35. Drew
Father? I’m not sure my brain is comprehending my mother’s words. Everyone appears to be wearing the same shocked expression. Holy shit. We miscalculated all of this. In a few ways, I myself feel duped, but I’m grateful to have my mom at my side and to finally end this once and for all.
I glance at Bel and notice the burning rage in her eyes. She’s glaring at Sebastian like she wants to rip him apart, piece by piece.
“What the fuck, Sebastian! I knew you were hiding stuff, trying to protect me, but this is a pretty big thing.”
He exhales through his nose, a flash of guilt in his eyes. “We can have this conversation after we take the trash out. I’m not talking about it right now.”
“Sebastian,” I whisper. “Give her something here.”
He flicks his cold eyes to mine. “Like you always do?”
She lets out a sigh of defeat. “When this is over, we will be talking about this.”
Sebastian growls low in his throat, the tone sheer frustration. “Our mother and Drew’s whatever he is now were set up in an arranged marriage. I was the result of said marriage. Once I was born, she started planning her escape. During that time, she met someone new, got pregnant with you and made a deal with my grandfather—our grandfather—to trade me to him in exchange for her being able to run without being hunted, for her to disappear with you.”
Bel’s expression grows bleaker, and tears shimmer in her green eyes. I can only imagine how this all looks, like we’ve all been hiding the truth from her. “How long have you known all this? How...”
Sebastian sighs this time. “Not long. It was uncovered by the PI. He found some of my grandfather’s paperwork, and it was laid out in it.”
“Mom wouldn’t do that. Mom wouldn’t trade one of her kids to save another. That wasn’t her.” There’s a note of panic in her tone.
I step closer to try to comfort her, but she swats my hand away. “No, don’t try to soothe me right now.” She shuffles to the side, away from both of us. “I wish she would have told me all of this before it was too late. I could have...”
“What?” Sebastian supplies. “You could have what? There was no threat then.”
Turning, she waves at my dad, or should I say Sebastian’s dad. “He was always a threat. To you, to me, and obviously to Mom.”
“Okay, and you would’ve done what about it? Walked in here and killed him yourself?” Seb asks. I’m nodding along with him because over my dead fucking body would she have come here to face that asshole alone.
My mom turns to look at me, and I’m shocked all over again. She’s spoken more words today than she has in years. As much as all those that I care about have lost, is it selfish of me to be grateful that I still have my mother?
Am I finally going to get my mom back?
When she steps closer, the doctor always guiding her, she shakes her head. “I’m so sorry, Drew. I should have protected you, tried harder. I should have realized sooner what that asshole was doing.”
The dominos keep falling, revealing a new image, right behind the next one.
“This wasn’t the way I planned on telling you we adopted you. Not in a million years. As a matter of fact, around the time I started mentioning to him that we should tell you is when I suddenly started getting sick.”
“Why?” I’m so fucking lost right now.
She smirks and shoots my father a glare. He has the audacity to raise his chin even though he’s the one dying right in front of us. “Because of the money of course. Why does he do all the things he does? My money is what powers our life, it’s the only thing he has. The only reason he was able to get engaged to an Arturo was because he lied and charmed his way into their lives. It worked on my family too, and once the deal was done, it was too late to correct. He’d already sunk his talons in.”
Sounds exactly like him. Driven by greed and the desire to be in control of everything. He could charm anyone into believing him. Nevertheless, I’m going to need some time to decompress with all these new revelations.
“I’m sorry… this is just a lot to wrap my head around right now. ”
Mom nods. “I understand, but I need you to know why he treated you the way he did. It had nothing to do with you, Drew. Nothing. You were and still are a wonderful son. That man…” She growls toward the man responsible for most of the people”s pain standing in this room. “It was always about the money. It took me some time to see that. He knew that if I died, every penny and dime would go to you. He needed complete control over you to ensure the money would continue to flow. That’s why he abused you, and forced you to fit into the mold he wanted.”
Her voice shakes now. “I’m sorry for the pain I’ve caused you, and If you decide you don’t want to be a part of my life anymore, I get that, but please know that you’re my son. You’ve always been mine, and I don’t need something as trivial as blood to confirm it.”
My heart stutters in my chest, and I reach for her, my hand grazing her cheek. She looks so fragile and breakable. I’ll do anything to protect her in the future.
“I don”t want you to apologize, Mom. You’ve been there for me, and yes, there are things you couldn’t protect me from, but you’ve always been and always will be my mother.”
There’s a short coughing laugh that comes from the other side of the room. “Isn’t this touching, you two catch up so sweetly over my corpse.”
“Shut up!” I snarl at him, both wanting to kill him right this second and watch him die slowly as he bleeds out on the floor.
He struggles to suck air into his lungs, and I notice the pool of blood around his body growing bigger. It shouldn’t be long. Then again, with as big of a pain in the ass as he is, I doubt he’ll go out quietly.
“Killing me won’t change what happened… but…”
I watch my heart leave my body, as he uses the last bit of strength he has and lunges forward, his hands outstretched for—Bel.
I’m moving without thought. The doctor tugs Mom out of the way, and Sebastian rushes toward her too. A gunshot goes off and the echo of it rings in my ears, creating a staccato tap along with my heartbeat.
No! For half a second, I fear the worst. Bel’s been shot. I don’t know what the hell I’ll do if she doesn’t make it. That sheer panic is short lived when I notice my father”s body slumped to the ground, his open eyes vacant and lifeless.
In the center of his forehead is a perfectly round bullet hole. I know I should feel something akin to sorrow or sadness, but I don’t. Does that make me a monster? I don’t know.
Sebastian sneers at him, and I wonder if he’s going to shoot him again. Maybe. I would. Just for safe measure.
Reaching Bel, I wrap my arms tightly around her slender body, vowing never to let her go. “Are you okay?”
She nods, as tears slip freely down her cheeks. “I’m fine. He didn’t get close enough to touch me. I… It just scared me.”
I tighten my grip on her, terrified that if I blink, she’ll disappear, and I’ll look down to see her body in place of my father’s. It’s okay. She’s okay. It’s over now. I repeat the mantra over and over again inside my head, holding her as tightly as I can to my chest. I relish in her sweet floral scent, and allow the steady thud of her own heartbeat to bring me back to a normal state. I need this moment with her, to know that she’s okay, that I’m okay. That this nightmare is fucking finally over.
“Fuck, Bel. I’m sorry. I’m sorry you had to witness all this. It was supposed to be simple, straightforward, and quick. I was trying to outsmart him, to make him think I was going to go through with it,” I whisper into her hair. “I’m so sorry for putting you in danger.”
My gaze catches on Sebastian, who stands over Lyle’s body. The gun is still in his hand, his finger still on the trigger. It’s hard to read him right now. I can’t tell if he’s numb, or if what I’m seeing is a mixture of guilt and anger.
He’s lost so much. What happens when the dam breaks?
“You okay?” I ask, even while knowing he’s not.
“As okay as I’m ever going to be. My only regret is not getting answers to questions I might have wanted answers too. I didn’t think about that until after I’d pulled the trigger. Not that I think it matters anyway. He wouldn’t have told me anything I wanted to know, not without bloodshed. Everyone else”s lives were games to him. If he could fuck things up or leave you reeling with emotion, then he would.”
“I know. I hate that you won’t ever get the answers you want, but I’m glad he’s dead. It’s what he deserved.”
He doesn’t say anything, but then again, he doesn’t have to. He lost his mother without any closure, and now he’s lost his father—even the piece of shit that he is. And I thought my life was fucked up.
To be in his shoes right now. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone.
“Let’s go lie back down. I think you’ve had enough fun with the gun for today.” Dr. Brooks says. I turn just in time to watch as my mother slumps forward, Brooks catching her gently under the elbows.
I give Bel a squeeze, then release her and march over to my mother. I pick her up gently, like she’s made of glass, and carry her over to the bed again.
“I agree. I think you need to rest. I don’t want to lose you because you put all your energy into getting rid of him, especially when he’s already gone.”
A sigh slips past her lips, which I swear are pulling up into a smile as she lies back in the bed. The doctor bustles around to plug in her monitors, and the IV I only just noticed, that’s still hanging out of the joint in her arm.
“No matter what happens in the future, this moment was worth it. Worth every hardship, secret, and ounce of strength. He deserved to pay in blood after hurting so many and destroying their lives. I just hate that he died so quickly.”
I lean forward and press a kiss to her forehead. “It’s done now. He’s gone, and he’ll never hurt us again. Now we can focus on moving forward.”
“Oh I know, sweet boy.” She smiles up at me, her eyes twinkling.
“I’ve missed you so much. I thought I was going to lose you.”
She sighs softly, the tiredness returning to her face. “You weren’t going to lose me. I was in good hands all along. Alan, here, realized what was happening, told me, and we came up with a plan to break me free from his control. Got me out of the endless loop of crooked medical staff he hired and made sure I could finally get the help I needed.”
The thought hits me like a punch to the gut. “You...are you going to die? Or is this curable?”
The doctor leans over and checks some vitals, his fingers grazing my mother’s wrist dare I say intimately. I don’t have the mental bandwidth to open that can of worms at the moment, so I choose to keep the thought to myself, and I’ll ask about it at a later date.
“No, she won’t die. I think whatever he did to your girlfriend’s mother was where he started. It was worse at that time since he didn’t know how to control the doses properly. I’ve implemented a plan to get your mother back to health, but it’s going to take some time.”
I nod once and turn back to face Bel, who is now sitting on the couch, her eyes carefully avoiding the dead body on the floor.
I kick one of the guards in the side with my boot before spouting off a demand. “You help, or you die, it’s as simple as that. Get his body out of here. I don’t care what you do with it.”
The two goons push up off the floor and rush toward his body without question. I feel nothing but relief as they lift him by the arms, and drag his deceased carcass out the door, leaving a trail of blood behind.
It’s over. It’s really fucking over.
I suck a ragged breath into my lungs, and it’s like I’m breathing for the first time. The weight on my shoulders, on my fucking heart, has lifted. I’m no longer held down by this imaginary brick. Tears prick my eyes. It’s the most fucked-up thing ever, and I can only describe it as a blanket of calm overcoming me.
I snap out of it, and blink back the tears before they can fall. I notice Richard standing near the door. He looks like he’s about to bolt.
“Are you going to be a problem we need to get rid of?”
He shrugs, and then pulls a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket, along with a lighter. He lights one up right there, sucking on the end of the cancer stick like a straw. I can’t really blame him. At this point, I need something stronger than whiskey to drink.
“Nope. I won’t be a problem to you or your family. As far as I can tell, your father deserved it. When it’s time to do the paperwork and transfer everything over, feel free to reach out. I’ll even do it without charging you.”
Bel cuts in beside me. “How can you say you won’t be a problem when you just witnessed what you did? When you tried to force us to marry each other? A person willing to do bad things doesn’t just change.”
Barely glancing at Bel, he replies, “You’re right, but a person who is smart and doesn’t want to die does what they must to adapt. I don’t know about you but when someone holds a gun to your head and says do this or else, you choose the option that’s going to keep you alive the longest. I have a daughter who needs me more than I need a bullet in my head. I won’t be a problem.”
I’m reminded in an instant that we all make choices. We all do what we must, choosing between the lesser of two evils in our lives simply to get ahead and protect those we love. It’s never personal. Sometimes it’s kill or be killed.
Bel’s body sways against me, like she’s lost the last of her fight. I feel a similar exhaustion threatening to take me out at the knees, but I need to be strong, at least until everything is cleaned up and any potential risks are dissolved.
I circle an arm around her waist. “I got you, Flower,” I whisper, lifting her, and cradling her in my arms. She lets out a grumble but doesn’t try to stop me.
“I’m okay, just a little tired. Someone injected me with a tranquilizer.” Sarcasm clings to her words.
I cringe. “Yeah, I’m sorry about that. I’ll make it up to you. I promise.”
Bel turns, resting her cheek against my chest, and in her eyes, I see the trust and forgiveness I’ve been fighting for since the very beginning.
“Oh, I’m counting on it.” She smiles.
I hold on to her a little tighter, just to confirm this is all real and not a dream. That we made it out of this unhurt and content. With a sigh, I can only smile with tears in my eyes. It’s finally over. I’m finally free. And Bel is mine.