A whole day had passed and they still had no new information, the men hadn't called and at that point Cal was going mad; he couldn't focus on anything other than imagining Gillian suffering in the hands of those monsters. Beck and the rest of the gang were just drinking coffee to stay active and waiting for news.
Sinjin arrived to the house and Cal immediately walked up to him. "What's happening?" He asked confused.
"You're Sinjin?" Cal asked and Sinjin nodded. "How old are you?" He questioned and the gang looked at each other confused.
"Why does that matter?" Robbie asked.
"I need to establish a parameter of when he's telling the truth" Cal simply said. "How old are you?"
"Eighteen" Sinjin said. "What's this for?"
"Did you kidnap Jade West?" Cal quickly asked, he was so stressed out and worried that he just wanted to get everything done with.
"Wh…what? Jade is kidnapped?" Sinkin asked shocked.
"Yes, now answer the question, did you do it?" Cal asked impatiently.
"No, no…I didn't" He responded and Cal nodded.
"Go" He ordered and Sinjin left the house quickly.
"I told you he hadn't done it" Andre commented as Cal went back to the living room.
"Thank you, Nathan, I don't know what I would do without you" Mr. West said on the phone as he walked into the living room and Cal stared at him emotionlessly. "No, we don't have any news…Those bastards also took Doctor Foster, Mr. Lightman's colleague…" He informed and looked down sadly. "Of course, as soon as we get new information, I'll let you know…Bye"
"Who was that?" Cal asked.
"My brother, Nathan" Mr. West informed.
"I haven't met him" He responded.
"He hasn't been here for a while, he's been taking care of my job…He knows I can't do it myself now, all this situation is quite overwhelming" Mr. West commented and Cal nodded.
"Is he a lawyer too?" Cal asked.
"Yes"
"So your brother is basically your employee" He commented.
"No, we work together, I wouldn't be where I am if it weren't for him and he is taking care of this while I can't" Mr. West affirmed and Cal could see he was being honest. "He's been helping me since we were young and when my wife passed away, he was here to hold this family together and help me with my daughter"
"How did your wife die?" Cal asked and Mr. West stared at him confused.
"I told you, she had an accident" He responded.
"The reports say she fell off the roof" Cal commented and Mr. West looked down. "There it is again" He said after seeing the man's expression.
"What?" He questioned.
"Guilt and a lot! That's what I was trying to figure out…You have a secret, Mr. West and I think it's linked to your wife's death" Cal said and Mr. West immediately started getting nervous. "Tell me, what is it? It wasn't an accident, was it?" He asked and he could read the answer on John's face "No, no it wasn't…Now tell me what happened, was it you? Did you kill her? Did you push her off that roof?" He asked.
"No! No, I didn't…I would never do that" Mr. West affirmed.
"Then why does your face scream guilt and regret whenever you mention your wife?" Cal asked coldly.
"I don't know"
"Yes, you do…Come on, answer me!" Cal demanded again. "Tell me what happened, tell me your secret…It's been devouring you from the inside for years, hasn't it?"
"Stop it!" Mr. West exclaimed and stood up so Cal did too.
"What happened?" He asked again and at that point the gang had heard them so they were standing in the entrance of the living room. "What happened?"
"She killed herself!" Mr. West exclaimed, pain and regret dripping from his voice. "She killed herself, alright? She put Jade to bed and she went to see me to my office and I was…I was with…" He said and covered his face in shame.
"You were what? With another woman?" Cal asked and Mr. West looked to the side with tears in his eyes. "No, that's not it…" He said and John put his fist on his mouth. "Was it a man?" He asked and the sole look on the man's face gave him the answer. "So your wife found you cheating on her with a man" Cal affirmed and Mr. West looked down ashamedly.
"She couldn't take it, I tried to explain…I tried to apologize but she wouldn't listen, she went up to the roof and I followed her, I begged her not to do it but she said I would have to live with it" Mr. West said as he stared into space remembering with a few tears streaming down his face. "And she did it, she jumped off…Jade woke up and saw her dead mother on the sidewalk, she cried and screamed and begged god to take her too and it was because of me, my daughter grew up without a mother because of me" He said and his voice cracked near the end of the sentence.
The gang looked at each other surprised and sadly imagining how devastating that had been for Jade while Cal stared at Mr. West, he knew he was being honest. "She killed herself because she wanted to, why didn't you tell Jade the truth? Was it more important to keep your cover than to be honest with her?"
"No but I couldn't do that to my own child, imagine what she would've felt if she'd known her mother decided to kill herself without caring about her" Mr. West said sincerely. "Jade deserved to grow up happy, she deserved to grow up with a nice memory of her mother…and she did, she believes her mom loved her more than anything and that her death was an accident and that's what she has to believe for the rest of her life"
"She deserves to know the truth" Andre said and the two men turned to the door.
"It'll only make her hate her mother" Mr. West affirmed.
"And you" Cal added and John looked down. "I agree she deserves the truth, she will understand"
"Will she? I don't think so" He responded. "Back then she was a child and she was completely dependent on her mother, I watched Jade cry on Eva's corpse and scream at god for taking her mommy away…she wanted to be with her, she fell into depression at eight! It took months of therapy to get Jade to accept the fact things happen for a reason and keep living without her mother" Mr. West explained. "Imagine if she'd known the truth, she would've grown up full of hatred, I…I couldn't do that to her"
"My mother killed herself too…" Cal informed and Mr. West turned to him slightly surprised. "She will understand, she is not eight anymore and this is not your fault, she must've been suffering from depression and she just needed a reason to do it…A healthy person doesn't commit suicide for a cheating husband"
"I don't know…" Mr. West said and took a breath.
"What happened to the man? Who was he?" Cal questioned and saw shame in John's expression. "He is still around, isn't he?"
"That's none of your business" Mr. West responded.
"Does he work for you?" Cal asked and saw a yes in John's face. "Let's see…assistant? No, driver? No…what is it?" He questioned as Mr. West looked down and stroked something on his pocket, Cal looked at his hand and thought the only thing he could have there was his wallet so he smiled. "Maybe…banker or accountant?" He asked and John looked at him so he nodded. "You and your accountant have had a relationship for a decade and you haven't told your daughter"
"That's not your problem" Mr. West said coldly.
"You know what I think? I think you don't tell her because you're ashamed of it, you're ashamed of your sexuality and everything in your life has to be perfect, right? You're obsessed with keeping appearances, that's why you tell the world your daughter is the perfect girl living a perfect life with her perfect father but none of that is true" Cal affirmed and Mr. West stared at him emotionlessly "You think that if she knew the truth about you, she would lose respect for you and you wouldn't be able to judge her for being who she is"
"Shut up" Mr. West said.
"Jade is a brave girl, she's stayed true to herself even after knowing how much you despise her…" Cal affirmed. "I can't say the same thing about you, Mr. West, you're ashamed of your true self so you hide it from her; maybe you're right and she would be ashamed but maybe she wouldn't judge you...we can't know that but you're terrified of finding out"
"That's enough! I hired you to find my daughter, not to read me…If I wanted therapy, I would have told Doctor Foster" Mr. West responded and Cal suddenly remembered the situation, he'd been lost for a few minutes while trying to puzzle together John's secret. "Oh…I see that, I think I'm getting good at this"
"What?" Cal asked coldly.
"Doctor Foster and you, you have feelings for her, don't you?" John asked and Cal stared at him with his emotionless mask on. "Yes, you do…don't even try to hide it and now you're desperate because you love her and she is suffering, she is getting tortured while you play this stupid game" He said and Cal punched his stomach so the gang's eyes wide opened.
"Oh my god" Tori said nervously and Mr. West chuckled as he held his stomach and recovered.
"That was a yes" He simply said and walked out of the room. Cal only stared at the five surprised teenagers and turned to the other side, he didn't feel like talking to anyone and he was upset because what Mr. West had said was true, he loved Gillian and it hadn't been until now that she was gone that he'd realized just how much she mattered to him, he couldn't imagine life without her smile and the joy she brought to every place she stepped in. He had to find her.
Jade and Gillian had been alone in the room for many hours, they were on the mattress just staring at the ceiling and talking, Gillian was getting to know Jade and seeing her true self, she wasn't the perfect model her father had described nor the scary bitch her classmates claimed her to be; she was simply different and misunderstood at times but she wasn't a bad person, Gillian could see that and it made her sad to know she'd been through so much pain.
"Can I tell you something?" Jade asked and turned to the side so Gillian turned to her as well.
"Of course, you can tell me anything" She responded nicely and grabbed Jade's hand.
"You remind me of my mother" Jade commented and at first Gillian didn't really know how to react because she wasn't expecting that but she smiled. "I'm sorry, am I making you uncomfortable?"
"No, not at all" Gillian said and turned to the ceiling again so Jade sighed.
"Is that weird?" She asked.
"No, Jade, it's not…You're very vulnerable right now and I'm the closest thing to a protective figure you have, it's normal" Gillian explained sincerely and smiled at her.
"I guess…but it's not just that, you're like her…what I remember anyway" Jade added and Gillian stared at her.
"What do you remember?" She asked.
"She was sweet and nice…like you, she always smelled good and she smiled at me all the time, she held my hand…just like you do" Jade said and Gillian looked down at her hand holding Jade's. "And physically too, you look a bit like her…"
"Really?" Gillian asked softly and she nodded.
"Do you have kids?" Jade asked.
"No, I don't" Gillian informed.
"You chose your job…" Jade said and Gillian chuckled a little as she stared at the ceiling sadly.
"No, I…I've always wanted to have children but it hasn't been possible, I guess it's just not meant to be" Gillian said.
"I'm sorry" Jade apologized but before Gillian could even respond the door slammed open and both of them sat up scared.
"Well, well…Look at you both, are you enjoying your time as a mother, Doctor Foster?" Fox asked and Jade and Gillian looked at each other nervously.
"Please leave us alone" Gillian said with tears in her eyes as she looked down at the ground submissively, she knew her best bet was to let them feel they were in complete control and she'd told Jade that so she was also looking down and bracing herself terrified.
"No, no it's game night, we're bored…This cupcake already knows the rules" Fox said and grabbed Jade's arm to drag her away.
"No! NOOOO! Please no, please" Jade begged as she cried her eyes out.
"Leave her alone, no, stop it!" Gillian said as she stood up and tried to help Jade. "Please don't hurt her, she's been through a lot…please!"
"Shut up" Fox ordered.
"Please, please…what kind of a beast are you? She is a kid and she is not well!" Gillian exclaimed and the next thing she felt was a hand across her face, she got a little dizzy and her vision was blurry for a couple of seconds but then she focused her sight again and saw Jade staring at her scared.
"Gillian!" Jade screamed worriedly.
"I'm okay…" Gillian said as she held her cheek.
"I told you to shut up" Fox said angrily and she stared at him full of rage for a few seconds but then remembered to keep her submissive attitude and looked down.
"Please leave her here" Gillian insisted.
"You got into role very quickly" The man said and chuckled. "But again, not good enough, baby…Let's play, it's a double bet night"
I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter!
Now you know Mr. West's secret ;)
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