Chapter 8
Five years passed.
Happy years.
Peaceful years.
Full of love and laughter and family.
Michael was in college now.
Studying engineering.
Just like he'd always wanted.
He spent every holiday and summer with us.
He was an integral part of the family.
The big brother everyone looked up to.
Sage was eighteen.
Graduating high school.
He wanted to be a director.
He was already making short films.
Good ones.
He had talent.
Just like his father.
Sophia was fourteen.
Beautiful.
Smart.
Kind.
She wanted to be a doctor.
To help people.
Robert was eight.
Full of energy.
Loved sports.
Loved life.
Serena was five.
The baby of the family.
Spirited.
Funny.
Loved by everyone.
I was getting older.
Slower.
But I was happy.
Happier than I'd ever been.
I had my children.
I had my health.
I had my family.
What more could a man ask for?
And then I got a letter.
From Vanessa.
From prison.
She was dying.
Cancer.
She had six months to live.
And she wanted to see me.
One last time.
She had something to tell me.
Something important.
Something about the children.
I hesitated.
I didn't want to see her.
I didn't want to give her the satisfaction.
But I was curious.
And a little part of me wanted closure.
For everything.
For all of us.
My children were divided.
Some thought I should go.
Some thought I should stay away.
Michael was the one who convinced me.
"Go," he said. "Find out what she wants. Close the door on this chapter forever. For all of us."
So I went.
To the prison.
To see the woman who'd destroyed so much of my life.
Who'd stolen my children.
Who'd tried to kill me.
She looked terrible.
Thin.
Pale.
Weak.
The cancer was eating her alive.
She had no hair.
Her skin was gray.
She was a shadow of the beautiful, evil woman who'd once been my wife.
She smiled when she saw me.
A weak, sad smile.
"Sylvester," she said. "You came."
"I'm here," I said. "What do you want, Vanessa?"
"To tell the truth," she said. "For once. Before I die. No more lies. No more games. Just the truth."
"Go ahead."
She took a deep breath.
And she told me everything.
From the beginning.
How she'd married me for my money.
How she'd never loved me.
How she'd started hiding the children almost immediately.
How she'd planned the plane crash.
How she'd paid someone to sabotage the plane.
How she'd thought I was dead.
How she'd been surprised when I came back.
How she'd tried to kill me.
How she'd tried to sell Serena.
How she'd tried to turn Michael against me.
Everything.
All of it.
And then she told me something else.
Something I hadn't expected.
Something about the night of the plane crash.
She hadn't worked alone.
She'd had help.
From someone inside my circle.
Someone I'd trusted.
Someone I'd called a friend.
My business partner.
Frank.
He'd helped her.
For money.
For power.
For revenge.
He'd been jealous of me.
Of my success.
Of my fame.
Of my family.
And he'd helped Vanessa try to destroy me.
He was still there.
Still working at my company.
Still pretending to be my friend.
Still waiting for his chance to finish what Vanessa had started.
I felt sick.
Frank.
My friend of twenty years.
The best man at my wedding.
The godfather of Sage.
He'd betrayed me.
Helped Vanessa try to kill me.
Helped her steal my children.
And he was still in my life.
Still in my business.
Still a danger to my family.
"Why are you telling me this?" I asked.
"Because I'm dying," she said. "And I'm tired of lies. And Frank is going to try something. Soon. He thinks you're getting old. Weak. He thinks he can take everything. And he won't be as careful as I was. He'll hurt the children if he has to. You need to stop him. Before it's too late."
She paused.
"And there's something else," she said. "Something about Michael. I didn't just give him away because I didn't want him. I gave him away because Frank threatened me. He said if I didn't get rid of the first one, he'd tell you everything. About the money. About the other children. About everything. I was scared. So I gave Michael away. To save myself. And to save him. Because Frank would have hurt him. Hurt all of them. To get to me. To get to you."
She looked at me.
Tears in her eyes.
Real tears.
For the first time.
"I'm sorry, Sylvester," she said. "For everything. I was wrong. I was evil. And I'm going to die alone. And I deserve it. But please. Protect our children. From Frank. From everyone. And tell them… tell them I'm sorry. For everything."
She closed her eyes.
And she didn't say anything else.
I stood up.
I walked out.
I didn't look back.
Vanessa died three weeks later.
Alone.
In her cell.
Just like she deserved.
But I didn't feel happy about it.
I didn't feel sad either.
I felt nothing.
She was gone.
And I had to focus on what was ahead.
Frank.
My traitorous business partner.
He was still out there.
Planning.
Waiting.
And I had to stop him.
Before he hurt my family.
Before he destroyed everything we'd built.
May you like
The game wasn't over.
Not yet.
