Chapter 95: Chapter 95

CHAPTER TEN

Heading home in a taxi, all I can think of is Alex. He's been locked up in a mad house for four good years, knowing fully well that he was okay. I couldn't believe it.

Flashback

"But I saw your meds, Alex. I saw your drugs in your bathroom."

"Prozac? Those meds, aren't for that, Natalie. Yes, probably they could be used to treat that but I'm not obsessed with you. That's not what they're for."

"I'm a bit confused, Alex. What were they for?" I ask, stunned and somewhat embarrassed.

"Depression. Depression, Natalie. I'd been going through a lot, before I met you, and I can understand why you must felt I was obsessed with you, I mean, I was getting better and I knew— I knew it had to do with you. Your presence in my life helped me cope with my depression, I was steadily recovering."

***

Alex was always normal. He was perfectly fine and my misconception had prevented me from reaching out to him to help him. One thing I couldn't understand was who on earth would've manipulated things so much as to have him locked up. If Alex had no enemies then surely, it had to be someone close or around us. For me, it was either Caleb or Laurel. Could it have been Luke? Could Luke have been so threatened by my relationship with Alex that he did that to keep us apart?

"We're here, ma'am."

"Thank you." I say as I pay the driver. I walk into my house. Everyone's gathered in the living room.

"Finally. Where did you keep your phone, Natalie?" Aunt Ruth asks.

"We've been worried sick."

I look at the clock and it's almost 1 AM. "I didn't realize it was so late. Forgive me. I'll go join Louis in bed."

"That's the problem— Aunt Ruth suggests, sounding annoyed. I turn to look at her. I was extremely tired, drained of all my energy so I really didn't need to be bothered by anyone.

"Mr. Rocket came in earlier and took all your belongings, alongside Louis. Louis' over at his."

"What?" I ask, confused. "You let Rocket take my son?"

"Yes, because you left him home when you were supposed to be here, by his side to look after him!" Aunt Ruth yells. She continues, "You've gone bonkers trying to prove that man is Lucas when he's clearly not!"

Quickly, I rush out and find my way to the next house. "Rocket!" I yell, barging into the house. I can see him seated by the fire place, a glass of whiskey in his hand.

"You must be insane to have to dared to take my son away from my family and house, without my consent. Don't you ever!" I walk closer to him. I continue, "Pull that stunt again, otherwise, I swear, you will see the worst of me."

He gets up, throwing the glass behind me. I do not falter.

"Did you forget that I'm now his father too? It was part of the agreement, I'd give Lo—

"Only after I fulfilled my duty as your wife! Which, will never happen."

He grabs my arm. "You disgust me. You are a user, Natalie."  I jerk my hand off.

"Where's my son?"

He continues, "But I won't be used. I won't let you do that to me just like you've done to all the men in your life." He grabs my wrist this time, and I feel the urge to smack him across the face.

"We will be together, Natalie, and the only thing that can separate us is death. Till death do us part."

I want to respond to him, but I can't. I have nothing to say, no words to retaliate. I jerk my hand off again and I walk off to look for Louis.

"Louis?"

Rocket rushes behind me and is blabbing some words but I pay no attention to them, concentrating on looking for my child. I open the door to Rocket's room and I see my five year old sleeping on the bed. I rush towards him and pick him up.

"Hi, my love." I caress him. "Mommy?" He calls.

"Yes, baby, Mommy's here. I'm sorry for not being home all day, I was trying to get you a gift."

"What gift, mommy?"

"The greatest gift my love. The best one."

"Cool! When do I get it, mommy?"

"Very soon, my love. Very soon. We're gonna go back to our house now, okay?"

"Why? I thought we were going to live here, with uncle Rocky?"

"No, my love. We aren't. Don't you like our house?"

"Uncle Rocky's my new daddy, right?"

I hug my son as I tightly as I can. I kiss his head. "No." I respond, unsure of what his reaction would be. My heartbeat intensifies as I wait for his response. He doesn't say anything. Waiting for him to speak, I notice my shirt get wet. Alarmed, I look down. My son is in tears.

"Louis?" My voice and heart breaks at the same time. "Wh— why are you crying?" I ask.

"I want Uncle Rocky to be my daddy!" He cries.

I wipe his tears off, "Bu—, I didn't know what to say. I was mad at Lucas. This was all his fault, and I had to deal with it alone. What could I possibly say to pacify this young boy. To him, it probably looked like I told him lies about getting a father, but to me Rocket could never be his father, at least, not while his father was alive and so close to him.

"Because your real daddy's alive, my love."

***********

Rose's POV

We are back at home, and the silence is almost deafening.

I break the silence, "I want a child, Richard."

"A child? Out of the blue?" He responds.

"What do you even mean by out of the blue? We're a married couple, Richard. Having a child is perfectly normal. Having sex is perfectly normal." I try not to yell. Our previous arguments were based off the fact that he believed I was a nagger. I was not a nagger, at least, not by nature. His attitude and actions made me become one. I continue, "We can try today. My fertile window is open."

"I'm tired, Rose. I'm still jet lagged."

I scoff, irritated and beyond aggravated. "You've felt tired for two and a half years, Richard. Why did you even marry me, if you weren't going to respect our marriage?!" He ignores me, simply walking away. I grab his arm, at the brink of tears, gritting my teeth together.

"What do you see in that woman? What do you see in that mistress of yours, that you keep going back to her?!" I yell. I can't hold the tears anymore. My heart is beyond broken. I'd endured his cheating for the longest and finally, it was affecting my life.

"I asked you a question. Tell me. I can change for you. What's so special about her?" He looks at me, somewhat surprised. It would be the first time I'd confront him about his infidelity. I'd known all along.

"Excuse me?"

"You're shocked, aren't you? I've always known. Her name's Lydia, right?" I ask, as I watch him go completely pale.

I chin up and walk as normally as I can as I realize the number of eyes on me. The news of Lucas returning must've gotten to the office. I wonder what they thought of it, what they thought of me.

As I reach the elevator, I meet the couple from hell.

"Well, hello there. If it isn't Bonnie and Clyde."

As usual, Kelly is quick to respond. "I was hurt we didn't get an invite to your newest wedding. How was it, by the way?"

I chuckle. "If you were so conversant with the latest news in town, then you should know that Lucas is back in town." I say, looking at Caleb. I try to not flinch as I see the shock on his face. It means I was right. Caleb did know something about Luke's disappearance.

"Are you being delusional right now?"

I laugh out loud, unable to hold my laughter. I cover my mouth, embarrassed that I'd laughed like that in public. It was a good laugh. "Delusional? Heh. I'll tell you what, you're fired. As for you, I'll let Lucas handle you." I say, looking at Caleb. Caleb knew I knew something. It was obvious in the way he looked at me. He was a dangerous devil, always quite and waiting in the corner to strike, but he didn't know, if he was the devil, then I was an even bigger one. I would die before I let him harm me, the company or the ones I loved.

"Fired? You can't do that."

"Who's delusional now? Of course, I can." I state and walk into the elevator.

"I hate you!" She yells. I turn around and see her clutching her stomach. I smile at her, as the door closes. My smile disappears as soon as the doors close.

I had no idea on what to do. I had 9 more days to prove that Richard was actually Lucas. Think, Natalie, think! My phone rings. I take it out of my purse to see who it is.

"What is it? I never miss your check, mother."

"Oh, for God's sake, Natalie. You insult me every time! Can't you be polite for once?"

"I'm very busy, mother. What is it?"

"How are you feeling, my darling? I know it's been rather tough on you, but I want you to know that life must go on. Why don't you come to the house, and we can talk?"

"If you want to see your grandson, I'll have the chauffeur and Ashley bring him to you. Have a great day, mum." I end the call, and an idea hits me. A party. I could throw a party and have Luke and Rose come. I would plan it accordingly, in such a way that even Rose herself, would begin to question his identity.

****

"I need you to keep an eye on Caleb. Be careful while doing so, don't let it be obvious." I say to Diane. I didn't want the same thing that happened to Jennifer happening to Diane. For Jennifer's sake and for so many other people, Caleb needed to be exposed.

"Noted. Would you like me to keep an eye on Mrs. Kelly too?"

"No. There's no need for it. Kelly no longer works here and, I need you to do something for me."

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

Accessing the company's file database, I search for the 7th of September. The day Luke disappeared. I wanted to know what happened the entire day, what was logged in and what the cameras captured. I play the video. Nothing seems to be suspicious before I'd arrived with Alex for the board meeting. I fast forward the video to after Lucas was arrested. It shows some employee's leaving the office after the close of work and some coming back in. It wasn't unusual for the staff to sleep in the office. There's no sign of Caleb or Kelly leaving. The video had been tampered with. Of course. It was obviously Caleb's doing. I get up, trying to think of ways to expose Caleb. Exposing him would led me to the truth of the 7th. I needed to know what happened to Lucas and why he had to flee without myself and Louis. Suddenly, I freeze, picking onto something. There was something in the video I saw but missed. I rush back to the laptop and replay it. This time, concentrating as much as I can. My jaw drops and my heart rate intensifies as I come to a realization. It was Rocket. Rocket had come to the company, hours after Lucas was arrested. I replay the video one more time. Again, there's no sign of Caleb or Kelly exiting the building. It meant that three of them met that day. Why did Rocket meet with Caleb and Kelly? I sit on the chair, stunned at what I'd just discovered. Did Rocket have something to do with Luke's disappearance? Did the trio plot against Luke? "They'd have me out of the way, and as for Rocket. . ." I gasp, shocked. He would have me, in return. If my suspicions were correct, it meant that I'd played into Rocket's trap myself.

"Bloody hell," I mutter, still trying to grasp the entire situation. I run my hands through my hair, thinking of what I could possibly do next. I look at my wristwatch. It was thirty minutes more until Louis' school closed. I had to get there on time. I grab my purse and my laptop.

"Ma'am?!" Diane calls after me.

"Come to my house tonight!"

****

I get down from my car and rush into Louis school. I pause and adjust my hair and clothes. Lucas could be here. I scan the environment for both son and father. There are so many children running around the place. I look up, and coincidentally, my eyes fall on Rose, who's watching me from behind the blinds. She closes it. I walk into the hallway, still in search for my son.

"Hello. I'm here for my son. Louis Richardson." I say to a teacher.

"Oh, I'll go fetch him for you, ma'am." She responds, and I stand, waiting for her to return.

"I see you're here to pickup your son." Rose says as she walks towards me, Lucas by her side.

"Correct." I respond, looking at the love of my life. We were so close to each other but still so far away.

"Well, do that." She says, intertwining her hand with Luke's

I smile, hurt. I knew that it was all fake, at least, from Luke's side. "I would like to ask you a favor, Rose."

She chuckles, "You have a habit of asking for things that I cannot give you."

"Darling." Luke says.

"I would like you to strike off Rocket's name from the parent's register. He should not be allowed to see or go near my son." I state. Lucas looks away. It's as though he's avoiding eye contact with me.

"Why so? Don't tell me you've started with that nonsense again."

"Heh. Let's just say, my son's not safe around him and I would like to keep him as far away from him as possible." This time, Lucas looks at me, but only for a brief second.

"Mommy!" Louis calls and I turn, opening my arms wide for him to enter.

"My love." I hug and place kisses on his head. "Do you feel better? Mommy's sorry for the other night, bug."

"I know, mommy." I turn to look at Luke, who's looking at us both, his face, blank.

"Louis, why don't you say hi to the uncle over there?"

"Hello." My son states, and I could swear I saw him flinch.

"Richard, say hi to the boy." Rose says.

"Hi."

"There's a party at my home on Wednesday evening. I'd like you both to be there. Let's put this behind us." Let's put you behind us, Rose. Let's move on without you, Rose. "You'll receive your invites tomorrow. I hope you'll come." Soon, soon enough, I would have Luke back in my arms and my son would get his father back.