Chapter 26
Zachary's POV:
Everyone’s eyes were set on me as I stood in the middle of the room, hands shoved inside my pants pockets as I thought of a plan to at least give them the idea about what they were going to meet. Juliette...
Even though I made it clear to her that she had to deal with our family all by herself, I still couldn’t help but be worried about her and our baby as I brought our family directly from the airport to the hotel. I knew if they see Juliette all of a sudden then they would go berserk and bombard her or who knows maybe get angry over her and also over me... And keeping on mind that she is pregnant, it would be good if I give them an idea and then let them face her.
My mother sat on the couch next to Gale, and both Juliette’s mother and father stood near the window. Jace sat on the piano bench, facing us, while my grandfather and grandmother stood near the small bar along with Kristian, taking sips occasionally of their wine. Kristian gave me a smirk but his expression turned to a smug one when he saw my jaws clenching.
“Are you going to keep standing there?” Gale was the first to break the silence and as he kept his hand on my mother’s lap who held it firmly.
Gale and I had a huge fight the last time because he planned on destroying me by submitting my illegal arms and weapons truck to the cops. But he had no idea that I had known he was the one behind it all and thanks to my man who work as cops for informing me on time or else I would have been destroyed. I was in the verge of shooting all the bullets that I had in my gun into his forehead but if it weren’t for mom getting in the middle trying to save him, I would have really killed him. Mom had to apologize on his behalf, and she clarified that she was aware of what Gale had been doing all these years, from Gina’s case to the illegal weapon case, but still she didn’t interfere because she thought he wouldn’t do it again.
For the first time in my life, I was I was angry on my own mother for always choosing him over him and putting a veil over his actions and it intensified to the extent that I was on the verge of breaking all my ties with her but then she begged that she loved him but she loved me too and she couldn’t live with us. My grandmother had to step in and break all the ice and finally after some chaos it was all sorted. Mom assured me that it was for the last time that Gale played these cheap tricks and she would make sure that he keeps out of my business and Gale admitted that it was his wrong move and truly he wouldn’t do that again.
I had to backout that day after giving a last warning.
Since that day, the problems between us had decreased, but not to the extent where we would roam together talking about our lives. But as long as he behaved, I would keep my sanity for mom’s sake.
“Zac?” Mom asked, and I looked at her but quickly averted my gaze to look at Juliette’s father. My eyes narrowed at him as I looked at his appearance. He wasn’t in his usual self. He had grown his facial hair and had dark circles as if he hasn’t been sleeping in the nights as if something were disturbing him. He looked remorseful in a type of way where it looked as if he wanted to tell me something but he couldn’t.
Only if he knew, I already knew.
Mrs. Swanson stood there stoically as she looked at the ground and avoided meeting my gaze. Jace, while on the other hand sat quietly looking at me intently and I cleared my throat to get everyone’s attention. I was just about to open my mouth to speak when the buzzing of my phone stopped me from going further. Annoyed at the person for calling me at a wrong time, I was just about to cut the call when the name displayed on the caller’s ID got my attention.
Willi Simmel.
He was the type who only called to talk about business and to avoid his call meant making a rod for your own back.
“Excuse me for a moment!”
I hurried out of the room where they had gathered because of me and directly went out of the room to get the call.
“Yes? What do you have for me?”
“You need to get here, immediately!” he said and the way he spoke I knew something was bad.
It took me fifteen minutes to reach my house, and as soon as I arrived, I was greeted by my guards' dead bodies. One had his throat slit while the other had his head blown by a gun. Both of them lay dead laid dead near the entrance. That was enough for me to make a run thinking about Juliette and as soon as I entered Willi stood in the middle of the living room with his hands over his waist looking apprehensive.
“They are gone,” he said as soon as he saw me standing near the doorway.
“Hey! What’s going on? Kiara!” I heard Kristian’s voice as she came running and searched for Kiara in desperation.
“Where is he?” he asked, and as he saw my and Willi’s distraught faces, he slammed his fist on the table in frustration.
“Bro...” Willi kept a hand over Kristian’s shoulder but at that moment everything seemed blank to me as I walked slowly towards them like a robot and stood next to them as I thought about Juliette and our baby. I wanted to break down, crash everything and go all berserk wanting to destroy everything but knowing that wouldn’t actually help anything and even though I didn’t want to still I controlled my sanity and looked everywhere.
“Did you check the CCTV?” I asked as I walked the window to look outside.
“It's been destroyed,” Willie replied, and I clutched the curtain tightly in anger.
No, Zachary Udolf Sullivan...You need to control yourself.
At least for the sake of Juliette.
“Go and get me the CCTV footage of the nearby roads and call the police,” I said and looked back to find them both looking at me in shock.
“I’m willing to involve police in this. It would be a lot easier to find her,” I said and Willi nodded before walking away to get the footage.
“Are you out of your damn mind? You want to fucking involve the police in this? Do you know what this means? Subsequently, your background will be checked, and they will dig up your information. Your mafia business will be exposed to everyone,” Kristian yelled at me, but in contrast, I chose to keep quiet as I sat on one of the dining chairs.
“Let me have it in my way for once,” I said and his face contoured in anger as he took a menacing step towards me and held my collar aggressively.
“Bastard isn’t it always you way? Look where we are today just because it was your fucking w—”
“It wasn’t!” I snapped as I held his hand shoved it off from my collar.
“It fucking wasn’t. I wasn’t the one who planned all this. It was Juliette. If I'd had my way, I would have already killed him. Things were never the way I had wanted and if it were then nothing all this and the rest that I had to go through including that girl, Gina, had happened. Do you fucking understand?”
“Now, for the first time in my life, let me have it in my way,” I was exasperated.
He clenched his jaws and shrieked before pulling his hair in frustration and gradually ended up sitting next to me. I adjusted my shirt and watched as he held his head and muttered about Kiara. But then it struck me. Kiara was also there in the house, and then...my eyes fell on the two half-filled plates. I reached my hands out to get the plates and saw it had chicken and tomato pasta in it. Juliette was eating this?
As long as I remembered, she loved this dish and why would she leave it unfinished? Even the other plate was half eaten. Taking the fork, I examined the dish and sniffed it a little but everything seemed okay. I was just about to taste it when I stopped.
“Hey! Kristian...” he looked at me annoyed as I handed him the plate.
“Are you hungry?” I asked as I signaled him the plate.
“You fucking retard? You think I would eat at a time like th—”
“Kiara made it!” I exclaimed and his eyes grew wider before he looked at the dish intently and gradually reached for the fork.
It looks like Kiara never really cooked for you brother.
He looked as if he was going to cry as he stabbed a piece of chicken and brought it to his mouth to eat. I watched as he chewed his food and gradually finish everything occasionally whispering how great the food was and how delicious it was. At the end, when he finished, I breathed out as I scratched my chin.
The food was alright.
I was just about to reach out for the water bottle, as I was feeling thirsty all of a sudden, when a thud next to me caught me off guard.
It was Kristian. He banged his head on the table and I stood up to check on him, alarmed. He had passed out next to me and quickly I checked his nerves worried thinking that he died but to my relief he was only passed out and it got in my mind that the food was already drugged.
“Who could’ve drugged this food?” I mumbled to myself as I looked back at a sleeping Kristian.