Chapter 84: Chapter 84

It's been two days since Derek had returned from the hospital, he thought about the day Kathleen was abducted and his heart constricted painfully, he had lost three people so close to him in one day, his driver had died that day and Geoffrey, although still alive may never be able to walk again and Kathleen, God, she is now in an unknown destination, perhaps dead, but he doesn't want to think of her dead, she has to be alive, that's the only way he could live, without her, there's no life. He has been called from the rehab center to go and pick up his father, it would have been an I deed memorable and joyous day if only Kathleen was around but he felt hollow and empty inside, he was good for nothing because he wasn't able to protect her. the police were trying their best but he couldn't help but feel that they are wasting so much time in bringing his wife back to him, he has to do something, he has to find her but where could he start from? He was on his way to get his old man when his phone rang, he glanced at the caller but it was an unknown number, could it be work-related? He had told Jake to cancel all of his appointments, for now, an angry frown creases his forehead as he picked on the fourth ring, "I told you to cancel all of my appointments" he backed into the receiver but got no response from the other end, the hair on his nape suddenly stood to an end, "you have my wife, don't you?" His heart thudded painfully and sweat beaded his forehead as he await a reply from the other end, "what exactly do you want from me?" He barked, God! He doesn't know what he would do if anything happens to Kathleen, for me to get a call from the kidnappers was like a rat of hope to a dying man, it proves that Kathleen is not dead, he would do everything in his power to bring her back home. "If you want your wife alive, you'll do exactly as I tell you" a voice finally replied him from the other end and Derek's brow furrowed angrily, he hated taking instructions from these scums but he just had to swallow his anger because it's about Kathleen's life, so, he took two deep breathes to steady his nerves, "what do you want?" He rasped

"An address will be sent to you and you're to come to that address tonight"

"Oh! This finally made sense, they were after him all along and Kathleen was just an excuse to get to him, if giving up his life would save Kathleen, he was more than willing to exchange his life for hers.

"One more thing, you're to come alone or you'll simply meet her corpse" the voice instructed, and without waiting for a reply hung up. Derek screamed in frustration, he wanted to ask to speak with Kathleen, to make sure she's okay, he quickly redialed the number but got only a dialed tone, "sonofabitch" he muttered hitting his palm on the steering wheel.

He quickly drove to the rehab center and was glad to finally see his old man looking healthy and lively but was at the same time feeling a bit awkward. Since the death of his mother, his relationship with his father had gone downhill, he had always been at odds with him because his heart had been filled with so much anger for him, now he just stood watching his father, unsure of how to react, "won't you give me a hug?" His father whispered, tears misted in his eyes as he stared at Derek and guessed exactly how he was feeling.

Derek forced a rueful smile as he gave his father a hug, tears misted in his eyes, he has to admit that he had missed his old man a lot, he was now more than willing to start all over with him, "my boy is all grown up, let me take a look at you" his father held him at arm's length and observed him smiling sheepishly as if recalling something, his gaze scanned behind Derek as if hoping to see someone, Derek felt a pang, he knew his father was looking for Kathleen, he swallowed just as his father asked him about her, "we'll talk about it later dad, for now, let's go home"

His father observed his pained look and simply nodded.

Derek got his father settled in at home, he was just about to leave his room when his phone beeped, he quickly checked it, it was a message containing the address he was supposed to be at, he glanced at his father who was observing him keenly, "I'll be right back, Dad"

"Be careful son" his father muttered and for a second, he thought that perhaps his father knew what was going on, without another word, he turned on his heels. He had to get to Kathleen, he feared that those beasts would do something to her if he didn't comply with their demands, he had to go there alone but what if those bastards didn't own up to their words, he would simply get him and Kathleen killed, he was leaving the house when a thought occurred to him, he walked to the servant's quarter and called Mary, giving her the address and instructing her that if he wasn't back in an hour, she should call the cops, she wore a worried frown as she watched him leave and prayed that her mistress would be brought home safe and sound.

Kàthleen opened her eyes and shook her head as if to clear it, her gaze met with Marcella sitting on a chair in front of her, "finally, the princess is awake" she smirked at Kathleen.

"Why am I not surprised that you're behind this?" Kathleen rasped and Marcella laughed out loud, "you're always smart but not as smart as me"

Kàthleen tried to adjust herself, she felt aches all over, she had figured her kidnapping was ordered by Marcella when she had seen Dave the other night, he had gone after Tasha and she hadn't seen him again, she hoped Tasha was alright. She stared at the tight rope around her, "I can't breathe properly in this, it's not as if I can escape from here with your men everywhere"

Marcella laughed coldly and tapped her chin, "don't be in a rush princess, your husband will soon be here and we'll get to discuss business"

Kathleen's heart pounded painfully at the mention of Derek, thank goodness he had survived that day but he shouldn't be coming here, he would put himself in danger again because of her, she doesn't want him to risk his life, she stared at Marcella furiously, "I am the one you hate, why involve him? You want me dead, well now you have me, just go in with it and leave Derek out if it"

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, how naive, yes, I hate you but Derek has always been my target, I hated you because you ruined all of my plans, I wouldn't have resorted to kidnap to get what I want, I would have simply taken his father cleanly out of the picture and then want I want will be an easy reach" her eyes were cold as eyes and filled with so much hatred as she stared at Kathleen, "but you had to ruin everything by first marrying Derek out of the blue and as if that wasn't enough, you were always nosy and then discovered the poison I was giving to his father, and now I have no choice than to use you and get to him"

"How could you treat him like that, I thought his mother was your best friend, how could you treat your best friend's son like that?"

Marcella laughed loudly, "you're really naive aren't you?" Her eyes took on a faraway look as if recalling past events, "his mother started it all, Lizzy had always had it all, she was an only child and inherited all of her father's property, she was wealthy and could get anything she wanted, she could get any man she wanted but no, she had to go marry the man I was in love with, Michael was all I've ever wanted but she snatched him from me, so, I had to take everything from her, including her life because even her life was not enough to pay for what she took from me"

Kathleen's eyes widened at this, Marcella had killed Derek's mother? Her best friend? How could anyone be so cruel? And now she wants to do the same to Derek, "if you loved Michael Deloux so much as you claimed, you still wanted him dead by poisoning him, aren't you just be selfish?"

Marcella turned on her and held her neck, "I loved him, with everything in me but he never loved him, all he thinks about is Lizzy, even after her death, all he craved for was her, I had to feign her last will requesting he get married to me as her last wish, yea, he honored her words because he could never say no to her even after death, but did he ever love me? No, I then thought of reuniting them both and taking over everything here, they should both go to hell"

Marcella released her grip from Kathleen's throat and she coughed, "you're such an evil woman, Derek has been living with his mother's murderer all these while and thought his mother died of cancer"

Marcella simply smiled, "everything can be manipulated, just like he's coming to sign this property documents in my name, he would do it just to save you of cause but then, I'll send him over to join his mom"

Before Kathleen could reply, they both heard footsteps as Dave came into view, "he's here mom" he brought out his gun and grabbed her from behind, pointing the gun to her head and Marcella smiled in satisfaction, "time for business"