“Just a minute…I think something’s wrong…just a second.”
“Ms. Noon? I need you to tell me the alarm code.”
“It’s Morro Bay, M-O-R-R-O-B-A-Y.”
“Thank you,” the security operator replied. The alarm fell silent.
“Hold on a second please,” said Chella. She listened to Mitch’s first message.
Her heart dropped to her stomach.
“Can you call the police? There’s an intruder in the house. I have to call my fiancé.”
Chella called Mitch from her cell phone, leaving the security company on the landline.
“Chella,” Mitch answered, “I need you to get out of the house. Now.”
“He’s already broken in. The alarm went off. I haven’t seen him, but it looks like he’s broken in through the kitchen window,” she said while locking the bedroom door.
“See if you can leave safely through the patio door. Take your cell phone if you can get out of the house.”
A loud bang went through the door.
Chella jumped.
Someone fiddled with the bedroom door handle. She wouldn’t have time to open the patio doors to leave so she left the landline off the hook, held onto her cell phone, and ran into the bathroom, locking herself in the closet beyond.
“He’s in the bedroom,” she whispered to Mitch. “I’m in the walk-in closet.” While getting the Taser out and switching it on, she heard Aaron enter the bathroom. “Oh my God…Mitch… he’s in the bathroom,” she murmured in complete fear.
“I’m on my way to you, Sweetheart. I love you.”
The door between the bathroom and the walk-in closet was frosted glass. She saw Aaron’s reflection through the door. He stepped away from the door. For a second, she felt a sense of relief. That relief ended when she heard three loud gunshots.
Glass shattered, blasting the skin on her bare legs. She felt a sting on her legs and saw blood oozing from her right thigh. One of the bullets hit her and knocked her off balance. Her body collapsed to the floor. She fired the Taser, but it missed him.
He aimed a gun at her head.
“You didn’t think I’d make it so easy for you did you?” Aaron said as he looked at her with an evil smile. He kicked her cell phone, smashing it to pieces as it collided with the wall. The tip of the gun against her temple sent chills down her spine. Nausea kicked in.
“So much for you changing.”
“If I’m going to jail for the rest of my fucking life, I’m going to get the pleasure of seeing you dead first.”
“I’d rather die than spend one more second of my life being afraid of you.”
He laughed loudly. “By the time I’m done with you, you’ll be wishing you were dead.”
“Go to Hell!” Chella replied.
“The only person I’d enjoy seeing dead more than you is that little boyfriend of yours. I’d love to see the look on your face if I killed him in front of you. If he loves you so much, he wouldn’t mind swopping places with you. He and I have some unfinished business we need to settle.”
“Leave him out of this.”
“Awww, I’ve touched a soft spot, haven’t I? I’ve told you before. If I can’t have you, no one will.”
“In case you haven’t noticed, I’m wearing another man’s ring on my finger. You need to get it through your thick skull you will never have me. It’s over between us.”
He slapped her across the jaw. “I’m going to enjoy you first, Bitch.”
“You’ll have to shoot me first.”
Chella sat in a pool of blood. Combined with the medication she had taken earlier, she felt overwhelmingly tired. She glanced down at her legs and saw glass implanted in her flesh. Blood pumped from the wound on her thigh.
“Get up. Get into bed.”
“No,” she replied, leaning against the wall and closing her eyes.
“Don’t fucking push me, Chella,” he shouted.
She heard that loud, familiar bang. A single shot to the ceiling.
Chella jolted. She thought she had been shot a second time. She would have chosen that over being raped by him. She knew she was pushing him to his limit by being so obstinate, but she was at the end of her rope and wanted to fight back.
The only weapon within reach was the shattered glass, too small to cause any damage. She noticed a pair of stiletto pumps, but they were too far away. She glanced at the blood gushing out from her thigh and it was then she realized she had collapsed on a pair of pencil-heel slippers.
“I’m sick of you ruining my life,” said Chella. “I refuse to let you control me anymore.”
“You won’t get into the bed, I’ll fuck you right here on the floor,” he shouted as he released his pants buttons.
Her stomach turned. Sweat ran down her forehead. If she was going to get out alive, she needed to create an opportunity right then.
“Stay the hell away from me!” she screamed.
After hearing the three gunshots over the phone before the call ended, Mitch accelerated, meandering through back roads. The journey was agonizing, but he finally arrived at the house. He carefully entered through the front door, leaving it open, and went into the study to load his gun. He sent Detective Carter a text message telling him he was inside with a gun and ventured further into the house. He stalked toward the bedroom. Just as he was about to inch the bedroom door open, he heard Aaron’s voice.
He was screaming at Chella, telling her not to push him.
The hairs stood up on Mitch’s neck at the thought of Chella being hurt. He heard her voice a moment later. He took comfort in knowing she was still alive. He shoved the bedroom door open. Apart from a damaged door handle and covers that had been pulled back, nothing was out of place. He heard their voices coming from the walk-in closet.
Mitch approached the bathroom door.
“You’re not the one in control of this situation,” Aaron shouted, bearing down upon Chella.
She tried to get up and run, but she didn’t have the energy and fell. He dragged her by her legs across the floor and positioned his body between her thighs, pinning her arms over her head.
“Let me go! Get away from me,” she screamed as tears poured from her eyes. She tried with all her might to fight, kick and scream. She freed one hand, grabbed the pencil-heel slipper, and shoved the heel into his eye.
Blood splattered the grey tank dress she wore.
“Fuck!” Aaron screamed as he held his eye. Blood spewed down his face. She scrambled to her feet, but he pulled her toward him, throwing her back to the floor. He punched her in the head.
She screamed again.
Mitch leaped into the bathroom. At the end of the room, he saw Aaron punching Chella’s listless body on the floor.
He ran toward them, yanking Aaron off Chella with one hand, and bashing his head into the glass closet door.
Aaron slumped over, unconscious. His gun spun across the floor and landed next to Chella.
She wasn’t unconscious, but she was extremely weak.
“Oh god, Sweetheart. You’re going to be okay,” Mitch said as he crawled over to her.
“I feel so tired.”
“You’re going to okay. We’re going to get you to a safe place and get you some help.”
“Thanks for being here,” she whispered. “I love you.”
“I love you, too.” He cleared bloody strands of hair away from her face then pulled her in his arms. He saw the blood on the floor and realized she had been shot. He pulled the terry sash from his nearby robe and wrapped it around her leg securely. At that moment, he wanted the bleeding to stop and to get Chella out of the room as soon as possible.
He slipped one arm around her waist, helping her to her feet. She picked up the gun Aaron had been holding. They walked out of the room. Mitch shouted to police, letting them know where they were. Seconds later, Detective Carter and several other heavily armed police officers entered the bathroom.
Chella didn’t know why the expression
s on everyone’s face changed. By the time she heard the shouts of “Look out!” she turned around in time to see Aaron lunge at Mitch’s neck with a shiny switchblade. Mitch was still holding Chella in his arms.
Chella aimed Aaron’s gun at him and pulled the trigger. The bullet landed in the center of Aaron’s chest. Blood exploded on his white T-shirt. He fell to the tile.
She dropped the gun and fainted in Mitch’s arms.
Mitch gazed at a sleeping Chella as he sat at the edge of her hospital bed. The day played over in his mind. After a few minutes, she slowly opened her eyes and smiled weakly at him.
“Hi,” she whispered.
“Hey, Sweetheart. How do you feel?”
“I’m in a bit of pain, but I feel mostly okay.”
“The doctor said you’re going to be fine.”
“Are you okay?” She asked, reaching for his hand.
“I am thanks to you. You saved my life, Chella.”
“I could never forgive myself if you got hurt because of me. What happened to Aaron?”
“He’s dead.”
Chella could do little more than blink away her shock. After twelve years, it was truly over. Mitch held her in a warm embrace. Tears flowed. The emotional scars were yet to be seen. He hoped and prayed there would not be any.
The man who had tormented her was dead.
Three weeks later, the yacht, Serena, pulled away from her berth and set sail from Shelter Island. Chella and Mitch smiled at each other as they looked back at her old home. This was where it all began a year and a half ago. Tomorrow at this time, she and Mitch would say, “I do.” Together with a small gathering of their closest friends, even her two best friends Leah and Marie from St. Lucia, they set sail for Catalina Island.
The next evening, Chella heard the engines of the yacht roar. Headed for Two Harbors, she would officially become Mitch’s wife within the hour.
She scrutinized herself in the mirror and glanced at her wedding dress one last time. She looked beautiful and elegant, yet sexy, in her white, slim-line gown with a scoop neckline. Spectacular beaded shoulder straps with Swarovski crystals formed a glorious T down her back. Delicate chiffon gently ruched asymmetrically around her waist and gathered at the back of the gown in an alluring train.
She kept her jewelry simple, wearing her mom’s old diamond studs. Her something blue was a beautiful blue topaz, princess-cut tennis bracelet given to her by her best friends Vicky, Kacy, Leah and Marie.
She wore her hair up in an elegant chignon, pinned in place with her something new, a simple but elegant Swarovski pin given to her by Maggie. Her something borrowed she kept in her purse. It was a shell from Emily that she used as her good luck charm. She explained to Chella that she and her dad found it one day while walking on the beach in Santa Monica. Chella assured her that she would take care of it and return it the following day.
As she waited the few final minutes before the ceremony started, she felt a little sadness. The two people, who as a child she’d always dreamt would be at attendance at her wedding, were not there–her parents. But this would be the beginning of a life with a man she was deeply in love with. The parents she knew and remembered would have been happy for her and supported her. Today, they would be physically absent, but deep down, she felt their presence.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock on her cabin door.
“Who is it?” she asked politely.
“It’s Craig.”
She opened the door, smiling.
“Wow, Chella. You look absolutely beautiful.”
“Thanks. Are they all ready?”
“Yes, they are. Your groom awaits.”
“I was thinking about Mom and Dad. I miss them. I wish they were here.”
“They are, in spirit. Are you ready to do this?”
“I’ve never been more ready for anything.” She placed her hand in his open palm. He escorted her to her destiny.
When Chella’s gaze locked with Mitch’s sparkling eyes, she was more certain now than ever that Mitch was the one for her. He looked stunning, beautifully dressed in a dark suit, showing him off against the clear blue skies.
“I, Mitch, take you, Chella to be my lawfully wedded wife, my constant friend, my faithful partner and my love from this day forward. In the presence of God and our family and friends, I offer you my solemn promise to be your faithful partner in sickness and in health, in good times and in bad, in joy as well as in sorrow. I promise to love you unconditionally, to support you in your goals, to honor and respect you, to laugh with you and cry with you, and to cherish you for as long as we both shall live.”
“In as much as you, Mitch, and you Chella, have consented together to this union of marriage, and you have pledged your faith to each other here in my presence, and the presence of your closest family and friends, by the authority vested in me by the state of California, I now pronounce you husband and wife. Mitch, you may kiss your bride.”
“I love you,” Mitch exclaimed, gazing into her eyes.
“I love you right back.”
Mitch surprised Chella with a honeymoon vacation on the island of St. Lucia, her birthplace. After an afternoon drive to her old home and down memory lane, he pulled up to a house. He walked to her side of the car, opened her door, and escorted her to the front door. He handed her a set of keys.
“This is for you,” he said as they looked out at the stunning vistas.
“I don’t understand,” she replied.
“I want you to have a piece of your home. I want us to have many more memories here together. I bought you this house.” He handed her an envelope.
She removed the paper inside—a deed to the property, in her name.
“Chella, you are the best thing that ever happened to me. I want you to have this.”
She was speechless, and after moments of utter silence, she said, “I can’t believe you did this.”
“I tried to get the house you grew up in, but they refused to sell, so I had to settle for this.”
“You’re amazing. We can have tons of family vacations down here. Emily would love it here. I can’t believe you did this.”
“This can be the start of many family vacations together.”
“I look forward to that.”
Epilogue
The summer of the following year, Mitch and Chella invited their friends to spend a two-week vacation with them at their villa in St. Lucia.
Craig and Maggie were doing well. They were planning an enormous thirty-fifth wedding anniversary party that would be celebrated after Chella and Mitch returned, so they opted not to join them for the island vacation.
Detective Carter’s hard work caused the FBI and Internal Affairs to launch a major investigation into the death of Chella’s parents, and the subsequent cover-up by the police. By the time they got evidence from the actual perpetrator of the crime, combined with things Jade said in her letter, four people had been arrested for aiding and abetting. When the truck driver who had killed Chella’s parents was arrested, he had confessed and came clean to the officer in charge of the case–Aaron Stewart’s older brother, Stephen Stewart. He told his farther, who saw it fit to pay off Stephen Stewart’s partner, still employed by the SDPD, their Captain, and an agent from Internal Affairs who was paid not to investigate their suspicions at the time.
When a second set of charges were brought against Aaron Stewart Sr. for aiding and abetting in the escape of his son, and when he was charged in the attempted murder of both Chella and Mitch, he was found in his sealed garage at his Rancho Santa Fe residence, his Escalade motor running. He left a suicide note: I’m guilty, but I can’t spend a day in jail. I’m sorry.
A prison guard was also sent to prison for assisting Aaron with the escape that allowed him to get to Chella and Mitch’s house.
Charlotte and George were parents to a new baby boy. Emily was so excited to have a new baby brother to whom she could teach new things. Chella maintained a great relationship wit
h Charlotte, and they always made time for a special lunch together when Chella visited Santa Monica.
Emily was becoming the ultimate well-rounded young lady. What she excelled at the most was her role of older sister to both her mother’s new son, Eric, and her father’s newborn daughter, Michella. When Mitch and Chella found out they were pregnant and finally told her, she jumped for joy. In the months leading up to the birth, she came over frequently to help her dad and Chella prepare the room across from hers for the arrival of her little sister.
Since the delivery of Michella, Emily had been helpful all round. She asked Chella to teach her how to make Michella’s bottles, how to feed her, and Mitch even showed her how to use the baby bottle sterilizer. She read her little sister bedtime stories and sang lullabies that put her to sleep. Overall, she had top marks in her big sister duties.
Mitch continued to be the perfect dad, brother, son and husband. In a way, fatherhood was new for him, too, considering he and Charlotte divorced soon after Emily was born. Waking up to a crying baby at three in the morning was quite an experience. Thankfully, the sleeplessness lasted only a few weeks after returning home from the hospital. Michella quickly adapted to her surroundings and slept straight through the night.
Mitch had been so supportive and really happy for his mom when she finally told him she had serious feelings for Ethan–Jason’s father. They had met at Chella and Mitch’s wedding. When Ethan asked for Mitch’s blessing to marry Liz three months earlier, Mitch was beyond ecstatic. He had seen how happy his mom was since the day they met and as their relationship progressed. It was nice for him to see his mom in a loving, happy, healthy relationship. Liz and Ethan were wed in a small ceremony at Pigeon Island by the water that summer.
Chella was happy. Now that Liz had her own life, she was less involved in theirs. After she had apologized to Chella and promised to make things right, Liz really had made a huge effort and their relationship had improved.
Simone, Olivia, and Mitch had developed a special bond. They were now regulars at all family events, and for those times when he wanted Chella all to himself, Simone and Olivia were the best baby sitters they could ever ask for. Unfortunately, they were not able to get the time off to join them on this summer trip, but there was some talk about a Christmas vacation.
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