Today was the big day. Election Day.

It took a lot of things to get to this day. Blood. Sweat. And Tears. And a lot of it.

Lucille dressed in a navy blue pantsuit with a cream colored blouse. She flat ironed her hair and put on deep red lipstick. As she was putting the finishing touches on her makeup, her phone buzzed.

"Spent the night at home. See you at work."

Lucille scoffed. "Of course Oliver."

She went into the bedroom slipped on her shoes and grabbed her handbag and left.

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Lucille drove up to Jared's hotel to pick him up for Election Day festivities. She picked up breakfast at a local donut shop hoping she picked out something he'd like.

When she drove into the parking lot she saw Jared retreating from a parked car. She hurriedly pulled into a parking space further away from the hotel entrance.

She waited a few minutes, hoping she could go unnoticed. She shimmied down in her seat as the black sedan drove past her.

Jared didn't know anyone in Houston. Or so he said.

Lucille's heart was beating out of her chest. Was Jared playing her?

She snapped pictures of the car's license plate before it was completely out of the parking lot. When Jared had made his way back into the hotel she pulled in closer to the entrance.

After waiting several minutes, she entered like nothing was wrong. She pushed on the door of his room that was still cracked open.

"Jared, I'm here", her voice echoed throughout the room.

"I wasn't expecting you this early", he said through the cracked bathroom door. "I'll be out in a minute."

"Take your time", she responded.

She placed the two drinks on the kitchen counter along with the box of donuts.

Lucille peered around the corner of the kitchen making sure Jared was still in the bathoom. She stuck her hand into the small trashcan in the hotel room, fishing out an empty water bottle. She stuffed it into her purse under all her other junk and zipped it up.

Trying to act normal, she hurriedly pulled a donut from the box stuffing half of it into her mouth.

"Good morning", he greeted as he entered the kitchen. "Excited for today?", he asked.

Lucille nodded. "You have no idea how hard I've worked to get here", she said.

"I bet", he answered taking a donut from the box. "So what happens after the election?"

"Ideally I'll have the Communications Director position locked up by the time the transition is over but there are so many more qualified people so I would understand, obviously."

"Don't talk like that", Jared objected. "You are the reason Oliver Reed is about to be Governor Reed. You are qualified."

Lucille nodded her head and thanked him. She checked her watch. "We should get going."

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Today the ballroom of the campaign headquarters was set up for the election watch party as well as the celebratory banquet. People were hustling and bustling all day.

Lucille made sure to get Jared lost within it all. She managed to sneak off to her office, pulling Lex with her. She shut the door once they were both inside.

"Lucille what's going on?", Lex asked with an awkward smile.

Lucille pulled the water bottle out of her purse and then pulled the straw from her drink.

"I need you to run these down to the DNA testing center downtown", she said placing each item in a separate bag. "I already called and they know they're on the way."

She handed Lex the bag. Lex's lips parted but Lucille objected. "I'll explain everything later."

Lex still seemed unsure as she accepted the bag.

"I promise", Lucille assured her.

Lex nodded and exited Lucille's office. Lucille followed as well to make sure Jared was still occupied.

She walked into the ballroom and saw him chatting up one of the interns. Her plan was in place and she was going to find out exactly what was going on.

Suddenly, her cell phone started ringing. Oliver's name flashed across the screen. She exited the ball room to answer it.

"Oliver where are you", she questioned into the receiver.

"Meet me in room 142 at the Holiday Inn on Lakeside. Leave your cell phone."

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Oliver opened the door before Lucille could even knock.

"Oliver what's going on? You're scaring me", she said.

Oliver looked like a mad man. He had bags under his eyes, unkempt hair, and clothes barely together.

"We need to leak the files that Aaron dug up for Anne Katherine", he said. "The ones that expose me for stealing money from my clients."

"Excuse me, what?" Lucille's voice raised a few octaves. "Are you insane?"

"Lucille listen to me", he said taking her hand and bringing them to sit on the bed. "I can't dive into descriptions right now but my father made deals with some bad people. They call themselves The Syndicate and if I'm elected they'll use me to do all their dirty work like signing pardons for high-profile criminals and approving drilling contracts that wouldn't be approved otherwise." He sighed. "If I drop from the race I don't want to think about what they'll do. We have to leak this information and they can't know I had anything to do with it."

Lucille's heart was beating out of her chest and her thoughts were tangled up in her head. She stood up from the bed and ran her fingers through her hair.

"I know this sounds crazy but I will tell you everything", Oliver said as he stood. You just have to trust me."

Lucille nodded. "Consider it done."

Oliver wrapped his arms around Lucille. She was very tense but she eventually melted in his arms.

"I'm sorry", he whispered.

She sniffled. "It was all for nothing."

Oliver pulled away and looked down at her watery eyes. He leaned in and kissed her softly.

"It wasn't all for nothing", he said.

--

Lucille called someone who she knew she could trust to get this information out to a lot of people before the bulk of voters made it to the polls. She made the phone call.

"Meet me at the CC's near Lakeshore", she said to Jancy. "I have something I know you'll like."

When Lucille got to CC's, Jancy was already there sitting in a booth. Lucille sat across from her.

"It's good to see you again, Jancy", she greeted.

"Cut the bullshit", Jancy said flashing a superficial smile. "What do you have?"

Lucille chuckled as she pulled the file from her bag. She passed it to her under the table.

"Don't open it here", Lucille warned. "This needs to get out like yesterday", she said. "Social media, local news, whatever you need to do."

"Wow", Jancy grinned. "He must've really broken your little heart."

Lucille smiled as she got up from the booth. "Goodbye Jancy."

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Lucille rushed into her office to retrieve her phone and the iPad. So far nothing had been released. She sighed.

"Knock knock", Jared said as he entered. "Everything okay?"

"Everything's fine", she replied in a dry tone of voice. She tried heading past him to the door but he grabbed her arm.

"Everything is going to be okay", he said. "Oliver will win, no matter what."

That last part shook Lucille to her core. He's working with them. They know.

"Hopefully", she said before pulling away and exiting her office.

She ran into the women's bathroom and emptied the contents of her stomach into the toilet bowl. She wiped the corners of her mouth and sat alone on the floor of the stall. She began hyperventilating as she thought of the harm that could be done by these people if Oliver becomes governor.

Look at what they've done already. For God's sake she didn't need the DNA test to come back to know that Jared was not her brother. These people had dug so deep into her life and they knew she would be thrilled to find out she had family somewhere. They manipulated her.

She regained her composure and exited the bathroom. She pulled out her phone again to see if Jancy had posted the information but there was nothing. She took it upon herself to call Jancy.

"What are you waiting for?", she questioned as soon as Jancy answered.

"Lucille", she had a certain tone in her voice. "I was wondering when you'd call."

"Jancy this isn't a joke."

"Actually it is. We were waiting until after the election to announce but Thatcher Hayes is being appointed by the president to take over as Chairman of Economic Advisors. With that being said, it was fun to see you actually believing that I would do anything for you after what you did to me. Goodbye Lucille."

Lucille was so angry she threw her phone across her office. As if on queue, Oliver walked in. He stood in the doorway and just stared at her.

She shook her head. "There's nothing more we can do."

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