Bloodborn (sequel to 'Lucky 13')

Chapter 32: A broken heart

Third person's POV

"Catherine", Vernon said, gaining her attention immediately. "We have a problem."

Catherine got up, immediately she got worried. Not only because she spotted Emily hidden underneath his jacket, but also because Lily was nowhere to be found. "Where is Lily?" She asked, her voice shaking.

Vernon sighed.

They had walked to the dining table, Vernon sat at the corner. Catherine sat next to Esmee at one side, and Marianne at the other side. 

Vernon was having a hard time being here, surrounded by the people he used to call 'family'. People he no longer knew. It was an odd feeling. A hard feeling.

"Where is Lily?" Catherine repeated.

Vernon folded his hands together, as if supporting himself this way. "We were at the park," He gulped. "Lily was waiting with Emily on a bench while I went to get ice cream."

"Where is Lily?!" Catherine smashed her fist on the table, obviously almost getting into her Vamrin form.

Vernon looked down. "While I was waiting in queue to get ice cream," He then looked at Catherine. "Two women appeared, alongside a group of CAT soldiers. They were out to kill Lily and Emily."

Esmee and Marianne then gulped, seemingly taken back by this news. But Catherine, she was angry. "Where is Lily?!" She repeated once more.

Vernon looked down. "She handed me Emily and told me to run, to bring her here."

That's when Catherine lost it. "You left my wife there to die?!"

Vernon kept looking down, he knew this wasn't what Catherine wanted to hear but he had no choice. "Lily realized we couldn't all escape, so she sacrificed herself for Emily."

Catherine then looked down, suddenly the harsh reality seeped in. Realizing Lily was gone, realizing Lily was taken from her like that...

"Catherine, dear," Marianne tried but stopped when Catherine ran off. Marianne then looked at Vernon. "Who were these two women?"

"I don't know," He then looked at Esmee. "They knew Lily, they clearly knew what to do to kill our kind. I'm guessing they were former potentials..."

Esmee sighed then. "Suzy and Riley..."

"Who?" Vernon asked.

"Previous potentials," Marianne answered. "They escaped 2 years ago, we looked for them but to no avail."

"They clearly plotted with the CAT," Vernon sighed, sitting back. "They'll hunt Emily down."

"She's safe here," Marianne said to which Esmee nodded. Marianne then looked at Vernon. "Is Lily really gone?"

Vernon slowly nodded. "They stabbed her multiple times, I don't know how she'd survive that..."

Esmee looked down while Marianne shook her head in disbelieve.

Vernon got up.

"Where are you going?" Marianne asked.

"To my daughter," Vernon kept walking and didn't look back.  He walked through the house. Despite never been in the house, he knew how to find Catherine relatively easy. He knocked on the open door of her office. "Can I come in?" He asked but already was inside her office.

Catherine didn't answer, she was seated at her desk, looking at nothing in particular. And Vernon knew how she felt, he had been there. He had lost his one true love too.

"I know how you feel, I've been there - "

"That was your own fault!" Catherine shouted. It's now that Vernon saw Catherine was crying. Catherine looked away again, as if hiding her tears from her father.

Vernon walked closer, putting his hand on Catherine's shoulder, trying to support his daughter this way.

But Catherine wasn't having that, she got up and pushed him away. "This is all your fault!"

"How is this my fault?"

Catherine huffed. "You left her there, you left my wife to die!"

"We had no choice - "

"You could've sacrificed yourself!"

Vernon looked down, taking in the fact his daughter basically told him to die. "I just tried to help, Catherine."

She got up to stand on his eye level. She looked him in the eyes for a while before saying: "You already took my mom from me, why did you also have to take my wife?" She cried, she seemed genuinely broken.

"Catherine, I - "

"Get out!" She pushed him out of her office and closed the door.

Vernon sighed and left, he walked back to Esmee. "Call the soldiers, send them to the park."

"Why?" Esmee asked but took her phone nevertheless.

"Lily was stabbed there," He sat down with Esmee. "Hopefully they are still there."

Esmee nodded and left the living room, making the necessary calls. Meanwhile, Marianne came to sit down with Vernon. She looked at him. "If Lily is really gone..." She looked away, shaking her head. "Catherine will not survive this."

"I know," Vernon sighed. "Which is why we need to do anything we can to find her and bring her here, that's the only way we have a chance of saving her."

Marianne looked at Vernon and wanted to believe the hopeful words he was saying, but she didn't believe him. She couldn't believe him. Because even today, after 13 long years, she could still not forgive him for what he had done to her sister.

Vernon looked down, at his wedding ring, and sighed. "I want to help Catherine," He said quietly. "I don't want her to end up like me," He then looked at Marianne. "But she's not letting me."

Marianne nodded. "Vernon, when you took away her mother, you also took away a chunk of her heart. And that needs time to heal, a lot of time."

Vernon sighed but nodded.

"All the soldiers have been warned," Esmee said, interrupting their talk. "They're all going to the park in a search for Lily."

"Have you told them about the possible presence of the CAT soldiers?"

Esmee nodded.

"Good," Vernon then nodded before getting up. "I'll get going back to my house. Can you keep me updated?" He asked both of them.

Esmee looked at her mom and noticed her mom was looking at her, it was clear that neither of them had any intentions of communicating with the man.

And Vernon sensed that. So he nodded and left.