With a thud, Kiara fell to the ground, breathless. She touched her neck; it was bruised. Tears were running down her cheeks; her heart racing at an unbelievable rate. She was unable to believe that death had come that close! She had smelt it. Death had literally said hallo to her; and she was still unable to believe that she had escaped. But the question in her mind was; for how long? How many more minutes did she have alive? She could not even think of hours. With Vine; it sure had to be minutes.
"Repeat what you just said!?" Vine was fuming.
Kiara told herself that she was going to die anyway; there was no more fear in her. She had tasted the first stages of death; and was not even sure whether or not she was going to come out of the forest alive. Even if she tried to retreat on her words at that moment; she had already said it; and Vine was surely going to have a DNA test done?
"Vincent Lisandro is not your son," she repeated.
"Get her in the car, Dream. We're off to the Noels' house!" Vine ordered.
Kiara was violently lifted up and thrown into the car. Before long, the car was at the Noels' gate. The security guard, who knew the car well, opened the gate.
Vine opened the door. Aletha was inside, feeding the little boy.
"Come with me; all three of you!" Vine screamed.
They looked at each other, wondering what was happening.
"Is everything Ok, young master?" Travis inquired.
Aletha looked at her daughter and gasped, "What happened to your neck, my daughter?"
"Get in the car! Give all your phones to Dream!" Vine spoke through gritted teeth.
When Dream saw Vine going into the driver's seat, he said,
"Young master, I don't think you're in a position to drive. Let me drive you."
"I will drive!" Vine responded.
Dream dared not argue any more. He sat in the passenger seat, and the Noels crammed in the back seat. Noone was talking to another as Vine drove the car.
His phone rang, and he picked it.
"Is it done?" Lady Pinkerton asked from the other end of the line.
"She said the child is not mine. We're going to have tests done now."
The lady laughed heartily and said, "Don't let her fool you. She'd obviously say that to try and buy time. She's lying."
"I will have the test done," Vine said before disengaging the call.
The phone rang again, and he responded. It was from Silver City Hospital, informing him that Jeremy Rain had been discharged from hospital and his family had taken him home. They called Vine because he had specifically clarified that he wanted to be informed of anything and everything to do with Jeremy.
The car continued soaring at an unbelievable speed, until it stopped. At Vine's command, everyone followed him into Dave's rooms. Dave, who was already packing his laptop bag in order to leave, saw an entourage heading towards him. Leading the team was Vine. When he saw Travis, and a woman carrying a little boy, Dave immediately knew what it was all about. Regretting his greediness, he cursed himself over and over for ever agreeing to be a part of Travis' deal. Why on earth had he ever agreed to that?
"It…it was not my idea," he stammered.
Vine stood right in front of him, and did not utter a word.
The look on his face was too stern to be ignored. No amount of bravery could have managed to try and fight back. Dave felt it; it was over for him. He decided to confess before the torture began.
"It was Travis. He came up with the idea, my young master!"
Vine could not believe his ears. What was Dave saying? Had he just confirmed that the child was not Vine's? Oh no!
"What did you do, Dave? Is the child mine?" Vine asked.
"I…I am sorry, young master. The child…the child is not yours." He said.
Time suddenly froze in Vine's world. He saw a dark cloud hovering above him, blinding and deafening him. He tried to convince himself that he was having a nightmare; but a part of his mind told him that it was all real.
Vincent Lisandro was not his son? How? How did that happen? Wasn't a DNA test done; and it proved that he was the father? Why did Dave lie? Why did he have to do that?
Vine felt that he had invested too much in the child, emotionally. He loved the little boy with his entire heart and soul. For the sake of the boy; Vine could have easily given his life, at any moment. He loved him that much. And to be informed at that moment that the child was not his, that stabbed his heart. He could not believe it. He did not want to believe it.
Seeing that his young master was losing it, Dream took his phone and called lady Pinkerton. Quickly he narrated what was happening; and the lady gave an order,
"Bring him back home. The Noels must come too! All of them!"
Dream held Vine by the shoulders and he screamed, "We're all going home now!"
With the aid of a gun, he managed to get everyone walking towards the car. There were not many cars outside, at the parking lot; and there was no other person in sight.
Just as Dream was ordering everyone to get into the car, Dave used the chance to run away. He took off at a great speed, and Dream ran after him.
"Let's run away!" Kiara suggested.
"He took the car keys with him!" Travis responded, but he was opening the doors for his family to start running.
Vine was present, in the front seat, yet he seemed to be like a zombie. He neither moved nor said a word; the man had been hit where it hurts the most.
Travis, Aletha and the child were already outside. "Kiara, come!" Aletha shouted.
Swiftly, Kiara snatched her mother's phone from off the driver's seat, where Dream had thrown them. She dialed Jacob's number.
"Come, Kiara!" Aletha urged.
She hopped of the car, phone in hand. Jacob answered the call.
"Run, Jacob! They will come for your entire family! Go, Jacob, just run as far away as you can."
"What? Are they coming now?" Jacob sweated.
"Please find a way to take Jeremy from Silver City; please! If you leave him, they will kill him!"
"Jeremy is home now." Jacob answered, his heart rate pacing due to the just received news.
"Good. Please go now! Run!" Kiara said.
She had hardly finished her sentence when she stood in her tracks, for a gun was placed right in her chest.
"Go back to the car," Dream said. Travis and Aletha were behind dream; little Vincent in his grandfather's arms.
Dream was holding the gun carefully, so as to hide it. He was not foolish enough to not know that there were cameras in the parking lot.
The Noels headed towards the car, feeling defeated.
***
In the Noels' home, the whole family was in the lounge. Sleeping on the couch was Jeremy. Jacob and Nesisa had not yet left to go back to their house, because Nesisa had said she needed to make sure that Sharon and Jeremy were OK before she left. She had prepared some food and when she thought everything was we set and it was time to go, that is when Jacob received the call.
When he ended the call, Jacob looked like he had seen a ghost.
"What happened?" Nesisa asked.
"The Pinkertons," Jacob responded.
"What about them?" Nesisa asked again.
Sharon stood from her seat and moved closer to her eldest son. She did not like that name: Pinkerton. She had begun to associate that name with danger. Each time that name was mentioned, bad things would surely follow.
"What are they saying now?" Sharon asked, her voice full of disdain.
"They're coming for us." Jacob responded.
Upon hearing that, Jeremy became alert. He could not believe that the Pinkertons still wanted him dead? Surely they were never going to give up; were they?
At that moment, no one from the Rain family knew that Vincent Lisandro was theirs. Thus, they wondered why the Pinkertons were coming for them.
"Who said that?" Nesisa asked.
"Kiara called me," Jacob said.
"Kiara again? I can't wait until that name is never mentioned in this home," Sharon said.
"We have to run away. They will kill us all," Jacob said.
Sharon looked around and decided in her head that she was going to pack a small bag with her most valued possessions, but…
"Where will we go?" she asked.
No one responded. There was silence, until Nesisa asked,
"When are they coming?"
"I don't know," Jacob responded.
With a firm voice, Nesisa spoke, "We're not running! If we allow them, the Pinkertons will make us run for the rest of our lives! This time we aren't running! Everyone, take a sit and act normal. We will wait for them."
"Nesisa; are you out of your mind?" her husband rebuked.
"Trust me, Jacob. This time the Pinkertons have messed with the wrong people." Nesisa swore.
"Nesisa!"
Speaking with all determination and assurance, Nesisa said, "Trust me. I've got this. We're not running any more. Let the Pinkertons come. We will face them."