Chapter 37

While Olivia sat there in stunned silence, Mark stepped away to make a quick phone call to his gopher, Aaron. He had to make sure Simone Turner wasn't a threat to his plan, glancing back at his daughter briefly. She wouldn't do anything that put Jenna's life in jeopardy, he was certain of that much. It didn't matter if she did try escaping, Mark was faster, stronger and would drag her back if necessary.

Once he made the brief call, Mark shut his cell phone off and slipped it in his back pocket, turning his full undivided attention to Olivia. "I know you must have a lot of questions for me and I'll answer them all, now that you know the truth." He owed her that much, even though he wasn't at fault for not being in his child's life.

Olivia looked up at him through tear-filled amber eyes and still couldn't believe this monster was the same man that helped give her life. Was this some kind of cruel joke? Just one look in his eyes made Olivia fully believe he was indeed her father, especially since they were identical. He was right, Olivia did have a lot of questions for him, but she was positive he wouldn't appreciate the things she wanted to know.

She had to know.

"Promise me you won't hurt Jenna first because there are questions I want answers to that you won't like." Olivia beseeched, leaning further back in the chair and suddenly felt the need to drink that whole bottle of brandy he currently had in his hand. "And I need a drink before we talk any further."

"Of course, help yourself." Mark gestured to the small bar and took out a tumbler for her, letting her pick her poison. "I already told you I won't hurt Jenna if you cooperate with me, Olivia. I want you to ask me anything you want, any questions rolling around in your mind. Jenna is safe, you have my word on that."

Pouring a glass of Tequila, Olivia took a long drink of it and walked back over to the chair, curling up on it. "Your note said you were the key to all that's happened. What did you mean by that?" Deciding to start out simple, Olivia knew she was about to find out things that would no doubt destroy her and she was prepared for absolutely anything.

Settling down in his own bigger chair, after tossing another log on the fireplace, Mark sipped his brandy thoughtfully while considering her question. "I meant exactly what I wrote, Olivia. I am the key to everything that's happened. Before we get into that, I think you should know some information about your father." He smirked when she physically shivered and brushed it off, knowing it would be a while before Olivia accepted the truth. "My name is Mark Beckham. I was born and raised in Mystic Falls just like your mother, Lucy. I knew her throughout high school, but she was in the popular group while I remained an outsider, someone people feared. Still, there was an undeniable chemistry between us whenever we'd get time alone, which didn't happen often. She ended up marrying Blake Sommers, who she dated throughout high school all four years and beat the hell out of her. You think I'm a monster and I understand that, Olivia, but what he did to Lucy and how he treated her broke my heart. Now you're probably thinking I don't have a heart and you couldn't be more wrong, my Oli. I did have a heart…until Lucy smashed it to pieces when she chose Blake over me."

Oli…that's what her adoptive mother had called her throughout her childhood and Olivia blinked as huge tears slid down her face, immediately lowering her head. This was all very fresh and new, including her parents' death along with her newfound nephew's. Hearing the brief past about her mother opened up emotions Olivia didn't know she had and most of it was anger.

Anger that she'd been sent with a family that wasn't biologically hers. Anger that her mother had been so ashamed to have a child with a man who wasn't her husband. Anger that she currently sat across from the very man who had singlehandedly destroyed her family. Anger that he'd hurt her sister and taken Olivia away from the only man she ever truly loved and would more than likely never see him again.

"How did you and Lucy meet?" Olivia asked in a bone-chilling calm voice, taking another swig of her Tequila to calm down. "How did you take a woman's virtues and completely destroy them?" According to Jenna, Lucille had been very respected throughout Mystic Falls, which made her safely assume her mother did have a brain.

"Blake was always away on business and left his precious gem of a wife at home all alone. He would impregnate her and then vanish for months on end, forcing her to go through her pregnancies alone. She sat in a park one day and it was pouring rain. She didn't have an umbrella or anything and she'd been about…six months pregnant I'd say with your deceased sister, Miranda. I'd been taking a stroll when it started down pouring and had been on my way home when I spotted her." Mark cleared his throat and stood up, draining the rest of his brandy before refilling the tumbler, staring into the fire. "She looked so sad and alone. She was such a beautiful woman with a strong spirit and Blake had crushed it into dust over the years. I couldn't leave her there, so I walked over and sat beside her on the bench. She didn't move or speak, just kept staring straight ahead crying in the rain. I remember taking her ice cold hand in mine and tried warming it up. When she looked up at me with those heartbroken dead brown eyes, I knew I had to rekindle that spark and fire back in them. I picked her up in my arms and took her back to my place to warm her up because I didn't know if Blake was out of town again or not."

"You loved her didn't you?" Olivia looked up from staring at her tumbler and locked her gaze on Mark from across the room, suddenly understanding. "You loved her throughout high school and you could never be with her because of Blake. She loved Blake more than you."

"No she didn't." Mark shot back, squeezing his tumbler to the point where it shattered in his hand and could already feel the lacerations on his hand close up. "She loved me, but she was terrified of leaving Blake. He wasn't a good man, Olivia. He abused and neglected her for years while I continuously pieced her back together. Nobody knew about us because it was Lucy's wish and I couldn't deny her anything. My love for her blinded me and turned me into a sniveling love-struck idiot. When I found out she was pregnant with baby number two, which was Jenna, I stuck by her side once again while Blake was gone. It became my life's mission to make her happy, to fulfill the huge gape Blake left in her life and I didn't realize what she was doing to me. When Jenna was born, Blake was there for the delivery just like he'd been with Miranda, but he didn't bother helping tend to the girls. I did. It was two months after Jenna's birth that I finally gave Lucy an ultimatum and begged her to run away with me. I told her she had to choose between me and Blake. She said she would think about it, so we slept together one last time and I left. I waited three straight days and nights for her phone call to let me know if we were going to run off, but nothing came. So I went over to her house that night to confront her. There was a tree on the side of the house that I always climbed up to get to the bedroom because she didn't want me using the front door since our affair was kept secret. So I climbed it and discovered the reason why she hadn't called me back."

Olivia swallowed hard, almost afraid to hear what he would say next and couldn't believe her mother would use someone like this. "She chose Blake." She whispered, already knowing what Mark had witnessed that night and shut her eyes tightly simultaneously with him.

"She was bent over the bed like a bitch in heat and let that bastard take her every which way. Lucy destroyed me that night and I left Mystic Falls, vowing to get revenge anyway I could on her." Mark slowly looked away from the fire and back at his daughter, walking toward her. "Oli, that was also the same night I became what I am."

Her head snapped up when she heard that and jumped slightly at how close Mark was, her breathing turning labored. "I-I don't understand…what you are…?" Olivia's eyes shot open as she watched the veins popped one by one on Mark's face, his scleras turning blood red and flashed his fangs, effectively answering her question. "Oh my god…"

"I hated myself at first for becoming what I'd been raised to hate my entire life through the Mystic Falls council, but the sheer power was exhilarating and still is. Vampirism is amazing and better than any drug on the planet." Mark admitted, reaching out to run a finger gently down her cheek and smiled coldly.

"Y-You said you wanted to get revenge on Lucille for what she did to you." Olivia had to get his mind back on the subject, scooting further back in the chair and wished there was a huge hole she could hide in. He was way too close to her for comfort. "What did you mean by that?"

Mark refused to move from where he was, which was on his knees in front of Olivia, blocking any chance of escape for her if she tried. "It took me a long time to get over what Lucy did to me and I stayed away from Mystic Falls because of my magnified emotions. I knew if I stepped foot in the town, I would kill her, no questions asked. I heard through the grapevine that she ended up pregnant with baby number three, but I thought it was Blake's. It wasn't until the night of her death that I found out differently."

"Y-You saw her on her deathbed?" Olivia stammered, terrified beyond word by now and watched as he slowly nodded. "W-What did she say?"

"She told me she regretted choosing Blake over me and she'd kept a deep dark secret hidden from me for years. It also didn't help that I vanished from Mystic Falls without a trace and apparently it nearly destroyed her. She told me that she gave her third child away through adoption because it was mine and she couldn't let Blake find out about our time together." Mark closed his eyes painfully, remembering those harsh words and gritted his teeth, reigning in his temper. "I didn't kill her, if that's what you're wondering. She was already dying and cancer patients have the worst blood."

Olivia felt ill and didn't want to hear anymore, the tears streaming down her face by now. "You're a monster." She whispered, shaking from head to toe and didn't care what happened to her anymore. "You don't care about anything or anyone except yourself. You wanted what you couldn't have and your ego got wounded because she chose her husband over you. She made a decision like you wanted and you couldn't handle it. I'm ashamed to have your blood running through my veins and if you want to kill me for hearing the harsh truth, then so be it. But you sitting there talking about cancer patients like they're nothing is sickening and I hate you for giving me life."

Those words did sting, but Mark didn't show it, slowly rising to his feet towering over her. "Then you're really going to hate me for what I'm about to tell you next." Placing both of his hands on the arms of the chair, Mark leaned in until Olivia couldn't look away from him, that same cold smile on his lips. "I'm the one who set fire to your precious childhood home along with Jenna's and killed your precious so-called parents. And now, I'm about to do the same to you."

Before Olivia could make a move or respond, Mark grabbed her head and snapped it to the side, breaking her neck. The more he thought about going through with the final phase of his plan, the more Mark reconsidered. Olivia wasn't vampire material anyway and he honestly didn't need his daughter reminding him of the mistake he'd made with Lucille all those years ago. She was better off dead just like the rest of her family tree.

"Goodbye my daughter."

~!~

Damon had gotten the call from Stefan letting him know they freed Simone and she'd given them the address to Olivia's childhood home. Stefan was on his way to Atlanta with Simone, Tyler, Caroline and Aaron so they would have more than enough backup. Bonnie refused to have anything to do with it and Matt stayed behind with her like any good boyfriend would do. They arrived at Olivia's childhood home, which was nothing more than rubble and in shambles.

"Damon, someone's over there!" Elena shouted, pointing and jumped out of the car as soon as Damon cut the ignition, shoving the seat forward Alaric was in.

Alaric blinked and groaned, having hit his head on the dashboard lightly. "Damn, she's stronger than she lets on." It also helped that he'd trained her to defend herself against vampires.

Simply nodding, Damon jumped out and followed Elena, not surprised by her impulsivity. "Elena, I don't think…"

"JEREMY!" Elena shrieked out as soon as she got close enough to the body to identify who it was. "No – NO, NO, NO! You can't be dead! Wake up! Wake up, Jeremy, please!" She dropped to her knees and began hitting him with her fists, tears streaming down her face.

Damon flew over and pulled her away from him, letting her hit him instead until all the strength was out of her system. Crumbling against him, Elena buried her face in his chest and Damon wrapped his arms around her, looking over at Alaric worriedly. He couldn't believe Jeremy was actually dead. Where the hell was Olivia? Was she dead too?

A huge gasp of air filled the air moments later as Elena whipped around with wide tear-filled eyes, watching as Jeremy began wiggling his fingers. "Jeremy?" She broke away from Damon and immediately went back to her brother's side, helping him slowly sit up as another groan came from him.

"Why the hell does it feel like my chest is caved in?" He grunted out, rubbing his chest and bit back another groan of pain as Elena tossed her arms around him.

"Thank god." Alaric breathed out, looking down at Jeremy's hand and saw the Gilbert ring secure on his finger. "Thought we lost you there for a minute, Jer."

"Nah, it'll take a lot more than a vampire to take me out." Jeremy half-joked, slowly standing up with Elena and Alaric's help, still feeling a little dizzy. "Teresa's dead. I killed her."

Elena nodded solemnly, deciding immediately they would not be telling Aaron the truth about what happened to his wife. "Where are Olivia and Jenna?" She asked, heading back to the car while Damon surveyed the corpse of Teresa.

"I don't know, but more than likely she was taken by this huge vampire. I didn't catch his name though and Teresa seemed to be drawn to him like a magnet. Damn, my neck hurts." He tried rubbing the soreness out of it and leaned against the car, thankful that his sister was still safe.

"They couldn't have gone far. This guy sounded like he had something major planned for Olivia and he wasn't patient about it either. Wherever he's hiding out, that's where we'll find Olivia and Jenna." Alaric stated confidently, pulling out a map from his coat pocket and unfolded it on Damon's hood, starting to look at all the possible roads that were close-by.

"No need for that." Damon said from behind and waved Teresa's cell phone at them, tossing it at Alaric. "I know exactly where they are, but we don't have much time. I texted Stefan and the others, they'll meet us at the place."

Hopping back into the Camaro, everyone could only hope that Jenna and Olivia were still alive when they had the final showdown with Mark Beckham.