by K J Bell
She’s so callous. I can’t believe I ever held a shred of admiration for this woman. “God, you act like this is about him not getting some toy he wanted. He’s hurting and confused. Can’t you see that?”
Her head falls back, and she lets out an indulgent laugh. How can she find any of this humorous? “You’re so naïve, Victoria! Grow up! I hated my sister. I raised her child for one reason and one reason only. Brady served a purpose, and he was well provided for.”
My blood boils. This woman I’ve always loved and admired is pure evil, greedy, envious, and full of spite.
I slap my palms onto the counter and spit at her, “Brady was an innocent baby.”
She places her hand over her mouth in contemplation. There’s resentment behind her eyes. “He looks just like her, you know. Beautiful, that’s what our mother always called Mona. She never called me that, not once. Even after the slut got pregnant, Mona was her world, her only remaining piece of the man she loved. She never cared about my father or me.”
“And you never cared about Brady,” I remind her.
“You do, though, don’t you?” she scoffs. “You've fucked him, haven't you? Do you think he loves you? Brady loves women, Tori. He loves sex. He’s an addict. Do you think you can cure him? You were a challenge. Now that he’s had you, he’ll tire of you.”
My teeth dig into my tongue until I taste blood. I will not let her send me off course. She knows nothing about my relationship with Brady, and she’s wrong – he loves me. “You’re seriously delusional, Sheila. You should have exposed Walter the moment Mona told you. He was a womanizer and a bigot. He deserved to lose his company and his wife.”
“Brady told you that story? It was one of my best. He was so affected that he even spends time down there trying to help orphans. He’s so weak. Just like his mother.” She’s practically laughing. She truly doesn’t have a heart.
I take a couple of deep breaths to stay calm. If I don’t she’ll see my nerves as a sign of weakness and use it against me. “It helps him heal to help kids who aren’t wanted, like he wasn’t wanted. Don’t you see that?”
She rolls her eyes and turns away from me. I want to roll her head across the damn floor. “I don’t have time to worry about the needy children of the world, Tori. I’m a very busy woman.”
I shout through tightly clenched teeth now, “You a very sick woman, Sheila, and you’re going to have plenty of time on your hands very soon. Brady’s decided he wants to claim his birthright. He’s going to put you out on your ass.”
She whips her head around and gives me a murderous look. “If you think I’m going to let that happen, then you’re as stupid as that other little bitch who confronted me.”
Here we go. This is what I want to know. “Vanessa confronted you? Is that why you killed her?”
She shakes her head, and grins. “No, Brady did that.”
“You’re lying. He would never have hurt her. What happened to Vanessa was a tragic accident.”
“He didn’t know, of course. The steering in those bikes is known to stick.”
She doesn’t outright admit her involvement, but her smug grin tells me she’s responsible for the accident. “Why would you do that? Brady could have been killed, too.” Then it dawns on me. “But that was your plan, wasn’t it?”
“After Walter’s unfortunate heart attack, if something were to happen to Brady, the company would be left to me. I’m the one who deserves it. I put the blood, sweat, and tears into it. Brady is just some bastard kid. He doesn’t have the first clue how to run a company.”
She’s completely insane. “Did you kill Walter, too?”
She shakes her head while a disturbing smile tugs at the corners for her mouth. “His death was a lucky coincidence. Walter had gotten soft. After his wife died, he was lonely. He begged me to let him talk to Brady. He promised not to tell him about my involvement, just that he was his father and he had always loved him. He was about to come clean when his heart gave out. Tragic, don’t you think?”
“He loved Brady. God, what is wrong with you? How could you deny Brady his father? How could you be so happy Walter’s gone? He never got to know his son. You killed someone and destroyed people’s lives. How can you just go on with your life as though none of it matters?”
“It was very simple. When I first confronted Walter, he’d already changed his mind about my sister and Brady. He’d decided to leave his wife. He wanted to marry Mona and raise Brady. I couldn’t allow that. Numbers are fickle things, and I had access to some of the most prestigious portfolios Gibson Capital had to offer. When I shared all of the tampering going on in those files with Walter, he knew it was best to comply with my demands. His company would be ruined, and he wouldn’t be able to provide for Brady and Mona if that happened.”
“You’re crazy! You won’t get away with this!” I shout.
“You seem to be the last loose end, Tori. It’s time for you to have an accident. In fact, I think I’ll tell Brady that you came to me and asked me for money. That you’re a little gold-digging, home-wrecker like your mother. Do you know why your mother and I don’t talk anymore? Why we’re no longer friends? Did you ever meet the man she had an affair with?” I shake my head through each question. “I think Nate still loves her, you know.”
What? My mother had an affair with Nate? It makes sense, but I can’t focus on that right now. She’s trying to distract me. “Brady will never believe you.”
“Oh, he will when he hears how you attacked me when I wouldn’t agree to pay you to stay quiet.” Her grin is sinister. She pulls a knife from the block, and swipes it across her cheek without even flinching. Blood trickles down the side of her face. She slides the knife across the island. Reacting, I stop the knife from falling off the counter. I pick it up in my hand and then drop it back on the counter. She smiles, relishing her victory and pulls a gun. I have no idea where it came from, but she’s pointing it directly at me. My hand reaches for the knife and I pick it up again, as if will do me any good. “You came after me with that knife, and I had no choice but to defend myself.”
Brady
I’ve never driven faster in my life. As I wind in and out of traffic, I try to put things together in a way that proves Harrison’s just paranoid, but the more I think about it, the more it all begins to add up. If anything happens to Tori, I don’t know how I’ll go on. We’ve finally gotten to a place where we can have a future, and I can’t live without her.
I throw the front door open, storm into the kitchen, and confirm my worst fears. Tori is standing across from Sheila, obviously in the middle of a confrontation. Tori looks terrified. Her mouth is flat, and her eyes are wide. She keeps nodding to the door, as if wanting me to leave. She’s holding a kitchen knife in her hands. I’m unsure of what is going on, but I’m positive it’s not good. Sheila is on the other side of the island, and she looks surprised. Her hands are at her side, and I can’t see them. Her face is cut open, and blood is dripping down her cheek. I look from the knife in Tori’s hand to the cut on Sheila’s face. What the hell happened? Harrison comes in the door behind me, nearly running into me.
“Oh, Brady…thank God you’re here.” Sheila starts bawling hysterically. “Tori, she’s crazy. When I got home this morning and entered the kitchen, she had a knife. She explained to me that you told her everything. She wants money, Brady, a lot of money. I refused her, and she came after me with a knife.” She points to her cheek. The gash runs from her nose to her ear, and fresh blood is seeping from it. “Oh, God, Brady, if you hadn’t showed up, she would have killed me.”
“Brady, she has a gun,” Tori shouts.
Sheila interrupts. “No, Brady. She hates our family. Her mother had affair with Nate, remember? She doesn’t love you. She only wants revenge for her mother’s affair and money. She’s just like her gold-digging mother.”
My brain struggles to accept what Sheila’s saying. I knew Nate had an affair with Tori’s mom years ago, and Nate and Sheila had ne
arly divorced because of it. Tori knows her mother had an affair, but did she know it was with Nate? I don’t think so. Is Sheila right? Was all of this for revenge? Did Nate perhaps tell Tori’s mother about my real father? Could what we have mean nothing more to her than money and revenge? I don’t want to believe it.
Having been played and manipulated by Sheila for most of my life, a fraction of a second passes where I almost believe her. When I turn to Tori, my heart falls to pieces as tears cascade down her cheeks. She saw my reaction and thinks I believe Sheila. The betrayal on her face is excruciating, and there is only one way to fix it. I’ve never stood up to the woman standing in front of me, but somehow I muster the courage to do so now.
“Sheila,” I shout. “Tori loves me. You’re the greedy bitch here.”
“Brady,” she shrieks, obviously appalled and suddenly not tearful at all.
I step up to the island next to Tori and glare at Sheila threateningly. “You killed Vanessa. How could you do that?”
“I didn’t, Brady. You’re mistaken.” Of course she denies it. Her eyelids are heavy and pleading, and I want to believe her. I want to think she has more in her than greed, and that she could never take a life.
“Liar,” Harrison roars. It’s the first thing he’s said since we arrived.
“She did it, Brady,” Tori yells. “She confessed before you got here.”
“Shut up,” Sheila shouts. “Fine! You want to know? The little bitch came to see me. She said you told her everything. How could you do that, Brady? You killed her the moment you decided to share our family business.”
My eyes don’t leave Sheila. “Tori, call the police. My mother has a confession to make.”
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” Sheila lifts her hands above the counter and points a gun at me, then at Tori and Harrison. She keeps moving between the three of us. Honestly, I knew she was power-hungry and crazy, but I never thought she was capable of murder.
“Are you going to kill all of us, Sheila?” I ask her coldly.
“If I have to,” she snarls. “That company is mine, Brady. No one is going to take it from me.” She’s seething mad, angry about losing the company and devoid of any remorse for her family or the irrevocable damage she’s done.
The door linking the garage to the kitchen suddenly swings open, and the two people I'd hoped would never have to know Sheila as anything other than the cookie-baking mom of our youth stand in the doorway, gaping. My heart is bleeding, and there’s nothing I can do about it.
Tears leave Shelia’s eyes as she sees Liv. Sheila is a selfish, cold-hearted bitch, but Liv – like Mona was to their mother – is Sheila’s world. Liv and Tug are the sole reasons I’ve put up with the charade that has been my existence for over a year. Finding out Sheila and Nate were not my parents crushed me. I vowed Liv and Tug would never have to go through anything so devastating, and now I’m powerless to stop it.
Liv enters cautiously, and glares at her mother. “Mom, what is going on?” Harrison slowly crosses the room toward Liv.
“What are you doing here?” Sheila cries, nearing a catastrophic meltdown. “I thought the two of you were going to Coronado for the day.”
“Things fell through.” Liv’s voice cracks. “Mom, why do you have a gun?”
“Brady, what the hell is going on?” Tug shouts.
I don’t have a clue how to respond. My words are stuck in my throat, and I can’t dislodge them.
“Your mother is crazy. That’s what the hell is going on,” Harrison shouts, and Sheila points the gun at him.
“Shut up!” Sheila’s voice booms through the air.
Harrison backs up with his hands in the air, keeping his eyes on her.
It’s Tori’s calm voice that fills the room. “Liv, Tug, your mom has done something she truly regrets…and she never meant to hurt you, but now she wants to do the right thing... Isn’t that right, Sheila?” Tori moves slowly toward Sheila, holding her hand out as if to collect the gun. My mother is glowering at her, but Tori keeps inching toward her.
She’s almost reached Sheila when panic strikes me. What if Sheila shoots Tori? I can’t lose her. I slowly start to make my way to Tori. Before I reach her, I look over as Sheila places the barrel of the gun up to her lips.
“I tried to be a good mom to you, Liv,” Sheila wails. “I love you.” She puts the barrel in her mouth.
Tori launches in her direction, trying to reach her before she pulls the trigger. The scene plays out in front of me, moving in slow motion, as I watch the woman I love try to save the life of the woman I’ve grown to hate. While it seems like I have forever to reach them both, a millisecond later blood splatters against the cabinets behind Sheila, and the gun clanks against the tile floor. Her body collapses into Tori, and they both tumble to the ground. Tori’s head bounces off the floor. A bullet firing is one of the loudest sounds I’ve ever heard. My ears ring and I’m disoriented.
Sheila’s body is draped across Tori’s, and there is blood and chunks of brain spewed on the walls, cabinets, and floor. The air smells of rust and sulfur. My skin vibrates, and bile rises in my throat. I sprint to the sink, making it just in time to drain the contents of my stomach into the stainless-steel basin.
Once I’m finished, I rush to Tori. There’s a large puddle of blood forming next to Tori’s head, and I instantly think the bullet reached her, too. Her eyes are closed. She’s not moving, and I’m can’t tell if she’s breathing. My heart is beating faster and faster, and when it’s about to explode, Tori’s sobs ring in my ears, alleviating my concern as she cries out, “I’m so sorry, Brady. I tried to save her.”
Suddenly the screams of everyone else are registering in my head. Sobbing, shrieks, yells and cries, all so loud I can’t think. I move to Tori and reach down, pulling her out from underneath Sheila’s lifeless body. I help her stand, and crush her against my chest. We’re both covered in blood. I have to hold Tori up. Her legs are like jelly, and her body is limp. She’s in shock.
Liv’s bloodcurdling scream echoes off the kitchen walls. She’s trying to come around the island, but Harrison is stopping her. “Liv, no, you shouldn’t see her like that.”
She screams, but he keeps his arms wrapped tightly around her. Through all of this chaos, I’m grateful to him. Liv shouldn’t see her mother like this – no one should.
“Let go of me, Harrison,” Liv wails, her voice hoarse and full of dread. “I need to go to her, goddammit, let go!”
Liv’s fists pound into Harrison’s chest over and over, but he refuses to let go. Her screams give way to hiccupping cries, transitioning to uncontrollable sobbing. She falls into Harrison’s arms, and he steadies her.
Harrison consoles her and takes her out to the garage. As my eyes follow them, they meet Tug’s shocked expression. He’s sitting against the wall next to the door with his elbows on his knees. Tears gloss his eyes, and his hands are shaking. He’s stunned and quiet.
“Tug!” I shout his name, but he doesn’t respond. I shout his name again, and his body twitches when he registers my voice. “You should go with them.” I nod toward the garage. “Go. I’ll call the police.”
He lifts his chin and slowly stands, using the wall for support. He goes through the door, and I start to break down. My body shakes, and tears start to fall. I’ve ruined their life after I worked so hard not to. If I’d only kept my secrets, none of this would have happened. They’d be okay.
Tori begins to tremble in my arms. She’s sobbing and frantically trying to scrub the blood off her hands, but the effort just keeps smearing streaks of red across her skin. I set her in a chair, kneel down in front of her and brush some of the bloodstained hair from her face. The entire side of her head is soaked in Sheila’s blood. It drips from the ends of each strand.
This can’t be real. It’s like I’m watching a movie rather than living it. Everything is clouded. Tori’s speaking, but it’s as though she’s far away. I can hear her, but I don't understand what she's
saying. My body and mind are completely numb.
She’s calling my name again. Each time she says it, her voice grows louder, until finally she’s shouting, “Brady!”
I look at her terrified face, and I don’t know what to do. She’s shaking violently, and I have no idea how to calm her. What the fuck am I supposed to do? None of this should be happening. I should be in L.A. and Liv and Tug should be happy.
Suddenly the reality of the situation crashes through my chest. I have to call the police. How do we explain this? Tell them how the crazy psychotic bitch destroyed all of us. I pull my cell from my pocket, wincing at the sight of blood on my hands. Choking back more vomit, I hit 911, and then hold the phone to my ear.
A woman’s voice comes through the line. “911 operator, what is your emergency?”
“There’s been a shooting. My mother's killed herself.” I’m shouting into the phone as if somehow that will make them come faster.
“Sir, did you say someone has been shot?” the woman asks.
“Yes, my mother killed herself. Please hurry.” I try to stay calm, but talking to someone neutral brings on tears, and I cry uncontrollably.
“Okay, sir. Please calm down.”
How in the fuck can she expect me to calm down?
“Sir, are you there?”
“Yes, I’m here.” I remind myself she’s just doing her job and try to calm down enough to finish the call.
“Is your mother breathing?” she asks.
I shake my head. “No. She’s dead.”
“What is your address?”
“10221 Ocean Breeze Court.”
“Okay, sir. Are you alone?”
“No, my family is here. Please hurry.”
Chapter 36
Tori
Brady ends the call, and his head falls onto my lap. My hands rest on the back of his head, and I stare absently at the wall in front of me. Who knows how long we stay that way – seconds, hours, maybe even years. It’s not until the sound of sirens out front drift into the room that either of us moves.
