He poured the Hennessy into the sifter, just enough. Slipped the glass between his fingers and swirled to inhale the evaporating aroma from the swish. He sipped on his favorite cognac, let it stay in his mouth for a fraction of a second before swallowing it. He loved the after taste.
He walked along the gallery her aunt left him. All the pictures were still hung on the wall, he took easy steps one at a time until he arrived at the last photo at the end of the hall. The black and white with only a hint of gold from the necklace dangling around her neck. The only visible part of her face was her parted lips at the peak of ecstasy, her skin glistened in sweat and oil. Her man’s hand on the side of her thigh holding her as she probably let go of a moan or a sigh of his name. He could almost hear it in his head. The picture told the moment perfectly. Maxine had caught the moment perfectly.
He took a big gulp of his brandy and walked away from the piece of art that was now becoming his property. Maxine left him her entire collection of her art work, among other things. He didn’t really like to live in a mansion, it drew too much attention from people he didn’t really like, but if he moved to a smaller place, he wouldn’t know where to put all of Maxine’s collection. He intended to keep them, for personal reasons.
Only some of her staff still works in the house. He dismissed at least half of them, the nude dancers, the girls Maxine kept around the house to fulfill her sexually active imaginations. He won’t be needing them.
The house felt empty, it always has. A typical over-sized building that sheltered a lonely rich woman or man, filled with overpriced stuff they seldom use and now it was inherited to him along with the loneliness. The kind of life he was avoiding and now he must embrace.
The future of his aunt’s movie empire was in his hands, and so was the school. He could teach all the students who will shape the face of Goldstone’s movie industry and leave his mark in a way his aunt would never do.
He couldn’t help but wonder if his aunt ever had a dream of doing what’s best for a whole, or was it always her personal ambition that went out of hand. As far as he could remember, Maxine was always selfish and ruthless. She was becoming worse, and someone had to stop her.
It never crossed his mind. The night he left the very same house he now lives in, he was going to leave his aunt and her evil ways. The one thing on his mind was to keep Charlie safe from her grip. After he dropped Deeta at her place, he decided to drive back to Maxine’s house, and tell her he was done with her games.
He wanted to get the tape that Amber gave her, not knowing that Maxine had traded it with something else that morning. He was going to get the tape with force if he had to.
When he arrived back at the house, everything was quiet. There was no one around. He went straight to her study, and then the gallery, but he couldn’t find it. So he went to the balcony where his aunt was relaxing in the Jacuzzi, her purse on the sofa.
Her eyes were closed, the wine glass had slipped from her hand and shattered on the floor. She was fast asleep. He looked through her purse and found a tape, he had to make sure it was the right tape. He took his time and played it, it wasn’t the tape he was looking for. It was the one Charlie told him about.
The night Amber fell off that building after the harsh words exchanged and the chaos that followed it, after Maxine jerked her off her shoulders. She killed her, accidentally or not, Maxine had ruined Amber’s life to a point where it was too tragic to end, and too sad to go on. He knew she would keep doing that to other people, to Charlie, to Tom, to anyone unlucky enough to trust her ill intentions.
He sat on the sofa for a good hour, contemplating his next move. Maxine lay motionless in the Jacuzzi, her mouth gaped open and a faint snore can be heard in the quietness of the night. His stomach turned when he thought how helpless he was when it came to defying his powerful aunt. If he could save Charlie, he might not be able to save the others from falling into the same trap Maxine would offer them. Somebody had to stop her.
It was the perfect opportunity to do it. There won’t be a better time than that moment and there may not be another person that could have the will and the opportunity to stop her. Tears started to fill up his eyes, and his hands trembled.
Brad walked over to his aunt with heavy steps. He stood over her and saw her face deep in her unshakable sleep. With one gentle push of her head, she slipped slowly into the water. He saw air bubbles come out of her mouth and nose as she submerged in the pool. He took steps backward, away from the Jacuzzi, held hoping she would jolt out of the water, and gasped for air, but she didn’t.
His breathing was short and fast, he turned around and walked into the house. He wiped the tears on his cheeks and looked over his shoulders one last time.
Maxine Roberts never came back out of the water.