Eliana
Two Month Later…
I’m doing well, all things considered. I get frustrated sometimes, at the way everyone keeps hovering even two months later. I get that what I went through was scary, but they’re driving me nuts especially with the upcoming court case, and the fact that I have to testify.
I don’t tell them, but I’ve woken up more often than not with nightmares about the whole ordeal. Brax is always there, tugging me closer when I do, placing sleepy kisses on my neck until I drift back into the comfort he brings me.
I’m going to give a statement today against Willard O’Hare. I haven’t seen him since he tried to sell me off to the highest bidder. It’s been all over the news, that along with my father’s arrest for culpable homicide in the Aurora O’Hare case and several other allegations after my mother handed information to the feds. I never knew she’d been hoarding evidence and never would’ve expected her to hand it over, but she did, and I’m proud of her.
My brother is at the helm of my father’s business for now. He’s had several fires to put out, investors pulling out, but he’s managed. He’s appointed an interim CEO until he completes his studies. As I always knew, Zev was born for this.
The greatest of all the revelations was the information we discovered about Zev’s birth mother, Hailey Bennet. His eyes still glaze over when we talk about it. She was in the walls of our home for years, and we never knew any better. Zev doesn’t remember much about her.
Hailey was the woman in the secret area behind my father’s bookshelf. One picture of her, and I knew I hadn’t dreamed that whole incident. My father admitted that Zev’s mother threatened to go public, divulge that he had an illegitimate son he refused to take care of, and he had her locked away in his secret room, along with other women. The thought of it makes my insides churn. He took Zev in, it is the only decent thing he did for my brother.
He was moving her out of the house, to god knows where when he met an accident, the same accident Aurora died in. I have called a monster, Father, all these years.
It’s strange how such tragic circumstances brought Brax to me, but I can’t imagine not having him in my life.
* * *
“You okay, Ella?” my mother asks, for maybe the hundredth time today.
“I’m good, Mom. I knew this day would come. Testifying against him doesn’t scare me.” I try to assure her.
She nods, walking further into the room.
“You should know something.” She says sitting on the bed next to me.
“Go on, Mom.” I say, reaching for slightly trembling hands.
“The guy who rear-ended your car. He worked for your father. Bobby, I think his name was.”
I shake my head. “So I wasn’t in any real danger before I left for LA?” I remember the night I ran into him in my father’s study.
“Not from anyone other than your father, and Willard O’Hare of course. I shouldn’t have kept it from you.” She shakes her head, her eyes looking tired and sad.
It’s odd, the concern my mother has been showing since I was rescued. She isn’t one to apologize for past mistakes, but her presence is apology enough. Life is too short to hold on to hostility. It can’t bring back the years we lost, but we can try to do better in the future.
“We’re okay, Mom.” I smile at her, squeezing her hand.
She smiles at me, her eyes teary. “I am so glad we are.”
“You ready?” Brax asks, walking into my bedroom looking between the two of us.
“I am,” I tell him standing and letting him take my hand in his. I look down at my mom who is wiping away a few stray tears.
We walk down the grand staircase of my parent’s home together.
My mother doesn’t want to live here anymore. She’ll be moving into one of the condos my father owned. I can’t wait to get back to the comfort of my apartment and not have my mother breathing down my neck. She’s tried to convince me to stay in San Diego, but my life is in LA now, and with Brax taking up a position at Cole Security, we need to get home and settle in. The difference this time will be that we will see more of each other.
* * *
We stand at the foot of the stairs of the courthouse, and Brax squeezes my hand in his. Zev, Casey and my mother, stand beside us. In this moment, I know everything will be okay. The building that looms before isn’t intimidating and the racing of my heart settles a little.
Brax places a kiss on my temple. It’s protective and comforting all rolled into one.
I never expected to fall in love this fast, least of all with the man my father hired to protect me, but I did, and every day I find another reason to love him. If I have learned anything, it is that the heart isn’t tamable or predictable. It wants what it wants. It goes where it is led, and I am okay with that. Mine led me to Brax.
