"Mr. Hendricks," Ashton said, catching his breath. He ran from his office to the living room where Arthur was.
"Ashton, is there something necessary you'd like to say?" Arthur asked as he saw his secretary in a hurry.
"Nathalie emailed asking you to meet her in Nathan's rehab center. She said Nathan has gained consciousness."
Arthur didn't wait for Ashton to have more to say. He silently thanks Nathalie has got back to communicating through email. Nathalie knew it was the safest way of communication to get away from their mom.
He got up, stormed out of his penthouse, and arrived at the rehab center in record time, his heart pounding with anticipation as he walked through the sterile halls. He was both excited and nervous to see Nathan and Nathalie again. He hadn't seen them in months and had been anxious about their safety.
When Arthur entered Nathan's room, he saw Nathalie holding Nathan's hand. He walked close to them. Nathan's eyes were open, and he looked at him with confusion and recognition.
"Nathan," Arthur breathed, rushing to his side. "How are you feeling?"
Nathan had always been a loner, but the loneliness of his gaze now was almost too much for Arthur to bear.
"Arthur! Is that you, brother?" Nathan asked. "You came," he said, his eyes glistening in tears.
"Of course I did. It's me, Nathan," Arthur said, trying not to show the emotion in his voice. He held out his hand, and Nathan took it.
"It's good to see you," Nathan said. "You have no idea what we've been through when you were gone, brother," he said, his voice breaking.
"I am here now, and I will make sure no one can ever harm you and Nathalie again, not even Alicia," Arthur said sternly. "Nathan, you must tell me everything that happened before you came to this rehab center. I got your back."
Nathan nodded in response while tears welled on his face. Arthur wiped Nathan's tears like he always does whenever his brother cried, even when they were kids. Nathan was named a crybaby by his classmates in school, but Arthur never allowed them to bully Nathan. He always got his back and vowed to do that for the rest of their lives.
Just then, Nathalie couldn't hold up her tears. Watching her brothers made her emotional as well. She was shorter than both, but her face had the same determined look as their mother's. Arthur watched her, noticing how she had grown over the months since he'd seen her. She looked slightly like their mother, but her eyes were Robert's.
"Hey," Nathalie said, her voice quiet.
Arthur turned to Nathalie. "Hey," he said, trying to smile. "It's good to see you, my little sister."
"I'm not little anymore, Arthur. You can just call me Nathalie," she said shyly.
"Looks like our little girl right here has grown up. So tell me. Do you have a boyfriend now?" He asked, poking his sister's nose.
"Arthur...please, I don't wanna talk about these things," Nathalie blushed as she covered her palms on her cheeks.
"Sounds like a yes to me. So when will I meet him?"
Nathalie was pouting her lips like a child.
"I'm kidding," Arthur said, embracing his sister again.
"I'm sorry, brother, we cut contact with you. It was hard when Dad was still with us and Mom wasn't so busy. She had to watch Nathan and me constantly," Nathalie was sobbing on Arthur's chest.
"Everything will fall into place now that I'm here. I'm stopping Alicia from controlling Nathan and your life like you are robots," Arthur assured his sister, "Stop crying; your big brother is here now," Arthur consoled Nathalie until she stopped sobbing on his chest.
Nathalie nodded as she pulled a little from Arthur's chest. Arthur could sense the tension in the air. Besides monitoring her communications, he wondered what Nathalie went through when he was gone.
"I'm so sorry," Nathalie said, her voice barely above a whisper.
Arthur shook his head, trying to keep his emotions in check. He wanted to lash out, scream and yell, and tell them both how wrong their mother was, but he knew that wouldn't do any good.
"It's okay," he said, his voice strained. "I understand."
Nathan then took a deep breath. "Nathalie was right. Our mother ordered us not to contact you anymore," he said, looking Arthur in the eyes. "This time, stricter than before. Mom, have someone check our phones and email. That's why we must delete the email we used to communicate with you. She said if we didn't follow her, she would have us removed from the house. But I knew she couldn't do it since she needed me to take over the company after Dad's retirement."
Arthur felt a wave of anger rise up inside of him. He had been hoping Robert and Alicia would change after he left, but his hopes seemed dashed. He looked at Nathan, then Nathalie, and saw the pain in their eyes. He knew this was hard for them too, and he wanted to give them hope.
"We can still be a family," he said, his voice barely above a whisper. "We can still talk and keep in touch, just the three of us. We'll just have to do it a little differently now."
Nathan and Nathalie looked at each other, and Arthur felt slightly relieved. He had given them something to hold on to and hope for. He smiled, and they both smiled back.
"Nathalie, can you wait for me outside? Nathan and I need to talk about the business. I'll be with you in a bit."
Nathalie nodded. "I'll wait for you outside then." She kissed Nathan goodbye before she left the room.
"Nathan, tell me honestly why you end up in this facility. Does Alicia and Robert have something to do with all of this?"
"I started using heroin to escape from all the responsibilities in our companies. They were training me to replace you after you turned your back to them. Brother, you know that business is not for me. I love sports, playing golf, and being a professional player, which I've always dreamed of. Mom and Dad took my dreams away from me for their own good. They are selfish."
Arthur was raging in anger as he listened to Nathan but did his best to control his emotion and plot the right plan to take down Alicia now that Robert was gone.
"I didn't notice I was addicted to it and couldn't help but keep using," Nathan continued. "Nathalie was even concerned about my habit, but it was too late. I felt guilty, unable to watch over Nathalie by the time I was addicted. I neglected Nathalie for a time and couldn't forgive myself if something terrible happened to her."
"I understand. Don't be too hard on yourself, Nathan. What's important is you're here now, getting the help you need, and hopefully, you'll get to walk out of this facility in good shape as soon as possible. " Arthur tried to console Nathan.
"Yes, thank you, Arthur. You're the best," Nathan's eyes sparked hope. He held Arthur's hand tightly.
"By the way, Nathan, did Alicia ever visit you here?"
Nathan's expression tightened. "No, she never did. I'm not expecting her to visit anyway. Why?"
"Just asking," Arthur shrugged. "One more thing, I was here with Daniel the other day and found you relapsing. Can you tell me what happened? Where did you get the heroin that you injected?"
Nathan frowned in confusion as he looked at Arthur. "It wasn't me, Arthur. A man in a bonnet came to my room and injected the heroin into me. I don't understand. If someone wants me dead, he could have injected poison instead."
"They want it to look like you wanted to commit suicide by injecting an overdose of heroin."
"Who would do that to me, brother? I swear I never made enemies in our companies, even if I didn't like being there. Believe me, I never burn bridges to anyone."
"I believe you, Nathan. You don't have to worry about this. I got someone working on this matter and will surely get the answer any day this week."
Arthur only needs confirmation of his suspicions as his instinct keeps telling him the same thing. He was raging in anger, thinking about the culprit.