Eva gaped at her husband, too shocked to react. After Daniel Van Every’s last call, she hardly expected him to accept her. So did she unnecessarily overreact last night? “Oh, are you sure? How did they suddenly change their mind about me?” She wondered if Alexander fought with them for her.
“Alyssa made them see sense. Mom and dad apologized for everything that happened. They want to be a part of our lives, to play with our baby,” said Alexander while Eva sat with her mouth hanging open. Did they soften because of her pregnancy? A smile brightened up her face, and she resumed eating, letting the good news seep into her system.
“I’m glad that they’ve accepted us, Alexander. I was tired of living alone with no family to call my own. At Maxwell’s house, his family cared for me so much, I craved one of my own. I wished your family would accept me like they did. Maybe God has granted my prayers.” Alexander smiled at her, feeling satisfied that finally another wish of hers had been fulfilled.
“Mom has invited you to dinner tomorrow night. Will you go, Eva?” he asked, hesitating a little. He wanted to make peace with his family before their baby was born.
“Sure. I’ll try to come back half an hour early.” Alexander released a sigh of relief that finally they were taking a step towards a reconciliation.
“I’m glad that you’re willing to give them a chance. Try to forget the past and forgive them for my sake.”
“I have, Alexander!”
It meant a lot to him and they enjoyed dinner, discussing Eva’s day at the hospital and her interaction with nurse Solomon. They discussed the case, the evidence that had been found, the upcoming trial and Cromwell’s arrest.
“So when is Mr. Fitzgerald coming over? Tonight?”
“No, he’s still collecting evidence. He wants me to see Beatrix and find out more details. That will strengthen my case,” said Alexander, but Eva’s eyes widened with apprehension at the mention of her name.
“What if she tries to frame you again? What if she’s lying? Maybe she wants you to trap you into marrying her? I’m scared, Alexander.”
“This time she isn’t lying, Eva. She has reunited with Sean Fairfield and living with him at his mansion. I don’t think she would want to trap me when I’m already married to you.” Eva considered his words and relaxed, realizing her fears were baseless. Maybe Beatrix was an innocent victim in this.
“I want to accompany you there,” said Eva, but Alexander shook his head.
“No, Eva. I’ll visit her tomorrow after dropping you off at the hospital. Beatrix might not open up in your presence, so it’s better that I visit her alone.” It made sense, and Eva didn’t argue any further.
They cleared up dinner and hit the bed, since Eva felt drained out after a tiring day at work. Thankfully, the nausea didn’t return, and she had a healthy appetite to energize her.
The next morning was a mad rush since they both overslept.
“I’m ten minutes late already, Alexander. You can drop me here and I’ll walk down. I can’t wait for the traffic to clear up,” said Eva impatiently.
“It will clear up in a couple of minutes. I’m not dropping you here.” After five minutes, Alexander dropped a grumbling Eva at her hospital.
“Don’t forget our dinner plans for tonight,” he yelled after her.
“I remember. Bye,” she yelled back, rushing inside. Alexander smiled and drove off towards Sean Fairfield’s mansion. He had messaged Beatrix last night, and she agreed to see him today. He hadn’t expected her to agree so readily after the way they had parted.
Driving up to the gates of Fairfield’s luxurious mansion, he waited for the security guards to allow him entry. “Just a minute, Mr. Van Every. I’ll confirm your appointment with Ms. Beatrix,” said the guard after knowing the details. Alexander waited patiently and after a few minutes, the guard allowed him entry into the property. He parked his car in the guest parking area and walked over to the palatial building in front of him. An uniformed attendant emerged from it and rushed towards him.
“Good morning, Mr. Van Every. I’m Felix and I look after Ms. Beatrix. She sent me to fetch you, sir. Please come this way,” said the man, guiding him through a side door into the palatial mansion. He led Alexander upstairs to a majestic living room, luxuriously decorated with exotic furnishings.
“Please wait here, Mr. Van Every. Ms. Beatrix will be with you in a few minutes,” said the man, disappearing into a room at the far end. Alexander sat down and an attendant served him a drink.
“Hello Alexander! I didn’t think I would see you again,” said Beatrix as she came into the room. Alexander turned to look at her and his eyes widened with shock. He could hardly recognize the Beatrix who came into the room, supported by two attendants. In her final trimester, she had grown huge and her feeble body could hardly support her weight. The dark circles under her eyes spoke of the torture she might have gone through. They weren’t there when Alexander saw her the last time. It was clear Beatrix had gone through more difficulties than he had thought.
“Hello, Beatrix. How are you?” he asked, going forward and helping her to the sofa.
“I’m alive, Alexander, and so are the twins growing inside me. I’m just thankful to God for that,” she said, breathing hard.
“I heard your recording at court. How did it all happen? Didn’t you recognize Cromwell’s true colors before marrying him? I never liked him and neither did your dad. He looked too greedy and shrewd to me.” Beatrix sighed and asked her attendants to leave.
“No, Alexander! I was too immature to understand what he was. It was only after marrying him did I realize his true motive. Dad understood his motive maybe, and that’s why he wanted me to marry you. It was foolish of me to not wait for Sean and his divorce proceedings to get over. He didn’t want to drag me into it. He was trying to protect me while I misunderstood him and took a hasty decision on the spur of the moment.”
“So, are you two together now? Has Sean accepted you in his life?”
“Yes. We’re waiting for my divorce now. With Cromwell’s disappearance, the divorce proceeding is still pending,” said Beatrix with a sigh.
“They have arrested Cromwell in South Africa. Didn’t you know that?”
“Of course I do. They’re in transit and should arrive here by tonight. I’m amazed that he hasn’t yet admitted to his crime.” Alexander nodded, now eager to know it all.
“So, how did you discover Cromwell’s motive? What exactly did he do? Tell me everything. I need to strengthen my case to prove my innocence.”
“I discovered his motive on our wedding night when he handed me a bunch of legal documents to sign. He threatened to destroy my babies in my womb if I didn’t. I was so scared, Alexander, that I considered signing off the entire business to him that night.” She sipped some water before continuing with her story.
“By God’s grace, he left me with the papers and went away to pour alcohol into his system. I realized he was a lousy drunkard. As he kept on the entire night while it gave me the time to think. I didn’t sign the documents and tore them up. My mistake was I didn’t seek police protection that night. The next morning, he tied me to a chair all morning without food and water as my punishment.”
“You could have sought help afterwards,” said Alexander, feeling bad for her.
“I couldn’t, Alexander. He kept me locked in my room. He sacked all my employees and also sent my pet dog. Rover away with my old housekeeper. The house has soundproofing, and my pleas for help couldn’t be heard at all. He tortured me every day, with a fresh set of legal papers. I was at my wit’s end when one day, I sneaked out and overheard him arguing with Mr. Strasbourg over the phone. He was threatening to kill Mr. Strasbourg if he didn’t hand over the evidence he had collected against Cromwell. I heard him admitting to have committed fraud at Rotterdams. He challenged Mr. Strasbourg to prove his crime.”
“Why didn’t Mr. Strasbourg record his admission?” said Alexander.
“Mr. Strasbourg has every proof possible, Alexander. Did you search his home? I doubt if he had handed anything to Cromwell. If he had, he wouldn’t have been so brutally murdered. The evidence should be hidden somewhere.”
“So Cromwell disconnected the call and picked up his gun. He swore to murder Mr. Strasbourg and escape to South Africa. I was about to escape when he heard my movements and caught me eavesdropping. He locked me up in the basement of my house and went away forever, leaving me to die inside. If my old housekeeper hadn’t come over with Rover, I wouldn’t be alive and in front of you, Alexander. My neighbors saved me. They found my phone and called the first two numbers on my emergency list. One was yours, but you didn’t accept the calls. The second was Sean’s. He came over to save me.”