Keeping In Touch

Keeping In Touch
NICOLE
Four Weeks Later...
It's been weeks since that awful event that still haunts my dreams, but with each passing day, I see it less and less in my mind. 
Someday, I'm sure it's going to fade into a memory. I won't see it so vividly. Hell, I'm hoping I'll maybe even forget how Leonardo looked. 
Their bodies were found a week after we left the place. I've been tense ever since, waiting to be summoned by the police due to a connection to them, but that hasn't happened yet. It also helped that we removed my bag from the floor of the car, and gloves were used the entire time. 
I don't know. I guess we've been lucky. That's the only explanation I have for all this. 
Not a soul knows about what happened to Leonardo apart from me, Dan, who's probably hiding somewhere in the world, Roman, and Mason. 
If it stays that way, then nobody will ever find out. I hope it stays that way. We've gone through enough to last us a lifetime and from here on out, all I want is peace. 
Peace and quiet. And a life spent away from this city. 
Nobody ever found out who killed Sebastian. It seems whoever Leonard hired must've been a ghost. Nobody even saw him leave the building. Footage from the building didn't capture him at all. Sebastian's death is going to be one of the top deaths that remain unsolved, and I feel terrible for him. 
I never thought he was a bad person. He didn't deserve the end he got, and it really breaks my heart every time I think about it. 
I wish things had ended differently and deep down, I blame myself for all this. But Angus was the one who dragged him into all of this when he didn't have to. I really hate him for that. 
But he's dead now, so it doesn't matter, I guess. 
It's been a month since Angus' death, and I don't expect it, but Sandra calls me, asking me to join them at the office building for a quick meeting. "It has to do with your inheritance."
"Inheritance?"
"You didn't have a chance to be legitimized, that's true, but our Daddy still put you in his will. You're going to get a share of something. His letter will be opened and we'd like you to be there."
I'm shocked by this. Angus put me in the will? Why? I don't even know what to make of this. It occurs to me to reject the offer and claim I don't want anything to do with it, but then it hits me.
Why should I do that? Angus genuinely turned my life upside down when he walked into it. Or rather, when I walked into it. I might as well get some compensation for all the trouble I've been through. 
Why not?
Roman supports my decision to go, so I get ready and meet them. Amanda is the first person I see. She's in the lobby, talking to Renate, who greets me in a friendly way. I haven't been back here since everything happened, and I hope to never work here again. 
It was hell for me. 
"Nicole," she smiles. "Thank you for coming."
She hugs me. I don't know why, but I never expected this kind of affection from her. I thought that maybe she was just acting in front of Angus when I first met her. 
"We're glad you're here," she claims before pulling back. "Angus would've been happy, and that's all that matters to me. You look so much like him. Gosh, he never stopped talking about you. You made him very happy, and I can only thank you for that."
"I never got a chance to say anything, but I'm sorry for your loss."
I mean this with both Angus and Leonardo in mind. I briefly wonder if she would still be happy that I'm here if she knew that I knew what happened to her son. In fact, I was right there when it happened, and I had to wash his blood off my face. 
Amanda squeezes my hand tightly. "Thank you."
We head inside when the lawyer arrives. Sandra sits right beside me and takes my hand in hers. The lawyer starts reading a letter he left for all of them, and they start crying. I have to admit that I don't feel as emotional. I'm not a hypocrite. 
But I do feel sorry for his family. They deserved better, I guess. If he had died under normal circumstances, then maybe things would have been more bearable. 
The amount of money I'm left is...insane. My mouth is open the entire time, but I try to control myself. I really do. 
Five hundred million dollars. 
The rest will be left in assets that I'll probably sell back to the family, which probably means I'll have a lot more money than five hundred million. It's so much money that I don't even know what I'll begin doing with it. Plus, with the shares of the company and other properties he left me...I don't know. 
It does feel like a lot. 
Leonardo's share will be divided among the family, since he died and didn't leave a will. As we walk out of the meeting room, Amanda takes my hand again and says, "I know that you and Angus didn't get along, but I want you to know that we're here if you ever need us. We're still your family, and it would really make us happy if you kept in contact with us."
"Yes," Sandra adds, taking my other hand. Her face is red from all the crying she's been doing since the meeting started. "I would really love it. I don't see why we can't have a good relationship."
I look at all of them and I have to admit that this is what finally makes me emotional. I see a prettier picture than when Angus was actually alive. 
I find myself nodding. "I would love that. Really."
Roman is at home when I arrive and I see it in his face that he was worried. He can't stand the thought of me being around any Calieri, even though he agreed with me that it was best if I went. "How did it go?"
"Well. I guess I'm rich now."
He narrows his eyes at me and smiles. "How rich?"
"Five hundred million."
Roman scoffs. "Stingy bastard. I know he had a lot more."
"I have other things. Assets. Shares."
His hands go on my hips. "What's your plan?"
"Sell them back to the Calieris, maybe? I don't know. All I know is that I don't want any connection with them anymore. Business-wise, that is. They're all very nice, but you never know. Maybe one of them's resentful."
"I think that's a good idea. I could help you figure things out when the time comes."
I smile. "I'd love that."
His lips find mine, and we share a very brief but passionate kiss. As he pushes me against the kitchen island, he lifts me and sets me on top of it. Then, he positions himself between my legs. 
"I need to tell you something."
My heart drops. There's no way it doesn't. "What is it?"
Roman stops all of a sudden and gets all strange. I stare at his face and wonder what the hell is going on. "Roman, tell me."
"The hospital called when you were gone."
My heart drops.