All I heard was a strange sound. An odd static noise followed by tiny beeps as myself was slowly coming back. My eyes felt abnormally heavy, but not too heavy that it would be impossible to lift them open. My body jolted like it was awakened from death, raising from out of the tomb in which it had been buried. I groaned in pain, feeling my stiff muscles and tendons stretched underneath the thin covers. My chest rose on heavy, rasping breaths and I opened my eyes to an unnervingly white, clean ceiling above me.
So calm. So peaceful. Airy and neat. It was then when I was vaguely aware that I was lying on a hospital bed and likewise, the tears started to fall again.
"Thank God." I heard a strong, steady voice mumbling from beside me then a comforting pair of arms wrapped themselves around my trembling body.
I didn't flinch. I knew it was him.
"Luke..." I squeezed my eyes shut, caused fresh tears to slide down my cheeks.
"Shh...you're safe now." He cooed softly, reaching for my back and rubbed his hand in a small circle. With my face buried deep into his chest, my tears stained his white shirt, creating translucent dots here and there. He didn't seem to mind it though. He just let me stay in his arms for a while.
Minutes past and I had had a good cry. I became weary of crying and got very thirsty. Luke told me to lay back while he went and fetched me a glass of water. I was slowly settling down, accepting the condition that I was in. Until a wave of realization slowly hit me.
A sudden throwback into reality and a cry ripped up my throat, filled with panic.
"X-xavier." I knew I wasn't making any sense. My voice was cracking bad as I was crying, sobbing and hiccuping all in one time.
"London-"
"Luke, where's Xavier?"
He didn't reply. Or maybe, he did but his words, they were barely audible to me and I couldn't read his mouth through my foggy vision and streaming tears.
I remembered repeating the same questions over and over again. Where's Xavier? How's he? Can you take me to him?
But there was no answer.
Luke was trying to calm me down and I guessed that wasn't enough. Answer was what I wanted. Explanation was what I was hoping for, but he was giving me none of that.
"Luke, please..." I begged him one last time. I was running out of breath. My head was spinning like crazy as I patiently waited for his answer.
I thought I was prepared. I thought I was ready for whatever he was about to say. But when all is said and done, I realized I was so damn wrong.
"I am sorry."
Simple as that and it was enough.
His words clicked inside my head like two pieces of puzzle coming together and then the last scene I remembered of Xavier flashed before my eyes. The flame. The broken glass. The piece of metal one could barely recognized as a car. It haunted me. The image of him struggling for his life I had pictured. It ruined me. Wrecked me apart, even worst than the memory of Liam and that innocent girl he killed. I remembered vividly how she cried out at the top of her lungs for help.
Xavier did't even get a chance to cry.
He probably didn't even know, nor was prepared for the impact. Who would have guessed that the last word he said was to me. Even I wouldn't have thought so. Not in a million years. Never had. Never will. He was way too young to die. And if any of the thing he told me during our last ride together was a truth, he still had a lot to look forward to.
"It's all my fault." His voice fell short. I had never seen Luke so vulnerable and in so much pain. He looked like thoroughly destroyed.
"No." I shook my head, peering up at him, "It's my fault. He came to save me. If it wasn't because of me, he would-"
"London."
"What is this?" I sobbed, "Why is this happening to me? Why?"
Seriously, how is it possible that in one's live, one could fuck up everything so badly. Times after times, I kept hoping that everything would get better. That I could fix anything, then came a divorce with Liam, breaking my friendship with Kitty, planning an escape plan which ended with the death of my friend.
I killed Xavier.
Either the damage was done by my hands or not, he came to be a part of all these plans because of me.
"Look at me." Luke said as sat down next to me on the hospital bed. His hand gripped mine, allowing his strong reassurance to surge through me, "You did not kill Xavier."
"But I was the reason-"
"You were not the reason." He insisted, firmly, while we sat in silence for a moment, "Was there anyone there?"
I tilted my head questioningly.
"At the gas station." He added.
I shook my head, "No." I heard nothing. Saw nothing, and was unaware of any stranger being there. Apart from the teen couple whom I wished had left the gas station way before the explosive took place.
Or else, may God bless their souls.
"Are you sure, Lo?" Luke asked again.
"Yes. There was no one. Nothing." I confirmed.
With a disappointed look across his face, he shifted awkwardly in his spot, preparing to get up, "Alright." He said, "I'm going to make a few phone calls. While I am at it, why don't you get some rest."
But before he could get up and walked away, a thought tumbled through my head, stretching my hand out and grabbed his arm.
"Wait." I called, "What about that guy?"
His eyes narrowed as they dropped to me.
"What guy?"
I cleared my throat and swallowed thickly.
"The guy who killed his father." I said, "Do you think there is a chance that he was coming after Xavier too?"
And he did get him.
My answers to Luke's questions seemed to render him speechless somehow, and we continued to stare at one another for a long awkward second.
Seconds, which felt to me close to an eternity. I wasn't sure if he was getting angry or sad. Or maybe, both. All the expressions on his face were blotted out by tiredness. His eyes had no shine in them. Until he blinked, and yes, they suddenly became noticeably darkened and hardened at the same time.
"Xavier told me about his father." I trailed off and watched as Luke's expression shifted from empty to bitter, "Don't be mad. I asked him. I just wanted to know how did he get to know you."
But as if he didn't see that coming firsthand. He couldn't blame neither me nor Xavier. It was his own fault, putting two strangers in the car, expecting them to ask or say nothing to one another other. The Luke I knew had to be smarter than that.
And boy, was he.
"I am not mad." Luke said as he deliberately glanced around the room before his eyes shifted back to mine, "So, he told you..." He mumbled, interestingly.
I nodded. Confused by his sudden mood change, but it wasn't the right time to make any comments. I just meekly nodded.
"How do you feel about it?"
I opened my mouth quickly to reply, but then closed it, "I don't know."
Horrible? Sad? Pity?
I felt bad for Xavier. That was certainly without question. But at the same time, the fact that his father worked as an assassinate. I found it slightly disturbing and very much immoral. The man killed to live. He probably had taken life from someone's father, uncle, son, or grandpa.
Worst case scenario, he killed women and children too.
My point being, should you mourn such person and showed your sorrow in the way that you believed in? Like you cannot think of him as a good honorable man. Ever. It was already so cruel and inhumane to send or condemn someone to death. Imagine doing it as an every-day-job. How heartless you have to be?
"What's on your mind?" Luke asked, noticing how I had been quiet for the past couple of seconds.
"I feel sorry for him." I admitted and his response was nothing close to what I had in mind.
"You do?"
"Of course." I scoffed. Like what the hell? At least, Xavier was one of the not-so-many people in my life that were actually nice to me.
"What if I say there is something you can do. You know, to get Xavier the justice he truly deserves."
Upon hearing Luke's words, my brows furrowed even more.
Me? Someone like me could ever bring justice to anyone. That's hilarious. I could hardly do that for myself. I was stepped on my whole life and to think that I could ever fight for someone. That person had a better chance raising from their death, lived their second life and took revenge for him, or her-self.
"Would you do it?" He urged and of course, when situation like this arose, I never knew what to say, nor do.
My eyes scanned the room blankly. I could feel the veins in my head throbbing underneath the bandage. I was overthinking Luke's question. Hesitated to give him an answer.
"Five years ago, there was this boy."
My head snapped in his direction as I looked at him, slightly lost.
His eyes burned into space. His face was a solid wall.
"He was sixteen at the time. An expert hacker for kids his age. He managed to hack into the Plaza bank's network."
I sucked in a large gasp as my eyes widened in shock.
The Plaza bank was one among many Luciano's family-owned business. Dating way back no less than eleven generations. It was recognized as one of the most prestige and safest financial institutions in the world.
So to speak, for one to break into their security system, you either had to be an expert, or a complete psychopath.
"One wrong code and he could easily crash down the entire system, set them back by several months but he didn't. He made no mistake. Left no trace of himself and had taken possibly one of the most pointless file there was on that drive."
Shaking his head as if he was disappointed in the hacker boy, Luke then continued briskly.
"I knew he was up to something. He was after something else. There is no way he went through all these troubles just to get his hand on one stupid file. The one file that won't even cost him a thin dime. He could easily hack into the bank vault, stole the money or make a transfer to himself but he did none of those things any regular thief would do."
At this point, I still wasn't sure what he was getting at, yet I found myself gulping down my rising anxiety.
"No cash. No gold. No diamond. Nothing was stolen from us. Just an account statement of this nobody guy." He emphasized, "Turned out this nobody guy was his father. Basically speaking, this boy was hijacking one of the world's most secure bank, risking it all for something he could easily find lying around his house if he looked close enough."
Luke blew out a sharp exhale, "He came forward not long after that. Voluntarily. He surrendered himself to the authority." He said. An almost-content smile was playing at the corner of his lips but for some reasons, he didn't look at all contented, "He came fully prepared that day. Aware of everything that I wasn't."
Then suddenly, he paused for a moment causing a panic-stricken scream to well up inside me. I was already assuming the worst in my head, based on the way the story was escalating, but I would never, ever in a million year expect things to roll out like that.
"Then, he handed me this cheque. Sixty millions dollars was how much it worth."
I remembered nearly cracked my jaw open from how wide I was gasping.
It didn't hit me until now.
The only clue I have was from the last paycheck sent to my father...
"I kept it to myself. All these years. I know who killed my father and I know who killed his." Luke said.
I blinked back tears, reluctantly shaking my head, "No..." My heart was pounding against my ribcage and my face flushed with guilt, "This can't be it..."
I didn't want to believe it.
"Why're you crying?" Luke asked in surprise. His hand felt absurdly heavy as it landed on my shoulders, sending a shockwave down my spine.
"I am sorry." Tears welled up in my eyes and a finger gently tapped at my chin.
"Sorry? Sorry about what?" Luke mumbled, confusingly. Using his thumb, he carefully wiped the tears from my eyes.
"I-I am sorry. I am so sorry." I sobbed, dropping my face into my hands, "I have no idea, Luke. I swear. I have no-"
"Buttercup, what're you saying?"
When my head snapped up, my eyes locked on his. Luke was staring down at me as if I was some kind of an alien with five legs and two heads. We ended up holding gaze for long moment before I panicked and looked away.
"My father..." I had to swallow a big lump of disgrace that was slowly climbing right up into my throat, "H-he...killed your father."
With his hand still very much caressing my cheek, his eyes stayed glue on my face.
"What're you talking about?"
I could barely stand looking him in the eyes.
He probably hate me now.
"Your father killed my father? Santiago Serrano?" He repeated after me as if what I said earlier wasn't clear enough, "Who told you that?"
At his sharp retort, I faltered. Drawing back slightly, I peered up at him before murmured, "My mother..."
Luke blinked at me hard. Twice. In slow-motion, I watched his lips parting.
"Please don't get offended by what I am about to say." He said and with no further warning, no hesitation, he averred, "Your mother is full of shit."
Ouch.
"Your father didn't kill my father." He restated, causing my eyes to narrow wistfully.
"B-but my mother said.." I stuttered, "Wait. How did you know?"
"How did I know?" He finished my sentence right before my lips could, "Well, that boy I was telling you about. His name is Xavier Del Rio. And the sixty millions dollars worth of cheque he brought with him that day-" He scoffed, shaking his head like while a humourless laugh escaped through his lips.
"You see. The Plaza's bank usually has limited amount to which one client could write for per one personal cheque in one day." He trailed off, "But the only two people who could write out a cheque for sixty millions dollars in one fine day with no suspect, no consequences, no further verification are your ex-husband...and his father."
I looked at Luke. My eyes widened and he continued.
"All these times, I did everything in my power to be the great son I thought he deserved. Only to find out he was the reason all three of us became fatherless in the first place." Luke seethed.
Raking his fingers through his already-messy hair in frustration, he grumbled, "He fucked us over. All of us. He lied to me. My mother. My brothers. Even to his own son." He shook his head, "He manipulate Liam. Use him. Control his life like he is some kind of a fucking puppet on strings. Because he knows. He knows Liam would do anything to please his greedy ass."
My heart skipped— what had to be about two beats or even three, or maybe four. I was at a loss for words when Luke flashed me a dark devilish grin.
"It's about time he paid the price," With great determination and unwavering commitment, his eyes suddenly glistened with hope and ambitious as he pledged, "And, I'll make sure it costs his ass way more than sixty millions fucking dollars."