Chapter 111: Chapter 111

"Wait. I don't get it. Do you mean to say that Charlotte was the one who kidnapped Jessica and I've been fraternizing with her all this while? Why on earth would she do something like that?" Carol asked, shuddering, as she thought of how close she had been to such a psycho.

"Yes, she was," Sebastian said, proceeding to tell her everything that he knew about it and how Charlotte had mentioned something about Mr. James being her biological father. By the time he finished, Carol's mouth was literally agape.

"Did your aunt or anyone else know about any of this?" She asked him.

"We've not told her any of this yet, although according to what my uncle said, she knew about Charlotte and her brother. Apparently, they're twins. We've not even told her about my uncle's death. We're still waiting for her to come back from her journey first. I don't think it is wise to divulge such news over the phone. I mean, she has been preparing for this moment for a long time now, but still, preparing for it and facing it are two different things."

"You're right. When is she coming back?"

"She's coming back today. It all feels so surreal, you know." He said sadly.

"I know. I had come to love Mr. James almost as much as you did."

"The thing is, that name Charlotte sounds so familiar, but I can't really recall where I've heard it before," Sebastian said, trying hard to wrack his brain, and then it came to him immediately. "Damn!"

"What is it?" Carol asked immediately.

"That was the name of the person that Jessica told me was holding her hostage just before she fell unconscious. I told the police about it and then all but forgot about it. It is obviously not a coincidence. I just want them to catch her real fast so that she can reveal her accomplices if she has any and then all of this would be over."

"I feel so stupid. If only I hadn't let her go. I mean, she was right there with me. I should have fought her or something." Carol said self-deprecatingly.

"I'm glad you didn't. You can't fight crazy people, Carol. You'll most likely wind up dead. It's just best to play along with them until help comes."

"So who is with Jessica now?"

"Two guards are with her. Frank and one other guard. She's safe. Let's hope that another snake will not come slithering in with the guise of being a friend again. Anyway, let's get some shuteye now. It's already late ... or early, depending on how you look at it." Sebastian said wryly. Carol couldn't agree more. He got on the bed beside her and before long, they were both asleep in each other's arms.

***

The days passed slowly, and with each passing day that Sebastian did not fall down on his knees and declare his love for her out of the blues, Carol despaired more and more. The end of their marriage was fast drawing near, meaning that she would soon be out of his life and he would be free to move on with anyone he wanted, even if the said 'anyone' was Jessica. Carol had come to realize that she did not really like the woman and had stopped going to visit her in the hospital. Jessica could now speak, but for some reason, did not want to talk about her ordeal, something that frustrated everyone to no end. It wasn't as though she was scared, because there were always at least two guards stationed in her room, and so security was always very tight. This particular morning, two weeks after the incident with Charlotte, Carol decided to visit her again and made up her mind that if Jessica still behaved in an unfriendly manner, she would never step foot in the hospital again.

Without informing anyone, she took one of the cars and drove by herself all the way to the hospital in Sacramento. It had been long since she last drove, considering that there was always a driver on hand to take her anywhere she wanted. Maybe she wasn't being wise, since Charlotte was still nowhere to be found, but at the moment, she relished her freedom and the sweet breeze that ruffled her hair and blew across her face as she drove. It baffled her how Charlotte, who was batshit crazy could disappear so easily, but she knew that Charlotte couldn't stay away from trouble, and sooner or later, she would crawl out of whatever hole that she had crawled into.

As she was approaching Jessica's room, she could hear voices discussing and laughing. The voices were masculine and feminine, and the masculine one was Sebastian's. Opening the door, she found him in the room with Jessica, sitting beside her on the bed as they laughed at whatever it was they had been discussing. As soon as Jessica spied Carol, the smile dried up on her face as though it had never been there, and her face took on an annoyed expression, as though a particularly bothersome pest had found its way into her room. Carol cursed herself silently for even coming here in the first place, but smiled bravely and came into the room.

"Hey, Sebastian." She said, coming over to give him a peck on the cheek, although if she was being truthful to herself, she knew that she had done that just to spite Jessica, whom she knew would not like it one bit. Spying the dark look on Jessica's face, especially when Sebastian turned the peck into a kiss on the lips, Carol had to hide a petty smile.

"I didn't know that you were coming, Carol. How did you get here, and why is your hair all scattered?"

"That's because I dove myself down here."

"You did what?" He thundered.

"I drove myself down here," Carol repeated, shrugging. "I actually wished that Charlotte showed up. I would have run her over without thinking twice about it." She said jokingly, but Sebastian was not having any of it.

"Do you have a death wish? You know how crazy that woman is."

"Well, maybe your dear wife has ten lives or something. Can't say that I blame her though. When you haven't passed through what I have, then you are bound to act foolish and throw all caution to the wind." Jessica put in, but Carol decided to ignore her.

"How are you feeling? I just came to check up on you and see how you're doing." Carol asked Jessica instead.

"I'm doing horribly, no thanks to you," Jessica mumbled, then turned back to face Sebastian, obviously intending to continue her conversation as though Carol wasn't even there.

"Excuse me?" Carol asked in astonishment.

"Well, if not for you, I would be home resting by now. It was you who brought that evil witch here to worsen my condition, wasn't it? I'm even beginning to wonder if you both are not cohorts."

"Jessica! That's not a nice thing to say. You owe Carol your life." Sebastian cut in.

"The hell I do! I mean, I don't even know why you would agree to marry her instead of Victoria. Victoria is more beautiful, and from what I saw, she's more sensible too. Charlotte was practically spitting hate in that room, but your dear wife did not notice, just as she did not notice that Charlotte was going to harm Mr. James. I mean, even the maid could pick up on the fact that something was wrong with the woman. Do you see why I'm saying what I'm saying?" Jessica spat, but out of all those things that she had said, only one thing piqued Carol's interest.

"You know Victoria?" Carol asked slowly.

"Um ... well, yeah. I mean, Charlotte told me about her when I was kidnapped and she was trying to convince me that Sebastian did not love me and that Mr. James was behind all what she was doing to me." Jessica said reluctantly, but Carol could sense that she was hiding something. As a matter of fact, so could Sebastian.

"Jessica, just think of all that Charlotte did to you, yet she's still roaming about free somewhere when she's supposed to be cooling off her heels in jail. You need to tell us everything that happened and if possible, take the police to the places you remember where she held you hostage so that they can trace and find her."

"I can't, Sebastian. I just can't. I can't bear to relieve any of those things or bear to even think of any of those places, not to talk of going there. Please don't make me, Sebastian." Jessica cried, throwing herself into his arms and holding him tightly as she sobbed against his chest. Carol stood by watching them, trying to ignore the crazy urge to go and rip Jessica away from Sebastian's arms. Instead, she stood up, came over to the bed, and touched Jessica's shoulder.

"You must, Jessica. In case you don't know, Victoria is dead. She was shot in the head in an apartment in Toledo." She began, watching Jessica's body language intently and noting how she stiffened in Sebastian's arms when she heard that Victoria had been shot in an apartment in Toledo. "If Charlotte was somehow involved, then you should know that she will stop at nothing to finish what she started with you. It will be in your best interest and that of everyone involved for you to confront your fears and speak up."