BETROTHED TO THE BILLIONAIRE

CHAPTER 90

Valerie's POV 

I knew it.

I knew this would happen but I never thought it was going to be my Dad. I never thought he was going to come for my Father instead of me.

I have been envisioning how he will come for me again and I know this time, he won't spare me. I got spared the first time probably because he thought I was dumb and I would never figure out what happened or it was because he thought I was already dead which I doubt so much.

How did he get into the house without the security's knowledge? Is my Dad going to survive it this time?

Words fail me as well as tears as Ryan drives at a very high speed to the hospital Mother said she rushed him too.

Where was my Mom? What is the relationship they have? Why did he come for my Dad? Is it because of me or it is because Dad knows a lot and he is afraid he will spill the beans?

The moment the car stops, jerking me out of my reverie, I rush out before Ryan could come down from the car. His Mother wanted to come with us but we insisted that she stayed back.

I run inside to meet Mother halfway.

"Mom?" I run into her arms. When I pull away, she has a smile on her face. A wave of relief washes through me at that moment. 

I almost thought he was going to die. It took me a whole lot of courage to regain my strength and follow Ryan all the way here because I thought he had killed him.

"He is fine, right?" I ask her to be sure and she nods, tears rolling down her face amidst her smiles.

"Where was he shot?" Ryan asks her.

"On his chest. The doctor said he has to be operated on immediately to remove the bullet. Let's keep praying that he survives this."

I don't know how or where it came from but I find myself breaking down eventually. Not in fear but in relief that he is fine.

I was already blaming myself for jeopardizing their lives. He warned me not to get too involved but I didn't listen. I was blaming myself for not listening to him but a part of me feels like this happened because of that thing unknown to us which is between both men.

I believe there is more to what he told me about Mr. Lorenzo. 

There is more to this.

A strong pair of arms hold me from behind and I twirl round to see Ryan opening his arms for me to come in.

I hug him without hesitation, my sobs louder and my tears increasing.

God knows how many times we have had to frequent the hospital these past few months.

Ryan rubs his other hand over my back in a soothing manner. It is comforting but I find myself still crying.

I was so scared. I don't want to lose him. He doesn't deserve to die. 

He deserves to get back all he lost. He is a good man and I love him.

Remembering that I haven't asked Mom about what happened and how it happened, I disengage from the hug and turn back to Mother who was cleaning her tears with a tissue.

Ryan beats me to it. He takes a hold of my Mom's hand and questions calmly. "What happened?"

"I don't know who came in but I heard a gunshot when I was in the kitchen. By the time I ran to where I heard the shot, he was already in a pool of his own blood", she replies, her eyes red from crying too much. She sniffles and continues. "I left him just for a minute to get his lunch and that happened. I was so scared. I didn't know what to do. The security guard at the gate was nowhere to be found and I suspect him to be…"

"He is not the real killer, Mom", I chip in quickly with arms akimbo after drying my tears. More are still threatening to come but I don't want to cry anymore. Since he is fine, the next thing to do is to find out how it happened and get evidence to nail him down.

"What do you mean?" Ryan demands from me as they both turn to me with curious-filled expressions. 

Hesitating voicing out my thought, I stare at Ryan, wondering what he will think of this too. I always accuse his Father and he always takes it the wrong way until an evidence shows up.

"Tell me", he insists, touching me softly to persuade me to talk as though he knows what exactly is on my mind.

"I believe your Father is the real culprit and I believe the security guard was there as a spy and he went there because of me…"

"First, he is not my Father", he almost barks at me in annoyance. "Second of all, how can you be so sure he went there because of you?"

"I'm not sure if he went there because of me actually or he went there because of the relationship they had."

"Then how did you know he is the one? You can't tell that to the police without a solid backup, or can you?"

I remain silent, thinking of how to tell him.

The silence continues for a long time before I finally break it with a short cough to clear my throat. "Actually, I believe there should be evidence…"

"Really?" his face beams in delight. "Where?"

I bite my lower lips, unsure about this whole thing. What if the camera has been tampered with?

I installed a small camera in my parent's room and also mine. I didn't install the camera in their room because I thought this would happen, I only did that because I thought there was more Father wasn't telling me and I wanted to get it all out.

I installed the camera in my room because I was suspicious about him coming for me. I just did that just for the fun of it because I wasn't sure what exactly was going through his head; whether to come in to get me or wait till I decide to go out so he can take advantage and kidnap me to finally get rid of me.

"Val, where is this evidence? If the evidence is intact, then this whole case will take a new turn. If it isn't, we are back to square one. You need to talk so we can get it as soon as possible."

I smile at Mom. "I will be right back, Mom. Will you be fine alone?"

She nods intermittently, waving Ryan and me away without any questions. Surprisingly,  she isn't even curious to know what the evidence is and where it is.

I take hold of Ryan as we step out of the hospital. I am glad he isn't pressurizing him into telling him anything about the evidence yet.

As soon as we are seated right in his car, he turns to me and I know I need to satisfy his curiosity first. 

"What did you do, Val?"

I roll my eyes in annoyance. "I did nothing."

"What is this evidence you are talking about then?" he asks again, his left arm on the steering wheel and the other holding my left hand.

I let out a loud puff, shut my eyes, inhale deeply, and finally exhale before opening my eyes back to meet his intense curious gaze. "It's a camera and I installed it inside my room and Dad's."

His mouth drops open in shock as he exclaims. "What? A camera?"

I nod gingerly with mixed feelings.

****

Will this put an end to all of these troubles? Will the camera still be intact? Is Valerie right this time or wrong?

I fulfilled my promise of two chapters today. See you tomorrow.

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