by Kaylee, Katy
“Thank you.”
“Anything for you, Beth.” Antony said, smiling at me as he started to car and pulled back on to the road. “Is everything okay? You sounded scared when you called me.”
I glanced over at him and realized he might not even have known that I was missing, that I had been taken. I glanced at the clock on the dash. Aiden might not have realized either. It had only been two hours since Redman had snuck up on me on the jogging path. Only two hours but it had felt like an entire living room in that dark, dirty motel room.
“I’m okay now.” I said, not ready to speak of what had just happened. I wasn’t even totally sure what had happened myself but the only thing I knew was that I needed to talk to Aiden.
“I can take you somewhere safe, if you want.” Antony said but I immediately shook my head.
“No, I need to get home. Back to Aiden’s, I mean. He’s, uh, he expects me back there and you know how much he likes people to be punctual.” I said lightly, trying to break the sudden tension in the car but Antony frowned.
“You know, you don’t have to do what he says.”
“What?”
“Aiden. He thinks he owns everyone because he’s the head of the family but he doesn’t. He doesn’t own me. He doesn’t own you either.”
“I…I know that, Antony.” I said slowly, “He doesn’t think that, honestly.” As he drove, a dark feeling started to rise inside me even though I couldn’t put my finger on it. “I really do need to get back though, for myself.” I glanced at him, “My work is there and I’m on the edge of a pretty big breakthrough.”
I hoped he couldn’t hear through my lie and when he let out a sigh and smiled at me, I knew that he hadn’t.
“You’re really amazing, you know that? So smart. Brilliant really.”
“Well, thanks Antony. That’s kind of you.” I said, suddenly uncomfortable at the intensity of his gaze. I shifted, trying to force myself to relax as he turned in the direction of Aiden’s home.
I was free. I’d gotten away from Redman. So why did I still feel like I was about to throw up? Why was dread still sitting heavy and greasy inside the pit of my stomach?
I was still trying to make sense of it as we drove down the long drive, finally parking in the garage. I was relieved to get out of the car, not to be in such close quarters together.
“You really are a genius.” Antony said as he reached out his hand to help me and I had no choice but to take it. “Not at all like Aiden.” He snickered, not letting go of me as we walked towards the elevator.
“Aiden’s so stupid, he wouldn’t see the truth if it was right in front of his face. He thought Redman killed that blonde woman as a threat against you but it wasn’t. It wasn’t a threat. He doesn’t understand anything.”
“M…maybe you should tell him that once we get upstairs.” I said quietly, trying to edge away from him as the doors closed and I counted the seconds as we ascended. We were nearly to the main floor when it flashed through my mind. Suddenly it all clicked. Everything that Redman had said. What he’d implied.
I gasped, turning to Antony in horror as the doors began to open.
“That’s because Redman didn’t kill that blonde woman, did he?” I knew as soon as the words were out of my mouth that they were a mistake.
Antony froze next to me for a second, and when he looked at me again, it was like looking at an entirely different person.
“I really wish you hadn’t figured it out, Beth. You really are brilliant.” He smiled and it was a terrible sight. I leapt off the elevator, running down the hallway but I only made it a few steps before he was there, grabbing me from behind.
The sharp edge of a knife against my throat stopped me before I could struggle. Still holding the knife against my throat, he walked me the few steps forward down the hallway until we reached the living room. I drew in a gasp as I took in Aiden, Luca, and Matteo all standing still as Phillipe held a gun pointed at them.
“Hello, father.”
Chapter 40
Aiden
“Hello, father.”
I turned at the words, watching in horror as my cousin walked into the room. He was shoving Beth in front of him and he had a knife held against her throat so tight I could see a thin bead of blood trailing crimson down her neck.
I was torn between dread and relief, panic and jubilance. I drank in the sight of Beth and besides a rough mark on her wrists she looked otherwise unharmed. I tried to speak to her, to tell her with my gaze how happy I was to see her, how much I loved her, and I hated the gleam of tears in her big gray eyes.
“Beth, are you–.”
“You don’t get to talk to her!” Antony said, stepping forward and pointing the knife in my direction. His face was twisted into rage and for the first time, I caught a glimpse of the madness that lurked in the depths of his dark eyes.
“Oh, Antony. What have you done?” Phillipe asked his son softly and when I glanced at my uncle out of the corner of my eyes I saw a broken man. He looked completely shattered. A skeleton of the person I’d once known.
Luca and Matteo looked just as confused as I felt, as if I’d just been sucker punched and I was still trying to recover but I didn’t have time. My uncle still had a gun pointed at me, and my cousin had the wicked looked knife back at Beth’s throat.
I held my hands up, “Why don’t we all just sit down, and talk about this? We can put down the weapons and talk like men, alright?”
“NO!” Antony screamed, “You don’t get to tell me what to do anymore! You don’t own me! Nobody owns me!”
“Of course, Antony, But I don’t understand. What does Beth have to do with this? Why don’t you let her go?” I said, as calmly as I could when what I really wanted to do was pummel the bastard for putting that scar on her neck. But Antony shook his head fiercely and I grew worried that he would hurt Beth even more without realizing what he was doing. He didn’t seem all that in control of himself.
“Tony, what the hell are you doing?” Matteo growled the words and Antony turned on the other man with a snarl.
“DON’T’ CALL ME THAT!” My cousin screamed and Beth flinched as the blade pressed deeper.
“It’s okay. Matteo didn’t mean it. Did you?” I gave Matteo a sharp look, “He’s going to apologize, isn’t he?”
“Yeah. Yeah, I’m sorry Antony. No more nicknames.” Matteo said, forcing a nervous laugh and Luca just looked on, staring first at Antony, and then at me, and then at Phillipe as if he was looking at puzzle pieces to see how they fit together. I hoped he figured it out because I sure as hell couldn’t. And it didn’t matter. The only thing that mattered was keeping Beth safe.
“Antony, look at me,” I said, ignoring my uncle and the gun he had pointed at me. I didn’t care. “Antony, you need to let Beth go. Just let her go and then we can talk, okay? Just you and me.”
“I’m done letting you talk. It’s time for you to listen to me. It’s time for all to listen!”
“Okay! Whatever you want. You want to talk? I’ll listen. I’m listening now, but you need to let Beth go.”
“You don’t deserve her, Aiden. You never deserved her.”
“I know.” I said simply, and Antony’s eyebrows rose in surprise.
“You do?”
“Of course. I know I don’t deserve her. She’s smart and gorgeous and strong and so god damned brave that it drives me crazy sometimes.” I looked Beth straight in the eyes as I spoke, needing her to hear me. I needed her to know, “But I love her. I love her with all of my heart. And I will love our baby with every breath I have.”
Beth’s eyes filled with tears, making them look like mercury.
“B…baby?” Phillipe stuttered behind me. The first word that he’d spoken since his son had stalked into the room. “Beth is…pregnant?”
“No, she’s not. He’s lying. He always lies.” Antony sneered, and I shook my head.
“I’m not lying. She’s pregnant.”
“No! She c
an’t be!” Antony said, suddenly furious, “This isn’t supposed to happen. She was supposed to be mine. The only one smart enough to see me. To truly see me. To see my plan.”
“What are you talking about Antony?” I asked, dreading the answer but I had to know.
“Don’t you see? You’re too stupid. You’re all too stupid.” Antony crowed, his face twisting into madness, “It was me. It was me all along. From the very beginning.”
That dread grew with every word and I didn’t speak and Antony went on.
“Ten years ago, that was me.” Antony sneered again, but this time it was directed towards his father, “You should have been the one in charge. You should have been the head of the family, father, not him. But you were too weak. Too weak to do what you needed to, so I did it for you. And even then you were too weak.”
I looked at Phillipe but he just stood there, silent, staring at the floor like a man condemned.
“Everything was going so well. And then that little bitch had to go looking into Redman, investigating the murders. And I took care of her. I did it!”
Beth gasped at Antony’s words and the truth was suddenly plain to see in the horror of her gaze.
“You were the one that killed Leah.” I said slowly, and Antony grinned at me.
“Finally starting to figure it out, eh?” He said, and then looked down at Beth and I could see the intent shining in his eyes, “It’s too bad. I really did like you Beth. We could have made a great team.”
I jumped towards them but I was too late, he was already angling the knife and I knew in that moment I was going to lose her forever.
“NO!”
The sound of a gun firing exploded through the room and I froze, crouching low as I tried to get to Beth. Antony looked down in surprise as crimson bloomed across his chest.
“Father?” He said, looking confused as he dropped to his knees before collapsing on the floor.
I grabbed Beth, pulling her into my arms, running my hands over her to make sure she was unharmed.
“Are you okay baby? Are you okay? Did he…”
“I’m fine, Aiden. He didn’t…He didn’t hurt me. It’s just a scratch.” She said, grimacing at the small cut on her neck. I didn’t let her out of my arms as I stood, staring first at Antony’s unmoving form and then at my uncle.
He looked like a ghost of a man, standing there with the smoking gun still pointed at his son.
“I couldn’t let him hurt the baby, Aiden. Not an innocent baby.” Phillipe whispered. His eyes were locked on to his sons as he spoke, the truth that he’d hidden for over ten years finally spilling out.
“He was sick, Aiden. You have to understand. He was sick. I walked in that day and saw your father, covered in blood. And the others. All dead. There was so much blood. Blood everywhere. And Antony was there, still holding the knife. He was covered in it. There was so much I couldn’t even see his skin it was just all red. All red.”
“But, he was just a child then.” I said, reeling from shock. Phillipe looked at me and I wanted to look away from the stark agony I saw in his gaze, but I couldn’t. I owed him that much at least.
“He was only two years younger than you. He was seventeen. But old enough to be tried as an adult. They would have taken my boy away and he was all I had left of her.”
“I cleaned him up and I planted the evidence that pointed to Redman. It was easy to blame him. The man was a cold blooded killer.”
“But he didn’t do it.” Beth said suddenly and I glanced over at her. She was as engrossed in the awful tale as I was.
Phillipe nodded. “He didn’t do it. Antony did.”
“And my sister?”
“I’m…I’m so sorry, dear.” Phillipe said, his face crumpling as he fell to the floor, “I’m so sorry. I thought I could help him. He’d stopped. After that night, ten years ago, he’d stopped. And then one night, two months ago he called me and said it had happened again. I went to the docks and he told me where the body was.”
“Where is my sister?” Beth demanded and Phillipe bit back another sob.
“I said a prayer over her body. Then I wrapped her up in a blanket and hid her in an empty shipping container. It’s still there. At the docks. A reminder of my sins.”
“Not your sins, uncle.” I said gently, “You aren’t responsible for what Antony did.”
“He’s my son, Aiden. Of course I am. One day you’ll understand. He’s my son.” Phillipe crawled to where Antony lay, unmoving, not breathing. Phillipe’s cries were the only sound until police sirens filled the air a few moments later.
“It’s over?” Beth asked quietly as the cops led Phillipe out an hour later. He moved like a man who had no reason left to life. A walking ghost. “It’s really over?”
I pulled her close. “It’s over. Well, almost over. Where were you? We thought Redman had taken you?”
“He did.”
“What?!” I turned to face her in shock. “Turns out Leah was working with him. She was going to write an exposé about the murders and free Redman. He made a deal with your uncle that he would stay silent and invisible, and your uncle has paid his bills and living expenses all these years. But he couldn’t live under your uncle’s thumb anymore. He was trying to help me too.”
I shuddered, thinking of her and Redman alone. Except that Ian Redman wasn’t the killer I’d thought all these years. It had been my own cousin, my own family. Suddenly, my father’s words echoed in my ears again, the same words that had given me strength earlier.
“Beth,” I said, turning so that I faced her, so that I could look down into her eyes. “You are my heart. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, I want to start a new family with you.”
“Well, that’s good,” She said with a soft smile, placing her hands over her stomach where our child was growing. “I love you too, Aiden.”
“Will you marry me?” I asked, the question coming out in a tangled rush but Beth’s smile just grew wider.
“I thought you’d never ask.” She said softly, kissing me and holding me tight as she leaned up on the tips of her toes to whisper in my ear. “Yes, Aiden. Yes, I’ll marry you.”
And then she kissed me, and I could finally breathe again. I was finally home.
Chapter 41
Beth
“Are you sure you want to do this, bella?” Aiden asked, and I looked up at him. His face was as handsome as ever, and his eyes were shining bright, full of so much love that it made my heart feel like it was about to burst.
Slowly, I nodded my head, trying not to look around the room.
“I’m sure. I need this, Aiden.” I said, drawing in a deep, steadying breath, “I think I’ve always needed this.”
Aiden wrapped his arm around my waist, holding me tight to his side in a way that had become a habit since we had found out the truth about his cousin, and his uncle. But I didn’t mind, this time. Because right now, more than anything else, I needed something to lean on.
Slowly, we walked down the long aisle. My mind latched on to all the tiny little details, anything to distract me from the gleaming wood coffin that waited at the far end.
Chairs were set up in neat and tidy rows on either side of the aisle and they were covered in a dark blue fabric that matched the somber damask floral wallpaper. Most of the seats were empty but the front several rows were filled.
Most of the people there were Aiden’s family. Well, all of them were, but I considered them my family now, too. After everything we’d been through together, I felt as close to them as family, as close as blood.
Leah had been exactly where Phillipe had said and after his confession, Aiden arrange to have a proper funeral and burial. To finally put her to rest so that she could find peace.
It seemed odd, after all this time. I had finally found the truth about what had happened to my sister, and none of it had been what I expected.
I looked down at my hand, clasped with Aiden’s. Sometimes, though, the best things in life
were surprises.
I forced my legs to keep moving as we made it the end of the aisle but I stopped still several feet away.
“You don’t have to do this, tesoro.” Aiden whispered in my ear but he was wrong.
“Yes I do. For Leah.”
I drew in one last deep breath before stepping up in front of the casket. It was half open and I was surprised at how calm she looked. As if she were sleeping.
“Oh, Leah. I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry I couldn’t protect you.”
“You did, Beth. You stopped the man who killed her from ever hurting anyone else ever again.”
“I wish my mom and dad were here.” I whispered and Aiden held me close. He knew how it felt, to have to wade the waters of life without anyone else to guide you. Just floating aimlessly. But now, we had each other. He was my rudder now.
I reached one hand out, placing a small picture inside the casket. It was of the four of us, me and Leah, mom and dad. When we had all been together, and happy.
“I love you, little sister.” I whispered one last time, before turned and heading back to our seats. I was glad to have Aiden to guide me because my vision was blurred from the tears.
The rest of the funeral passed in a blur and I was so grateful that I had Aiden by my side as we drove the short distance to the cemetery. It was right in the heart of the city, one of the few plots that were, and it made me smile, bittersweet. Leah would have loved it there. She always had loved this city. The bustle. The energy. The people. Now, she would be a part of it forever.
The priest stepped up and spoke and it was a somber crowd that stood on the grass despite the sunshine that seemed too cheerful, at odds with the sad occasion.
I pulled a flower from a bouquet, is a bright pink daisy and it reminded me so much of Leah that I had to fight back another round of tears as I laid it on top of the coffin.
And then they were lowering her into the ground. Biting back sobs, I turned to Aiden and like always, he was there to catch me and help me get back on my feet.