FIVE
NICKOLAS
“Come with me” The man who had come up behind me mutters.
After the scene with Lily where she had run out after shooting me a glance; I had been thinking about how hard it was going to be to break the news to her about what her parents had done. The truth about her and the crime they had all committed.I had been so sure I wanted to break her, to see her crumble but right now after staring into eyes that had not changed since the last I looked into them.Eyes that held all the sorrows in the world when she wasn’t acting like her mother, I was reconsidering my position in the truth I was about to reveal.“Why?” I query“What?” the man respondsHe appears very confused at my question.“Why do I need to come with you and where exactly are we going?” I repeatI see the man’s eyes darken dangerously before he leaves me, no doubt to go and report to Robert that I am proving difficult.I recline in my seat; my thoughts are soon justified as Robert heads in my direction with thunder cracking in the depths of his eyes.I am amused as the man reached me, bearing down at me with a steely glare.I can almost remember that night and how he had looked at me with the same glare only this time I wasn’t going to cower like a normal eighteen years old boy would.I am no longer eighteen and I am no longer the orphan who was being fed and taken care of like some charity case.I had just singlehandedly bought out a whole donation and the whole foundation even so who the hell did Robert Blake think he was.“Nickolas” Robert snarls, nodding in my direction“Robert ” I respond calmly“Can we have a chat?”“Sure; the man you sent over earlier made no mention about a quick chat… I would have attended to him”“I am sure” Robert responds dryly.I get to my feet and followed, stopping when we got to some room at the back. I soon realize we were not alone and Amelia; Lily’s mother is waiting with her arms folded across her chest and staring as I entered.She mirrors the exact stare of her daughter and I can almost laugh at the likeness between the both of them; she was her mother after all.“Nickolas” She snorts in disdain“Amelia” I mutter, satisfied at the surprise in her eyes at the use of her given name.I can remember her always insisting that I call her ‘my lady’ or ‘madam’.“You should excuse us, honey” Robert turned to his wife.“No, I want to know his reason for being here” She counters“Amelia” Robert mutters sharplyShe turned to me one last time, glaring at me before scoffing and leaving the room.I chuckled, taking a seat and folding my arms across my knee“Something funny, boy?” Robert snaps, eyeing me.“What do you want?” I ask, not gracing his question.“You have no shame, do you? Coming back here after so many years and for what reason?”I let out a bark of laughter, watching as Robert’s eyes narrowed.“You don’t have to worry; I am not here for your princess. She made it clear long ago that she does not want anything to do with me. The past is the past, Robert; I am here for something far more important and it has everything to do with you” I mutter cryptically.“There is nothing I want to hear from you”“Oh, I think you are going to want to hear this one seeing as it is a punishable offence and you could rot in jail for it. Wouldn’t that be hilarious?” I question, laughing as I say this.“Bold of you to think that there is anything you can do that will take me to jail. You seem to be forgetting whom you are speaking to and just because you have acquired money to be able to afford to cloth yourself. Do not forget how beggarly you and your mother were when your father died and how I put the food on both your tables. I even made sure to bury her properly when she died overdosing herself on drugs as usual” He tauntsRage floods my veins and the blood rushes to my ears in a dull roar, red haze coating the corner of my eyes but I make no move and the only thing that shows my anger is the clenching of my jaw which Robert picks up immediately.“I cannot lay the blame solely at your feet, son. In more ways than one, you remind me of your father and it is this sort of attitude that got him killed” He taunts some more.“Are you done?” I ask, rising to my feet.I approach the man, noticing as he took a little step back.“I know your secret, Robert Blake; one you have tried to hid for years and I promise to expose it for the world to see” I declareRobert takes one step closer until we are squaring off against each other.“You know nothing, boy” he spitsI grin, stepping away and turning around to leave right before stopping. Something Robert had said had struck me as very odd.“What did you mean by my father was killed? I vividly remember you saying he was drunk driving the night he fell off the bridge and into the water” I ask, turning around.I notice fear flash in the man’s eyes before he masked it up. It was almost like there had been nothing but I had seen it and that was enough.“I don’t know what you are talking about” Robert mutters.I walk out of the party with my heart pounding furiously.If what Robert had said was true then my father had been murdered and he had covered it up. The only reason he would do that is if he knew the murderer… or if he had committed the act himselfCHAPTER SIXLILYI swear as she glance at the clock in front of me.I had gotten Nickolas’ number from the form he had had to fill for the donations and I know I should just leave him a message concerning our plans but I want to hear his voice.I should not be doing this? I say to myself.But who am I kidding? I have not had a goodnight sleep since I saw Nickolas at that party. Since the mask fell from his face and I was left staring into the eyes of the boy I had been in love with. He had changed a whole lot since I last saw him. For instance, his eyes used to be filled with love for me; his dark eyes intense upon me like I was the one thing in the world that he cherished but that night, he had stared at me like I was prey and he was about to rip me open.I had looked into those eyes and had not seen the boy I had fallen in love with but the man he had become and all that I wanted to ask at that point was why he had left me?After all his promises; why he had taken my father’s mone
CHAPTER SEVENLILY“I got here as fast as I could after your call came in, what is going on inside?” I say to my mum as she runs to meet me at the steps to the entrance of the house.“I do not know but they are all inside. They said they want to search the house or something.” I can see the frustration on my mum’s face as she is speaking.We keep walking into the house and the closer I got, the louder the voices were that were in the house. My father’s voice being the loudest; I could recognize it anywhere.“You have no right to walk into my house and accuse me of this nonsense. Do you know who I am? I am Robert Blake. I can end you and your career before it even begins.” I can hear him bellowI turn into the sitting room to see two young men all dressed up in black suits.“Sir, we are just doing our jobs. An embezzlement case was raised against you and we are just here to investigate its authenticity.” the one on the right says with so much conviction. The expression on my father’s
CHAPTER EIGHTNICKOLASI knock at the door again, this time a bit louder just to make sure I am heard this time if I was not, the last time. I hear faint movement from inside and someone approaching the door.“Who is it?” a female voice from inside asked.“Nicko,” I answer back.I hear as the bolts on the door come undone and the door swings open. The woman emerged from the door with her frame greeting me.“I had not expected to see you today, detective.” She smiles, her face lighting up.Neither had I. I had not planned this little meet up but then again I felt I needed to give her an update on how everything was going.“I was in the neighborhood so I thought I would just pop by and talk to you in person. Can I come in?” I request“Oh where are my manners, please do come in” she says as she moves her tired frame out of the way. Her age was definitely beginning to show in her movement. “What can I offer you?”“Nothing really.” I can feel my throat protest to this so I rephrased “Maybe
CHAPTER NINELILYMy mother is furious as she shouts at the officer stationed at the desk immediately we walk in. The car ride here had not been a pleasant one at all. She had kept on screaming and cursing Nickolas for everything. I honestly want to believe he has nothing to do with all this but ever since he showed up things have gotten out of hand and it is not difficult to imagine that he might be behind it seeing as he is not exactly a fan of my family.First it is the two detectives this morning and some hours later police men had barged in, breaking down the door to whisk my father away. This time they had a warrant to back it up.“Who can I talk to?” I ask the male cop that mum continued to yell out, I had succeeded in turning her out since the car ride.“There is no one you can talk to right now, once there is I will direct the person over to you but for now you should take your seat over there.” he gestures towards a row of benches.“After all the donations we have made towar
CHAPTER TENNICKOLASI watch the glass cup that was just in my hand a few seconds ago bounce off the wall and come crashing down in tiny pieces all across the floor. The anger I feel in my soul at this very moment can burn up a room and of course it was caused by her, I mean who else could make me feel this way. Fourteen years down the line and I still hated her just as much as I did the first time I realized what she had done. If anyone told me I would have this much hatred for Lily when we first met I would have blatantly denied it because She was the first person that made me feel the word “love”. I remember the day I first ran into her like it was yesterday.The weather was so cool that afternoon, the sun was at the right height in the sky and everything felt good. I decided to accompany my dad that day for one of his meetings, he told me he would be delivering something at a house and I would just wait for him then we could go and grab ice cream afterwards.The house we drove i
CHAPTER ELEVENLILYI watch my father as he paces around the room, he has been on phone call after phone call ever since he was released. I told him how I had talked to Nickolas and he was livid with anger but I make him understand that I have seen through his fraud. I do not go into the details with him about what I and Nickolas talked about, I guess because a part of me still thinks there can be a possibility that he might just be right. Stupid, I cannot even believe I am thinking of this right now after all he has done. This has always been how it is with me, always trying to seek out the good in people. My mind keeps on playing the events of that night back to me and a part of me wishes I had summoned the courage to support Nickolas the last time I saw him when we were kids. I wish I had not waited till I got inside the house like I had done.I remember standing in the living room waiting for my father when I got into the house. He spent quite a long time outside talking with Ni
CHAPTER TWELVENICKOLASI hear my phone ringing beside me as I stir on the bed. Who could possibly be calling me at this hour? I definitely had not made any plans today because I desperately need this rest, It has been an exceptionally busy week.I look down at my phone and see her name pop up. Lily. What could she want with me now? Our last call had not ended on a very good note so why was she reaching out to me now. What scheme and lies has she conjured up this time?I sit up on the bed and pick up the phone, putting it on speaker as I reach across the bed for my shirt. “Is it not a bit too early for us to get under each other's skins or you could not just wait a few hours to hear my voice.” I say with all the sarcasm I can muster.That seemed to have thrown her off guard and I wait for her response.“I am definitely not calling to hear your voice. If I had my way I would never want to hear it again.”“So why are you calling then?”“It is about the boat cruise.”“The boat cruise?”
CHAPTER THIRTEENLILYWhat did he mean by what he just said? I probably should not have even called him. He always finds a way to get under my skin. God how much I hate him right now. I get up from the chair I am sitting on and the chair falls on the ground due to how fast I get up. I stand there for a few seconds looking at it, completely lost and confused. I bend over to pick it up and that is when I see my father standing right there at the door. “That was him right?” he says as he sees that I had noticed his presence. I do not know how long he has been standing in that spot. “You keep on looking for every opportunity you can to defy me. Don’t you? At every chance you get you keep on bringing me disgrace.” He raves“That is not what I was trying to do.” I say in a small voice“Okay then. Tell me what you were trying to do.” he says as he walks into the room “tell me what was so important that you had to discuss with that lowlife.”I am a bit hesitant to talk because I know how m