Chapter 67

** SCARLET**
It was my graduation today, and my fellow students and their parents filled the university ground. I could hear the loud excited voices everywhere. The rows of seats were full; I joined the students with the surname beginning with C. I was in the fourth row. I spotted Katherine in the same row, but she was at the end of the line since her surname was Collins. Thomas, Luke, and Mom were in the bleachers. I knew they were watching me.
At precisely ten, the senior professors arrived, decked out in their black and crimson regalia. We stood and applauded the teaching staff. One of them was the Chancellor; he stepped in front of the stage and initiated the opening speech. When the Chancellor welcomed another speaker, he introduced him as a young businessman from New York City.
He introduced himself as Zachary Waltz, CEO of Bandwidth Ventures. A prestigious IT and engineering company in Edinburgh. A spark in my head reminded me that he was the cousin Katherine told me about and the company owner who emailed me for employment.
Mr. Waltz spoke of how he started the venture and his hardship before he succeeded. He even opened up and invited everyone to employment for the new graduates in their company. After the speech, our classmate Rosie Smith stepped on the stage for another inspiring speech.
When Rosie stepped down, it was finally time to collect our degrees. Over five hundred graduates are waiting to be called.
I glanced at Katherine, giggling excitedly with the two girls sitting beside her. Katherine caught my eyes, and then she grinned at me as well. I heard my name a few minutes later. I made my way up to the stage.
“Congratulations, Miss Carter.” Mr. Peterson shook my hand. One of my favorite professors. He handed me my degree.
“Thank you, Mr. Peterson.” I smiled back. I moved on to the next and shook Mr. Waltz’s hand.
“Congratulations.” He smiled politely. I was amazed at how similar he was to Luke. He was young, successful, and handsome.
“Thank you, Mr. Waltz.”
I got back to my seat. The ceremony took another hour to finally conclude. The Chancellor led the members of the faculty and the speaker off the stage. Everyone stood for rousing applause.
While I waited for everyone to disperse, Katherine called me. “Come on! I’d like you to meet someone.” Katherine dragged me with her and took me to the front stage.
“Zach!” Katherine called out. “I’m happy to see you.” She jumped and hugged the man excitedly.
“Wow, congratulations, Katherine. You’re heavy, and you’re getting fat. Where’s your mom?”
Katherine pulled away and slapped his arm. “I am not fat! I came to see you first. Mom’s over there.” She pointed out the bleachers. “It’s been forever. How are you?”
“It’s only been a year.” He chuckled.
“Yeah, when we’re in Glasgow.” Katherine grinned. “Hey, this is my best friend, Scarlet.” Katherine dragged me next to her. “The one I’m talking about.
“Nice to meet you, Mr. Waltz. I’m Scarlet Carter. Your speech was inspiring.”
He grinned. “Just Zachary. It’s an honor to be on that stage. Thank you, Scarlet.”
“She’s going to work with Bandwidth Ventures as well. She accepted,” she added.
“Well, it’s not a surprise.” Zachary looked at me. “Then, I’ll see you more often.”
I smiled. “Thank you.”
He returned a smile and then diverted his attention back to his cousin. “Katherine, take me to Aunt Carina at dinner. I have something to tell her.”
“Oh, sure. If you can’t find me, just call. We need to hurry. We’re leaving tonight.” Katherine squeezed my hand before she got dragged away by her cousin.
Oh, right. We were supposed to leave tonight. I blew out a sharp breath. I should find them now.
“Scarlet, honey?” I heard Mom’s voice behind me.
“Mom?” I turned around to see them. Luke and Thomas were standing next to her. “Mom!” I ran towards her and hugged her.
“We’ve been looking for you. Where have you been?”
“Just here. I was talking to Katherine and her cousin.”
“Oh, my darling! Congratulations!” She squeezed me tight.
“Congratulations, Scarlet,” Thomas said. He was smiling warmly at me.
I exhaled a soft breath. “This is all thanks to you. Thank you so much, Thomas.” I pulled away from Mom and hugged Thomas as well. I wrapped my arms around his waist. I shut my eyes and embraced him tightly. “Thank you for giving me all of this,” I told him, and I meant it with all of my heart. I wouldn’t be able to step on the stage without his support. I wasn’t his blood, but he treated me as his daughter. I’m going to miss him as well.
I felt him stroking my hair. “Of course, you are my daughter, too.”
“Thank you for everything.” I mean everything, including not telling Mom about my secrets, for helping me succeed.
“Guys.” Luke cleared his throat. “Should we be heading back now? We’re flying back tonight.”
Tonight? They’re heading back to New York tonight as well? My heart sank.
They were flying back to Manhattan without me, and I was going on my path myself. Thomas and I planned on how I should escape from them. We’d asked Mom to keep it a secret from Luke. She didn’t understand at first, but I made her understand that Luke would not want me to leave because we’d become close. Mom understood my white lie. I also told Katherine about it, and she was going to wait for me in the apartment. Once I got there, we were going to leave right away.
“I need to go back to the apartment first,” I informed them. “I just need to get my things.”
“Then I’ll come with you,” Luke said.
“I need you to help with something, Luke,” Thomas immediately disagreed.
“What is it, Dad?”
“Just do as I say,” Thomas said firmly.
I grabbed his arm. “It’s okay, Luke.”
He smiled back. “Congratulations.”
“Thank you.” I pulled my hand away.
“Then, I’ll wait for you later. I have your graduation gift. Let’s celebrate tonight,” he said softly.
“Really?” I looked up at him and faked a smile, but deep within me, my heart was already sinking. I almost wanted to cry. The celebration Luke was expecting wouldn’t happen tonight. I wouldn’t be able to escape if I stayed longer.
“Shall we go now?” Thomas interrupted, clearing his throat.
“I’ll see you later,” I told them, with the guilt of my endless lies buried deep in my chest.
Mom hugged me again. She understood that she won’t see me again after this reunion—that I won’t be coming back. I knew she was only holding her tears because her eyes started to swell. I whispered that I loved her.
“I love you too, darling,” she whispered.
“I’ll call you,” I whispered back.
Mom pulled away. Thomas was waiting for her.
“Wait.” I bit my lower lip. “Luke…” I slipped my arms around his waist. I embraced him. Luke was surprised, but I eventually felt his arms wrapped around me. I wouldn’t be able to see him again, to touch him... I didn’t care anymore that we were in front of our parents.
This will be the last time I’ll ever see his face.
Luke and I parted. Thomas and Mom were already walking away, Mom waving her hand. Luke stayed for a few more minutes. “What was that for?”
“What? I can’t hug you?”
“Yes, you can, but you hold me as if you are saying goodbye.”
“You’re very imaginative,” I joked.
“Hurry up, okay?” he said, his tone serious.
I nodded. “Go. I need to find Katherine.”
He pressed a kiss on my forehead. “See you later.”
Luke turned and walked away; it felt as if the world had slowed. I watched him walk away as if it were a movie scene. I put a hand over my mouth and began to weep.
I ran towards the restroom and went inside one of the cubicles. I was only just holding back my tears earlier, but I couldn’t keep them in anymore. I cried so hard, like it was the end of the world. I took my phone from my pocket and texted Katherine with shaking fingers. I told her to meet me in the restroom.
Several minutes later, someone knocked on the door of my cubicle.
I wiped my tears away and stood up to open the door immediately. I was expecting Katherine, but I was wrong… it wasn’t Katherine.
“Hello, darling. Did you miss me?”
My eyes grew wide. “Raoul?” I breathed out.
“The one and only.” He flashed out a devilish grin.
“No!” I pushed him away and ran towards the door. I tried to open it, but it was locked. “Damn it!”
“Stop running away from me, my dear.”
Raoul pulled my hand and spun me around. He was still the same. He looked exactly like the man who ruined me. The dark circles under his eyes were still there, his crooked teeth, his annoying smile. It was still him.
“What do you want!?”
“I told you I’ll come back.” His hard jaw twitched. “But if you wanted my real answer, you’d better ask your stepbrother.”
I knew it. I was right. I knew he was coming back for me. “I had nothing to do with that. You ruined my life,” I yelled.
He gripped my wrists tight. “So, he’s going to ruin mine?”
“Please, Raoul… don’t do this.”
He slapped my face hard. I stepped back.
“You are still the bitch that I know. Come with me!” He pulled my hand again.
“No! Stop!” I tried to push him away, but he hit my stomach. I coughed in pain. I fell to the ground.
“Help,” I breathed. “Help. Katherine… Luke…”
Raoul pulled my hair to make me stand. “Get up, bitch!”
“No!” I cried. “Please… Raoul, no.”
“You are coming with me, or the people will know what your brother did to me. I will make sure I ruin his name, just like how I ruined yours. Do you understand?” No. I won’t let him do that with Luke.
I shook my head. “Don’t do this, please…”
“Do you understand?” he shouted.
I nodded. “Yes, just don’t involve him in this. Please…”
“Then come with me. You are my wife!”
“I’m not your fucking wife!” I shoved him with all my strength and kicked him in the crotch.
He yelped in surprise. “Argh!” He fell to his knees. “Fuck you, bitch!”
I tried to open the door, but it wouldn’t unlock. I knocked on the door as loud as I could. “Help! Somebody! Please help!”
No one was responding.
Nate! I should call Nate. I dialed Nate’s number, but he didn’t answer. “Come on, Nate!” I texted him instead.
Help me.
Raoul was still on the ground, clenching his center. “Screw you, Scarlet!”
I pounded the door once more. “Help me! Somebody, please!” I screamed.
Raoul tugged a fistful of my hair, dragging me back to him. “Get back here.”
“Ahh! Please… Raoul, don’t do this to me!”
I squeezed my eyes shut. A vision appeared in my mind. Raoul was dragging me inside a room. I was screaming, begging… just like this. Everything was suddenly coming back to me. I had seen this before. This thing happened to me before. I remembered what I’d forgotten.
My baby…
“No! Please, no.” I cried harder.
“What I want is simple. You just have to come with me. That’s all.” Raoul whispered in my ear. His arms wrapped around my stomach and my back pressed against his hard chest. One of his hands was around my neck.
I whimpered. “Hmmph!” I shook my head. “Y-you killed my baby… I remember what you did.”
Yes, yes. I remembered it all now. The thing I lost. He killed my baby.
“Really? Tell me then, and tell me what happened.”
“Y-y-y-you are a murderer…”
“Right, right, and I don’t mind doing it again, but right now. I still need you.” His arms tightened around my body.
Somebody help me…
“Let me go, please. Raoul, please.”
“Scarlet?” Someone on the other side of the door called out my name.
“I’m here! I’m here—Hmm!” I tried to scream, but nothing came out. “Hmmph!” Raoul covered my mouth.
“Fuck! Shut the fuck up!” He hissed.
“Hmmph!” I tried to get away from him, but he was too strong. I couldn’t take off his hands.
The pounding on the door continued. “Open this right now, you son of a bitch. If you hurt her, I’m going to fucking kill you!” He banged on the door as hard as he could. I heard the door banging repeatedly and saw it shake.
Luke?
I heard him talking with someone on the other side.
“Shh!” Raoul hissed. He pulled out something from his pocket. My eyes grew wide. He was carrying a gun.
How the hell did he get into the school?
“Keep quiet, or I’ll shoot your head.”
I had lost my strength. My hands fell to my sides, but my eyes were getting hazy.
No!
Luke...
Save me…
I slowly closed my eyes. The last thing I heard was the sound of a gunshot.