Bradford was starting to freak out inside, but he didn’t want to show Harper he was scared.
“Now come on, man, if you want to point the gun at anyone, point it at me. This is my fault; the whole idea was mine, so don’t blame her.”
If Bradford kept this guy talking; he was sure everything would be okay. After all, someone was bound to call the police and they would come immediately and arrest this man.
“What is your fault and what was your idea? Come on out with it, I want to hear exactly what you did from your own mouth!”
As Nick prompted Bradford to confess the whole story of everything he had done he felt a sense of pleasure inside. Even though he had lost everything, he knew he would be able to get it all back and didn’t give up on that.
The police busted through the door, guns drawn. Nick threw down his own gun, laughing, so hysterically that he hardly knew it was himself.
“That fucker admitted to everything, did you hear that?” he asked them as they cuffed him.
“Yeah, yeah, now…” the police read him his rights.
Nick’s bleary gaze didn’t leave them until he had been escorted from the room. Harper shivered, the gravity of the situation dawning on her as the drugs began to wear off after such a long night.
“Don’t worry, baby, everything is going to be okay, I promise,” Bradford said to Harper.
“I have the whole thing! I recorded it!” they heard Nick say. Harper rushed to the window, staring out into the dark night as Nick and the police made their way through the throng of kids, who all watched, shocked at what had just transpired. “I got his confession on my phone, believe me!”
Oh my God. Harper panicked now, more than she had about the gun being in her face. “Bradford, did you hear that?”
“It won’t stand up in court, I’m telling you. When someone has an armed gun pointed at their fiancée, you will say anything they want to hear and the police will know that, so don’t worry and trust me. Now, hurry and help me clean up. The police will be back here any second to take our testimonies.”
As they rushed to clear the substances and drinks from the rooms, Harper was too troubled to recognize the strange white powder that Bradford swiped into a case, sealing it and hiding it upstairs.
***
A few weeks later Bradford had proved to be right. The taped evidence had been thrown out by the police as being inadmissible, and Nick was being held in prison after being charged for attempted murder.
“What are you so happy about, babe?” Bradford asked Harper as she lay next to him with a beaming smile on her face.
They finally had some alone time together, now that Bradford was on break from school and hadn’t been out and about with his friends after she had voiced her concerns about her safety, especially after the visit from Nick.
“I’m so happy living in this house and feel so content being with you. I can’t stop smiling at you,” Harper said before giggling like a little girl. She was being truthful. She had never felt so elated, and carefree, in her life.
“Ah thank you, babe. I told you when we met my aim in life was to make you happy and this is just the start of things to come.”
Bradford had not felt this happy in a long time. There had been some doubts when they had first moved themselves into this house. He had kept his doubts to himself though, due to not wanting to make Harper any more scared than she already was.
“Why don’t you freshen yourself up, whilst I make us both a nice healthy breakfast?”
“You’re too good to me, I don’t deserve you,” Harper said to Bradford before getting out of bed and going into the bathroom to take a shower.
***
As Nick lain there in his police cell surrounded by other criminals, he felt scared, really scared.
When he had first met Nora, he’d known she was the woman for him. When the kids came along he couldn’t have been happier.
The memories he had of the holidays they’d taken together and the fun they’d had on holidays was the best years of his life.
“This is the life, isn’t it, my love?” he could remember asking her, as they sat together in a park on vacation, the summer sun shining high up in the sky. “The two of us watching our children grow up surrounded by love. I couldn’t be happier if I tried.”
His words had bought tears to his wife’s eyes who had equally felt just as happy as he did, although he could see a look of concern on her face.
“Oh, Nick! Do you think we’ll still be this happy when we are old and grey? Will you still hold me in your arms when I’m all wrinkly and old?”
Nick couldn’t believe the words that were coming out of his Nora’s mouth.
“Oh love, how can you say things like that? Of course I’ll still want you when you are older. Don’t you know you’re the only woman for me, and I’ll never find anyone else who’ll make me as happy as you do?”
***
Nora hugged Nick on the bench where they sat and he realized how lucky he was to have had met her. He would make sure he never let anything come between them, and do his best by her; to give their kids the best future they could dream of with lots of love and support from him. As he sat there cuddling his wife and watching from a distance his two children playing on the swings, Nick was blissfully unaware of what the future would hold. What fate held in store for him and his perfect family, perfect life, perfect job.
Fate had really been a bitch to him and his family.
As Nick’s thoughts came back to the present day he wondered how it had all gone so wrong. Had something in his life prepared him for this? Was this supposed to be a lesson, or was it simply the way the stars had been aligned for his life? He liked to believe in the latter, but now he wasn’t so sure.
“Up you go, Nicholas Donnelly. Sarah House is here to visit you, lucky dog,” the jail cop banged on his cell.
Nick didn’t move, lost in his thoughts. He had provided for his family and supported his children with their hobbies and after-school activities. He had provided his wife with everything she had asked for, and she had wanted for nothing. Yet, here he was lying on a hard bed in a jail cell all alone with his wife filing for a divorce and probably never seeing his children again.
Sitting up quickly, Nick suddenly changed inside. He was not going to sit feeling sorry for himself anymore. His wife had not been who he thought she was. His relatives hadn’t been who they thought they were. Hell, he hardly even knew his own kids anymore, after what Nora was probably feeding them about him every day. In all the years they had been married, he had been a good supportive husband, never once being unfaithful, yet, at the first sign of trouble, where had she been? Not by his side as a loyal wife. No, she had blamed everything on him and couldn’t cope with them temporarily being poor, and had left him and filed for a divorce. He had never imagined her being so unfaithful to him, choosing a life of luxury over being a family, her world shattered by the loss of one, materialistic piece of garbage.
“Up you go,” the cop said again, this time a little threatening.
He stood. He wondered whether she had ever loved him at all. If it had just been the lifestyle he had provided her with that had been the reason for her being with him. It didn’t matter now, she had made her decision and he certainly wasn’t going to fight with her anymore.
As the cop led him through the hallway toward Sarah, his one salvation in this world of mishaps, Nick’s mind whirled.
He blamed this Bradford kid for everything and he was going to make it his goal to get out of this place and get him back for ruining his life. Nick would make a plan. He would work out exactly how Bradford had got his property and make sure exactly the same thing happened to him, and worse.
Bradford Whitney, or whatever his name truly was, would get what was coming to him.
His days of crime against humanity were numbered, and Nick would be damned if he ever let him get away with it. All his moves against Bradford had failed; it was like he was always a step
ahead of him. He was a predator, and a damned good one. In his game of chess he was a rookie, all his pawns alienated, his knights broken down and his queen separated from him. It was a game of logic and he failed despite his logical appraisal in the firm he no longer controls now. “From a restraining order to an attempted murder charge? How the hell did this shit happen!” he silently muttered in his mind.
He had lost a fight because he was fighting with logic, a logic he thought he had because of his ego. “I am so screwed,” he muttered again.
“No you are not” Sarah objected.
How could she say that, like she had the key to reversing fate? She just gazed at him with an expression void of interpretation. He sought for words to unlock the secret behind her smile, but to no avail.
“How are you doing?” she asked.
“Am doing time, that is what I am doing.” He was trying to be funny, and it worked. They both laughed in an attempt to escape reality for a few more seconds, but it was too possessive of him. A cloud of silence then dawned on both of them, but to Nick it was a heavy one, the so-called Nimbus. It had humbled his arrogant self as he could not still believe what the hell just happened to him. It was like the coin of his life just flipped and landed on the wrong side.
***
Fate must have been enjoying this moment as it was the only logical suspect he could pin the blame on.
“Remember my son Jonathan whom I told you about?” Sarah quickly interrupted the roller coaster on his mind.
“Yeah” he answered arrogantly as if she was trying to diagnose his memory of something.
“There is this guy Forbes, I don’t know, he looks like those private shady investigators and has shown great interest in this Bradford case…”
“Then what do you suggest I do?” he interrupted her abruptly. “It is not about what you can do. I really think this guy can figure this whole mess out by himself; I am told he is good.”
“What do you mean ‘you were told’ Sarah? I am being fried here for attempted murder and now you are bringing up this Forbes guy? For all I know it could be another trap that will now lead me to a life sentence in this crappy place. I don’t think I can handle that Sarah, I just don’t.” He paused in silence thinking about Nora and the kids and how his actions were a complete letdown to them. He was the head of the family and now he was not so sure about it anymore. A jail time and a divorce to deal with, the world surely had flipped. His dreams must have been at an exchange with someone else’s nightmare.
A perfect life turning into a perfect nightmare, this was bullshit. Shades of tears were clouding his manly eyes, but he was no longer a man; something changed.
He turned to Sarah. “What am I to do Sarah, this cannot be the full stop to the sentence of my life.”
“Oh no dear, it is not, it has to be a comma.” It sounded like a flirt, but she knew she had to say it for the sake of his self-esteem. Every man needs a boost to their ego once in a while and in this case it was Nick.
“Just give this Forbes guy a chance, I have set up contact with him and as soon as you are ready he gets the green light. How does that sound?”
Nick just sat there staring at the walls of the facility that detained him. One would think he was planning a prison break, but no was the answer. He was just wondering how perfect worlds like the one he used to dwell in could suddenly be reduced to something like this. A man of his status in the society quickly stripped of all his medals by a toddler. Yes, Bradford was a toddler to him, a toddler with more balls, had the balls to cross him, and embarrass him like that.
Judgment day, yes, judgment day was fair and it too will put a bounty on fate and punishment for all the crimes against humanity. Was Nick trying to be religious now? Spiritual? He had no clue of how he was going to fix this mess, but time was sliding, and now this Forbes shadow was beginning to cloud his judgment.
CHAPTER NINE
Colin was back at campus now with a criminal charge on his trail. He was angry and vengeful at the same time. The son-of-a-bitch called Bradford was to blame for all of this, but he blamed himself even more, and that angered him even more yet. How could he be so obviously stupid to be manipulated into such a scam? His fingerprints were everywhere on the crime scene, but the criminal was now vividly enjoying the life in their castle. He was impressed, but was still going to kill him. He was wise not to let his thoughts speak through his mouth unless he wanted to join his father in jail with an additional attempted murder charge on the family’s portfolio. That was not an image to live with; he had to outthink his adversary.
Mr. Steven Birk kept a suggestive grin on him throughout the social networking class as if he knew of the bad blood that was running in his family. The only bad blood in the lecture room was the son of the devil himself, and his name was Bradford. Colin could not let go staring at him, using his Gmail account as a frontier to Craigslist to advertise their house and his Paypal account as the place of bidding. He must be proud of himself, he thought. If only there was a way to wipe off that sick smug look off his face without getting into trouble. Bradford seemed to have it all figured out; like a chess master, playing three steps forward while everyone else was still figuring their first move.
***
Bradford felt proud of himself, having taken on a whole army by himself and still managing to throw them out of their nest. Yes, he embraced the power of knowledge and thanked it for the wings it gave him to fly with. To fly like the hawk over the hopeless chicks like Colin, ignorantly unaware of the direction in which they would be struck.
Colin suddenly walked out of class to Bradford’s amazement as if he was reading and mocking his thoughts and decided enough was enough. He did not mind another trip to the “higher” office with Mr. Birk as the “mailman” for his commotion led the whole lecture to a standstill. Connor felt sorry for him, all these troubles befalling them because of the scammer named Bradford. Someone had to pay for such crimes, and a pardon from the judge was never an alternative.
To the surprise of the attentive few in the lecture room, Colin’s exit was not of fear or sorrow; he was shockingly smiling with a grin that not even a smart person like Bradford could figure out. He wanted it to be that way. He was too obvious in his moves and now he had an obvious key to everything, but he had to be silent enough and keep it to himself. No more obvious tweets this time round. He had to dwell in the shadows for his plan to mature and be ready for harvesting. “Brad won’t see this coming. Yeah, I called you Brad!” he silently appraised himself. His fingers were still crossed, he just hoped his plan would be a leeway out of the congested life’s struggle.
Nora was driving to pick the kids up from school, her too questioning the intention of fate on their life. It was cruel, heartless, corrupt, and sent from hell. This life is not what she signed up for and things had to change. Her wedding band was off. Is this a test from God? She could not believe it; a world she had lived so perfectly for decades through her sweat and hard work was now tumbling down the hill, not knowing when she was going to crash. Only a divine intervention would be acceptable.
Nick was in prison, Colin had a criminal record, and now a divorce. “No more!” she said. What was going to happen to her sweet and innocent Clara? She was not going to let her get a glimpse of stain from the muddy world. “Not my Clara, no one should dare come after my Clara as I will destroy them all,” she barked.
Belinda was feeling their weight, and it was not a pleasant load to carry. But she was family; had she not the heart to house her sister? Now that Nick was in jail, things were not going to be that easy anymore. There had to be some light at the end of this dark tunnel, and that was a compulsory thought and prayer she made for her family, including Nick, even if he did not turn out to be the man she thought she knew.
Nick was a grown man, but his actions surpassed every single act of maturity he had ever had and he dared to act without thinking. How was she was supposed to fill his big shoes? Take responsibility of everything? She had
not prepared for this. But here she was, feeling like a widow; a widow with a living husband who was as good as dead.
Clara was quiet the whole time, not intending to utter a sound. Colin, on the other hand, was also quiet, but his mind was busy, desperate for clues to plan an attack on Bradford. Only he knew his thoughts and did not trust the surrounding world anymore for it had proved evident to be his sworn enemy. It seemed like every move he made was a mistake, but not anymore. He just had to disapprove whatever force was out there trying to take him down. Yes, the forces siding with Bradford to make the life of other people a living hell.
***
“I am Nick,” he uttered the words feeling slightly proud of himself. “There has to be a reason for my name,” he continued. “Nick is not a sissy, he is a man. He is result driven. He is not stopped by anything. He knows what he wants and always gets it. He does not give in to defeat. I will win this; I must win this for the sake of my family, my kids, and in order to make things right with Nora, and my business. I must rebuild my business in order to take care of my family,” he said to himself. How the hell was he to do all these things while still inside the prisoned walls? Yes, that was it; he was no longer fighting for his house, but for his family. All along he had been fighting for the wrong reason. A loud whack on his cell door woke him up from his daydream,
“Up you go, you got a visitor.” Nick abruptly got to his feet, slightly surprised by the guard’s intonation It was more of a respectful tone than a command, or maybe he was just tired. He quickly dragged his feet to the hallway before the gesture of respect faded away as a result of impatience.
He just stared at him the whole time they sat across the table eye to eye. He wore a long grey coat and his hat laid on the table. He kept himself busy stroking his beard as if waiting for a clue or hint from Nick. He had a round stomach, in contrast to Nick’s. The overall appearance of the guy in front of him was that of either an ex-con or a cop with a reputation feared by many.
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