“Welcome, mother.” Harriet hugged Stacy as soon as she opened the door. She arrived at the house exactly one hour after the phone call. If it wasn’t for the regular New York traffic, she would have been there earlier.
“Hello, my dear. Is everything alright with you guys?” Stacy had no intentions of beating around the bush. She knew that something was wrong, and she was determined to find out.
Harriet gave no reply, but she led her to the living room where Damien was waiting. Immediately Stacy saw him, a scream left her lips and she rushed to him, holding his head as she accessed the bandage on his head.
“What happened to you?” She asked while trying to fight off the tears that were already brimming in her eyes.
“We uhh…we have something to tell you, mother.” Harriet said and sat directly opposite them, rubbing her arms nervously.
“You should. It is very obvious that something is wrong,” Stacy wiped her tears and turned to Harriet. “Who did this to my son?” She balled her fist in anger, waiting for Harriet to give her a name.
“Adrian. He did that to Damien.” Harriet said with a cold expression and Stacy’s face twisted in confusion.
“What? What are you saying, Harriet? Adrian would never-”
“It’s true, mother. You might not believe us, but Adrian is not who he claims to be. He’s a monster!” Damien raised his voice, grabbing his mother’s arm.
“No! My son is not a monster. I know him better than anyone else. You.. you are lying.” She said and Damien chuckled, letting go of her arm.
“I knew you wouldn’t believe me. Your love for him has blinded you so much that you cannot see the truth. Adrian is a killer, mother. He almost killed his own brother!” He yelled, his eyes begging her to believe him, but, Stacy kept shaking her head.
“It’s true, mother. We have no reason to lie to you. Adrian was my friend and I would never have believed it either if Damien had not confirmed it.” Harriet moved to Stacy and squatted so that she could see her at eye level.’
“He is the mastermind behind everything and has been plotting everything for a long time. He is also working with Evelyn and was the actual person who fabricated those pictures that led to our divorce.” Harriet revealed and Stacy’s eyes widened out of pure shock.
“That’s not all, mother. He was behind my kidnap and has been meeting up with a few shareholders to kick Damien out of the company. He also helped Evelyn escape from jail and was housing her until Damien found out. The injury to his head was caused by Adrian, who hit a glass vase on his head in an attempt to knock him out. He almost got him killed, mother!” Harriet cried, attempting to hold Stacy’s hand, but she quickly pushed her away.
“What proof do you have? I’m sorry, Harriet. I really want to believe you, but this is my son we are talking about, and I did not raise a monster.” She replied.
Deep down, she knew that Harriet and Damien wouldn’t lie to her. They had no reason to but, she didn’t want to believe that her son was capable of doing all the things they mentioned.
Damien chuckled sadly and made her look at him. He stared at her for a few seconds before taking his hand to his head and began un-wrapping the bandage.
“Damien? What are you doing?” Harriet asked, but he ignored her. His gaze on his mother was cold, and he made sure she was watching him.
“Stop! It could get infected.” Harriet begged, rushing to his side to try stopping him, but, he pushed her hand away and continued until the bandage was completely removed. When he finished, he turned around for her to see the bare wound.
“Oh My!” Stacy exclaimed, her hands going up to her mouth and Harriet followed suit. She had also not seen how severe the injury was. The hair around the area was completely drenched in blood, and they could also see how deep the cut was.
“Is this proof enough, mother?” He asked and Stacy began to cry loudly, her hand touching the clean hair on his head.
“How could he do this to you?” She cried. It was as though a weight had been put on her chest.
To Stacy, she had failed as a parent.
“What did I ever do to deserve this? I did my best to raise him. I really did.” She continued and Harriet rushed to get a new set of bandages for Damien so that he could cover up his wound and avoid getting infected.
When she returned, she brought the first aid box with her and helped him dress the wound.
“It’s not your fault, mother. He was envious of his brother and decided to go this far. Now, he will pay for his actions,” Harriet said with gritted teeth.
Stacy shivered at the thought of her son in jail or, even worse, dead.
“Where is he now?” She asked and Damien shook his head, leaning on the couch.
“He escaped with Evelyn but, we will find him soon.” He assured her, and she nodded, closing her eyes in pain.
*
*
The next day, Damien and Eric began searching for them, using all the power and influence they had. The only thing they didn’t do was officially involve the police.
News about Adrian helping Evelyn escape from prison could cause harm to the company as he was still an executive. Damien needed to kick him out of the company before proceeding with involving the police.
“I don’t think they are in New York. We would have found them already if they were.” Eric shook his head and slumped on his car seat.
“It’s only been a day. How can you give up already?” Damien replied from beside him. They had just returned from the NYPD and scanned through all the CCTV footage from the day of the escape, but it was as though they had both disappeared from the face of the earth.
“Why don’t we wait? If they are after you, they’ll come out on their own.” Eric suggested, but Damien disagreed.
“We’ll be giving them a chance to strike when we least expect. I am not putting my family in danger once again. I will find them.” He said.
Eric sighed and ignited the car engine. He opted to drive Damien around since the drugs he was taking to heal the wound were taking a toll on him.
When Damien arrived home, the house was completely empty as Harriet had gone to her office while the children were at school. Knowing that their enemies were still alive and probably watching them, he no longer felt comfortable with his family being away from his side, so, he placed a call to his assistant.
“I want twenty-four hours of security for Harriet and the twins immediately.” He ordered.
Harriet’s parents were also at risk because they could be kidnapped and used to blackmail her, but he knew that Jake was a wealthy man who wouldn’t appreciate him hiring security guards for his family.
The only way was to inform him of what was going on and how serious it was.
“Hello, Jake. It’s Damien.” He said as soon as the call went through and explained everything to him. Thankfully, Jake was a wise man, and he valued his family more than anything, so, he made preparations for extra protection.
As Damien kept his phone and was about to take a short nap, his phone rang. It was a call from his mother.
“D-damien! I got a text from Adrian.”