Chapter 35 — Something’s Not Right
Vanessa’s POV:
Vanessa and Rylie had made a pact to stick together and strategize how they were going to save Byron and Malik. She heard Malik’s message and read the text. She did owe it to herself to talk to him and get some answers, so she called him up.
“Vanessa?” Malik asked in surprise.
“I want to talk; can we meet somewhere?”
“How about home?”
The question stung her. Something in her gut told her it was all going to work out, but her gut insisted they don’t go home. For whatever reason, they shouldn’t be anywhere private. “Take me out to dinner? You must know a million good places.”
“Alright, there’s a fancy French restaurant on 5th Avenue. Meet me there tonight?”
“Yes, I’ll be there in a red dress.” Vanessa smiled as he growled playfully in response and hung up the phone. She wasn’t sure what to expect, but all the same, a talk would be had to sort some things out. Rylie helped her with an updo that allowed curls to hang loose. They went shopping for a red dress that was elegant, with a high slit up her thigh. She wore red stiletto sandals to match. Red lipstick to complete the look, Vanessa was ready to meet Malik.
She stepped out of the cab and held her silver clutch close as she stepped inside the restaurant. Malik was there, dressed in a suit and tie, and that cologne he wore. Vanessa’s knees should have gone weak as he took her by the hand and escorted them to their reserved…area?
“I rented this section for the night. We have things to talk about and we don’t need anyone around.”
The gesture could have been romantic, but something was off, and she couldn’t pinpoint it. This was Malik. What was her deal? Maybe she really lost some feeling for him? He looked and smelled amazing, yet there was an energy coming from him that made her stomach sting in a way that told her she needed to be careful. “That’s thoughtful of you.” She smiled.
“I really want you to know that I would never do anything to hurt you.” Malik said with sincerity as he reached across the table and took her hand in his. Again, this made her stomach boil rather than flutter.
“I know you wouldn’t.” Vanessa was now forcing herself to smile. “You would have done so by now if that was your intention.”
Malik stared at her with adoration in his eyes, “You are everything to me. I hope you know that.”
“So, you’ve mentioned.” She chuckled, trying to hide the uneasiness in her voice. “If you’re wanting me to say it back, I can’t right now. I hope you understand.”
“Of course, I do. I just want you to know how I feel. I am so in love with you…”
Vanessa pulled her hand back when he went to kiss the back of it, “Did you have my parents killed?”
Malik closed his eyes and sighed heavily, he made no eye contact when he admitted, “Yes, I did have them killed.”
“You told me you’d forgotten the Owens name. You told me how that name wasn’t worth remembering after you killed Katrina. So, which is it? Did you really forget it, or was that some line of bullshit you told me so I wouldn’t find out that you set out to kill everyone in the Owens bloodline?”
Malik sat there with sadness deep in his eyes, “Please Vanessa, you have to know, I did all this before I fell in love with you. I turned Byron so that you would come out here one day by my permission and I would end you both. But I fell for you instead. I wish I could turn back time and give the parents to the woman I love back.”
Oh Malik, how your stories do not line up. Maybe this was the truth all along and she felt icky around him because she knew the truth before he said it? Vanessa looked at him and shook her head, “But you can’t turn back time and give them back. You owe me something though. I need to know how it happened. How did they really die that night?”
“You wish to know?”
Vanessa nodded with certainty. “Don’t hold back, if you’re going to confess to me, I don’t just want you hear that you did it. I need everything.”
Malik rubbed a hand over his face and rubbed his goatee. “You know how it started with Katrina. I may have told you that I put the Owens name out of my mind and never thought of it again, but that wasn’t true. My hatred for them festered over time. Killing Katrina wasn’t enough. I needed you all dead. So, when I found out Katrina had a son that grew up and married, I swore that I would let generations be born, but I would kill you all one at a time. I would make you all suffer slowly as Katrina did with my parents. The Owens line will never stop paying for what they did to them.”
Vanessa listened to this story, and she found she couldn’t even look at him. Not because the confession was despicable, but because the story just didn’t line up with what Malik told her before. Everything she knew about Malik, this wasn’t him. From what she knew, Malik was a man of honor and integrity. He stuck to his rules no matter what. And he was a man of mercy, which is why his next statement told her he couldn’t be trusted.
“When I went to kill your parents, I stood in the middle of the road and they slammed on the breaks, causing them to go head-first into a tree. I pulled each of them out of the car and shoved them in the trunk of the one I was driving. Julius and I took them out in the middle of the woods. I tortured Daniel by killing Miranda first. I did it slowly. Painfully. I chewed off her limbs one by one until the shock overcame her and she died. With Daniel, I ripped him limb from limb. His head was the last to go.”
Vanessa felt her stomach turn and she stood up, “Please excuse me.” She ran to the bathroom and doubled over the toilet, throwing up as though her body was disposing of every gruesome detail there was. So many questions ran through her mind. Was that really their bodies at the funeral? How did the media deem the sight of the car and what happened to their bodies an accident? She pulled out her phone and called Rylie.
“How’s it going?” Rylie asked.
“He confessed everything. I just honked my guts out. I’m sick to my stomach around him, Ry. I can’t do this; I have to go.”
“You’re not going anywhere.” Malik said, standing in the doorway of the women’s restroom, a sinister grin on his face.