Chapter 15 (Revelations)

News about Keres' accident at the school reached Diego's ears. He was surprised that his private investigator was right and at the same time shocked that a student was responsible for his slow downfall. The only missing piece was Sandra Stewart. He still wondered why she died and why her suicide note said she blew his factory up. But the fact that Keres was at the broadcasting station and the hospital and also in possession of the USB key forced him to believe she was responsible. After all he thought Sandra Stewart was when her suicide note was made public.

"I should have killed her first" he said angrily

"Did you say she fell off the railing?" He asked

"Yes. I don't think she'll make it" an agent said

"She solely blew up my factory, came into my house, took down my guards and committed several murders. She going to make it" Diego said standing up

"Keep a close eye on her and when she wakes up, I want to have a meeting with her" he said

"Why?" Nikolay asked appearing through the door. He was listening

"Son, what are you doing here?" Diego asked wondering if he heard all of his conversation with the agents

"Don't call me that!" Nikolay shouted

"Why are you trying to kill her?" He asked his eyes bloodshot. He had been crying all the way from the hospital

"Because of me? Because I said I wouldn't get engaged to Legend?" He asked

"Son, not everything is about you. This is strictly business, so stay out of it" Diego said

"Business? What kind of business is it that you have to make a high school student fall off a railing?!" Nikolay shouted

"She is no ordinary high school student. I'm lead to believe she's a member of some organization. Did you say that she attends the same school with my son?" He asked the agents

"Yes Sir" they nodded

"Then you must be in the same class as her, right?" He asked Nikolay

"So tell me, what is her weakness?" He asked

"You're insane" Nikolay said and walked up his room. He opened his wardrobe and took out some clothes and other necessities and placed them in a bag before taking his credit card. He walked out of the room and began racing down the stairs. He threw the credit card at Diego meaning he didn't want his bloody money. He was beginning to man up

"You killed Hazel and now you want to kill her too? Go for it. I'm going to protect her myself. But I assure you, I will never follow any of your goddamn instructions and I'm certainly not going to get engaged to Legend!" He stated and walked out of the house

"Honey? What's going on?" Claudia asked walking into the house with some grocery bags. She had gone shopping and didn't know what transpired between Father and son

"Oh nothing" Diego said

"Then why is Nikolay leaving with his bag?" She asked

"A school thing" Diego lied and went into his room after dismissing the agents.

Nikolay had only one place to go to vent his anger. His Auntie, Janelle. He wasn't close to any of his Father's relatives. Infact, he had never seen any of them so if they really existed he didn't know. The only extended family he had was his Mother's little sister. Auntie Janelle. Seeing him with his bag and teary eyes she knew something had happened at home

After an hour of narrating the whole story to her the way he knew it, Nikolay was shedding tears.

"I don't know what to do now" he said

"Her family won't even let me see her" he added blowing his nose into the tissue paper

"Still try. When they see that you are persistent they'll finally give in to you" she said

"You think so?" He asked

"No, I know so" she said

"And as for your Father, I'll try talking to my sister about the engagement. Maybe she'd be able to convince him to stop it" she added

"Thank you so much Auntie, I knew I could count on you" he said getting up

"Where are you going to?" She asked him

"The hospital" he said

"But isn't it late? Go in and freshen up then have something to eat first" she said

"You said to be persistent" he said and walked out

Even after the successful operation Keres wasn't waking up. Mrs. Peters was sure it was God's way of making her pay for taking those lives at the factory. Maybe he wanted to torture her in hell a little then send her back or the ghosts of those she killed were hunting her. The old and new members of Black Cat filled the entrance of the hospital talking to one another about the incident. With their number, one would think the President was admitted there. Lucia sat beside the bed praying for hours, dozing off at intervals. All she wanted was for her to open her eyes or even twitch them a little but there was no movement. The Doctors in charge assured them that nothing was wrong with her but that wasn't enough to convince them

"You're already tired, get up" James said

"No. Not until she wakes up" Lucia insisted

"Mom, I don't think Keres cares if you pray for hours so she'd wake up so don't beat yourself up" Perry said. Ian watched them with worry. If Keres didn't wake up it was definitely going to be his fault. Why the hell did he throw the key towards her? But if he hadn't and the agents got a hold of it she wouldn't let him hear the end of it. Though, that was better than being on a hospital bed.

"....I'm at fault. When I knew she attended that school I should have pulled her out but I did nothing. There's a curse upon us and the Diegos. We shouldn't have anything to do with them" Lucia went on

"Mom, we pay our rent to them and the business is booming. What are you talking about?" Perry asked

"Shut the hell up! I'm talking about her family and not ours" she said. He looked away wondering if being Keres' family didn't mean the curse of the Diegos was going to affect them. Then he saw her move her fingers.

"She's waking up!" Perry said rushing to Keres' side. She stirred and then opened her eyes slowly. Ian rushed towards her and grabbed her hands

"I hope you won't ask questions like where am I? right?" He asked and placed the USB key in her hands discreetly

"I'm fully aware of where I am" she smiled and held on to the USB key

"Thankfully you didn't hurt your head, just a small gash" Perry said touching her bandaged head

"Are you alright?" Hunter asked

"My side burst open and you're asking me if am fine? Don't be so harsh" she said. She winced in pain when she tried to sit up

"You still have a runny mouth so you're fine" Silas said smiling

"The USB key, where is it?" Mrs. Peters asked

"Always getting straight to the point. So typical of you" Keres said

"Darn it Keres, where's it?!" She shouted

"She's wounded, don't shout at her" Lucia said

"Part of the reason why I saved your life was so that we could get the USB key from you so you better hand it over" Mrs. Peters said brushing Lucia aside

"Part? What's the other reason? You couldn't stand the sight of blood on a dying teenager and you decided to help or you did something so Hunter wouldn't query you?" She asked

"You should have taken it from Ian before I woke up" They turned to Ian who looked away. Because now that it's in my hands I'm not turning it in" she said

"Keres, we took care of the Police when they came so no one is going to ask why you had to fall off the railing so hand it over" Hurricane said

"Did I ask you to do that?" She asked

"What should we have done? Let them know we are investigating and exposing Diego?" Yvonne asked

"I am investigating and exposing Diego. I am punishing him. I retrieved the camera in his office, broke into his house, gave information on the bribery scandal to the press, took down his factory. And now, I have found the USB key. Do you expect me to just hand it over?" She said

"Hand it over Keres" Mrs. Peters said

"Have you all gone deaf? I'm not turning it in" she said

"I warned you, but you didn't listen now this" Hunter said

"What exactly did you warn me about? Huh?" Keres asked

"All your reckless activities!" Hunter shouted

"You blowing up the factory, murdering every one in the building and going for the throat of the survivor. Did you think Diego wouldn't know about it all?" He said

"He wouldn't have known" Keres said

"The last time Ian and I broke into his house I installed a listening device there and I hear everything happening in that house"

"Up until yesterday, Diego was so sure that Sandra Stewart was the crazy girl who took down his factory"

"Even if evidence that I am the root of everything was shown to him he didn't believe it because I cleverly used Sandra Stewart to block all doubts coming from him" she explained

"If I hadn't gone for the USB key today I wouldn't have been found out" she said. "So that's why I'm keeping it for myself now because I know that's the only way I can keep myself safe from Diego and the government" she concluded

"Wait, Keres" James said. He seemed to be lost in the entire argument "Are you saying you blew up the factory?" He asked

"Precisely" she answered nonchalantly

"What?!" Lucia and Perry exclaimed

"Why did you do it? I mean, I suspected you but why would you do such a thing?" James asked

"Why not? This is just the beginning. After I make the Police put those government officials behind bars I'm going to go for Diego's throat" Keres said

"Keres!" Hunter cautioned

"What? You think I can't do it?" She asked

"You'll only regret this later" Hunter said

"The only regret I have is my family being dead because of Diego Lukeman and that, I'm going to get revenge for. I will kill Diego Lukeman" she said. There was no getting her to change her mind

"Ian, say something" Silas said defeatedly

"Well, I'm behind you in anything you want to do" Ian said surprising them

"But we are going to go for his entire family like he did yours" He meant Nikolay.

"That goes without saying" Keres said

Nikolay who had taken his Auntie's advice to insist on seeing Keres ended up listening to their conversation. The shock her felt was so much he couldn't move when he wanted to.

"And Hazel" Ian added

"Your twin died because of him" he said

"James" Keres said turning to James

"Your niece died. Your sister-inlaw had an attack and died because she couldn't handle the sight of her daughter buried underground before her eyes. Your brother committed suicide because his wife and daughter died right in front of him and one of his daughters had gone missing for eight fucking years" she said

"You guys didn't do anything and I don't blame you but me? Nah, I'm not going to sit and watch them live happily when my family has been destroyed"

"You asked me the reason why I came back to North Valley. This is the reason. Revenge"

"Now you all know, leave so that this patient can rest" she said

Nikolay had heard everything. There was nothing more he had to hear. It was her all along. She was a murderer. He felt so dizzy he held the walls and struggled to get away from the hospital when he heard the occupants of the room walking out. Nikolay walked out of the hospital dejectedly with so many thoughts on his mind as he got into a taxi. The Sally he thought he knew was his Father's enemy and she was Hazel's twin. He could see why he thought they were similar now that he learnt of their relationship. Because his Father caused Hazel's death Keres was pushed to seek revenge.

He wondered why it was Keres. Why she had to be Hazel's sister. Why he had to get close to her only to find out she was out to destroy his family.

Hunter and the rest had to give up on her. She wasn't ready to release the USB key and God knows where she had hidden it. Lucia and her family were shocked to their bone marrows when Keres told them what she had done with the factory. Lucia couldn't face her and they all left her side. But Keres wasn't bothered a bit. She wanted to be alone. Ian seemed to be on her side. She could do the job alone but with him she was more confident. Two was always better than one after all.

A Nurse walked in with a special delivery for her.

"This came for you" she said handing Keres a box

"Thanks" Keres said taking it. She tore it open as soon as the Nurse walked out. There was a little piece of paper inside.

Let's meet

"Of course, Diego" she said

"Sally?" The Priest called walking in

"Father!" She said happily

"Oh Lord have mercy" he said

"Are you alright?" He asked and touched her head

"Yep, it's just a minor wound" she said

"Minor?! I think I saw your oesophagus on the floor" Ian said. It was time for his jokes. No need to be serious again

"Dummy. Your oesophagus is the same thing as your gullet!" She told him

"Then it was definitely your intestines I saw crawling out of you. God, that was gross" he said and sat beside her

"Father, do you hear him?" Keres asked turning to the Priest

"He's telling that to someone who almost died" she said

"It means he cares for you" Father John said. He wasn't going to ask what lead to her injuries because there was always something going on with her. He looked at her with pity recalling the moment he found her.

She was sitting at the back of the church surrounded by a cloud of smoke from the cigarette in her hand. He wondered what sort of hooligan it was polluting the house of God but was shocked when he saw it was a teenage girl. She told him she didn't have any where else to go and wanted to hang around the church for a while but he wasn't ready to let a lost soul walk deeply into sin so he took her in and began his sanctification on her. Little did he know she had found new hobbies. Arson. Forced suicide.

"Father. Why are you giving me that look?" She asked

"No, it's nothing. Is there anything else you need?" He asked her

"I'm really hungry now. A whole pizza would do" she said

"She's on fasting but the pizza would go a long way in helping me" Ian said rubbing his belly

"Ah, so the injury would heal quickly" Father John said ignoring his comment

"Wound, wound and not injury!" She corrected

"An injury is like a razor cut but this is like a wound soldiers get when fighting a war" she explained

"Maybe you would have lost your teeth instead of an intestine" Ian said

"Shut up!" She ordered

After a few minutes of playing and talking Ian and the Priest slept off leaving Keres awake because she still had business with Diego. She got up slowly from the bed and took out a jacket from Ian's bag and put it on. She had had worse injuries than this so she could bear the pain. Keres opened the door and silently walked out of the room before leaving the hospital headed for Diego's house

"Finally, I get to have a mini face off with my enemy" she said to herself. The guards let her in and she pressed the door bell before walking in like a guest

"Welcome, Miss Hall" Diego said

"Why thank you" she said stepping in

"Whiskey?" He asked holding a glass up. It was probably poisoned but how did he know she liked it?

"Can't drink, because of the wound" she said showing him her bandaged side

"I see. I have to say, I'm surprised you showed up" he said

"Well, I am too. Never believed I'll ever get to see you this close so soon, but it's not like me to chicken out from situations like this" she said

"I see" he said

"I mean, you're not going to save a footage of us meeting here to black mail me right? Because that wouldn't make any sense at all" she said

"No, no let's do this like business" he said

"Like the sound of that" she said

"So I'd get to the point. Hand me the USB key, I'll pay you handsomely for it and everyone's happy" he said

"Hmm" she said pretending to think

"Not going to happen" she said

"You see, that USB key is more important to me than anything now. You know why?" She asked

"It's my insurance" she said walking into his hall way

"My insurance from the government which helps me not to go to jail for committing those murders and from you which stops you from killing me" she added

"What makes you think I can't kill you now?" Diego asked pulling out a gun

"I know you can't kill me because somewhere outside your building someone is waiting to hear me draw my last breath so they'd release the contents of the USB key" she said. That was a lie. No one was outside. No one knew she was seeing Diego.

He lowered his gun. Her eyes went to the picture stand and then she saw it. A family picture of the Diegos with Nikolay in it

"What?" Diego asked as she kept staring at the picture

"You have a beautiful family" she said walking towards the family picture

"Something I've always been lacking" she added picking it up

She stroked her fingers down the picture and was sure it was Nikolay in it

"Are you threatening me with my family?" He asked

"No, shhh" she shushed him

"I'm just wondering what it'd be like for you to not have them anymore" she said dropping the picture

"If the reason you called me here was to ask me to hand over the USB key then you must be dreaming. Wake up" she added and made for the door

"Keres!" He shouted and pointed his gun at the back of her head

"You've ran a background check I see!" she said turning around

"Then you know me. And I presume you know my cause. So let me tell you this in advance"

"I'm going to kill you" she said and turned around . With a smirk on her face she walked away

Nikolay walked into the Janelle's house looking worse than he did hours ago. She rushed to his side wondering what had happened. This time he looked like he was in anguish.

"Is she dead?" She asked fearing the worse

"No" he said

"Then what's wrong? Weren't you able to meet her?" She asked

"That girl. Keres. Sally. She's my Dad's sworn enemy" he said

"What do you mean?" She asked

"Dad killed her sister. Her twin sister" he said

"Oh my gosh, are you sure? How do you know?" She asked

He narrated the whole eavesdropping thing to her and she was short of words. She couldn't believe Keres was responsible for taking down the factory. It sounded almost like a drama to her

"Auntie, I don't know what else to do" he said

"You have to tell her first" she said

"Tell her what?" He asked

"That you're the son of the man she despises so much. It's better coming from you than her finding out herself" she explained

"Auntie, I can't tell her. Okay?"

"Keres is pissed off as it is. And I heard her say she's coming for our entire family. That could include you. Don't you understand?" He asked

"I don't. Tell her yourself. Just tell her because if she finds out on her own it'll be way worse than what you think is going to happen. Then, it would just be including you in her revenge. The times you spent together would mean nothing to her"

"Meet her and explain things"

It was too late though. Keres had seen the photo in Diego's house. Her mind was made up just as Janelle thought.

By morning, she walked back to the hospital. She lifted her head up when she got to the entrance and saw Nikolay standing in front of her

"Sally!" He called and rushed towards her. He pulled her into an embrace feeling her warmth. He felt safe in the arms of a killer. As much as he hated it, even after knowing of her crimes and atrocities he felt more for her.

"Are you alright?" He asked breaking the hug

"Does it hurt anymore? Aren't you feeling dizzy? Where's Ian? You aren't supposed to be walking around alone" he said at once

She just stared at him like he had seven heads

"What's wrong?" He asked holding her face in his hands

"Who's your..." Her voice broke when she tried to ask him. She blinked her lashes furiously. Anger was rising.

"Who's your Father?" She asked. His hands fell off her face. She knew

"Is it Diego?" She asked

"Diego Lukeman?" She added

"What?" He asked wondering how she knew

"Don't you understand the question?" She asked

"Sally, I can explain" he started holding her hand

"Answer me!" She shouted pushing him by his chest

"Yes" he said

"He's my Father, I'm his son" he said

"You know, don't you?" She asked

"Yeah. I know everything" he said. It was time for everyone to come clean. No more pretence.

"I'm going to kill you. I'm so going to kill all of you" she said and walked inside the hospital

Nikolay stood there and broke down in tears. He wanted to be the one to tell her. Keres on the other hand walked into the bathroom in her room. She sat on the bare floor and hugged her knees.

"Keres!" Ian called hitting the door

"Are you okay? Where the hell did you run off to? Come out" he said but she just stayed still as Ian's words played in her head

"Keres open the door, I promise not to shout at you" Ian said

"Let me make sure the wound's not bleeding again" he pressed on

"Open the door, come on" Ian kept on

"Oh, I'm going to kill him"

Believe it or not, Delta High was worried for Sally. Or maybe because they thought Ian was really her brother and if she died it was going to affect their school's President greatly. Sally's desk was filled with flowers one would think she was already dead. Poems for her were composed and pasted all over the school walls.

Why do people always do this when someone's about to die? They act like they don't care when you are with them but when it's time to leave they want to hold you back. The very ones who called her a junkie. The very ones who made Keres come out in the open.

"Do you know how Sal's doing?" Sandra asked Ray

"I don't know but I'm going to go to the hospital to see her" Ray said

"Um, I might not be able to go with you guys but send my regards" Sandra said and walked back to Legend's desk

"Hey Legend, aren't you curious as to what happened to Sal?" She asked

"If you're so curious go see her yourself. And besides, I would like it if Sal's out of the picture" Legend said

She didn't mean that. But she thought if she was just bedridden for a few months and Nikolay didn't get to see her then maybe she'd have a chance with him. Nikolay who wasn't even in school. She glanced at his desk and bit her nails wondering if he was at the hospital with Sally.

"I've tried calling Ian but his phone isn't reachable" Emma said

"What are you two whining about?" Legend asked

"If she's dead the school would have informed us. Common sense" she added

"Oh..." They said and sat down

"I just got a text from Ian!" Oscar shouted

"Why would he text you and not me?" Ray asked rushing to him

"Read it out loud" Frankie said

"Hey, I know Ray's going to be mad I texted you and not him but nevermind. Sally's okay, okay enough for her to leave the hospital without anyone's permission. Can you imagine that? She almost died and is still acting stubborn! And hey is Nikolay there?" Oscar read

"At least she's okay" Frankie said and walked out

"Her insides poured out, how can she still be alive?" Emma asked

"Her insides didn't pour out and why? Do you want her dead?" Ray asked

"I wasn't talking to you" Emma said

"Settle down students" Mrs. Andre said walking inside

"We have Biology now" Legend said

"Well, I'm aware of that and Mrs. Peters quit her job so you're all stuck with me" Mrs. Andre said

"Why? She even saved Sally's life" Emerald said

"Well, I guess she was expecting some sort of promotion or something but since nothing came up she found another path in life" Frankie said. The change around the school was maddening.

"So this girl is the same person who broke into our house and stole your Dad's confidential documents and spread the news about the bribery and blew up his factory and did other things I can't remember?" Claudia asked

"Wait, how old is she again?" She asked

That was all she and Janelle we're curious about. Never had they ever heard that a teenage girl was capable of such wondrous works. Nikolay was tired of them asking about her age and what she did. All he wanted them to see was what his Father did that lead to her becoming a hardened criminal.

"Nineteen but technically eighteen since this year is not over yet" Nikolay said

"Oh, I see. She's still young" Claudia said

"What about her parents?" She asked

"They're dead, because of Dad. And her twin sister, Hazel is also dead" he said

"She's literally alone" he added

"What do you want to do then?" She asked him

"Mom, Dad is going to try to kill her because it seemed like she was holding something that belongs to him when she fell off the railing but I think he'll try it even more if he finds out that she's the one who blew up the factory" he said

"I think he's already on it" Claudia said

"I saw a man bring in more agents into the house and it was like they were plotting something" she added

"Oh God" he groaned

"And she won't let you go close to her?" She asked

"No, but I have to warn her" he said

"How could you possibly warn her if she won't let you go close to her?" She asked

"Maybe Ian, the guy who acts like her brother. He might see me if I ask to meet up"