42. THE TRUTH; THE BOSS

Raymond sat beside Yvonne while his parents sat across them. They looked at each other in silence until his dad cleared his throat, "Raymond, why did you admit to the world that she is yours?"

"I did not see anything wrong with what I did. I told the world who I'm in love with and wants."

His mom sighed, "You've brought more problems to yourself and their target would be you now."

"Who's the target?" Yvonne asked, looking at Raymond in confusion.

Raymond looked at his parents, "Who's target would be on me?"

"Someone is after Yvonne and her Mom for a long time. It reduced because you were going to marry Susan but now..." Raymond's dad placed his wife's head on his shoulder to console her.

"The same person that almost killed my mom, right?" Yvonne asked, staring at them for confirmation.

Raymond's dad nodded, "Yvonne call your mom over."

"My mom?" They nodded. "Why?"

"There are some things we've been keeping away from both of you and It's time to let it out so if anything happens you would know who to put it on."

"You are making me scared." Yvonne held onto Raymond's hand for comfort.

Raymond squeezed her hands assuringly, "Everything is okay. Call your mom over."

"We and your mom have been in contact even after you left. We knew about her marriage to your stepdad, Cammy's birth, and all other things that had happened these past years."

Yvonne shook her head negatively, "No... It's not possible. She would have told me."

"She would have and ruined our plans." A resounding knock was heard from the door. "Your mom has arrived."

Yvonne went to open the door, "Mom..."

"Yvonne, are you okay? Is anything the problem?" Mary panicked.

Yvonne pointed in the direction of the sitting room, "They are waiting for you." Mary gave a confused expression and entered while she locked the door.

Mary sighed, seeing the expression on everyone's face and feeling the thick tension in the air. "Mom, you had been in contact with them and I did not know about it," Yvonne said from behind.

"You shouldn't have said anything about that." Mary glared at Raymond's parents.

"They need to know the whole truth. With the video Raymond posted today, anything can happen at any moment." Raymond's mom glared back.

"What truth?" Yvonne and Raymond asked at the same time.

The parents looked among themselves, waiting for someone to talk. "I'll talk," Mary spoke up.

"They..." She pointed at Raymond's parents. "They were never against the prospect of you two getting married but were forced to do so." Mary waited a bit for them to absorb what she had said. "They were being blackmailed."

"Blackmailed?" Mary nodded. "By who?" Raymond asked.

"The Boss." Yvonne looked at her mom then at Raymond's parents.

She said in a low but audible voice, "The same person that duped dad which led to the heart attack that killed him?"

Mary bent her head, nodding, "There's something else you need to know." Immediately, Mary raised her head and Yvonne noticed the tears streaming down her mom's face, she knew what she was about to say could kill her inside out.

"The boss..." Raymond's mom went to console Yvonne's mom while Raymond's dad continued, "The boss killed your dad." He shook his head as Yvonne nodded her head. "I know."

"He wasn't killed by a heart attack but was poisoned to death." He sighed.

Yvonne gripped the edge of Raymond's shirt, shaking her head negatively, "No, it's a lie. You are lying to me."

"It's the truth. Your dad was injected with a strong poison which affected his heart mostly."

Yvonne buried her face in Raymond's chest, "The doctor said he died from a heart attack but how did you know it wasn't?"

Raymond's dad frowned, "It wasn't up to an hour when a doctor came to us, saying his nurse had mixed up the patients' files and told us the test result of another patient."

Yvonne sobbed into Raymond's shirt, "Who is the boss and why is he blackmailing you?"

"We aren't sure of who the boss is so we can't tell. Your dad was given a proposal to help in the recovery of his company, along with some terms likewise mine. Unknown to us, he was involved in fraudulent acts." Raymond's dad explained. "I kept it as a secret for fear of losing my company and most especially, my family but your dad cared less."

Yvonne nodded slowly, "My dad wanted to rat him out but The boss found out of his plans and chose to kill him."

"Yes and there's a video of what happened at your house the day your dad died."

"A video?" They nodded. "Where is it?" Yvonne asked in a rush.

He went to the door side where he had dropped his briefcase and came back with a compact disk, "His face didn't show because he was backing the camera." He slot in the disc and played it.

A blank screen came up, the DVD kept counting without showing anything, "Are you sure this is the disc?" Yvonne asked.

"Yes, it is. It's like this part was deleted while the murder part was left for us to see."

Yvonne looked at the blank screen in confusion, "Why..." She hadn't completed her sentence when a scene came up, a man stood backing the camera and facing her dad while he was struggling to be released from some men's hold.

"Don't struggle, my dear friend. You chose this kind of death for yourself. Accept it." The man backing the camera said, injecting him.

Yvonne watched with tears as her Dad gripped his chest tightly, after being injected twice, "You're a devil." He shouted in pain.

"Jasper," He called onto a guy by his right. "He wanted to report me to the police... Oh, I should have allowed you so you would see who the real boss is." The man roared with laughter.

Her dad coughed out blood, "Know that your deeds will catch up to you one day."

The man bent to talk to him, "I would be right here waiting for that day." He straightened up and raised his right hand to adjust his hat.

"Stop..." Yvonne shouted, "Zoom in on his raised hand... He has a tattoo." The tattoo was drawn on the back of his palm, it was a drawing of a snake's head with its mouth wide open.

"Why didn't I notice this earlier?" Her mom said.

"So Mom, where did you recognize the car from?"

"In New York. I rushed out of my shop and drove with speed on getting your call but while I was driving into the street to our house, a guy came out of our gate and entered into a car parked across..."

Yvonne looked confused, "I did not notice any car outside when I drove in... I wasn't even thinking correctly, maybe that's why."

"I was surprised and at the same time, suspicious of him since I haven't seen him before around you even if he was your friend. So I checked the plate number and noticed a logo by the side of the car."

"You didn't recognize anyone in the car?" Mary shook her head negatively, "Why didn't you people go to the police?"

"Yvonne, you heard what The boss said to your dad about going to the police. I guess he's popular."

Yvonne stood, "Excuse me. I need to rest my head." She left for the bedroom.

Raymond made sure she had left before turning to their parents with accusing eyes, "Why did you lie to her?"

"Lie to her about what?"

"Not knowing who the boss is?" Raising his eyebrows.

Mary sighed, "Yvonne won't sit quietly if she knows who killed her dad. She would go after him and also it would hurt her so bad."

"Yeah." He said, facepalming himself.

"Raymond, don't think about telling her, please. I don't want to lose my baby."

"I won't. You've convinced me enough." He stood from the couch. "I'll leave you all here. Yvonne needs me." He left.

In the night, Raymond woke from a nightmare, sweating. He looked to Yvonne's side, "Kitten..." He called out, panicking but got no reply.

He ran downstairs still calling her but got no reply, after checking everywhere in the house and no fertile result, he went to wake up his and Yvonne's mom.

"Are you sure my baby isn't in this house?" Raymond nodded. "Did she tell you, she would be going anywhere?" He gave the same reply.

"I..." His phone rang out, an unknown number. He picked up, "Hello..."

"Hello Mr. Lover, I believe you are looking for something...Oops, I meant someone."

"Who's on the line?" Raymond stood, clenching his hand.

"The boss." He laughed. "Your kitten is here with me." He passed the phone to Yvonne.

"Mond, please help... Ahhhh." She screamed.

"Don't you dare touch her, you..." Raymond yelled.

"Oh... He's yelling at me."

Raymond breathed heavily, "Please, don't hurt her. Please."

"Good boy, I won't if you do as I say."

"I would, sir."

"Call me back in an hour."

Raymond pleaded, "Please, tell me now and I..." The boss ended the call.

"Who was that on the line?" Mary asked in tears.

"The boss has kidnapped Yvonne."