Lured into Lies by Melanie Martins
Chapter 34
De Haar, December 6, 2020
Petra Van Gatt
The loud sound of a ringtone bursts through the room, waking me up. But I’m too sleepy to open my eyes, so I remain resting on my pillow and praying the ringtone will eventually stop. But it keeps going, and as I timidly crack my eyes open to get aware of my surroundings, I turn and see Alex picking up his phone to answer the call.
“Yes?” His voice is not too loud, but I’m already awake, so he shouldn’t worry about being quiet. “What? Are you sure?” His alarmed tone startles me, and I sit up, observing him more attentively; his expression switches and becomes deeply grave and concerned. “Okay, I will be there soon.” After hanging up, he leaps off of the bed and rushes to get dressed.
“What’s going on?”
He turns, surprised that I’m awake.
“It’s my dad…” Alex goes and opens his luggage, taking from their a few clothes. “He was kept in the small chapel beside the castle for the whole night, which is why the staff didn’t find him,” he explains. “The agents just gave him his phone back.”
I frown in confusion. “Why did they do so?”
“My mom most likely asked them to.”
And while I can see he’s in a hurry to go to the chapel, I have one more question to do. “But why did your mom keep him in there?”
Alex sits on the armchair as he ties up his boots. “They want to shoot him at sunrise.” My jaw drops at his answer, and I freeze on the spot. Then he glances at his watch and says, “Which is in twenty minutes.”
I gasp, my stomach twisting into a tighter knot. “Your mom is insane!”
“Welcome to the family.”
“I go with you then,” I reply quickly as I rush out of bed and head to my luggage to grab something to wear.
“No,” he snaps instantly. “You stay here.”
Despite his command, I open my luggage and take a pair of jeans, a sweater, and snow boots to wear. “Not a chance.” And I start getting ready for the freezing outdoors.
“Petra, I’m serious,” he insists. “It might be dangerous.”
But I don’t listen and, holding his hand, I say, “Wherever you go, I go.”
Since I’m already on my way out, Alex is left with no choice but to follow me. “Look, no matter what happens there, you stay behind me.” His face remains just as grave, which is understandable given the circumstances. “And don’t make any brisk movements, you understand?”
“I know, don’t worry.”
We step foot outside the castle, and despite wearing thick clothes, I gasp at the freezing air. We speed up our pace until we can finally see the two agents from afar standing in front of the chapel’s doors. Alex reaches for my hand so that I can match his pace, but my legs aren’t as long as his. Once we get close enough to them, I notice they are wearing long double-breasted wool overcoats and black boots like those soldiers of the second World War. One thing is sure; they don’t really look like friendly lads.
They give a nod in acknowledgment upon seeing Alex. “Good morning,” one of the agents greets.
“Gentlemen,” Alex replies, shaking their hands and, to my surprise, his tone is agreeable and courteous. “Can we see him?”
“Only at sunrise.”
Alex steps a bit closer to them, and in a lower voice, says, “I’m sure we can reach an agreement…”
“My apologies, Mr. Van Dieren, but we don’t work for you.”
“What if I pay double?” Alex insists.
“Not everything is about money,” the other agent tells him, and to make his point clear, he shows us the coats of arms embroidered in the sleeve of his overcoat.
The expression of my husband instantly switches, and he gapes in terror at the sight of it.
“What does that mean?” I ask, not recognizing the heraldic symbols.
“It’s the coats of arms of the Van Den Bosch family…”
My jaw drops immediately. “Julia and Sebastian knew?”
“That fucking bastard!” he hisses in anger. “Yes, Sebastian knew my dad was here. They took pictures together during the groomsmen brunch.” Alex shakes his head and runs a hand through his hair, still digesting the news. The betrayal of his brother-in-law has left him in a total state of shock. I don’t know what else to say or do as I observe him pacing around in frustration. “Fuck!”
All of a sudden, though, I hear the engine of two cars approaching, and as I turn around to follow the sound, my eyes alight on Margaret and Yara, followed by Sebastian and Julia as they leave their respective cars. All are escorted by two other men wearing the same military attire. To my surprise, they are all wearing long formal Chesterfield coats, gloves, and boots, while carrying a formal posture like generals reviewing their troops.
There’s something different in the way Alex looks at them, though; I see disdain, but above all, I also see hate.
They march in our direction, their faces as grave as if they were about to attend a funeral, which, given the circumstances, isn’t really that far from the truth. One thing is for sure, I’d have never thought these bunch of four to be as evil and revengeful as they are.
“We need a plan to get Hendrik out of here,” I whisper to Alex. “There must be a way.”
Whatever Hendrik did to Margaret, I’m pretty sure he doesn’t deserve to die.
“I’ll talk to them,” Alex tells me, squeezing my hand.
Once the four psychos reach the outdoors of the chapel where we are standing, the toxicity of their energy shivers me. Their souls are as dark as death, and I walk backwards, getting beside my husband.
“Good morning, Alex. Good morning, Petra,” Margaret still has the nerve to greet us with a smile on her face. “I apologize for lying yesterday, but as you may understand, I’d have never let this little incident ruin the wedding reception. So I had to postpone it for today. And at least now you can tell him goodbye.”
“Mom, I’m gonna make this very clear,” Alex begins, containing his rage. “Dad is gonna go back to Bermuda alive, or I swear Petra and I won’t attend the ceremony today, and I will make sure to let everyone know why.”
Margaret just chuckles in return, unimpressed. “Oh, because you think they care about a man who has been disgraced for twenty years now? Darling, they don’t.”
“If you care about the ceremony, set him free,” Alex insists. “Or else you can forget about it.”
Margaret takes a deep breath, and while her face remains expressionless, I can see her chest rising high as she ponders his offer. “Let’s leave it to the hands of God, shall we?” What the heck is she talking about? I furrow my brows in confusion, my eyes squinting at her. “Yara?” Margaret exchanges a quick look with her daughter, and I watch as she smirks instantly as she opens her coat, removing a silver revolver from her belt. My body tenses up, and my heart skips a beat at the view of the firearm. Meanwhile the agents bring Hendrik out of the chapel, holding him by each arm. Hendrik barely manages to stand on his feet as they drag him in front of us. Then they drop him on the ground, and I have to look elsewhere because this is too infuriating to watch. Tears start forming in the back of my eyes at their horrific actions, and I reach for my mouth to silence my pain. Yet hearing Hendrik moaning as he rolls on the floor makes my heart squeeze even more. If they are capable of killing him, then they are capable of killing my mom and anyone else without any care. Yara opens the cylinder, showing us the six empty chambers, before she places one cartridge inside. She then closes the cylinder, spins it, and hands the gun to Margaret. “Here is what we will do; this is a six-shot revolver, and there is only one bullet inside. If it fires, Hendrik will die, and the ceremony will be canceled; if it doesn’t, Hendrik will attend the ceremony and then leave back to Bermuda as he intended.”
“And what if we refuse?” Alex asks.
Margaret nods at one of the agents, who immediately pulls a semi-automatic from his waistband and points it to Hendrik. “We can just kill him straight away, and I’ll cancel the ceremony right after.”
“You’d rather have him dead than have the ceremony?” I blurt out at her, stepping forward. “What kind of monster are you?”
“Petra,” Alex rebukes as he tries to push me back, but I release myself from his grip.
“You have no idea how disappointed I am in you four! You are all barbaric!”
“Petra, this is a very private meeting, and you shouldn’t be witnessing any of it.” Margaret keeps her tone formal and polite. “But you are right; it’s barbaric, which is why…” she walks over us and stands right in front of me. “You will be the one pulling the trigger.”
She extends her hand, offering me the revolver, and my heart stops for a moment as her words rock me to the core.
“You are totally insane, aren’t you?” I hear Alex saying. “Leave Petra out of this!”
“The choice is yours,” Margaret tells me, her hand still in the air.
After I take the revolver, Alex turns to me and says, “You don’t have to do this.” His tone is rushed and totally alarmed. I don’t think I have ever heard him talking with so much anger and despair as now. “Petra? Do you hear me?” He looks me in the eye, his hands cupping my jawline. “You can refuse, you know that, right?”
Can I? As I look at Hendrik, his knees on the floor between the two agents, one of them pointing a loaded gun at him, I don’t think I have much of a choice, no. Unlike them, Alex is not armed, and I only have one bullet inside the revolver I’m holding. There is only one bullet and six chambers, which means there is around a fifteen percent chance that I kill him. The simple thought of it makes me want to faint. I take a deep breath in and out, look up at Alex and whisper, “If I refuse, they will kill him regardless…” Alex doesn’t answer back, because he knows deep inside him that it’s the ugly truth. “I’m terrified…”
“Look at me,” Alex whispers, his hands caressing my jawline. “Don’t blame yourself for anything, okay? None of this is your fault. I should’ve been more clear that you needed to stay inside.”
“If I fail, will you forgive me?”
He pulls me into his arms, squeezing me tight. “Always.” My heart is pounding so damn fast that it hurts. And as I wrap my arms around him, I let the first tears to fall. I sniffle a few times, but I’m scared. So scared…
I turn to look at Sebastian, Julia, Margaret, and Yara, and I wonder how can they be so cruel and vicious. How can they hate Hendrik so much? What has he done to bring so much hate upon himself?
Despite the freezing air, sweat starts coursing down my spine as I position myself in front of Hendrik. I swallow the lump in my throat and glance over at him. Hendrik adjusts his posture but remains sitting on his knees. Fortunately, he doesn’t look at me and just closes his eyes.
“Petra?” Alex reaches out and takes the hand that is holding the gun. “You have to cock the hammer back.” He does it for me, and I know in that instant the revolver is ready to shoot.
I’m trembling, barely breathing. Oh my gosh… Tears are falling down as my nervousness grows inside me. I’ve got to calm myself down, but I’m terrified, and my hand is sweating around the grip. Despite my blurred vision, I point the gun at Hendrik’s chest, and I shut my eyes tight. I can only hear my heart racing inside my chest, and I feel like fainting at any moment at the scary thought I could kill him.
Please, please, please, let him live… I can’t kill him…
Tears keep falling down my cheeks so I sniffle to push them back. Then I inhale and exhale slowly while saying a prayer. And once all is said and done, I count until three in my head.
One…
I take another breath in and out.
Two…
A sob leaves my lips as my hand keeps trembling.
Three…
And I pull the trigger while squeezing my eyes as tight as I can, anticipating the worst.
But nothing.
I expected a loud sound, I expected dying from the whole thing, but I only feel Alex embracing me from behind and pulling me up in the air.
“You made it!” he screams. “You fucking made it!”
All of the tension vanishes from my body, and I barely have any strength left to hold myself on my feet, but I make the conscious effort to find some strength and steady myself. Once Alex releases me, I go and give the gun back to Margaret, who doesn’t seem very much pleased with the outcome.
“See you at the ceremony,” I tell her with my biggest smile.
Margaret passes through me and stands in front of Hendrik, who is finally on his feet, thanks to his son’s help. “May this bit of luck be a reminder for you to never step foot in this country again. Or else, you might not find yourself so lucky.”
Hendrik doesn’t say a word, but he remains just as stoic as his ex-wife.
I give a quick glance at Yara and Julia, before they all turn their backs and leave the property, escorted by their four agents. From that moment on, I’m pretty sure they know I’ll never trust them ever again. Today their masks have fallen, revealing how twisted they are. And to me, they are beyond redemption.
Then I run toward Hendrik, who is well and alive, and give him a hug as tight as Alex gave to me.
“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry…” I tell him repeatedly, tears staining my cheeks.
“I knew you wouldn’t fail, I fucking knew it.”
I might have lost three friends today, but I gained a new dad who despite all his flaws seems to be an angel compared to those demons.
We bring Hendrik back inside the castle and serve him a slice of our wedding cake and some champagne.
Then we finally take some videos and photos together, and words aren’t enough to describe how happy I am for him to attend our wedding at St. John’s Cathedral later on today. As I come to think of it, Hendrik knew he was risking his life to be here with us. And yet, he didn’t think twice before coming here. If that’s not love, then I don’t know what this is.
* * *
Two hours later, Clarissa shows up into the reception hall accompanied by a hairstylist and a makeup artist and ushers me upstairs to get me ready for the big day.
As we reach the bedroom that was assigned to me, she takes my new dress out of the wardrobe and lays it out on the bed.
“Wow!” she utters in surprise. “That’s such a different dress from yesterday. The train is so beautiful and long, you will look like an Empress.” As I come to think of it, this was one of the dresses Julia had chosen for me, which leaves a sour taste in my mouth.
Before I go and take a shower, I make sure to check on Emma so that she doesn’t arrive late again. To my surprise, though, there’s a notification of a new voice message from Mom. She left it yesterday evening, but I wasn’t with my phone back then.
Going to the bathroom, I lock myself in it, and press play. “Petra, it’s me… Your mom… I, um, I suppose by now you must be married and partying with your friends and new family…” Her tone is heavily disappointed and serious, which doesn’t really surprise me. “I’m gonna take a break, um, I’m leaving the country for a few days, maybe weeks, who knows… I need some peace and quiet to think about my life, about me… Anyway, I wish you all the best and, um, I love you.”
Wow. I call her straight away to catch up on her message. She doesn’t seem okay at all. Maybe she’s having a breakdown or something. Yet, her phone is turned off, and I land on her voicemail. “Hi, Mom, thanks for your voice message. I’m glad you are taking some time off from work, politics, and so on. My wedding was great, Dad was there, Emma too… Anyway, I hope one day you’ll find the will to leave the past behind and turn the page. It’d mean the world if we could be friends again.”
A few knocks on the door interrupt me. “Petra, are you nearly done?” Clarissa asks.
“Um, I’ve got to go. Call me when you can, I’d love to hear your voice. Bye.” And I hang up. “Just ten more minutes!” I say loud enough before I turn on the water and jump into the shower.