Deadly Silence (complete) Chapter 154

Vivian made Charles show her the email, which she read and reread until it was memorized. Not that it was long, only three short sentences, but every little detail mattered.

“Listen to me, Vivian,” he began, crouching next to her chair. “We won’t let them take you, alright? Mr Morris and the others are working on a plan to get to your father and brother, so you just need to focus on the police interview for now.”

“Why tell me?” She whispered. Part of her wished he hadn’t told her about the ransom, that she’d been left in the dark. Knowing the truth, that the lives of two people she cared about were on the line if she didn’t give herself up… it was a heavy burden.

“Because you have a right to know,” Charles explained, sounding tired. “Mr Morris and Sebastian didn’t want to tell you, and I’m sure your father would have kept this from you, however… If you were to find out on your own, after the fact…” He trailed off, his eyes locked on hers. “I know how I would react; I can only assume you would react much the same. You’re still a child, at least in the eyes of the law, but in here,” he tapped the side of his head with a finger, “you haven’t been a child for a long time. This is about you, just as much as it is them; you deserve to have a say in the matter.”

Vivian watched him carefully. His words sounded honest, and he wasn’t wrong; if she’d learned about this after the fact, especially if they were killed, it was likely she wouldn’t be able to forgive them for not letting her be part of the decision. “I want to talk to them. Gilbert and Sebastian. About this.”

“Alright, but you’re supposed to talk to Detective Mersey. After that, I’ll have them sit down with you—“

“No. Now. Afterwards might be too late.” It was almost eleven, and the email said the deadline for their response was noon. Giving her account of the events from yesterday could take over an hour, something she didn’t have if she wanted any say in the decision on whether to go through with the ransom demand.

“Vivian…”

“No, Charles,” she repeated. “Now.”

He let out a breath. “Alright, alright. They should all be back in the room by now. Hopefully Sebastian is awake.”

*If he’s not, I’ll wake him up myself*, Vivian thought to herself as she allowed the lawyer to lead the way back to her brothers’ hospital room. Laurent had returned with Reagan, and Gilbert stopping mid sentence when the door opened to reveal her and Charles.

“Shouldn’t you be chatting with the cops?” Laurent asked from where he sat on the bed.

“Is Sebastian awake?” Vivian inquired, ignoring the question.

“I am,” came her oldest brother’s voice, sounding relaxed. He was definitely feeling the meds, which might make it easier to steer the conversation the way she wanted.

“Good. Charles told me about the ransom demand.”

The atmosphere in the room was suddenly tense. Laurent’s eyes had narrowed as he watched his sister. “We aren’t doing it, Vivian. We’re not going to give you to them.”

“Yes, you are,” she retorted. Surprise flashed over his face at her words, but Gilbert had already stepped forward.

“No, Miss Vivian. We are not. Your father gave us strict orders; we will keep you safe, no matter what.”

“I don’t care about his orders,” she shot back, glaring at the man. “He doesn’t get a say in this because he isn’t here. I’m what they want, so it’s my choice. And I’m going.”

“No, you’re not,” Sebastian told her, sounding a bit more aware than before as he struggled, and failed, to sit up.

Vivian stared at each man, one after the other. They all wore the same expression on their face and she knew — she *knew* — nothing she said would change their minds. She could beg and plead, but it wouldn’t make a difference.

Did they not understand? Being the reason her mother died haunted Vivian. The guilt from that one event ate away at her every second, of every day. If her father and brother also died in her place? She would break; she would break to the point nothing and no one would be able to put the pieces back together.

If they went through with this, they would lose three people, instead of one.

Pursing her lips, she glanced at Charles, who shook his head. He’d told her as much, hadn’t he, and she hadn’t wanted to believe him. That was her mistake.

Without a word, she left the room. She had an hour to figure out how to do this by herself. No, less than an hour now. And she was still expected to talk with the detective, wasn’t she? What could she do to twist this to her advantage?

Charles had followed her out of the room and down the hall. “Where do I go to talk to the cops?” She asked, forcing her voice to take a neutral tone when there was a storm raging in her chest.

“Southern family room. Here, follow me, Vivian.”

She did as he requested, following him to the room in question. Charles knocked on the door, opening it after someone from inside gave permission. “Sergeant Maynard, Detective Mersey,” he greeted them with a nod, taking a side step to give Vivian room to enter. “This is Vivian St Peters.”

Knowing it was rude to ignore the introductions, but not caring, Vivian stepped into the room and sat in the first available chair.  “Let’s get this over with,” she told them, sounding defeated.

The only person in the room she didn’t know was the sergeant. He was an older man, possibly in his early fifties, with short, dark hair and a handle bar moustache. His brown eyes never left Vivian from the moment she entered the room, and it made her want to squirm. “Hello, Miss St Peters. I’m Sergeant Maynard.”

“Miss St Peters, before we begin…” Detective Mersey spoke up, sounding hesitant, but gaining confidence with every word. “I want to sincerely apologize for the last time we spoke. It was unprofessional of me, and I deeply regret my actions. I hope you’ll be able to forgive me.”

“Let’s just… get this over with,” Vivian repeated with a sigh this time. An apology didn’t change anything for her; it had already happened, it was done and over with. Dwelling on it any longer was pointless, especially when there were more pressing matters she needed to focus on.

Detective Mersey glanced at her sergeant, who nodded. “Alright. Tell me about what happened yesterday, the eighth of October, just before six in the evening.”

Taking a breath, Vivian began to recount the events. She felt drained and knew it was coming through in how she spoke. It’d been a rough few days, after all, and sleep had been sporadic at best. It was only natural she sounded detached, right?

Vivian finished up with what happened at the Lamont Estate, and was about to start on the crash, when she said, “Can we take a break? I, uhm, really need to use the bathroom.”

Detective Mersey and Sergeant Maynard exchanged a glance before the woman nodded. “Of course. Go ahead. We’ll continue when you get back.”

“Thanks,” Vivian mumbled as she stood up and left the room. There were two cops standing just outside the door, and both glanced her way, but otherwise did nothing as she walked by.

The bathroom was down the hall and around a corner, meaning she was out of sight of anyone in the previous hall.

Taking one last glance over her shoulder, Vivian pursed her lips and opened the door to the stairwell, conveniently located near the bathroom, and slipped inside. There was no way in hell she was going to let them sacrifice Samuel and Gabriel to that bastard; not if she had anything to say about it.