Chapter 41



𝕀𝕟 𝕨𝕙𝕚𝕔𝕙 𝕨𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕪 𝕕𝕚𝕤𝕔𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕣 𝕞𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥 𝕣𝕦𝕚𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕞

Lucas POV (ℙ𝕣𝕖𝕤𝕖𝕟𝕥 𝕕𝕒𝕪)

The last time my heart pounded this dangerously, I had just discovered everyone and everything I had ever held dear was dead.

Now as I looked up at who I was just discovering was Eve - no Evelyn's mother, I couldn't help but freeze in awe. Not only was Evelyn alive, but so was her mother - who had apparently been behind all the hardship we've been going through this past few days. My head was literally about to explode with unbelief.

"How the hell are you alive?" Eve shuttered, her voice throbbing with untamed emotions.

"The question should be; how the fuck are you alive? I thought you were dead, killed by your very own hands. Only to discover years later that not only were you alive, but you were savagely thriving, imagine my surprise. My little spinless flower had grown a backbone."

A slow smile began to spread across the woman's face. I couldn't believe what she was saying. And right now I couldn't deduce if she was happy her daughter was alive or just plain intrigued.

I turned to Eve and watched her features draw in confusion, she was probably thinking the very same thing I was. "What the hell are you doing here mother? How did you survive your heart attack? What are you doing with her?" As eve asked this, she tilted her head towards a grinning Laura, and I couldn't help my eyes from following the movement.

I began fading into the background, detaching myself from the situation. I needed to look at this very critically.

"Which one should I answer first?" Mrs Russell said, tapping her index finger on her extremely thin chin. "Okay let's see, I am here because this meeting was called by me, and considering I am the organizer, it's only fair I attend, isn't it?"

"How the hell-" Eve began but her mother cut her short.

"Let me finish, child!" She boomed, her voice sending vibrations around the almost empty hall. "You asked, so keep shut and listen to my answer."

Eve shrank, her countenance turning cold, weak even. In all the days I've been with Eve, I've never seen her that way before - which only cemented the truth of the matter; Eve was Evelyn. My shy, meek and fragile Evelyn.

"So where were we? Oh yes, how I survived the heart attack? Hmm," She hummed and began moving around the balcony in slow careful strides. "Do you remember Doctor Wang?" She asked but Eve was static, completely frozen and couldn't stop her lips from trembling. Whatever was going on with her right now was deeply personal and I wished I could just hold her.

"Answer me!" Mrs Russell thundered and even I was shaken to my very core by the intensity of her voice.

"Yes," Eve muttered, her voice sounding dry, cracked, dead.

"You'll have to go thank him for the propranolol he injected me with. The moment my body was rushed to the hospital, all he had to do was inject me with adrenaline and my heart was kicked started, and pumping with life before you knew it."

I was in awe. I remembered vaguely seeing her body being dragged out after Eve's. Remembered the guilt I felt thinking I had been the cause of their destruction, the cause of their demise. The sight I had witnessed that day had hunted me ever since. So how ironic was it for me to find out, years later, that it had all been a scam?

If they had all been alive, how come my sister had been killed? What had the innocent girl done to deserve such a cruel fate? If my suspicions were correct, then Eve's mother had been behind it.

But why?

Why had she wanted to desperately destroy her own family? Why had she taken me and my sister along with them?

I opened my mouth to ask that very question but Eve beat me to it.

"I don't understand, daddy died, right in front of you. Why would you fake your death and leave me all alone? Why had you sent Laura after Lucas?" She began walking towards the stairs that connected the balcony to the ground floor. "I'm still so confused, mama. Please tell me this is all a misunderstanding."

"Oh you don't have to be confused, baby. Especially about Laura. She is a part of my family, love. Your brother's wife for that matter. There is nothing to misunderstand here." As Eve's mother said this, she began descending the stairs. Her aim, to probably met Eve halfway.

"So who is the boss? Laura or you because from where I'm standing, Laura is the forerunner in this war." I gritted, watching as she paused from her slow descend the stair, and flung me a venomous glare.

"You poor child, you never stood a chance against me from the very beginning. You and that wretched sister of yours. What was her name again? Was it Lydia? Or Rita?" As she said this, her eyes flashed towards Eve, mischief shining in them. I followed her gaze and watched as Eve froze mid-step. It was as if she'd just heard some horrible news, her cheeks flushing red.

What game was this woman playing exactly?

"I don't understand," I whispered, my eyes moving back to Mrs Russell whom I found staring back at me with triumph.

"Why don't you ask my daughter here. It wasn't just her face she got worked on. She made a certain deserted girl, who had somehow escaped me, undergo plastic surgery to hide her identity from a certain someone until the time was right for her to enact vengeance." Turning to Eve she added, "Isn't that right?"

I couldn't process what I was hearing, and because Eve was dead silent, it just confirmed my worst fears. Turning to Mrs Russell, I fired, "If you are implying that Rita is my sister, Lydia, then you must surely be on drugs."

"Oh, no, my sweet boy, I am not on drugs. Just ask your fixer right here."

I turned to Eve. "Is this true?"

Silence.

Oh my god.

"Please tell me this isn't true, did you force my sister to undergo surgery so you could use her to get back at me?" When she didn't respond, I lost it and began to make for the exit.

"Lucas stop!" Eve screamed behind me and at that very moment, I saw the red dot of a sniper's target on my cheek, and thighs and face. Practically everywhere.

Fuck!

We were surrounded. But I had to get to Rita, I had to get to my sister. No wonder she kept seeing me in her dreams. I recalled she had told me she lost her memory which had been due to Laura's mistreatment. At the thought, my eyes flickered up to hers. She was staring back at me with an expression I couldn't fathom.

She was probably gloating. The bitch.

"I am going to kill you." I sneered and began making my way to her but the venomous voice of Mrs Russell stopped me.

"Take one more step and I'll blow Rita up. How's that for a family reunion, huh?"

I stilled, fear gripping me at the thought of Rita dying in a fire, the same way my parents had. "Why did you lie to me? Why had you let me live through the pain of losing my only surviving relation? What had I gone to you to make me suffer like that?"

"I thought you'd have figured that out by now, Antonio. Seems you are not as smart as advertised after all."

Oh, the bitch. This sneaky convincing bitch. She had known, she had known who I was all this while, that was why she had used me.

"Antonio?" Eve whispered from the other end of the room. Her tone carrying the words as a question.

"Yes, you got it right, daughter. He is Antonio. The one and only."

I turned towards Eve and watched as her face went from confusion to realisation.

Oh shit.