Departure
Somewhere in Chestnut lies the body of a mother and son that had yet to be discovered.
They had to go on knowing this and not do anything about it. They had to act as if everything was normal and they were leaving for London as scheduled. Their bags were packed for a month’s stay, they left their instructions to their employees and gave their house staff a paid leave.
Declan leaned on the doorway while Olivia was already waiting in the car. He looked around one last time to see if they had everything they needed. His eyes fell on the Blue Flame. He had bought the piece from Roman early on when he didn’t know what it truly meant for any of them.
“A blue flame represents many things to many people. It represents illumination and enlightenment. It could mean destruction and renewal, spirituality and also damnation … it depends on which aspect you can relate to.”
Roman’s voice echoed in his mind.
“While blue is a color that presents coolness … blue fire is the hottest flame. It signifies complete combustion and burns almost without leaving anything behind.”
Declan stepped into the house and closed the door. He carefully opened the sliding glass of the piece. The blue flame was burning in steady motion camouflaging its true power. He took a stack of mail and placed them above the glass. The papers stuck out just enough to get slowly burned by the dancing fire.
He waited to see if the heat will catch its prey. Once the paper started to burn. He walked out the door and locked it.Belongs to (N)ôvel/Drama.Org.
—
Olivia fell asleep in her seat in the first-class cabin while Declan couldn’t shut his mind off.
“Did you not have any love for your own son?”
Olivia’s question lingered in his thoughts.
It wasn’t that he didn’t have any love for that boy. It was what the boy represented. His betrayal. The time he strayed away from the love of his life. His mistakes. His error of judgment. A period where he was not himself.
The boy was his. He even looked like a child version of himself. But he never allowed himself to love him because it would crush Olivia. She would tell him to be the father the boy needed, which would mean leaving her. She would never understand why he would choose her over his own son because Olivia would never choose someone else over her children – if she had any.
How did Sienna do it?
The question haunted him for days. How did she kill herself? And Damien? He would call the Chestnut police to check on their house, but he didn’t want to be implicated in the situation in any way possible.
One of these days, they will find them, and he’ll have the answer to that question. But it was driving him crazy in the wait.
Gil must’ve discovered them first and found the letter. Had he left them? Did he come back? Was it accidental? Declan would never know. But it was apparent that Gil was furious, and the first thing on his mind was to grab a gun and look for Declan.
Gil was dead and buried in the construction site. No one had seen what they’d done. No one discovered the body. The site was already covered with cement. And now his house was burning. Any trace and evidence of that night will turn to ash thanks to Roman’s mighty blue flame. His insurance company will investigate the fire. At worst, they will find that it was an accident due to contributory negligence which was covered by his premium.
He figured things out. He always does. Give Declan Hunt the needed time, and he will take care of everything.
He looked over to his sleeping wife.
All he need to do now was to make her the happiest woman alive. And that was something he is yet to figure out.