Chapter 46 I intend to play God
CHAPTER 46: I intend to play God
Chauncey
The reaction was a startling transformation. The girl who was only too quick to blame her sister without knowing the full story was gone, replaced by a sobbing, frantic girl who threw herself toward the bed.
“Vera! Oh, God, Vera!” she cried, clutching her sister’s hand. “What happened? I was so worried!” She turned to Silas, “Is she okay? What happened?”
“Your sister will be fine. The doctor made a house call last night.”
I stood back, leaning against the dresser, arms folded, watching the performance.
I felt a strange, jarring disconnect.
I looked at Vera…even with how frail and tired she looked, she gathered Lily close to her, embracing and trying to calm her down.
“I'm okay, Lily. Don’t worry, sweetie,” she caressed and kissed the top of the younger girl's hair as she sobbed and clung onto her.
For some very weird reasons, Lily’s grief felt like a costume she had put on in the hallway.
“I learned you two arrived together?” Silas asked, his eyes pinning me to the spot.
I opened my mouth to answer, but Lily beat me to it. She straightened, breaking out of her sister's embrace, her voice high and breathless.
“I called Cherry, but she was out of town. She informed me that she had gone on a trip. I didn't know where else to go, so I had the driver take me to Chauncey’s.”
Silas stared at her for a long, unreadable beat before exhaling a breath that sounded like a growl.
“I have work to attend to.”
He looked at me. “She’s been seen by a doctor. She’s fine here.”
He knew me well enough to know that I wasn't satisfied.
“Brother, be reasonable,” I argued, pushing off the dresser and stepping into his path as he moved toward the door.
He stopped, his jaw clenching tightly.
“I said she is fine,” he repeated, his voice dropping an octave in warning.
He barely looked back at the bed, his expression as hard as ice.
Then without another word, he strode out of the room, the heavy oak door clicking shut behind him.
I stayed for a moment, the silence in the room heavy and awkward.
There was a knock, and soon after a maid entered, her head bowed.
“Excuse me, sir. Madam. Dr. Caleb has arrived to check on you, madam.”
“Thank you, Emily,” Vera said. “Send him up in a while.”
The maid looked at Vera. She bowed, and left, the door clicking softly behind her.
I lingered for a moment.
“I hope you feel better soon, Vera,” I said softly, with a small smile. “Get some rest.”
“Thank you,” she whispered, her eyes shining with unshed tears. “And thank you for... for also taking care of my sister.”
I nodded, and walked out of the room, heading down the hall towards Silas’s office. I found him in there, standing by the window, his back to the door.
So much for having some work to do.
I slammed the door shut.
“Enough, Silas. Tell me the truth. You look like you’re ready to kill someone. And while it makes me uncomfortable to say it, I feel Vera’s on the receiving end of it.” I paused, pinching the bridge of my nose. “You look like shit. And she looks like she’s waiting for the blow. What happened yesterday?” I asked in a softer tone.
Silas didn't speak.
He walked to his desk, his movements stiff and robotic. He pressed a button on the laptop on his desk, turned the screen toward me, and pressed play.
I looked between him and the laptop, confused. “What is—”
“Just watch.”
He returned to his position by the window.
I pulled the gadget closer, squinting at the images on the screen. I was about to ask him what I was looking at,
Then… I saw.
I watched in a trance of horror. The figure on the ground.
Simone.
Soon, I saw Vera emerge, as clear as day under the streetlights, looking at Simone's broken body before getting back in the car and fleeing into the dark.
My stomach did a slow, sickening roll as I recognized Vera’s face.
My brother's seemingly sweet, quiet wife…a hit-and-run driver.
“God,” I choked out. I felt physically ill. “Silas... how? Vera…she's responsible for..?”
“She did it,” he whispered, the sound dry.
Of all the things and scenarios I had imagined, never had I expected this. It was too much to believe, but there was video evidence to prove it.
“How did you get this?”
“Damien Vane,” he spat, the name sounding like a curse.
Then he went on to tell me everything.
An uncomfortable suspicion poked at me.
“The IV… Did you hurt her?” I asked, my voice trembling. “When you found out... tell me you didn't touch her?”
I knew my brother would never lay hands on a woman. But I knew his rage. And I knew what losing Simone did to him.
“No,” he said, his voice hollow. He looked me square in the face. “I didn't have to. The truth did enough damage.”
I sank into a chair, my mind reeling. I watched the video replaying in a loop. The woman on the screen didn't match the woman I had come to know.
“What are you going to do? You have to turn this in. You have to hand this over to the authorities.”
He neither reacted nor agreed to what I said.
“You’re not going to? Are you?”
“And what? Ruin the Rutherford name? Destroy the partnership over a scandal that is sure to break out?” he sneered. “No. I will not let her make me a ridicule in society. She stays.”
My brows snapped together. “What?”
“She stays until the contract is finished.”
“Can you listen to yourself, brother. Let the law take its course. Don't play judge, jury and executioner. It would never end well.”
“No, Chaunce. I intend to play God,” he said darkly. “She will remain my wife until the two years is over. She serves her sentence here. For now.”
I looked at my brother, and saw a darkness in him that terrified me. I wanted to defend her, to find an excuse, but the video was damning.
“I... I can’t believe it. She seemed so different.” I paused, the weight of another secret pressing on me. “I hate to bring this up, but at this point it's necessary.”
Silas looked up, eyes narrowing. “What is it?”
“Will you inform—will you tell Sam about this?”