Chapter 47

Layla

Michelle and I were in my living room watching Chris lose his mind. “That boy definitely has something wrong with him, my god. What would possess a man to act that way? Was he your friend?” she asked me.

“Michelle, I thought he was a friend. Dean, Aleck, Mallory, and Andrew, we all thought he was a friend. He was kind, caring, and concerned, and we never thought anything of it. Then again, Rea hid that side of her for so long also,” I said.

“So, who can you trust?” she asked.

“Honestly, I don’t know, Michelle. I know I can trust Dean and Aleck without a doubt. Their parents, Mallory and Andrew, you, Tyler, and Leo. These are the people I’ve known since college. He killed Rea and Macy because he could. I just want this to end.”

“And the girl he was with?”
“I don’t know.”

I explained what Aleck said Nella told him, and honestly, I don’t even know if I could trust her.

“Oh, shit, look,” Michelle said, pointing at the laptop. Chris was on the phone talking to someone. We turned up the volume.

***CHRIS: I THOUGHT YOU SAID YOU WERE FUCKING SURE SHE IS LAYLA. What the hell do you mean? THAT’S BECAUSE SHE ISN’T FUCKING LAYLA. I FUCKED A RANDOM FUCKING GIRL. I JUST CHECKED, AND HER INFO IS THERE; SHE’S NOT FUCKING LAYLA. WHY DON’T YOU FUCKING UNDERSTAND IT HAS TO BE LAYLA? Why? Hahaha. I LOVED HER THE MINUTE I FUCKING SAW HER. IT HAS TO BE HER ONLY FUCKING HER. THIS GIRL IS SAMANTHA FUCKING RUSSO, NOT LAYLA. FIND FUCKING LAYLA BY TOMORROW MORNING.***

Michelle was looking at me, and I was looking at her. We heard the door, and we closed the laptop. Leo walked in with Tyler behind him. Leo looked at the laptop on the table, then at us.

“We saw and we heard. He believes I’m Samantha Russo. He has someone helping him,” I said.

“Yes, Brian is on that, trying to find out who it is, Mrs. The boss is on the phone,” he said, handing the phone to me. I took it from him and walked into the room.

***LAYLA: Hello.***
***DEAN: Hello, princess. We saw and we heard everything. It’s okay. You’ll be safe with Leo.***
***LAYLA: Okay.***

***ALECK: Are you okay?***
***LAYLA: I don’t know, just surprised at what Chris is capable of.***
***ALECK: Don’t worry about him. Leo knows what to do.***

***LAYLA: Then what about the person helping him? We heard him.***
***DEAN: We heard too. Brian is already on it, princess.***
***ALECK: Do you trust us, baby girl?***

***LAYLA: I do.***
***DEAN: If we said we killed someone, what would you do?***
***LAYLA: Help you hide the body.***

I said without even thinking. Because I knew I would do anything to protect them the same way they would protect me.

***ALECK: He’s going to disappear, baby girl. Then you can come back home, and you can bring your friends with you.***
***LAYLA: I love you both so much.***

***DEAN: We love you too, princess.***
***ALECK: We do, baby girl, and we would do anything for you.***

***LAYLA: And I would do anything for the both of you.***

Aleck

Fuck, she was something extraordinary. She didn’t even hesitate to answer that question.

***ALECK: It’s okay, baby girl, we’ll see you soon. Now I need you to close that laptop and give the phone back to Leo.***
***LAYLA: Okay.***

***LEO: Boss.***
***ALECK: Is the phone on speaker?***
***LEO: No.***

***DEAN: Good. Dan, Nate, and Jasper are all in position. They’ll get him, and they know where to bring him. Make sure you aren’t seen by anyone, especially the sheriff and his deputy. You’ll lead them to the pick-up point and then return to her.***

***LEO: Yes, boss. The Mrs. is safe and will be.***

I know what he meant.

***ALECK: Good, we’ll see you in a few hours.***
***LEO: Yes, Boss.***

I ended the call and looked at Dean. “Do you think Nella is in on this?”
“Honestly, I don’t know, Aleck. I know we can trust Mallory and Andrew,” I said.
“Okay, we’ll call them.”

He called Andrew and Mallory over; they showed up thirty minutes after the call.

“What’s going on? You sounded worried on the phone,” Andrew said, looking at us.

I didn’t say anything; neither did Dean. “Guys, you’re kind of scaring us. What’s going on? Did something happen to Layla?” Mallory asked. I looked at Dean.
“Chris is the stalker,” Dean said, and we looked at them, waiting for their reaction.

“I’m sorry, but WHAT THE FUCK?!” Andrew said.
“I hope you fucking kill him,” Mallory said.

“THAT FUCKER IS JUST AS TWISTED AS REA AND MACY. Wait, Nella, do you think she knows and is involved?” Andrew asked.
“No, Chris said you’re helping him, Andrew,” I said, looking at them. Mallory instantly looked at Andrew with a horrified look.

“YOU FUCKING BASTARD!” She yelled at him. I had to grab her because she grabbed a vase and was walking towards him.

“Hey, hold the fuck up. Mal, babe, no. I fucking swear. I married you because I love you; I always have. Why the fuck would I help Chris with something so fucked up?” Andrew asked.

“Aleck is just screwing with you. But seriously. We know we can trust the two of you,” Dean said.
Mallory looked at us. “Tell me the truth.”

“He’s not involved. We just needed to see your reaction. We promise,” I said.
“See, Mal, I would never do anything to hurt you. Or Layla. She’s like a sister to you,” Andrew said, looking at her.

“Wait. That means you found Layla, right?” Mallory asked.
“She was here,” I said. We told them everything that happened. Andrew was pacing the living room, and Mal was sitting down.

“What the hell is wrong with them? Do you think Nella knows?” Andrew asked.
“That is what we’re unsure of. We have people watching her. We’re going to kill him,” I said, looking at them both.

“Do what you must. Because if it was Mal instead. I would be asking you two fuckers to help me get rid of his body,” Andrew said, sitting down beside Mallory.
“You said someone’s helping him?” Andrew asked.

“Yeah, but we don’t know who. We’ve got someone on it,” Aleck said.

My phone started ringing, and I saw it was Brian, so I answered and put it on speaker.

***DEAN: Yes, Brian.***
***BRIAN: Boss, we have a fucking twist in the story. Do you know your friend Chris Hamilton has a brother?***

I looked at Mal and Andrew, and they both shook their heads no.

***ALECK: No, we didn’t.***

***BRIAN: Well, he does, and not just any brother, an identical twin. You went to college with both of them. Cameron studied architecture, and his brother Chris studied computer science. Cameron is the stalker, and Chris is helping him. Your friend is currently in Washington, and Cameron is in Brenham.***

***DEAN: What the fuck? Do you have Chris’s location?***
***BRIAN: Yes, I do.***

I looked at Aleck. “Call Mac, tell him to take whoever he needs and get Chris,” Aleck nodded.

***DEAN: Brian, send his location to Mac. Leo and the others are on Cameron.***
***BRIAN: Got it, boss.***

Layla

We were sitting in the living room; Leo was about to leave when his phone began ringing. He answered, and I saw his face change. When he ended the call, he looked at me. “Chris has an identical twin. The stalker is the twin, Cameron, not Chris,” he said.

“Well, good lord. This is one twisted saga of a mess you got here, girly,” Michelle said, looking at me. I was shocked at first, then I started thinking back to all the times when I would see Chris somewhere, and when I showed up, he would already be there, which made me feel like I was seeing things. Or the time one of the girls from computer science handed him a notebook and told him he forgot it in class, and I knew he didn’t take computer science. He said he was weighing his options, and I never thought much of it.

“So, what do we do now?” I asked him. He looked at me and smiled. “The boss already gave me the orders. I’m to stay with you and wait for him to make a move,” he said, winking at me.

Michelle and Tyler left around eleven after I promised I would call if we ran into trouble. An hour after they left, Leo came out of the room dressed in all black. He looked at me.

“Mac and the others are going to get Chris. I’m not the only one here. Dan, Nate, and Jasper are also here. Brian will make sure he doesn’t see us coming. The minute I leave, lock all the doors. It’ll take me half an hour,” he said, handing me a gun.

“He’s the only one here, so as long as we have him in our sights, you’ll be safe. I need to make sure I’m not seen leaving.”
Then it clicked when they asked me what I would do if they killed someone. “Wait, there are cameras on the right side of the house. The left side is clear.

Mildred is usually awake at this hour. The window in my room leads to the forest park at the back to the lake,” I said, standing up.
I turned off the lights in my room and the kitchen. I watched as Leo left through the window and disappeared in the dark. I did what he told me to do. I made sure all the windows and doors were locked and sat in the living room, looking at the clock. They were going to kill them, and I honestly didn’t care.