“May I offer you a drink?” he asks, already running to the bar, most likely to conceal his flushed face. I chuckle inwardly seeing the uneasiness in his posture. “Um, I have gin, Sauvignon Blanc, whiskey, beer…”
“A glass of Sauvignon is fine,” she says with a voice more polite and sweeter than usual.
“And you, Matt?”
Oh, Dad is asking for me too? Wow. That’s unusual. “Same,” I say.
Meanwhile Tess and I sit on the sofa and wait for Pops to bring our glasses.
“Did she reply to your text?” Tess asks me, breaking our silence.
My heart tightens at the question, knowing it’s a negative answer. “Unfortunately, no.” I let out a sigh, wondering if Petra will ever bother to reply to it. “I don’t think she will forgive me for what I did.”
“Matt, you are a true friend,” Tess says, reassuring me. “My daughter is in a toxic relationship, and you have always warned her, even though you knew she’d stop talking to you in the process.” She pauses, her lips twisting in a smile. “One day or another, I’m sure she will see you for what you are.”
I return the smile, but I’m not that optimistic.
“Here is the wine.” Pops walks in, gives Tess a glass, and then goes and gives me one too. Afterward, he leaves the living room again to get his drink, which to my surprise, is also a glass of wine. Once he gets back inside, he stands in front of us and says, “Well, cheers, to our newfound friendship.”
“Oh,” Tess utters, sounding astonished. “So I can consider you a friend?”
“Of course,” Dad answers back. “You can count on me for whatever you need.”
With a smile on her lips, Tess stands up, and I do the same.
“Then to friendship,” she replies, raising her glass, and we all clink them together.
After we quietly give a first sip, Tess turns to my dad, thinking something through. “I’ve got something to give you.” I raise my brows as I watch her put her glass on the low table and take something from her purse. She then hands a big envelope to my dad, and I can’t help but wonder what’s in it. “This is the access code and a notary authorization to access my vault in case I die.”
We both frown at her statement.
“In case you die?” I ask.
“A vault?” Pops interposes.
“Yes, I have a vault here in New York; you have all the instructions in this envelope to access it upon my death.”
Despite her explanation, Dad and I remain totally perplexed, and we exchange a confused glance.
“But, um, why are you giving me this?” Dad asks.
“Because in there is all of the evidences you need to arrest Van Dieren and put him in jail for a long, long time.”
Wow! Now that’s a surprise!
Dad frowns in confusion. “But for which crime exactly?”
“Murder.”
What? He killed someone? “Who did he kill?” The question rolls off my lips.
Tess turns to me and with a contemplative smile on her lips, she says, “Me.”
Chapter 6
Manhattan, November 6, 2020
Petra Van Gatt
When Alex and I left New York three weeks ago, I never thought a judge would be ordering us to come back for a hearing against my parents––especially not so soon. The hate I have for their controlling behavior is beyond imagination. Despite the county court rejecting my mom’s petition to grant her guardianship, Eric didn’t even bother to drop the charges filed against Alex. What a horrible bunch! As Ryan said, they are just doing it to bring us back to New York. And it’s working, since here we are, in a plane, heading back to the States. I remain quiet, looking out of my window, while Alex and his legal team are finalizing their defense strategy for the hearing that will happen in a few days. I can’t think of anything more humiliating than having to go to a court and prove to a bunch of people that I wasn’t kidnapped and that I’m not insane or crazy for loving him. Him—the man I have known for as long as I can recall and who loves and cares for me more than those so-called parents of mine. Yes, it might seem odd for the outside world that we are together, but that shouldn’t be their business in the first place. It’s our love, meaning it’s between us and only us. My attention goes to my fiancé, and as I look at him, there’s a small smile sprawling across my lips. Despite his flaws, despite his past, despite everything we are going through, I wouldn’t have chosen anyone else but him.
“I only see death and misery, Miss.”
Death and misery… I might have left Bermuda, yet Louise’s voice and her prediction are still here, haunting my every thought. I close my eyes, trying to chase those words away. But as I try to do so, my mind replays that evening with crisp imagery, and I remember the way she left the sofa and walked away, her expression so grave and sinister.
“Petra?”
I blink twice, my eyes alighting on Alex and Ryan who are both looking at me. I rub my eyes, not realizing how long I had been in my head.
“Ryan suggested to have another testimony that is not mine or yours. Do you think Emma would be available?”
As I ponder his suggestion, Ryan takes over. “Roy and Tess will testify and will most likely paint a very misguided opinion of Alex to the judge. We need an outsider that can do the opposite.”
“Well, Emma should be perfect,” I tell them.
Since I’m not sure if she’s still in New York or not, I take my iPhone, turn it on, and go to the messages app to text her. Inside the app though, I find Matthew’s newest unread messages popping up. What a pity he sided with my parents instead of me. We were supposed to be friends, or so I thought. Now that we are no longer in Bermuda, I feel tempted to read them. After all, we have a presentation to finish for philosophy and there’s no more reason to keep myself disconnected from the world since we are landing in a few minutes.
I decide to read what he has to say, with zero intent to respond: You haven’t been present for the past two classes, and I must say, it feels odd not having you here. Now I don’t have anyone to rant about Ayn Rand to since they all agree with me and it’s so boring! Anyway, I hope you are safe and happy wherever you are. P.S: This was a big text just to say I miss you.
Wow. That’s not the kind of message that I expected from him, especially after leaving his house in the middle of the night right before his birthday. He sounds rather sincere and nice. I keep scrolling and read another one: I know you must be furious at me for supporting your parents with their guardianship request, but I want you to know I did it because I genuinely care about you and your health. If you ever feel like talking, let me know. P.S: we need to finish our presentation ASAP. Prof Reich decided to change the delivery date, and it’s now due on Nov. 15.
Shit. The fifteenth? Oh crap… While I don’t intend to keep a close friendship with him, we do have a study to finish, so I decide to text him and say, Hi, Matt, thanks for the texts. We do need to finish it, yeah. Is the library open? We can meet there tomorrow.
Then I text Emma, asking her if she’s in town along with a brief explanation of what’s happening. Not even a minute later, Matt’s reply pops up.