The Secrets Behind The Act (Part 2)

Earlier, Olivia showed sorrow, sadness, compassion, anger, and confusion. But this time, her face was blank of any expression or reaction. And it kills Matthew. Because this time, they were not talking about Timothy anymore but him.

"Tim has his reasons. What are yours?" Olivia asked. She looked calmer now than when she was in the control room but internally, her emotions were all over the place.

Matthew sighed. He had expected that Olivia would ask him that and thank God because he had an answer and was prepared to answer. But first, he asked, "How do you find my mom?"

Olivia frowned. "Sweet?" She answered but there was uncertainty in her voice because she is not sure if that is the answer that Matthew was expecting to hear from her. Then suddenly her face paled. The reason why Timothy was taking out criminals from the prisons and streets was that his mother was once a victim of those kinds of people. Is that the reason why Matthew was doing that as well? Because his mother was once a victim?

Matthew smiled faintly because that is exactly how he would describe his mother. She was the sweetest woman he had ever known. That is if he would ignore the other side of her. "That she is. But behind that facade was a cold and deadly assassin of eight men,"

Matthew was proud of the fact that his mother was a badass that could kill bad people. But he is not proud of the reason why she became like that.

Olivia was dumbfounded. A part of her was relieved that at least, Matthew's mother whom she had treated as a mother as well was not the victim. But a part of her was in disbelief. Because it turns out that Matthew's mother was the assailant. But then, why did she become an assassin? Was it because she was also a victim and she was doing that as an act of revenge? "A-assassin? You mean…s-she…" Olivia struggled to find words to say.

Matthew stared at Olivia with a grave expression on his face. He knew that his words were hard for Olivia to digest but he had to tell her everything. "Yeah. She used to be an assassin. She killed eight men before she got married to my father. But those eight men were not innocent. They were high-ranking members of an organized crime group. But no, she was not raped by those men…her mother and sister were,"

Olivia showed confusion on her face. "I thought her mother died giving birth to her," Because that is what Matthew told her. She knew that Matthew's grandfather on his mother's side was a soldier who went MIA. His grandmother died after giving birth to his mother. And she only has a brother. While Matthew's grandparents on his father's side were retired generals, they were estranged from them.

"Yeah. But she has an adoptive mother and elder sister who took care of her while my uncle was trying to keep her away from their grandfather,"

"Oh…" was Olivia's only response as she tried to put the pieces of information together. Then Matthew's next words made Olivia's eyes go wide.

"Her mother and sister were gang raped and was killed in front of my mom. If she wasn't hiding inside a closet that time, she might have been raped and killed as well,"

Olivia thought that what Timothy's mother experienced was unimaginable but what Matthew's mother had experienced was something that she cannot put a word to describe. It was one thing to experience such a kind of abuse but having witnessed it in front of your eyes, especially since it was your loved ones that are being abused, it was…harrowing. In fact, it was an understatement.

Olivia would probably categorize that as a form of torture. Possibly the worst kind of psychological and emotional torture one could ever experience and would not wish to experience.

Olivia would not want to feel that kind of pain. So, she could only imagine the pain that Belle, Matthew's mother whom she also calls 'mom' felt at that moment.

"After that, they left their dead body and my mom was not able to move from her hiding spot for three days until the dead bodies of her mother and sister were found by their neighbors who smelt their decaying bodies," Matthew spoke as if he was there at that moment. His voice was filled with anger as if he was the one who found his mother in that heart-rending situation.

"My mom was in a state of shock when they found them. Later on, she was diagnosed with PTSD," Matthew clenched his fist after saying that. When his father told him that story, there was only one thing on his mind. He hoped that he was alive back then because if he was, he would be the one hunting those vile men and sending them to hell. He would have tortured them first before killing them. He might not have met his mother's adoptive mother and sister but according to his mother and uncle, they were good people. And they don't deserve what those men did to them. His mother doesn't deserve that kind of trauma.

Olivia looked at Matthew surprised. Because Belle doesn't seem like she suffered from PTSD. She heard that PTSD was deteriorating. It could affect someone's life if not treated and handled well. "Like Tim's mom," She said because Matthew said that Timothy's mother suffered from PTSD as well.

Matthew nodded his head. "Yeah. But unlike Tim's mom, my mother took her own revenge to seek justice for the death of her mother and sister. She remembered those eight men who raped and killed them and she killed them one by one, all on her own,"

"How did she do that?"

"You know my Uncle Alex, right?"

"Yeah," Olivia nodded her head. She was glad that Matthew trusted her enough with that family secret.

Apparently, Belle's brother, Alex Ogden, used to run an organized crime group. Back then, it was the most notorious organized crime group in the country. But Alex Ogden was not in that position because he wanted to…he was forced, by his own grandfather. He knew how evil his grandfather was, and that is why he hid Belle's existence from him. Because he doesn't want his sister to grow up in a criminal world. He was overprotective of her. Everything he did, was because of her…to protect her. Until he cannot take it anymore and let the organization fall.

Now Alex Ogden is a changed man. He changed for his sister. He changed for his wife and children.

Now Olivia understands why Belle grew up with an adoptive mother and sister. That is to hide her from her grandfather. And she also understands why Matthew didn't tell her about Belle's adoptive sister and mother because it was another story. And a long, complicated story at that.

"He used to run an assassin-for-hire group. He assigned one of them to teach my mom self-defense, and then he taught her how to use guns. Unknowingly, he was teaching her how to be an assassin. Years later, my mother killed her first victim. Uncle Alex wasn't able to stop her. Not even my father. So, they made sure that she won't be caught or get killed instead while hunting her target," So far for protecting his mother from the criminal world. Matthew thought to himself.

But despite that, Matthew never felt disdain or disgust for what his mother had done. In fact, it serves as an inspiration.

Olivia stared at the centerpiece on the table. Her thoughts were going back to the words that Matthew said. The fact that Matthew and his friends were the vigilantes who were taking criminals, torturing them, and killing them were hard for her to digest. It was a little hard to understand why they would do that.

But after hearing Matthew's explanation of why they were doing that, she started to understand. It was all for revenge or for a better word…justice.

They were seeking justice not just for what happened to their mothers but for all the victims of abuse.

But why do they have to take law into their own hands? That is the question that Olivia wanted to ask before she heard Matthew speak again as if he could read her thoughts.

"You know that our justice system is flawed. If you are lucky, it will take years to get the justice that one person deserves. But if you are not as lucky, you might not get it at all, especially when you are just a small person who doesn't have any means or connection to get fair justice," Matthew who was watching Olivia being silent felt edgy. The more Olivia was being silent, he was getting more and more anxious. He is scared that her next words were of her breaking up with him and then she would run away from there. So he started to explain further why they were doing what they were doing.

Matthew could only hope that Olivia is as open-minded as he thought her to be. That she would see his own point of view. That she would understand him and not leave him.

"Unless you are strong enough or have connections to get your own justice. But not every woman or child is strong like my mother. Not every woman or child has someone like Uncle Leo. Most of the time, they end up losing all hope and just let their assailant walk freely in the streets searching for their next victim until the system finds time to look into their case and realize that 'Yeah, this man should be behind bars'." Matthew continued to explain but this time, he is not looking at Olivia. He was looking behind her with a hint of anger in his eyes as if he was seeing those criminals standing behind Olivia.

When he looked back at Olivia, there was a seriousness that Olivia had never seen in his eyes before. "But what if the victim was already dead? Killed by her rapist or murderer and no one knew about it. Who will get justice for them? How will they get justice?"