Deception | (Part 1)✔️

Chapter - 34: Long Night

NYPD cars are surrounding my house, and my aunt is crying hysterically, sitting on the porch curled in a man's arms.

Sterling and I share a look before rushing towards her. As soon as she notices us, she springs up, rushing towards me and embracing me as she breaks down.

I look towards Sterling as I continue to soothe my aunt. He nods to me after he understands what I'm trying to tell him before going to talk to the police officer.

"What happened, Aunt Carol?" I ask, but she keeps on crying, unable to say anything, I helplessly turn towards the man who was standing beside us.

"When we came from the hospital, we saw the whole house crashed, that's when I called the police...... oh, before I forget, this was found in your room, and this was placed on your bed."

I smoothly handed my aunt to the man who said his name was John Miller.

He is around 27, which is the same age. He has light brown hair with a bit of dark in them, gray eyes, and has a well-built body. He stands with his hands in his pockets.

I opened the first box and instantly dropped it with a gasp, my hands trembling. I didn't notice Sterling approaching, but I was suddenly pulled into a warm embrace, which somewhat calmed me down. Sterling held me in his arms, whispering consoling words as I continued to sob in the crook of his neck. Finally, I ran out of tears, and I moved away from Sterling but only to be pulled back. "I have to call Leo," I protested.

"I already called him. He's on his way." He said.

In the box was a dead possum's head covered in blood, then I noticed a note beside it which said

"Thought it'd be nice of me to give you the trailer of our new movie,"

P.S.: You're the main actress.

P.P.S.: I'm the villain.

I dropped the letter as I turned to the other box, which was kept right beside it. I shared a look with Sterling before opening it with shaky hands.

Inside the box was a monkey as soon as I picked it up

"I'm Catherine

"I'm Catherine, and this is my fate,"

this is my fate. "

"I'm Catherine and-"

Suddenly, his head exploded. I flinched and buried my face in Sterling's neck.

"Hey, look at me, it's gonna be okay. "

I nodded, unable to form out words.

It felt like an eternity as we waited for Leo to arrive on our porch. My aunt was currently dozed off on Jhon's lap in his truck. Whereas I was lying with Sterling in his car's backseat wrapped up in a blanket as he continued to run calming circles on the back of my palm.

"Look, we should talk about what's going on between us, not to hurt your feelings or anything, but I don't think I'm up for a relationship right now. This is all new to me." I rambled on.

"Hey, hey, I don't think I'm ready too, so how about we keep it light and breezy." He reassured.

"Did you just quote Jake from Brooklyn nine-nine?" I looked at him in amusement.

"Yeah, I guess I did," we laughed.

"Hey, what about Lilly and Chase? Whose watching over them?" I asked, breaking the silence.

"Oh, my nana, actually, she's decided to stay here for a while, which will help me when I go looking for Sebastian's daughter," he explained.

"Does your nana know that you're in a gang?" I ask curiously.

"No, she just knows that I work in some race shop, which is the half-truth," he explains guiltily.

"Hey, I know you only do it so they would be out of danger, I've been there, and to be honest, it didn't end well," I say.

"Thanks, Florence. I'll think about it, " he smiles

"Anytime," I say before we fall into another lap of silence.

I don't know when, but I slowly drift off into a peaceful slumber.

I'm woken by someone knocking on the window, I look up to see the officer signaling me to come out, and then I look at Sterling, who is sleeping peacefully. I gently laid him on the back seat of the car without waking him up before moving out of the car where the officer was waiting for me to answer questions.

"Did this happen before?" the officer asks

"Yes!" I answer.

"Do you have any suspects in your mind?" he asks.

"Yes, Damon Norwood. He's targeting me for quite a few years now, " I answer all his questions.

"If there's anything suspicious noticed by you, then you can come by the precinct and report it. Alright?" the officer said.

Once the police officers are done investigating, I hear a car park on my porch, and I look around to see Leo. As soon he comes out of his car, he's engulfed in a hug by me.

"How? I thought you were held hostage by Sebastian's men?" I asked.

"You do realize that I'm a black belt in Karate, Jit-Jitsu, and once was an all-time winner in boxing? Why do you think I'm here, silly? I got out. If they found out it's Sterling's neck, " he joked.

"Leo!!" I whined.

"Hey, hey. They knew this would happen. Your dad worked for him, and I was the one who introduced him to Seb. " his eyes widened as soon as he finished the sentence.

"Oh, no. Forget what I just said, " he pleaded, but I was already shaking my head.

"What?! You dis what? No wonder Sterling's tattoo seemed familiar. It is the gang's symbol, isn't it? That dad had to..." I rubbed my temple soaking in the information.

"Anyway... now is not the time, " I said, and there was a moment of silence.

"Hey... kiddo, how are you doing?" he smiles sympathetically.

"Alright," I lie, which causes him to raise a brow at me.

"Fine, horrible," I sigh.

Just then, we hear footsteps approaching, we turn to see Sterling coming towards us, followed by my aunt and Josh.

"Hey, Leo, " he greets after placing a small kiss on my temple, which causes Leo to turn towards me with a teasing grin. I blush.

"So how about we talk about this?" Leo turns to Sterling with a stern expression.

"Leo! We don't have to talk about it right now. We have a bigger problem in our hands, " I exclaim.

Leo raises his hands in surrender. "Alright, alright! Where do you guys want to do this?"

"My house is free," Sterling offers.

"Great then, let's go" Leo states with a glare still directed towards Sterling when he takes my hand and guides us to his car.

Something tells me this is gonna be a long night.