Top of Your Ambitions

“What’s wrong, Zack?” Breck asked when she noticed a bothered look on the older man’s face.

Zack rubbed his eyes several times, lazily sitting up from his lying position on the couch. He watched the teenager take a seat across from him, placing her biology textbook on the coffee table as she did that. She was just on her way downstairs to do some studying in the dining table when she noticed her sister’s ex-boyfriend in the living room. The fact that he is brooding, even more so than usual, caught her attention. So now, here she is, ready to have a long awaited talk with him.

“Nothing’s wrong.” Zack brushed it off, flashing a very forced smile on his face.

The teenager almost scoffed at how fake his smile and reassurance is. He looks beyond uncomfortable, his eyes awkward looking and his mouth out of place.

“Is this about my sister?” She tried at it again, hoping to muster a response out of him.

He began shaking his head, completely in denial. Breck is no detective like Ace but sometimes it is just that easy to tell when Zack is lying. He is good at hiding his emotions ninety-nine percent of the time; this instance is certainly not one of them.

He did not say anything else, just continued to look at the seventeen-year-old girl. It has been a while since he lived with her. He remembers taking care of her, filling in the spot of a father figure when he was still dating Acacia. Whenever he was not out on the road touring with the band, he was at the apartment making her meals and picking or dropping her off to school. Rian would often step in to help whenever he could, mainly because he truly loves Breck like his own sister.

Ever since the breakup, Zack has not been as close to Breck as he used to be. Sometimes he regrets that because no matter what happens between Zack and Ace, he will always consider Breck as family.

“You know, my sister has never seen anyone ever since you guys were done.” Breck stated coolly.

Zack turned from her to stare at the blank television screen, mostly uncomfortable about this conversation about Ace.

“She is just alone and if it weren’t for Rian, she would be completely alone.”

“Breck, what do you want me to say?” Zack’s small voice is barely audible.

Breck sighed, placing both her sock clad feet on the sofa cushion.

“I don’t want you to say anything, I just want you to know that it’s hard. Sometimes I wish that Ace could just say fuck it to you and to the rest of the world and just marry Rian or something.”

Zack’s eyes widened, almost as if he is about to laugh.

“What?”

“I know it’s a funny thought, it’ll never happen but I’m selfish. After our parents were gone, things just got a lot harder for me. I was hurt, being abandoned by my parents and then by Ace when she went to Philly for university. It was my grandparents and I. Living with them was okay, but was too unfamiliar for me. I missed Baltimore and Rian and everyone I love and care about.”

Breck did not know why she is bringing this subject up in front of him right now. But she tells herself that it has to be done. Ever since she watched herself and her sister suffer the after effects of Zack’s departure from their household, she reminded herself to sit Zack down and give him this speech whenever they had an opportunity to.

There will be no better opportunity than now.

“Then Ace came back and became a police officer. It started off well because she had time for me, her job weren’t as demanding. You moved in with us, helped us buy the apartment, and everything was great for me. Then we both know what happened after she was promoted to homicide detective; turns out, she was never around for me anymore. I had you, I had Rian and I still do.”

Zack listened in attentively since he is good at doing just that. Rather than cutting through her speech, he wants to hear all of it.

“I’m used to being independent but I just feel so damn lonely with Ace being absent for the majority of the day. You lived there and we were really close. I was glad you guys were dating mainly because it meant I had someone else, I didn’t want to be alone. Honestly, Zack, ever since you left, it’s just me and the house. Sometimes I have Rian, but with him living here, it’s not the same.”

He did not know where she is getting at with this speech of hers.

“What I’m trying to say is that I miss you, Zack. I miss when you and my sister were happy together. You guys were in love. But now with you out of the picture, I sometimes wish that Rian could just replace you. It’s selfish and it’s crude, but I feel so suffocated, and especially after what happened with Taylor…”

Zack wrapped an arm around the teenage girl, pulling him closer to her. He did not know what to say to everything she had just told him. It is hard to respond to that; he basically abandoned her and made decisions based on his relationship with Ace. He did not even consider Breck’s wellbeing in the midst of everything. Sometimes, he forgets that Breck is suffering the consequences of everything going on in Acacia’s life. It is his fault that she is living with barely a mother figure and remnants of Rian.

“I’m sorry, Breck.” Zack finally apologized.

She sighed.

“I don’t want your apology; I just want you to know how I am feeling.”

“You know, sometimes people do things they regret. It’s like they wish they can turn back time and do things differently the second time around.” He murmured.

Breck nodded in agreement.

“What do you regret, exactly?”

“You want me to be honest?”

“Yeah, honesty is a start.”

Zack repositioned himself on the couch.

“Every once in a blue moon, I would regret letting her go.” He said, “I should never have let her go.”



“Hello detectives!” Loki greeted when Ace and James coincidentally passed him in the lobby of the Lockheart building.

Detective Kovacs sighed, giving her partner a troubled look. She did not feel like explaining the situation to Loki, especially if everything is connected to the murder of his father. It is so unfortunate that both of her off-the-books investigations are interlinked.

“Mr. Lockheart, we are here to see one of your models, we have evidence that proves she can give us information regarding a case.” James Iverson said politely.

Loki gave the pair a curt nod.

“I’d be happy to help, who are you looking for, may I ask?”

“Wallace Poulsen.” Ace said.

The blonde CEO gave her another one of his nods and gestured toward the elevator. When the detectives left for the elevator, Loki said his farewell and left the building after telling them the floor number. Ace and Iverson got in the elevator, staring at each other when the door closed behind.

“So we are just going to confront her about it?” Iverson asked.

“I guess, but you’re the senior detective, what’d you think?”

“I think we need to extract information, however way we do it, we just do.” Iverson returned.

Nodding at each other, both detectives got out of the elevator and are immediately approached by an assistant on the floor.

“Baltimore Police.” Iverson said as they both flashed their badges.

The assistant nodded.

“How can I help?”

“We need to see Wallace Poulsen now, please.” Ace said firmly.

“She is in rehearsal; right this way please.”

The assistant led them past various studios and makeup rooms; Iverson nearly ran into a hoard of approaching Lockheart models. The two followed on wordlessly until they finally entered a rehearsal space. Coincidentally, Wallace is currently doing her test run on the makeshift runway at this moment in a bright pink number with remnants of black lace. Both detectives waited until Wallace got closer to the front to wave at her.

“Wallace Poulsen, Baltimore Police, we would like to speak to you.” Iverson called out loudly.

Wallace stopped what she was doing and looked back at the stage director. She waited for the director’s permission before holding the hems of the dress up to get off the stage. The assistant left the rehearsal space by the time the redhead model made her way toward the cops.

“Could this have waited until I got home, Ace?” Wallace asked, incredulous.

Ace shot her a glare, beckoning for her to follow them. She is furious at the fact that Wallace has been playing everyone. Of course the fact that Zack is dating her pisses her off the most. She is lying to him and her identity; it is not fair to him.

“No, let’s go, this conversation is beyond urgent.” Acacia said dismissively.

The trio left the rehearsal space and entered an empty office adjacent to the space. The blonde detective waited until her partner closed the door behind them to start talking. She is not going to spend more time necessary, deciding to cut right to the chase.

“You lied to me, you lied to Zack, you lied to everybody.”

Wallace’s demeanor changed entirely, from impatience to a guilty deer caught in the headlights. Her eyes widened, but she nodded anyways, as if she understands what is happening.

“I can explain myself.”

Iverson cut right in.

“We know you killed Mr. Adkins; you were underage and it was self-defense, proven and everything. That part, we understand. You do not need to justify that murder.” He seems to be playing the good cop.

Ace rolled her eyes at her partner.

“I don’t give a shit about the charge of the murder, I just want to know why you would hide this from me and from everyone.”

She is definitely the bad cop.

“Layla Harper, you also failed to mention that you were married to Mr. Potter.” She added.

Wallace cringed at the sound of her real name.

“Yes, my real name is Layla Harper. I killed that bastard because he abused my mother; they were involved in a toxic relationship. He was going to hurt me so I shot him with a gun and I felt no remorse. My brother covered for me, but the evidence all pointed to me. I didn’t mind, the monster was out of our lives.”

“Listen here, Layla, Wallace, whatever the hell I should call you now… I’m not here to listen to you justify your actions. I just want the god damn details on your association with Dan Potter, your accomplice brother, and everything you know about this fucking case.” Acacia is unable to rein in her anger.

Her personal bias towards this woman already ran deep; add a criminal past, withholding evidence, and a second identity, the anger is beyond real.

“Kovacs…” Iverson warned.

She ignored her partner.

“I’m waiting.” She pursed her lips at the redhead.

Wallace wiped at her falling tears, hysterical that she has to unveil every layer of her being to a woman she did not like.

“Dan and I were childhood sweethearts. We were together ever since we were young. I was so in love with him; he promised we would have a wonderful future together. But he enlisted to the navy a year after we married. I was tired of my life, tired of everything that went on in my domestic life, and Dan was gone. He betrayed me, left me alone in this stupid city. I decided to dye my hair, change my name, and go be a model. After Dan left for the navy, I never saw him again until the sudden phone call I got from him last week.”

Ace still did not see the relevance of the information to the case, but she is quite interested in the fact that Wallace had the love of her life. To Wallace, Dan was like Ace’s Zack. It soothed her a bit, competition wise.

“And my brother, he was close to Dan, I assume that is why he was framed as well!”

The blonde detective shared looks with her partner. She can tell that Iverson is criticizing her with a look of disapproval on his face. He thinks she is being too harsh on the woman, but she is not going to feel remorse. Instead, Iverson decided to focus on something else in hopes of finding another lead.

“Why Baltimore?” Iverson asked.

“And there’s something else you need to know…”

The blonde groaned loudly. How much is Wallace actually hiding from everyone?

“My mother, Christine Harper, she had an affair with Conrad Lockheart during his first marriage.”

Acacia’s eyebrows furrowed in mild shock. She is more confused than anything.

“Conrad loved his first wife; he has three children with her…” She trailed off.

“I guess they had a bit of a conflict, and my mother had just broken off with Raymond Harper, the man I believed was my dad for nearly sixteen years.”

Detectives Kovacs and Iverson shot each other knowing, but looks of disbelief. Their eyebrows are arched in the same manner.

“Oh my god…” Iverson breathed out.

Ace looked away from her partner and at the model.

“Conrad Lockheart is your biological father…”

Wallace nodded.

“Yeah, when I found out, I was shocked and confused. Well, everything worked out when I decided to have a fresh start. I went to Baltimore and straight to the Lockheart model agency. When he found out I was his daughter, I was immediately selected to be one of the Lockheart models.” She said simply.

Ace shook her head.

“So you are a model because of your relations?”

“I do have talent, you know. Why do you think people like me so much?” Wallace seems to take offense in that.

Iverson shot his partner another warning glance, and it is once again ignored. But they are both equally elated that they found a way to connect Christine Harper to Raina Lockheart without revealing the case to Wallace.

“I thought Dale Levine was the same case. She was basically like a daughter to Conrad; he cared for her like no other. Even though I was the biological daughter, it was clear that Dale got treated better. What I’m trying to say is that my relations with him did not carry my career, it just gave it a little push.”

Ace dusted off her dark pants and beckoned for her partner to join her. She is done hearing about the redhead’s life story. It is also apparent that they are staying longer than needed.

“We’ve got enough information. Wallace, you better not be keeping anything else from me. If you are hiding something, I will find it. Keep that in mind. Let’s go, James.” She turned to Iverson.

Her partner shot the model a kind look before following the blonde out the office door. Just before she walked out, Wallace called out to her.

“Ace?”

“Hmm?”

“Don’t tell Zack.”

Rolling her eyes, Acacia turned abruptly and stormed out of the room.

Notes

Yes, Breck and Zack finally had a talk... it's a long time coming.

And how does everyone feel about Wallace? Anyone trust her? Anyone not?

Thanks to emilypfletcher for commenting on the previous chapter!