Never Forgotten

Chapter 8: Deal with the devil

"Well a thank you would be appreciated".

I gripped the material of my trousers in hopes of restraining myself from throttling him. He was getting me anxious at him not telling me what I wanted to hear. It seemed as if he holding back because he had bad news to tell me.

"Cole, tell me. Where are they? Are they safe?".

Cole stopped rummaging through the bag and looked at me with a frown on his face.

"They're safe" he muttered out as he picked up the food and placed it down on the bed.

"She's staying with her mother. But Oscar, Brian has told her the coroner confirmed one of the unrecognisable burned bodies belonged to you. She looks completely broken, but demanded him to take her to see the body. I-I took a picture to prove what I'm saying is true, but you're going to be disgusted by what you see".

Cole pulled out his phone and pressed a few buttons before reluctantly handing it over to me.

As my eyes came to the bright screen, I felt my stomach drop and every ounce of my body grew heavy. Rage consumed me once again as my eyes fell on Eleanor crying into her hands. But I was fixated on Brian who was standing behind her, looking at her with a smirk on his face.

"T-Take the damn phone before I throw it".

I shakily held the phone out to Cole who quickly took it from out of my grip and gave me a sympathetic look.

"I can't take this much longer. I cannot sit here knowing she's in excruciating pain. I won't allow him to corrupt her mind with lies. I won't let him break her. I have to act and I have to act now".

I looked up at Cole expecting for him to fight against me, but instead he had his head raised high and gave me a small nod.

Your time is over Brian.

************************

Eleanor

"I don't think it was a wise idea for you to see the body, but do you now believe me when I say he is dead?".

I remained frozen in the passenger seat with both of my hands resting on my stomach. There was nothing left to say. I only had words for Oscar.

Even though they confirmed it was his body, something unsettled me. It was as if my body refused to accept their words. A body proved nothing. It didn't look like Oscar, even though it was consumed by fire, I just felt like my heart would know if it was his body. But every part of me told me to keep believing.

And for the sake of my children, I would keep believing.

"I do believe you Brian" I lied.

If I told him I still thought he was alive then he might become frustrated. It was less hassle to keep it to myself. But I wouldn't let anyone tell Sofia her father was found dead.

I could see Brian's lips quirk up into a small smile as he listened to what he thought was finally my acceptance.

"But you know I'll always be here for you. Now that we have confirmation, we can look to bettering the future for all of us".

"Hm".

Brian frowned slightly at my short and snappy response to his supposed positive comment. But my mind was off the body and back to the meeting we were heading to.

Brian warned me about the man we were meeting, but I was not afraid. If anything, Brian showing me the body gave me even more strength to keep fighting for the sake of my family.

"Remember, stay calm. He's an ass, but he's wealthy and we could use him".

"Oh, I have every intention of using him. I like doing that. I like playing games with people who think they're one step ahead".