Hi everyone. This is just a silly little chapter just to fill in some information before the grand finale and just to fulfil a promise i made to LumBabsFan lol :) Thanks for all your reviews, haven't got time to reply to them at the moment but i'll make an extra special effort to write good ones after my last sniff chapter. Hope you all like! This chapter is dedicated to LumBabsFan andher boss!
Morris Verte sat up in bed, his face riddled with confusion. It had been over an hour and a half since Bella had said she'd be right back. At first, he'd thought that she and Tristan had gone somewhere to get food and talk things over but, if that was the case, they'd been an awfully long time. He remembered hearing raised voices coming from outside the room and sighed. Bella had inherited her mother's stubbornness as well as her hair and eyes. In fact, now that Morris thought about it, she grew more and more like her mother everyday. Sometimes he had to do a double-take if she walked into the room unexpectedly or if she hummed while she was preparing dinner—a habit of her mother's that had seemed to rub off on her. It was times like this that he remembered how much he missed his late wife--his beloved Christine. He knew that she would have been so proud of Bella and the woman she had become. Sooner or later, he knew she would settle down, having found the man she was destined to be with, and he would lose her a little. Oh, she would visit him still and fuss over him as much as she used to, but it would not be the same. He wouldn't expect that from her. His eyes glistened as he suddenly recalled a memory he thought he had forgotten…
…and they all lived happily ever after."
Morris tucked his little girl into bed and kissed her forehead.
"That was a nice story, Daddy."
"I thought you'd like it. Now, its time you should be sleeping."
He went to turn out the light.
"Daddy?" came a small, inquisitive voice from the bed.
"Yes, Bella?"
"Will I live happily ever after, like the princess in the story?"
"Of course you will."
"How do you know?"
"Well, I don't know, not for sure, but I believe you will. You'll live happily ever after just like your mother and I. We've got a lovely home, my inventions are coming along well and we've been blessed with a beautiful daughter…who should be asleep, young lady!"
She giggled as he said goodnight once more and left the room, an overwhelming feeling of happiness and satisfaction filling his soul.
Christine had fallen ill and passed away within a year of that moment. It had torn both Morris' and Bella's lives apart. They'd had to sell their home and start all over again. Ever since then, he'd wondered whether Bella would ever get the fairy-tale ending that he'd promised her.
Deep in his heart, he knew Tristan wasn't right for her but having the heart attack had made him realise that he wasn't going to be around forever. He wanted to make sure she'd be taken care of and it was true that with Tristan she'd never want for anything again. Hearing the two of them argue through the thin hospital walls was doing nothing for this idyllic picture though. He hoped they'd be back soon. The events of the past few days had really worried him. He hoped everything was sorting it out and that that fiend—that animal—would get what he deserved…but hope was a dangerous thing. He just prayed that his daughter was okay.
Like the world's fastest miracle, the bedraggled figure of Bella suddenly appeared at the door. Morris had to blink several times before he realised it was her…and she was an absolute state. Her dress was torn, her skin muddy, her face blotchy and swollen, but to Morris, she had never looked more like an angel.
"Where on earth have you been, child?"
She didn't answer. She merely walked in, her torn feet making her flinch with every step, and she didn't stop walking until she was in her father's arms. Then she let the tears flow.
………………………………………………………………………………………
It seemed like an eternity before Bella lifted her head. Her face was tear-stained, yet refreshed. She felt like a huge weight had been lifted off of her. She was finally back in the real world, in a hospital, in the town she knew so well, with her father by her side…but it wasn't over just yet. Her father smiled at her, weary joy radiating from his features, concern making him look older than his true years. She took a deep breath and told him everything.
Morris felt totally drained. As his daughter told him of all of her adventures over the last few days, it was as if he was there with her, reliving all the terror, the pain, the happiness. He was mentally exhausted just listening to it so he couldn't even imagine how she must feel. He studied her face carefully as he tried to absorb all the information she gave him…..attacks….dances…drawings…She was muddy, torn, battered and bruised but underneath all the hardship that was visible on the surface of her skin, she looked happy…and he could not deny the light that shone in her eyes and lit the shadows on her face whenever she spoke of him. His captor, his tormentor, the man with the child in his eyes…and as much as he wanted to hate him, he found himself welling up with sympathy as Bella described his life and the murder of his parents by somebody they trusted. He vaguely recalled the time, years before they had moved to the town, when he had read about the tragic deaths of the mysterious and elusive Beauvais', but he was sure that the newspapers hadn't mentioned the presence of a son. It must have been a huge cover-up. And that Patrick Blaine,--he felt every one of his senses sharpen at the mention of that name--he had never liked him, had always sworn that something was not quite right…and he had been correct. A cold-blooded killer hiding behind the façade of a respectable businessman. He shook his head as Bella explained how they still didn't know why Patrick had done it and that the police were questioning Tristan at that very moment in order to try to determine what had happened.
"…and then we finally made it to the hospital. He went off to get some stitches…oh you should have seen the gash in his side…and I came back here."
She paused.
"I'm so sorry I left you again, daddy, but…but he needed me. If I hadn't have come when I did…I think I love him, daddy…and I know he locked you up and threatened you, but…but wasn't him. He's different now…he's changed somehow."
Morris hushed her soothingly and hugged her. He didn't know what to think; it was all like a strange dream, yet here was his daughter—his only child—looking like she'd been through a lifetime's worth of emotion in just a few days and sounding like the heroine of one of the fairy-tales he used to read to her.
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door and a young nurse entered, followed by two policemen.
"Mr. Verte? Miss. Verte?" said the shorter, fatter and senior of the two men as his colleague (tall, attractive and with a glint in his eye) became suddenly very interested in admiring the young nurse who was now clearing away Morris' last meal.
"I am Chief Inspector Cogsworth and this is…" he paused and coughed sharply to attract his partner's attention. "Constable Lumiere."
"Enchante" said the constable with a nod and a grin which made Bella blush and suddenly feel very self-conscious.
"You'll have to excuse him" said Cogsworth. "He's new, a trainee from Paris… honestly, one just can't get the right staff these days!"
These last few words were said in a murmur that was loud enough for all the inhabitants of the room to hear, but that did not stop the young constable's eyes from wandering back to the rear of the nurse. Bella groaned. Good old local incompetent police force…She was actually surprised that they were investigating the case. Maybe they weren't as much under the influence of the Blaines as she thought.
"Now…"said Cogsworth, looking at his watch and gesturing for Lumiere to take notes "…if you wouldn't mind, we'd just like to ask you a few questions and get a statement from each of you regarding tonight's events. We've already spoken to Mr. Blaine and Mr. Beauvais and it seems quite clear what happened. However, we must get accounts from all the witnesses….LUMIERE! Will you desist what you are doing and pay attention, please?"
Lumiere, who had been flirting with the nurse all through Cogsworth's speech, retrieved a pen and stared taking notes, but not before bowing elaborately and apologising in a very smooth fashion.
"Of course, mon ami. Mademoiselle, monsieur…do forgive me."
He turned back to the nurse and winked, causing her to giggle and smile coyly. Bella couldn't help smiling. The whole operation was farcical but at least it was entertaining.
As they were fired with questions, answering them to the best of their abilities, Bella and Morris learned the full story. Tristan had been surprisingly co-operative and a raid at the Blaine's residence had revealed that Patrick was the head of several very shady business 'deals'. He had tried to enlist the help of Thomas Beauvais, another successful businessman, but he had refused once he learnt the true nature of Patrick's work, and had threatened to expose him as a crook. It had been his undoing. Consumed with rage and fear for his reputation, Patrick had gone to extreme measures to ensure Thomas' silence…and then ten years later, he had returned to finish the job, dragging his own son through the mud with him.
Noting Bella's concern, Cogsworth informed her that it was likely that Tristan's sentence would be reduced to manslaughter on the grounds of provocation and that his trial would take place within the year.
Bella couldn't help feeling sorry for Tristan. No matter what he'd said and done to her in the past, she felt he didn't deserve to spend the rest of his days in the prison cell that should have been his fathers. Nonetheless, it appeared justice had been served and that Bastian's parents would finally be able to rest in peace.
