Ben Esra telefonda seni boşaltmamı ister misin?
Telefon Numaram: 00237 8000 92 32

Ben Esra telefonda seni bosaltmami ister misin?
Telefon Numaram: 00237 8000 92 32

Thomas leaned back in his chair, his dark eyes dimmed as memories of the past began to flood his mind. Shadows shifted, twisting on the walls as the fire crackled in the hearth.

“It was supposed to be a night of celebration,” he began, his voice low and distant, like someone recounting a dream they wished they’d forgotten. “Christmas Eve. Stephen and Lilian always threw the grandest parties and that year was no exception. Anyone who was anyone was there. Business associates, city officials, and politicians. The city’s elite, most powerful and wealthiest families, all gathered for the celebration.”

He paused, taking a deliberate sip of his tea, eyes flickering to Noah and Riley as if gauging their reactions. “You were just a boy, Noah. Barely right years old. Charlie was four. You snuck out of bed. I suppose you couldn’t resist the sight of all those guests and lights. You always did have that streak of curiosity in you.”

Noah stiffened slightly and his eyes widened with surprise. Flashes of his nightmare came back and he realized that his nightmares were memories, memories his mind had repressed.

Thomas chuckled some. “You thought I didn’t know, didn’t you? My dear boy, there isn’t a thing that goes on under this roof that I don’t know about. Your secrets are my secrets as were your parents.” I’ve always been there, behind the scenes. Always watching, always listening. It’s how I’ve protected this family for so long.”

Riley shifted uncomfortably in his seat, his hands gripping his tea cup tighter. “You…you spy on us?”

“Monitor.” Thomas corrected. “I monitor everything that goes on in this house. Oh, don’t look so horrified.” Thomas rolled his eyes. “I have no interest in your more…intimate moments. I try to preserve your privacy whenever possible.”

“Thank God for that.” Noah said, pressing his lips together in a thin line.

Thomas eyed Riley carefully, observing how he held his cup between his hands but didn’t drink. “Is it too cold?” Thomas asked, gesturing to the tea. “I can warm it up if you like.”

“What?” Riley glanced down seeing the still full cup in his hands, almost forgetting what it was he had been holding onto for so long. “No, it’s fine. You were saying, about the party?”

“Ah, yes.” Thomas’s gaze shifted from Riley to Noah and the untouched cup sitting on the table before him. Riley didn’t miss the slightly disappointed look that Thomas gave the cup. “The party,” Thomas continued, “most of the guests had gone for the night. Stephen was busy dealing with the caterers and staff. I was there, of course, overseeing everything. After Eric had put you and Charlie to bed, he joined Jim downstairs. They were the last to leave once the party had wrapped up. By four in the morning the mansion was nearly empty, only a few of the regular staff remained but they too were beginning to thin out. Stephen and Lilian wanted to relax and unwind after hosting such a lavish party. They were exhausted.

However, the still, quiet of the night would soon be broken by a woman’s scream.”

“Lilian.” Noah said suddenly, more memories of the night resurfacing. “I heard my mother scream, that’s what woke me up. I went to investigate and saw a man in a ski mask holding a gun on my father. Mother had her hands and ankles bound.”

“That’s right.” Thomas nodded. “I think you know what happened after that. The gunman forced Stephen, at gunpoint, into his office where he demanded Stephen open the safe.”

“He wanted money?” Noah looked perplexed. “If all he wanted was money, then why kill my father? Why not just take the money and go?”

Before Thomas could answer though, the truth of the situation hit Noah with the force of an atomic bomb. Noah had interrupted them. Just as he had seen it in his dreams, the memories of that night came rushing back, flooding his mind.

“He was trying to protect me.” Noah said softly, a look of pure horror etched across his face. “I interrupted them, surprised the gunman, and my father tried to protect me from him. It was my fault, just like I’d always feared. If I hadn’t been there, my father might still be alive.”

Noah hung his head. He’d always hoped that his nightmares were just that, nightmares. Figments of his imagination but they weren’t. It had happened. All of it. It had all been real.

“You don’t know that he wouldn’t have killed your father even if you hadn’t been there.” Riley told him. “You can’t blame yourself for what happened, Noah. You were just a child.”

“Riley’s correct, Noah. What happened wasn’t your fault. If you want to blame anyone, blame the man who shot him.”

Noah looked up then. His eyes were red and filled with tears but he took a deep breath and reminded himself of why they were there. The story wasn’t finished yet, and Noah still had questions.

“Who was he?” Noah asked, his voice hard and his eyes narrowed in anger as he thought about the man who had taken his father from him. “Who was the gunman? Did the police ever find him?”

“That’s the truth I have şişli escort worked all these years to keep from you, Noah.” Thomas reached for Noah’s tea cup. “Let me warm that up for you before we continue.”

“No.” Noah put his hand over the cup, stopping Thomas. “The tea is fine. I want you to answer my question.”

“Something stronger then? Brandy perhaps?”

Noah, growing frustrated, glared at Thomas. “I don’t need a drink.” He snapped. “Stop stalling and tell me what I want to know.”

Riley watched Thomas as he sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He didn’t understand why the old man was acting so oddly. Was he avoiding the truth or was there something else going on? Riley looked down at the cup of tea in his hands and suddenly his blood went cold. He set his cup aside then carefully moved Noah’s out of reach.

“Noah,” he said, his voice low. He turned to look at Noah but also watched Thomas closely from the corner of his eye. “We should go.”

“Answer my question.” Noah growled, ignoring Riley’s pleas to leave.

“William Bartlett. Better known to his friends as Billy.” Thomas leaned back in his chair but he was far from relaxed. Riley noted the tension building in his shoulders and the way his jaw clenched as he spoke. His gaze drifted over to the tea cups, now far out of reach from Noah and he scowled as his fingers nervously began to tap the arm of the chair he sat in.

“So, who was he?” Noah asked again, refusing to give up until he was satisfied with the answer.

“He claimed to be Eleanor’s ex lover. He came here looking for revenge, or money. At least that’s what I overheard him saying on the security tapes. He threatened to expose your father, and Lilian. Blame them for Eleanor’s death and stealing her child. Stephen offered him money to go away and he accepted.” Thomas looked directly at Noah then, the weight of the truth bearing down, chipping away at Noah’s memories, revealing more of what happened that night.

Noah’s hands trembled, the memories rising like shadows in the back of his mind. He had blocked out so much–his father’s death, the horror of that night–but Thomas’s words brought it all back.

Fifteen years earlier…

Noah had stood in the open doorway, listening as his father argued with the gunman. He’d told Stephen to go to the safe and open it. Stephen agreed, begging the man not to hurt his family. Noah watched in horror as the man shoved the gun into Stephen’s back and told him to hurry up. Noah gasped and began to cry. That’s when the man turned, startled, and his gun now pointed at Noah. Stephen spun around and his eyes went wide with fear. He yelled at Noah to run but he couldn’t. Noah was frozen, terrified and unable to move a single muscle. His eyes were fixed on the bad man that had invaded their home.

He wanted to yell, to fight, to protect his family but all he could do was stand there, shivering, suddenly wishing he’d never snuck out of bed that night, never gone down stairs, and never followed the two men down the hall. If he hadn’t done any of those things then maybe none of this would be happening. But it was happening, and there was absolutely nothing that Noah could do about it. He was brought back, out of his thoughts, when he heard the click of the gun and he looked up, tearfully, at the intruder.

“Sorry kid.” The gunman said though Noah could detect no remorse in the mans tone. “But I was told not to leave any witnesses.”

Noah closed his eyes, waiting for the inevitable shot that would end his life only, it never came. He heard his father yell, “NO!” and then there was some kind of scuffle, and shouting. The sounds of chaos broke out all around him. Noah dared not open his eyes. He just stood there, whimpering, praying for someone to help them. The entire thing happened too fast for Noah’s young mind to process. First they were fighting and then he heard the gun fire. It sounded like a canon going off and Noah screamed. He opened his eyes just in time to see the gunman rush past him, shoving him hard, out of the way.

Noah fell against Stephen’s desk, his head hitting the snow globe that always sat at the top right corner. Noah fell to the ground hard, sharp pain shot through his shoulder, down into his arm, and his head was throbbing. He looked to his left and saw his father laying on the floor. His eyes were open but he wasn’t moving. In his hand he gripped his cell phone, ready for a call he never got the chance to make. Noah picked up the phone and still his father did not move. Noah looked at the phone for a brief moment then quickly dialed a number he knew by heart. A number he was told he could always call, anytime, and for any reason. He waited, listening to the phone ring and then he heard the voice on the other end speak and he knew that everything was going to be alright now.

Hearing that voice made Noah’s heart soar and he started to cry, begging for help.

“Noah? What’s wrong? Why aren’t you in bed? Are you okay?”

Noah sobbed nişantaşı escort into the phone, trying to answer but the words wouldn’t come. The room began to spin and move in and out of focus. Noah dropped the phone, unable to even remember who he’d called in the first place, or why. He was so confused and then, everything just went black.

Present day…

“I…I called Eric,” Noah said, piecing it all together. “I remember now, I called him before I passed out.”

Thomas nodded slowly. “You did. I found you, unconscious, in the office and I saw the call on Stephen’s phone after the shooter fled. After that, I had to work fast. I checked Stephen for a pulse but he was already gone. I made sure you were still breathing then I checked the security feed and erased the footage. The security cameras in the house naturally caught everything. I couldn’t allow anyone to know what was said between your father and Billy. No one could know about Eleanor, or about you, so I deleted it all, tied up the loose ends, and called for help. I had to protect the integrity of this family, keep its secrets. It’s what I’ve done for years and what I’ll continue to do, for as long as I’m able.”

“Wait, just wait.” Noah held up a hand to stop Thomas as he tried to process all the new information he’d just been given. “There’s still one thing that I don’t get. That night, with so many important people in attendance, the grounds must have been teeming with armed security. No one without an invitation would have gotten past the front doors, so how the hell did the shooter manage to get inside?”

At that, Thomas laughed a loud belly laugh. “You don’t think he’d actually try to stroll through the front doors do you? Good lord boy. I thought you were smarter than that. No, Billy was already inside, hidden, waiting until everyone was gone, long gone, and then he made his move.”

Noah narrowed his eyes, still confused. “But how…”

“You…you let him in.” Riley whispered, his voice trembling.

Thomas’s eyes narrowed and a cold smile flickered at the edges of his mouth. “Yes,” He said, his voice low and bitter. Knowing he had been caught, he dropped the facade. There was no point in it now anyway. The truth always had a way of wiggling it’s way to the surface, no matter how deep down you tried to bury it. “I let him in.”

The room suddenly felt heavy with tension. The low hum of the wind outside felt like a whisper in comparison to the pounding of Riley’s heart as he sat in the dimly lit room. The confession that Billy Bartlett, the gunman who had killed Stephen, had been let in deliberately—by Thomas himself–hung in the air like a noose tightening around their necks.

Riley stared, his blood running cold as the pieces of the puzzle slid into place, painting and even darker picture than he had imagined. He looked from Thomas’s face to Noah, who had gone pale, his eyes wide with horror and betrayal. Noah stood suddenly, he stumbled backward, clutching at the edge of the couch for support. His breath came in short, shallow, and rapid bursts, his mind reeling as the truth finally sunk in. “You…you betrayed my father.” Noah gasped, his voice barely rising above a whisper. Noah’s throat felt tight, but he forced the words out, the horrible truth of what Thomas had done, hit him like a freight train. “Why, Thomas? After everything? Why would you do that to him?”

Thomas sighed, a long, exasperated breath as if Noah’s question bored him. “Your father?” He repeated, his tone dark and full of disdain. “You think I wanted to do this? That I wanted to betray him? I had to do it!” He leaned forward in his chair, locking eyes with Noah, and when he opened his mouth again, years worth of anger and resentment spewed forth in an unending torrent of disappointment and disgust.

“I was loyal–loyal to the Reaney name, to your grandparents. William and Catherine Reaney were the best people I ever had the pleasure of knowing. Strong alpha’s, both of them. William built his company from the ground up and through blood and tears he worked, creating something from nothing, creating something great. He was ruthless, commanding, but fair. I was nothing when he found me, barely eighteen and struggling just to survive.

He took me in, gave me a home and a purpose. He made me what I am today. I had more respect for William Reaney than anyone and I would have done anything for him, but Stephen…your father…he was weak. He was the worst kind kind of alpha, arrogant, entitled, and selfish. He hid behind his wealth and his so-called ‘good deeds’ while his wife ran the estate, and his sister dragged the family name through the dirt.”

Thomas’s voice grew sharper, anger building with every word. “Your father was a coward, Noah. I cleaned up his messes, kept his secrets, and watched as he paraded around like the lord of the manor, while Lilian was the one who made all the decisions, the one who kept the family and the business going. Stephen was nothing but a figurehead mecidiyeköy escort and Eleanor…well, she was no better. She was a reckless, self indulgent and spoiled brat. She brought shame to this family. They both deserved what they got, a reckoning that was long over-do.”

Noah shook his head, tears welling up in his eyes, his voice cracking as he spoke. “El’s death was no accident, and she didn’t die in childbirth, did she?”

Thomas sat back, lacing his fingers together as he rested his hands in his lap. “No.” He answered quickly and coldly, showing absolutely no emotion in his response. “Oh, Stephen never meant to push her. I’m sure of that. He didn’t have the spine and he was quite remorseful when she fell. They had fought, just as Eric indicated in his letter. Eleanor was going to leave. She was going to expose Stephen and Lilian for keeping her here against her will and then she planned to sue Stephen for her inheritance. When she tried to go, Stephen grabbed her arm, she turned around and spat in his face. In a moment of blind rage, Stephen shoved her. She lost her balance and fell.

Stephen didn’t have a clue what to do then. Eric had heard the scream and came running. He was at Eleanor’s side in an instant, begging Stephen to call for help. Stephen panicked and called me. I advised them not to call for an ambulance. If Eleanor died, Stephen would be the main suspect and her child, if it survived, would be taken by social services. Lilian wouldn’t have that, of course, so instead of calling for help, we took her to her room.

Lilian desperately wanted that baby. You, Noah. We worried that Eleanor wouldn’t live long enough to deliver so Lilian decided to help her along by giving her a drug that induced labor. She’d researched this all months before and had everything she would need for a home birth. The plan had always been for Lilian to take the baby but after that, who knows. Maybe they would have let Eleanor leave. Paid her off to keep her mouth shut. I don’t really know. Anyway, it only took about an hour before her water broke and the contractions began. Lilian and Eric delivered the baby themselves, a healthy baby boy. Of course you already knew that.

Eleanor did survive the birth but she was weak, I doubt she would have lived much longer anyway, at least, not without proper medical care and we couldn’t take her to a hospital. The staff would ask questions, they would want to see the baby, the police would be involved. No, we had to keep it secret, only those of us who were present would know what happened that night. The other house staff knew about Eleanor but not about what happened that night. That was one reason Lilian had chosen to keep Eleanor on the third floor.

No staff besides Eric and myself were ever permitted to enter the third floor. Of course there were whispers, rumors, the staff back then liked to talk but they knew that Eleanor had problems with drug addiction so it made sense that we would want to keep such ugly business in the family, to avoid scandals. Besides, none of the staff wanted to risk losing their jobs. Lilian paid them well, better than any other domestic service job would have paid. It was a good incentive for them to keep their heads down and their mouths shut. But, we didn’t have to worry about that for too much longer anyway. As I said, Eleanor was weak and without proper medical care, well, I consider what Lilian did as a mercy killing, considering the poor girls condition.”

“Lilian?” Noah’s brain stuttered for a moment, every part of him pausing as his thoughts raced to catch up. He was sent reeling, unable or unwilling to comprehend what he had just heard. Thomas was lying, he had to be. There was just no way that Lilian could have done what he was accusing her of doing. No way in hell.

“How dare you!” Noah shouted, suddenly enraged. “She would never, could never, It’s not possible.”

Thomas’s eyes flickered with a dangerous light, his lips curling into a tight smile. “You don’t know Lilian the way I do.” Thomas told him. “You have no idea what she’s done or what she’s capable of doing to get what she wants and she wanted you, Noah. She wanted you more than anything. You were the one thing missing in her life. She wanted a child.

Initially, the plan was to have Eleanor give you up. Willingly or, if need be, forcefully. They believed it was in your best interest but over time, Lilian became more and more obsessed with the idea of having a child of her own. When it became clear that Eleanor wasn’t going to cooperate though, Lilian became desperate. If there was any chance that Eleanor could recover and take you away, any chance at all, then Lilian would lose the upper hand. She had to make sure that could never happen, and she could only think of one way to do that. I don’t think she had planned to murder Eleanor in the beginning but her fall had given Lilian the opportunity she needed. She confessed all of this time me after the fact, though I wouldn’t have tried to stop her even had a I known before hand.”

Thomas’s gaze shifted from Noah, his eyes following an invisible path to something far off, some distant memory. There was no pain in his expression, no remorse or guilt. Rather, he had a calm look of contentment as thought the memory he recalled was a happy one and not the memory of a murdered girl.

Ben Esra telefonda seni boşaltmamı ister misin?
Telefon Numaram: 00237 8000 92 32