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October 21st, 2020
London, England
Off Camera
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The Braddock Wrestling School, located just off the outskirts of London, England, has been the training ground for almost all of Glory Braddock’s biggest, most noteworthy matches of her professional wrestling career. The preparation for all fourteen of her previous world championship victories came at this facility. It doesn’t look as big and luxurious as one might think, considering its founder, the grizzled and oftentimes angry Glenn Braddock, is a legend in England and all throughout Europe, but Glenn was never one to care about the glitz and the glamor nor for the spotlight. He never gave a damn if people loved and adored him and gave him all the attention that so many other wrestlers nowadays seem to crave. His only love was wrestling. There was no need for things to look glamorous and sparkly, nice and pretty, Glenn always kept it simple. Not only was it practical but it sent a message to his students, a message telling that wrestling itself was simple; as simple as winning. You go to the ring, you do what you must in order to defeat your opponent, and then you leave.
And that is precisely what The British Bombshell did at SCW Under Attack; she went out to the ring as the defending Adrenaline Champion, wrestled her heart out, choked out Gavin Taylor, and retained the SCW Adrenaline Championship. It was one of her better performances and it was a redemptive victory, for Gavin had stolen a clean win from her over Selena Frost. The self-proclaimed “All Star” would not respect The Best in the World. So she made him pay in spades. Yet this victory was special and redemptive for other reasons as well. For a long time now, well over a year, Braddock has gotten away from the very core values and philosophy that made her who she was today. It took her this long and many tragedies for her to figure it out but she has finally figured it out. She just hopes she isn’t too late to right her wrongs.
The British Bombshell is barely noticed as she stands just inside the doorway that marks the entrance to this school, her domain, her empire if you will. The many students here who are continuing their studies and training are either too busy working out or sparring to notice her or they are too fearful to say anything. There is no need to fear, however. The British Bombshell isn’t here for them. She isn’t here to watch them train or to help in their training; although she does enjoy it quite a bit. Her purpose for being here today is of far greater importance.
She is here to begin righting her wrongs. She is here to try to save her own soul, if you will. The past year has been marked with corrupt business dealings and damn near criminal actions that have put Glory Braddock and her family square in the target zone of none other than Jennifer Alan, whose family founded the company Glory now owns and operates. Glory provoked this family by spying on them and having a private investigator dig up dirt on them in order to weaken their position within the company. What Glory did not anticipate was Jennifer Alan using her own connections to organized crime to target Braddock and her friends and family not once, not twice, but three times. The first time they injured Glory’s husband Kurt in a shooting. The second time they injured Glory’s mother Mary in a shooting. The third time they nearly poisoned Glory’s friend Francis Taylor with anthrax.
Jenifer Alan has agreed to end the hostilities but the condition is a massive one; Glory must sell ownership of her company back to the Alan Family. The pride in Glory Braddock wants to fight back. The pride in The British Bombshell will never let her give up. This is why she almost never loses via submission in a wrestling match. To give Jennifer Alan exactly what she wants would be akin to submission.
Yet that is precisely what Glory is considering. Family is the most important thing, or at least it used to be the most important thing in her life. She let power and greed corrupt and twist her and that has nearly ruined her family. Selling the company to the Alan family alone won’t do the trick. The British Bombshell must fix herself first. Braddock must put family first if she hopes to end this once and for all.
That starts today…
Braddock watches on at her trainees and students from a distance, wearing a royal purple velvet skirt that stops just above the knee and a sleeveless white blouse. Her long gorgeous blonde hair hangs unrestrained to shoulder length and she is standing perched atop matching leather high heeled pumps. A confident grin is etched across her lovely face. A few are lifting are weights, some of striking out at the heavy bags, still others are working on cardio and endurance, and a few others are in the ring sparring. She is almost completely mesmorized, to the point that she loses track of her surroundings…
“Hello?”
“Huh?” Glory is startled back to reality. She turns and spots one of the head trainees, her good friend Sophie O’Brian. Braddock sighs and sports a warm friendly grin. “Oh, hi there Sophie.”
“Like what you see?”
Braddock pauses for a moment and then nods her head. “Of course. You, Mark [O’Brian], and Randall [Williams] are running a tight shift here, mate. I like that. It’s what dad would have wanted.”
“That’s what we’re striving for, mate. You’ll be happy to know Melinda is very close to graduation.”
That news does indeed bring a smile to Glory’s face. She hasn’t spent much time with Melinda lately and this is due in large part to Melinda spending most of her time here in London at the school training to some day follow in her mother’s footsteps and become a wrestler. They will be leaving London together, however, because after today the two of them are flying back to Miami to check on the status of Glory’s mother, Mary, who has been in a medically induced coma due to injuries sustained as a result of the gunshot wounds.
“That is great news, Sophie. How about the others?”
“Some are doing great. Others, not so much. But one thing I can proudly say is that they all have a deep respect for wrestling.”
“And that they have some knowledge and skills that will help them in the future.”
“What?” Sophie is caught off guard by Glory’s response.
“Think about it, Sophie. My dad took you and Mark in. He clothed you, he gave you shelter, and he taught you skills. He gave you knowledge. He educated you. But he didn’t do it to create a new generation of Glenn Braddock clones, did he? He just wanted to help you.”
Sophie sighs deeply and nods her head. “I suppose so, but your logic here is flawed. Not everyone who gets this knowledge deserves it. Clyde Sutter came out of this school, if you recall.”
“I know and we cannot control what they do with the skills and the knowledge. Maybe Clyde was a failure but still, one failure shouldn’t mean that the mission or goal changes. You yourself should know that one lost battle does not mean the war is over.”
“Fair point, I guess.” Sophie smirks. “We may not always see eye to eye, but you know I will always be loyal to you. No matter what.”
“Thank you, my friend.” Glory says with a nod of her head. Sophie looks back to the ring and sees her brother Mark getting ready to spar with Melinda Braddock. Sophie rolls her eyes.
“I should probably get back before your daughter breaks my brother.”
“You do that.” Glory chuckles lightly. “Uh, but before you do…”
“Yes?”
“Has my sister arrived by any chance?”
“Actually yes. I was surprised she came, actually. I thought you two were not on speaking terms.”
“We’re not.” Braddock says with a sigh. “I asked her to come by and visit so we can remedy that.”
“Good.” Sophie motions to the office. “She’s waiting for you in the office.”
“Thank you, Sophie.” The British Bombshell embraces her good friend one last time. Then the beautiful blonde makes her way, walking with a purpose towards her office. Braddock pushes the door open and then steps inside, shutting the door behind her.
Her office is a vast contrast from the rest of the wrestling school. The desk is a luxurious looking oak desk, the concrete floor is still there but the office is decorated with photographs from her days as a wrestler. Two fancy, tall bookcases are against a wall and two large green plants are near the window. Julia Braddock is seated in a chair in front of the oak desk. Braddock can only imagine how this conversation will go. Part of her didn’t even want to do this because she is afraid of how Julia will react. As part of Glory’s criminal activity to maintain power within her company she had Julia institutionalized in a mental ward. But Glory knows she must at least try to mend the fences. She must try to protect her family.
“Hello, Julia.”
“Glory.”
There is a coldness in Julia’s voice. Glory can feel it even though her sister only said one word. Braddock sighs and decides to push through this. “I’m glad you came.”
“You’re lucky I came. I almost didn’t, so whatever you have to say it had better be worth my time.”
The British Bombshell walks to her desk. She sits down in the comfortable black leather swivel chair behind her oak desk. She stares across the desk into the angry, rage filled eyes of her younger sister Julia. All of that anger and hate Glory can see emanating from Julia, it is justified. Glory realizes this.
“Oh come on, love. You have a place here in London now, don’t you? You have to, now that you’re wrestling for Emerge. So it isn’t like you had to travel far.”
“That’s not the point, Gloria.” Julia points an accusatory finger across the desk at her sister. “Being around you at all isn’t really worth my time. Everything that comes out of your mouth is a lie, it is deceitful, and manipulative. Everything you have done over the past year has been for yourself.”
The British Bombshell sighs deeply, pondering the hateful words that Julia just uttered. Yet as hateful as they were, they were also very true. “You’re right, Julia. You’re absolutely right. I’ve done rotten things, things that have endangered myself and the lives of you and the rest of our family. That’s why I wanted to talk to you today because I know now that I need to do whatever is necessary to make this right.”
“Make it right?” Julia lets out a sarcastic laugh.
“I get it, I have made mistakes and I am deeply sorry. There is no excuse except I lost sight of who I am. When I bought GCW I had grand visions of its future. I pictured myself as being one of the few in history to be a successful wrestler, be a successful wrestling trainer, and a successful wrestling promoter. I truly would make wrestling into our father’s vision of what he felt it should be. I felt I could finally make a real, positive impact upon the sport and do what was best for the sport. But then the Board of Directors stripped power away from me. I got power back but I became paranoid of losing power again so I set out to eliminate any and all threats to my power. That has led me to making powerful enemies...but worst of all, it caused me to lose my sister…”
“Seriously?” Julia doesn’t appear to be buying Glory’s speech. The British Bombshell stands up and walks over to a wall. She picks up a steel folding chair and offers it to Julia.
“Here. I am deeply sorry for everything I’ve done to you and I want to make it right.”
“You’re joking.”
“You hate me, I can tell. So take this chair and beat the holy hell out of me. Take out your frustrations.”
Julia chuckles and then shakes her head. “You’re unbelievable.”
Glory sighs out of frustration and then drops the chair. “Fine. Tell you what, one thing I know I did wrong was write you out of ownership of this school. Just please, please I’m begging you, lets put the past behind us and I will have my attorney draw up a contract to give you full ownership of this wrestling school.”
“Bloody hell!” Julia exclaims angrily. “You are not going to buy my forgiveness, Glory. Hell, I’m not sure there’s anything you can do to get my forgiveness.”
“Why not?!”
“Because you had me institutionalized! And the reason why you had me institutionalized is the biggest hypocrisy of them all; because I adopted the Noel surname, for the woman I considered a mother, Aphrodite Noel. You told the world I was crazy, and that I wouldn’t get out until I was honest with who I really was. Well here you are, Glory, I am being honest with myself...I am Julia Braddock, but I have no damn clue what that means and it is all thanks to you.” She points an accusatory finger at her older sibling who can only watch on as Julia continues to hurl the accusations. “And as for you, Glory? You’re still the hypocrite. You’re still lying because you call yourself Glory Braddock but you damn sure don’t look like it. And you definitely do not act like Glory Braddock. You act more like our manipulative ‘Mother’ Aphrodite Noel.”
“No…” Glory says quietly, shaking her head.
“Cut the bullshit, Glory, and be honest with yourself. I’m being honest! I’m the only one in this room being honest when I say I don’t know who I am anymore! Why can’t you be honest and say…”
“I don’t know who I am anymore!” Glory shouts angrily. Tears are forming in her eyes. “Fine, I admit, I do not know who I am; or maybe I just do not know who I want to be? Kurt, Mel, and I went out with Matthew to karaoke.”
“Matthew Taylor?” Julia asks, regarding their mutual friend Matthew Taylor. Glory nods her head in confirmation.
“Who else? We had a blast. It was the most fun I’ve had in a long time and I think it was because I was able to just forget about the stresses of running my company, the stresses of being a championship caliber wrestler, and just enjoy life. I miss that.”
“You can have that, you can be that person again.”
“No, I can’t. Maybe I could continue running this school but running the company?” Braddock shakes her head. “No way in hell. There’s too damn much involved, love. Glory Braddock, daughter of Glenn Braddock and Mary Ford, is unable and incapable of being ruthless, cutthroat, and downright evil enough to do what is necessary to maintain stability in the company.”
“But Aphrodite’s daughter is.”
“Yes and you understand that, don’t you? We both understand better than anyone else would because we were both forced to be her children.”
“Yes and I beat that. I escaped and I reclaimed my psyche, I reclaimed my identity. But you? You clearly have not.”
Braddock shakes her head. “No, I haven’t. I have tried numerous psychiatrists and none of them have helped. I tried getting religion and it didn’t help. I’m convinced that the only thing that can help me is my family. I need my family now more than ever to help me, to support me through this time.”
Julia sits there and stares into the eyes of her older sister. After a long, tense pause she nods her head. “So that’s what this is all about?”
“In a word? Yes.”
“Just as I thought...once again, this is you looking out for yourself.”
Julia stands up and starts to head for the door. Glory is about to panic as Julia prepares to leave. “Wait!”
Julia turns around to see Glory now standing. “What?”
“I admit, part of it is selfish, but it’s only because I cannot do this on my own. But this is also because this family needs one another now more than ever. You know how much danger we are in, don’t you? Mobsters have already targeted Kurt [Logan], our mother, and Matthew’s sister Francis. It could be you next, Julia.”
Julia sighs and nods her head. “I know I’m in danger.”
“So please, please consider forgiving me? I need your help, Julia.”
Glory holds out her hand, hoping Julia will accept. Unfortunately Julia shakes her head. “I cannot trust you, Glory, not after what you’ve done. You’ve gone too far this time. I’m sorry.”
“Julia!” Glory exclaims loudly but it is too late. Julia walks out of the office and slams the door shut behind her. Glory drops to her knees and starts crying. She fears that she may have now lost a sister.
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October 23rd, 2020
Miami, Florida
Off Camera
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It is a beautiful Friday afternoon in Miami, Florida and normally The British Bombshell and reigning SCW Adrenaline Champion would be in deep workout and preparation for a championship winner takes all match against Television Champion Asher Hayes. After just defeating Gavin Taylor at Under Attack to retain her Adrenaline Championship, picking up a win over Asher and claiming another championship in the process would be a great way for Glory Braddock to improve her standing in the company. More importantly for Braddock it would be a way forward in her path of redemption. The last time she battled Asher, the match ended when she blasted him in the head with the Adrenaline Title belt. This time she can do this the right way. This time she can prove that she is the better competitor by defeating clean in the center of the ring. Becoming a dual champion in the process isn’t half bad, either.
Unfortunately tough times have descended upon Glory Braddock. So many difficult issues are demanding her attention and chief among them right now is her family. For too long now Glory has placed other things, including her career as a wrestler and her career as a businesswoman, ahead of her family. She blames this poor prioritization for her mother, Mary Ford, getting gunned down by criminal associates of Jennifer Alan, a woman who wants to own Glory’s company. Jennifer has promised a cessation to this violence but only if Glory sells the company to Jennifer’s family.
All of that will be dealt with later. Glory knows that she must put her family first and that means checking on her mother. Mary has been in a medically induced coma due to injuries she sustained as a result of the shooting. The doctors are planning to bring her out of the coma today and Glory wants to be here for that moment.
This waiting room is rather plain and has a feeling of uncertainty mixed with hope as the young Melinda Braddock, daughter of Glory Braddock, sits in the waiting room on a bench next to her step-father Kurt Logan. Pacing the floors liked a caged lion is The British Bombshell and reigning SCW Adrenaline Champion Glory Braddock. This beautiful blonde is justifiably worried about her mother. The gunshots that put down Mary and put her in this hospital in a coma were meant for Glory herself. But the bullets missed their target and hit Mary instead. Knowing this has placed a heavy amount of guilt upon the conscience of Glory Braddock. For she knows that none of this would ever have happened had she not been so power hungry and so greedy. None of this would have happened had she not started down this dark path that led her to committing questionable and borderline criminal acts all in the name of maintaining power within her company.
Glory only did this because she felt she was doing what was right for professional wrestling. At the end of the day she felt her actions were justified because she knew best what was right for the business as a whole. But all actions have consequences and therein lies Glory’s mistake. She did not and perhaps could not have anticipated the consequences of her actions. The British Bombshell certainly did not anticipate becoming a target of organized crime and she did not anticipate her family becoming targets as well. The guilt is eating her alive and she cannot make herself feel better. She can only hope her mother will end up ok as the doctors bring her out of the coma.
“Glory…”
“What?” Glory stops pacing and turns to face her husband, Kurt Logan, who called out to her. He motions to an empty chair next to himself and their daughter Melinda.
“Sit down, Glory. Please.”
“Yeah, mom.” Melinda’s voice is full of noticeable concern. Glory sighs and nods her head. She slowly approaches the chair and sits down next to Kurt. Kurt wraps an arm around his lovely wife.
“I’m sorry, it’s just that I’m real concerned about my mum. Y’know?”
“I think we all are concerned about her, mom.” Melinda answers. Glory sighs and shakes her head.
“Yes but the difference is I have myself to blame for what’s happened. I blame myself for her being here.”
“You cannot blame yourself for any of that, Gloria.” Kurt says quietly, whispering into his wife’s ear. “Armed thugs and criminals shot your mom. You could not have controlled that.”
“But I was the target, Kurt; not mom. They were trying to shoot me, just like they were trying to shoot me months ago and missed and hit you. Then more of your ‘common thugs’ ran us off the road, Kurt. Remember that?”
“Yes, I do.”
“You know as well as I do what this is about. Organized crime is trying to run me out of business. Jennifer Alan and her connections to organized crime are trying to run me out of business. And it never ever would have happened, it never would have gotten this far, had I not provoked all of this. My obsession with trying to take away any and all power and influence Jennifer’s family had over my company is what led to the shooting. Tell me I’m wrong.”
“But…” Kurt starts but Glory cuts him off.
“No, Kurt. I started all of this. I may as well have been the one who pulled the damn trigger.”
“You’re beating yourself up needlessly.” Kurt answers back, rubbing her back gently. “This isn’t your fault.”
“It is, Kurt. It is my…” Glory happens to look up towards the entrance to the waiting room. She spots the door creaking open. There standing in the open doorway is none other than Glory’s sister, Julia Braddock. Glory’s eyes grow wide. This definitely is an unexpected turn of events. “...fault?”
“Aunt Julia?” Melinda seems rather happy to see her aunt, and rightfully so; Melinda hasn’t seen her aunt due in large part to the feud that has been going on between Glory and Julia for so long. Melinda leaps up and walks over towards Julia. The two embrace in a tight hug. Julia runs a hand through her niece’s long hair.
“Hey there, kiddo.” Julia looks up and sees Glory Braddock standing up now. The older sister starts to approach her younger sister. Julia shakes her head. “Sorry, I shouldn’t be here.”
Julia turns and walks away, making a hasty exit out of the waiting room door. Glory Braddock quickly goes after her, exiting out the same door. She spots Julia nearly halfway down the hallway and calls out after her. “Julia, wait!”
The younger sister stops dead in her tracks. She turns around slowly to find Glory approaching. The two stand eye to eye, staring into each other’s souls. The last time these two saw one another was two days ago in London where Glory Braddock made an appeal, begging for Julia’s forgiveness. It was Glory’s attempt to try and repair the fractured relationship between the two. Unfortunately the attempt ended in failure as Julia told Glory flat out that she could not trust her older sister; at least not anymore. Julia isn’t necessarily innocent either and both know this. The fact is that the deep rooted problems that they share have led to both of them burning bridges, maybe not in one sudden instant but over a long period of time.
“What are you doing here?” Glory asks curiously.
“I heard mum was being brought out of the coma. I had hoped to get here and see her without running into you but obviously I failed in that with my bad timing.” Julia turns to leave. “So I’ll just go and come back later…”
“No, wait.” Glory places a hand on Julia’s shoulder. “You can stay. She’s your mother too.”
Julia turns back around to face her sister and sighs. “I know this but don’t you think it’s a little awkward with the two of us being here? You locked me up in a mental ward.”
“And you betrayed me, you sided with Aphrodite Noel and Mason Van Stanton to work against me. Needless to say, we’re not saints. Neither one of us are innocent, love. We’ve been at war, a cold war or a hot war, for years now. So yeah, it is awkward for us to be here together. But isn’t it just as awkward if not more so for us not to be here together supporting our mother?”
“What are you getting at, Gloria?” Julia demands, swatting Glory’s hand away from her shoulder.
“The last time I had a chance to speak to mom was the day she was gunned down. I remember that day vividly. She had often spoke to me about how she blamed herself for the two of us being at odds. She blamed herself because she felt she was not there for us when she should have been. All she wants now is to see us reunited.” Glory points with a finger back towards the waiting room. “She’s back there now fighting for her life. Can’t we at least TRY to give her this one last wish?”
“You don’t think I want to?!” Julia shouts angrily. “But I already told you that I cannot bring myself to trust a woman who would lock her own family member up in a mental ward.”
“I know, I know; I betrayed you and you betrayed me. We established this. But lets get down to the heart of the issue. What started all of this?”
Julia Braddock stares deeply into the eyes of her older sister, considering the answer to this question. Finally she sighs and gives her answer. “You know I have always been jealous. You were dad’s favorite and he never even made any pretense otherwise. He was blatant with his favoritism of you. Even when he was training me he would shove it in my face. If I screwed up a move or a hold his favorite line was “why the hell can’t you do it, Glory could”...” Julia sighs deeply “...do you realize how hard it is being compared to you? And the comparisons didn’t end when I made my professional debut. They only intensified . The companies I wrestled for, the fans who watched me compete, all of them expected me to be just another Glory Braddock. But that’s not who I am.”
The British Bombshell watches as tears begin to roll down her sister’s cheeks. Life was difficult for Julia but life was also difficult for Glory. Julia was expected to live up to Glory Braddock’s example but Glory Braddock found it increasingly difficult to live up to her own lofty expectations.
“Aphrodite promised me that she could humble you. She promised me that as her daughter I would be the favorite. So you can see how easy it was for her to get to me? And you see why I betrayed you? Do you see why I was jealous?”
The British Bombshell nods her head. “Yes, yes I do. And do you understand how difficult it was for me? Hell, my first night, my debut night, I won a tournament to claim a vacant championship. From there I would win fourteen world championships throughout my career. I have never failed at anything. The pressure to succeed at everything I tried became intense. When I became owner of my own company I had to do whatever necessary to succeed. I could not fail. The pressure to succeed led me to make some extremely questionable judgment calls, those poor judgment calls led me to putting my career ahead of my family. And as a result now my family is suffering…” she points back towards the waiting room “...our mother got shot because my quest for success made some enemies. I cannot do anything about that, I can just only hope that she’ll be alright. But there is one thing I can at least try to control.”
She points a finger at Julia. “I can try to salvage this. My questionable decision to put career over family has cost me my sister. I want to fix that.”
Glory holds out her hand, much like she did a couple days ago. Julia stares at it for several moments but again shakes her head. “I’m sorry but I still cannot bring myself to trust you.”
“I know and I understand, that’s why I’m not asking for your trust. I know that I’ll have to earn your trust back. I’m just asking for your forgiveness. And I’m asking for my sister back.”
Julia looks down at her sister’s hand. She looks back up at Glory again and she sees the sincere, genuine tears flowing down Glory’s cheeks. Finally Julia accepts the handshake and then pulls her into a tight hug.
“Yeah, I want that too…”
“Hey, mom, aunt Julia!” The embrace is broken as Glory and Julia turn to spot Melinda Braddock in the doorway. A broad smile is upon her face. “C’mon! Grandma is awake!”
Julia and her older sister Glory pause briefly to wipe the tears from their eyes. Then they follow Melinda back through the door into the waiting room. There they find Kurt and a nurse. They follow the nurse through another door and down another hallway. The walk isn’t long but does feel like forever as the family is in anxious anticipation over the condition of Mary Ford. A few moments later the nurse leads them to a room. Glory and Julia step in first followed by Kurt and Melinda. The first thing they see is Mary Ford with her eyes open looking at the new visitors.
“Gloria…” a warm smile forms upon her face “...and Julia!”
“Hi, mom.” Glory says with a polite wave. “Are you doing ok?”
“The doctors here think I’ll be fine.”
“Did you expect to see me, mom?” Julia asks as she approaches the bedside and clasps her mother’s hand tightly.
“Of course, you are my daughter. I’m just happy to see you and your sister here together.”
“Yeah, well we still have some things to work out.” Julia says, casting a glance at Glory who responds with a nod. “But I think we’re ready to do just that.”
“I’m happy to hear that, because family should be important. You cannot allow career to get ahead of family.”
“I know that now.” Glory chimes in, nodding her head in agreement. “That was dad’s final warning to me; never put career ahead of family. But I didn’t listen. And I put you here, mom. I’m sorry…”
“This isn’t your fault, Gloria.” Mary answers slowly and quietly. “Just promise me one thing.”
“What is it?”
“Never again put your career ahead of your family. Your family must always come first. Promise me that.”
Glory stares blankly ahead, because she knows what Mary is asking and what it means. She knows how difficult that can be and she also knows that this will be especially difficult now with Jennifer Alan’s demand for Glory to sell the company in order to end this war. Is this what Glory must do to bring about peace? The British Bombshell then stares over at Julia and realizes that she now has another chance to salvage the relationship with her sister. And she looks back down at Mary and finally knows what she must do. Glory nods her head.
“I promise, mother. I swear to God, I will make sure family comes first.”
==========
October 25th, 2020
Miami, Florida
Off Camera
==========
It has been three days since Glory’s mother, Mary, was brought out of the medically induced coma. It was a necessary evil so that her body could recover from gunshot wounds suffered when Mary and Glory were attacked by gangsters hired by Jennifer Alan. Braddock has blamed herself for that and now is thankful for the fact that her mother is healing, recovering, and, if the doctors are right, will be out of the hospital shortly. But the one thing this entire incident has taught Glory Braddock is that what made her special was never how talented she was or this supposed knowledge of wrestling that her superior to everyone else. Is she The Best in the World? Perhaps she is, but what makes her truly great is that as good as she is, she never puts anything else ahead of her family.
At least, she didn’t used to put anything else ahead of family. That has since changed. For well over a year now she has been putting her career ahead in priority over her family. Winning championship gold became more important, taking unquestioned and unlimited power within her business became more important, and having no one to rival or question her power and status became more important. Now she has unquestioned and unrivaled power but the actions she took to gain that power has put her family in danger. The actions she took to gain that power has alienated her from members of her own family as well her friends. She isn’t sure what happened to her, but she does know that she must do something to fix this. And she believes that there is only one solution. She must cut herself off from the addictive drug of power that has turned her into this monster. Glory Braddock must sell her company to Jennifer Alan.
Doing so is easier said than done. The pride in Glory Braddock is still very powerful. The pride doesn’t want to quit and give Jennifer what she wants so easily. But there is another aspect of this Glory is dealing with; the psychological aspect. The monster that Glory has created within herself doesn’t want to go away so easily. It doesn’t want to yield power over Glory Braddock so easily.
Selling the company is the right thing to do but it isn’t easy. Glory must fight her own inner demons in order to do that. She must confront her own inner darkness. She must confront the monster she has become.
The opulent living room of “The British Bombshell” is a gorgeous, sleek modern design. It is also clean; almost to perfection with barely a spot and even if one exists, it isn’t noticeable. The cream colored sofa is soft, comfortable, and plush. It is situated in front of a large flat screen television mounted on the wall above a fireplace. The fireplace does seem slightly out of place as it is the only piece in this living room that looks relatively traditional. It isn’t used often; this is Miami, after all. Sitting in a comfortable recliner with her feet propped up is none other than “The British Bombshell” Glory Braddock. Sitting on the arm of the comfortable reclining chair is the remote control and in Braddock’s right is a glass of red wine. The blonde haired beauty’s stone faced gaze is glaring across into the fireplace. Her stoic, stone faced, emotionless glare is telling of her feelings right now. There are two bundles of paper to her left on the arm of the recliner.
Braddock perks up upon hearing the front door opening and then shutting. “Glory?”
That’s the voice of her good friend Matthew Taylor. Not Kurt Logan, Glory’s husband; not Melinda Braddock, Glory’s daughter. They are staying with Mary Ford, Glory’s mother, in the hospital. Glory is alone at least for the next few hours and this is what she wanted for her visit with Matthew Taylor.
“I’m in here.” She calls out. Braddock waits patiently as she hears Matthew walking across the floor. A few moments later he appears before her. The British Bombshell stands up and immediately rushes him, but not in an angry way, instead in a romantic way. She clasps his head and begins passionately kissing him.
Matthew returns the passionate kissing in kind. Glory takes her blouse off and tosses it aside. Matthew takes his shirt off and tosses it to the side. Glory lies down on the sofa and Matthew climbs on top. More kissing. This goes on for awhile longer before Matthew finally forces himself off of Braddock.
“No, this isn’t right…” Matthew says, shaking his head.
“Bloody hell, quit with the righteousness. You didn’t used to care about right and wrong.”
“I may have been a crazy mother fucker but I always cared about right and wrong.”
“Bullshit.” Glory says out of frustration as she sits up. “You were the one who said you wanted me. Here I am trying to give myself to you and now you care about right and wrong?”
“I want Glory Braddock, yes, but Glory Braddock does care about right and wrong and therefore Glory Braddock would never cheat on her husband because it isn’t right. So you are not the Glory Braddock I want.”
Braddock turns away from Matthew. She is ashamed because his words are stinging, they ring of truth. “You’re right, of course.”
“It’s ok, it was a minor slip up. That’s all.”
“Minor slip?” Braddock asks incredulously. “SHE was in total control. The other me, the monster, she was in total control and I couldn’t contain her.”
“Why are you talking about it as if it’s a different personality?” Matthew asks. “It’s you. You just need to control it.”
“And that’s the thing, I am finding it very difficult to control right now.” Glory says through gritted teeth. “It makes me feel better to think that this is just some bloody split personality garbage. But I know you’re right, this is just my carnal desires escaping. I’ve been running wild lately. I’ve been going crazy doing whatever wanted, doing whatever felt good, and I bloody loved it.”
“I know…” Matthew smirks knowingly “...it’s a rush isn’t it?”
“Yeah, it is.”
“That’s why your dad didn’t want me to associate with you. That’s why your dad booted me from the school. He knew I would be a bad influence. The thrill of doing whatever you want is intoxicating. He wanted you to do the right thing, which is not necessarily what you want to do.”
Matthew sits down next to Glory on the sofa. “That’s what your problem is; you are addicted to the thrill of doing whatever you want.”
“I know, and that’s why fixing my mistakes, salvaging my life, and saving my family is so difficult. I know what it will take to fix everything, Matt. But I will hate myself forever if I do it.”
Glory reaches over to the recline and picks up the two documents. She hands them over to Matthew who quickly glances over them. He curiously looks back up at Glory. “What are these?”
“Those are two separate legal documents drawn up by my attorney Robert Odom. One sells GCW in its entirety to Jennifer Alan. The other sells the company in part to Jennifer Alan. I know what should be done. I know I should cut myself off from the company because doing so will protect my family, doing so will end this violence. But I worked so hard to rebuild this company.” A fiery-intensity enters Braddock’s face. “I remade this company in MY image! How could I just let the Alan family win like this?!”
“Do you honestly think it would be over so easily?” Matthew asks quietly.
“You think she’s lying?”
“I’m sure Jennifer Alan is lying, especially if she promised an end to the violence. You are in a world you know very little about, Glory. She is cutthroat and deadly, maybe deadlier than her brother. You and I both know this.”
Braddock sighs and nods her. “You’re right...Jennifer will betray me, I’m sure of it. And that means I cannot sell the company. That also means I have to embrace the darkness inside me.”
“No it doesn’t.” Matthew shakes his head.
“Yes it does! Aphrodite taught me everything I know about being ruthless and cutthroat in the business world, when I was her ‘daughter’ she made me into a ruthless monster. Only that monster can survive and maybe stop Jennifer Alan.”
“Sure, but are you willing to sacrifice your family?” Glory is immediately silenced upon hearing Matthew ask this. He nods his head. “I heard about your mom’s recovery. That’s a good thing and you were lucky. She was lucky. She may not be lucky next time. What if the next attack targets your daughter Melinda?”
“Don’t even speak of such things.”
“You need to hear it because its true. I also heard from Julia. She seemed genuinely hopeful for the first time in a long time when she told me that you and her made peace. Do you want to risk destroying that relationship and burning that bridge permanently?”
“So what is it, Matt? What do you want me to do?! Do I sell to Jennifer Alan and give in or fight back?! You’re sending mixed signals!”
Matthew sighs. “Look, I know why you called me here. It wasn’t to try and seduce me. You want my opinion because you know I only want the best for you and I won’t lead you astray.”
“So what do I do?”
“Well I do think you should sell.” He picks up one document and tears it up. Then to Glory’s surprise he picks up the other document and tears it up as well. “But I think these two options your attorney came up with aren’t so good.”
“And I suppose you have a better idea?”
Matthew smirks devilishly. “Of course I do.”
“It better be a good one because I’m out of ideas. I mean, completely out of ideas.” Glory’s voice is full of frustration as she stands up and starts pacing the floor. “What happened to me? I used to be able to handle any situation with ease and poise, but now?”
“What’s happening is you’re starting to become the real you again.” Matthew points out. “You are not the type of person comfortable being a ruthless cutthroat, that’s why business was never meant for you. This is also you showing humility. Sometime even you are too stubborn to admit when you need help.”
“Yeah, well this is me admitting that I need help!” Glory exclaims. “If I keep the company and fight for it, then I have to let go and become that person I hate. If I sell the company then I am giving up, I am letting her win, and as you said, Jennifer Alan probably won’t quit until I’m finished anyway. So I don’t see a good solution here.”
“Like I said, don’t sell all the company to Jennnifer. Don’t even sell a portion of it. You told her you’d sell to the Alan family, right?”
“Yes, I…” suddenly a lightbulb goes off over Glory’s head “...I see where you’re going with this. Aurora Alan, right?”
“Bingo, babe.” Matthew says with a playful wink. “You can sell half stock, controlling stock, whatever you want, but sell a portion to Aurora Alan. She’s trustworthy, any Alan family loyalists within the company would finally be satisfied, and Jennifer would have no leg to stand on.”
Braddock furrows her brow as she contemplates this proposed solution. “Jennifer won’t like this solution.”
“Fuck what Jennifer likes. Besides, with any luck Aurora will keep her sister contained.”
“I think this could work.” Glory nods her head. “This may actually work.”
“It will work. Trust me on this. Just get your lawyer to rewrite that deed I tore up and you’re good.”
Braddock slowly nods her head. “Ok, I’ll do that…” slowly the blonde approaches her good friend and kisses him on the lips “...you’ve been a real help.”
“Please, Glory. Don’t do this…”
“It’s the last time. I promise.”
They share one final passionate kiss. It is Glory’s way of thanking Matthew for helping her through this. She believes that she has a way to end this once and for all. She believes she has found a way to put her family out of danger. The British Bombshell feels hopeful.
Or is that just a false sense of security?
==========
October 27th, 2020
Los Angeles, California
On Camera
==========
It truly is a nice day to be in the park. The sunbeams pour through narrow openings of the pale clouds as it outlines the fringes of the lazy drifting clouds. The calm relaxing shade of blue in the background supports the clouds and sun. The park itself covers a wide area that could fit about three small houses. It is hilly with a tall tree or two near one hill. There are benches for people to sit in every corner and jogging tracks are all around the edges of the park. The west corner has some swings too on which many children come and play. Flower hedges and bushes grow all around; this makes the park look more pleasant and attractive. They had benches, ornamental trees, flowers year round and water fountains in clear lakes that were stocked with Koi carp.
The camera gets a closer look at one particular bench. The bench had been exposed to the elements for many seasons. It had come to resemble driftwood, the bright tones of its once fresh state had become a somber but beautiful shade. The bench is typical of the parks, the rosy cedar browns married to the iron that curved into the great arms and grew into ever-blooming flowers to rest on.
This bench remains empty for a few moments until a figure enters the scene from stage right. This is none other than “The British Bombshell” Glory Braddock. The beautiful blonde is wearing torn denim jeans, flip flops, and a bright purple short sleeve blouse. Her long blonde hair hangs straight and unrestrained to shoulder length. Her SCW Adrenaline Championship title belt is draped over her right shoulder.
Braddock moves towards the bench and then sits down, crossing one leg over the other. She lets her championship belt rest in her lap. A confident smirk is etched across her lovely face as she stares into the camera.
“The term ‘best’ is thrown around very loosely. There are many who claim to be the best but very few of those actually have the record to back it up. I have been known to call myself the Best in the World and I’ll admit, maybe I shouldn’t be so quick with that kind of braggadocious claim, but look at my record and see what I have accomplished and tell me that I do not have a right to be in the conversation for who is among THE BEST in professional wrestling? And for me, that’s the simple matter of it. At the end of it all, this is about professional wrestling and I believe in my heart of hearts that when it comes to professional wrestling I am the best. Since I made my professional debut in 2008 I have been busting my ass, bleeding damn near every single night, losing sleep, missing out on time with my family, all for the love of this sport, all for the love of professional wrestling. That’s how serious I am about what I do inside the ring.”
Braddock’s smirk goes away. She is now stone cold stoic and emotionless. “That’s really what got under my skin the most about you, Asher. You really and truly are a damn talented professional wrestler. April 19th, 2020 you, me, and Selena Frost did battle in a triple threat match. September 9th, 2020 you and I did battle in singles competition. That’s at least two times I’ve shared the ring with you and so I know how damn good you can be when you put your mind to it. Yet I see you as wasting that potential by choosing to be a clown rather than the deadly threat I know you are capable of being. You call me a bitch and maybe I do act like a bitch. I mean, I did call you out for being a nostalgia act, for being irrelevant. But how can you argue against me when what you are best known for is clowning around with your buddies or posting provocative GIFs on social media. How can anyone take you seriously when you are just becoming little more than Ace Marshall-Lite?”
“That’s why I have constantly challenged you. When we fought at Cold Blooded and then again when we fought on Breakdown, I called you out and I challenged you to prove me wrong. Prove to me, Asher, that you are not irrelevant and that you are not some second rate circus act. And never let anyone say Glory Braddock is a liar or a hypocrite, because I am a true woman of my word. I will give credit where credit is due and Asher you have proven me wrong. Unlike comedy routines of the past you have not given in and run away. You did not tuck your tail between your legs and leave. You have remained consistent. You did not let unfortunate defeats get you down. You fought on, you fought back, and you did what many in SCW thought was impossible. You defeated Syren to become the SCW Television Champion.”
The British Bombshell politely and slowly applauds Asher Hayes. “I have to admit, mate, I didn’t think you would do it, but you took the woman who claims to be the best thing SCW ever produced and you took her down a peg. That’s admirable and worthy of respect. Unfortunately there is still one problem you have…” she motions to the camera “...yourself. At the end of the day you are your own worst enemy. You are your own achilles heel. The story of Asher Hayes is always the same boring plotline. You bust your ass, you work way up to achieve something big; such as when you defeated Regan Street to become SCW Adrenaline Champion at last year’s Apocalypse. Regan was riding higher than ever before and you stopped her momentum. That should have been your rocket straight to the top. But what happened?”
Braddock sighs and shakes her head. “You were beaten by Gavin Taylor. You remember him, right? Yeah, Gavin is the guy I choked out at Under Attack to retain the SCW Adrenaline Championship. But you got beat by Gavin and lost the championship to him. Now you would get your championship back from the self-proclaimed All Star, and that again should have been a turning point for you. That should have been an opportunity for you to turn the corner and march back to the top of the singles division in Supreme Championship Wrestling. But once again you dropped the ball. At Retribution you lost the Adrenaline Championship to Jordan Majors. And what did you do? You went back to your comfort zone of comedy and irrelevance. You decided to find Cid Turner and used him as a crutch in the tag team division, and I think that’s because deep down inside you know that I’m right when I say you just don’t have the desire, the heart, or the will to win and succeed in today’s environment.”
“So here we go again, you find yourself back in the same vicious cycle that you cannot seem to escape from. Once again you achieved singles success, once again you did something monumental by dethroning Syren. But do you really expect anyone to believe that this time will be any different? Do you honestly believe that this curse will be broken and you will continue your rise to the top?” Braddock chuckles lightly. “Don’t fool yourself, mate. This isn’t Gavin Taylor you’re facing, this isn’t Jordan Majors, this isn’t Marie Jones, all of whom have beaten you or you just plain could not beat. This is Glory Braddock you are facing, and I have beaten every single one of them.”
Braddock stands up. She holds the Adrenaline Championship belt aloft with pride and determination etched across her face. “I am Glory Braddock, I am the SCW Adrenaline Champion, and I back down from no one. I also don’t want anyone to think that I am some cheap shot artist who takes the quick and easy way out. Yes, I did clock you in the skull with my championship belt in our last encounter, but don’t think that means that I am unsure of my own abilities. I know how good I am, I know what I am capable of when I put my mind to it. When I put my mind to it I can beat anyone in this ring. That’s why I wanted this winner take all challenge, Asher. That’s why I wanted it to be you versus me for both the Adrenaline and Television Championships, because I love a good challenge and right now, with you on top of the world after beating Syren’s arrogant ass, you are riding as high as you ever ridden in a long time, mate. And I also want to prove that everything I have been saying for the past few months is true…”
“...you lack focus, you lack determination, and you lack the will to win.” She rests the Adrenaline Championship belt back down upon her right shoulder. “Every single time you win big, you revert back to typical Asher Hayes and slip back to your comfort zone. And that’s when a dangerous, deadly competitor like me strikes. I strike when you are comfortable and least expecting it. And when I strike, I put you out of your misery. Just ask Gavin Taylor, who has been permanently wiped out of the Adrenaline Championship conversation thanks to me. And on Breakdown live from Los Angeles, California, I will strike you down and end your magical run with the SCW Television Championship.”
Braddock smirks knowingly. “Go ahead, Asher, prove me wrong.”
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