Nicole

Chapter: 24

Christopher stood frozen in his spot, staring at the woman who had entered the warehouse. Nicole could feel the tension between him, his brother, and the woman like a current traveling from one to the other. She was aware of Isabelle and Axel on either side of her; Derek standing beside his father with his chin held up high in pride (What could it possibly be that would make him proud after being beaten up by me? Nicole thought.); Nathan’s body a few feet behind them.

The thought of Nathan made Nicole’s heart ache and her eyes whelm up with tears. It made the pain in her arm seem like nothing, even though her hand was drenched in her blood as she clutched it. But she held herself upright. This was the worst time to cry. Right now, she needed all the strength she could get because she had a feeling that something was about to go down and it would be unpleasant.

“Jacob?” Christopher said, his eyes darting between his brother and the woman. Jacob, with his hands locked behind him, only stared ahead of him as if paying respect to the woman.

“Wondering why I’m here?” The woman asked and Nicole’s father looked at her. She had a sweet voice, Nicole thought, but there was a hint of coldness to it.

“I don’t care why you’re here,” Christopher merely answered. “I want to know why you did this to my wife and my son.”

The woman chuckled, “When you got married to Laura, didn’t you realize that you were walking the path of a beautiful life after completely destroying someone else’s? How did you even have the courage to do that? After you made my life miserable, how did the guilt not eat you up and prevent you from having that beautiful life?”

“Because I knew that what happened to you was not my fault,” Christopher answered. He seemed calmer than before. Nicole didn’t know what they were talking about but she had a feeling her unasked question would be answered soon.

“Oh, no, that’s what you believed. It’s what Laura made you believe, that this was not your fault. Christopher, you are the reason I am stripped of all my honor and dignity. You are the reason that half my family is in a mental hospital and the other half is dead.” The woman had a stiff expression on her face as she glared at Nicole’s father. “And when I saw you with Laura, I could not believe you didn’t feel even the slightest guilt that could’ve held you back. So, I made sure to make you feel it.”

Christopher inhaled sharply, “If your grudge was against me, why did you kill Laura? Why did you kill Nathan?”

“I intended on killing you at first, but that would’ve been useless. It wouldn’t have given you any pain. So I decided to let you live, for there are things worse than death. I was going to do exactly what you did to me.” The woman paused for a moment before speaking again. “Do you remember when Laura suddenly started to argue with her, saying that she was sick of LA, her hometown? That wasn’t genuine. She was acting out of fear. Fear for you.”

Christopher was no longer angry. A confused look flashed across his face. Nicole, as well, couldn’t comprehend what the woman was trying to say. Her mother was the bravest person she knew so, why would she act out of fear?

It was Jacob who spoke now. “Fourteen years ago, you held a party at your house when you got promoted. By that time, Nathan was already expected.” Nicole’s heart ached at the mention of her brother as if someone drove a knife through it. “I never intended on attending your party but Morell had a task for me that I thought would be best to do at the party. While you were busy, I pulled Laura in a corner and told her to leave California. No, threatened.” Nicole’s heartbeat sped up. “I told her that if she didn’t leave California, she would put you in danger. That’s when she told me of Nathan.