The Secrets Hidden In The Scars

      It’s almost six o'clock. Edward and Terrence just drove to the house of Michael. After stopping the car not far from the gates, Terrence starts looking at the house, to which he just came, squeezing the steering wheel tightly with both hands and getting much more nervous but trying not to show it.       “Wow, beautiful house,” Terrence frowns slightly. “Even better than mine. Did it really use to belong to your father?”       “At least, Uncle says so,” Edward shrugs. “He said Grandfather made him a gift at the majority and bought the house, so he lived here with his future family.”       “Beautiful… Stunning… It seems like a good man, who spares no money for making it better is supposed to live here.”       “But the rotted man, who spars no poison that he is spreading everywhere, is living in the house,” Edward hums quietly, crossing his arms over his chest. “And who is making this house better with Father’s money. He stole almost everything from him and now pretends everything belongs only to him.”       “Has he always been such a bad man?”       “As long as I remember him, he’s never shown good feelings. Even if he was hiding his real side, being with him would always be unpleasant. Uncle Michael always spreads some coldness that makes you feel goosebumps on your whole body.”       “And did your father speak to him when living with you, our stepmother, and his children from a second marriage?”       “Uncle wasn’t showing up for the time being, but Father often talked about him with my pretense. And my stepmother knew who he was. But when I was sixteen, I met my uncle for the first time. That man seemed horrible to me. He wasn’t like Father, who didn’t show love for me but was much softer. I told myself, ‘Keep yourself far from that man! He will give you many problems!’ And sadly, it happened…”       “So, it had happened one year before you left home?”       “Yup. And I don’t know what happened later. I can’t say if my stepmother knows about the situation with Uncle and whose side she is on. But since Uncle Michael says nothing about her, he’s hardly gonna hurt her and her children.”       “Hey, you said your father told your stepmother much about your mother,” Terrence frowns slightly. “Did he trust her and love her so much that he told her these secrets?”       “You know, honestly, there was no love,” Edward replies thoughtfully. “My father respected my stepmother more than loved. I didn’t see him look at her with an ogle gaze and admire her appearance, character, or something like that. Father never acted like he was in love with that woman.”       “And she?”       “She truly loved him and looked at him with admiration. My stepmother was ready for anything for my father. She even helped him get a job at her firm. His knowledge was good for her, and he helped her much. I heard she admired his work and never told him claims. She had no reason because my father did his work too well. Knowing he was stuck at the office all day long, being surrounded with tons of papers and working on a computer.”       “But if your father never loved that woman, why did he marry her?”       “I don’t know, Terrence…” Edward shakes her head. “Maybe, Father married her because of money… Because he didn’t have a home or a good job. But he met the provided woman and decided to do his best to marry her.”       “Wasn’t he ashamed of using your stepmother’s feelings? I’m sure he knew she loved him. That’s the real cold math!”       “Who knows what he had on his mind. Maybe, my father married because of money. Maybe, he wanted to forget my mother and replace her with another woman. I dunno… Still, they lived well for many years and didn’t think of divorce. Father didn’t love my stepmother, but he felt comfortable with her.”       “But how did they meet? Don’t you know?”       “I don’t know. Only Father could answer this question.” Edward moves his gaze full of sadness to his hands. “But sadly, he is not with us.”       “I believe, he took away many secrets that we don’t know.”       “I think Uncle knows at least some of them. And something tells me he will wish to tell all of them.”       “Yeah…” Terrence sighs tiredly, running his hands over his face. “The story of your family is too tangled. And I’ve got a lot of questions about mine.”       “Agree,” Edward replies without emotions. “And knowing the situation of Father and Uncle’s relationship… I was sure that it wasn’t the end.”       Silence settles in the air for a few seconds, after which Edward glances at his shaking hands and exhales sharply.       “Oh, alright, stop talking,” Edward says quietly. “Time to go… It’s gonna be six o’clock in a few minutes.”       “Yeah, time…” Terrence nods and swallows up nervously. “No matter how much I don’t wanna go there, I must do it. I’d better solve this fucking problem now.”       “You’re right… I hope everything will end well… I hope nothing will happen to Natalia… All of us will stay alive… That bastard and his gang will get off us once and forever…”       “It’s my dream…” Terrence grabs the steering wheel tightly, understanding that he is shaking slightly. “It’s the time! Time to do our best to end this bullshit.”       “Let’s go then?” Edward moves his questioning gaze to Terrence.       “Go!” Terrence exclaims, exhaling sharply and looking at Edward.       Terrence and Edward slightly nod at each other, as if they say they are ready to meet Michael. Even if they are too excited, they have to put on the mask and pretend that they are cold and collected. After they put their minds together and make themselves forget about any fears and doubts, they leave the car almost at the same time. MacClife locks the car with a key and puts it in the inside pocket of his leather jacket. Then he follows his friend, who goes further, and confidently comes to the house that Lockhart hates so badly.       Andrew and Otto squint their eyes slightly and cross their arms over their chests when they see the two men getting closer and looking very similar from afar. When Edward and Terrence barely come to the gates of the house, the guards look at each other with wide smiles, laugh quietly, and kind of decide who will be the first one to try to snap Edward, who they later recognize, by playing scissors, paper, and stone. And the result of the game says Andrew should start this show.       “Ah, what’s wrong with my eyes?” Andrew panics, closing his eyes tightly. “I got blinded! FUCK! I BECAME BLIND! HELP! Eddy got me blinded by showing up!”       “Hey ya, our blinding puppy!” Otto exclaims with a loud laugh. “Why you are showing up so suddenly! Do you want us to become blind to the light that you bring with you?”       “Huh, you better leave your stupid jokes for someone else, single amoebas,” Edward throws coldly, crossing his arms over his chest. “If you think it’s hilarious, I want to make you upset.”       “Oh, oh, oh, it seems like the day is getting better,” Andrew nods with a mysterious smile. “Now I know what I’ve missed all this time. Stupid jokes of our brainless little puppy, Eddy.”       “So, did you get sick of making yourself have fun because you don’t have enough brains for new stupid jokes?” Edward hums contemptuously. “Got sick of old stupid jokes and no longer lie on the ground and have hysteria from them?”       “Ah, Edward…” Otto laughs evilly and loudly. “Your jokes are not actually funny! And stupid. But it’s not amazing because you’ve got as many brains as a chicken!”       “At least, I’ve got them. But God didn’t give you this award.”       “You better come up with a new joke, baby. Make us funny with your stupidity. And your wish to show off and prove that you’re tough.”       “Or can you only snap and cover your fears with a wish to prove to someone you are not worthless?” Andrew simpers.       “I don’t wanna work my brains for such scumbags like you,” Edward replies rudely. “I’ll better use them for something good and necessary that will do good things for me or my close people.”       “Huh!” Otto crosses his arms over his chest. “Which good and necessary things can you do? We no longer hope you’ll finally turn from a little barking coward puppy to an adult, guard dog. You will die to be a pathetic hero, whose actions nobody will need.”       “You do underestimate me, Otto,” Edward says in a low voice. “After what has happened, I will no longer be the same. I advise you to be afraid of me and run as far as you can. Because I am terribly angry now. And if you make me furious, you will have to pay a high cost.”       “OH, OH, I AM SO SCARED!” Otto shouts in a loud, squeaking voice. “HELP, THE COWARDLY BOY IS THREATENING ME! HE WANTS TO KILL ME! A-A-A-A!”       “SAVE, EVERYONE!” Andrew screams loudly and waves his hands, while Edward smirks contemptuously. “OTHERWISE, THIS PUPPY WILL BITE EVERYBODY! RUN! RUN!”       “If you want, I can bite you and scratch you strongly,” Edward says confidently. “But I can hardly help you because I don’t have a first aid kit to treat your wounds.”       Otto and Andrew look at each other and immediately start thrilling with hysterical, loud laughter.       “No, thanks,” Otto replies with a laugh. “What if you suffer from rabies? But I don’t wanna get infected.”       “Wow!” Edward smirks contemptuously and puts his hands on his hips. “I thought you suffered from rabies for ages. As well as dementia. Just like Andrew. All the symptoms fit: stupid jokes, a hysterical laugh, a stupid dead gaze, and an inability to add two to two… And you often talk about what you should not do. As if you don’t actually know what someone means.”       “Oh, how sharp this joke is!” Otto laughs loudly. “I did get scars because it’s too sharp.”       “You know, I always wanna yawl from the jokes of you and Andrew.” Edward closes his mouth with a hand and demonstratively yawls. “I always yawl when I don’t have interest in some bullshit.”       “Ah, Edward, seems like you will never forget how to snap…” Andrew smiles widely. “You find an answer for anything.”       “Listen, buddy, do me a favor…” Edward puts a finger on his lip. “Please, don’t smile so widely. Your face starts to remind me of a horse loudly whining. You see, they scare me…”       Otto and Andrew start loudly laughing with their widely open mouths, grabbing their stomachs.       “We’re right when saying you find an answer for anything,” Otto shakes his head. “When you say something, we grab our stomachs and have hysteria.”       “Be careful, demented, if you laugh too much, you may die,” Edward snaps with a sly smile. “History knows a few cases of death from a laugh. You can definitely be featured in it.”       “Huh, you’d get a heart attack from fear sooner than we die from a laugh,” Andrew simpers. “And yeah, in case you don’t know, laughing makes your life longer.”       “Wow! You said such a genius thing!” Edward quietly claps his hands. “Bravo, tough guy, bravo! But do you two have a reason to live ‘till one hundred or more years? What’s your life goal?”       “We’d ask you the same,” Otto replies. “You don’t do good things! Nobody the fuck needs you, and you are worthless to everybody. It’s not a secret for everyone that you were born thanks to an accident, and nobody ever wanted your birth. You are the reason why many things were destroyed.”       “Oh, oh, stop saying some bullshit!” Edward waves a hand sharply, wincing strongly. “Your mouth smells disgusting! And the more your verbal diarrhea is, the stronger disgust I feel. And yeah, you two smell terribly. You better go to take a shower. Change the clothes that you’ve worn for about five years. Can’t your beloved Michael give you money to buy something new? Though, there’s no need to put on new jeans on the dirty ass or a fresh t-shirt on the smelly body. Otherwise, nobody will wish to wear your clothes after those, whose armpits terribly smell, try them on.”       While Otto smirks loudly, Andrew scratches the back of his head with a thoughtful face, looking at Edward from head to foot with suspicion.       “Yeah, it seems like Eric overdid it when hitting you on the head…” Andrew replies thoughtfully. “You’re saying some bullshit… Well, you do always say it! Everyone no longer takes what you say seriously. Of course, you work your tongue well, but there is nothing good in verbal diarrhea getting out of your mouth.”       “Hey, baby, how’s your head doing?” Otto crosses his arms over his chest. “Haven’t you lost all your brain? Didn’t you smash them on the wall, against which Brown hit you?”       “As you see, I haven’t become a vegetable and am still alive,” Edward says confidently, putting his hands aside.       “Oh, we do know you’ve got a tough head. Whatever it gets a hit again, it stays safe.”       “Hey, my buddy and I heard about how you were protecting your ex-girlfriend,” Andrew smiles mysteriously. “And we were told she ran to you with tears in her eyes when you hit your head and collapsed on the ground. She was screaming like crazy! And crying bitterly with the thought that you died after that hit. M-m-m…”       “Yeah,” Otto agrees, sniffs falsely, and wipes off a non-existing tear under his eye. “How it’s touching! If I had been there, I would have probably cried.”       “I hope you will let me come into this fucking house this time,” Edward says confidently. “Because I am going to take the girl, who your pals brought here by force. And be sure – this time, I will leave alive but with her or dead but without her. She will no longer stay in the company of such a nasty and sick bastard like you.”       “I tend to the second variant,” Andrew says thoughtfully, stroking his chin. “Or the gal will die anyway, but you… If you agree to become one of us, your uncle will save your life.”       “Stop dreaming for nothing, assholes! If I see at least someone hurt that girl somehow, you will make me furious and force me to do my best for every one of you to regret it. I do promise you, morons. If your pals bring that girl to me in a horrible condition, I swear I will not be responsible for my actions.”       “Aw, baby, how funny your pathetic actions and attempts to seem sassy are,” Otto shakes his head, putting his hands on his hips. “You should only suck a pacifier and lie in bed. But you can’t play a hero enough.”       “I am sorry that at the age of twenty-five, I look much better than you two, who have almost the same one,” Edward hums contemptuously, crossing his arms over his chest. “I’m not the one to blame that I’m lucky to have my genes and take care of me.”       “I am sorry that brains can’t be transferred through genes. MANY brains! You would need them. As well as bravery, politeness, and obedience.”       Edward says nothing and just teases the way Otto says, wincing strongly. Meanwhile, Andrew just stops his eyes on Terrence standing near his friend with his eyes squinted, and his arms crossed over his chest.       “Oh, hey, Eddy, what kind of pathetic folk is standing near you?” Andrew asks. “What six-foot tail closet is this? Who did you bring here? And why is he silent like a fish in water? Got his tongue cut? Or has he never had it?”       “Hey, easy!” Terrence throws rudely, keeping a cold, contemptuous gaze. “Watch your mouth and don’t dare to insult me! I can also stand up for myself and tell you something.”       “Oh, oh, how rude you are!” Andrew clatters in disapproval, shaking his head. “Why did you come here with this brainless puppy? Our lord is only waiting for this kid and his friend MacClife.”       “So, it’s clear you really have a little brain if you don’t guess who I am.”       “I don’t have the honor to know Your Highness.”       “Listen, dude!” Otto exclaims, pinching Andrew on the rib. “It’s Terrence MacClife! The one, who our lord talked so much about.”       “Terrence MacClife? Come on?” Andrew sharply moves his questioning gaze to Terrence. “Hey, are you really a pal of this kid?”       “Perhaps,” Terrence confirms coldly.       “Right!” Andrew claps his hands loudly. “You’re right, Otto! It’s really him! Damn, I’m a moron, I didn’t guess it. How I could forget the one, about whom the whole world talks! About the one, whose mental issues everybody is well aware of!”       “I advise you to keep your mouth closed. Otherwise, you will ask for trouble and have lots of bruises on your stupid face.”       “Oh!” Andrew and Otto ooh and laugh hysterically with their widely open mouths.       “It’s clear who gives Lockhart a bad example,” Otto replies. “We heard that all the MacClifes are a little crazy. The places for the members of this family must be reserved in advance.”       “The mental health of all the MacClifes is FINE!” Edward says confidently and coldly. “And your beloved Michael is really a sick psycho that must be put in a mental hospital, not prison. Or that old bastard just suffers from dementia.”       “You described yourself?” Andrew simpers. “Or your psycho friend, who gets excited for any reason? If you show him a red rag, he’ll run on you like a bull and step on you with all the weight of his body.”       “Listen, brainless morons, you got us really annoyed,” Terrence throws rudely. “Did your boss have the plan to put you here and get us excited morally, so we weren’t able to answer his mockeries?”       “You can think we’re doing you a favor and letting you live longer,” Otto smiles innocently. “Because if you come into the house of our boss, at least one of you will die and be carried out with your legs first. You, MacClife will be the first one, whom your uncle will defeat as cruelly as he did to Lockhart’s daddy.”       “Don’t make me enraged, smelly dog,” Terrence tenses and gets mad, tightly clenching his hands into fists. “Otherwise, I will beat your face.”       “Oh, oh, here’s another lover of throwing threats,” Andrew laughs quietly. “We do know how you can fight. You strike someone down the ground two times and slap them in the face. Huh!”       “It seems like you really underestimate the abilities of other people and think they are not able to do some things.”       “Fuck, MacClife, don’t take an example from this little bastard, and don’t pretend to be a hero,” Otto says rudely and looks at Terrence with contempt in his eyes from head to foot, glancing at Edward. “We’re done with this moron, who doesn’t want to confess he is cowardly. This lover of showing how tough and sassy he is, and how much everyone must be afraid of him.”       “If someone makes me mad, I will stop being responsible for my actions and hit someone to dare to make me furious.”       “Oh, oh, we’re so scared. I can also strike you down and start beating your insolent face.” Otto hums contemptuously. “Andrew and I will beat you so that you will forget your name.”       “Alright, calm down, empty head!” Edward says in an icy voice, keeping a contemptuous gaze on Andrew and Otto, who make him more and more enraged. “I do not advise any one of you to hurt this man. Otherwise, I will not care that you’ve got much power and beat you as cruelly as possible.”       “Stop threatening, kid!” Andrew throws rudely. “You better teach your friend to fight, not wave his hands like a sick, hysterical girl. And advise him to take care of his nerves because he can’t control himself.”       “Close your dirty mouth, animal.”       “I wonder, isn’t he listened in a mental hospital? He might kill someone in anger and then become innocent or only be put in prison for a few years. Because there would be proof that the murder was committed when he was out of his mind.”       “Oh, you’re rocking on… You decided to show up and show your knowledge that you’ve never had. Calm down, dude, nothing will help you. You were born to be a brainless chicken.”       “Look, Eddy, if you keep showing off, you will have to pay a high cost someday. You better stop this game.”       “I will decide it without you, jackass!” Edward throws rudely.       “And yeah, get out of here and let us in that fucking house!” Terrence demands rudely. “We have no time to deal with two mentally retarded bastards that get pleasure every time they insult someone. It seems like it replaces sex for you – you get the same pleasure that eventually leads to an orgasm. Though… You hardly know what that is and are surprised when you stare at what you have in your holey underwear and pants.”       “Do not make us enraged, MacClife,” Otto says coldly, clenching his hand into fists tightly. “If you have a long tongue, as well, we will have the pleasure to cut it before you come into that house.”       “I doubt your sick boss would love it. He clearly said – I want to see Terrence MacClife. And if you two start waving your dirty hands, Uncle Mikey will not get pleasure from my visit.”       “If Lockhart was lucky when he got a hit on the head, passed out, and could’ve died, you will not be. We will do our best for you to die where you are standing.”       “Come on, try,” Terrence throws his hands aside. “Come on, the fuck, go! What are you waiting for, coward? You can only throw threats? Come on, hit me and prove you are a man!”       “One more word, brainless psycho, and you will be dead,” Andrew threatens with evil in his eyes. “I SWEAR, SCUMBAG, YOU WILL DIE RIGHT HERE! MINUS ONE PSYCHO BASTARD!”       “Ah, you, bastard…”       Terrence sharply runs to Andrew and hits his fist against his face as strongly as possible, and does the same to Otto. The guards grab their yawls tightly, feeling a taste of blood. They instantly want to answer to MacClife and beat him strongly. But they do not touch this man with a finger because Edward immediately takes his friend far, setting his gaze on Otto and Andrew and shouting loudly:       “HEY, ENOUGH! Don’t dare to touch him even with a finger, fucking bastards. Otherwise, you will really regret it! DO I THE FUCK SAY IT CLEARLY?”       “Your friend is really sick!” Otto says rudely. “HE MUST GET THERAPY! THIS BASTARD MUST BE ISOLATED FROM PEOPLE!”       “SHUT UP THERE, BASTARD!” Terrence gets enraged and tries to run to Otto and Andrew to hit them well again, but meets a failure because Edward holds him and does not let him get closer to the two. “YOU GET THERAPY!”       “Oh, listen, buddy, I believe we should call doctors from a mental hospital,” Andrew says thoughtfully. “So, they take this psycho with them and wash his little brain.”       “COME THE FUCK HERE!”       Edward pushes Terrence off and does the same to Andrew and Otto, who want to attack his friend with fists.       “ENOUGH!” Edward screams. “You two did annoy us to the fuck! We came here to defeat your fucking boss, not to listen to your bullshit. If you don’t want problems, you better move your asses aside and let us go. NOW! OTHERWISE, WE WILL COME IN THE HOUSE BY FORCE AND FIND THAT OLD BASTARD!”       “Oh, oh, it seems like someone’s threatening us!” Otto rolls his eyes and glances at Andrew. “Listen, dude, let’s not make the nephew of our dear lord and let the guys in out of harm’s way. What if he turns into the same psycho as his late father.”       “Do not dare to say it about my father!” Edward throws rudely, loudly, and irritably. “He was much better than Uncle Michael! Unlike all of you, he had shame and sympathy. I swear, if someone dares to insult my father again, I will break your necks. YOU GOT IT?”       “Stop your verbal diarrhea, boy,” Otto winces strongly. “Don’t say about what you will never do. If your mommy was here, you would hide behind her skirt and be shaking from fear of the dangerous adult men. You are so cowardly that you can’t even surprise a girl. You think having a pretty face would be enough, because those stupid chickens get a crush on it. And yeah, your ex was one of them.”       “Just close your FUCKING MOUTH!” Edward clenches his hands into fists so tightly that his knuckles get white. “YOU DO NOT THE FUCK HAVE TO DO WITH MY BUSINESS! THE BUSINESS OF MY EX-GIRLFRIEND! AND SOMEONE ELSE! CARE ABOUT YOUR BELOVED MICHAEL! THE BASTARD THAT WENT CRAZY IN THE OLD AGE!”       “Calm down, hysterical girl!” Andrew laughs evilly. “Why are you screaming like a psycho?”       “You are just pathetic people, to whom Uncle pays for doing dirty work. For looking into his mouth all day long, dancing attendance upon him and kissing his smelly legs. If you are working here, do ONLY YOUR fucking business, and do not meddle in what you do not have to do with. WE WILL SOLVE EVERYTHING WITHOUT YOU! SCUMBAGS!”       Edward exhales sharply, glances at Terrence, and makes a calling gesture, saying quickly:       “Come on, Terrence, stop wasting time on these bastards.”       Edward rudely pushes Andrew and Otto off the gate and goes through them. Terrence follows them, but does not forget to send his contemptuous and cold gaze on the guards, who answer him back and crave to beat his face strongly. On the way, MacClife often looks at them and wants to come back and deal with them. But Lockhart does not let it happen and holds him down a couple of times.       “Leave them,” Edward says coldly. “Otherwise, we will waste much time.”       “Those bastards do make me enraged!” Terrence throws irritably, waving his hands sharply. “We stood with them for a few minutes, but I do wanna beat at least one of them.”       “Get cool, MacClife, don’t mess up with them.”       “They do ask for trouble!”       “Don’t pay attention. Maybe, they’ve got a little brain and really suffer from dementia, but they have a lot of strength. We two won’t deal with one of them: if one of them hits you, you pass out shortly.”       “You also wanted to hit them.”       “I don’t deny it. But I have to hold myself down, ‘cause those two may easily bring anyone to a hospital with a hit of the left hand.”       “You already got over that?” Terrence frowns slightly.       “Somehow. Those two don’t like when someone touches them, at least with a finger. I didn’t know it somehow and started a fight with one of those deadbeats. And then the second one joined. Everything didn’t last for too long ‘cause one hit me in the yawl and another hit me on the head. So strongly that I passed out for some time. And I didn’t understand how it happened. And I spent a lot of time coming to myself. I mean, I woke up quickly, but my face and head hurt for a very long time.”       “They can really do it?”       “They can! So, if you wanna stay unharmed, I advise you not to mess up with those guys. You can snap as much as you like, ‘cause they don’t react to it. I mean, they react, but they give a fuck about your insults, humiliations, and jokes. They would only be laughing and answering you with stupid jokes. I think you saw that they paid no attention to my words and answered me back. But when you ran to them and hit both of them, they started to show claws.”       “Erm… Well, okay, I got you… I will try…”       Edward says nothing and just glances at Terrence, taking the way to the hall door of the house of Michael.       “Hey…” Terrence pronounces amicably. “Thanks for standing by me and not letting me beat those bastards.”       “Just doing what I should,” Edward replies quietly. “In this case, you can survive if you protect yourself and those, who are with you.”       A few seconds later, Terrence and Edward come very close to the hall door of Michael’s house. The young men get ready to come and ring the doorbell, but Catherine Hadley comes to the door and slightly opens it after seeing the men in the window.       “Oh, here’s one more favorite person of Uncle Mickey!” Edward says. “It’s, so to say, the last barrier that you should overcome to get access to the body of the inimitable lord Michael and see his old, shabby face.”       “It’s amazing that even women work for such a nasty man,” Terrence replies thoughtfully.       “Oh, they do! But they do what women usually do: cooking, cleaning, washing… While those idiots run and do some dirty work.”       “It seems like you know this plan like five fingers,” Terrence chuckles quietly. “You’re aware of what’s going on.”       “You’ll know it against your wish if you get over it several times.”       “Does that girl often meet you like this, opening the door earlier?”       “Quite often. Usually, after that girl meets me and snaps me with a couple of times, the old bastard Michael comes into the living room with a proud walk. He says something and either stays in the living room or takes me to his office, from where I’ve always run away because of losing patience at some moment and not being able to hear the voice of that man and his bullshit.”       “Whoa!”       “I hope he’s spending the last minutes of his life in luxury that has never belonged to him.”       A few seconds later, Edward and Terrence come confidently to the hall door. And Catherine meets them with a slight smile, standing on the doorstep.       “My gosh!” Catherine exclaims, raising her hands. “Who I see! Edward Lockhart, himself! Did you come to visit us again?”       “Well, first, hello, Catherine,” Edward replies thoughtfully. “And second, I came here for one important business that I shall bring to an end this time.”       “Oh, why do you always come here for a goal? You could just stay with us, drink a cup of tea or coffee, and talk… Your appearance always brings light to this house! Everybody’s mood gets better when you show up one mile away from here.”       “But I want to strangle myself every time I come here.”       “Seriously, guy, for your information, we often talk about you and expect your visit with great impatience. And how often your beloved Uncle Michael talks about you. He's missing his nephew…”       “Ah, Catherine…” Edward crosses his arms over his chest, tiredly looking at Catherine. “How long are you gonna snap? At least, you don’t go down to Uncle’s level and all the morons, who are working for him.”       “But I didn’t insult you anyhow!” Catherine steps back from the doorstep to let Edward and Terrence in. “Or is your soul so tender that you take any word too seriously and don’t understand kind jokes?”       “Huh, kind?” Edward smirks and comes into the house confidently, calling Terrence with a gesture. “Gosh, Hadley, don’t make me laugh! Those, who are living in this house as pals of my sick uncle, can’t just joke kindly. All their jokes are full of evil, hate, and poison that they spread everywhere.”       “If you were more educated, everybody would treat you differently.” Catherine closes the hall door and comes to Edward with a sly smile on her face. “You do act like a scumbag. Are you really expecting everybody to treat you well?”       “I act as well as all the people from the surrounding where I am now,” Edward starts walking into the living room slowly, confidently. “Trust me, unlike Uncle, I not only can be rude and non-educated to protect myself, but also a wonderfully educated man that would feel good in a cultural society.”       “Trust me, boy, you will never be in a cultural society. If you keep being afraid of everything, doing nothing, and living on someone’s account, you will still belong to dumpsters in the city where homeless people live.”       “Good girl, you learned to be rude thanks to all these crazy men.” Edward turns on Catherine sharply, putting a finger on his lip. “But you know… I think it’s weird that you’re working in this house for such a mean man as my uncle. Why do you need it? Are you ready to spend your life for that old bastard and his henchmen?”       Edward looks at Catherine from head to foot thoughtfully.       “You’re a very sympathetic girl. Why don’t you get fired and start to think about your personal life? Get another job! Stop licking the ass of the stinker, who has destroyed so many people and may destroy much more! Meet someone and start having fun.”       “Thanks for the advice, Edward,” Catherine smiles shyly. “But I already have a boyfriend, who I just adore.”       “Come on? And does he like that you’re working for that scumbag?”       “My sweetheart supports me in everything. As well as I support him.”       “Maybe, he doesn’t know where you’re working and doesn’t suspect what kind of shit you got into?”       “Don’t worry, Edward, my boyfriend knows where I’m working. And sometimes I even ask your uncle for permission to let him come here or let me leave the house for two or three hours and spend time with him.”       “I’d like to look at the man, who supports your wish to serve that sick asshole. Or don’t I know something? Is your boyfriend one of those morons, who are working on him?”       “It’s none of your business, my dear.”       Catherine smiles shyly at Edward but then glances at Terrence and starts looking at him, while he examines the whole living room with interest, as he walks slowly.       “Hey, Eddy, who did you take with you?” Catherine asks. “What’s the six-foot-tall handsome guy, who came up from the cover of a glossy magazine?”       “I think you know the answer,” Edward says confidently. “Uncle trusts you with almost all his dirty secrets. You’re kind of his favorite girl, whom he would be happy to marry if you weren’t taken.”       “Damn, he is really attractive. Gosh, where could I find such handsome men? They do exist!”       “Everyone from my family is handsome, except my uncle, who doesn’t have handsomeness or brains. And he is also an old man!”       “Your family?” Catherine looks at Terrence still looking at what surrounds him, opens her mouth slightly, and nods. “Oh, gosh! Why didn’t I guess it? Is this really that guy? The one, who your uncle wanted to meet so badly?”       “He is!” Edward confirms confidently.       At this moment, Terrence comes to Edward and Catherine, who starts looking at him much closer.       “So, are you Terrence James MacClife?” Catherine asks thoughtfully. “Did I guess?”       “Guessed,” Terrence replies quietly, crossing his arms over his chest. “I’m flattered that everybody here knows me so well.”       “I think our lord will be very happy when he knows his eldest nephew came here.”       “I am sorry that I can’t share his happiness and want to get out of this house and get off that man once and forever.”       “I doubt you two would leave so easily. Michael is going to have a special talk with you. And you will not avoid it.”       “We will see it, my girl,” Edward replies confidently, crossing his arms over his chest.       “Yeah, Edward…” Catherine glances at Edward. “As it turned out, this guy is similar to his father… Amazing resemblance.”       “You know my father?” Terrence frowns slightly.       “There’s nobody here, who doesn’t know him! My lord knows him very well.”       “But how, let me ask you?”       “Your curiosity will be satisfied fully very soon, young man. Do not worry.”       “Ah, Cath, how do you know all of it?” Edward shakes his head with a slight smile. “When my uncle started this fucking game, you didn’t even exist in this world. And you couldn’t know my father and my sick uncle.”       “But I am a favorite girl of your uncle, as you say.” Catherine leans on the back of the sofa with her hand. “My lord has told me a lot about his brother and shown his photos. So, I know everything that I should know. Everything I should not know”       “Listen, favorite girl of my uncle.” Edward, slightly squinting his eyes, puts his hands on his hips. “I would advise you not to stick your nose in this business… Stop taking an example from all these idiots and living someone’s life. Do your business, everyone. Or do you think that just because all of you are losers, everybody should also be?”       “Are you talking about yourself, my sweetie?” Catherine smiles innocently. “You are also a loser and aim to solve someone’s problems. The conflict between your uncle and father didn’t have to do with you, and you had no right to meddle in it. But you decided to prove to everybody that you were not worthless with the thought that you would be able to stop your uncle and save your family.”       “Even if I hadn’t meddled, it wouldn’t have made Father and Uncle friends and wouldn’t have saved the MacClifes from the trouble.”       “Right. But you meddled.”       “Oh, listen, Hadley, I’m sick of listening to the same things. Don’t you all have enough brains to think up something new? You can only remind me of my sins for the hundredth time and use psychological pressure toward me!”       “Damn, Eddy, how annoying you are!” Catherine throws gloomily, crossing her arms over her chest. “You’re such a cute boy… Tall, sympathetic, skinny… But you’ve got a horrible character.”       “Mine is horrible?” Edward wonders loudly, pointing at himself with his fingers. “I am an innocent angel, unlike the gang that’s living in this fucking house!”       “Oh, no, Edward, you’re not an angel, you’re a truly false guy.”       “Come on! You don’t know me and do believe those bastards, who turn each other against me and tell everyone stupid things about me.”       “Oh, how stubborn you are…” Catherine sighs tiredly. “You’ll never confess your weaknesses and won’t change for the best.”       “I’ve got no reason to change,” Edward says confidently. “I’m not going to please all of you and become the same senseless, egoistic bastard as my uncle. I had, I have, and I will always have what none of your fucking gang will have: shame, coincidence, and, kindness.”       “But it doesn’t stop you from dreaming of getting big money in any way.”       “If I wish to have much money, I will earn it, honestly. I will not steal anything from someone and especially kill those, who are much richer than me.”       “Still trying to pretend to be an innocent boy that needs nothing?”       “I’m not pretending, I’m saying what I think about it.”       “Okay, okay, my sweetie,” Catherine raises her hands. “I shall pretend I believe you’re really so holy and innocent and aren’t jealous of your rich relatives.”       “I came here not to fight for my money,” Edward says coldly. “I need something else that's important to me and plays a major role in my life. And tonight, I am going to end this fucking story once and forever.”       “Yeah…” Catherine nods with a slight smile. “I can guess what… I mean, who you need… Your ex-girlfriend.”       “Smart girl. And now, be pleased, tell those morons to bring that girl here immediately. So, I take her away and drive her far from this monkey house where the poor girl has had to spend four days.”       “Sorry, Edward, but your uncle gives orders. And he has not told us to set free that blonde beauty, because of whom all the men literally went crazy.”       “Oh, yeah…” Edward looks around, locking his fingers tightly and bending his arms at his elbows. “My uncle hasn’t shown up yet… He usually ‘pleases me’ with his appearance after you and I share a few words. But now that old bastard decided to hide much longer.”       “So, boy, can’t you want to see your beloved uncle and introduce your friend to him?” Catherine smiles slyly.       “I can’t wait to kill him or send him where he belongs.”       “Don’t worry, Edward, Michael will come now. He always hears you coming and starting to show off.”       “Maybe, you do a good thing and bring Terrence and me to him?” Edward suggests, crossing his arms over his chest and smiling falsely. “Or doesn’t he wanna show up because he got his suit dirty and fell into a deep depression? Will he show up only when his henchmen comfort him?”       “If he gets his suit dirty, he can always buy another or make an order for a new one,” Catherine replies confidently. “He knows excellent stores where they sell the best suits and wonderful dressmakers, who will make an incredible suit for a short time.”       “For the money that does not belong to him!” Edward throws rudely.       “Your father is dead, my dear. If it’s so, it doesn’t belong to him anymore.”       “But all of it does belong to ME! Me and my brothers! We are his sons and have a right to what that bastard stole from Father!”       “I completely understand you are fretting and fuming because the wealth will never be yours. But it’s time to take it, stop trying to rob your uncle and become his friend.”       “Never!” Edward cuts off loudly and sharply. “I’ll never be a friend of the bastard, who ruined the lives of all the members of my family and many other people. After everything he has done, I will always hate that scumbag and will have the pleasure to spit in his face.”       “Don’t be jealous, boy,” Catherine smiles slyly. “Nobody is guilty that your life is bad, and you don’t have money, a home, a job, and a car at the age of twenty-five. You should’ve studied at school better instead of hanging around with your friends, smoking, drinking alcohol, and doing dirty tricks.”       “Huh, if I had a reason to be jealous!” Edward throws rudely, smirking without emotions on his face. “I’m not jealous of that man. I am sorry for him. Because he became such a spoiled bastard. For him, only two things are important: many praises and big money.”       Then everybody hears the very familiar voice of the man, who is proudly coming into the living room on his hurt legs:       “I don’t even know if I should believe you, dear nephew…”       Edward immediately gets terribly nervous and, clenching his hands into fists tightly and holding down the aggression that he feels for him, sharply turns on Michael. Meanwhile, Catherine takes some things from the sofa and quickly leaves, saying nothing to her boss.       “Maybe, my beloved Catherine is absolutely right, and you are jealous of me being so successful,” Michael adds with an evil smile, keeping his arms bent at his elbows. “And again… Nobody is guilty of you being a homeless beggar all your life.”       Edward literally starts shaking strongly because of the disgusting, squeaking voice of his uncle. Meanwhile, he is literally torn apart by anger and the wish to hit Michael in the face and beat him strongly. However, the man quickly gets control over himself. He exhales quietly, and raises his head with a contemptuous, confident gaze, while the man looks at him with a totally false smile.       All this time, Terrence was examining everything he saw in the living room. But when Michael came here, he comes closer to Edward confidently but slowly and, squinting his eyes slightly, starts looking at the man. He immediately falls into a little stupor, as he realizes that Michael is kind of similar to his father Jamie, whom he remembers and knows thanks to the photos he and his mother Rebecca have. After meeting Michael face-to-face, Terrence feels a very strong disgust. He makes him feel the coldness and a wish to run away from him as soon as possible. However, MacClife does not show it and keeps confidently looking at his uncle with a cold gaze and having his head proudly raised.       Michael’s attention was on Edward at first. But when Terrence comes to Lockhart, the man glances at him and looks at him for a few moments. He quickly realizes who is standing in front of him. That’s why he starts looking at this man, who is much taller than he is, much more carefully. Michael gets the thought that Terrence is an absolute image of his father Jamie at almost the same age, but is very similar to Edward, who, as he knows very well, is hiding his real appearance under a wig and lenses.       No, Michael is not surprised. Vice versa, he expected to see the man, who would be very similar to Jamie. And this resemblance makes the man start to hate Terrence from the first minutes. He sends him the same contemptuous gazes as MacClife, who is hiding his fear that he suddenly got obsessed with deep inside. Michael examines Terrence from head to foot for a few seconds and then, locking his fingers and bending his arms at his elbows, slowly comes to the guy with his head proudly raised.       “Geez, who I see!” Michael pronounces slowly. “My gosh… Terrence James MacClife! The one, who I wanted to meet, went to my home by himself.”       Michael laughs quietly and smiles slyly.       “So, we’ve met, my dear,” Michael says confidently. “I hope your dearest friend Edward told you about me. Well, if he has not done, let me introduce myself: my name is Michael. I am a brother of his late father, whom he probably told you about.”       “I am sorry that I cannot pretend to be happy that I met you,” Terrence replies with contempt in his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest.       “It’s amazing how similar your re to your father. I briefly thought Jamie came to me, being a young guy.”       “I do not know how you know my father. It would be better if everything happened like in a scary movie. If the young father came to you and did what would make you scream at the top of your lungs. Or it would be great if he took you with him. So, you’d go right to hell. Where you belong.”       “Wow, wow, you went too far, boy!” Michael raises his hands up. “Easy, Terrence, we just met. Show at least some respect for the older person.”       “If I had a reason to respect you. Don’t think I know anything about your tricks. I know very much about you. I know what you have done with the hands of the people, who are serving you. So, don’t hope you’ll win my trust and make me love you. You don’t make me feel quiet and comfort.”       “So, will you not even pretend that you’re happy to see me?” Michael simpers.       “I wouldn’t see you forever. I lived for so many years, did not know about your existence, and was very happy. But when you came into our lives, everything turned upside down.”       Michael hums quietly and comes to Terrence closely enough, literally burning from hate for him, but getting much madder after the man started to be rude.       “So, I didn’t doubt you’d be a bastard,” Michael says rudely. “You are a pathetic parody of your daddy and as rude and non-educated as your friend. I did not doubt you’d become a piece of shit that would harm everybody and do bad things.”       “Are you talking about yourself?” Terrence asks. “You harm everyone and do bad things!”       “Yeah…” Michael looks at Terrence from head to foot with disgust. “A six-foot-tall column that has no brains or education! Gosh, what were Rebecca and Jamie doing? Well, I know! Nothing! They did their best to make their babies rude rams that do make me irritated with their pretense. And it’s not amazing! Such a nasty father could not have good children. And if a mother does not educate them, what do we expect?”       “Hey, hey!” Terrence crosses his arms over his chest, setting his gaze full of stronger hate and evil on Michael. “I do advise you not to insult these people with my pretense. I don’t like someone saying bad things about the members of my family.”       “Oh, come on!” Michael pronounces coldly, shaking his head. “Maybe, your mommy would highly appreciate your attempts to whitewash her because she madly loves you. But let me remind you that you madly hate your father, and your friend despises you because you’ve got everything, while he has only his own underwear.”       “It’s a lie, Uncle Michael!” Edward protests confidently. “I’ve never despised Terrence or been jealous of him! You do want to think so because you hated your friend. And you think all brothers and sisters should hate each other and be ready to defeat a close person for their well-being.”       “If you want to get someone’s attention and get what another got, you have to do something like that.”       “I am sorry, sir, Edward and I are not guilty that you thought up something, harmed Father all your life, and eventually killed him because of your anger,” Terrence says coldly. “And got the strange people involved in it.”       “Well, not quite strange…” Michael smiles slyly.       “Have nobody told you that you must deserve someone’s praise? I do doubt you’ve done at least one thing, for which you should get thankfulness and praise.”       “And now, my dear, say it to my nephew Eddy, who doesn’t know how to get attention and hear a couple of good words.”       “Do you really think you got what you wanted by stealing everything Father had and can be praised now?” Edward wonders, crossing his arms over his chest. “Nobody but your nasty pals will make you God! From me, you will never hear it, and my friend will hardly wish to thank you for getting the MacClife family involved in the trouble.”       “Nobody asked your opinion, kid!” Michael throws rudely, moving his eyes sharply to Edward. “You’ve always associated with a child wrapped in a diaper with a pacifier, and you’ll always be the one for me. And your attempts to prove you aren’t worthless are as senseless as attempts to teach a puppy or a kitten to talk like a human.”       “Listen, maybe, you stop saying all the same?” Terrence asks coldly. “You did really annoy Edward with your words about being similar to a little barking puppy that is absolutely worthless.”       “But he is really worthless. Edward was born accidentally, against someone’s wish. Because your mother and father minded the abortion. This kid is absolutely worthless and talentless. He is swimming like shit in a hole!”       “Do you think you can get better by insulting and humiliating someone and making them feel like shit?”       “Oh, my gosh!” Michael claps himself on the forehead. “It seems like two bastards, who were made by the same worthless and brainless idiots, decided to unite against me. So, smart, guys, very smart!”       “Better keep your mouth shut!” Terrence throws in a low voice, clenching a hand into a fist tightly and threatening Michael with a finger. “I will not let anyone insult my mother or my father! And leave my friend alone! He is guilty of nothing for you!”       “As for your mad love for your mother, I’m not surprised. You are a mammy’s boy that dances attendance upon her. But I can’t understand your love for your father. I cannot understand why you suddenly started to worry about Edward. This piece of shit that is furious because everybody around him is successful, but he only has tons of problems at the age of twenty-five.”       “I do know what love is, but this feeling is strange for you. Love for someone and something else, but bags of dollars and yourself is stranger.”       “Love is a stupid feeling that clouds someone’s mind.”       “I am grateful to my mother for teaching me to feel it. Taught me to stay a kind and decent man, despite nothing.”       “Well, you could hardly be called decent. As well as mentally healthy. Everybody knows you have mental issues as well as your daddy.”       “It’s none of your business, sir!” Terrence throws coldly.       “Your beloved mommy did not help you solve these issues. So, when someone makes you enraged, you forget about your kindness and start beating anyone and screaming like a psycho. No mother’s love helped you get rid of what your psycho father ‘rewarded’ you with. And what your brother definitely got. Who you have been probably looking for ages. Who may be a more dangerous psycho than you, no matter how much he says he always behaves quietly and discreetly.”       “Don’t be jealous because you got no love in childhood, never felt it, and became a nasty and mean bastard. Don’t be jealous because my mother has given much to me and done her best to make me a decent man.”       “It seems to you. Actually, you became the same rude, non-educated scumbag as this little bastard is.”       “Listen, you kind of made me annoyed. At first, two brainless guards near the gate annoyed us with their stupid jokes. Then your servant, who looked into your mouth, showed her skills. And now you decided to make us exhausted with your talks. I’m surprised that Edward had the patience to listen to all of it a million times per month. I would explode after two times.”       “Trust me, Terrence, you and Edward will have to listen to very much from me. I am going to reveal all the secrets that I know. Which you may not like.”       “No wish to listen to the mentally sick man, who went crazy at the old age. You made lots of mistakes at a young age. But now, when you are so close to dementia, I’m afraid to think about what to expect from you later. How far you will go.”       “Ar-r-r, you are starting to annoy me, brainless column,” Michael hisses, wishing to kill Terrence with his own hands more and more. “If your tongue is too long, I will quickly shorten it. You are not at your fucking home! At my own home!”       “Are you sure it’s your house? Maybe, you somehow stole this house from Edward’s father, and you are now pretending it’s yours?”       “You are asking for trouble, bastard. Do not make me enraged earlier than I wish to defeat you!”       “You decided to mess up with us. I’m not guilty that you went insane.”       “Hey, come here, bastard!”       When Michael grabs Terrence rudely by the collar with one hand, Edward pushes his uncle off his friend and threatens him with a finger, throwing loudly:       “Hey, hey, easy, Uncle, easy! I will not let you insult this man and touch him with your dirty fingers with my pretense.”       “Close your dirty mouth, little jackass!” Michael throws rudely. “Here’s the protector! Stay aside and be silent, dog!”       “You will shit me up in one case – if you kill me. So, if you want me to shut up, kill me and bury my corpse in the ground. Call your corrupted pals and tell them to shoot or stab me. And I will shut up forever!”       “Ar-r-r!” Michael groans irritably and loudly, comes to Edward sharply, and points at him with a finger, setting his gaze on him, making his nephew feel the coldness and a stupor. “Listen, fucking puppy, do not bark here much. I do know it’s impossible to get stupid things out of your head with bats. But if you have no smart or good thoughts for me, you better shut up. Otherwise, my people will beat you so that you will die without waking up. You’ve already wasted your lives! If you lose the last one, your relatives will have to save money for your funeral. If someone stays alive, of course.”       “Why don’t you want to do it?” Edward asks in a low voice, setting his cold and contemptuous gaze on Michael. “Do you think you will not have to pay if other people kill instead of you? No, Uncle, you are wrong! You will pay for it by law. You will be charged and stay in prison until you die. You are going to turn sixteen soon. So, if you get a twenty-year sentence, you will hardly be released and live until eighty. You will die right in prison.”       “You went too far! Stop, boy, stop! You will get nothing by pretending to be sassy and acting like a pathetic hero that nobody needs.”       “As if someone needs you and the millions that you stole from my father. Even the most materialistic and calculated girls did not get a crush on money. Because of your nasty character and egoism. If you were much better, you could marry and make children.”       “A-a-a-a, how much you ANNOY ME!” Michael roars loudly. “I CANNOT TAKE WHEN SOMEONE COMPARES ME AND THAT BASTARD!”       “You hate him, but people hate you. And you know why.”       “Alright, asshole, I will BEAT YOU!”       Michael sharply runs to Edward, grabs him by the hair strongly, and is going to attack him with fists. But Terrence sharply pushes the man off Lockhart and takes him as far as possible. Breathing a little heavily, Michael points at Terrence with his finger after he gets out of his strong grip and looks at him with evil in his eyes.       “GET YOUR DIRTY HANDS OFF ME!” Michael roars with evil in his eyes.       “Don’t dare to hurt Edward!” Terrence demands rudely.       “A pathetic parody of your uncle! I hate you, scumbag! HATE! JUST BEING A SON OF MY ENEMY, BECAUSE OF WHO I WAS DEPRIVED OF EVERYTHING I COULD’VE GOTTEN. JUST ME!”       “YOU think he is your enemy, who is guilty of everything! Actually, there is only one to blame for all the problems – it’s you. If you did just something to deserve praise, you’d get what you want.”       “YOU TALK TOO MUCH, SCUMBAG! I swear you will die first when I tell my people to destroy all the MacClifes. And in the best case for me, your friend will follow you.”       “But in the best case for US, it would be great if you died or went to prison, where you would spend the rest of your life.”       “SHUT UP NOW, ASSHOLE!”       When Michael tries to raise a hand and slap Terrence in the face strongly, Edward, standing behind his uncle, grabs it and pushes this man off his friend.       “ENOUGH, UNCLE!” Edward throws rudely and loudly. “We have no time and wish to listen to your fucking speeches. We have only one claim, for which we came here. Set free the girl, whom your people insolently took away from me. NOW, THE FUCK!”       “Ah, yeah.” Michael, calming down a little, carefully fixes the collar of his shirt and his hair with a sly smile. “I almost forgot about that sweet blondie… I forgot that she was locked all alone and was waiting for her death.”       “I did warn you that if something happened to her, and I saw her in a horrible condition, you would have to pay a high cost,” Edward says coldly, literally killing Michael with his icy gaze. “If at least one hair falls off Natalia’s head because of you or one of those bastards, who are working here. And I swear, you will be corpses!”       “So what, my boy, are you worried about your ex?” Michael simpers. “You were probably pulling your hair out because you could do nothing for her salvation.”       “I am serious, honorable, bring that girl here right now, so we make sure she is alive and unharmed, and you did not do anything bad to her,” Terrence demands coldly.       “Maybe, my people would’ve beaten her a little, but that gal was lucky.” Michael starts proudly walking in front of Edward and Terrence, who are literally killing him with their icy gazes. “You know, guys, although they say blondes are stupid brainless chickens that think only of hairstyles, nails, cosmetics, and clothes, Ms. Rochester is an exclusion from this rule. At first, that girl screamed at the top of her lungs and was literally shaking in convulsion. But after losing her protector and ending up at my home, she realized she had no place to go. She did not almost resist, did not try to run away, and did behave quite well. Though, sometimes the blonde beauty could snap and be rude and make everybody mad. She annoyed me after two minutes of a simple talk.”       “I believe you annoyed her,” Edward throws coldly. “Because when someone talks to you for a few minutes, they want to strangle or shoot themselves. Or, at least, start to yawl or look around.”       “Yeah, Edward, how could you date that gal for three months? Or for her unreal beauty and gorgeous body, did you close your eyes to the fact that she was a capricious and non-educated gal, who was far from being a real lady? Her father and mother taught Natalia nothing. If they educated her and did not get off her with big amounts of money on her card, that beauty would be more gentle and respect older people.”       “Be sure, Uncle, she is perfectly educated and can be rude, loud and sassy and tender, feminine, and soft.”       “A person usually chooses someone like them. You have always been a non-educated scumbag and chose the same gal, who was deprived of good manners and screamed louder than a little child. Than my brother, who, being a child, screamed so loudly that the walls were shaking when he wanted to eat or had dirty diapers.”       “Alright, done!” Edward cuts off sharply, clenching his hands into fists and struggling with a wish to do something to Michael. “Stop palavering us! Either you bring Natalia here at your wish, or I destroy everything here to the fuck and find her wherever your bastards locked her.”       “Don’t hope you can take her away from here so easily,” Michael smiles slyly. “My people are impatiently waiting for the moment when they can play with that gorgeous blondie, whom I will give them to kill. My dearest Eugene is waiting for this much more.”       “If that sick bastard comes to her and looks at her, I swear I shall take his eyes out and cut off his fucking penis, So, he has nothing to get into all holes.”       “Oh, oh, how horrible and non-educated our boy is: he wants to cut off the penis of the bad man,” Michael smirks with irony and clatters quietly. “Bad, baby, bad…”       “Do not make me mad, Uncle. I will not leave without that girl, who I want to see ALIVE and UNHARMED!”       “This time, you will not leave my home. Just like you did every time you came here. I still have something to tell you and your friend. Even your ex, who will be interested in listening to what I want to say.”       “We have no fucking wish to listen to your shit! PUT YOUR STORIES IN YOUR OLD ASS! WE DO NOT WANT TO KNOW ANYTHING! WE WANT YOU TO LET NATALIA GO AND LEAVE OUR FAMILY ALONE ONCE AND FOREVER! THAT IS WHAT WE WANT!”       “I’m assuring you, guys, you will be interested in listening to a couple of interesting stories. What you don’t know yet.”       “I believe we will hear nothing good,” Terrence says coldly, rolling his eyes and crossing his arms over his chest. “Knowing how ‘kindly’ our talk with you started. What kind of ‘pleasure’ we are getting from talking to the ‘beloved’ uncle of Edward.”       “Oh, damn, Terrence, how annoying and tedious…” Michael moans tiredly and contemptuously looks at Terrence from head to foot. “I’m surprised that your fiancée is going to get married to you and tolerate your disgusting character.”       “I have the same opinion about you. I’m surprised that all your henchmen tolerate you. They should have truly strong mental health to be by the side of such a nasty man like you.”       “Alright, shut up! I understood that you got the same sharp tongue as this kid. And it’s one of the reasons why you are starting to irritate me more and more.”       “Just set the girl free, and you will never see me again,” Terrence demands coldly in a low voice. “And I hope you will leave our family alone. Take anything. Just stop ruining our lives.”       “No, Terrence James MacClife,” Michael laughs evilly. “You will not get off me so easily. As well as this little puppy.”       “Stop naively thinking we will listen to the bullshit you want to tell us. Whatever that is, we don’t care about it.”       “I don’t think so. You will have to know very much about what you will definitely be interested in. It’s not a plea, it’s the order. You will listen to me, despite your reluctance, before you die and stop poisoning your life along with this puppy Edward, your fiancée Raquelle, the blonde gal Natalia, and your mother Rebecca. One bastard is waiting for you somewhere in another world, and you will join him very soon.”       “Maybe, you stop scaring us? Do you naively think your threats would make us pee from fear?”       “Fuck, close your fucking mouth!” Michael explodes, putting his hand on his forehead and rolling his eyes. “I am literally sick of your voice! First, this kid Edward annoyed me, but now you also start making me nervous!”       “Ar-r-r…” Edward groans irritably and stares at Michael with evil in his eyes. “In short, Uncle, set the girl free! We three will get out of here with pleasure and forget that you exist. NOW! ARE YOU DEAF? SHOULD I SCREAM INTO YOUR EAR, SO YOU HEAR ME?”       “Stop screaming, bastard!” Michael throws loudly and looks at Edward with contempt in his eyes. “Damn, how much I don’t like barking puppies like you, who just pretend that they are tough and can cut anyone’s throat.”       “I will really cut your throat if I know you or someone else harmed Natalia. I swear, Uncle, if I see at least one bruise or one scratch on her body, you will be dead. YOU GOT IT?”       “Do not pee in your pants, coward! You are shaking so strongly! Your friend is really not afraid of me, but you are unsuccessfully trying to hide your fear and the fact that you feel like an unprotected boy, standing in front of me and understanding how much you need your mommy, who would hide you behind her and protect you from bad things. But I am not so sure.”       “ENOUGH!” Terrence shouts loudly and irritably. “STOP PALAVERING US! Either you set Natalia free at your wish, or Edward and I search the whole house and find her wherever she is. And then we drive her as far as possible and do our best for her not to meet you and your bastards in her way anymore.”       “So what, Terrence, let’s go right now?” Edward suggests confidently, squinting slightly, crossing his arms over his chest, and glancing at Terrence. “I believe my uncle isn’t going to set her free at his wish. So, we have to examine every single corner of this fucking house!”       “Start from here! There are so many closed doors! I’m sure we will find Natalia behind one of them!”       “Yeah, go.”       When Terrence and Edward give a start, Michael, raising his hand with his palm turned on them, yells loudly and irritably:       “ALRIGHT, SHUT UP, YOU TWO! STAND IN YOUR PLACE! I shall not let you search my house and walk here like it’s your home. You will see the gal! But stop screaming like psycho morons!”       “Do it right now!” Terrence and Edward demand at the same time and cross their arms over their chests, setting their contemptuous gazes on Michael.       After getting enraged because the men are looking at him so hard, Michael rolls his eyes with a quiet growl and roars loudly with his arms crossed over his chest:       “Eric! Eric! ERIC! ERIC, WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU? BRING YOUR ASS HERE! ERIC!”       A few seconds later, Eric being out of breath runs into the living room like a bullet and does not forget to throw a contemptuous gaze full of hate on Edward and Terrence.       “Yes, yes, sir,” Eric says too sweetly and gently.       “Where have you been?” Michael resents. “I’m calling you, but you do not the fuck come!”       “I’m sorry, my lord, I did not hear it at first,” Eric excuses himself guiltily. “Catherine told me you were calling me, and I immediately ran here.”       “Alright, give a fuck! Be nice, bring the gal to my office in two minutes. So, these two idiots look at her.”       “As you wish.”       “Also, tell Eugene to get ready for fun. Very soon, I shall give that cutie to him, and he will be able to do anything he wants with her. And tell the guys that I will call them soon to deal with these bastards, who annoyed me after barely crossing the doorstep.”       “Of course, sir. Something else?”       “No. Now go for the gal and bring her to the office.”       “With your permission.”       Before leaving the living room, Eric goes by Edward, whom he literally tries to kill with his contemptuous, icy gaze, and who answers him back.       “Alive, asshole!” Eric throws rudely in a low voice. “It’s alright, you have a little time to live, bastard. If you don’t do what you must, I will hit you on the head much stronger, so that you will die before the eyes of your ex. And your friend. Who is going to be interested in knowing who you really are.”       Edward decides to say nothing, but his gaze full of hate is set on Eric, who leaves the living room, while Terrence frowns slightly. Michael moves his cold, sly gaze to Terrence and Edward, who, standing near each other, look at each other. He fixes the sleeves of his jacket, comes to the guys, hugs them around the shoulders, and goes to his office. But the guys sharply move the hands of the man off their shoulders, and Michael raises his hands and starts going further.       “Don’t worry, my dear nephews, now my people will be back with the blonde beauty, who made all my helpers insane,” Michael says quietly. “I was wondering if I should’ve let you see her for the last time. But then I decided to let you do it. I thought you two would love to admire that girl. You do love her so much…”       “And I highly recommend that you pray that she is okay,” Edward replies coldly.       “Yeah, my sweetie, I see how much you were fretting and fuming after you realized what happened. As if she is not your ex, but your real girlfriend.”       “Maybe, she is my ex-girlfriend, but I’m going to save her from your dirty hands,” Edward snaps sharply. “And I will not especially let that hairy gorilla, Wainwright, get closer to her.”       “I’m so surprised by how much you changed your attitude toward her,” Michael replies thoughtfully, calming down a little and becoming as discreet as he has always been. “Did you lose the memory? Don’t you remember that the girl betrayed you? How she was running in her underwear in front of another man when dating you!”       “Don’t doubt that when I make sure Natalia is fine, I will be back to this question and make you explain something. There are MANY questions that you will have to answer.”       “Alright, my dear, I shall answer any questions. The questions from you and your friend. And even reveal something about your ex. Who, it’s amazing, did not die from a heart attack after seeing you got a hit on the head against the wall.”       “By the way, there is very, very much blood on the wall, against which the kiss-ass Eric ‘kindly’ hit me. Want me to drive you there, so you can admire that masterpiece? You do love someone’s bleeding! I’m sure you’re gonna love it!”       “Thanks, but I hope I will have a chance to watch you die,” Michael smirks evilly. “I do not doubt you will die and will be drowning in your own blood and choking with it. All the members of the MacClife family will be dying in their own blood!”       “Don’t choke with your poison, and don’t spread it everywhere,” Terrence throws rudely. “I don’t want the poison to get on my clothes, face, or hands and start to kill me slowly.”       “Oh, Edward…” Michael laughs ironically. “Your pal can snap, as well! He can do it!”       At this moment, Michael, Edward, and Terrence come to the office, where the man asks the guys to come by making a gesture.       “Don’t worry, Uncle, we two can answer your dirty comments about us,” Edward replies confidently.       “Well, you can always find an answer,” Michael replies. “And your friend knows how to do it.”       “Huh, did you think we came here to have good talks with you, say you were so good, and show our love for my uncle? Who killed my father and ruined the lives of all our relatives, who don’t know where to hide.”       “I didn’t doubt it,” Michael smiles evilly, sits on the leather chair comfortably, and folds his hands on the table in front of him. “I have never doubted you two are worth each other.”       “But I have no doubts that you will never get better,” Terrence says rudely. “I wonder, would everything have been otherwise if your brother had shown generosity and helped you get a good job? Maybe, you have stopped terrorizing him and stopped this war?”       “Ah, Terrence…” Michael laughs evilly, showing his teeth and leaning back in the chair. “You are so naive… Just like your father, who was so easy to deceive. Or do you believe in tales and think kindness always gets victory over evil, as Edward does? Haven’t you also grown up? Do you keep behaving like a little naive boy?”       “The power of kindness, love, and justice is way stronger than any evil. Thanks to this one, the world still exists and hasn’t been swallowed by darkness.”       “Here we go again… Damn, how naive and brainless you two are. Your parents taught you nothing.”       “We aren’t guilty that you hate everything about kindness and think the world is owned by calculation, hate, power, and money.”       “Right. I do. But I hate you much more and want to defeat you as soon as possible.”       “And we want to defeat you. What a mutuality!”       “No, it’s okay that this puppy cannot grow up and is stuck at a childish age. But you, Terrence… Why are you so stupid? And naive! It’s super easy to deceive you! You will not even notice that someone has you wrapped around their finger!”       “Ha!” Terrence crosses his arms over his chest, looking at Michael amazingly. “Are you thinking about how to fool me?”       “I’ve already fooled you. And some time later, you will understand why! I will tell you nothing now. But later, everything will get clear for you.”       “To your information, I do feel well when someone tries to make an agreement against me.”       “Ha, he feels…” Michael smirks loudly. “It seems to you, my dear. Just because you were an actor and played different people doesn’t mean you can see an act and lie.”       “Do you think so? Well, looking at your nasty face, I feel you want to do a dirty trick.”       “Don’t you feel that you will be dead soon? That I shall kill you and your family!”       “Still, he doesn’t lie!” Edward says confidently. “I can personally confirm that Terrence feels when someone pretends.”       “Is this a hint that he bit you through after he learned about your tricks?”       “You can’t fool this man.”       “Huh!” Michael hums and throws a contemptuous gaze at Edward. “Someone just can’t hide his fears inside and play his role well. Even when talking to me, you can’t even hide your scare and insecurity, covering it with sharp words about me.”       “I’m not afraid of you, Uncle!” Edward replies confidently enough.       “Yeah?” Michael raises his hands with the spire up. “So, alright, I will pretend I believed you! But I will say one thing, my dear: you are a horrible actor. You will never get such great success in an acting career that your friend built.”       “I fear nothing anymore. And if I have to fight with you much crueler, I’m ready for that.”       “Good. If you still want to look stupid by trying to become a hero and saving everybody, keep doing the same.”       Edward says nothing and just rolls his eyes with his arms crossed over his chest. And two seconds later, someone knocks at the door of the office.       “Come in,” Michael says loudly.       The half-closed door opens, and Eric shows up on the doorstep, literally looking into Michael’s mouth and trying to please him so hard. While Terrence and Edward watch the helper of the owner of the house and listen to what he says, Brown himself inclines his head, saying:       “My lord…”       “You did what I asked you about?” Michael asks coldly.       “Yes, lord, I brought the gal here,” Eric replies confidently. “She is here. Standing behind the door.”       “Great! Bring her here. So, these two admire this cutie.”       Eric nods again, turns on someone to stand behind the door, and makes a gesture that kind of allows someone to come into the office. A young man with by far not the most attractive appearance crosses the doorstep. A cute but exhausted morally and psychically blonde enters along with him. The blonde’s clothes are a little dirty and shabby enough, her eyes are red and tear-strained, and her loose hair is matted and dim. She does not try to resist and run, behaves absolutely quietly, and just does what she is told.       Hearing Michael letting the girl come in, Edward and Terrence move their eyes to the doorstep of the office and get shocked when seeing Natalia. The friends notice she looks exhausted. As if she does not resist because she has no strength to scream, fight, or bite. Natalia does not try to get out of the grip of the man, who is tightly holding her under an arm. She silently enters the office with her head inclined, and her arms crossed over her chest. Although she is terribly horrified, the blonde tries to pretend that she fears nothing. Terrence watches his friend with a dumbfounded gaze full of sympathy and feels truly sorry for her, getting horrified by how much the four days that she has spent in this house have impacted her. Edward is madly ashamed of Natalia because he did not save her on that fateful day. He does know that she has to endure these tortures and be among such horrible people because of him. But the man swears on everything in the world that he will leave this house alone, but with Natalia and Terrence or dead and without them.       After bringing Natalia to the office, the stranger lets her go and goes somewhere. Eric wants to do it, as well, but Michael, clicking his fingers, gets up from the table, comes to his helper, and starts talking to him about something very, very quietly on the doorstep. While the girl was walking, her eyes were moved down, and she was obsessed with by far not the best thoughts. But one second before the stranger lets her go, she raises her eyes and sees Terrence and Edward not moving their eyes full of horror off her.       On the one hand, Natalia is terribly glad they came to take her away. And the blonde is thrilled that Edward is here. But on the other hand, Natalia still remembers that Michael may organize a trap for the men, separating MacClife from Raquelle and wishing to make Lockhart kill his close person. Although she doubts the man would have the courage to do it, something tells her the worst things are waiting for them, and she must be ready for that. But despite all the fears, Natalia is madly happy to see Edward and Terrence. Now she needs their help in saving herself from such horrible people, with whom she has been for the fourth day. Seeing the friends, the girl closes her mouth with her hands and shakes her head, feeling tears coming to her eyes and not trying to hold them down. And the guys are happy the girl is alive and unharmed, and she silently thanks God for sending her salvation.       This awkward silence lasts for three or four seconds before Natalia stops her eyes on Edward, who looks at her with such regret, with which he has probably never looked at anyone. At some moment, he takes a hesitant step up, not moving his eyes off the girl, who looks at him with tears and a slight smile. The girl does the same hesitantly, not being able to move her eyes off the man, on whose face she sees a brief, true smile. And then either Natalia or Edward shortens the distance shortly and takes each other in a strong hug with much wider smiles and a quiet sigh. They do it as if they did not meet for many years and did it after a long, forced separation. This hug is like a breath of air that they needed so badly.       Edward, holding his hands on Natalia’s back, presses the girl closely to himself and forgets how to breathe for a few seconds. The man feels great relief after he made sure that his ex-sweetheart was alive and saw her with his eyes. He swears to take this girl crying quietly from happiness or tension. And the blonde also presses herself to the man very closely with tears in her eyes, having her arms tightly wrapped around his neck, sometimes caressing his shoulder or the back of his head and hiding her face in a curve of the brunet’s neck, sobbing often, and shaking slightly.       Natalia is unbelievably happy her pleases have been heard, and she got hope for salvation. Hope for protection. Hope to get a tight hug and hear someone assuring her that everything is going to be okay. Since Edward is here as well as Terrence, Natalia is much less afraid. And she often sobs as she enjoys the way the man hugs her tightly and presses her to his warm body, softly caressing her head and back with the hope to calm her down and let her know he will not give her to the evil people, so they kill her. She is shaking from excitement and fear, crying bitterly on his shoulder, and considering this man her last hope for salvation.       While Michael is talking about something with Eric and sometimes looks at what’s happening at the office, and Terrence is standing aside and watching his friend and his ex-girlfriend with a little sad smile, the quite excited Edward decides to become the first one to break a long silence and say something in Natalia’s ear in a shaking voice:       “I’m sorry… Please, forgive me… I couldn’t protect you and let those scumbags take you away… I swear, I didn’t want it to happen. I tried to protect you, but I could not…”       “It’s okay, don’t think about it,” Natalia replies in a soft, shaking voice and hugs Edward tighter, still sobbing and sniffing. “You did everything you could. You aren’t guilty of what happened.”       “I promise I will no longer let anyone hurt you and will be protecting you crueler. No scumbag will dare to get closer to you.”       “I’m scared…” Natalia tightly squeezes the collar of Edward’s leather jacket. “I’m so horrified, Edward… I want it to be over once and forever…”       “Don’t be afraid, sweetie.” Edward puts his hand softly on the back of Natalia’s head and kisses the top of her head. “Soon, it will be over. I promise.”       “Take me away from me,” Natalia begs with pity in her eyes. “Please, take… I’m begging you so badly! I don’t wanna stay here anymore! I’m scared.”       “You will not stay here, I swear,” Edward promises confidently. “I swear on my life that I will leave with you but alive, or without you but dead. This time, I will not let those people take you away and do something to you. If they touch you with a finger, they will be dead! No mercy for anyone!”       “Promise?”       “Promise.”       Natalia calms down a little, but she completely understands that they might apply much effort to run away from this captivity. But the girl silently swears to do her best to save herself and her friends from the trouble, and not to hide behind the men’s backs like a coward with the thought that she would be safe. She is ready to forget about her fears and face the danger.       A few seconds later, Edward and Natalia slowly step away from each other and share an encouraging gaze. And then Terrence comes to them. He watched the two all this time and began to believe more and more that his friend really loved this girl. He saw well how Lockhart got nervous but definitely felt relief after seeing her alive. The man saw the girl starting to cry after she saw his friend and hugged him with great pleasure. This moment made Terrence smile truly and think Edward and Natalia still love each other and could be together if they wanted it.       When Terrence comes to the former lovers, they move their eyes to him, while he shyly smiles at them. Natalia shares a smile with him and accepts his tight, amicable hugs with pleasure. Edward, feeling he is shaking from tension, smiles truly as he watches the best friends hugging each other with a quiet sigh. While MacClife hugs the girl, tightly but softly, caressing her back and clapping on it slightly, she just puts her arms around the man’s neck, snuggles her nose in his shoulder, and cries quietly on it. But a few seconds later, Terrence decides to break the silence:       “Are you okay? Those men did nothing bad to you?”       “Thank God, no,” Natalia replies quietly. “I’m lucky…”       “We were all worried about you. When we found out what Uncle and his pals did to you, we couldn’t calm down.”       “I’m all fine, don’t worry.”       “I see. And I’m so happy to see you healthy.”       Natalia smiles slightly and falls into silence for two seconds, but then decides to ask about Raquelle hesitantly:       “Where’s Raquelle? Isn’t she with you?”       “No, she stayed home,” Terrence replies quietly. “Raquelle is waiting for me, you, and Edward.”       “What? Stayed home? Alone?” Natalia steps back sharply from Terrence and looks at him with horror in widely open eyes. “You went crazy? Why did you the fuck leave her alone?”       “Erm…” Terrence gets confused, looking at Natalia amazingly. “Excuse me, what?”       “You have no brains, MacClife?” Natalia knocks at her temple with a finger. “You thought much before doing it?”       “Gosh, what’s wrong with you?” Terrence wonders. “Why did you react so strangely? Do you think I should’ve taken Raquelle to this house?”       “Michael organized a trap for you!” Natalia says excitedly, starting to breathe much heavier. “He made you come here on purpose!”       “What?” Terrence shakes his head sharply and frowns slightly. “Wait, wait, Rochester, speak slowly! What do you mean by saying ‘a trap’?”       “It’s the trap, idiot, that’s what I mean!” Natalia throws loudly and excitedly. “And you’ve been caught in this trap easily!”       “Natalia…”       “Natalia, don’t be so nervous,” Edward says quietly, putting his hand on Natalia’s shoulder. “Calm down, please, and explain what you mean quietly. What kind of trap are you talking about?”       “Your uncle is gonna organize a trap,” Natalia says excitedly. “Michael wanted to make Terrence come here and leave Raquelle home all alone. And now, when he’s here, that man will send his pals to her home to bring her here by force. And they will do it! You’ll see!!”        “No, no…” Terrence pronounces in a little shaking voice, getting nervous enough and shaking his head. “No, it can’t be the truth! He couldn’t do that!”       “But he did!” Natalia exclaims. “And now my friend is in danger! If those sick scumbags bring Cameron here, all of us will be dead!”       “Wait, wait, Natalia, why are you so sure about it?” Edward asks quietly. “Why do you think Uncle organized a trap for Terrence? Who told you that?”       “Michael! Your uncle told me about it on the day I was brought here. He said it very confidently. As if he knew it would happen. And the next day, his pals were talking about it while standing not far from the room where I was locked. And two hours before you came, Michael came to me and said he was waiting for you at his home. He was waiting for you two! I thought Terrence wouldn’t go and would stay with Raquelle, but he didn’t! That girl stayed all alone! She’s got nobody to protect her!”       “So, was Uncle planning to organize this meeting for a long time? Is that why he insisted that Terrence came here, as well?”       “Exactly! That’s what he wanted!” Natalia puts her hand on her forehead, breathing heavily enough. “My God, Raquelle is in danger! She wouldn’t fight off those men if they went to her home!”       “No…” Terrence pronounces in a shaking voice, shaking his head. “I don’t believe it… I don’t!”       “You have to, MacClife, you do!” Natalia exclaims. “Now wait for your fiancée to be brought here and killed as well as all of us!”       “No, Natalia, I won’t…”       But Terrence does not finish his thought because Michael stopped talking with Eric, who left the office, and watched him, Terrence, and Natalia, sneering contemptuously while coming to his working table. And when the man hears the girl talking about the trap for her friend, he decides to break their talk.       “Jesus, what a touching scene!” Michael exclaims ironically.       Terrence, Edward, and Natalia sharply turn on Michael, who crosses his arms over his chest and starts his speech full of sarcasm and hate:       “Wow… The boys reunited with their friend and are madly happy to see her. Of course, I would shed a man’s tear. But I am a man! But as we know, men don’t cry. Only mamma’s boys, terrible cowards, and weak little boys that should grow up cry.”       “We do know you have no shame or sense of fault and do not know what sympathy, kindness, and regret are,” Edward says rudely.       “Don’t be afraid, baby, cry a little. We are well aware that you are actually cowardly and weak. Why you hide it from us!”       “You do want to see me cry and act like a cowardly bunny. Do not wait, Uncle Mikey! I will not give you this pleasure!”       “Sorry… Very sorry… Alright, damn you!” Michael quickly looks at Edward, Terrence, and Natalia, stroking his chin. “Yeah, I look at you three and understand something is missing. I mean, someone is missing. Someone to make your company look perfect.”       “Just don’t say you are going to do another bad thing,” Natalia says rudely, setting her contemptuous gaze on Michael.       “Who is missing in your company?” Michael ignores Natalia’s words, falls into silence for two seconds, and clicks the fingers of his hands with a sly smile. “Ah, yeah! Right! Your company is missing a very beautiful, fucking sexy girl, the pretense of who could make your imitable trio a wonderful four.”       “My friend has nothing to do in the company of such a nasty and mean bastard like you,” Natalia says with evil in her eyes.       “That beauty is quite a famous model… Because of whom, so many men have lost their heads… Because of whom, so many happy couples have broken up… Who spreads such a sexy energetic… For who anyone would go through fire and water… Raquelle Allison Cameron…”       Michael thinks for two seconds, while Terrence gets a little nervous and clenches his hands into fists tightly.       “Ah…” Michael pronounces with enjoyment. “I must confess that she was my favorite model some time ago. I was under her charms and could feel she spread the sex by viewing photos of her. I don’t know which secret of this attraction is, but I started to closely watch her life and wanted to make her lover and even wife someday.”       “Raquelle is not crazy to spend her life with the one, who loves himself and money and hates literally the whole world, not confessing that he is guilty of his problems,” Natalia says coldly.       “My dream could’ve come true, and I was ready to do my best to make that cutie mine.” Michael stops smiling and sharply moves his contemptuous, cold gaze to Terrence. “But then one psycho bastard showed up, got her to fall in love with her.”       “What’s your fucking business?” Terrence resents rudely. “You shouldn’t care who I fell in love with and wanted to marry.”       “I must confess that you chose a real cutie, Terrence.” Michael runs his hand over his half-gray, half-black hair with a sly smile. “A fucking sexy bitch that can even wake up all the animal instincts of an impotent. If she ends up in the company of asexual men, she will make a miracle and cures all of them.”       “So, you thought she would help you solve your problems in sexual life? Have you been impotent all your life and not been able to please a girl that ran away from you like fire?”       “I am sorry that Cameron did not teach you to keep your fucking mouth closed and open it when you need it. Yes, you definitely please her well, and don’t complain about your fiancée, at whom you look with admiration. Judging by the photos that are spread on the Internet. But sadly, that hellcat did not rein in the mustang entirely.”       “If you want to imagine yourself with her, alright – you can comfort yourself with sexual fantasies about her.” Terrence crosses his arms over his chest and sets his contemptuous gaze on Michael. “But I doubt she would love such a mean, nasty, and calculated scumbag like you.”       “Huh, as if you are a thousand times better. I’m surprised that she has lived with you and endured the hysterics that you have had for so many months. A normal person would've put you in a mental hospital a long time ago. As the legend says, your relationship didn’t start the way it usually started in some cliché romance books.”       “I would rather put you in a mental hospital,” Terrence says in an icy voice. “Because the one to be really mentally sick is you, sir.”       “You’re enraging, my sweetie, you are,” Michael nods with a slight smile. “I completely get it. You are mad because I talk about your fiancée as if I still want to make her mine. Yes, I will not deny that I would have the honor to spend unforgettable time with her and find out what that sexy beauty can do. And I am going to tell you a secret: my people go crazy over her, as well. Not less than they go crazy over this blonde beauty. Of course, she does not spread as much sex as her friend does, but this gal is also a dolly.”       “You are a psycho!” Edward throws coldly. “Just like all your friends! And I will not get sick of saying that you and your pals will regret it if one of you touches Natalia with a finger.”       “And you will regret it if you try to hurt Raquelle,” Terrence adds rudely. “Do not even dare to look at her! Otherwise, you will be dead! I swear!”       “Don’t worry, Terrence, your separation from that beauty will not last for too long. Because your fiancée will join you very soon.”       “Close your fucking mouth, bastard! I SAID, SHUT UP!”       “Since you are here and can do nothing, my people are going to go to your home right now. I talked to Eric and told him to take the people and bring Raquelle here. So, in three hours, you four will reunite before my eyes. And then I will do the next thing in my plan.”       “So, was it the trap?” Terrence resents. “So, did Natalia tell me the truth?”       “I said that you were as naive as your daddy,” Michael smirks and shakes his head. “Fooling you was so easy. And if you got threats, you would immediately get scared and do anything you’d be told. That’s what I counted on. And my plan came true. You are standing in front of me, and your cutie is now alone, without protection, at a gorgeous house. Yeah, I think I said you’d understand how I fooled you. So, please, that’s what I meant.”       Terrence finally starts to understand that Raquelle is in great danger, gets much more nervous than before and breathes much heavier. A bad presentiment did not lie to the man. And now he feels guilty about his fiancée for putting her in danger and leaving her all alone.       “Holy shit…” Terrence pronounces in a shaking voice. “Shiver me…”       Terrence slowly turns upon Michael, runs his hand through his hair, and starts walking in circles in front of Natalia and Edward, who look at him with pity in their eyes.       “Holy shit, what did I do?” Terrence asks himself, looking around the whole office with widely open eyes, and puts his hand on his forehead. “I left Raquelle alone! I could’ve stayed with her, but decided to come here!”       Getting more and more nervous, Terrence shakes his head and grabs his throat with the thought that it’s hard for him to breathe.       “I shouldn’t have done it,” Terrence says in a low, quiet voice. “If Raquelle ends up here, it will be my fault! This fucking presentiment didn’t deceive me. It warned me about danger. And now because of my stupidity, that girl may suffer! Fuck! Shit! Shit! Shit! How could I be so stupid? HOW?”       “Don’t blame yourself, Terrence,” Natalia says softly, coming to Terrence and putting her hand on his shoulder. “How did you know it would happen? If you’d guessed something bad could happen, you wouldn’t have left Raquelle alone.”       “I felt I shouldn’t have done that,” Terrence says excitedly. “Shouldn’t have…”       “I did ask you to stay home with Raquelle, but you didn’t listen to me,” Edward recalls. “Yes, I couldn’t know Uncle would love to get you caught in a trap. But I couldn’t also get rid of the feeling that something should’ve happened.”       “Damn! Raquelle felt it, as well… She was obsessed with the thought that something bad could happen and couldn’t calm down. And…”       Then Terrence suddenly recalls two suspicious events. The first event happened when Raquelle went aside to answer someone’s call, and then she left, coming back home at seven or eight o’clock. And the second moment happened when Edward told her Michael wanted to see them. Raquelle took her mobile phone and started typing a message to someone. It also made Terrence confused, and he asks himself, “Has Raquelle not been hiding something lately?” The man also recalls how she begged him not to go anywhere and tries to connect this plea with these cases, believing there is a connection between them.       “Oh, shit!” Terrence exclaims, opening his eyes widely. “What if…”       Terrence glances at Edward standing near him and Natalia.       “Hey, Edward, didn’t you see Raquelle had been so weird since she found out about Natalia’s kidnapping?” Terrence asks in a whisper.       “Yes, she wasn’t really herself,” Edward nods. “And I think she started to be strange after we went where everything happened.”       “Right! Do you remember her hiding behind a wall with a phone in her hands? So, I often saw her texting and calling someone!”       “What do you mean?” Natalia frowns slightly. “What are you talking about, Terrence?”       “After Raquelle learned about your kidnapping, she started to behave very strangely and became too secretive and irritated. She always had a phone in her hands. As if she was waiting for a call. And two days ago, someone called your friend, and she went aside. Then she told us that she should’ve immediately gone to the model agency and left so quickly that we understood nothing.”       “But Terrence says Raquelle didn’t go to the model agency on that day,” Edward specifies. “Her manager called their home number and asked him to tell her that she wanted to meet Cameron. And when Terrence asked her about that meeting, that woman said they hadn’t met for ages.”       “Right! I felt she didn’t go there, but after Serena’s call, my suspicions were confirmed. And after hearing about the meeting with Michael from me and Edward, she started to check her phone again. She was typing a message to someone.”       “Yes, I also noticed Raquelle typing text on her phone,” Edward nods confidently. “I looked at her phone and saw her typing something on the keyboard. But it was hard to see what. I paid attention to that at once, but I thought she was checking her social networks or texted one of her friends. So, I didn’t ask her about it.”       “And when I asked her why she was so weird and didn’t want us to go here, Raquelle started to change my mind about this trap. She had tears when she begged me to stay home. And after her words, I got a bad presentiment. Which I, however, ignored. And I decided to go… For a wish to end this story and take you away from here.”       “Do you want to say she always had a phone in her hands and texted someone?” Natalia frowns lightly.       “Exactly!” Edward exclaims. “Raquelle didn’t literally leave her phone and never said who she texted to or talked with.”       “But Raquelle usually says who calls her. And she never checks her phone when talking to someone. She knows it’s a sign of the fact that you don’t care about what people say.”       “That’s what made me suspicious!” Terrence exclaims. “And I got suspicions because she’s been strange and even aggressive at times for four days. We didn’t even talk for two days, and I didn’t care about her business.”       “We could assume she was just nervous because of your kidnapping,” Edward adds. “But those secret calls and messages… It’s all so strange…”       “But who could she call and text?” Natalia wonders. “Who made her so excited?”       “We don’t know…”       “What if she’s hiding something from us?” Terrence asks. “What if she knew what could happen to her? Is that why she persuaded us not to go here? I mean, me! Raquelle didn’t want me to go anywhere because she understood this trip would give me nothing good.”       “Could someone tell her what would happen here?”       “Yeah, but…” Terrence falls into silence for two seconds. “But how could she know it? And why didn’t Raquelle tell us anything if she knew something?”       “But she tried to make you sure to stay. But when she realized you were determined, she stopped begging. Though, Raquelle kept being terribly excited and crying bitterly.”       “Couldn’t she know about the trap that was prepared for Terrence?” Natalia asks. “Maybe, Raquelle didn’t let him go not only because she was afraid to lose her fiancé, but also because she was worried about her life? She was afraid that Michael’s people could do something horrible to her! If the two got the letters, Michael knows where MacClife and Cameron are living. That man doesn’t bluff.”       “Bluff or not, but I must go home as soon as possible!” Terrence says excitedly. “I must not let Michael’s people find Raquelle. If she’s here, all of us will be dead!”       Terrence wants to run to the exit sharply, but Michael notices it immediately and stops his nephew with a sly smile on his face, crossing his arms over his chest and setting his questioning gaze on him.       “Terrence, where are you going?” Michael wonders. “Started to be worried about Raquelle? Do you think you’ll have time to save her? No, sweetie, my people have already left. Very soon, your fiancée is going to be here. And you will be able to do nothing to protect her. You will not go home earlier than my helpers find that cutie and bring her here, despite her wish.”       “You will do nothing to her!” Terrence says rudely in a low voice, comes closer to Michael, and starts threatening him with a finger, squinting his eyes slightly. “I swear, if you touch her at least with a finger, you will have to regret it.”       “You can be mad as much as you want, but what’s done is done. Nothing can save the poor Raquelle. And if she does not want to come here at her wish or tries to run, my people will neutralize her. As well as they did it to Natalia when she was screaming, biting, and fighting like a hysterical girl.”       “I will not let it happen! WILL NOT!”       Terrence sharply turns and goes to the exit from the office, but Michael stops him again.       “Do not move, Terrence, nobody will let you get out of here,” Michael says confidently. “You will see Raquelle only when my people bring her here.”       “SCUMBAG!” Terrence explodes, runs to the table, on which he leans with his hands, and sets his gaze full of hate on Michael, breathing like a furious bull and feeling that his muscles are tense. “I HATE YOU, BASTARD! HATE!”       “Hey, don’t shout like a gramophone. I completely understand your excitement, but I advise you to accept the fact that everything is hopeless, and you can do nothing. Even now, when she ends up here. No matter how much you hide her behind your back, it will not save your fiancée from what’s waiting for her.”       “Close your dirty mouth!” Terrence slaps on the surface of the table as strongly as possible. “I WILL NOT LET YOU TOUCH HER, AT LEAST WITH A FINGER! I WILL NOT LET YOU! YOU AND YOUR SICK PALS, WHO I WILL KILL IF THEY TRY TO LOOK AT HER!”       “OH, FUCK!” Michael roars crossly, rolling his eyes. “It seems like we got another bastard that would often repeat, ‘I will not let you go’ like a parrot! One guy did annoy me with this phrase, and you started it! STOP, TERRENCE, DON’T MAKE ME ENRAGED MUCH MORE!”       “I’m not kidding, sir,” Terrence says coldly, keeping a cold gaze on Michael and clenching his hands into fists. “If you hurt my fiancée a little, I will not be responsible for myself. I WILL SMASH YOU AGAINST THE WALL LIKE A FLY! TURN YOU TO DUST!”       “Huh!” Michael hums. “And what will you do, hysterical girl? Will you wave your hands and make everybody in this whole house deaf by screaming?”       “Don’t better mess up with me. If you get me enraged, I can easily beat you so that you may die like a cockroach, bending backward from pain.”       “Oh, oh, I’m so scared!” Michael rolls his eyes and crosses his arms over his chest. “I do know how you fight! I was told that you barely stood at your feet after you were pushed to the side of the car. But you got up then and started to fight with Trenton, getting mad because he threatened your fiancée and mother.”       “That bastard was lucky he avoided the worst. I would have beaten him so strongly that he would have lost not one but all his teeth.”       “Ah, Terrence…” Michael laughs evilly. “Don’t make me laugh… You can’t fight at all. You are a freaking bad opponent. A couple of hits on your insolent face before you are lying on the ground and wincing from pain, while someone strongly beats on your balls.”       “Why didn’t your accomplice beat me to half-death?” Terrence comes closer to Michael and crosses his arms over his chest. “He could’ve beaten me to the loss of consciousness, to blood. But he just gave me a couple of bruises that were successfully gone.”       “You know, my dear, he could’ve done it. He could’ve beaten you so that you weren’t able to grab a phone and call someone to ask for help. While an ambulance would’ve been coming to you, you would’ve probably died or lied unconscious in a hard condition. But I kindly asked Trenton not to beat you too strongly, so you didn't die earlier.”       “And why did you show this generosity?” Terrence simpers.       “I will just need you yet. I do love making pleasure last longer and don’t want to kill someone quickly, not becoming a witness to this event. So, I decided to wait for a better moment. And after doing everything to deprive you of any hope for salvation, it’s time to do what I have dreamed about for so long.”       “Don’t worry, sir, I can stand for me and my fiancée anyway,” Terrence says confidently. “You and your pals will not make me shake like a cowardly bunny. Although all of you are mentally sick here, I’m not afraid of you.”       “I prefer believing in your braveness. You look more confident than your friend, who may easily have a heart attack if something makes him too scared, upset, or worried.”       “I wish you got it!” Terrence throws rudely. “You know how much our lives would get better! My mother, my fiancée, this girl, and I would live a quiet life and not think how you wanted to destroy us.”       “However, I know your weakness, pressing on which you may break down and stop being so tough and brave.” Michael slowly starts walking in the office in circles in front of Terrence, Natalia, and Edward. “Your fiancée. If something happens to her, you will not bear it. I can imagine how you were grieving when you almost broke up a few months ago.”       “Do you really care if I wanted to break up? It’s my life! And you don’t have to do with it!”       “But I know very much about that case.” Michael, still walking in circles, crosses his arms over his chest. “I know what could’ve happened to your fiancée, who almost became a victim of the man named Simon Ringer. He wanted to do his best to get revenge on that girl for getting his love for Raquelle’s mother cruelly rejected.”       “You did stick your fucking nose in it!” Edward throws rudely. “You have it everywhere! You can find out what seems secret information!”       “Yeah…” Michael stops sharply and turns on Terrence. “Did almost all her friends and relatives leave Cameron because of that situation? Huh, Terrence? You remember that you were one of those, who left her!”       “I’m going to tell you nothing,” Terrence says in a low voice.       “You don’t need to explain it because I know everything.” Michael locks his fingers. “At that period, rumors about you and Raquelle being close to a breakup were spread just in time. There were different versions: cheating on each other, raising a hand, your passion for alcohol… You were noticed at bars with a glass of something strong many times! My people also noticed you there and saw you somehow drunk so much that a man had to get you outside. They said you were so drunk that you barely stood on your feet, sang songs loudly, and actually behaved not adequately.”       “Thanks, keep telling what some fucking birds whispered to you.”       “One bird whispered to me that you were caught in the hug of a cute blonde. They say you were kissing and hugging passionately… The media immediately started to write that you, scumbag, dared to cheat on such a beautiful woman, who literally all men in the world wanted to be with.”       “Next,” Terrence rolls his eyes.       “I even heard Raquelle and you wanted to tell the world about your breakup and the end of your career in the modeling and the acting business. Your fans started to cry bitterly and contact you on social networks to ask you to stay together and keep working. They were almost ready to accept the worst. Besides, you told the world about your engagement, which made all your fans happy. All those fucking kids that praised you two.”       “Listen, honorable, do you really care about what’s happening to Terrence and Raquelle?” Natalia asks rudely. “It’s their personal life, and they do have a right to it! What happened to them stayed in the past, and they are very happy now.”       “You’re right… They have a right to their personal life. But I want to notice that famous people don’t have it because fans, journalists, and reporters always know what happens in their lives. Sometimes they know where to find you. As if they got a cheap that sends their location to some services… I think you should know it because the business of your parents is connected with the fashion world. They are often shown on TV, give interviews, and attend the most prestigious events. Of course, the Rochesters are not famous around the world, but they’re known in some circles.”       “Even if it’s true, what’s your business? Don’t you have a personal life? Is that why you meddle in someone’s one and poison it?”       “Come on, easy, darling, easy,” Michael says quietly, raising his hands with a sly smile. “Don’t forget that my patience is not endless, and I can rein you somehow. Yes, my people and I did nothing to you because I needed you alive tonight. But now all bans are canceled.”       “Don’t dare to touch her with a finger!” Edward says in a low voice, taking Natalia’s hand, and sets his cold gaze full of hate on Michael. “I swear I shall strangle you with my own hands if you or your pals dare to get closer to her.”       “Ah, what a scene!” Michael folds his hands together and oohs, surprisingly looking at Edward and Natalia, who are holding each other’s hands and looking at him contemptuously. “The ex-lovers are holding each other’s hand so cutely… And the brainless puppy is trying to protect this sweet girl.”       “Do not underestimate some people, Uncle,” Edward says coldly. “Because sometimes they may get you surprised by their actions.”       “You will surprise me in one case: if you stop being a little boy that believes in tales, finally grow up and get some brains.”       “I’m going to change nothing just to make you happy and make you say something good about me at least once.”       “Huh, don’t even dream of hearing something good from me!” Michael simpers.       “At least something fits: I hate you to death, but you cannot tolerate me.”       “It’s hard to deny it.” Michael smiles slyly. “But you know, Edward… I’d like to see how you tried to protect Natalia from my people and lost consciousness after Eric hit you on the head. I’m sure that was an incredible thing.”       “I wish you or one of your accomplices were instead of Edward,” Natalia throws with evil in her eyes. “This man could have died after such a strong hit! But a miracle saved him!”       “Trust me, my sweet girl, you would be the only one to worry about it. Nobody else cares about this fucking kid because he fought with everybody and made them hate himself. Maybe, someone would even be happy to know your ex died. At least, I wouldn’t get upset. I would thank Eric for defeating the one to make me not less irritated than my friend.”       “Nobody would be worried if you died! Or your corrupted pals!”       “Ah, Natalia…” Michael shakes his head, fixing his collar slightly. “I am making sure more and more that you and Edward are worth each other. You are protecting each other, even though nothing connects you. And you snap, roar, fight, bite, and find an answer for anything. You had the same teacher? Or is your disgusting education the one to blame?”       “Don’t worry, sir, I shall find what to say to such a shameless and nasty stinker like you,” Natalia says rudely and confidently. “Maybe, I will not be able to fight with strong men, but I’ve got a sharp enough tongue to answer your mockeries with dignity.”       “And I will be protecting Natalia until I’m standing here alive,” Edward says confidently, raising his head slightly. “This time, I will not give up and give this girl to you and your pals so easily. And if I have to kill someone to protect her, I shall do it.”       “Oh, alright, done!” Michael waves a hand. “I’ve understood you are one piece. I bet Terrence that taught you much. This six-foot column also has a long tongue, attacks everyone with fists and gets excited as easily as his father, and can snap and be sassy.”       “Let me ask you, who taught you to snap?” Terrence frowns slightly, crossing his arms over his chest. “You are showering the people, who don’t please you with mud not worse!”       “But while we aren’t afraid to start a fight, you are,” Edward says confidently. “You’re afraid to wave your fists because you understand that you will not deal with younger and stronger men due to your age. So, you make your pals commit all murders, attempts, and kidnappings. They run like moose and do your orders.”       “And you hate people, who have to do with Edward’s father. His ex-wife, his children… When you hear someone is connected with them, you start showering them with mud. And burning from evil when someone calls your friend’s name.”       “Don’t deny that I really hate my brother,” Michael confirms quietly. “Because he was a real stinker, who deprived me of everything. What could’ve been MINE if that bastard hadn’t been born and made similar to his children. It would’ve been okay if they had taken everything from their mother, but they took everything from their father. EVERYTHING, FUCK! As if that bastard cloned himself!”       “Yeah, maybe, YOU stole everything from him?” Edward asks rudely. “Father could’ve been a very rich man and gotten much more than Grandfather and Grandmother gave him! But you deprived him of EVERYTHING and only left him his clothes! And you were doing that when I was living with him. I remember that some time before I left, money and expensive things had started to disappear from the home of him and my stepmother. Did you go there and steal everything from him insolently?”       “I stole nothing, my dear. Your daddy gave me everything. He thought he’d get off me by giving me his stuff. When he started getting threats, he put his tail between his legs and started to give me everything he had.” Michael falls into silence for a second and glances at his watch that he kind of accidentally shows to everybody in the office. “Yeah, this watch belonged to my brother. His second wife gifted it to him on one of their wedding anniversaries. So expensive. Swiss. I love them and have worn them for ages.”       “It’s amazing that my stepmother knew nothing about your tricks, or at least did nothing even if Father told her everything. If she loved him so much and was ready to do anything for him, why didn’t that woman put you and your gang in prison and make you give off everything you stole from that man? Why didn’t she the fuck put such an egoistic, nasty, and greedy bastard like you?”       “Stop being rude to me!” Michael throws with evil in his eyes. “You’re too little to argue with older people. If you have your family, you will command! But now I advise you to close your dirty mouth and open it when you are allowed to. Or you better never open it. You are nobody. You are a little fucking brainless puppy that can be good only for meat.”       “Edward is not a puppy!” Terrence says rudely, still standing next to Natalia. “Don’t dare to call him like this! Stop humiliating this man! Enough!”       “But it’s the truth, Terrence. Your friend is an absolutely worthless piece of shit. A little kid that must lie in a bed with a pacifier in his mouth and blink his eyes. Well, or sucking his mother’s breast and drinking milk. But instead, our little Eddy goes to defeat the adult men and tries to prove his worthiness to someone. He wants to believe he is no longer a little puppy or kitten.”       “For your information, little puppies turn into adult dogs over time,” Natalia says with her head proudly raised. “Which would tear anyone to get on their territory and do something bad to their owner. You are deeply wrong when considering Edward a little, weak boy. Actually, he is much stronger than you think. He is strong by spirit and body.”       “Oh, whoa!” Michael exclaims and claps his hands. “What great words, Natalia Emily Rochester! How hard you are trying to protect this kid and want him to believe he is strong and confident. But it will never happen. This boy is too cowardly and insecure. Though, he will never confess it and will keep pretending to be a hero and get everyone’s attention, so people like you praise him.”       “And I will be praising him. Motivating him to do something that will help him get much better and prove that he has never thought of wishing someone evil. Giving him the belief that he is a truly strong and confident, adult man, who fears nothing when the case is about his close people.”       “Oh, how funny it sounds…” Michael shakes his head and glances at Natalia with a quiet smirk. “Open your eyes, girl, and look at the world soberly! Not like people in love see it! You say it because you still love my little nephew, who is absolutely worthless and has never been a wanted and beloved child of his parents, a wonderful, caring friend, and an incredible lover. I don’t know if something happened between you when you dated. But I don’t doubt that he is also worthless in love and sex things.”       “Whatever you say about Edward, I will not believe any false word from you,” Natalia says confidently. “I do know what this man actually is, and what his shortcomings and dignities are, much better. I know what he can do, and what he is ready for his close people. You can say much about someone by seeing their actions. If they protect someone and try to do their best to get them out of trouble, everybody will say this person is fantastic.”       “Ar-r-r…” Michael growls irritably, rolling his eyes. “Alright, stop philosophizing! I cannot stand those stupid talks about life, people, and everything in the world!”       “You know, she is actually right!” Terrence notices confidently. “To reach your goals, you don’t have to kill, rob, and humiliate. You don’t have to be a cruel and egoistic person and step on others. You can get what you want, even if you stay a kind and decent person.”       “Oh, shit!” Michael pronounces crossly, running his hand over his face, and moves his gloomy gaze to Edward. “So, Edward, your time! Tell us something kind of smart! Or did you finally get some brains not to do this shit?”       “What’s not shit for you?” Edward wonders. “Revenging on people for being guilty of your problems? Never recognizing your fault for your mistakes? Blaming people for that? You can’t blame Grandfather and Grandmother because they died a long time ago, and there was Father, whom you made your enemy. But after defeating him, you made Terrence and me your enemies? Raquelle and Natalia! Those, who ARE NOT guilty of you having a bad life.”       “Don’t worry, honey, I’ve already lost hope that you'll get better someday. Become good at just something for me. Get these fucking thoughts about love, friendship, and sentimentalism out of your stupid head. Become much crueler, more powerful, and more confident. You will never be the one. But if you try to, it will be just an act.”       “Did you think I wanted to become someone like you?” Edward looks at Michael from head to foot with contempt in his eyes and hums loudly. “Huh! Not for anything! I’d rather die than do it! Shoot me or let someone shoot me down!”       “You will die anyway, my dear,” Michael replies with a sly smile and looks at Edward, Terrence, and Natalia. “You all will die tonight: you, Edward, Terrence, Natalia, and your beloved Raquelle. When that cutie is brought here, I will start having fun and have a party for me and my people, who are impatiently waiting for ‘meat’… Ar-r-r…”       “Are you going to kill us?” Natalia asks in a shaking voice, opening her scared eyes.       “Huh, you thought I’d organize a tea party for you and entertain you with talks and jokes?” Michael laughs evilly. “No, my dears! All of you will die tonight. Die like cockroaches from a poison that people spread in an apartment or house. Your time has come!”       Then Edward, Terrence, and Natalia finally realize that Michael brought them together at his home to destroy them quietly. And speaking openly, nobody knows what to do: giving up and letting this man and his pals kill them, or fighting until the end.       “No…” Natalia pronounces in a whisper, breathing a little heavily, shaking her head, and trying to hold tears down. “No… Not this… I don’t wanna die… Don’t want!”       “It’s gonna be okay, Natalia,” Edward replies confidently and puts his hand softly on Natalia’s shoulder. “While Terrence and I are here and alive, nothing will happen to you. Nobody will dare to touch you with a finger. We’re here and will be doing our best for you to go back home.”       “What if something happens to you?” Natalia looks at Edward and Terrence scarily. “I don’t wanna lose you two! And Raquelle! It can’t be over like this! It can’t!”       “We will not die, Natalia!” Terrence says confidently and puts his hand on Natalia’s other shoulder. “Since we got into trouble, we must fight until the end and not give up. And do believe in our salvation. We must get out of here and do away with this stinker.”       “Yeah! Until they put a pistol against our heads? Until this sick asshole kills you two and gives me to his pals, who are craving to fuck me!”       “Don’t even think about it!” Edward replies confidently. “None of those deadbeats will dare to do nothing to you. And I promise, Terrence and I will not give up. We know if we’re dead, you and Raquelle will be, as well.”       “At least, Raquelle is free now,” Terrence notices thoughtfully. “I’m kind of sure everything is not lost. We’ve got a chance to save ourselves.”       “Yeah, but how?” Edward throws his hands aside. “How could we count on Raquelle? She doesn’t know what’s actually happening here? She doesn’t know what kind of trouble we got into!”       “No, Edward, that gal knew something,” Terrence assumes confidently. “I’m sure she won’t leave us. Raquelle foresaw this trouble and literally knew what would happen here. Maybe, that’s why she didn’t want me to go here.”       “Even if Raquelle knows, what can she do?” Natalia throws her hands up.       “I dunno… But something tells me we’ll be rescued. We just need to play time. At least for two or three hours. The way to my home from here would take a lot of time. So, we can think up something.”       “Yeah… And something tells me we’ll be dead at the nearest time. And Raquelle will be able to do nothing. Even if she felt something, she wouldn’t have time to go to the police and bring them here. Besides, do you think they’ll believe her just because she got obsessed with anxiety? No, guys, don’t hope!”       “I don’t know why, but I believe Terrence,” Edward says confidently, squinting slightly and looking at Natalia, who sniffs quietly. “I think we should really wait for some time. Probably, something that will save us happen a little later…”       “And are you really ready to do it together?” Natalia wonders and crosses her arms over her chest, looking at Terrence and Edward with suspicion. “Honestly, I’m surprised to see you together after what happened the last time. And you do get on well!”       “Oh, you found a good time to remember that!” Terrence throws. “Now we must think about how to save ourselves from the nightmare named Michael.”       “Did you come here together? Or by one?”       “Together,” Edward confirms. “But it doesn’t make sense now. Our important goal is to get out of here and bring you to Raquelle, so she knows you’re okay. She’s been too worried about you.”       “But why can’t we just leave?”       “We…”       Sorting out things on the table and checking something on his expensive smartphone, Michael decides to meddle in the talk of Terrence, Natalia, and Edward.       “Yeah, guys…” Michael says loudly and raises his head, as if he is proud of himself. “I almost forgot to tell you that my house is kept under lock and key. Also, I gave the order to my people to let everybody in but let nobody out. There are also many guards in the house that you may not see at first sight. I tightened it after this blonde beauty was brought here. So, she didn’t think of running away. So, you have no place to run. You three are in the trap, and Raquelle Cameron is going to get into it very soon.”       “It’s strange…” Terrence pronounces thoughtfully, turning on Michael. “I thought there were your accomplices in every corner of your house. Your body must be protected by not less than five or six people. What if a certain scoundrel wants to attack you? Your bodyguards would cover you and beat them.”       Terrence throws his hands up, looking at Michael with widely open eyes.       “But what do I see? Only two guards with a little brain for the two are standing near the gates! No tens of guards! Only two brainless rats, which can only make anyone enraged!”       “It’s alright, my dear, when I have EVERYTHING that belongs to my family, I shall think of making the best and most loyal people my bodyguards. I’m sure anyone would think it’s an honor to protect my body from danger.”       “You can suggest it to Eric, your main kiss-ass,” Edward throws coldly. “Or your beloved and inimitable Catherine. That girl could easily hit any bastard, who would dare to get closer to you.”       “Aha!” Terrence agrees. “That gal is too bold and full of sarcasm. It’s not amazing that she decided to work for such a nasty bastard like you.”       “And yeah, you better teach Catherine to be rude, mock, and insult. The poor girl tries to snap at me so badly and believes her words will hurt me. She does want to show her boss that she is by his side and works as your deputy, while you hang around and slowly get ready to come to me.”       “By the way, I do deeply respect Catherine and trust her with all my secrets,” Michael replies confidently. “That girl is loyal to me entirely and ready to do anything for me. But when people are loyal to me, I get great pleasure.”       “You do choose accomplices, who are ready to dance attendance upon you, kiss your legs, and do your dirty tricks,” Natalia says rudely. “Nasty bastards, who you could get on well with. Who, however, you are united with thanks to two things: a wish to harm people and a goal of getting as much money as possible.”       “My dears…” Michael laughs quietly and pulls the sleeves of his jacket slightly. “If someone else insults my servant or helpers, I swear you will regret it. While you are at MY house, I recommend that you show respect for me and my people.”       “I can’t personally find another word to describe the herd of rats that work for you and do your dirty tricks,” Edward replies coldly. “Why should we respect those scumbags? They did nothing good for us to make us respect at least ONE of them!”       “You better close your mouth, yobbo!” Michael sets his cold haze on Edward, being literally ready to make a hole in his head. “I am sick of hearing you!”       “I told you that you’d shit me up only if you killed me. But before that, I will be saying everything I think of you and those bastards, with whom you surrounded yourself.”       “One more word, little parasite, and you will regret being born,” Michael hisses through his teeth. “I SHALL BURY YOU ALIVE!”       “Don’t dare!” Natalia and Terrence say at the same time, standing on two hands of Edward, hiding him with themselves, and looking at Michael contemptuously.       “You will not touch this man with a finger,” Natalia says confidently.       “Don’t dare to hurt him,” Terrence says in a low voice with evil in his eyes. “Otherwise, you will be dead.”       “Oh, oh, easy, guys, easy!” Michael opens his mouth slightly and grabs his heart with a false moan. “I’m going to have a heart attack! Because of a double attack!”       “It would be great,” Edward throws rudely. “We would solve the problem named Michael!”       “Keep dreaming, puppy! You can do nothing.”       “We will see, bastard.” Edward sets a much more contemptuous, icy gaze on Michael. “It’s not the end of the game. Early or late, you will have to pay for your tricks.”       “Alright, little yobbo, you did annoy me,” Michael hisses through his teeth. “COME HERE, I WILL DEFEAT YOU NOW!”       Michael sharply runs to Edward, gives him a very strong hit in the face, fights with him hand in hand for two seconds, and pushes him so rudely that the guy almost falls on the floor. Lockhart avoids another slap, tightly grabs his uncle’s hand, and almost strikes him on the table. The old man grabs a book, the first thing that he can reach, and tries to hit nephew on the head, but the guy avoids it. And Terrence comes to help him out, pushing the man sharply off his friend, grabbing him by the collar, and slapping him in the face with a cold gaze full of hate.       Natalia takes Edward to another corner of the office, and he tightly hugs and presses her to himself. The two get horrified while watching Terrence starting a hand-in-hand fight with Michael and avoids almost all hits in the face. The old man tries to hit his eldest nephew on the head, but the man avoids it and strikes the heavy enough book out of his hand, which falls on the floor like a stone. It lasts for a few seconds before Terrence grabs Michael by the collar and almost strikes him on the table. His uncle sharply gets straight and pushes the man off himself. That’s why he steps on his own leg and almost falls to the floor. The next second, Michael reaches his hand back and grabs a pistol that he sharply points at Terrence, slowly going on him, literally making a hold on his head with his contemptuous, cold gaze full of hate. The man, staying absolutely cold, starts going back with his hands raised up.       “No, don’t do this!” Natalia screams with horror in widely open eyes and closes her mouth with her hands, while Edward shakes strongly and hugs the girl much tighter.       “If you get closer to me and touch me again, Raquelle will get your bloody body by parts,” Michael says in an icy, low voice, threatening Terrence with a pistol and going on him confidently. “Of course, if she does not die by that time.”       “No!” Edward screams with horror in his dumbfounded eyes, breathing heavily enough from the excitement that he got obsessed with. “Move the pistol off him! Now! Move off, I said!”       “Close your mouth, little parasite!” Michael snaps with evil in his eyes. “I will reach you, too. You will pay me for everything.”       “I say again, move THIS FUCKING PISTOL off Terrence! NOW, I SAID! MOVE IT OFF! OTHERWISE, YOU WILL REGRET IT!”       “Huh!” Michael smirks with evil in his eyes, still pointing the pistol at Terrence. “And it’s said by the man… Oops, sorry… The worthless puppy that can only bark and throw senseless threats that he cannot make real.”       “I’m not kidding, Uncle! If you do not move the pistol off Terrence, I will not be responsible for myself.”       “Try. Try to take the pistol from me.”       “I’m saying for the last time: MOVE THAT FUCKING GUN OFF NOW!” Edward screams with evil in his eyes, being terribly nervous and feeling his heart starts beating faster. “MOVE OFF, I SAID!”       “Or what? What will you do to me? Shower me with sarcasm alongside your ex? Or say tons of things that you will never do?”       Not being able to watch Michael threatening Terrence with the pistol, Edward runs to his uncle and pushes him so strongly with a loud groan that the man falls on the working table, from which some things fall. However, Michael gets up for two seconds, and then he points the gun again. Not at Terrence. At Edward. That’s why Natalia screams loudly, closing her mouth with both hands with horror in her widely open eyes.       “Now listen to me, brainless bastards,” Michael says in a low, rude voice, keeping a contemptuous gaze on Edward or Terrence, who answer him back. “If one of you attacks me with fists again, I will not wait and will shoot your heads by myself. AND YOU WILL DIE SHORTLY! Someone will be crying over the corpses of yours until they die from a heart attack.”       “Don’t dare to hurt my mother,” Terrence hisses, clenching his hands into fists tightly. “Otherwise, I will strangle you with my own hands.”       “Huh!” Michael snuffs and points the pistol at Terrence. “You will die by that time!”       “Do not dare to get closer to Mrs. MacClife!” Edward hisses through his teeth, breathing too heavily, threatening Michael with a finger, and literally killing him with his icy gaze. “I shall cut your throat if you or your pals do something to her.”       “You heard what I said?” Michael moves the pistol on Edward. “You two will be DEAD! You will have been dead when I wish to defeat that woman! Nothing will save her. Her beloved boys will live in heaven without her not for too long.”       “You will do us a GREAT favor if you die and go to hell,” Terrence throws rudely.       “Yes, yes!” Edward exclaims. “Shoot yourself down right now! Make us happy! And we will be madly grateful to you for this act.”       “We wouldn’t have to reflect on how to make you pay for your tricks.”       “And we’d live a quiet life that we have dreamed about for a long time.”       “SHUT UP, THE FUCK, YOU TWO!” Michael screams at the top of his lungs.       Silence settles in the air for two seconds, during which Michael breathing heavily literally kills Edward and Terrence with his furious gaze, while the friends answer him back, looking quite tense.       “This time, nothing will save you,” Michael says confidently. “One will not protect his ex, and another will not protect his beloved fiancée. You have no place to run. You will not get out of this trap and run away from me and my people, who will catch you and kill you with pleasure by my order.”       Michael starts threatening Edward or Terrence with the pistol by one, while they are clenching their hands into fists with a heavy breath.       “First, you two or one of you will die. And then the girls, who you love so much, will do.”       “Don’t dare to hurt them!” Terrence exclaims rudely.       “No matter if you want it, those beauties will die. And the sooner the second gal comes here, the sooner you will die.”       “Shut up!” Edward shouts loudly. “Just SHUT UP!”       “I advise you not to make me enraged, bastards. Because I will have to stay with you and tolerate your face for a long time. I don’t want you to make me enraged and make me shoot you down to the fuck, not waiting for the right time.”       The furious Terrence and Edward run to Michael almost at the same time and try to attack him. One gives him a slap in the face, and another smashes a fist against his solar plexus. But when Michael comes to him, he points the pistol at the guys and starts going on them confidently, making them go back with their hands raised up.       “Even though you make me terribly enraged and irritated, I will not kill you yet,” Michael says coldly. “I will be waiting for my people to bring Raquelle Cameron here. They left my home after seeing you two come here. Now they can quietly take that fucking attractive brunette with them.”       “If only they dare to come here, holding her under the arms or carrying that girl while she is unconscious,” Terrence threats in a low, rude voice with evil in his eyes, clenching his hands into fists tightly. “I swear, I will stop being responsible for myself and will defeat those scumbags. ALL OF THEM. AND YOU, TOO.”       “Don’t be wild, Terrence, you will now see your fiancée for the last time. You should wait for some time. One and a half hours to there and one and a half hours to here before your cutie is at my office.”       “DON’T DARE!” Terrence screams with widely open eyes. “I WILL KILL ALL OF YOU, BASTARDS! KILL!”       “Stop screaming like a patient from a mental hospital. Accept the fact that you can do nothing.”       “NEVER!”       “You will not dare to hurt my friend!” Natalia says rudely.       “And while we are waiting for Raquelle, I will have time to talk to you,” Michael says thoughtfully with a sly smile. “We have very much time ahead.”       “We do not want to talk to you!” Edward replies coldly. “We do not care about what you will say or show! Put it in your old ass! AND JUST LET US THE FUCK GO!”       “Oh, no, my dears, I don’t think so.” Michael goes forward and pushes Terrence, Edward, and Natalia to the sofa, threatening all of them with a pistol. “I think you will wonder to know something you didn’t probably know. I will be happy to answer all your questions and reveal some secrets that we have kept for ages.”       “We do not the fuck care about it!” Terrence exclaims loudly. “DO NOT CARE!”       “It may get you deeply shocked and explain some things that seemed crazy to you.” Michael laughs quietly, glances at the sofa, and starts wrapping the pistol in his hands with a sly sneer. “Ah, yeah… Sit on the sofa, have some rest… We will have to wait for a long time. I’m not going to make you stand on your feet for three hours.”       Natalia standing between Terrence and Edward looks at the two, and they share exciting gazes with her and each other.       “NOW, I SAID!” Michael screams at the top of her lungs, threatening Natalia, Edward, and Terrence with the pistol. “SIT ON THE SOFA!”       After hesitating a little, Edward, Terrence, and Terrence sit slowly on the sofa, to which Michael pushed them. None of them stops looking at the man, who is threatening them with the pistol. While the men have contempt and hate in their eyes, the girl has a strong horror in her widely open eyes and barely holds tears down. Sitting on the two hands of her, Terrence and Edward see Natalia shaking strongly and tensing all the muscles in her body. Hoping to calm her down somehow, Terrence puts his hand on the girl’s shoulder and softly caresses it, trying to smile at her by force, and Edward takes the blonde’s hand and tightly squeezes it, sometimes caressing her back and pressing her to himself.       Later, Natalia calms down a little. Edward and Terrence’s support helps her start to believe that Raquelle will not really leave her and the men in trouble and will think up something to save them. At some moment, the blonde runs her hand over her neck, on which a necklace with the letter “N” is hanging. It’s her mascot that gives her belief in the best and is hidden underneath her shirt buttoned on all buttons. Although the friends do not see her favorite jewelry that literally saves her from bad things, both of them notice that she is grabbing her neck, but excuse it with the fact that it’s hard for her to breathe.       

***

      Meanwhile, Raquelle and Darwin are going to the home of Michael. The excited girl is nervously shaking her leg, breathing too heavily, and often pulling down a sleeve of her leather jacket, feeling that she is shaking from the strong excitement, and her heart is about to jump out of her chest.       “Damn, I can’t take this anymore!” Raquelle exhales sharply, leaning back in the passenger seat of Darwin’s car. “I have a very bad presentiment! I can’t stop thinking that Michael will kill them before we reach his home.”       “Listen, Raquelle, I completely understand your feelings, but please, calm down,” Darwin replies softly, closely watching the road and tightly holding the steering wheel. “Michael will not kill anyone of them until his people bring you to his house. I believe Terrence and Edward were supposed to arrive there, and Michael was supposed to send his pals for you.”       “You think we have time?”       “Those men need at least three hours to take the way there and back.”       “Oh…” Raquelle starts slightly pulling the collar of her shirt, grabbing her throat later. “I know something horrible is happening there. That might be dangerous for the guys. I can’t get rid of this feeling.”       “You’re too tense, friend,” Darwin glances at Raquelle, trying to keep calm. “I get it, but if you let these feelings control you, you may do what might either ruin everything or make something worse.”       “I’m trying to. But when I think Michael is about to destroy those people, I start shaking. I can’t do anything to myself. And the realization that I can’t help them and have to count on other people kills me much more.”       “Don’t you trust me and Mr. Johnson?”       “Of course, I do. I’m just afraid something may go wrong.”       “It’s gonna be fine, Raquelle, I promise,” Darwin replies confidently. “Mr. Johnson and I were getting ready for this operation for too long and planned everything well. The policemen, who are going with us, are well-informed and will do what they should. Everybody knows what to do and will not do what we didn’t agree about.”       “What if they won’t?”       “Please, don’t lose hope. We will catch that stinker and his pals and save your close people.”       “There are many guards at Michael’s house. To reach them, you should get rid of them.”       “Don’t worry, we thought about it a long time ago and will not let all the policemen get into the house. Our main mission is to let Jamie into his own house secretly. And then someone from the policemen enters the house after the sign of Jamie and gets Michael and his pals arrested. Get rid of any gun that he might have, confiscate the wealth, and seal the house.”       “It’s gonna be hard,” Raquelle sighs heavily, crosses her arms over her chest, and inclines her head. “Seeing the police, Michael may easily start threatening Jamie, Terrence Edward, or Natalia with a gun. Take anyone hostage and threaten to kill.”       “We know. But even in this case, we will find a way and save the guys.”       “I can imagine what they’re feeling, knowing they can’t leave the house and got caught in a trap by that cad.” Raquelle sighs heavily and glances at the road. “I do know what that is. I know what you feel when someone puts a pistol against your head and tries to kill you.”       “Really?” Darwin rounds his eyes. “You’ve had to experience something like that?”       “Two times. I’ve had to go to a meeting with the people, who threatened me and my close people. The first time, I did it to save my aunt, who was kidnapped by a woman, who wanted to revenge on her for what happened to her father. And the second time, I had to go to the meeting for myself. To end the story that I got involved in because of him.”       “Wow! I didn’t know it…”       “The first time, I was lucky the police went with me and didn’t let that woman do something to me.” Raquelle swallows up nervously, locking her fingers tightly. “And the second time, I magically avoided death because Terrence brought the police.”       “Wait, do you mean the name named Simon?”       “Yes, him. Because of him, I lost my parents when I was a kid. My family hadn’t known what happened for many years, but Simon told me everything.”       “But what happened to your parents?”       “They died in the car accident. Simon cut off the brake of Father’s car. Dad couldn’t stop and control it, and he eventually crashed into a big truck. Mother and he got many serious traumas, and nobody helped them. So, they died. I don’t know why the police didn’t find out that the car accident was caused by the break of the brake and blamed my parents for that. But we believed it for many years.”       “Yeah, it seems like I heard something about that case,” Darwin says thoughtfully. “Simon did very many dirty tricks.”       “It’s the truth. At first, he almost ruined my modeling career by paying someone to make them write false articles about me. And then he started to take revenge on me seriously: threatening my family and my friends and eventually doing something for everybody to turn their back on me because I was allegedly, mentally sick. Grandfather and Aunt were the only ones to stay by my side.”       “And Terrence?”       “Terrence and I were close to a breakup. We were too busy with our job and forgot about each other. We were connected by passion. There were no serious feelings between us. And Simon added fuel to the fire and turned my fiancé against me. Of course, everything got better later, but it’s still hurtful for me to recall that event.”       “Did you appreciate that he came to help you and brought the police?”       “Highly appreciated. I don’t know what would’ve happened to me if that man hadn’t been there. I wouldn’t have gotten off that sick man, who went insane from the love for my mother, who rejected him somehow. And she chose my father.”       “They say he fell off the roof of the five-floor building, got serious traumas, and is now in a wheelchair.”       “It’s the truth. I wasn’t at the courting hearing – my lawyers represented my interests. But they told me Simon got a very long sentence for all his tricks. He will not be released soon. Or maybe, he will not actually take it and will die. I dunno. But the important thing is that we ended the story that I still remember with a shake.”       “Mainly thanks to your fiancé.”       “Yup…” Raquelle sighs heavily. “And I’ll owe Terrence until the end of my life for saving my life. I would hardly be alive now and get ready to bring the police to the house of his uncle to save him.”       “You want to thank Terrence in this way?”       “Not quite. I’m doing this not only because I owe him my life and wanna thank him for my salvation. I’m doing this for my love for him. For the man I can’t imagine my life without. For the strong friendship with my best friend, to whom I owe so much, as well. That girl has done so much to me that I will never pay her back enough. And I’m doing it to save all the members of the MacClife family. I’m almost a part of this family and got tightly attracted to them. And when the business has to do with my close people, I can’t just sit.” Raquelle throws a sad look at the window. “And Natalia is like a sister to me. I know she’d support me in any situation and never betray me. Somehow, I did a stupid thing when I believed Simon, who made me sure that she allegedly worked for him. But after that case, I stopped doubting my friend, and I know how wonderful she actually is.”       “It kind of sounds like an attempt to make amends with them for your past actions.”       “Yes, to some extent. But I’m mainly obsessed with love. The love for my close people. I must do everything to save them.” Raquelle sighs heavily and tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. “Maybe, Terrence and Edward started to guess that I knew something. Maybe, they and Natalia are waiting for salvation… Counting on my help… Begging me to find a way to save them. They think I’m home and don’t know someone’s about to take me out. And they’re madly worried about me…”       “Maybe, that’s true. And I’m sure they’ll be madly grateful to you for the help.”       “I’m just doing what I should.” Raquelle leans on the door of the car with her elbow and runs her fingers through her hair. “Many people used to think that I cared only about my career. Someone thought I started an affair with him under the pressure of my family, which was worried that I didn’t have a boyfriend. Sadly, nobody explained to me that I should’ve taken care of my man and shouldn't have forgotten him. Somehow, I made that mistake and almost lost him. But now I can prove that I’m really ready to do anything for my close people.”       “It’s gonna be okay, Raquelle,” Darwin replies confidently. “I promise we will do our best to save them. You did everything you should’ve done. And now you should only believe and wait for the police to do everything. Just believe in us and wait for your close to show up on the doorstep of the house.”       “If the police hadn’t changed my mind, I’d surely come into that house and stay with them ‘till the end.”       “No, you will not even get closer to that house until Michael is taken to the police station. It’s outta the discussion.”       “Sadly, I have no choice.”       “I’m sure when Michael sees his brother alive, his yawl will be lying on the floor, and he will forget what he wants to do. It will strike him down and confuse his cards.”       “I hope…” Raquelle leans back in the chair and, sighing quietly, closes her eyes. “Oh, if only Michael didn’t kill them… I wish we had time to reach Michael’s home and save the MacClifes and my friend…”       “We’ve almost come,” Darwin says confidently and looks in the rearview mirror, seeing the car and a few police cars that are following him. “Mr. Johnson is following us along with Jamie, and the policemen are following them. My colleague stays in contact with our informant, who tells him about the situation.”       Raquelle says nothing and sighs heavily, still being terribly excited and praying that nothing happens to Terrence, Natalia, and Edward, and the police, Jamie and she go to Michael’s house in time and save the three.       

***

      Edward, Natalia, and Terrence are in Michael’s office, where he literally took them hostage. While the three try to hope they will get out of here safe and sound, the man is proudly walking in front of them with a sly smile, and waving the pistol with a wish to torture his victims a little before he kills them with no regret.       “Yeah, my dears…” Michael pronounces thoughtfully. “I want to remind you about how many mistakes every one of you has made in your short life.”       “You are not the one to judge us for our mistakes,” Edward replies rudely, holding Natalia’s hand. “You have committed much more sins than us three.”       “Well, as for you, it’s not a secret to us what you have done. You’ve never been a good boy and always acted like a rude, non-educated scumbag that does not want to study and work.”       “I believe you don’t want it. How many times have you been at Father’s company? What are you doing there? Or are you making your staff bring the money to your home? Taking the place of the manager, but do not touch documents and have no meetings.”       “I visit the company regularly and closely watch what the staff members are doing. If someone makes unforgivable mistakes, I immediately fire them and find someone to replace them.”       “Ha, as if you understand something in the work of the company! You’ve never had the necessary education and skills. It’s not surprising that you don’t meddle in this business and do trust everything to other people.”       “You shouldn't care about it, baby. You would not do this work because you don’t have brains. If you ruled the company, you would bankrupt it for a few days.”       “As if you have brains! And a wish to work and learn! Well, what kind of progress there might be when the irreversible regress starts at your age.”       “Don’t snap at me, shabby puppy!” Michael says rudely and leans on the working table. “Let’s better recall all the mistakes that you have made. We have very much time to talk about everything.”       “Yeah, maybe, let’s talk about the mistakes that YOU have made?” Terrence suggests coldly. “I’d love to know all the sins you have committed in your life. Starting from harming your brother in childhood and finishing with going to kill all of us.”       “No, Terrence, first, we will talk about the mistakes YOU have made.” Michael laughs evilly, pointing his finger at Terrence. “But you have made very many mistakes. Starting from the day you were born. Your birth was your greatest mistake.”       “I can say the same about you, honorable.”       “You have had mental issues since childhood and went much crazier after you got famous worldwide and started to hear little schoolgirls admire you and screamed at your pretense.”       “Don’t be jealous. Your time was gone thirty or forty years ago. But even if it wasn’t gone, even a woman, who lost hope to marry, wouldn’t look at you.”       “The talk is not about me, my sweetie. About you. About what people say about you. What they write about. What they know. What they are silent about. What nobody knows yet.”       “If you learned something from newspapers, I advise you to believe them less,” Terrence says quietly but coldly. “They may often write a lie. That many people sometimes believe, sadly.”       “You’re right, I will not protest. But agree that every phrase may have a part of the truth. For example, all newspapers wrote about your upcoming breakup with the fucking sexy and charming Raquelle Cameron. And it’s the truth.”       “What’s your fucking business if Raquelle and I wanted to break up?” Terrence asks rudely. “I’m not going to remember what stayed in the past!”       “Yeah, but a fact is a fact. Even such a stunning cutie could not hold you, and she did her best for you to lose interest in her. All the men in the world whooped from happiness because their opponent broke up with that gal! And how disappointed they were when you said you decided to keep your relationship.”       “And what? What’s wrong with making a mistake once? As if any relationships are perfect and unbreakable.”       “Let’s remember what brought you to that. That cutie forgot about you. She got busy with the career that she was restoring after someone almost ruined it. She stopped pleasing you even sexually. I’m silent about silence because you did not get it. The gal actually gave a fuck about you. She just used the moment, so her family got off her.”       “You can’t know it.”       “But I do know.” Michael thinks for two seconds. “And I know that the man named Simon Ringer, who wanted to destroy Raquelle, worked for you for a long time. He did his best to ruin the career of that girl. She even thought you were the one to do it. Because you shouted that you’d destroy her career because she became the girl on your list, who rejected you. And it hurt you. Hurt you much.”       “Wow, how much you know!”       “But I’d be surprised if you knew about his plans to turn Cameron’s life to hell.”       “I knew nothing about his plans. But when I found it out, I fired him immediately!”       “Anyway, you were so determined to get Raquelle. You didn’t hide your sexual interest in her and weren’t shy about showing it openly. Many people saw you feeling her up and even kissing that cutie, who was an innocent virgin.”       “I don’t want to talk about Simon. That bastard is in prison. And I have thanked Gods hundreds of times for giving Ringer the punishment and leaving me and my fiancée alone! And if Raquelle had fallen off the roof and died because of him, I would’ve killed that asshole personally.”       “Yeah, that man is in prison,” Michael nods. “They say he is helpless because he is paralyzed. He even got a special person, so they took care of him.”       “I don’t care about what’s happening to that man,” Terrence says rudely. “Alive or dead – I give a fuck! I will never forgive him for almost separating me from the girl that I love more than life. Because of him, what could’ve been fixed was almost destroyed. A miracle helped us save our relationship.”       “Yes, yes, I know what you mean,” Michael smiles slyly and thinks for two seconds. “Simon made you believe in a betrayal of your fiancée, who was very cold to you. You believed it easily and did not wish to figure it out. It became the end of your relationship, which was close to breaking up.”       “Do you really care what the fuck happened between them?” Edward asks rudely. “It’s their personal lives that have to do only with the two! Leave the lives of my friend and his fiancée alone, and do not meddle in it!”       “I don’t care! I just remind you of what your friends try to deny. Every time the media asks them about their breakup, they refuse to explain something. Because they have demons. And I don’t know what happened behind the door. What if my nephew was beating his fiancée. So to say, he was a real tyrant and made her experience domestic violence. Knowing that Terrence has a hard character and mental issues. A victim usually takes it because of fear of the offender. But that gal would be brave if she really experienced violence.”       “It’s your sick fantasy,” Terrence says coldly. “I have never made Raquelle experience domestic violence.”       “I wouldn’t be surprised if it was the truth. And your fiancée is crazy if she decided to come back to the one, who insulted, humiliated, and beat her. Who was hugging and kissing another girl.”       “Your imagination is wow,” Edward hums and frowns slightly. “And yeah, let me ask, how do you actually know what happened between them? How do you know EVERYTHING that only fewer people should know?”       “Ah, boy,” Michael laughs evilly. “Don’t forget that I have many familiar people that can share some interesting information with me and be connected with those I need. Or those, who know those I need. Everybody knows that the more contacts you have, the higher chance to know any little thing is.”       “So, maybe, you share your secret sources?” Terrence crosses his arms over his chest, squinting his eyes. “What if we want to know something, as well! We would need people, who adore meddling in someone’s business.”       “I think you will not need them. But I can say only one thing: I was told about the case of Raquelle and you by the person, who had known Simon for ages. He knows everything that happened because Ringer shared the information and even asked him for help. But you will never know who that person is, and how I know him.”       “Huh, as if I want to know!” Terrence rolls his eyes.       “Wonderful! So, I ask nobody to be surprised that I know so much about the possible breakup of Terrence and Raquelle, and even more.”       “Don’t tell us you know everything that happened between them before they started to date,” Natalia says coldly.       “I do know,” Michael thinks for two seconds, stroking his chin with a mysterious smile. “I know very much about their lives. I know when Raquelle and Terrence met for the first time, they didn’t get on well because the girl became the first one not to praise him. On the one hand, he got mad at that cutie, but on the other hand, he couldn’t resist sexual affection. Terrence got used to having girls to look into his eyes, but then he had to run into such an unexpected thing.”       “Wow…”       “I also know that Raquelle easily got great success in the modeling business thanks to her sexual attraction and incredible features, hiding which would be a sin. Maybe, stylists worked on her appearance. But even without all of that, she does spread crazy sexual energy. I checked how she was changing through the years and noticed that the older Raquelle got, the more beautiful she became. The sort of woman that gets better every year.”       “If you think she got it easily, you are deeply wrong,” Natalia says confidently. “Raquelle worked very hard to get the confession. You don’t know she had to take a long and hard way. How she had to learn to be confident, show herself, and look wonderfully… How much she cried when she could do nothing, felt in despair, and wanted to leave it all. And after the scandal with Simon Ringer, my friend worked much harder to get the love of her fans again and give them a reason to say positive things about her.”       “Yes, yes, I know,” Michael nods, smiling with the corners of his mouth. “Ah, poor Raquelle Cameron! She was getting showered with mud because false articles were getting published. Simon Ringer paid his friend, who worked as an editor of an unpopular magazine. I must confess that I bought every single issue until the release was stopped. But why did they stop releasing it? Because a certain photographer proved that everything written was a lie and revealed Ringer and his pals.”       “Maybe, you know what happened,” Terrence says coldly. “But you don’t know what she had to experience because everybody thought she was horrible and believed those false notes that insulted her honor.”       “I’m guessing. If Raquelle ran away to London so that nobody knew it for a long time, she was terribly afraid to show up. You know that New York is a large city where life never stops. You may meet a celebrity here and ask for an autograph or a photo. And there are the paparazzi that do not let famous people go quietly. But in London, the atmosphere is more or less quiet. I don’t personally remember when the paparazzi took photos of someone in Great Britain: London, Manchester, Liverpool… That gal knew where to run.”       “Let me tell you that she went there not to have a rest!” Natalia throws coldly. “She didn’t focus on herself and her thoughts there.”       “I’m well aware of that,” Michael nods, stroking his chin with a slight smile. “The kidnapping of the former designer and Raquelle’s aunt, who was famous in certain circles. By the way, at a young age, she was a prostitute and kept the woman of a rich man, whom she killed many years ago. But she was justified magically.”       “It happened accidentally!” Terrence exclaims. “That woman protected herself from her offender, who tried to rape her.”       “And she could’ve paid a high cost. If she hadn’t gone to prison, she would’ve been killed by his daughter, who did not forgive that woman for the murder of her father. But that woman died because of the policemen, who shot at her.” Michael hums quietly and puts the pistol on the table. “Yeah, Cameron is a lucky girl! She avoided death magically! Not one time but two! She was saved by the policemen the first time, and Terrence MacClife saved her for the second time. He agreed with the police and went to the meeting of his fiancée and Simon.”       Michael claps his hands with a contemptuous smile, while Terrence shakes his head and rolls his eyes.       “Bravo, my dear, bravo! You acted like a hero! I guess you got remorse after you kicked Raquelle out of the home. You realized you felt bad without her and decided to surprise her by showing up there. But you forgot Raquelle was actually guilty of the fact that your relationship almost led to a breakup.”       “I did not kick her out of home!” Terrence protests. “Raquelle left at her wish. I was not going to hold her. She did it because she felt hurt. And I completely understand her feelings.”       “Well, of course… Understand… What were you thinking of when fighting with her? When insulting and humiliating her? When deciding to start an affair with that blonde, who you were hugging and kissing before everyone’s eyes? By the way, the photos are still on the Internet. You can easily find them.”       “I’m not going to tell you what I was thinking of because it’s none of your fucking business,” Terrence replies in a low, rude voice.       “Don’t do it! I know everything.”       “Then shut up and stop asking me about it.”       “Oh, what a rude boy you are…” Michael, shaking his head, clatters quietly. “Bad, Terrence, bad. Your mother would kick your ass if she heard you talking to older people like this.”       “There is no reason to respect you.”       “As well as you.” Michael falls into silence for two seconds. “You did nothing good, but you became literally God that everybody praised. I am sorry that nobody knows and remembers the sins that this allegedly innocent man has committed.”       “I will be honest, I consider myself an irresistible in all senses man,” Terrence says confidently. “If I were not so talented, attractive, and confident, I wouldn’t have gotten everything I have. Despite nothing, I believe my life is good. I’m a young, handsome, successful, lucky, rich, loyal, beloved, wanted, and confident man.”       “Oh, you praised yourself much!” Michael laughs contemptuously. “But at least you are not pretending. Unlike your little friend. I would say, you are enjoying yourself. However, despite your awesomeness, you have lots of shortcomings and sins. We’ve talked about your actions toward your fiancée, but now we can start discussing your father. Who you hated so much.”       “You decided to recall all the moments from the lives of us three?” Terrence smirks ironically.       “Maybe. And yeah, do you know what your father did when you turned three? If you do not, I can tell you one interesting case with pleasure! Because of which your parents broke up.”       “Don’t overload yourself, sir. I know that my father slapped my mother and left home along with my brother. And I will tell you more, I do remember how it happened, despite being a little baby.”       “So, I got it. But did you know how poorly your parents lived before and after you were born? And how the situation got much worse after your brother’s birth!”       “I always have. Mother and I lived in poverty all our lives. While she was working and earning pennies. And It was barely enough for what we needed, I was studying at school and wanted to grow up to help her.”       “And you did it well. Any school student can find an easy job to earn money for a couple of candies. But when you turned fourteen, you were noticed by someone, who was traveling around America and looking for new faces for shootings in a movie. You accepted the offer to act on it. Even if your role was very small, it became the start of your way into the celebrity world. Directors rated your act so highly that you were noticed by famous people and got invitations to auditions or shootings for a movie. And you earned a lot of money for every single role, thanks to which the lives of you and your mother got better. But at the age of eighteen, you filmed in a movie ‘American Love Affair’ that people still remember.”       “You cannot know it at all. You hardly love movies because you only care about stealing money and revenging on those, who have to do with my father.”       “Wrong, dear nephew. I saw that movie. Although, I disliked it because it was terribly banal and snotty. It’s clear it was filmed for teenagers, who loved banal stories about sassy guys from school and homely mice they would fall in love with. But your acting, I must confess, impressed me. Well, as you had to play a confident peacock, and you are the same in real life, it was super easy for you.”       “I’m kind of proud that you rated my action,” Terrence says sarcastically, rolling his eyes and crossing his arms over his chest.       “But after watching that movie for the first time, I didn’t know you played in it. But when I watched it again, saw the end credits, and read your name, I quickly realized why you reminded me of someone.”       “Well, congratulations, what I can say.”       “After that role, you woke up famous and started getting much more good offers of shootings, for which you earned much money. You were adored by movie creators, respected by your colleagues, and praised by your fans… And girls were ready to tear each other apart to be with you. But some time later, something went wrong, and you stopped acting. Fans kept admiring you, but no movies starring you have been released yet.”       “At least, I reached everything by myself. And I had to overcome all the difficulties.”       “Working hard will give you good results, as they say.” Michael leans on the appearance of the table with a hand. “Right, you’ve earned so much money that you could buy a house for yourself and provide for your mother. You provided for Rebecca and bought her a big house, while you lived in a rented apartment for a long time. But when you fell in love with Raquelle, you bought the house where you are still living… And found servants… But you haven’t thought of security. And it’s bad, Terrence. You think you’re literally a diamond. But brilliants must be kept under good security.”       “Don’t think I got it all for my beautiful eyes or contacts with daughters of powerful people? No! I reached everything by myself! Nobody helped me! I did even get managers later! I chose what I found interesting and went to meetings. And sometimes I had to sacrifice much for shootings. Sometimes the condition was just horrible, people were unfair, and roles were so hard that I felt exhausted by the end of the day.”       “You know, sweetie, I also had to overcome much to get everything I have. How much I had to remember, what I had to learn! Just getting a good business was not enough. I should have known how to keep getting big money.”       “Yeah, but you didn’t get it all honestly!” Edward notices. “The bigger part of everything you own belongs to Father”       “But he is dead, and everything he had belongs to me now.”       “How could you be so heartless?” Natalia wonders. “How could you dare to do all of that? I can’t imagine how you could go so far! What were you meant to have on your mind to go crazy from hate for your own friend?”       “My brother was much luckier than me. He was always much luckier. Our parents loved him much more than me. Even before that bastard’s birth, I did not get as much love as I wanted. And after his birth, I actually became something to beat for them. That stinker got all the best. I had to ask what I needed from my own parents, who always hated me and considered me their burden.” Michael starts clenching his hands into fists from evil and tension in his body. “I always got punished if I hurt my bro. And when he did something, they forgave him. Mother kissed him, and Father always discussed what he cared about.”       Michael glances at the window.       “Their support helped that scumbag graduate from school with dignity, go to the best university in New York, and graduate with a prestigious diploma. And then Father decided to give him a job at his shipbuilding company. He thought Jamie always had the character of a leader. And he started to teach him. He gave me a job, too. He remembered that I needed money. But I had to answer calls and nice good to people that worked with the firm. Smile at them… Be a walking everyday book for Jamie and schedule his meetings with partners… Do everything that made me the fuck sick.”       “Why didn’t you like the job of a secretary?” Edward wonders. “At least it’s not cleaning toilets. You would’ve sat quietly, talked to people, and learned your money.”       “I couldn’t stand that job!” Michael says rudely. “I always wanted to rule Father’s company! That’s why I decided to do my best to get the job of the manager.”       “As far as I understand, did you steal the job of the manager from Father?”       “M-m-m…” Michael smiles widely. “As it turned out, the puppy can sometimes say something clever.”       Edward says nothing and just parodies Michael’s mimic and says the same words with a much more squeaking voice.       “Yes, I really got a job of your father,” Michael says confidently. “First, I owned only twenty-five percent of the company stocks, but when Jamie lost his job, I got twenty-five more.”       Michael hums and slightly pulls his collar.       “But I didn’t know that fifteen percent of the stocks belonged to his ex-wife. At that time, my brother dated that woman and even planned to marry her. And despite the hard times, they married. He bought the cheapest ring and proposed to her. There was no wedding celebration – only the official registration of the marriage and a little dinner for friends. Well, knowing they had a bad situation, I kindly suggested that my bro sell his house to me. At first, your father refused, but later agreed. And in case you didn’t know, the house, where you three are belonged to that man somehow.”       “My gosh…” Terrence says thoughtfully, being a little confused.       “So, we are now in the house that used to belong to Edward’s father,” Natalia adds thoughtfully. “Well… I could kind of assume it because Michael said he stole everything from your father. But… I didn’t think about it seriously.”       “Wait…” Terrence pronounces quietly and glances at Michael sharply. “So, does the house not belong to you?”       “It belonged, Terrence,” Michael specifies. “Don’t get confused, please.”       “And as I understand, did you steal this house from its owner dishonestly? You stole another thing that belonged to Father?”       “My dear, nobody stole anything from anyone,” Michael smiles innocently. “Your father agreed to sell his house to me. He was too naive and agreed to sell his house to me when I said I’d give him a job at the company back. But it was just an excuse for my brother to agree to make an agreement with me.”       “I don’t believe it!” Edward exclaims. “I don’t believe he could think about it and believe such a bastard like you!”       “You did deceive him!” Terrence resents. “You stole HIS house from him!”       “I’ve already said your father did it at his wish, and nobody forced him,” Michael replies. “I just offered him an agreement.”       “But you gave him NOTHING!” Edward notices. “NOTHING!”       “He is the one to blame. Before he got several hits on the head, he could not understand when someone played with him like a kitten and made him a fool.”       “Asshole…” Terrence hisses with evil in his eyes. “Bastard… No shame! No fucking shame! You knew how his parents lived, but you made their lives much more.”       “I believe everything wasn’t so bad if they started to get ready to become parents. Six months later, after the wedding, my sister-in-law found out that she was expecting a child. Expecting Terrence, who was destined to become a beloved guy of his family. And when he turned one, she got pregnant again, and then the worthless puppy Edward was born. Who his mommy and daddy did not expect. Who they could’ve killed him before his birth if she had had the forced abortion. This boy became the curse of his parents, whose lives got much worse after his birth.”       Michael starts stroking his chin with a sly smile, while Edward swallows up nervously, understanding how it’s unpleasant to hear something like this.        “His parents had very little money. And to save something, they sometimes left Edward with my mother. They could feed two sons. Who wanted a lot of food. Drinking only breast milk wasn’t enough for them. They wanted more and more every time. But my mother was happy to babysit Eddy. And she didn’t forget about her older grandson. Come on, he was beloved and wanted. But he was rarely left with his grandmother. She spent a bigger part of the time with this little creature.”       Michael falls into silence for two seconds to clear his throat.       “Then his mommy and daddy had a nervous breakdown. They had a conflict, during which my brother slapped his wifey in the face. Then he took his stuff, grabbed Edward, and disappeared, leaving his older son and his mommy alone. I don’t know what made my bro so mad that he slapped her, but I can assume it had to do with money. However, they had a neighbor that I knew well. He spoke well with those two, and I kind of showed interest and asked him what happened. So, that person told me everything. And when she stayed alone, my familiar person decided to move to another city, and I stopped speaking to him. So, I say it in case you wonder how I know it all.”       “That’s why I was left with her,” Edward says quietly. “My parents couldn’t feed two children. They decided to send me to Grandma to make their lives a little better. Save money, as Uncle said.”       “You someday said she wasn’t too talkative when the talk was about what happened between your parents,” Natalia recalls.       “Yeah. Father asked her to say nothing. I found out something from her, but Grandma was silent about many things. But now many things are getting clear.” Edward thinks for two seconds and frowns slightly. “And I can’t understand… Did my father marry my stepmother because of money? Not to stay without a home! Not to be hungry!”       “Nevertheless, we exactly know why you were separated from your brother,” Terrence concludes. “Your parents had such a hard life a long time before your birth. And the life of my mother and I was hard. I thought we were always so poor.”       “Did you know your father left your family when you were three?” Natalia asks.       “I just assumed I was two or three. But I remember how my parents fought before my eyes. I still hear their shouts in my ears.”       “That’s how…”       “And yeah…” Terrence thinks for two seconds. “If Father disappeared for a few years, how could it have to do with the fact that he mocked Mother? Had Father been doing it before my birth? Before the birth of my missing brother?”       “Are you sure he was beating her? You make conclusions, having just one memory!”       “No, I…”       Although Terrence, Edward, and Natalia talk in a whisper, Michael hears what his nephews and the girl say, and he meddles in their talk, crossing his arms over his chest.       “As for marrying another woman…” Michael says thoughtfully. “My brother married that woman for money. He never loved that woman and didn’t look at her the way he looked at Edward’s mother. Even being married for the second time, your mother was on his mind anyway. However, that man gave a fuck about love and was obsessed with a benefit. And when he met that rich woman with her own business, my brother quickly did his best for her to start doing anything for him. And she married him with great pleasure. Your father and stepmother made two more boys. Who are more decent guys than this kid and his brother.”       “How do you know that Father didn’t love her?” Edward asks. “Did he tell you that?”       “The kid said it somehow. During our fight that happened after I found him many years later, my bro said he married that woman for her millions. He wanted to find a good place and literally started to milk that woman like a cow, getting money out of her for himself and his younger sonny from his first wife.” Michael smirks and shakes his head. “Yeah, he had a gorgeous life that he was deprived of by his own brother.”       “Though, you should’ve been instead of him!” Edward says confidently. “You should’ve lived like a pauper and counted down the days until a little salary.”       “Alas, dear, the sliest and quickest one gets a victory, not the smartest one. And naive people never get anything good.”       “Everything could’ve been otherwise if you hadn’t done your best to ruin the life of Father and had to do with the fact that he broke up with Mother.”       “Yeah, about that!” Michael falls into silence for two seconds, moving his eyes to the window. “As for Jamie mocking Rebecca, everything is a little different.”       “Hm, tell us about it then if you decided to take us hostage,” Terrence suggests, crossing his arms over his chest.       “I will say it personally to you, Terrence. Because you hate your father much more.” Michael falls into silence for two seconds and comes closer to Terrence, scratching his temple. “But at first, tell me, please, why you don’t love your father and refuse to contact him?”       “It makes sense?”       “It does.”       “Let’s assume because he raised a hand on Mother,” Terrence replies coldly. “Beat her. Regularly.”       “Did you see that? Or did your mother tell you how cruel your father was?”       “I saw. When Father slapped Mother in the face and ran away like a coward. But then he came to us on his knees and started to beg us to forgive him. While Mother forgave, I will never forgive him for that betrayal.”       “And how many times did it happen? Just one time?”       “Did you decide to give me the third degree? I’m kind of not at the police station. I’m not arrested. And you are not an investigator that tries to get a confession out of me!”       “But why did you think that your father was so cruel and was beating your beloved mommy if you remember just one case? Did you make conclusions because of just one event that happened when you were sucking a pacifier?”       “Because I was told that!” Terrence throws loudly and rudely. “You’re happy now?”       “Not quite. And now tell me, who told you that?”       “Do you think I remember?”       “Alright… So, I’m quite happy…”       “Damn, don’t say you know something about this story and stuck your fucking nose in it, as well,” Edward says coldly.       “Maybe.” Michael steps back from Terrence, crossing his arms over his chest with a quiet sneer. “You see, Terrence, the case is the information about your father is not real. You were deceived again and made to believe what actually never happened.”       “Never happened?” Terrence and Edward wonder, opening their eyes widely.       “Never,” Michael smiles innocently. “Yes, Jamie really raised a hand on Rebecca. But it happened only once. When you, Terrence, turned three. Your little brother was one, but he didn’t know it because he was left with his grandmother. And as I realized, Terry memorized that case. Of course, it’s amazing because children don’t remember what happened to them before their eyes at a certain age.”       “I didn’t get it…” Terrence falls into a stupor, staring at Michael with suspicion. “What do you want to say?”       “I want to say you were fooled, stupid,” Michael says confidently and raises his head. “Your father never beat your mother. He just raised a hand on her once.”       “What?”       “And the one, who told you the lie was me.”       Getting sharply white, Terrence gets frozen and opens his eyes full of horror widely and sets them on Michael. Silence settles in the air for a few seconds, during which the man shakes his head and grabs his hair, slightly pulling it and feeling that he gets obsessed with a wave of panic. While Edward and Natalia being not less shocked watch him with pity in their eyes.       “No…” Terrence pronounces in a shaking voice, breathing heavily. “No… It can’t be the truth! It can’t be!”       “Jamie never made Rebecca experience domestic violence,” Michael says confidently. “And as that slap was the first and probably last one, that woman forgave him so easily when she met my brother for the first time after the breakup many years later. I know that they regularly met after that. And yeah, Isabella knew about that situation from Jamie and didn’t mind his meetings with his first wife. She knew she was the mother of his son and didn’t ban him from meeting her.”       “You are lying!” Terrence shouts loudly, setting his evil gaze on Michael. “LYING! I DO NOT BELIEVE YOU! I DO NOT BELIEVE IT! NONE OF YOUR WORDS!”       “Sh-h-h…” Natalia whispers, touching Terrence’s shoulder and caressing it to calm the excited man down. “Calm down, Terrence, don’t be nervous.”       “I’m not lying, I’m telling the truth,” Michael replies quietly. “The truth that your mother did not want to tell you. She wanted you to hear it from your father. That’s why she insisted that you met him so hard. If you hadn’t been so stubborn, you would’ve known the truth much earlier.”       “Yeah, and how will you prove it?” Edward asks. “How will you prove that you really turned Terrence against his father?”       “Easy. When your friend was five or six, I talked to their neighbor on the phone for the last time, and he told me where to find Terrence and Rebecca. After, I made a visit to her. She refused to talk to me and tried to kick me out. But her attempts were unsuccessful, and I went into the apartment. I went to the room and saw the baby, Terrence. He was sitting on the floor and playing with something. While Rebecca was enraged and threatening to call the police, I locked the room and came to your friend. I remember his surprised eyes, with which he looked at me. He called me a father, but I said his father was beating his mother for a long time.”       “What?” Terrence opens his eyes widely.       “All that time, Rebecca was terribly furious and knocking at the door! But Terrence was screaming much louder, demanding to call his father and saying he did not believe my words. And as we see, my words have been stuck in his head and made him hate his father. Who he really loved when a baby. To whom he got much more attracted than his mother.”       First, Terrence listens to Michael and does not believe him, thinking he dreams up. But as long as the man speaks, the man gets the brighter memories from childhood that have to do with what made him hate his father. He recalls himself being a baby, sitting on the floor in a small room, and playing. But later, a man, who was very similar to his father stood in front of him. Not a too young, not a too old one.       

***

      “Daddy?” the childish, tiny voice pronounces. “Dad, is that you? You are back? Back to Mommy and me?”       “No, kid, I’m not your dad,” the rude masculine voice says.       “But how? You are Daddy!” the boy exclaims happily. “I recognized you! Daddy! Daddy! You didn’t leave me!”       “I’m not your father, Terrence. Yes, maybe, I look similar to him, but you confused me with him.”       “But if you aren’t my father, who are you?”       “The older brother of your father. Your uncle. You can call me Uncle Mikey.”       “Uncle Mickey?”       “Yes. But if you want, you can call me Uncle Michael. My name is Michael.”       “And where’s Dad, Uncle Mickey? I wanna see him! Bring him to me! I always ask Mother where he is, but she doesn’t wanna say anything.”       At this moment, someone strongly knocks at the locked door with a fist, and then a loud feminine voice pronounces:       “Michael! Michael, open the door now! Open, I said! Don’t dare to hurt Terrence! Hear me, don’t think! Don’t dare to touch my son with a finger! I don’t know what I will do to you! MICHAEL!”       “Second, Rebecca, wait for a while!” Michael replies loudly.       “MICHAEL!”       “Uncle, where’s my daddy?” Terrence asks in a tiny, childish voice, looking at Michael with widely open eyes. “I wanna see Dad! I feel bad without him! I love Mommy very much, but I wanna see Dad! Why hasn’t he been back yet?”       “MICHAEL, OPEN THE DOOR” Rebecca screams, being resentful and knocking at the door strongly.       “Sadly, your daddy left you and your mother,” Michael says with regret. “He left far away and will no longer be back to you.”       “Left? But why? Why didn’t Dad take me with him? He always said he loved me and would never leave!”       “Alas, baby, my brother doesn’t love you.” Michael caresses the head of the baby Terrence. “Your mother doesn’t tell you about it because she doesn’t wanna make you upset and believes you are too little for this confession.”       “No, you are lying!” Terrence protests. “My daddy loves me! Mommy always tells me that! She says she and Dad love me very much, despite nothing!”       “Sadly, it’s not the truth, my dear. Your daddy has actually never loved you or your mother.”       “But why? Why doesn’t Dad love Mom?”       “It happens. You can do nothing with it.”       “Michael, don’t ask for trouble!” Rebecca demands loudly. “Open the door now! What are you doing there to my son?”       “Moreover, I’m gonna tell you more, but it will be the secret of you and me,” Michael says quietly and starts whispering. “My brother was even beating your mother before your birth. And he was doing that when your mother was carrying you under her heart.”       “What?” Terrence asks in a shaking voice, setting his widely open eyes full of horror on Michael. “Dad was beating Mom?”       “He did, my sweetheart. Your father was always so horrible.”       “No!” Terrence shouts as he is about to start hysteria. “No, it’s a lie! You are lying! Dad wouldn’t do that! He loves me and Mommy! Loves! I know he will be back! And we will live together!”       “MICHAEL!” Rebecca resents loudly, still knocking at the door. “OPEN THE DOOR NOW! OTHERWISE, I WILL CALL THE POLICE!”       “Sorry, Terrence,” Michael replies with sadness in his eyes, ignoring the loud shout of Rebecca. “No matter how hard it is to say it, it’s the truth. Sadly, your father doesn’t love you and your mother. He raised his hand at her many times for nothing. And you were actually his unwanted child. Jamie was mocking her even when she was pregnant with you for the reason.”       “You are lying! LYING!”       “Trust me, honey, I was a witness to him treating terribly those he dated before your mother. As his older brother, I tried to change his mind, but that man was a real stinker. He was beating your mother for many years and then left her and you.”       “NO, IT’S NOT THE TRUTH!” Terrence screams at the top of his lungs and starts crying loudly, throwing his toy aside. “A-A-A-A!”       Hearing Terrence’s hysterical cry, Rebecca starts knocking at the door much harder and demanding that Michael, who smiles kind of evilly, lets her in the room immediately. However, the man does not react to the recentness of the furious woman, who cannot reach for her son because the room is locked.       

***

      This memory makes Terrence shake strongly with widely open eyes. The man used to remember that he was told that his father was beating his mother, but now he remembers the whole dialogue and the face of the man, who made him believe the lie.       “Holy shit!” Terrence gets sharply straight, setting his gaze on the same point, while his widely open eyes full of horror are running from one side to another. “It’s the truth!”       “Really?” Edward rounds his eyes. “Did you remember?”       “Yup. Now I know everything…” Terrence falls into silence for two seconds, breathing heavily and looking into the distance with dumbfounded eyes. “Everything…”       “So, did someone really lie to you about your father?”       “I… I couldn’t remember who said Father beat Mother. But now I clearly remember the face of the one, who said it. I remember the full dialogue. I remember where, how, and when it happened.”       “And who was it?” Natalia asks quietly, keeping a hand on Terrence’s shoulder and looking at him with sadness in her eyes. “Who turned you against your father?”       “That was him… Michael!”       “Uncle Michael?” Edward gets horrified. “He did a dirty trick again?”       “He told me Father was regularly beating Mother. Even when she was carrying me under her heart.”       “How awful!” Edward closes his mouth with a hand and shakes his head, looking at Terrence with a dumbfounded gaze. “No, it’s impossible…”       Terrence raises his head sharply two seconds later and looks at Michael with evil and hate in his eyes.       “Asshole!” Terrence hisses through his teeth. “BASTARD! How could you the fuck dare to do it? HOW? WHY?”       “So, guy, you remembered me, after all?” Michael smirks and crosses his arms over his chest. “Remembered that you met me much earlier than your friend did?”       “Did you go home of me and Mother to tell me THAT? TURN ME AGAINST MY OWN FATHER!”       “Making little children believe what you want is much easier. At such a young age, a child’s mental health is very tense and sensitive. That’s why many parents don’t tell their children they want to divorce until the end. They are afraid it would harm their mental health. But children usually feel that someone lies to them and take a greater interest in what is tried to be hidden from them. So, you always asked where your father was, but your mother refused to answer. But I told you about him. Without fears and doubts. And my confession immediately turned everything upside down. Your daddy stopped being beloved to you. You placed your mommy in the first place. You consciously understood that you should’ve protected her because she allegedly got over much.”       “You are a cad,” Terrence says in a low voice with evil in his eyes, breathing too heavily. “Just a real scumbag! ASSHOLE! SCOUNDREL! I can’t believe I considered my father a bastard, while you were the one. YOU! BECAUSE OF YOU, I HATED FATHER FOR NOTHING! YOU GOT WHAT YOU WANTED! CONGRATULATIONS!”       “But I’m not guilty of you not wishing to hear your mother, who knew the truth and heard the talk of you and me. You didn’t want to listen to your father, who could tell you what actually happened. Someone would have washed your brains much earlier if you hadn’t been as headstrong as a brainless donkey.”       “Curse you!” Terrence hisses through his teeth. “FOR EVERYTHING YOU HAVE DONE! For making me hate my father all my life and believing my mother was his victim! For the fact that my younger brother and I weren’t growing up together and were separated when we couldn’t remember each other!”       “Well, don’t give me claims,” Michael smiles innocently. “Jamie decided to take Edward with him. He decided to do a fucking noble act and make Rebecca’s life easier. Though, he didn’t the fuck need a second child. He married Isabella, moved into her house, and forgot about his sonny, believing he must’ve been happy to have a home.”       “Now I’m starting to understand why Mother forgave him so easily and said good things about him. A woman would hardly say nice things about the one, who was constantly beating her and putting her in danger to lose a child. The reason was not that Mother was too kind and soft to be mad for too long. Father was not actually guilty of what you made me think.”       “Yeah, that woman has always had a weak character. She got married to my brother, knowing he had only his clothes. She wanted to give birth to a child from him. She didn’t make an abortion when she got pregnant with a second one. She had been with him until the end, before that bastard took his stuff and got out with the younger sonny. I’m sure Rebecca would’ve stayed with him even after the slap if Jamie hadn’t left because of shame.”       “ASSHOLE!” Terrence screams at the top of his lungs. “BASTARD! I HATE YOU! HATE YOU! You cannot imagine how lousy I feel! How guilty I am for the one, who I hated all my life because of what you made me think! And I’m surprised that Father didn’t get mad at me! Though, he had a right to stop begging me for forgiveness!”       “So, since your dad died, you will regret it all your life.”       “Second…” Terrence moves his questioning look to Michael, frowning strongly. “How do you actually know my parents? How do you know their names are Rebecca and Jamie? What do you have to do with them? And how do you know that my stepmother’s name is Isabella? And why did you introduce yourself as the brother of my father and my uncle? And why do you the hell say he died?”       “Oh, Terry, my sweetheart…” Michael smiles mysteriously. “I know so much that you cannot even imagine.”       “I’m starting to think that you’re telling me two stories that are actually connected with one another.”       “M-m-m… Maybe…”       “What do you need from the MacClifes? Why are you the fuck chasing those, who don’t have to do with you? It’s okay that you have some conflicts with Edward. But what do I have to do with it?”       “Oh, no, honey, you do have to do with it.”       “Why?” Terrence asks loudly. “Why did you start it all? Who are you?”       “Of course, I could easily answer all your questions. But Edward should better do this.” Michael looks at Edward getting tense with a sly smile. “Ask him what it all means.”       “What do you mean, ask Edward?”       “And ask this boy tell you and Natalia about who he actually is.”       “Close your mouth, Uncle…” Edward hisses through his teeth.       “What’s wrong, baby? Did you think you would play the role of the one, who you were not, forever? Everyone knows that any trust will come to light early or late.”       “What is he talking about, Edward?” Terrence wonders. “Is this old man going crazy?”       “You completely understands that something is not right with this guy. You feel something suspicious. You’re still wondering why he was imposing his friendship on you so badly.”       “So, do you want to say that man told me the truth? About Edward not being the one, who he is pretending to be!”       “And about him having some interesting information about your missing younger brother.”       “I doubt that it can be the truth,” Natalia meddles confidently.       “No, my sweetheart,” Michael protests. “What you have learned for all this time is the clean truth.”       “What does Natalia know?” Terrence frowns slightly. “I don’t understand anything! What’s actually going on? What bullshit do you want to tell me?”       “Let Edward explain everything to us.” Michael comes to Edward determinedly, takes him under an arm, gets him up from the sofa, and turns him on Terrence and Natalia. “I am sure that you are going to be shocked when you know his real identity.”       “Come on, Edward, say a word to us!” Terrence insists. “Explain what it all the fuck means.”       “Erm, I…” Edward stutters, getting a little pale and starting to breathe a little heavily.       “Which secrets are you hiding, little rat?” Terrence gets up from the sofa sharply and comes to Edward. “Who are you? What do you want from me? What were you the fuck imposing your friendship on me so hard?”       “The truth is that Edward Lockhart is not Edward Lockhart, Terrence,” Michael says confidently with his head proudly raised. “And it happens that I don’t have this last name, too.”       “What? Are you not Edward Lockhart?”       “His real name is Edward Robert MacClife. He is your missing younger brother, who we talked about before.”       After getting frozen in horror and getting pale, Terrence opens his eyes widely, while Natalia opens her mouth and shakes her head hesitantly.       “What?” Terrence pronounces and runs his hands through his hair. “My missing brother? Edward?”       “Meet the guy, who you were not destined to grow up with,” Michael says confidently with a sly smile. “And let me call my full name. Since I did not call it before. Michael Gregory MacClife. The older brother of your father Jamie. And, as it turned out, your own uncle.”       “No…” Terrence shakes his head. “No, it can’t be the truth! You’re lying!”       “Why? It’s the clear truth. Edward is your brother. And I’m going to tell you more, the boy knew everything very well. He knew about his family ties with you.”       “What?” Terrence moves his eyes sharply to Edward inclining his head. “You knew everything? You knew who I was from the beginning? You knew that my mother was your mother, too?”       “Exactly, Terrence. Exactly. Edward knew who he should’ve found very well. And then he got so lucky to meet your friend, who agreed to help him.”       “We don’t believe you!” Natalia exclaims, getting up from the sofa and coming to Terrence. “Edward can’t be Terrence’s brother! They are not similar!”       “It can be. They are brothers. Siblings. Your ex actually came from the family of the popular in the whole world actor.”       “Edward, will you the fuck say something?” Terrence asks loudly and shakes Edward by the shoulders. “Give us your explanation to this situation! Why are you the fuck as silent as a fish in the water? WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU?”       “Yes, Edward, tell us that’s not the truth,” Natalia says. “Tell us that Michael just went insane.”       “Nope…” Edward pronounces quietly, raises his head, and looks at Natalia and Terrence. “It’s the truth. I’m not Edward Lockhart. My birth name is Edward MacClife.”       “What?” Terrence opens his eyes widely.       “I guess there’s no point in hiding the truth. Uncle betrayed me at all. So…” Edward shrugs hesitantly. “Yes… I was hiding my real identity.”       “So, did your uncle tell us the truth?” Natalia rounds her eyes.       “Yes… Uncle didn’t lie.”       “And did you really know who I was when we met?” Terrence specifies.       “I did,” Edward nods. “When I met Natalia and found out that she befriended you, I couldn’t miss such a wonderful chance. I knew who I should’ve found. And I knew that your mother was my mother, too. And all the names that everybody heard, were dreamed up. The name of my stepmother, the names of my parents, and the names of the children from my father’s second marriage.”       “Shit…” Terrence puts his hand on his forehead. “Shit, shit, shit… My brother… My younger brother has been near me all this time. Closer than I thought. Just like that bastard said!”       “Everyone here knew who this boy was,” Michael confesses. “They knew that Edward was pretending to be someone else. And they were laughing when he called you a friend.”       “Why, Edward?” Natalia wonders. “Why did you hide the truth? Why didn’t you say that Terrence was your brother?”       “I swear, I didn’t have any bad thoughts!” Edward excuses himself. “At first, I wanted to befriend Terrence and win his trust. I wanted us to get close. I could not just come to him outside and say, ‘Hi, I’m Edward, your brother, let’s be friends!’ He wouldn’t have believed me and would’ve thought that I was crazy. And my mother would’ve done it.”       “And when were you going to tell us the truth?”       “I thought I’d confess everything at the nearest time. But I always delayed it because everybody didn’t trust me. Raquelle started a third degree for me when we met. Everybody looked at me madly, even if nobody rejected my friendship.”       “It was clear, my dear!” Michael notices. “Who wouldn’t have suspicions because of your wild wish to befriend Terrence? Everybody understood that you needed something from him.”       “I’ve said I just wanted to do my best for him to trust me. For my mother to start to trust me.”       “But you showed your documents to us!” Terrence recalls. “You gave Raquelle your driver’s license, which clearly said that your name was Edward Dilan Lockhart.”       “My last name in my documents is really Lockhart. I changed my name for some reasons. But I had been Edward MacClife before.”       “But how?” Natalia wonders. “How could you be MacClife? You don’t look like them! Look at Terrence and look at yourself! You’re absolutely different people!”       “You haven’t probably just seen him without this costume that he has been wearing all this time,” Michael notices with a sly smile.       “What do you mean?” Terrence frowns.       “Come on, Edward, show us the real you! Take the wig off you and get the lenses out of your eyes! End this show that only you needed so badly.”       “Wig and lenses?”       “He wears them even when he comes here. The place where everybody knows the real him.”       “My God, Edward…” Natalia shakes her head.       “Okay,” Edward pronounces quietly. “I will take off my wig and lenses. Now you will see the real me.”       Edward turns his back on Terrence and Natalia, gets the lenses out of his eyes carefully, and puts them on the writing table. Then he gets rid of the wig, shakes his head, and moves his eyes slowly to his brother and his ex-girlfriend. Who get sharply pale and open their eyes widely when they see the young, attractive man with luxury black hair and round, little naive eyes. Who looks amazingly similar to Terrence, has some resemblance to Michael, and reminds of Jamie so badly.       After seeing this man, Terrence rounds his eyes and stares surprisingly at the one, who seems so similar to him. Edward has enough features that remind him of himself at a much younger age. The hair color, some facial features – everything is all the same! Not saying about the form and the color of the eyes: the first one has blue and narrow eyes, and the other has gray and rounder eyes. They also have different hairstyles: Edward has careless hair and a standing fringe, while Terrence has perfectly done hair with a fringe that is brushed up and a couple of thin strands on his forehead. They also have a height difference: Terrence is somewhere three or four centimeters taller than Edward. But it’s actually not very noticeable, and they seem to have the same height from afar.       “Shiver me…” Terrence pronounces in a little shaking voice.       “My God…” Natalia cannot believe it. “What a resemblance… You’re so similar…”       “Wow… I… I literally saw myself in the mirror… A little bit before I say I’ve just met my twin.”       “So what, my dears?” Michael crosses his arms over his chest. “Did you make sure that I was right? Did you see the real Edward?”       “So, were you wearing this wig and these lenses all this time?” Natalia wonders. “Did nobody even see the real you?”       “Nobody,” Edward shakes his head. “But I didn’t wear a wig when I needed to wash my hair. When there was nobody around. And I took off my lenses and changed them regularly.”       “But why did you need it? Why, Edward?”       “I just didn’t want people to ask me some questions. Many people actually noticed my strong resemblance to Terrence MacClife and asked me if I was his relative. So, I decided to change my look at some moment, And everybody stopped recognizing me. And at some moment, I started to think about dying my hair. Because I started to get sick of the wig…”       “To be honest…” Terrence pronounces hesitantly. “I… Sometimes thought that… There was something about you that… I had…”       “Me too,” Natalia confesses. “Sometimes I unconsciously compared you with Terrence. I thought if you had light eyes and black hair, you would be very similar.”       “Yes, our boy Eddy lied too much and almost lost the real himself,” Michael says thoughtfully. “But I have never let him forget it. I have always reminded him that he is a part of the MacClifes.”       “That’s why…” Terrence shakes his head. “That’s how I can explain my strong affection for you. So many common interests… So many coincidences in everything that we’ve heard.”       “And now it’s clear why Mrs. MacClife fell in love with him immediately,” Natalia adds. “Why she considered him her missing son. She saw Edward MacClife about him, and he is really the one.”       “Damn… I should’ve guessed it! I should’ve guessed that there could not be so many coincidences. The mother’s son’s name was Edward, he had the same age as this guy…”       “Yeah, the kid literally hypnotized you all with his pretty face,” Michael says. “He had you wrapped around his finger until the very end.”       “I would’ve told them everything early or late!” Edward exclaims. “I wasn’t going to be silent until the end of my life! I just needed to find a good moment!”       “So, now I’m starting to understand how I’m connected with your tricks,” Terrence says confidently. “I understand why you the fuck started all of it. You are my uncle. The uncle, who ruined the fucking life of my family!”       “And if only you knew how much I hated you,” Michael replies. “How much I hate my eldest nephew. Who has become the absolute image of my dead, as you know, brother Jamie.”       “Bastard…” Terrence hisses through his teeth, setting his icy look on Michael. “ASSHOLE! I CURSE YOU! FOR EVERYTHING YOU HAVE DONE!”       “Why are you shouting, sweetie? You and your mommy wanted to find her younger baby. You can think I did a good thing for you and helped you with it.”       “Seriously? You have the fucked RUINED OUR WHOLE LIFE! If we hadn’t had you in our life, NOTHING would’ve have happened! NOTHING!”       “And I am not done with what I did. I am not happy with just ruining the family of my brother, stealing his company and house, and turning him against his older sonny. I want more! I want to see you in the grave. So, nobody from my family stands in my way. So, nobody dares to put an eye on what should have been mine. MINE, hear me, MINE!”       “SCUMBAG! I HATE YOU! HATE! DIE! DIE! DIE!”       The furious Terrence sits on the sofa sharply, closes his face with his hands, and doubles over, breathing heavily and starting to shake strongly from the tension that his body gets obsessed with. While Natalia sits down next to him and caresses softly MacClife, Sr.’s back, Edward watches his brother with pity in his eyes, being shocked by what he heard, but later he looks at Michael with a contemptuous gaze full of hate and evil.       “Yeah…” Edward hisses through his teeth. “Of course, I suspected you were probably connected with it, but I didn’t believe it was the truth.”       “You heard everything well,” Michael throws his hands up. “You should hardly have questions.”       “Scoundrel! You ruined our lives! If you hadn’t been in Father’s life, our family would have been fine! We would’ve lived a GOOD life and wouldn’t have been separated from anyone or turned against someone. You separated me from my brother and my mother. And you stole absolutely everything from Father and ruined his family, separating him from Mother and making him feel guilty about his eldest son for what he NEVER did. NEVER, THE FUCK!”       “But I got what I wanted – that bastard was lonely, poor, hungry… He had no home, job, money… That’s what he deserved.”       “YOU should have gotten over everything he had to overcome!” Edward sharply points at Michael with a finger. “ONLY YOU! FATHER SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN HANGING AROUND THE CITY WITH THE CHILD IN HIS ARMS! WITHOUT MONEY, HOME, JOB, AND CLOSE PEOPLE! YOU DID NOT WANT TO LIVE THIS LIFE AND DID YOUR BEST FOR MY FATHER TO LIVE IT!”       “It wouldn’t have pleased me entirely. I wanted him to die. And now, when his corpse is lying somewhere on the bottom of the sea, I finally felt a strong relief. And when I defeat you and your brother, I will be the happiest man in the world.”       “Sick scumbag! Bastard! YOU MUST THE FUCK GET THERAPY! You went crazy in old age! Because of your fucking hate, you ruined the life of Father and many people, who ARE NOT guilty of the fact that YOU, OLD MAN, HAVE MENTAL ISSUES!”       “Oh, my boy, why are you protecting your father so hard?” Michael laughs evilly. “He didn’t love you! For your parents, you were always an unwanted child, whom they had almost killed. You are living just because you were very lucky. But that situation impacted your relationship with your father. Who always asked you to leave every time you tried to come to him and ask something. He screamed at you. He said you were talentless, thankless, and terrible. That man never gave you enough attention. And after all of that, you still talk about your love for him, and you got enraged when you heard that my brother didn’t hurt your mother.”       “Whatever he was, I never hated Father,” Edward says confidently and rudely. “Father did nothing bad to me.”       “Nothing? Come on, baby! Did you forget that he treated you, like a doormat? Insulted you, humiliated you, got you ashamed, and never said he loved you and was proud of you!”       “Father never said good things to me because I gave him no reason to be proud of me and gave him only problems. So, I have no right to say I hate him. It’s not the truth. I loved and will always love my father. He will always be in my heart and my mind. That man is a part of my family! But I do love my family with all my heart and am ready to do anything for my close people.”       “Oh, what great words, Edward Robert MacClife!” Michael laughs and claps his hands loudly. “How hard you are protecting your father and pretending that he wasn’t guilty of the fact that you became a rude, non-educated but terribly cowardly and insecure idiot, who still tries to get someone’s attention and do something to hear something good about oneself.”       “Say what you want. But I say it again, despite nothing, I love my father.”       “Yeah, but why did you leave him after Isabella had left him and taken Jeremy and William away?”       “What delirium! Isabella didn’t leave my father and lived with him when I left home!”       “Wrong, my dear. One or two days before you left, they had a scandal, which made Isabella leave home along with your brothers. But she came back and asked your father to leave her house after you had left. So, what could the one, who lived on her account for so many years, do? Take his things and get out nobody knows where!”       “Anyway, I didn’t know it. I didn’t care about what happened there after I left home. And I didn’t want to know it. I don’t want to know it now. I didn’t love Isabella so much to suffer because she left my father.”       “Sorry, you would love to know what happened between them.”       “Say no word. I don’t care.”       “Alright, if you don’t want, it’s alright,” Michael shrugs. “But if you hadn’t left home, you would’ve also had to leave Isabella’s home. She wouldn’t have let you live on her account. She had her own children and cared only about them.”       “I left home because I wanted to do it a long time ago,” Edward replies coldly. “I wanted to find my mother and my brother.”       “M-m-m, yeah, I know. You had been hanging around the city as well as your father before an old woman living in an old house built in the 80s or the 90s took you with her. However, your search led to results! Even though you spent eight years on it. Almost as much as your father was trying to meet his eldest sonny.”       “I knew where to find at least Terrence. I knew he lived in New York and acted in movies. And I would’ve met him a long time ago. But I had no reason to come to him. I would’ve looked stupid if I had come to him and exactly said that he was my brother. I thought the best way to get closer to him was to meet someone who could help me meet him and explain who I was.”       “Yes, yes, I know who you mean.” Michael glances at Natalia and smiles slightly. “The one, who agreed to help you with pleasure. The one, who is known by not everyone, but many people. She is the daughter of a well-known fashion lawyer and a popular fashion journalist. And this girl is connected with such people as Terrence MacClife and Raquelle Cameron. Paparazzi doesn't sleep and watches every single step of the two. And somehow, those two and the sweet blonde named Natalia Rochester got caught by cameras. And don’t forget there are also mobile phones. Someone takes a couple of photos on an iPhone and publishes it on the Internet.”       “And as I understand, did you view those photos?” Natalia asks coldly.       “Of course, I did! Probably, you guessed that I closely watched your life and the lives of your friends in case you checked magazines and newspapers that were in the room where you were locked.”       “It was made on purpose?”       “I just thought that you wouldn’t be so bored.”       “Then I understand how you examined our lives so well.”       “It was very easy to know about your friends because they are famous people. And you are by far not unknown. Moreover, you’ve got such a bright, memorable appearance that anyone would pay attention to such a beautiful lady. It’s not amazing that you change men like gloves. Not because you’re a whore, but because you lost hope of getting married. Your friend got a popular macho, but everybody uses you to sleep with you. So many guys have left you. Not only in America. They say you have driven crazy many guys abroad. There are so many people, who tell others about you. So, one of my people knew the one, who you hooked up with some time ago, and recognized you when my nephew Edward came to you at the café. My boy also got into your trap and got a crush on your eternal beauty. I’m sure that he thought he’d have some fun with you. In short, Eddy used you to the fullest.”       “Not surprised!” Natalia hums, crossing her arms over her chest. “How else you would’ve known that your nephew met me.”       “I know much more, my radiant girl.” Michael falls into silence for two seconds and smiles slyly. “For example, I know you went to Great Britain to visit your best friend Raquelle Cameron alongside my eldest nephew, Terrence. Who wanted to get the one, who rejected him.”       “We agreed about nothing,” Natalia replies confidently. “Terrence and I ended up on the same airplane by chance.”       “What if you did not? I wouldn’t be surprised if you had agreed about something.”       “No, honorable, nothing of that happened.”       “So, my dear, did you understand that not all people appreciate kindness? And sometimes it might be bad for you!”       “Just because it happens to you doesn’t mean it happens to everyone.”       “Deny or not, but now nobody needs kindness and generosity. The one, who can be quick, sly, and brave, is going to live well.”       “I would never befriend those, who don’t appreciate friendship and don’t know what it means to be kind and fair. I don’t need friends that would betray me, insult me, and humiliate me.”       “You know, your best friends aren’t the best people. Your friend blamed you for what you didn’t do because Simon Ringer turned her against you. As well as Terrence, who left Raquelle at a hard time. And I’m silent about your ex, who is holding your hand tightly, because everybody knows everything about Edward.”       “And what do we know about him? He became your victim, and he constantly has to hear he is a coward, insecure, and weak man?”       “Victim?” Michael opens his eyes widely. “No, Natalia, you’re wrong! Edward would prefer framing others than starting a fight himself. He has always been terribly cowardly. He’s always been shy about his weak character. Or maybe, this boy doesn’t even believe in his affection. Though, everybody considers him a pretty boy.”       “You do want to think so!”       “I don’t think so! I don’t doubt it! Trust me, I know this guy much better than you and am aware of what he actually is. Your ex is pretending to be a hero for everybody with a wish to hide his fears and insecurity. But it led to so many mistakes that spending his whole life would not be enough to pay for them.”       Edward sharply gets up from the sofa and, setting his contemptuous gaze on Michael, comes to him confidently.       “You know, there are no perfect people,” Edward says confidently. “Everyone makes mistakes, for which they pay early or late. But I personally think if we make mistakes, we can get some lessons and life experience, and don’t do the same thing twice.”       “It doesn’t have to do with you, puppy,” Michael replies rudely. “Getting stupid things out of your mind is impossible.”       “Oh, come on!”       “I wonder what should happen, so you finally confess that you’ve always been the opposite of your brother, who is too confident and considers himself irresistible and attractive? What if your father understood it and saw you were talentless and aimed to do nothing? What’s your life goal, huh? What were you dreaming about when you were a kid? About pretending to be a hero and trying to rescue everyone? You watched animated films and movies about Supermen and wanted to be one of them?”       “Do you get better every time you humiliate me? Do you think you make others think the same by insulting me? No, Uncle Michael, you are wrong! Those, who don’t consider me weak and brainless, will never believe your bullshit and stay by my side.”       “Oh, Edward!” Michael smirks, clapping his hands quietly. “And it’s said by the one, who did a disgusting thing to his family but keeps telling people about his great love for his close people.”       “You know that I was understood wrongly.”       “Yeah? I don’t believe in your loyalty, my dear. I don’t believe that there would be at least one to wish to defend you. Maybe, only your ex would think about it. But nobody else would stand by you.”       “I still have a chance to prove to my close people that I love them with all my heart and would never dare to betray them. But you lost all your chances. When you ruined the lives of my parents and forced Father to become a homeless pauper.”       “Just like you are now. You have nothing. And I’m not guilty of it. You don’t aim to change something. You don’t study, don’t work… You do nothing! You only hang around the city, play your fucking guitar and sing stupid songs that you sometimes write.”       “And what? Should I go to cry?”       “If you really want it. But I’m sure you do it, while nobody sees you. You fall into despair because everything is bad for you. Nobody needs your actions. Nobody appreciates you, loves you, or wants to say something nice to you. You’ve tried to save your family from your uncle Mikey for so many years, but you got nothing.”       “That’s what you want to think.” Edward comes much closer to Michael, looking at him with greater contempt. “Yes, I got involved in your fucking adventure that’s the reason my family suffered. But it doesn’t mean I didn’t try to protect my relatives.”       “And you recently realized that everything was worthless. Though, you know that if you started this game, you can’t stop it after you’ve gone so far.”       “You’re right about it. But since I started this game, I will be playing it until the end. Until I get a victory. Sink my teeth into it. Spend my strength and fall on the floor.”       “Oh, here’s the fucking hero!” Michael crosses his arms over his chest, rolling his eyes. “Alright, Edward, if you want to go much further, go. Go until you hit the dead end. Until I bring you to the corner and make you give up or do what will help you get off me.”       “Don’t hope, Uncle Michael. I will not give up and will bring this fucking game to an end. If you want me to prove that I’m not a coward, you will see it.”       “Alright. In this case, I’m suggesting you prove that you are not a coward right now.” Michael smiles slyly, looking at Edward proudly. “And do what you and I talked about some time ago. What I will pay you much money for if you do it.”       Edward quickly guesses what Michael means. Getting sharply white, the man swallows up nervously and starts breathing heavily, while his eyes are running from one side to another.       “No, Uncle!” Edward jabs excitedly. “No! You will not make me do it! Never! I will not do it! Don’t even dream!”       Sitting on the sofa, Terrence and Natalia look at each other scarily. And Michael starts smiling mysteriously, hoping that Edward will not do what might deprive him of the trust and love of his family.       “Do you think so?” Michael asks in a lower voice. “Don’t you want to prove that you are not a coward, insecure boy? If you did one thing, I would start to believe you are not so worthless.”       “No, Uncle, NO!” Edward screams with despair, clenching his hands into fists tightly. “DON’T EVEN THINK!”       “Come on, my sweetie, it’s not so hard. Aren’t you ready to kill your brother for a gorgeous life that I can give you if you prove your braveness?”       “You know what I think about it!”       “Don’t hurry, Edward, think better. Think of what I could give you. What would let you make your life better and make my task easier. Uncle Mikey does not talk to the wind and does what he promises. If I said I’d make you rich and powerful, it would happen. You should only do one thing – to kill Terrence.”       Breathing heavily enough, getting white, and feeling her heartbeat getting faster, Natalia sets her eyes full of horror on Edward. Terrence gets sharply straight and squints slightly, looking at his brother standing with his back turned to him or Michael.       “No!” Natalia screams, grabbing Terrence by his shoulder. “No, Edward, no! Don’t dare to succumb to him! You will regret it much! Don’t even dare to think about killing Terrence! Don’t listen to this man, Edward, don’t do!”       “Calm down, Natalia, don’t scream so loudly and fall into hysteria,” Michael replies coldly with an evil smirk. “I told you Edward would have to make a choice: killing his brother and staying alive, or choosing those, who will never love him, and dying like a rat.”       “Do you really want to make Edward kill me?” Terrence asks in a low voice, setting his contemptuous gaze on Michael and crossing his arms over his chest. “You don’t want to dirty your hands with blood? You want to make this guy responsible for it?”       “His life depends on what he will choose,” Michael smiles slyly, looking at Terrence with his head proudly raised. “If your brother kills you, he will be the only one from the MacClifes, who I will not hurt. Whom I will make my ally. Whom I will provide with a gorgeous life until the end of my life. Of course, if he keeps being good.”       “You are sick!” Natalia shouts. “SICK! YOU MUST BE IN A MENTAL HOSPITAL!”       “Moreover, there is such a perfect reason to grab a pistol and shoot. My nephew will be happy after killing his brother as well as I am happy after I killed Jamie.”       “Don’t compare your relationship with Father with my relationship with Edward,” Terrence says rudely. “You are guilty of being an enemy to Father. If your relationship with your brother was terrible, it doesn’t mean Edward and I should also hate each other.”       “Don’t defend this kid, Terrence,” Michael smiles slyly. “Edward has always been jealous of you. Because you have everything: money, a gorgeous house, a wonderful fiancée… You’ve always been loved, respected, and afraid by everybody, and you've been a role model. And your brother did not get lucky because his father did not care about him.”       “And what? If the fatter a wallet, and the more numbers there are in an amount of a card balance, the greater love is for you, it doesn’t mean everybody should do it.”       “Nevertheless, Edward hates you for just being richer, cooler, smarter, more successful, more educated, and actually – a thousand times better. You are a respectful man, who is loved by everyone, despite your mental issues. And this boy is a homeless, moneyless idler, who can only live on someone’s account. By the age of twenty-five, Edward has reached nothing. But you, Terrence… I must admit that your successes are impressive. Although you make me enraged, I recognize your superiority.”       “YOU do want to think Edward hates his brother,” Natalia says confidently. “Actually, he loves Terrence and would never think of betraying him. And especially kill him!”       “Alas, girl, but his wish to become as rich as his brother will get a victory. Your tears and begs will not help you do what you want. And the thought that you cheated on him with Eugene would push him to take some actions. Anger. That’s what will feed him.”       “There is only my fault for the fact that Edward left me.”       “Nevertheless… Since Edward sank his teeth into his father’s money, he does not want to give it and definitely has the wish to become rich. Not to have to work all day long.”       “He had a right to fight for the money that his father bequeathed to him! Don’t pretend that your nephew put an eye on someone’s wealth and is going to steal it!”       “Maybe, he did?” Michael smiles slyly. “Maybe, this boy thinks that he will get everything that belongs to him if he kills Terrence.”       “Listen, Uncle, stop treating Edward like a doormat and trying to turn us against him,” Terrence demands coldly. “You can do nothing anyway. You will not make Natalia and me his enemies.”       “Oh, come on! Well, as you forgot what this brainless puppy did to you, he will give you a reason to doubt his loyalty and love for his family again. When everybody knows it, Edward will get so many enemies… M-m-m…”       Michael comes to Edward with his head proudly raised, while the guy keeps his hands lowered and his head inclined and slouches slightly, turns his nephew on Terrence and Natalia, and embraces him around the shoulders with a sly smile on his face.       “What do we do to enemies?” Michael asks, while Edward throws a tense gaze at him and swallows up nervously, feeling frost that gets obsessed with his body. “Huh, Edward? Right! Kill! So, you will do it now! Kill your enemy, because of who people have never paid attention to you. Who did not help you get even the worst job. Who has been pretending a good brother. You got a chance to become rich, my dear! For you, the easiest way to become rich is to kill someone to have great money. Your goal is sitting right before you.”       “It’s not the easiest way, it’s the meanest one,” Natalia says rudely. “While you kill everybody and rejoice, Edward may regret it very much. Just like any good person, who wouldn’t dare to commit a murder.”       “I shall shake a thick bag of dollars in front of him, and he will immediately forget any pity,” Michael replies confidently. “And a wish to prove his braveness will push him up to what I’m expecting from him.”       “Edward will not do this,” Terrence says confidently. “If he shoots someone, he will shoot only you. The nasty bastard that poisoned our lives and turned them to hell.”       “Get ready to be disappointed, my sweetie.”       “Stop torturing the poor man, Mr. MacClife!” Natalia demands excitedly. “What do you want? Do you want him to go crazy and eventually do something to himself? Do you want it?”       “I want nothing,” Michael smiles innocently. “I’m just giving this guy a chance to start living a beautiful life. He should kill his brother before doing my best for him to live the way he always dreamed.”       “He does know that getting someone back after death is impossible. He knows that remorse will be chasing him all his life.”       “You can do nothing, my dear.” Michael moves a sly gaze on Edward, who still looks down and does not find the courage to move his eyes on someone in this room. “And you, Edward, are getting a wonderful chance to make your life beautiful and become my right hand. You need just one shoot. One shoot at your pathetic brother.”       “Just shut up!” Edward hisses through his teeth, breathing quite heavily, feeling great excitement and a strong shake in his body. “SHUT UP! CLOSE YOUR FUCKING MOUTH! I’M SICK OF IT! I CANNOT HEAR IT ANYMORE! STOP! SHUT UP! SH-UT U-P!”       “Quiet, quiet, boy, quiet, don’t be so nervous.” Michael massages the shoulders of the exciting and tense Edward. “You better get ready to change your life.”       “SHUT UP, BASTARD!” Edward sharply steps back from Michael and slaps him in the face with a loud shout as strongly as possible, grabs him by the collar, and sets his icy look into his eyes. “I repeat for the first last fucking time. I will never do it not for anything! Don’t even dream of making me regret it and BECOME A KILLER! I WILL NOT DO IT, EVEN FOR BIG MONEY! I GIVE A FUCK ABOUT IT AND EVERYTHING YOU CAN OFFER ME! CHOKE YOURSELF WITH ALL OF THAT! I NEED NOTHING FROM YOU!”       “Don’t you want to prove your braveness?” Michael smiles innocently. “Don’t you want to make me believe you are not a little boy, who can only pretend to be sassy and bark on the corner?”       “I don’t the fuck care about what you think of me. I do care only about what my close people think of me. AND I AM NOT GOING TO LOSE THEIR TRUST AND LOVE FOR WHAT WILL MAKE ME HATE MYSELF ALL MY LIFE!”       “You are a coward,” Michael shakes his head with a sly smile and steps back from Edward breathing heavily. “The real coward. And you want to be brave and tough for everyone. How you could be the one if you can’t do what you should. Damn! I didn’t move my eyebrow when your father was killed before my eyes. But you don’t even want to try to kill your brother.”       “DON’T COMPARE ME WITH YOU! I AM NOT YOU! NOT YOUR REFLECTION! NOT YOUR SON, THANK GOD! WE ARE DIFFERENT AND THINK OF ALL THE SAME THINGS DIFFERENTLY!”       “Stop, Edward, there is nothing hard about it. Just grab the pistol from the table, point it at Terrence, and press the trigger. Super easy!”       “GET OFF ME!”       Screaming it at the top of his lungs, Edward gives Michael a stronger slap in the face and, breathing heavily, pushes him so that the man almost falls on the writing table, while Terrence and Natalia sitting on the sofa watch what’s happening with horror in their eyes.       “Enough!” Edward exclaims. “I am confidently telling you that I’m refusing. So, you can shoot at me right now. Come on, fuck, shoot! I am not going to make your wish come true! You said I’d die now if I didn’t do it. So, come on, do it!”       “Think better, my dear!” Michael smiles slyly, shakes the dust off the suit, and embraces Edward around the shoulders tighter. “Think about what you may get back. Think about what kind of support you can get from me. Your uncle knows people, who would get you out of trouble. He would not leave you without money and a home.”       “STOP IT! DON’T MAKE ME ENLARGED! MY NERVES ARE WRECKED BECAUSE OF YOU! I AM SICK OF ALL OF THAT! STOP! I’M DONE WITH ALL OF IT!”       “You will do it anyway.” Michael sharply grabs Edward under his arm and sets his cold gaze on him, starting to speak very slowly, almost in a whisper. “Or get ready to get blush for your brother and ex after I reveal the secret that you’ve been hiding for many years. They will know that you killed the man and may go to prison.”       Edward gets sharply white and opens his eyes widely, starting to breathe heavily and feeling frost get through his skin. His hysteria goes away instantly, and he becomes more insecure, being terribly afraid that his secret will really be revealed.       “So, deal?” Michael laughs evilly. “Ready to kill Terrence not to let this secret be known to everybody?”       Edward says nothing and just scarily looks at Michael, starting to swear at himself for letting his uncle blackmail him.       “So, I see you got scared that everybody would know it,” Michael says. “You’re afraid to become a killer for them. Well, as you and I know you killed the friend of your father, I’m sure the murder of your brother will be much easier for you.”       Michael falls into silence for two seconds, lets Edward’s arm go with a much slier smile, and easily claps him on the cheek, saying:       “Well, as it’s hard for you to take the first step due to your hesitance, I shall be happy to help you and push you to this act.”        “No, Edward, no…” Natalia pronounces quietly with horror in her widely open eyes, looking at Edward, who suddenly fell into silence, inclined his head, and kept breathing heavily. “Don’t do this, I’m begging you…”       “Damn, hold on, Edward, don’t let this bastard put the pistol in your hand,” Terrence whispers excitedly, staying quiet outside but feeling tense inside. “Don’t succumb to his provocations. You can do this, I know it.”       Michael takes the pistol with special pleasure and pride and runs his hand over it with a wide smile. Then the man slowly but confidently comes to Edward being terribly excited and tense and breathing too hard, stands behind him, and slowly gets the pistol in the brunet’s hand. But he runs into strong resistance. Since he is terribly afraid of a cold gun, the guy starts getting obsessed with a wave of panic and shaking much stronger.       “Hold it tight!” Michael orders, trying to get the pistol in Edward’s hand. “Hold it tight, I say! If you want to prove you are not a coward and can really do a lot, do what I say. Stop resisting! Grab it, I said! Hold the pistol tightly!”       Edward is standing in the same place as if he is frozen, hiding his eyes shamelessly from those, who he is afraid to betray. His legs, which got sharply weak, can barely hold his weight, and his heart starts beating faster because of the wave of panic and fear that is getting stronger. He cannot make himself just look at the scared Natalia breathing heavily and crying bitterly. He cannot quietly stand in front of Terrence, who seems quiet and is breathing heavily. No matter how much Edward tries to resist Michael’s attempts to get the pistol into his hand, he can do nothing. His uncle, using his depressed condition and keeping using strong psychological pressure, easily finds a way to control his nephew.       “Come on, coward, show everything you can do,” Michael says confidently with his head proudly raised. “A pathetic, insecure boy that is afraid of everything in the world! Cries like a girl! A worthless piece of shit! Who has always been an unwanted child of his parents. Has done nothing for someone to be proud of you. You made everybody hate you and curse the day you were born.”       Michael grabs Edward tightly by the collar, while the guy is shaking with a strong wish to hide from everyone and cry bitterly because of his own cowardice.       “Weak! Coward! Mammy’s boy! It’s time to grow the fuck up! Become a man! But you still play with toys! Stop! You are twenty-five! Start to do just something good! Or will you keep hiding behind girls’ skirts or men’s backs, shaking like a bunny and being close to a heart attack?”       Edward would be madly happy to throw the pistol aside, but a terrible hesitance and fear literally paralyze him. He can do nothing to him and curses himself silently for forgetting he must be strong and confident under the influence of cowardice. That’s why Michael eventually gets the pistol in the hand of his shaking nephew. He makes the young guy hold the pistol with his hands, raises them, and slowly, with special pleasure, points the barrel of the gun at Terrence looking so shocked that he can say and do nothing. At heart, he is terribly afraid of being killed. No matter how hard the man tries to keep calm, he starts getting nervous and breathing too heavily from fear that he feels much stronger when the pistol in Edward's hands is pointed at him.       “So,” Michael pronounces with enjoyment, stands behind the back of the shaking Edward slowly and puts his hands on his shoulders, starting to massage them slightly. “Alright, my dear. I’m glad you started to listen to me and stopped acting like a coward. I’m sure you will do what you should. You should do just one thing – to kill your brother. Shoot him so that he dies shortly. With no chances to survive.”       Michael kind of gets great pleasure mocking Edward, who is so afraid of his uncle that he cannot find the courage to give up and confidently say this plan will never come true.       “If you do it, your life will become beautiful. And I will stop calling you a cowardly puppy and will believe you can really be brave and confident. I shall have the pleasure of helping you become as rich and powerful as your beloved uncle. Together, we will be a perfect team. You will join the Michael MacClife army and become the boss. You know how much I pay to those, who work for me. You will have the same chance. You just need to make one shot that will hit Terrence’s heart. One press on the trigger, Edward. One shot before you have a perfect future!”       Michael slowly steps back from Edward, leans on the table, and crosses his arms over his chest with a sly smile.       “So, next, do it yourself,” Michael says, keeping his head raised, as he looks at Edward standing with his back turned to him with a pistol tightly grabbed in his hands. “When you are ready, press the trigger.”       Michael laughs evilly.       “Come on, puppy, do it! Show what you can do for money and power.”       Edward would be happy to move the pistol on Michael and shoot at him, revenging him for everything that he and his close people have experienced. But he kind of gets frozen and cannot move off the place and move the pistol off Terrence. It seems like Michael turned his nephew into a half-alive statue that can only blink his red, half-wet eyes. Edward’s hands are shaking strongly, his legs are getting weaker, his heart is beating as fast as a scared bunny’s, and he is trying to hold down tears because of fear of showing his weakness. He is less and less able to resist Michael, but a wish to be swallowed by the ground from cowardice is getting stronger.       “Feel this moment,” Michael says with his head proudly raised. “Feel it with every single cell of your body. May this nice feeling stay with you longer. Get rid of all your fears! Stop doubting that it will be wrong. It will be RIGHT! You don’t want to stay a cowardly, brainless puppy for other people. Don’t want to keep being called a coward, saying you are worthless, and your birth was a great mistake. If it’s so, prove it then! Come on, Edward, don’t be a cowardly, weak boy.”       Every time Michael calls him a cowardly, insecure, and weak boy, Edward feels every single muscle of his body getting tenser and gets obsessed with a sense of disgust. Disgust with these words. To the insults that humiliate him so much and make him doubt that he can be strong, brave, and confident.       Terrence knew something like this could happen. And he sees Edward does not really want it and would never take a pistol if Michael did not put him under this strong pressure, the influence of which does not let him control himself and show resistance. The man even wants to try to make his brother sure to find the courage to give a damn about his uncle, but something holds him down and does not let him stand up. Terrence can only watch his brother, who cannot move his dumbfounded gaze off him. His eyes are not dead. They are red and wet. They are full of great regret. MacClife, Jr.’s gaze is literally screaming, “I don’t wanna kill you, but I have less and less strength to resist. Please, forgive me for being so cowardly and insecure.” This pitiful gaze of Edward shaking strongly and breathing heavily makes Terrence believe that the guy wanted it less than anything.       Natalia is shocked no less than Terrence or Edward. Maybe, even more. The girl, closing her mouth with a hand, is quietly crying, breathing heavily enough, shaking strongly, and nervously twisting on the sofa. She is tightly holding Terrence’s hand, looking at Edward with her wet eyes, and literally dreaming of saving her friend and even hiding him behind her back. But she does not doubt that the emotions on the face of her former boyfriend are real. The blonde truly believes that he does not want to kill his older sibling. She knows if this man was more confident, he would let the pistol down. Natalia thinks Edward needs confidence and determination, and Michael uses it and makes his nephew experience strong psychological pressure, constantly telling about his weaknesses.       A few seconds later, the excited Terrence finds the will to move his eyes off Edward looking at him with dumbfounded, widely open eyes. He glances at Natalia breathing heavily and crying quietly from despair. And Michael is just standing and watching what’s happening with a sly smile, being happy his nephew is about to kill the one, who reminds him of his brother Jamie.       “It’s madness,” Natalia says in a shaking voice with tears in her eyes and sniffs. “Just madness!”       “He doesn’t wanna do it,” Terrence says quietly. “I know Edward wouldn’t do it. If not for Uncle, he wouldn’t have even taken the pistol. You just look at how he’s shaking. He’s about to cry…”       “No, I’m sure Edward wouldn’t do it,” Natalia jabs excitedly. “This sick Michael is pressing on him too strongly. Provoking him, reminding him of his shortcomings. But if Edward gets a good push in the back, he may find the courage to stop.”       “Hey, did you notice Uncle said something in his ear? After that, Edward sharply became silent and stopped screaming at him! I wonder what he said?”       “It’s clear what – he humiliated the poor guy much more. Your uncle knows his weaknesses too well and presses on them as strongly as possible. Michael always makes an accent on the fact that Edward is a coward, Edward is insecure, Edward is a loser, Edward is hesitant… It looks like some kind of violence. Psychological violence.”       “Right… He’s said it about Edward hundreds of times.” Terrence shakes his head. “And this guy succumbs to his provocations…”       “I was afraid of it much more. That Michael may press on him so strongly, so that Edward can do anything. That man can manipulate and wash people’s brains so well.”       “I know. But I’m afraid we can do nothing.”       “No!” Natalia exclaims excitedly, opening her eyes full of tears widely. “I don’t wanna believe it! I don’t wanna lose you, Terrence! I don’t want Raquelle to lose you! And I don’t especially want Edward to make the greatest mistake and stand in the way that Michael is going on. He can’t end his life like this.”       “I don’t also want Raquelle to suffer, but…” Terrence replies with despair in his voice. “It seems like it’s the end.”       “No, MacClife, don’t say it!”       “Yes, Rochester, it’s the end.” Terrence doubles over, runs his hands through his hair, and starts pulling it slightly. “Damn, for what? Is this story gonna have a bad ending? Will Uncle win and destroy all of us?”       “It must not happen!” Natalia exclaims desperately. “We can’t let this sick stinker kill us and get everything! Must not!”       “But there’s no way!” Terrence moves his dead eyes to Natalia, still doubling over. “Edward is gonna shoot now – and that’s all! I will die!”       “No, buddy, no!”       “But I don’t wanna die! Don’t wanna leave Raquelle alone! She will suffer if something happens to me. Cameron didn’t want to let me go from fear that I’d die here. But I didn’t listen to her…”       “I know you did it for me,” Natalia caresses Terrence’s shoulder softly. “Just to save me.”       “And I knew what I was doing. Knew…”       “Listen, Terrence, maybe…”       “No, Natalia. We can do nothing. Uncle Michael will defeat us now. At first, me, then you, Raquelle, and Mother… Maybe, he’ll also wish to defeat Edward! I don’t exclude that all these money talks are bullshit!”       “Terrence…”       “All the MacClifes will die! We will follow Father… Before who, I didn’t apologize for being unfair to him… Holy shit…”       Terrence sharply closes his white face with his hands and runs them over it, feeling he starts to shake and understanding how tense every single muscle of his body is. Maybe, he would shed a tear of despair, but the man tries to hold on. Though, he is so horrified. Afraid to realize that he is about to die. Die because of Edward, who feels like a little, unprotected baby, while Michael looks at him with an icy gaze that makes his whole body squeeze.       While Terrence starts to fall in despair with the thought that the situation is hopeless, Natalia feels something jammed in her heart. It’s getting harder for her to breathe, something starts pressing on her chest, and her body gets obsessed with a strong shake. The girl thinks for a few seconds about something, looking at her friend, caressing his back, head, and hand. She is crying quietly, feeling unbearable pain, and refusing to accept what is about to happen. This feeling becomes a trigger that encourages her to think about something much more seriously and gain more confidence. And at some moment, Natalia slightly claps Terrence on his shoulder and says confidently with her head proudly raised:       “No, Terrence! It’s not the end! We can still win. And we will win!”       “As if you’ve got a plan of salvation,” Terrence chuckles without emotions, setting his dead eyes into the distance.       “I do! Maybe, I will not get anything now, but I’m ready to risk.”       “What?” Terrence glances at Natalia, leaving his little disheveled hair alone. “Erm… What did you plan? What are you gonna do?”       “Stop Edward and make him sure to go against Michael.”       “Do you naively think you can do it?”       “Edward wanted to prove to us that we could trust him,” Natalia says confidently. “So, let him prove it! If he really loves and respects us, he will not do what I wanna suggest to him. It’s gonna be something like a test for him.”       “Erm, what are you talking about, Natalia? What are you gonna the fuck do?”       “You’ll see now. It’s gonna be risky, and I may be deprived of life. But if I at least don’t try, I will never forgive myself for it.”       Natalia wants to get up from the sofa, but she is stopped by Terrence, who tightly grabs her by the wrist and sets his dumbfounded gaze on her.       “You went crazy?” Natalia gets horrified. “Do you know what you’re doing?”       “I do,” Natalia says confidently. “And I’m ready!”       “No, Rochester, don’t dare! Don’t do stupid things! What if Edward shoots at you? Uncle is one hundred percent gonna press on him three times stronger! And it will happen that you will be the victim, not me.”       “I know all the risks,” Natalia replies with a scare in her eyes, putting her hand on Terrence’s shoulder. “But I’m ready to do it. I’m doing this not only for Raquelle. And as I got a chance to change the situation, I must use it.”       “Natalia, please, don’t do it!” Terrence begs with pity in his eyes. “I’m begging you.”       “Sorry, Terrence, but I must do it.”       “I’d better die, not you. You’ve gotta live.”       “I swore to myself that I’d no longer hide behind the backs of other people and would put myself in danger to save my close people.” Natalia exhales slowly with closed eyes. “I’m ready to risk for Edward to save him from Michael and not to let him turn to something like his uncle. But if I have to, I’m ready to sacrifice myself and die for the people I love. After what I’ve experienced, I fear nothing anymore.”       “No, Natalia… Please…”       Natalia softly gets her hand out of Terrence’s grip, gets up, comes to Edward confidently, and stands in front of him, looking right into his dumbfounded, widely open eyes. While Michael smirks contemptuously, being sure that she can do nothing.       “No, Edward, stop!” Natalia begs with despair. “Don’t do this, I’m begging you! Don’t shoot at Terrence! Please, don’t make a mistake that you will regret. For which you will pay until the end of your life. Do you really want it? You won’t get better if you shoot at your brother!”       “Don’t listen to her, Edward!” Michael starts pressing. “Do what I’m telling you! This ‘mistake’ will be good for you, and you will become a very rich and powerful man. You will no longer have to be a homeless beggar. Nobody will dare to treat you like shit because you will finally get money. Big money. They will help you get rid of your weaknesses.”       “No, it won’t give you anything good,” Natalia ignores Michael’s words, being confident outside and terribly scared inside. “You will hate yourself so much that you will not need money. It’s impossible to bring a dead person to life. You will change nothing because dead people never come back from another world. You will never get rid of the burden that you will have on your shoulders if you kill someone. Especially your brother, whom you’ve always loved with all your heart. You’ve always said how much you’re attracted to him! Does your love for him mean nothing to you?”       “Forget about love, Edward, big money is at stake!” Michael says softly but confidently. “You will get a bigger part of the inheritance that your father bequeathed to you. And as an encouragement, I will pay you well with my personal money. You will stay alive if you kill your brother. Who you must kill. He has always been more successful and richer than you. You have no right to love someone, who is meant to be your enemy. Who has always been loved more. Who got all the love that you’ve been never given. Terrence has never been your friend. He is your enemy! The fateful enemy that must die right now.”       “No, no, don’t even dare to think about it! Terrence is your friend! The closest person, who would always come to help you. By losing him, you will lose the one, to whom you could tell what you wouldn’t tell someone else. Money won’t make you happy. You can’t get anything off your chest by telling them what you’re worried about and asking for a piece of advice. You can only use them to satisfy your needs. There are things that you can’t buy. True love or the resurrection of a dead person… Even if you have millions or billions, it can’t give you that. Yes, we can’t live without money at the present. But the amount of money doesn’t matter. There are people, who can be happy even with one cent in their pocket.”       “What kind of delirium!” Michael simpers contemptuously. “If you have one cent, you’re a fucking piece of shit! Only big money can give you everything! Thanks to dollars, you can have anything you want. All doors will be open for you! Knock at any single one – you will be accepted with open arms! If you just wave a bag of dollars, you will be literally carried in the arms. Without money, you are nobody! But with money, you are the real God that can do even the impossible.”       “Money is not the meaning of life. The meaning of life is to be surrounded by those, who love you, and who you love. You can’t be happy if you’re alone, but your safe is full of thick bags of money. Who would get those dollars if you died? How will you choose the one if you have nobody? If you kill someone and lose the trust of those, who love them. You won’t get happy after killing someone, even if you hate them. If you’ve got a soul and a heart, you will be terribly ashamed of your act. You may be ready to be swallowed by the ground in shame. Maybe, you’d even wish to take a pistol and shoot you down because you wouldn’t accept and forget it. It may happen now, five, ten, or even thirty years later. It doesn’t matter! You will get remorse early or late.”       “Oh, honey, if you stop being a cowardly, tender boy, you will have everything in five or ten years,” Michael says confidently. “You will forget about any pity and be happy to live a gorgeous life that you could only dream about. If you kill Terrence, I will do my best to provide for your future and will always help you with money. Uncle Mikey does not talk to the wind and always does what he promises. Ask anyone of my people, and they would confirm it.”       “If you kill Terrence, you will hurt not only you but also Raquelle,” Natalia says confidently, with pity in her eyes. “Do you want my friend to suffer from the loss of her beloved fiancé? You do love your brother’s fiancée! And you know that she’ll hate you if something happens to Terrence because of you. Though, she will not be the only one to contempt you. I won’t also forgive you for killing my close friend and the one, who still means so much to me. I mean you, Edward. By killing your brother, you will kill yourself. Kill the kind, sweet guy that I met a few months ago. He will stop existing for me. He will die. I will lose the man, who I’ve never been indifferent to.”       “Nobody will suffer much because Raquelle will die, as well,” Michael says loudly, humming and crossing his arms over his chest. “And your ex will die. At first, my people will fuck her and then kill her with no regret. Nobody will have time to send you too many curses and blame you for killing your own sibling. And if nobody reminds you of the murder, you will forget it soon and start to love your new life. That will have everything you wish.”       “You know well that your brother has always loved you and agreed to become your friend shortly. He didn’t reject you when you offered my friendship. Maybe, at heart, Terrence still loves you and is truly worried about you, even after your serious fight. Maybe, you will start communicating again some time later. You’re united not only by family ties, but also love for music. You’re two incredibly talented men with incredible voices and the skills of a guitar play. And how well you can write songs! Remember how you helped him, Daniel and Peter work on songs. You got pleasure and were happy that those guys accepted you so warmly and asked you for help. And remember the times when your brother, my friend, you, and I spent time together. How much fun we had! Yes… I understand we could hardly do it again. But I remember those moments with a smile on my face. We were like a family. I felt like one of the MacClifes. Because I madly love all of you.”       “Blah, blah, blah, blah!” Michael pronounces with his eyes rolled. “Here’s the verbal diarrhea of the brainless blonde! Huh… Edward! Don’t listen to this stupid gal! Do what you must do! You made your pleasure last a little longer – it’s enough! Come on, fuck, shoot! Stop being a hesitant, cowardly puppy! I’m sick of watching you shake and wish to cry. Fucking man! You have only a penis from a man!”       “Think of your mother,” Natalia says, looking at Edward with a sadder gaze, but still staying confident. “What would she feel if she knew her son, whom she was looking for so many years, became cruel? Became a killer of your brother! Another child that she educated! You will give her double pain by standing in the way of evil. Mrs. MacClife will lose two sons. You will die for her, as well! And she will be deprived of probably the only meaning of her life! She’s got nobody else but her children. Do you really want it? Will you dare to let your uncle shower you with mud? What if he manipulates you? What if his money talks are just an excuse? I’m sure he will give you nothing and kill you as shamelessly as he wants to kill all of us! Please, Edward, don’t succumb to his provocations! Stop before it’s too late!”       Michael and Natalia are not going to give up so easily. They do their best to make the poor Edward stand by their side, while he is still standing in the same place, shaking strongly and breathing heavily and loudly from great excitement.       “Don’t worry, Edward, I will not betray you to the police and will bribe some people, so nobody knows about this murder,” Michael promises confidently. “Maybe, everybody will know about the murder of Terrence and Raquelle and their best friend. But the police will not investigate it. They will talk a little and shut up. Everything starts to be forgotten later. Soon, nobody will remember that you killed the idol of all little girls. Those pipsqueaks will find new idols and admire them. There are many pretty boys, to whom girls get attracted like beers do to honey.”       Tears start coming to Natalia’s tears, but she does not try to pity Edward. She is crying from despair. From the fear that she has to hide deep inside… From the realization that the situation is too tense. The thought that her ex-boyfriend will succumb to Michael’s provocations and shoot at Terrence, who watches her with horror in his eyes, silently begging her to stop all of it.       “Edward, you said you loved your family and were ready for anything for it,” Natalia says quietly. “You said you regretted what happened between you, Terrence and Raquelle. I don’t know about the others, but I believe you. I believe in your regret and know you’re doing everything to get back their love and trust. You wouldn’t have had to do it if you and I hadn’t fought. You were heated because of our fight and weren’t watching what you said and did. I’m sure if I hadn’t gone to the home of Terrence, we could’ve avoided that drama. There’s only my fault for what happened. I should’ve left after seeing you in the living room. But I didn’t do it… And that’s what it led to.”       Natalia glances down for a moment and falls into silence to sniff and exhale sharply.       “I was going to visit Terrence and Raquelle to say goodbye to them or tell them what I had been hiding. It was unbearably hard for me. I didn’t know what to do: acting like an egoist or giving a fuck about fears. At first, I wanted to kill myself after talking with the two. I felt so bad that I really wanted to die. But thank God, my friends were by my side and saved me from that act.”       Natalia swallows up nervously.       “Maybe, if I’d told you everything earlier, we would’ve found a solution for that problem. Maybe, you would’ve helped me overcome what still makes me worried. But I acted like a coward and ruined what I didn’t wanna lose. Believe me, I’m really very sorry for not telling you everything earlier. I know you’re mad at me and wanna stop having to see me. I completely understand your feelings because your feelings got hurt. You believed I was terrible, insulted, humiliated… But I have no right to be mad. Because I was guilty of everything. If I’d been braver and more confident, everything could’ve been otherwise.”       Natalia sighs heavily and glances at her hands.       “Since we no longer date, I’m not asking you to let the pistol down for me,” Natalia says quietly. “I don’t ask you to do something for me. But I want to ask you something… Don’t do stupid things! Don’t succumb to Michael’s provocations, at least for your mother, father, brother, and soon-to-be sister-in-law. They will be disappointed if you kill Terrence. Nobody will wish to talk to you and hear your name. But if you move the pistol down, you will prove your love for your family. It will be another step to reconciliation with those you hurt somehow. Please, Edward, stop! For your family! For your close friends! Be brave and confident! It’s not so hard! Love will help you do it. Love always wins. If it didn’t exist, our world wouldn’t exist, as well. Until love is alive, everything will be alive.”       “Lots of worthless words,” Michael says coldly, rolling his eyes with an irritated growl. “Don’t even dare to think about this fucking love! Forget it! Bury it in the ground! Turn off your feelings and start to do what you must! Stop acting like a coward and looking like you are about to cry! You are a man, Edward, not a girl! You’ve got balls, not boobs! It’s time to grow up and get the stupid things out of your mind! Don’t listen to this gal and do shoot at your brother! It’s the only thing that you must do.”       Edward hears everything that Michael and Natalia say. The man really wants to listen to the girl, being terribly afraid to disappoint her, Raquelle, Rebecca, and Terrence and lose their love and trust that he is trying to get back so hard. But insecurity paralyzes MacClife, Jr., every time his uncle starts speaking. Fear of such a horrible man that is pressing on him so strongly makes the man keep standing in the same place, getting literally frozen like a statue. He is still shaking strongly, his hands are getting sweaty, his heart is beating like crazy, and his strong fear makes him feel a slight dizziness.       Even if the situation does not get better, Natalia does not want to give up and wants to do her best to try to save Terrence from death and Edward from a horrible thing. The girl sees he is about to give up. But she is going to use all the arguments that she has and do her best to see the real way Edward treats his family and her.       “Please, Edward, move the pistol down,” Natalia begs with tears in her eyes, barely holding down a wish to fall into hysteria. “Don’t kill the good guy that I know. Who is loved by all of us. Who we don’t wanna lose. Who would never do something horrible. May Michael say you’re cowardly, brainless, and insecure thousands of times. I will not believe him! For me, you are truly brave, very smart, madly talented, resolute, gentle, kind… The best man in the world. I’ve always loved you for your incredible character. For being so tender and nice to me. Even if you have some shortcomings, everybody has them. There are no perfect people. However, I don’t care about your shortcomings. I appreciate you for your dignity.”       Natalia sniffs and smiles shyly through tears.       “I still remember you trying to protect me from Michael’s people,” Natalia says proudly. “I madly loved it! That time, you were unbelievably strong and confident. You weren’t afraid to put yourself in danger. You hid me behind your back. You were ready to tear those stinkers… Maybe, you couldn’t protect me. But you tried to. You impressed me with your courage. I’m proud of you! The fact that you were so decent. And I will be proud much more if you piss your uncle off.”       Natalia shakes her head.       “You can do this! You just need to find the courage and say, ‘I must do it for my family!’ You’re strong, Edward! You’re stronger than you think. You haven’t just realized it yet. You don’t know the limits of your abilities. Though, your body and soul are strong. A cowardly person wouldn’t have meddled in such a dangerous case and would’ve kept themselves far from such men as Michael and his pals. But since you decided to do that, you’ve got a little, fearless boy inside you. Your power may be huge. You just need to let it be shown. Don’t hide it inside you. Show what’s deeply hidden in your heart, in your soul. I believe in you and know you can do anything.”       Natalia comes slowly to Edward closer, grabs his face hesitantly but very softly, and caresses his cheeks tenderly.       “Yes, maybe, it’s hard for you now because your uncle is pressing on you and your weaknesses. Maybe, you doubt yourself and are afraid of something. But I’m sure you can do anything. Because you’re strong! Stronger than you think. Stop listening to the one, who wants to crush you like a pea. Who sees only shortcomings in you. I understand you heard it so often that you began to believe in it and consider yourself cowardly and insecure. But trust me, those, who love you, do see all your dignity. They know if you really wanted, you’d get anything. They don’t consider you a little puppy. They do appreciate you for what you are.”       “Fuck, how sick I am of THIS!” Michael resents, being very irritated, and smashes his hand against the table with an irritated growl. “EDWARD, FUCK! Stop making this drama longer, you, fucking weak boy! Just take this fucking shot! Shoot Terrence down to the fuck! THAT’S ALL! YOU NEED TO DO NOTHING MORE!”       “Please, Edward, don’t kill Terrence…” Natalia sniffs loudly. “Don’t kill a good guy that’s living inside you.”       “SHOOT, COWARD! YOU HEAR ME, YOU, COWARDLY PUPPY? SHOOT, I SAID! STOP LISTENING TO THE DELIRIUM OF THIS BRAINLESS CHICKEN! I AM SICK OF HER STUPID REFLECTIONS! SHOOT, ASSHOLE, SHOOT!”       At this moment, Natalia understands she has very few arguments. That’s why the girl starts to get nervous and breathe heavily and does not know what to say. She gets a little confused for some time because she is no longer able to stand against Michael verbally. The blonde starts to think she has lost. But a few moments later, her hand reaches the gilded necklace with the sparkly pendant in the form of the letter “N” that is hidden underneath her short buttoned on almost all the buttons. Natalia runs her hand slowly over her mascot, literally getting a second breath and much more confidence about being able to do what she wants. After she says everything, she decides to do a very risky thing.       Feeling the positive energy that her necklace is spreading, Natalia steps back from Edward still breathing heavily and slouching strongly, and moves her confident gaze into his eyes full of fear, and pain. The girl hesitates for a second, exhales sharply to get rid of tension, grabs the pistol in the man’s hands with her hands, and sharply points it… At herself. To be clear, at her heart. And it makes Terrence gasp with his mouth open and shake in horror.       “No, Natalia!” Terrence yells with horror in widely open eyes, breathing heavily enough and starting to fidget on the sofa. “Don’t dare!”       “Shoot at me before you kill Terrence,” Natalia begs determinedly, starting to breathe much heavier than before and looking at Edward with pity in her wet eyes.       Natalia shakes her head and sniffs quietly.       “Shoot at me, Edward!” Natalia says a little louder, sometimes glancing at the pistol pointed at her heart. “Before you kill Terrence, kill me first. The pistol is pointed at my heart. If you shoot, nothing will save me. I shall die. Without a chance to be saved.”       “Rochester, stop!” Terrence begs excitedly. “You went insane?”       “If you should kill someone, kill me then. I’m ready to sacrifice myself. Terrence must live. He’s got a meaning in life. But I’ve got nothing to lose. Nothing holds me in this world. I’ve got nobody I could live for. I’m all alone. Alone because I don’t have a beloved man. Who would take care of me and be by my side at hard times.”       Natalia swallows up nervously.       “Maybe, somehow, I inspired you to be better,” Natalia says in a shaking voice. “But now everything changed. We are no longer together! If it’s so, you can get off the one, who disappointed you. And… Save me from the suffering. One shoot, Edward. Just one shoot before you never see me. I’ll no longer suffer from what’s happened to me. Do it, I’m begging you… I want to die…”       “No, Natalia, shut up!” Terrence screams excitedly and loudly, setting his dumbfounded, widely open eyes on Natalia. “Stop it now! Stop!”       When Natalia pointed the pistol at herself, Edward literally fell into a stupor from a horror that he got obsessed with and opened his eyes much wider. The man almost screams from horror when realizing he is keeping the girl under the gun, more specifically, she pointed the gun at herself. He got frozen like a statue, and he cannot move or say at least one word. The only thing Edward can move with are his eyes, with which the overwhelmed man looks at his ex-girlfriend. He sees a real horror in her tear-stained eyes, even if she tries not to show that she is actually afraid of being under the cold gun.       “Great, Edward!” Michael exclaims, happily rubbing his hands with an evil smile. “Since she wants to die first, go! Shoot at this gal! The pistol is pointed at her heart… One shot before your ex dies before your eyes. Before you have nobody to love.”        “Please, Edward, kill me!” Natalia begs desperately with pity in her wet eyes, being determined to make her plan come true. “I have no strength to take it anymore! Please, shoot me down! Let me die right here and now!”       What he hears makes Edward literally stop breathing, gasp, and shake his head slightly with widely open eyes, being close to a nervous breakdown and a non-controlled hysteria.       “Fear nothing!” Natalia encourages and sniffs. “Just press on the trigger and take a shoot. And everything will be over! Forever! Please, Edward, let me die! Shoot… I’m begging you! I have no wish to live! Nothing holds me in this world anymore. Kill me…”       Natalia is playing her role so well that Terrence seriously starts to believe her. The man gets horrified by the thought that Edward might succumb to her and shoot at the girl. Or shoot at her accidentally.       “No, no, Natalia, please, stop…” Terrence begs with despair, shaking his head with his mouth closed with a hand. “Stop saying it! Don’t you understand that Edward might succumb to your provocations and shoot at you? Don’t make it worse for you, friend, I’m begging you! I don’t wanna lose you! Raquelle doesn’t wanna lose you. Your parents will not accept your death. Please, Natalia, stop! Stop!”        “Well?” Michael gets much more furious. “Will I be watching this fucking drama for ages? Edward, you, fucking parasite! I am the fuck sick of watching this brainless gal trying to persuade you to kill her! Be a man and shoot at her! Don’t be a milksop and do what you must! Stop the fuck being a coward!”       “No, Edward, don’t dare to do this!” Terrence shouts. “Don’t dare! Hear me! Stop!”       “A pathetic sucker! You can do nothing! You must’ve been born as a girl, not a man! Because you CANNOT be a man! You’re a weak boy! A cowardly, weak boy that will never reach anything! SHOOT, I SAID, SCUMBAG! IF I SAID TO PLAY SOME TIME, IT DOES NOT MEAN YOU SHOULD STAND WITH THE GUN IN YOUR HANDS UNTIL THE NIGHT!”       Edward also starts to lose patience more and more. He wants to succumb to Michael’s provocations less and less. Due to the great stress that his uncle and Natalia make him feel, the man feels like he is about to get a panic attack. His hands get sweaty, his mouth is a little open, his pupils are dilated, his heartbeat is getting too fast and literally echoes in every single part of his tense body, and his breath is getting heavy. He can barely stand on his feet and feels such a strong weakness that he would definitely fall to the floor. His body gets obsessed with a strong shake not only because it’s a little cold now. And his widely open eyes are running from one side to another, looking at Terrence or Natalia.       “Your uncle is right, Edward,” Natalia says with tears in her eyes. “Don’t be a weak boy. Shoot at me. Right now. End this shit once and forever. And do what you want. Nothing and nobody will stop you.”       Natalia literally feels a panic attack. It’s very hard for her to breathe in and breathe out because something presses on her chest. Her heart is beating so fast that it might jump out of her chest. And it’s very hard to stand on her weak legs. No strength to hold the tears down, which are rolling down her cheeks. Nevertheless, she does not give up and decides to go until the end, being ready to get a bullet in her heart. Edward’s hands can barely hold the pistol pointed at the crying girl. The man does not want to kill the girl because he madly loves her and is afraid of losing her to death. Just one thought that something could happen to her gets him horrified. And while he is holding the pistol pointed at her, he is burning with great shame and wants to be swallowed by the ground.       But some time later, Edward understands that it cannot be happening anymore. He must overcome his hesitation in any way and find the courage to go against Michael, whom he does not wish to listen to anymore. To whom he does not want to obey. Because of whom, he does not want to ruin his life. Realizing that he has reached his limit and even gone beyond it, Edward literally puts all the pieces of himself together and tries to get over himself. To give a damn about Michael’s humiliations and insults. The threat that he will tell them one more horrible secret. He does not care about it. He wants just one thing – not to kill Terrence and Natalia. Her attempt to make him shoot at her becomes the last drop that pushes him to the edge and helps him find the courage.       Edward does not stop looking at Natalia crying quietly and looking at him with pity in her eyes, and tells himself he must overcome his fears for this girl and his family. To prove his love for them. To make them stop considering him a horrible man, who wants to get their money. And to prove to Natalia that he is still not indifferent to her and ready to do anything to make amends to her.       While Edward tries to get over himself, he recalls some words from his close people that he has heard over the past few days. The flashbacks of the memories that have lately happened encourage Edward to move the pistol down. Playing the voices of those, who threatened to become his enemy, the man’s heart bleeds and squeezes. He understands that he must prove to everybody that he has always been by the side of his close people. At some moment, it’s getting so hard for him to breathe that Edward literally chokes from a lack of air. He starts shaking much stronger and feels like a little unprotected baby that really wants to press himself on someone with the hope that he will be comforted and calmed down.       Edward looks into Natalia’s eyes for a very long time, but then he moves his gaze to Terrence, who is breathing heavily, looking at him scarily and literally begging him, “Edward, please, don’t do stupid things! You will regret it! Please, change your mind.” He keeps looking at his brother for two seconds, looking at him guiltily, and thinking he definitely asks him to stop. And then the man shakes his head, breathing heavily enough and saying in a very quiet, shaking voice for the first time in a while:       “No… No… No, no… I don’t want to do it… No… I will not do that! No! Don’t make me do this! I want to kill nobody! Nobody!”       “What is he blunting there?” Michael gets enraged, sharply setting his questioning gaze on Edward. “This bastard decided to give up?”       “Never…” Edward barely moves his shaking lips. “I will never do what will make me wish to hang myself. If I lose one of you… I will not live a quiet life. Never. I will take on this heavy burden. I have to carry too much on my shoulders. And by murdering you, I will break down.”       While Natalia and Terrence exhale quietly with a slight smile, Michael gets furious. His face gets kind of green from evil. It’s possible to see the disappointment in it. And his eyes are open so widely that they are about to sock out.       “I don’t wanna become a killer,” Edward says in a quiet, shaking voice, and hesitantly moves his dumbfounded gaze to Natalia and then Terrence a few seconds later. “I don’t especially have the wish to kill those, to whom I got attracted. I promise I will kill none of you. I wasn’t gonna do it and will not do it.”       Edward shakes his head and nervously swallows up.       “Yes, I was a coward and gave up at the last moment,” Edward says hesitantly. “But I swear, I’ve never had bad thoughts about my family. I was always doing my best to protect them, but I met failure. I could do nothing. Nothing.”       Edward exhales slowly with a shake, still choking from the strong excitement.       “The only good thing I could’ve done two hours ago is not to let my brother go here. I should’ve shown much more cruelty and insisted. So… He didn’t get caught in a trap… I should’ve gone here alone. And done my best to save the girl, who I could not save from the kidnapping. Who means too much to me. I’m not ready to sacrifice the lives of my close people so easily. I will never be.”       Edward slightly raises his head and turns it on Michael, who literally starts to burn from evil and tightly clenches his hands into fists.       “Maybe, I’ve done many terrible actions and am not deprived of shortcomings,” Edward says more confidently. “But I will never have the courage to commit the murder of my close people. I will never think about it. I’d rather die myself: shooting, hanging, swallowing tablets, drinking poison, or jumping off the root… It doesn’t matter! Nothing will longer make me do what will deprive me of peace. I give a fuck about what will happen. I’ve got nothing to lose. I’m not a killer and will never be! Ne-ver!”       Natalia smiles shyly through tears, feeling relief with the thought that she got what she wanted. And Terrence puts on a slight smile on his face. Just one thing still makes the man worried – the pistol pointed at the girl. Sometimes he glances at it and prays that his brother does not shoot at the girl, wound her, and especially kill her accidentally.       After Edward says everything he finds the strength for, he falls into silence for a second, not moving his eyes off Natalia but still keeping the gun pointed at her. As if he is trying to get the determination that he lacks so badly to go against Michael’s wish and not to make the mistake that will make him curse himself all his life. And a few seconds later, MacClife, Jr., gets rid of the stupor that he got obsessed with when his uncle placed the pistol in his hands. Then he starts moving the gun down slowly but confidently. And the lower it goes down, the wider Natalia smiles. The greater the relief Terrence feels. And a few moments later, Edward finally moves the pistol down, and Michael being literally red from evil clenches his hands into fists tightly and barely holds himself down not to scream at the top of his lungs.       Edward looks at the pistol in his hand with dumbfounded eyes, lowering and relaxing the second hand and inclining his head. The man has thanked Natalia a million times for literally saving him from a horrible act, but gets horrified by thinking that she had to put herself in danger and show that she was ready to sacrifice herself. For the first few seconds, he is terribly ashamed to look at Terrence and Natalia, whom he almost killed with his own hands under the pressure of Michael. But then the man finds the courage and slowly moves his guilty but thankful gaze to the blue-eyed blonde looking at him with red, wet eyes, smiling tiredly through tears, breathing heavily, and looking terribly scared.       Edward looks at Natalia for two seconds, swallowing up nervously and starting to breathe much heavier. But then the white and exhausted man presses her to himself with a free arm and takes her in his greedy, strong hug, to which she immediately answers, tightly wrapping her arms around his neck, snuggling her face in his shoulder, starting to make quiet sobs and realizing that her tense body is shaking strongly. At some moment, Edward snuggles his nose in the blonde’s shoulder, feeling kind of empty after such a strong nervous exaggeration, tenderly caressing her back and making a couple of quiet sobs. Although he gets a little better after this hug, even such a desired caress from the girl, who caresses his head, cannot make him immediately forget what he almost did because of his cowardice.       The ex-lovers say nothing for five seconds and keep tightly hugging each other with quiet sobs. But then Edward decides to break the silence, barely pronouncing in a shaking voice:       “Thanks… Thank you so much… You saved me! Saved me and my brother.”       “I did what I should’ve done,” Natalia replies and sniffs quietly. “That was my duty.”       “You saved me, Natalia!” Edward, caressing Natalia’s head, kisses her cutely on the top of this one. “Saved! I… I don’t know how to thank you! I will owe you all my life! I swear! Ask me whatever you want – I’d do anything for you.”       “I know,” Natalia smiles through tears and, sniffing quietly, wraps Edward’s neck with her arms tighter. “And now I truly believe you aren’t really the one, who everybody considered you. At least, you proved it to me. I saw your real feelings.”       “Now it will be so. I shall prove to everybody that I’ve always been a good man and loved my close people. That I would do anything for my love for them.”       “You can do this.” Natalia snuggles her nose into Edward’s shoulder and makes a quiet sob. “I believe in you. I always have.”       “I will not betray anyone else,” Edward promises confidently. “I will not make anyone doubt the way I treat my close people.”       “Are you promising to take me away from here? Please, Edward… I don’t wanna stay here anymore!”       “This time, I will do my best to leave this fucking house alive. With you and my brother. We will leave together. Now I have no right to lose. Because I’ve lost somehow. Now it’s do or die.”       “Do it,” Natalia smiles slightly and closes her eyes for a second, trying to hold down the tears coming to her eyes. “Just do it, and I will be proud of you. I shall be grateful and own you all my life. I don’t ask you for much. Just take me away from me.”       “I will,” Edward nods confidently, steps back from Natalia, and first takes her by the shoulder and then softly caresses her cheek with a free hand, confidently looking into her red tear-stained eyes. “I swear on my life! If I lose, I can be killed right here. Anyone can kill me if I dare to grab a pistol again and point it at you or Terrence.”       “I believe, Edward, I do,” Natalia makes a quiet sob, caresses Edward’s cheeks tenderly, and strokes down his very disheveled hair. “You’re strong. You can do anything.”       Edward smiles slightly with the corners of his mouth, moving his eyes down for a second. He looks at Natalia until Terrence slowly comes to them. The girl glances at him, and he hugs her tightly, exhaling with great relief and caressing her head with a slight smile on his face. The man steps back from her a few seconds later and then glances at his brother, who guiltily inclines his head and just sometimes moves his ashamed look to him, starting to shake again after he calmed down a little in the hug of his ex-girlfriend.       However, Terrence smiles slightly, puts his hand on his shoulder, and claps him on it. And then he silently takes his brother in a tight hug, as if he quickly understood what the man needed as much as air. Edward, rounding his eyes and giving a start with a gasp, gets a little confused but hesitantly answers such a sudden gesture from Terrence.       “I’m sorry…” Edward pronounces with pity in a shaking voice and sniffs quietly. “Sorry… I’m so sorry… I didn’t want it to happen… I could do nothing to myself… Forgive me…”       “It’s okay,” Terrence replies softly and claps Edward on the back, and caresses his head. “I believe you. I saw everything in your eyes.”       “I didn’t want it, I swear… I’m very sorry, Terrence! It’s Uncle… He… He…”       “No need to explain anything.” Terrence steps back from Edward, slightly claps him on the cheek, and tightly takes him by the shoulders, while his brother is breathing heavily and shaking strongly. “Don’t excuse yourself for what happened against your wish.”       “But…”       “I’m not mad at you for that.” Terrence falls into silence and slightly squeezes Edward’s shoulder, looking at him with a slight smile. “And I believe you’re a fine fellow. Really, Edward, I’m proud of you. And I’m glad you got over yourself.”       “Forgive me… Please…”       “Okay! Save it for later!” Terrence goes two steps back and glances at Natalia with his head raised up. “We’ve gotta think about how to get out of here and get off this sick bastard.”       “But how?” Natalia throws her hands up. “We may be stuck here for nobody the fuck knows how long.”       “Right,” Edward agrees. “But we must get out of here…”       Edward raises his head hesitantly and looks at Terrence and Natalia.       “Together!” Edward adds more confidently. “If we’re leaving, we’re leaving together. None of us can stay here.”       “We will not stay,” Terrence replies confidently. “Even if we have to hide from Uncle and his bastards, we will leave.”       “Michael’s people are supposed to bring Raquelle here,” Natalia says thoughtfully.       “She will not leave us! I don’t know why, but I’m sure Raquelle will come up with something. If that girl knew what would happen here, there’s a chance that she will find a way to help us get out.”       “Yeah, but if Uncle’s people go to your home and find Raquelle, she won’t be able to help us, either,” Edward notices.       “Raquelle must not let it happen. I’m sure that she’s obsessed with tons of horrible presentiments and will start to think about what to do and who to ask for help.”       “I also think she won’t leave us,” Natalia replies confidently. “I dunno… But something tells me we can expect her help just in time.”       “Ah, Raquelle, please, help us…” Terrence prays quietly, closing his eyes for a second. “We count only on you… You’re the only one to be able to save us. Please, don’t let Uncle’s accomplices take you away. You’re very smart and resourceful. I believe you will think up something. Help us, sweetie, don’t leave us… We need you…”       “It would be great if she heard your plea.”       “Now I’m suggesting you play time. Do our best not to let that old bastard kill us.”       “I think we could hold on for some time,” Edward says confidently enough. “Let’s just play time, and then we see.”       “Decided then! Are you ready to hold on until the end?”       “Ready!” Natalia and Edward pronounce at the same time, look at each other, nod and do the same, looking at Terrence.       “Good,” Terrence raises his head.       Terrence, Natalia, and Edward completely understand that they can only survive if they are together. Yes, they know they cannot play time forever. But they truly want to believe that Raquelle will come to help them out and do her best to end this nightmare that they will never forget.