"Brian has leukemia," Yvonne said. Nicholas looked at her with shock with his eyes. He did not know what to think, what was he supposed to do? The woman that he loved was kidnapped and he did not know what she was going through in the hands of her kidnapper, and now the son that he did not know existed was sick with cancer. Nicholas just stared ahead and held Brian in his arms, he could not say anything to Yvonne.
The car drove them to his house in quiet. Nicholas did not say anything anymore. The words died on his tongue, and for a while it felt like all he could do for Astra was to pray.
"Why was Brian with you? Why not Astra's parents?" Nicholas asked. It seemed like a safe topic. Nicholas figured that Astra's parents would have told him about the child. They had been so sympathetic during the divorce.
"Did you not know?' Yvonne asked. She looked shocked.
"What?" Nicholas replied. He was curious as to what she meant.
"Astra's parents had disowned her because of the divorce. They blamed her for everything," Yvonne said, her voice was shaking.
"What the hell!" Nicholas exclaimed. Now that he thought about it, Astra's parents seemed to know about the cheating scandal even when he did not tell them. Ray. Nicholas felt so much anger to the man that he felt he could kill him if he had the chance.
"What do you mean by your exclamation? You knew all these would have happened. Hell, it was all your fault!" Yvonne shouted. She was crying now. Nicholas calmed down, he tried his best to relax. It was understandable that she felt like that. He would feel the same if something happened to Sarah. It was all Ray's fault. He destroyed a family because of an obsession.
"Try and relax Yvonne. This is all a misunderstanding. Ray was behind everything that happened," Nicholas said and proceeded to tell her the full story, all they knew about Ray from the beginning till the end. He added all that Stephanie said. By the time he was done, they were parked in front of the house.
"Oh my God my little sister, and she is with that monster now," Yvonne cried in the car, covering her eyes with her hands.
"I am so sorry," Nicholas said, rubbing her back. He did not know her very well but she was family. She loved Astra and she cared for his child for so long, she was definitely his blood. Nicholas waited for a while until Yvonne stopped crying.
"We should go inside," he said then. Yvonne looked up at him and wiped her tears with her sleeve.
"Thank you, we cannot sit in the car forever," Yvonne said with a forced smile as she got out of the car.
Nicholas carried Brian with him as he stood up. He could feel Brian moving around. His son was awake. It felt so good, yet so unusual. He had son. Nicholas looked at Brian, and his son looked confused for a moment. Nicholas panicked then. When Brian smiled, his heart went back to its normal pace.
"Is mommy here?" Brian asked immediately, and Nicholas sighed. What was he going to tell his son if something happened to Astra?
"Mommy will be here soon, just be a little patient," Nicholas said to his son as they all went inside his house.
"Nicholas! You're back. What happened?" Sarah said as they entered into the house. Jared also stood up, he was holding Theo.
"It is a long story," Nicholas said. Sarah was looking at Brian with suspect in her eyes.
"Well I am listening," Sarah said, putting a hand on her waist. She did not even acknowledge Yvonne. Sarah could be so protective of him.
"Sarah meet my son, Brian, and Astra's cousin Yvonne," Nicholas said and he saw Sarah's jaw drop, and her eyes widen in surprise.
"Yvonne, meet my cousin Sarah, her son Theo and Astra's friend, Jared," Nicholas sad. He hesitated before he said the word friend since he was not sure how to describe Jared's relationship with Astra.
"Brian, this is your aunt Sarah, and your cousin Theo," Nicholas said pointing to them. Sarah smiled and looked at Brian, all her earlier energy had died down, she was calm then.
"Hi Brian," Sarah said to his son and Brian smiled.
"Hi, you are my aunt like aunt Yvonne. Now I have two aunts," Brian said smartly. He pronounced Yvonne funny, and it made him even cuter.
"That is very smart, Brian. Can I hold you?" Sarah asked with a smiled. Brian nodded are stretched his hands to Sarah. Sarah held him and tears began to rush from her eyes.
"You are so precious Brian, and he looks so much like you Nicholas," Sarah said. Jared was looking very confused about everything, and Yvonne just smiled knowingly at Sarah. Later that day when both children were asleep. Nicholas, Sarah, Stephanie, Yvonne and Jared all sat down and they all shared their parts of the stories. All that Astra had told them, and the things they had deduced.
"Her name was Brianna. She was such a precious little thing. Astra had been all alone when she had the twins you see, but she listed my name as her next of kin. It was after Brianna's death that the fire occurred. Astra was depressed, she was drinking, and her house caught fire, a three month old was inside, It was a miracle that Brian survived. Astra had taken most of the injuries. She was so burnt that she was disfigured. The surgery helped her to regain the confidence she had lost over time, and I saw my cousin getting better and better until one day, she said she wanted to go back, she was sure people would not recognize her so she wanted to start afresh. And even that did not go well," Yvonne said, and all the women were crying.
"She took me to Brianna's grave once, and I saw Astra break. She has gone through too much. We have to do something," Jared said and they all agreed.
"The police said they are searching for Ray's properties around to see the particular one that he is holding Astra in. I am thinking of hiring a private investigator to the same. It will definitely be faster," Nicholas said.
"That will be the best. Waiting for the police will take time. We have no idea what torture Astra is going through there," Jared agreed and then Nicholas' found rang.
"Hello," Nicholas said as he picked up the phone.
"Hello, this is Detective Morris. We have staked out his hideout. We will be on the move as early as three am tomorrow morning," Detective Morris said and Nicholas quickly stood up from the chair.
"I am coming with all of you," Nicholas said. He was already picking up his jacket.
"It is too dangerous Sir," Morris said.
"I am on my way," Nicholas replied, and disconnected the call.
"What is wrong?" Sarah asked. Nicholas was already putting on his shoes.
"They have discovered the hideout. I am going to kill that bastard!" Nicholas said and walked out of the door. He could hear the patter of feet behind him but he did not look back or even behave as though he heard.
"Nicholas!" They all shouted and Nicholas turned back.
"Try your best to calm down Nicholas. Let the law take care of him," Sarah said to him, Nicholas shook his head.
"The law will say that he is out of his mind and take him to a psychiatrist hospital. Maybe one day he will be cured and he will walk the streets as though he had not destroyed multiple lives prior," Nicholas said.