Chapter 36: Chapter 36
Jessica nodded in the affirmative, that she understood everything that the woman had said. She would be damned if she let herself get killed when she had a chance to get free after Sebastian’s uncle had ordered that she be killed. She still did not understand any of what Charlotte’s mission was, and frankly, she did not give a flying fuck. All that mattered was that she got out of the whole thing alive and well... or as well as could be, considering her current state.
“Of course, I don’t need to tell you that when I said you are to keep a low profile, I meant that you are to stay away, not just from Sebastian and his family, but also from everyone that you know, your family included,” Charlotte said, watching Jessica intently as though she would be able to decipher from her face if she would follow these instructions to the letter or not.
Jessica nodded again, feeling like an agama lizard. It felt like she had been nodding all day long, and she was beginning to have a headache and to feel sleepy, but she did not let any of these show. She needed to be on a high alert. Jessica was not sure that she could kill a fellow human being, so if that was what this Charlotte wanted her to do to Sebastian’s uncle, she was not sure if she would be able to do it when the time came, but she was not about to say any of that to her captor’s hearing.
Charlotte was still staring at her, as though if she tried really hard, she would be able to see into Jessica’s soul. Jessica fidgeted and shifted a little in her seat, wondering if the former could read her thoughts and was already having a change of heart.
“I swear that I would do everything you asked me to do. I promise you.” She reiterated in fear.
“That old bastard! That fucking slimy conniving bastard!” Charlotte yelled all of a sudden, shooting up from where she was sitting as though an invisible force had propelled her from there. Jessica almost jumped out of her seat in fright at this sudden and unexpected movement, her heart slamming against her chest as she watched her captor warily. What on earth was she talking about now?
“You listen to me. I don’t have enough time, so as soon as I give you orders after I release you, you will have to follow them immediately, got it?” Charlotte said, and without waiting for an answer, she began to pace about and continued her tirade. “Useless man. He has been useless all my life. He’s sure as hell not going to rob me of my inheritance after all that he has done to my family.” She finished and came to sit down, rubbing a hand over her face. Jessica remained seated where she was, as still as a tomb, trying her best not to even show that she existed.
“Okay,” Charlotte said after she sat down and seemed to get herself under control. “Do you want to hear the story behind all this?”
“Yes, I do,” Jessica replied, not wanting to hear the story at all, but knowing that she could not say that.
“Okay. So here is a brief rundown of it. Some thirty-five years ago, I think, that bastard called James got married to his so-called college sweetheart, his wife whom you know very well. Anyway, she could not get pregnant and have a child because barely three months into the marriage, she was involved in an accident when she was coming back home from grocery shopping, and somehow, her womb got affected, or so I was told. Of course, I wasn’t born yet when all this happened. Anyway, some years later, his kid sister who was pregnant with Sebastian got into another accident with her husband and her other son on their way to the hospital. Mr. James, who had already faced the gruesome results of the accident that his wife was involved in years back, apparently was not strong enough to withstand this one, especially as it involved casualties. First, Sebastian’s father, who was James’s brother, died of his injuries on the spot of the accident, then Sebastian’s brother died soon after the accident, and his mother a day or two later after she gave birth to him. I can’t remember which from what I was told.” She paused and glanced at Jessica as though expecting her to say something, but Jessica remained mute while waiting for the rest of the story, her face set in a fake look of compassion. Jessica knew this story, as Mr. James had told it to her before when she had thought that he liked her. However, she had a feeling that Charlotte was going somewhere with the story, and would probably add some details that Mr. James had omitted when he was telling it to her.
“Sebastian himself was not in a very good shape, so his uncle, along with being brokenhearted, was also despairing, and on one of those nights, he went into a bar where my mother had gone to drink with her friends and hooked up with her, conveniently forgetting that he had a wife at home. He got together with my mom that night and many other nights after that until my mom wound up pregnant, at which point, he told her to get rid of the pregnancy, that he wanted nothing to do with her anymore and that he was not willing to jeopardize his marriage for anything. Apparently, my mom and my brother and I are ‘anything.’ This was the first time my mom even knew that he was married, because she did not know him before, and he never wore a wedding band or anything of the sort.” Charlotte told her, getting up and starting to pace again. It was very clear that she was greatly troubled. If not for what she had made Jessica pass through in the past months that she had been here, Jessica would have even felt sorry for her.