dependence, and carnal knowledge. He will also be placed on the registered sex offenders list as a paedophile."

"What are you talking about, didn't you hear what Amelia said and what's all this about drugs, Peter wouldn't touch drugs. He's a good boy!" Vera protested.

Then Tony dropped a bombshell, "Well if that's the case, perhaps your son can explain why we found a quantity of drugs when we searched his car. They were in a plastic bag hidden under the driver's side rear passenger seat. In this bag we found 100g of heroin, 300g of cocaine and a bottle of Rophies tablets. You may know it as the date rape drug."

Don turned to Peter and said, "How did that shit get in your car Peter?"

Peter groaned, "I think I know. It was Michael! I gave a guy from my Music Academy a lift from Melbourne last week. We stopped and had lunch at a pub. He drove afterwards, we got pulled over by the highway patrol, he failed the breathalyzer. He must have had the drugs on him and tossed them when we got pulled over. They took him into Goulburn for a blood test. I was okay, so they let me go. I was already late for your birthday Dad, so I left him behind."

Tony said, "And I suppose this mythical Michael will corroborate your story, and dob himself in as a drug dealer?"

"I don't know." Peter replied.

"I do! There's about as much chance of that happening as a celluloid bat flying through hell, better think of a better one than that for the judge."

"But it's the truth!" said Peter.

Tony laughed, "Not another one that thinks the law has anything to do with the truth."

Don appealed to Tony, "Tony, can't you just forget about it. I'm sure Amelia and her family aren't going to press charges."

"Look Don, Amelia may not be pressing charges but she is a minor and probably suffering from amnesia from the date rape drug. Anyway I've already filed my report. I'd have to retract it now. I'm not allowing myself to be made a fool of for anybody, not you, not even Amelia, and certainly not for your adopted son. You better prepare your son for prison, give him a goodly supply of KY gel. He's gonna need it. They like little boys in there. They hate paedophiles though. He's gonna find out what it's like to be raped, every night, he little prick . . . serves him right, hitting on my little niece like that."

"How many times do I have to tell you, I didn't rape Amelia! I love her, and she loves me, why don't you just ask her?" Peter pleaded.

"Here's the thing. I did interview her this morning. She doesn't remember what happened, at least after you all left for the snow. Your father called it selective amnesia. I call it after affects of being drugged and date raped."

Don stepped in, in his son's defence, "That could also be a symptom of having had Reyes Syndrome, I explained that to you all this morning too!"

Tony looked frustrated as he said, "Look, this is getting us nowhere. I am taking Peter back to the station. He will be formally charged in the morning, his arraignment will probably be on Wednesday when you'll be able to apply for bail."

Peter was scared now, "Dad, what's going on? I didn't do anything wrong! I don't want to go to gaol, especially for something I didn't do. I . . . "

His father interrupted, "I know Peter, but you have to go with Tony for now. Don't worry we'll sort this out. I'll talk to Monique and Jean now."

Tony said, "Don, I understand you're upset but I have to go now, my wife is arriving from Paris, and I told Michelle I'd pick her up at the airport. Come with me Peter we have to go. Don, you and Vera can come down to the station at five if you like. I'm meeting with Monique and Jean then, maybe you can work something out with them, clear the air so to speak.

Chapter 18 - Love and Lies.

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