Chapter 17
Iblinked and struggled to adjust my eyes to the darkness. I turned my gaze to the flickering bulb hanging from the ceiling. The bulb did almost nothing to light the room. The room was shrouded in darkness, including the strange shadows on the walls.
My heart was beating fast, and I gritted my teeth. Coming here alone was a bad idea, but I had to see it through now. Blinking a few times, I felt better as my eyes got adjusted to the dim light, and I could see the room a bit more clearly.
I turned around, my movement a bit more jerky than usual. The room was a living room. A smaller one. The wallpaper on the wall was peeling, like the paint outside. There were dusty old couches leaning against the walls. The curtains were torn and ugly, and I could have sworn, I could smell the legions of mites in the room.
My eyes adjusted to the darkness. I finally noticed the two chairs. They were placed facing each other in the center of the room, divided by a small table. A hand wrapped around his arm, and he jumped.
“What on earth is…”
”Quiet. Please, take a seat!” The figure whispered.
There was no doubt about it now. It was definitely a woman, and I wasn’t sure whether to be more concerned or less afraid. Holding his arm, my small palms barely wrapping around his bicep, I led him towards the chairs. Up-close, I could see that one was a worn leather armchair and the other which I led him to be an old wooden chair.
I rolled my eyes in irritation before flinging my hands from her grip and sitting down. “If you’re going to make me sit on this stupid chair just to feel more powerful then, you clearly aren’t.
Let’s wrap this up!” I quipped, twirling my index finger in the air. She said nothing and only proceeded to move to sit on her chair. I strained my eyes to observe her frame in the darkness. She seemed pretty sturdy. She wore huge black pants and a large hoodie. It hung over her face and hid her true frame.
I dropped into the chair and leaned in. Who are you, anyway? Why all the mind games? What”s with the phone call and what do you want from me? I fired off the questions, already beat from all the tricks they”d played. Now, being hauled to this shady part of town for answers was really taking it out of me. I was getting restless, too.
She leaned back in her armchair, crossing her legs and wringing her hands. I noticed her long, manicured nails and shrugged. I had been right — not that I was ever wrong. “You’ve been playing with people’s lives, Leo Woodrow. I just believe it’s time you were brought face to face with yourself in the mirror,” she said. Her voice was cold and emotionless, sending shivers down my spine.
I frowned, hating the dancing around. “I don’t know what on earth you’re talking about. I’ve made mistakes in the past, but I do not see any, that is enough to warrant this insanity!” She let out a bitter laugh. Her head was thrown back. Her palms clapped together maniacally in ecstasy. she leaned forward, staring at me.
I could see her faint features now. She had wide cold eyes whose colors I couldn’t determine in the dark. “Not enough? Do you even know what you’ve done to me?” She snapped. “Stop the bullshit!” I retorted, frustration with the rigmarole starting to wrap around my throat. I was starting to think there was nothing. She seemed like a poor brat that wanted me to give her money for a crime I believed I had committed.
“Look! If you have an issue. Say it. I’m sick and tired of the games and the cryptic messages. You’re wasting my valuable time and not telling me what you want!” I hissed, tapping angrily against my watch.
“Fine then!” she hissed angrily, moving her hands towards her hood. A strange panic ran through my veins that I couldn”t understand. For some reason, I would have preferred an unrecognizable stranger. If they felt the need to reveal an identity, then I had been wrong. It wasn”t random nonsense. This person really had a score to settle with me.
Darn! I hated being wrong. She pulled down her hood, revealing her face. Her eyes looked angry and sad. Her lips were tight. Her cheeks and collarbones stood out because she ate poorly.
I blinked as the recognition slapped me harshly in the face. I met her gaze and my eyes widened. There was no way! Some things were impossible, and this was one of them. She leaned forward as though she was daring me to recognize her and what I did.
The shock I felt within myself spilled into my words. “Aunt Isabella?” I balked; my eyes widened in a craze. ”What are you doing here? What is all this? Why have you been playing these crazy games?”
She let out another bitter laugh. It startled me because I could now see the insanity in her eyes. She leaned back, manically clapping her palms. “You think this is crazy?” I laughed, abruptly pausing to hold my gaze in the darkness that I was slowly starting to see in.
“You think it’s a joke?” I cried, my voice rising. “Oh, it’s far from it. It was the only way to get your attention. It was to make you see what had been happening for the past two years. That”s when my brother was locked up and that woman you call mother ensured you never contacted him again.
I let out a pained grunt. Firstly, because I hated the memory. I hated to recall seeing my so-called father. He was unrepentant about ruthlessly killing two people. This issue had greatly destabilized me. No one knew, not even Nehemy and Jeremy, that this was why I had recoiled into myself. That this was why I felt the ache in my chest rising — that this was, why I was left with no choice than to left her.
“I don’t want to talk about him.” I hissed, averting my gaze so I wouldn’t see how the event had broken and traumatized him. It was an endless sea of photographers that lined our house during those days, and he feared they would capture his face and line it across the walls.
My schoolmates back then must have thought that I simply enjoyed missing school, but I had no choice. Not with all the drama going in my life at that time. Aunt took a deep breath and cupped her face, sniffing deeply before raising her eyes to meet mine again. “Leo, your mother is protecting you from the truth and while I think it’s a good thing. It is hurting others! It is hurting me! My brother is about to die without seeing his only child!” I cried, tears running down my cheeks.
I blinked. My tears failed to move me because I was convinced I was crying about the wrong man. My father was a ruthless murderer and that was all there was to the story. I wasn’t going to be moved.
“Aunty, I don’t see why you’re here crying over my father. I would appreciate it if you stop trying to blackmail me into worrying he is sick and dying,” I said. I shrugged and leaned back into my wooden chair. I hated the creaking sound it made beneath me.
”Your words won”t change the fact, Leo!” Aunt Isabella retorted, her eyes wild with anger. ”I don”t think you know what it means to be left in the dark by someone you love. Someone who gave it all to help you. Your mother”s actions and yours are leaving scars on lives — mine and your father”s!”
I pressed my lips into a thin line. I was slightly disappointed that I had fallen for my aunt”s pointless gimmicks and ended up here. There was an insane urge to stand up and leave at this very moment. Clearly, she could cause me no harm, and she had nothing of importance to tell me.
I’m not hurting you. I just want nothing to do with a murderer. If money is your problem, let me know and I’ll help. Stop blackmailing me pointlessly!
“Didn’t you hear me say your father was probably going to die?” I croaked, between my tears.
I lifted an eyebrow. “So?”
“He is still your father!”
I grounded my teeth. I had enough. The anger simmered within me, and I curled my fists, my nails digging into the flesh of my fingers. There were low levels one could go but aunt was hitting rock bottom. Otherwise, how would I try to defend a man I had seen caused so much pain and suffering without remorse?
“Don’t you dare defend him! Aunt Isabella!” I snapped. “Heck! I know he is your brother and you feel the urge to stand by him but that man killed people without remorse. He was a monster and I want nothing to do with him or his legacy.”
Aunt smiled bitterly, twisting her palms, clasped between her knees. “Then why are you still leading his company, Leo? How about you leave the billion-dollar empire alone”Leo swallowed and adjusted. I had struck a nerve and before he could consider responding, I continued.
“That story you believe in is far from the truth,” I started, my voice calm. “Robert was never a monster, In Fact that was far from it. He was trying to protect you and your mother. He took the bullet so you both could be safe.” I pointed my index finger against his chest.
I rolled my eyes now the gymnastics we’re getting even more out of hand. “Protect us?” I blurted out, the anger that simmered within me, spilling from my lips. “He freaking put us through hell! He killed two souls and never showed any remorse!
I was sitting there in court and even the judge saw his disgusting arrogance! He refused to apologize even after I begged him to. I had to use his so-called estate to compensate the family and try to stabilize it in the past three years. So you’re wrong Aunt, I worked hard on that too”
She let out a sigh and leaned to touch my arm but I jerked backwards, shifting himself away from her touch. I watched with a lack of interest as another tear rolled down her cheeks. “Oh Leo. There’s so much you don’t know. Your mother kept many things to shield you from the truth and protect herself. Your father made mistakes, yes but he isn’t a heartless man.”
”Aunty Isabella, unless something different happened. But, I believe I saw it with my eyes. You”re wasting your time.”” I started and leaned back, getting a little bored.I leaned forward, wrapping my fist. “What if I told you your father was only trying to protect us all and it was indeed your mother who is the dangerous soul”
I could feel my hackles rising. I curled both my fists, my breathing coming out in short spurts. “What are you getting at?”
I know it”s hard for you to understand. I hate to be the one to tell you too, but... she trailed off. She looked away and wiped her tears aggressively with her wrist.
I let out a frustrated sigh. If I didn”t speak up, I was outta there.Problem was, I didn”t have anything worthwhile to add. But then he gave me that fiery stare, and I stood up.
“Leo Woodrow, sit back down!” she snapped, pointing an index finger at him, tears freely running down her cheeks. “You, we’re drunk. You had been at a club as usual, drinking your brains away and your mother came to pick you up.” I hissed.
I frowned, cocking an eyebrow. What was I talking about? I sat back down, eyeing my suspiciously but at least interested in whatever it was she had to say.
“I had gotten a call from one of your friends and I hurried down without thinking. While you both were on your way back, your mother was pissed and trying to yell at you to behave better. She didn’t see the road, or she wasn’t looking and she hit two men. Then she panicked and smashed the car into the tree.”
An audible gasp left my throat and I leaned backwards.
You ended up in the hospital, she said in a rough voice. You were in a coma, and when you woke up, it”s no wonder you didn”t remember what happened. You were drunk, then the accident happened. Your dad stepped in and took the blame. He didn”t want your mom to go to jail. Everybody thought it was my fault, but you never asked why I had this huge gash on my head.
I stilled. My palms gripped the edges of the chair, beads of sweat lined my brow. This shouldn’t make sense. Some things should just not make sense, and I hated how well this was starting to seem.
“So, He had to be stubborn,” I croaked, wiping the tears with my wrist. He had to act like he was a horrible man who had killed those people without remorse. It worked because everyone bought it. This included you, who had just gotten out of a coma. Your mother saw your father for the first one year and cut him off because she wanted to be with her lover in Miami. Your dad is almost dying Leo. He doesn’t even want to get out. He just wants to see his son.” she sniffed, her shoulders shaking from the tears.
The world was crumbling around me. I hated how my words made sense and how there were still gaps in my memory. I recalled waking up from the coma. I saw my father in the news and my mother by his side. I had a bandage around my head. I recalled being very confused because I knew my father was never a violent man. I swallowed.
“I…I don’t remember this. I don’t recall any of this” I stuttered, stunned. “Are you saying my mother was a murderer? That I caused the accident?” He balked.
Well, they both were to blame. If Aunt Isabella was right and my mother was losing her mind because of me, then I was probably just as guilty.
My aunt sniffed and rubbed her nose furiously. “Yes, I did. It was awful” she sniffed. “However, Robert took the blame to protect her. She couldn’t even imagine her spending the rest of her life in jail so he sacrificed himself.”
I could feel my mind turning in circles. I struggled to process what I was hearing but it seemed mostly impossible.
“But why didn’t they tell me that? Why did they keep it from me?” I croaked, my throat tightening.
Aunt sighed heavily and leaned back, using her palms to wipe the tears streaming down her cheeks. ”Your parents believed it was best to shield you from everything. Your mother also thought it would be better if you didn’t remember what happened. Then she fell in love with someone else and just wanted your father to disappear from the face of the earth.”
My mind was racing so fast that I had to hold my head with my palms. There was no way my mother, who was picture of love and innocence, could do something so terrible. I struggled to reconcile the images and I just couldn’t.
When I lifted my head, there was anger in my blue eyes, and I fired at my aunt. “You’re saying she lied to me? You’re saying I let my father go to jail and all the things she told me was just to cut him off from our lives?”
Aunt nodded without saying a word. I stared at her for a bit. If she was telling the truth, surely it would have come to the light. She would have walked to me at Sound ease or had an open one-on-one with my mother. She would not have used threats and strange games to pull me to this suspicious neighborhood.
I felt really angry and couldn”t believe it. My mom wouldn”t do something like this.
“You’re lying!” I fired; my voice filled with anger. “My mother would never do something like that! Even if she did keep such a secret, she wouldn”t lie to me. She wouldn”t do it just to keep me from my father, keep him away, and marry somebody in Florida!” I cried, my chest heaving beneath my tailored suit.
I felt like I”d been baked in an oven, sweat pouring from every part of my suit. My aunt leaned forward, her eyes tired and weary. ”Leo, I understand that it”s hard to accept, which is why I knew I had to bring you somewhere where I could tell you the truth. But I”m not lying. You deserve to know the truth.”
“No! Stop this insanity!” I shouted, my anger boiling over. “Stop tarnishing the images of my mother with your ridiculous lies!” I stood up in anger. I refused to sit there and listen. The aunt and I hadn”t been close. She was telling me lies that contradicted what I had seen.
“I’m not lying, Leo!” She cried angrily. I hissed and turned towards the door when her voice stilled me.”If you”re so sure, why don”t you ask your mother for the truth?” She challenged. I froze, feeling cold shivers run down my spine. Knowing the truth would mean all my memories were false. It would mean I had treated my dad wrongly when he was only trying to protect both me and my mom. I turned towards Aunt Isabella; my eyes narrowed.
“Oh, I will and when I do, I’ll make sure you join my father in jail for spreading false accusations!” The tears were running down her cheeks again and I was starting to hate the endless crying. I turned to walk out even as she was speaking.
“I’m not trying to hurt you, Leo. I’m just trying to let you know the truth and help my brother as well. He is sick and wants to see you.”
I paused and glared at the figure over my shoulder before storming out of the house. My mind swirled with anger and confusion. The date was the last thing on my mind. I was taking the next available flight to Florida to confirm these tales that I had heard from my aunt. Deep down, I secretly hoped that they were lies.