Valentine
"Aurora , wake up" I pat Aurora on her back to wake her up.
"What , is it ?" her voice is heavy with sleep.
"I ... I want to check the basement" I get off the bed and walk to the window to see the night bathed in moonlight .
"Why ?" she props her herself on her elbow and looks at me .
"I.. don't know . It just feels like something important is there" I hit my hand on the window pane and screech in pain as it hits my injured wrist .
"Valentine, take it easy " she gets off the bed and rushes to me to see if my bandages got opened .
"They are okay " I shake my hand vigorously.
"Let's see what's there in the basement . We need flashlights "
"Did you hear it " I whisper when I hear footsteps.
"Someone's awake " I open the door slightly and slip out to see who is awake. Surely Mr.Callaghan is awake and is walking down the stairs .
"Come on" Aurora slips out too and we close the door and the second she closes the door it hits a little hard and makes a small sound that echoed in the silence of the room. Mr.Callghan stops in his way . Aurora and I duck down to the floor , praying that we don't get caught . When I hear the footsteps moving again we breath in air again.
"Sorry " she whispers .
We follow him down the stairs and to the back of the house where the basements are and then it dawns on me . He is going to meet those people .
"Faster " I walk faster and hide behind the pillars to see him entering the code in the code box that is hidden by the painting . Aurora gives me a quizzical look . The second the door opens Mr.Callghan walks in and closes the door behind him . Luckily we saw the password that was entered in neon green light . We stay there for what seems like hours when he comes out . He locked the doors again and walks straight past us .
"What is this all about " Aurora asks once we are standing in front of the door .
"I .. don't know , What if someone catches us " I whisper and remove the painting to see the code box .
"What was the code " She asks and looks around scared . Yes , this situation is scary as fuck . It feels like a monster is hiding somewhere and when it's the right moment he will pounce on us .
"201110" I enter it slowly and the green light beeps and the door opens and we run inside and the door closes behind us . The led lights start lighting up along the way as we walk in to the door and it's a kind of jail .
"Left " she directs me and we come face to face with a room having four people. They look as if they have been kept here for many years .
"Hello " I say slowly , I am scared and the second the cell lights up , the air seems to be constricted in my throat .
"Madeline Rose " my eyes zero on the female and the other ones . I sure am dreaming , it's Keira's parents .
"Who are you?" Madeline asks me .
"I am Valentine. Mom it's me "
"Anna Danbury and Ethan Sterling " my eyes are glued on them .
"Have you seen my daughter , she she survived the accident , right . I want her , Please do something Ethan" aunt looks so tired and broken and I'm still shocked. They died in a car accident years ago. How, why, when all these questions loom around in my mind that definitely has stopped working from all the things going on. My mind is reeling from all the information. I have never been someone to hurt people but now I want to. I want to kill all those people who hurt my parents and Keira's parents.
"What is your daughter's name ?" I ask in a breezy voice. I have seen Ethan's and Anna's picture with Keira. Keira has a massive frame in her home , the same picture they clicked before the accident.
"Keira, My Keira " Aunt Anna bursts into tears again .
"She is my sister " I say blankly . Honestly I feel numb . Too numb to feel anything.
"Are you Valentine ?" the man Clifford asks me .
"Y..Yes " I look at him and he for sure has the same eye color as mine .
"She is our daughter , our blood." the lady starts crying and Aurora puts her hand on my shoulder.
"Valentine, you look exactly like her " She tells me and her gaze flits between Me and Madeline .
"Of course she is my daughter , Miss " Madeline steps up closer in to the light.
"My parents are Eden and Krystal Danbury " I speak in a barely there voice.
"They were the ones who tried to kill us . Eden is Eden is ... " she stops cold when she looks someone behind me .
"That's enough talk for one meet " Reginald Callahan is standing right behind me and Aurora with his hands stuffed in the pockets of his trousers standing all tall and high like a god who doesn't even look at common people. He is that monster who hunts his prey in the skin of lamb. Reginald Callahan is going to go down. Soon.
"You .. motherfucking son of a bitch" I walk to him and hit him straight across his face when he catches my hand. Reginald looks so imposing that I shrink a little despite being a ball of fire.
"Val " Aurora shrieks and runs to me and makes me turn to her as she holds my shoulder.
"Breathe ... breathe slowly " she beckons me in a soft voice.
"This man , but why don't I remember anything "
"Because you and your sister were in the accident as well. Keira remembers the night a little bit. But you had a severe case of concussion. The doctor said in the long run you can have a very disturbed memory so what your Uncle and Aunt did was make you lose your memory" The old man says looking all high and mighty. He says as if he was there all along when things were happening.
"Why ?" I scream at the top of my voice as tears roll down my eyes.
"You are supposed to be in bed . Sweetheart " the sinister voice that haunts my day and night speaks to me. He knew who was I right from the beginning and he didn't say a single word
"You , you motherfucker knew who my parents were " I walk to Aiden and slap him hard right across his face. For a moment he remains stunned and then holds my hand dragging me out of the basement , Aurora calls out for me but Aiden's steel hold make me wince
"Let me go, you fucker " I struggle to release my wrist which is badly injured and will start bleeding within seconds if he keeps on dragging me with an iron grip.
"Stop or you'll make your condition worse "
"Why do you care. why do you fucking care" I stop in my tracks or rather try to because he is still gathering me.
"Because you are MINE . Damn it " he pushes me against the wall and his front is flat on mine. I can feel his heartbeat racing through him , his eyes are so dark, bottomless abyss, his hot breath washing over my face as he tries to breath through his nose, deep breaths as though if he is trying to latch onto whatever sanity is left within him.
"NO , I . AM . NOT " I get in his face and hold his gaze , even in the dark I can see the monster rearing its head. The ugly monsters whom he keeps under his golden boy aura.
"You are not the one to decide " he carries me to his room in fireman style and dumps me onto the bed all the while I'm trying to figure out what he did. Somehow gathering myself together again.
"Yes Aiden I am the one to fucking decide and what do you think you are doing " I push him off me but he doesn't even budge.
But i keep on trying as my wrists bleed.
"I. said . let . go . of . me " I say in a calmed controlled voice.
"No I cannot "
"Why not, why fucking not ?" I slap his chest, claw his shoulder fight under him to get him off me. But he stays there.
"Why did you do this to me, Aiden " I look at him and the tears i was trying to control cascade down my face.
"Sit down and don't try to run away " he orders and gets me to sit up .
"I want answers " I say in a barely there voice.
"Have some water " he passes me the glass but I throw it away, the glass crashes on the floor breaking into a million pieces.
"How can I believe that you didn't mix something in it like a sleeping pill to get me to sleep " I eye him .
"You can trust me " his face doesn't even falter.
"Trust you " I scoff.
Has he ever given me a reason to trust me.
"That was the biggest mistake I made "
"Valentine Danbury. That's the last time you say something like that in regards to me. You don't regret anything when it comes to me. " he pins me with such an intense look that I feel like I am being swallowed into the dark abyss of his eyes.
"Then tell me why are my parents here. Who are Eden and Krystal for me. Why did they do this ?" I cover my face and cry in a earnest before I feel Aiden bringing me close to him and holding me. He holds me as I cry .
"Eden and Krystal are your Father's brother and sister in law. They are vultures , they planned this whole thing out so that they can have all the money to themselves. I knew who your parents were and decided to hold this information from you because of what your doctor said years ago. The words he said were engraved in my memory. I knew who you were even before you knew who I was. Val you and I were friends when we were small. You would come to me and tell me everything from what you ate that day to the things you wanted to do when you grow up . Alice had an affair with Eden before she married Reginald. I was the baby but never for a moment did Reginald make me feel I wasn't his son. I believed that he was my father for years but when I found out Eden was my father and he was your father too. I decided to destroy that man until I saw you again " he says and I listened to him entranced.
"But why did you kidnap my parents " I whimper.
"Because it was the safe thing to do. Your Eden and Krystal have ties with mafia. If they get involved then it's going to be ugly. I am the only one who can trust me. Now why were you going to Australia "
"S..someone told m..me about my aunt .." I look at him .
"Who ?"
"A letter came in " I hid Liam and his identity.
"Strange. there was no aunt of yours "
"Then who are Melissa and Bella meeting ?" I ask in shock.
"You sure there was an aunt ?"
"Yes . her name is Mythica "
"She was a cousin of your mom. "
"Ohkay " I pull in a deep breath.
"Sleep you had a lot of actions for a day " he kisses my forehead making me freeze at the spot. The kiss felt as if he just kissed my soul but I am not going to succumb to him .
"Good night " he says and moves to close the door.
"Good night " I say and pretend to fall asleep.
When I feel like all of them have gone back to sleeping I step into Reginald's office and see him sitting in his chair.
"I was waiting for you Miss Danbury " he points at the chair opposite to him.
"Let my parents go " I say in my no nonsense voice.
"Sure , but you have to give me something "
"What ?"
"After you take your revenge on your aunt and uncle . You will leave Aiden and walk away "
"I need to formulate a plan for my revenge. It will need him . I cannot make a mistake. Give me information and I am going to take my revenge as soon as possible and leave your son alone " I say the words but it leaves a bitter taste in my mouth .
"Sure . I can shift your parents to a safe place " he shows me a place that is highly guarded .
"Okay. I need to set up an engagement with Eli " I knew Eli's weakness and that was my sister.
"I'll talk to his parents "
"Thanks a lot " I stand up when I hear him say.
"She indeed is Madeline's daughter "
I pretend not to hear him and walk out of the office where Aurora is waiting.
"Let's set the plan into motion when you feel okay with your wrists because they are bleeding again "
"I don't care about it "
"Do you really hate Aiden that much that you are ready to leave him for the revenge "
"Aiden doesn't mean anything to me . He has only given me reasons not to trust him and I'm getting a chance to leave him for once and forever and I'm going to grab it with both hands" I walk into the room and get our things.
"I've already called the driver " she already has her things ready and I walk out of the room with her .
I am going to take my revenge and my plan is ready. Years ago they took something that meant the world to me and this time I am going to take something that means the most to them and that's their money or their Son .