Chapter 83: Truce And Terms

Peter moved closer to Sharon, slowly putting his hand closer to his gun, in case he needed it. He stood beside her and looked down to see Sharon's hands shaking. He held her to comfort her and to let her know that he was with her.

The doors of the car opened up and three men, including Will, came out of the car and then, Addicus came out as well.

Addicus came to this meeting very light on guards. He wanted to prove the sincerity of his offer, so he brought fewer guards to instill some trust in Sharon.

They walked over to Sharon and stood a few yards away, face to face at opposite ends. They stared at each other for a moment before Addicus began speaking.

"Hi, Sharon. I'm glad to see that you decided to consider my offer for a truce," Addicus said to her after taking off his dark glasses.

"I'm tired," he continued, "...of all the fighting and killing. It's become a thorn in my side and I want it to stop," Addicus said.

"Why now? You could have stopped chasing after me a long time ago, but you didn't, so why now? What's changed?" Sharon asked, still thinking that this meeting was a trap.

"JJ is what changed," Addicus said, and Sharon didn't understand.

"I've told you many times before that I'm not the heartless, unemotional monster that you think I am. After JJ died or was killed, I realized that this whole war between us wasn't worth all the bloodshed and loss. So, I decided to look for you and make a deal, some sort of middle ground in which we both get what we want, and the other person isn't negatively affected."

"You're trying to tell me that JJ's death was what brought about this sudden and unexpected change in you?" Sharon asked.

"Yes, it was," Addicus replied.

*Sharon let out a short laugh.*

"You're unbelievable! He was just your bodyguard and a criminal," Sharon said, without remorse.

"JJ was more to me than just a bodyguard. He was like a son I never had and a very brave soldier. I have known him since he was just an orphaned teenager and I raised him, kind of in the same way I raised you, my dear." Addicus said.

"This just proves that you indeed are a psychotic person. You adopt young children and use them to serve a selfish purpose. JJ as a tool in your evil army and me, as a sex toy in your bed. Do you feel justified in doing that because you gave them a more comfortable life than what they would have had in an orphanage or the streets?" Sharon was angry now.

"I cannot change who I am, Sharon. My father made sure of that when he molded me into the man I am today. He used to beat me up, very badly, for things as meager as not tying my shoelaces properly. I hated him, but he taught me a very important lesson about life and about people." Addicus said, his voice rising.

"And what lesson would that be?" Sharon asked.

"The lesson is to always take what you want and not expect others to give it to you," Addicus said.

"Is that why you killed my parents, so you could take what you wanted?" Sharon asked angrily.

Peter held her hand to calm her down. He didn't want her to rush into doing what they came here to do.

They were waiting for the deed to be signed, giving her back control over her father's assets and then, they would strike and make him pay for everything he had done to them.

"With your parents, I didn't have a choice," Addicus mentioned.

"And with Martha? Lily? Seb? You could have let them go, but you slaughtered them anyway."

Sharon started crying, unable to hold it back any longer, but she wiped her eyes very quickly, not wanting to show any form of weakness.

"Not all of them," Addicus said and gestured at Will to get something from the car.

Will went to the car and opened the door. A woman stepped out of it and Will led her to the rest of them.

***Sharon couldn't believe her eyes. It almost felt like she was dreaming, and she wasn't sure if it was real or not.***

***Will held the woman all the way to Sharon and left her with her, going back to stand alongside his boss.***

"It can't be!" Sharon said with a sad yet happy smile.

"It is, my child." The woman said to her, also crying.

"Martha?"

Sharon burst into more tears and ran to embrace the second person in the world who was a mother to her after her real mother died. Their reunion was a very emotional one, as the love and closeness they felt for each other were evident in their sobs.

"I thought you were dead," Sharon said in tears.

"I'm not my child! I'm not," Martha replied, wiping away Sharon's tears.

"How is this possible?" Sharon asked and Addicus chose to answer.

"Martha had been my family's head cook for more than twenty-five years. She served my father when he was still alive, and after he died of a heart attack, she served my mother and me. And when my mother also died in a car accident, she began serving me. She has been loyal and faithful to my family for decades."

Sharon still couldn't understand why he spared her. To her, he didn't have a heart. To her, he was incapable of feeling love or showing mercy, but he did show mercy to Martha and here she stood, alive and well.

"I told you, Sharon, that I'm not the heartless monster you've convinced yourself that I am. I was very angry at Martha for helping you escape that day. I had her beaten and tortured so she would tell me where you were, and after she did, I instructed JJ to kill her. But before I left the room, she called out to me and begged for her life.

"She was all her children had and if she died, there would be no one to look after them. She reminded me of her years of service to my family and asked for my mercy and forgiveness. If I was heartless, I wouldn't have cared and would have killed her, but I didn't because I didn't want her children to suffer without their mother. I forgave her betrayal and spared her life," Addicus narrated.

Martha nodded affirmatively to Sharon, confirming that everything Addicus was saying was true.

Addicus gestured at Will again, and he took out some documents from the bag he had with him and handed them to Addicus.

"This is the deed to your father's land. All you have to do is sign it and the land will be yours. I have, however, extracted all the gold beneath it so I'm willing to offer you a large sum of your choice as compensation for that," Addicus said.

"You think I'd ever accept your money?" Sharon asked, still angry and distrustful.

"Technically, it's your money because it was made from selling furniture and accessories that were made with the gold underneath your father's land," Addicus said.

"I still don't want it!" Sharon shouted at him.

"Okay then, if that's what you want," Addicus replied.

"What exactly do you want for giving the land back?" Peter asked him.

Addicus stared hard at Peter, remembering the beating he gave him, but didn't act angry about that.

"All I want is for both of us to go our separate ways and not ever try to retaliate. I move on with my life and my business, and she does the same. Let's just sweep everything under a rug and leave it there to rot," Addicus set the terms of the truce.

"I'll give you some time to think about it. Call me and set up another meeting when you're ready. But for now, I'll leave you to decide," Addicus said.

He and his men got into the car and left, leaving Martha and the deed with Sharon.

***Author's Note: Hmm? What a twist! I didn't even see that coming, and I'm writing the story. What is next in this tale?***