The Lunacy of Tyler Lockhart ✔️

Chapter Forty Five - Present

Present

Victoria

Noah was dead...

The shock of what I heard hit me like a ton of bricks. Sorrow shredded my insides as I broke into a sob.

My friend was dead, Noah who'd always been supportive, who I'd relied on when Tyler had left. He would always laugh, and smile, make me feel better.

He didn't deserve to die like this!

And I never imagined that Tyler would go to such an extent to prove that he was better.

"Why did you have to kill him?!" I said between sobs. "It wasn't his fault!"

Tyler stared at me like I'd gone crazy. "You think I killed Noah?"

"Well, of course, I do! No one else had threatened to kill him."

He tried to touch me but I recoiled and moved away from the couch, "GET AWAY FROM ME!" I made a run for the kitchen area and picked up a butter knife. Something was better than nothing.

"Vicky, listen to me..." he walked towards me, his stance was slow.

I kept the knife raised towards him; the granite counter was the only thing between us. "DON'T COME NEAR ME!" I yelled at him.

He sighed, his shoulders sagged in resignation. "A butter knife won't hurt me. Put it away, Vicky."

"I want to go home!" I wasn't sure how many times I'd said that in the past three days.

"I would never hurt you." He insisted, maintaining his distance between us on the other side of the counter.

"But you would hurt someone else."

"No, I wouldn't. I threatened Noah about staying away from you, and I told him how I'd get him involved in foul play involving some stuff in his company if he didn't back off. That's all." He said in a voice so sincere you'd think he was the Pope or something, but that was beside the point.

Tyler was good at these games, and manipulation ran deep in his blood. He'd pretty much mastered the art of a stoic face when he needed to get out of unsavory situations. Like right now. I couldn't tell if he was being honest or lying through his teeth. He would go to lengths to make sure the truth was concealed. He had all the components needed to become a criminal, so what if something trigged this time and his true characteristics surfaced?

It was a possibility that I couldn't let go.

"What foul play?" I asked.

"The Lockharts' have a subsidiary that's linked to one of McCloy's businesses, and Noah had no knowledge of it, so I just used that against him and told him that I'd shut it down. I didn't plan on doing it; I just wanted to catch him off-guard." He confessed, taking a step towards me.

"Do not take another step, Ty or I'll do something." I held the knife at my wrist. "I don't care what happens to me; I'll just bleed out here and then you'll have another murder on your hands."

"Okay, okay!" He raised his hands in defeat, "Just calm down, Vicky and let me talk. Just listen."

"How can I be sure that you're not lying?

"Well, you don't have a choice." He said. His icy-blue eyes cut through mine. He dug his hands in his pockets, "I did not kill Noah, and I have no idea who did. I hated him, that's true but I wasn't going to kill him for marrying you. The only reason I brought you here Vicky, is because I wanted you to think about..."