Art of Loyalty (A Stern Family Saga Book 4)

by Monique Orgeron

  When I look around the room to find a phone, Vincent gets on his knees and crawls over to William. He knocks him down on the floor and climbs on top of him. Wrapping his hands around his father’s neck and starts strangling him. I rush over to them, trying to pry his hands away from William’s neck, but Vincent shoves me to the ground. He returns to strangling him, I try again, yelling and begging him to stop but he it’s like he isn’t hearing me. I push and shove as hard as I can to get him off of William, but Vincent shoves me off again.

  He yells at me, “I need him to die before I go! I won’t leave him here with you!”

  “What did you do son?” That’s when it hits me. I see the rubber band still wrapped around his arm. He purposely overdosed William and himself.

  When William is no longer moving, and his last breath leaves him, Vincent falls over to the floor. He passes out. I’m shaking so bad I can barely move but I fly to my son and start slapping him. When there’s no response I stick my fingers in his mouth as far back as I can, causing him to vomit, but he is still unconscious.

  Right then, I hear Theo behind me. “What the fuck?!” He sees me and comes running. I yell, “Theo, Vincent, I need you to help me save him.” Theo bends down and I grab his shirt, pulling him to me. “Help me! Help! He’s dying! I can’t let him die!”

  “Call the doctor, tell him to get here now! Call him, Catherine!”

  He lifts Vincent into his arms and runs him to the bathroom. I grab the phone and scream into it when Paul answers. He tells me he’s coming. He is only a few minutes away, so it shouldn’t be long. I run to the bathroom as fast as I can with my injuries. When I get there, Theo is looking for something to use to make Vincent throw up again.

  I yell at him. “Here, use my toothbrush.” He takes it from me and gags Vincent with it. Forcing him to throw up again.

  Vin starts coughing and that’s when Paul comes running in. He looks around the room and says, “Jesus Christ Catherine, what’s going on?”

  “Help him, he’s dying!” Paul starts working on him, moving Theo out the way. “What did he use?”

  “Something in a needle.” I’m crying so hard, I’m shaking unable to move. Theo runs past me, when he comes back he’s holding the needle and something else in his hands for the doctor.

  Paul examines everything and says, “Looks like heroin.”

  He throws everything in the lavatory and goes back to working on Vin. Theo tries to get me to leave the bathroom, but I refuse.

  “You have to save him, save my son!” I’m yelling over and over again, panicking.

  Theo grabs me by the arms, “Katie, where are the boys?”

  I don’t answer him, I can’t take my eyes off of Vincent. He yells again, “Katie, where are the boys?”

  “The boys?”

  “Yes baby, where are the boys?”

  “I don’t know. Gabriel wasn’t here and Liam’s at his friends. Zander was here!”

  “Where is he now? Where’s Zander?”

  “I don’t know. He tried to kill William, but I made him leave. I don’t know where he is.”

  He yells out cursing, I shouldn’t have told him about Zander trying to kill William. He would never forgive me for putting his son in this position. Right now, all I can think about is Vincent.

  “Theo don’t let him die, I need him!”

  “I know, baby. Paul’s doing his best. Look at me Katie, who killed William?”

  “What?”

  “Katie, William’s dead and he has marks around his neck. Who killed him?”

  I look at my son and the doctor who is now paying attention. I look back at Theo and tell him, “I killed him. I did it.”

  They both look at each other then, Theo asks Paul, “Can you save him?”

  “He’s breathing, but he should be in the hospital.”

  Theo tells him, “No hospitals, Paul. Just save him, do whatever you have to do. If you need anything, equipment anything, let me know. I’ll get it for you but it all has to be here.”

  He then turns back to me. “I’m going to get Jeffery, then I will call someone I trust to take care of William. It will never be anything more than an overdose.” He looks back at the doctor, “Right Doc.?”

  Paul tells him. “As far as I care, the son of a bitch needed to die.”

  Theo nods and leaves me to go find Jeffery. I help the doctor as much as I can. He says he’s stable as of now, we just need to get him into bed. Theo returns and carries Vincent’s limp body all the way to his room and lays him in bed. Paul tells Theo everything he needs and then Theo calls it in. When he’s finished he tells me, “I need you to let the doctor look at your injuries.”

  “I’m fine.”

  “Katie, you’re not fine.” He takes my hand and leads me to Vincent’s dresser and I see my reflection. I’m covered in bruises and blood. I don’t care though, all that matters is Vincent.

  Theo looks in the mirror at me. “Let him look you over. I have someone coming to get William’s body. Once the doctor is finished, I need you to go cover up what you can. The boys will be home soon. I had my crew find them. They’re watching them and will let me know when they’re close.”

  “I’m not leaving him!”

  “Katie, just for a little while. I need you to cover the bruises the best you can, because when the boys come home you need to tell them their father is dead. They will need you, and they won’t believe you if you look like this. Do you want the boys knowing you killed William?”

  “No.”

  “Good, then come on.”

  He sits me down and Paul comes to check my injuries. He bandages what he can, he cleans all the cuts, and even uses glue to close some that needed it. Once he’s finished, Theo tries to get me to leave but I won’t move, I can’t.

  “Katie you have to come with me.” He grabs my face and forces me to look up at him. “Do you trust me?”

  “Always.”

  When Theo lets me go, I walk up to Paul and tell him, “You keep him alive or you won’t stay that way!”

  “Catherine!” Theo yells at me. The doctor and I have been close friends for a long time. He’s been there helping me through it all, but right now I mean everything I say. If he lets my son die, I will kill him.

  Theo picks me up and carries me away. He scolds me the whole way for talking to Paul that way. He’s our friend and I threatened him. I don’t care though, nothing matters without Vincent.

  Theo puts me down in my bedroom. As I look at William’s dead body, my rage grows. I hate him, even in death I hate him. I run to his body and throw myself down on the floor hitting him over and over. Screaming and crying for all the years of torture this man put me and my children through. Theo grabs me, stopping me. He forces me off him and I break down in his arms.

  “I know baby, I know. He’s gone.”

  When I’m calm enough, Theo releases me, and I go to the bathroom to cover the bruises. I have the sponge in my shaky hand when I realize what a pro I have become at doing this, but once these bruises heal, this will be the last time I ever have to do this. I steady my hand and begin. With the bruises on my face covered, I put on a loose-fitting long sleeve dress to cover the damage done to my body. The boys will be too distraught to notice anything amiss.

  Opening the door, I see the coroner with the doctor. Paul signs off on the paperwork stating it was too late by the time he got to him. After I sign something, Paul informs me that Vincent is stable. He says he’ll be fine, but we need to keep a close eye on him.

  I hug him tight and whisper in his ear, “Forgive me, Paul.”

  Looking at me he says, “There is nothing to forgive. He’s your son.”

  He kisses my cheek and walks away. When the children come home, I tell them that their father died. Later, once things have calmed, I sneak off to Vincent’s room.

  I sit on the side of his bed, brushing his hair to the side, thinking how close I came to losing him. He wakes and looks at me. “Mom?”

  �
��Shh, rest.”

  He has tears in his eyes. “Why did you bring me back?”

  “I will always bring you back. It’s not your time, son. You can’t leave me.” Bending, I whisper in his ear, “We’re free.”

  His eyes shut tight. “You shouldn’t have brought me back.”

  I’m crying when I come out of my memories. I look at Brittany and see she’s crying too.

  Wiping my eyes, I tell her, “That was the last words he spoke to me. I stayed with him for two days and nights before Theo arranged for him to go into a rehab program.”

  “When his stay was over, it was Theo who went to get him. They had become extra close while Vincent was there. He refused to see me, but he allowed Theo to visit. When Theo finally brought Vincent home, Theo admitted that he knew the truth. Vincent had told him he was the one who killed William. They concocted a plan for me to sign Vin into the military. I refused, I’d just got him back and he was still a boy. But, Vincent pleaded with me, telling me he wasn’t ready to come home, that he couldn’t face what he did yet. I tried to tell him that he didn’t do anything wrong, but he wouldn’t listen. The only thing that convinced me, was when he told me that he was dying inside, he needed time.”

  “I signed him into the Marine Corps the next day. The rest you will have to ask him about. All I know is when Vincent came home to me, something else was missing. He lost a little more of himself out there. I tried to get him help, but he refused and still refuses to speak with anyone. I’ve sent him to doctors, who prescribed medication Vin refuses to take. He’s scared he will go down the same path his father was on. I can barely get him to take an aspirin.”

  “Vincent has always been scared his brothers would find out it was he who killed William. That’s why he’s trying to handle this by himself. He doesn’t think they will understand.”

  Brittany asks, “Do any of them know that Vin is actually their brother?”

  “No, but I think it’s time they found out. Many times, I wanted to tell them, but Vincent wouldn’t let me. I think he feels it’ll bring up too many bad memories.”

  “What could possibly be any worse?”

  “Nothing really, but it took a long time for Vincent and the others to become the close group they are now. When William was somewhat coherent, he would make a point to treat Gabriel like his golden child. He loved to pin the boys against each other. Liam couldn’t care less, he was so young and by the time he got older, William was so sick in his addictions, he hardly saw any of them. After William died, Zander and Gabriel had time to work on their relationship, but Vin was gone. When he came back, I could tell Vincent still held some resentment, but instead of dealing with it, Vin just accepted his place and pushed all those feelings aside. They all love each other but they’re still a little competitive with one another.”

  I pause for a few minutes, needing the time to collect myself.

  “Now that you understand the history, let’s talk about the future. You say you love my son, but how much Brittany? Are you willing to finally give up working?”

  She looks up at me with a half-smile, “Catherine, no matter how I feel about Vincent, it doesn’t matter, and you know it.”

  “No, I don’t. All I know is that there was a time when I started noticing a change in my son. He started seeming, almost lighter. He looked rested the nights he wouldn’t come home. Light and rested are things Vincent does not do. I am imagining those changes were because of you. I see a change in you too. So, you’ll have to explain to me why it doesn’t matter.”

  “Number one Catherine, I’m a prostitute, and before you correct me with the word escort, it’s the same. I get paid to sleep with men period; location is really the only difference between the two. You know me, Catherine, you trained me. I have no false hope for any future with any man. I know who I am and make no apologies for it. I just got carried away with Vin, but it will pass, and life will go on as normal.”

  “You think so little of yourself?”

  “What? No, of course not. But you always taught me to be realistic and to see the world and people for who they are. I know who I am, and I know what the world thinks of me.”

  “I taught you to see people for who they are, not for what they do. You work as an escort but that is not who you are Brittany. You are a beautiful, sweet, caring person. You care so much for others that you’re willing to risk your own future for them. The world and people see the outside, but I know you. I see what’s on the inside. I’m sure that’s why Vincent is in love with you too.”

  She starts laughing, “Catherine, Vincent does not love me. He purchased a few nights with me, that’s all. He loves the convenience of me, the no strings attached, nothing more.”

  “You’re wrong.”

  “Forgive me, Catherine, I don’t mean to be disrespectful, but I think I know a little more than you when it comes to what your son wants from me.”

  “Did you know the only reason Vincent knows all about you and the others is that Vincent would never sleep with an escort because his mother was one?”

  “I guess things change.”

  “Then tell me, Brittany, what does my son do with you?”

  She laughs out loud, “You know what we do Catherine. Really?”

  “No, Brittany besides sex, what does Vincent do when he is with you?”

  “I don’t know what you mean? We eat, talk a little, then we sleep.”

  “Exactly! My son has never done any of that with other women. He never has dinner with them, he never talks to them, and he has never fallen asleep or slept over with any other woman before.”

  “That doesn’t mean anything.”

  “It means everything. It means everything to me. You give my son the comfort he needs. He can rest with you, he can be alone with you and not feel the need to escape. And if that’s not enough for you, then explain to me why, if Vincent’s doesn’t love you, he suddenly feels so possessive over you that he bought all your contracts. As of a few hours ago, you have no more clients. Vincent’s bought them all out.”

  Brittany stands in a rage. “He can’t do that!”

  “But he can, Brittany. My sons have the power and means to do whatever they want. And Vincent’s wants you.”

  “He bought me, Catherine! That is not love, that’s ownership! That makes him no better than his father owning his mother!”

  Now I stand in a rage, she just pressed my button. “My son is not his father! He never will be! He’s my son, not William’s, mine! He did the only thing he knew how to. He made sure that you are his and only his. Vincent, even as a little boy never claimed anything for himself. He is claiming you. You are the first and only thing he has ever wanted.”

  “You have to get me out of this, Catherine. I am not a toy. I will not be owned!”

  I sit back down and gesture for her to do the same. “You say you love my son, but yet, you want me to help you get out of this, why?”

  “Catherine, I will not be owned and if Gabriel found out about this he will…”

  “He will what? What the hell did Gabriel do?”

  “Nothing.”

  “Bullshit, what did Gabriel do?”

  “He suggested that I end things with Vin. He said he thought Vin was starting to have feelings for me and that Vincent wouldn’t be able to handle a relationship. I agreed because I was already going to do it. Vin had interfered with my business and besides, I couldn’t handle the arrangement anymore, either.”

  Fucking Gabriel, I love my sons but sometimes they still need me to scold them like when they were little. “Gabriel had no right to do that.”

  “Of course he does, and he’s right. It will never work between me and Vin. Can’t you see? That’s why I need you to get me out of this.”

  “I see that Gabriel needs to mind his own business and be careful because if Vincent finds out he told you that, my boys will be at war with each other.”

  “Then more reason to help me! I’m serious, Catherine. Our arrangement w
ill never be accepted. Especially by Gabriel. I love Vin, I wouldn’t do that to him, or any of you.”

  “Do what to us, Brittany? The girls love you, Zander and Liam wouldn’t have a problem with it at all. And Gabriel will have to learn to accept it. As far as I go, I have always loved and accepted you, Brittany. I offered you a way-out years ago. You could have been free of all this but refused to accept my help. So now you would prefer to work than be a part of this family?”

  “First of all, I would not be part of this family, I would be owned property of Vin’s. Second, even if he wanted more with me, which he doesn’t, you and the family would maybe accept me, but no one else would. I will not do that to any of you. I will not do that to the children. I love Gavin. How do you think I would feel the minute someone would tease him for having me around him?”

  “See, this is the problem Brittany. You’ve never seen what I saw in you years ago or what Gavin sees in you now. You are worth it. My son and my grandson love you. Both of them will protect you, always.”

  She puts her head down and starts crying. “That’s the problem Catherine, I know they would, but they shouldn’t have to. I will not put any of you in the position to have to defend me. Please help me Catherine, please.”

  I stand going to comfort her. I fell in love with a young girl a long time ago and now she stands a beautiful, grown woman. I tried over the years to help her find a way out. I offered her every opportunity. But Brittany always wanted to be everyone’s savoir, so she sacrificed everything.

  “You want out Brittany? I’ll help you get out, but you have to help me first. Then I will take care of Vincent. You will have your freedom and he will leave you alone.”

  She looks up at me and says, “What do you need me to do?”

  “You already have a connection to this man. I need more information. Do you remember anything else he said or did, anything that might be able to help?”