"Stop," Tytas says coldly to his mother,
"When did you wake up? And why did you run out in the middle of the night like that!?" Emily keeps asking,
"You should leave. Take your family discussion somewhere else," Zygmunt says beside me as I hold his waist tight as if I'm scared of this lady in front of me.
"So you dare to speak to me? A savage man like you shouldn't step in here and stand facing Letizia right now." she comes closer with an angrier face and looks at me, "Darling, you should realize already you got her and injured because of this man. He's dangerous," and turns to her son, "and look at Tytas, he came after you—"
"That's enough, Mother," Tytas says and grabs Emily's hand harshly, "She knows—I know everything—"
"Know what?" Emily,
"That you ordered Wellington to kidnap my wife," Suddenly, my dad comes in with the truth. Emily's face is pale, and her rosy blush doesn't cover her lie. "Isn't that right, right? Tytas, that's what you were trying to say?"
Tytas doesn't open his mouth and avoids eye contact with my dad,
"Keeth…" Emily slowly turns around, "When did you come back? I almost forgot you live in this town," he stares at her, "I don't know what you're trying to say—you've been gone for what? A decade? Living your only daughter here alone—"
"Don't—" my dad steps closer. "Stop hedging—" his deep, raspy voice growls from his stomach.
Emily takes a step back. "What!?" she pauses and glares at him, "Can't take the truth!? Now she got hurt—then you decided to fly back to see her—and how about those three or six months that she had to face all alone? Now, you come back and accuse me about what happened two years ago?" Emily starts to get upset. She said as if she had cared for me. Genuinely, I thought that way, but she took it too far. "Did you know about her grade? About her schoolwork? Her passion? Her life?" I care for her more than you think." she grounds her foot forward. "You left her—like you left Gen. The real one to blame is you, Keeth, not me!" she says,
"Do you think I left her and came back with nothing in my hand?" my dad says, "I had to make sure about the fact that she didn't kill herself—when I come back, I need to know that I can be at ease so—my daughter can be at ease—that her mother loved her too much to take her own life and leave—my daughter alone in this fucking town." He glances at me. My stomach is wobbly. My lungs are on edge. The tension of my grip falls from Zygmunt's waist as the river runs down my pale cheeks. He quickly grabs mine before I let go. "I know that you hired Wellington to take Gen—and then she got killed—the gun was hers as the report had written, she defended herself and—and unfortunately," he pauses, exhales his tough breath, "she got shot,"
Emily shakes her head. "Are you out of your mind?" she still refuses. The silence in the room makes me feel my heartbeat rising like it is about to explode.
How far is she going to deny it?
I think I'm going to surge before my dad's anger.
My rage is about to erupt if she won't open the goddamn mouth.
Zygmunt holds my hand firmly and calmly. His presence makes me feel grounded in the midst of intense fury and bitterness.
And Tytas doesn't seem comfortable and ambitious anymore. He has lost his integrity.
"Don't say something that you might regret later,"
"Huh, I should say that to you—your threats don't work with me, and it never works," My dad stands still,
"So what? What do you want from me? The truth? Or Do you want to arrest me? Evidence? You think you are above and see all things—you're not the only one who has the insiders,"
"This is not who is the most powerful, Emily. Evidence? I have them all—if you don't believe me—believe the warrant."
Emily is stunned for a minute, "ha,"
"The case is already closed, and how come you came back here and guard the territory, laying your soldier authority because you had the prejudice? Even you had the proof I did not kill her. I didn't touch that gun. Huh, my fingerprint wasn't on it. You can do no right to blame it all on me because you couldn't save her!"
"Enough! Mum, please," Tytas grabs his mother's hand to step back.
ily—" Mr. Oskar groans at her with the scariest eyes I had ever seen. "What your mouth. I called him," he says,
So it's true, he offered me to call my dad that night, and he actually did.
"What?" Emily can't believe what she has heard.
"Letizia needs her father…" Mr. Oskar says, gazing at me. My eyeballs are sparkling with water again.
"No more discussion," My dad says, "See you at the police station or possibly in court since you guys are Oskar—you have a lot of power to clear out your names, right?" My dad corners Emily again, as she steps her heels back, "but let me tell you something, this time I will make sure your name will be on the fucking billboard or engrave it on fucking stone around the fucking town if I can so you can't use any powerful money to erase it,"
Zygmunt curls his lips quietly, and I bump him to stop. "I'll help," he says, supporting my dad. Seeing these two, I think they are quite similar: my dad and Zygmunt.
My dad smirks at them, "Out," he says,
"You're going to regret this," Emily says lightly as Mr. Oskar drags her out. Tytas hesitates to say something as if he wants to apologize again.
"I'm really sorry, Mr. Serafinne," he says, turning to me. "I really am sorry, Zia," he says, and Oskar leaves the room, letting the quiet comfort my ears again.
"I'm sorry," My dad says, and turns to me, "for all of these," I shake my head with a smile, "Then I'll let you rest," I nod, "You…should let her rest too," he says to the man beside me,
"Yes, sir," Zygmunt says and looks at me, rubbing my cheeks,
"I want him here," I say and beg.
"Hmpt, love birds, sure, but you need to rest," My dad says, and glares at Zygmunt specifically, "Don't ever think about it—it's hospital after all," my dad speaks with his weighty voice to Zygmunt,
"Of course, sir," Zygmunt sneakily smiles, "I won't," he repeats.
Before he's about to leave the door, he turns to me, "Do you know where Vanderbilt boy is?" he asks,