The Royal Contract

She never wished for this. It was not what she wanted for a man like him despite his many wrongdoings. Her head finally tilted down, focusing on the bed before her.

Her eyes landed on the pure white sheet covering his body from head to toe. She heard what the doctors said. He was proclaimed dead on arrival. There was nothing they could do for him anymore.

“Are you ok?” A hand touched her shoulders, emitting warmth to her shivering skin.

The cold temperature of the room did not make her tremble, but the thought that he was finally gone had shaken her to the very core.

She turned her head at her back, staring into her husband’s eyes full of concern for her. She had no idea what he might be thinking, but she wanted to reassure him that she was ok by forcing a smile on her lips.

“I wanted him to pay for his sin, but not like this.” She nodded her head at the police officer handling the case. She wanted to see him one last time. “I was hoping that he would realize what he had done and repent for his sin.”

.....

The officer slowly lowered the white sheet down his chest, revealing his face to her. His complexion had turned white as blood stopped circulating in his body.

She still recognized him, remembering the man that she used to love. Yes, she admitted to loving this man before she learned how despicable he was. That was why it hurt so much when he betrayed her and used her for his interest.

“I am sorry about this, Dani,” Alex responded, wishing he could wipe away the sorrow on his wife’s face. “But, we don’t hold his fate in our hands.” That was the truth.

He wanted him dead. He believed that going to jail would never be enough punishment for all he had done. He also felt that a man like Nick would never change.

He would always find a way to manipulate the system. Once he got out, he would find a way to insert himself and start another havoc in their lives. In his opinion, whatever happened to Nick, he deserved it.

“I know you are right.” She focused her attention one last time on his cold, lifeless face. It was the last time she would see him. Finally, she would bury him for good, together with her nightmares.

She never believed in the death penalty, hoping that even the worse criminals deserved a second chance. But what happened to Nick was worse than being electrocuted on a chair because he did not go through the due process.

Killing him in cold blood was a coward’s way. He should have had the chance to defend himself, but from the report of the jail warden, he was found in an isolated place, lying on a pool of his blood, barely alive. There was no suspect.

“Shall we go?” Alex wrapped her in his arms, enveloping her cold body in his warmth. When she nodded her head, he pulled her away from the dead body of her ex-fiance.

After a few minutes, she was exiting the backdoor of the hospital, away from the media frenzy, wanting to get a scoop on the latest news.

“Do you think Dad had anything to do with this?” She asked once they were alone in the backseat of the car, on their way back home.

She could not help but think that her father might have something to do with his death. She knew that her father was not a murderer, but she wondered if he could do this because he wanted to protect her.

“No. I am sure that Ethan had nothing to do with this.” Alex assured her.

They might have thought about it, even planned to have him executed. But they could not push through with it, considering what it would do to Dani if she ever found out.

“Then, it is probably my brother who did this.” Concluding that he might have the motive for wanting Nick’s silence.

Suddenly, fear crawled into her mind as she looked outside her window. If her brother was capable of such a criminal act, she wondered what else he could do to her and her loved ones.

“We don’t know that, but we could not discount the possibility.” Alex also had the same conclusion and came up with the same thing.

He wished that a different circumstance awaited Dani when she eventually learned about her brother’s identity. He hoped that her brother was living somewhere far away from all of this.

But he could not disregard that he might be the one running the underground syndicate. He also wanted his wife prepared for the worse. Whoever her brother was. He might be the mastermind of all this crime.

“I think you should rest for the day,” Alex suggested, seeing the toll the death of Nick had on her.

He pulled her closer to him, cradling her body against his as he comforted her. He was not jealous of the way she reacted to Nick’s death.

He knew that whatever she felt for the man had been special during the time. But he had always been confident that what she felt for him was true love. There was no comparison.

“No, that is not what I need.” She hastily objected, believing that she was not that weak.

She might be affected by his death. Still, she had obligations to fulfill. That should not stop her from continuing her day. She asked her husband to drop her at her office, where she still had a few things to do.

She would deal with the rest of the issues when the police had finalized the reports. For now, she would concentrate on her job and do the things where she would be helpful.

“Shall I pick you up later?” He offered, not wanting her to be alone. It was the only thing he could do for her for now.

He would get to the bottom of this. He would not stop until he had uncovered the truth behind everything happening around them.