Chapter 87: Chapter 87

Mr. James did not speak for a long time after Sebastian said this, but remained in the same position. Then he let go of Jessica's hand gently and walked slowly and stiffly to stand by the window, looking out of it as though there, he would find the answer to all the secrets of the universe.

"How did you come by such a theory?" He asked, at last, the pain in his voice too much for Sebastian to bear, but he couldn't feel sorry for him, or rather, he tried really hard not to feel sorry for him. His uncle had brought this upon himself.

"Jessica told me."

"Hmm. Is that why you've been acting so strangely?"

"Can you listen to yourself? You're not even showing remorse for what you did."

"That's because I did not do anything. How do you expect me to show remorse for something I did not do? Why will Jessica tell you that I did such a thing? How can you even stand there and accuse me of such a thing?" Mr. James asked, his voice trembling with barely concealed fury and disappointment.

"Look, uncle. I'm not here to trade words with you. If it had been someone else who did this, the person would have been in jail by now, or even dead. It's just because of your condition, and what you mean to me, that you're still a free man. But don't expect it to continue being like that if you refuse to respect yourself. I don't want to see you anywhere near this hospital. Got it?" Sebastian said angrily, hating the fact that he was in this position, to begin with.

"And then to worsen it, you're accusing me of coming over here to kill her. Is that the sort of person you think I am? I only came here to say that I'm sorry if it was because of my hatred for her that she ran away and got into the wrong hands. I was just apologizing!" Mr. James continued, ignoring what Sebastian had said as though he did not hear it.

"Stop with the pretense. She can't hear you, so what on earth are you apologizing for? You forget that I was with you in the garden on that last day when you were threatening her. You told her that if she refuses to disappear, you can make her disappear." Sebastian said, getting angrier as he spoke until it was all he could do to refrain from choking the old man.

"I can't remember saying that, but even if I did, it was because I was so angry, and what I would have meant by that is that I would tell you what she did. I couldn't have you marry a woman who was so loose that she practically flung herself at anyone whom she thought could help her."

"Don't you fucking talk about Jessica like that ever again," Sebastian yelled angrily, ignoring the way his uncle kept getting pale by the second and the fact that he seemed to be getting short of breath.

"But it's true, Sebastian. Do you know that she even offered to have sex with me so that I would not tell you about the fact that I knew she cheated on you with that model manager?" Mr. James protested, getting seriously worked up. He suddenly was not feeling so good, although he was almost always not feeling good. This feeling was worse, however. Something was happening within him, but he did not for the life of him know what it was.

"You know what? I never want to hear or speak to you in my life again. If it means leaving my house in Napa until you're gone and moving Jessica, then I will do it. I can't stand to have a crazy man monitoring my life so closely." Sebastian yelled, not caring if the whole hospital could hear him.

"Sebastian..." Mr. James called weakly. He was feeling lightheaded all of a sudden, and could hardly hold up his own weight. Also, a sudden pain gripped his chest, and he staggered, placing a tight arm on his chest as though that will stop the pain that he was feeling.

"So you're trying to say that the name Charlotte means absolutely nothing to you?" Sebastian continued. "I didn't think so." He finished as his uncle blanched even further when he heard the name.

"Please..."

"I'm serious. I don't want to hear anything you have to say." Sebastian spat, watching his uncle warily, not knowing if the man was pretending or not.

"I don't ... feel ... so good ... Please, I beg you in the name of God, Sebastian. Don't ... tell my ... wife ... please ..." Mr. James said, and despite his efforts to hold himself up, began to topple forward, almost falling flat on his face, but Sebastian hurtled forward and caught him just in time, yelling for help as he did so. He studied the pale face of his unconscious uncle, regretting his outburst and wishing that he had been gentler with the sick man. Frank burst into the room, followed some seconds later by nurses who promptly took his uncle away and admitted him to the hospital in a whirlwind of activities that left Sebastian feeling really drained and guilty.

He sat with Frank in Jessica's room as they waited for the doctor to attend to Mr. James, praying to the high heavens that he had not just ended his uncle's life. For someone who was as sick as he was, a heart attack would almost certainly spell death. He shuddered outwardly. No matter what his uncle had done, it was not in his place to mete out the punishment that he deserved to him and he did not think that he could forgive himself if his uncle died because of him.

"He'll be alright, boss. He's an old man quite alright, but he is also very tough."

"I know, but damn, I should have gone easy on him," Sebastian said, glancing at poor Jessica who was connected to various machines to keep her alive. His uncle had not given her a chance or gone easy on her though.

"Do you really believe all that you accused him of? He said that he did not do any of that, and I for one, believe him. Mr. James does not lie. No matter how bad what he has done is, he always owns up. Besides, I know that he would never be able to do such a thing to Jessica. He loved her. Everybody did. So maybe she had made some mistakes, extremely foolish ones if you ask me, but Mr. James would never hurt her in this way for that. I just know it."

"I would have thought so too, but I was there when he threatened her and I can tell you, he sounded so serious. Besides, I saw some proof."

"What sort of proof?"

"Text messages from him to her captor and receipts of payments that he made to her captors."

"You do know that all that could be fabricated, right boss?" Frank asked.

"Well... I saw it in his eyes when I asked him if the captor's name meant anything to him. He knew the woman. I saw it in his eyes!" Sebastian said, becoming angry again.

"Did he admit to knowing her, boss?"

"There was no time for him to do that. He had the heart attack just then. Anyway, what are you trying to do, Frank? Call me a liar?"

"No, boss. I would never ever do that. Not in a million years. I just don't want you to do something that you would regret. I know Jessica would wake up. Once she does, we would find out the truth from her. She may have been saying all she was saying because of pain or maybe she was not really herself."

"She told me before she was shot. and also, my uncle admitted it ... not in many words though. he begged me not to tell his wife just before he passed out. I know I don't have to ask, but it would be better if no one heard about this, Frank."

"I know, boss," Frank said, the fight going out of him instantly.

Sebastian sighed heavily. He did not know what on earth he was doing, but there was something he needed to do, which was to call his aunty and inform her that he had nearly killed her husband. That call would not be an easy one at all, he reckoned.