Cameras started to flash as soon as reporters arrived at the scene. Emma ran towards Jeremy while Niall just knelt for Jeremy who had just now shot down.
"Jeremy..." Niall's eyes flooded with tears.
Jeremy looked at his friend who is almost about to sob.
"You- were right!" He stuttered.
"I-" Niall's voice cracked
Jeremy's breathing is unstable...
"Your brother..."He whispered.
"Your brother...was right too..." He said.
"He- protected...yo-" Jeremy is struggling now.
His chest aches as the blood keep flowing out. Niall tries to cover his wound and stop the blood from flowing, but all in vain. Nothing works...
"I was so...busy with being angry with both of you...forgive me..." Tears flowed down while his voice became as low as a whisper.
Jeremy slowly kept his hand in Niall's which was on Jeremy's chest.
"Don't- don't feel guilty, you...had your problems..."
"Jeremy!" Emma wailed as she sat down beside her dying brother.
"Emma-" He looked at her.
"Please don't! Don't!" She kept saying.
"This can't be the end!" She yelled again while Sarah tried to calm her, sobbing silently herself.
Jeremy's eyelids are gradually starting to get heavy, he feels he doesn't have much time now. For last time he looked at his wailing sister and moved his eyes towards Sarah. A smile appeared on his thin and dried lips.
"Jeremy, no..." She whispered...
And Jeremy slowly exhaled, closing his eyes as Sarah went hazy gradually until everything became dark.
Everyone there went quite when Emma yelled her brother's name again as they all knew that now there's no going back now.
Flora who was now being handled by the officers was in shock too, she only wanted Niall to die and seeing someone else in his place and also just because of her makes her feel guilty.
When everyone was silently sobbing for Jeremy an officer claimed,
"He is alive!"
Everyone looked in his direction as both of them took out Drake's half-unconscious body from the car. Flora looked at his dying son and whispered his name lightly. She tries to run towards his son but is rather held back by the tight grips of the officers.
In the silent and shocked atmosphere suddenly the siren of two ambulances can be heard arriving. The ambulance gates opened as soon as they stopped.
Stretchers were being taken out of the ambulances and were taken towards Jeremy and Drake.
Both of them were taken inside the ambulance while Sarah stood there froze at her place.
"Sarah..." Lisa ran towards her friend who seemed senseless as she saw Jeremy being taken away.
While Emma went along with her brother. Niall was again caught with officers and finally, his mother approached him...
"Niall..." She called him out in a low voice.
But in all that chaos Niall, who was looking at Jeremy being taken away his flooded and worried eyes traced back the voice, finding an old woman nearing him.
Though he didn't recognise her his eyes somewhat felt a bit of relief as they encountered her small adorable smile.
"Who?..." His voice was low and filled with embarrassed as he didn't know who she was.
"I-" She gulped.
"I'm your mother..." She whispered.
"Richie!"
As soon as Niall heard his nickname which had vanished from his life years ago, a tear fell on his cheek and he quickly recognised everything.
"Mom..." His lips shivered and he hugged her from in between his handcuffs.
"Oh! My son!" She exclaimed as she embraced him back in a tight and warm hug.
"Ma'am sorry but, it's time to take hi-"
"Shut up!" She stood upright and glared at the officer.
"You heard it too, it's Flora carter who's the culprit. Then why my son!"
"But ma'am, we at least need to follow the procedure."
"Leave-"
"Lemme handle it." Merylin was interrupted by someone.
As she turned around she found Johnathan standing,
"John?!" She exclaimed.
He kept looking at the officer,
"First release him and arrest that woman who tried to kill my son and has murdered almost murdered my other son."
"But sir-" The officer hesitated.
"Or should I call your seniors? You know who am I, don't you?"
Johnathan's threat did work and the officer released Niall from his handcuffs. All this time he left ignoring Merylin who continuously was looking at him.
John saw Sarah hesitant to approach and so he called her out. As soon as she came he requested,
"Will you take Niall along with you, I can't trust anyone but you..."
Sarah nodded slightly and took Niall with her in the ambulance in which Drake was lying. She made him sit and was going out again.
"Where are you going?" Niall was worried.
"Umm...Jere-my..." She hesitated.
"Emma needs me. So, let's meet at the hospital." She left in a hurry.
Niall nodded and looked at his brother half dying. His breathing slow or rather unstable.
Niall was going crazy, he never knew that due to his existence Drake will be fighting with himself for his own life.
Niall sighed as he wiped out his tears. His wrists had red marks of handcuffs which slowly ached. Outside was chaos and he never wished to look there. He didn't wish to look at Flora whom he trusted the most to be handcuffed and being taken with the officers.
Here John after looking at Sarah taking Niall in the ambulance sighed in relief. But when he turned back he found Merylin going away.
"Mery!" He called her out.
She turned a little, looking at him from the corner of her eyes.
His eyes lowered and he approached her, "After this...long time..."
He exhaled....inhaled...
"I know it won't work but...I'm sorry. I now know that because of my one mistake and my silence how much you both had to suffer."
Merylin turned towards him,
"Now...you know why I opposed that woman?..." He nodded keeping his head down.
"But is apologizing, enough? Do you know how much not only my child but that innocent kid Drake had to suffer?" She kept making eye contact with her flooded eyes.
"That kid who had nothing to do with all these since the start. Do you know how much he has been baring, and now...now he is lying almost dying in the ambulance. And who? Who's at fault?" She kept questioning.
"I'm not here to make you guilty but I can't either be silent just because you were my husband. Just because we were a family and he wasn't, doesn't mean I can ignore his sacrifices. He gave up his childhood just because I asked him to take care of Niall...Do you know that?"
"And what he got instead? Being called a SLAVE" John looked up at her being surprised.
"How do you-"
"What do you think? When you kicked me out and left me at the railway station...you thought I left? I was here for the next eight months waiting for you to realise your mistake and take me back."
"I've seen not only Niall but that kid suffer too, and even more than Niall cause he not only was called slave at home but he was also your adopted kid, someone who was never accepted by those high-class family kids at school. Did you even know that?"
"Even if I want to forgive you, because of how I've seen him suffer...I can't..." She walked away...