Marrying the Millionaire (36 page)

Richmond was stunned. “I knew someone
came by the house to take care of their medical needs from time to
time, but I never bothered asking the person’s name. Are you sure
it was Kayla’s grandfather?”

“
I’m very sure. After I
found out your father had given Jason a check, I researched the
last five years of Russell’s banking. Russell had written tons of
checks to Leroy. Knowing Leroy made house calls to sick people got
me to wondering if Russell may have introduced Leroy to Salina.”
Richmond’s knees threatened to unbuckle. Don continued. “I got hold
of the camera at the traffic light right off Spaulding drive, and
sure enough, Leroy Van Buren had been near Spaulding Drive around
the same time Salina was murdered.”

Startled by Don’s findings, pain
engulfed Richmond like an old wound on a rainy day. “So are you
saying Kayla’s grandfather killed my wife?”

Don nodded. “Yes, Richmond. I believed
that Kayla’s grandfather murdered Salina.” Feeling like the wind
was knocked out of him, Richmond closed his eyes. “There’s
more.”

More?
Richmond’s eyes sprang open. He didn’t think he could take
any more. “Damn.”

“
I don’t know if Kayla told
you this or not, but she was the last person to see your father
before he had his heart attack, which leads me to believe she went
to see Russell, searching for the truth about her grandfather. Or
maybe she visited Russell to beg him not to tell you that her
grandfather killed Salina.”

Feeling deeply betrayed, Richmond’s
head throbbed. Pain roiled his tight chest. He’d been a fucking
fool! “Kayla made a fool of me. For all I know…she may have known
her grandfather was going to kill Salina. Maybe she moved here
after Salina died with the sole intent to seduce me.”

“
Why do think Kayla would
do something as foul as that?”

“
For money, Don! For my
fucking money!” Enraged, Richmond stormed out of Don’s
office.

WAITING FOR RICHMOND’S RETURN TO the
beach house, Kayla lifted the window inside the master bedroom,
climbed in the bed, and listened to the soft sounds rolling off the
ocean. Stressed, she pulled her knees to her chest and wrapped her
arms around her legs. Placing her chin on her knees, she hefted the
remote and clicked on the television.

Needing someone to talk to, she called
her sister, Alana. The cell chirped once before Alana answered it.
“Have you told him yet?” The words rushed from her sister’s
mouth.

Kayla chocked back a cry. “No. Not
yet.”

“
Why not? You have to tell
him, Sis. Tonight, Kayla. Tonight,” Alana emphasized.

Kayla eyed the sparkling ring on her
finger. “I tried to tell him tonight, but every time I went to tell
him, we got interrupted by a phone call. One of the phone calls was
so urgent, he had to leave.”

“
I understand. You sound so
sad, you’re making me sad. Regardless of how things turn out
between you and Richmond, just know I’m here for you. And I love
you.”

The doorbell rang, startling Kayla.
“Thanks, Alana. I love you, too. Someone’s at the door. I’ll call
you back after I talk with Richmond to let you know what happened.”
She ended the call.

Leaving her cell on the
bed, Kayla padded barefoot toward the front door. Having no clue
who’d be visiting her here, she hoped it wasn’t crazy-behind
Carson. She’d had enough of him and his trying to remarry her to
last her a lifetime.
If Carson was the
last man on Earth, I wouldn’t marry him.

Reaching the doorway, Kayla
placed her eye over the peephole to find the porch empty.
Hmm. That’s strange. I could’ve sworn I heard the
doorbell ring.
Maybe she was so worried
about telling Richmond the truth, she was hearing
things.

Making her way through the living room
to lock the sliding glass door in the den, she heard it squeak
open. Fright stomped her. She stilled in her tracks. “Who’s there?”
she called out. “Richmond? Is that you?”

The sound of glass breaking
made her heart leap into her throat. Then the lights inside the den
started flicking off and on. Off and on. Then off
completely.
OhmyGod. Someone’s in
here.

Just as Kayla tried to flee toward her
bedroom, she collided into a figure. “Where do you think you’re
going, bitch?!” Hands lunged into Kayla’s chest, and she plummeted
to the floor to her side. Her ribs throbbed with pain.

She rolled from her side to her
behind. Using her hands, feet, and butt, she scurried away from the
intruder, backing up towards the front door. Her stomach churned
with fear. Starting with the invader’s shoes, Kayla’s eyes hiked
over jeans, chest, and stopped when they reached a twisted
face.

Standing beneath the arch inside the
living room, Chelsey’s white face contorted. Evil flickered her
green eyes. Her blonde hair tangled on her shoulders.

Kayla suppressed the scream at the
back of her throat. “What are you doing here, Chelsey?” Eyes
darting back and forth for something to knock the hell out of
Chelsey with, she hopped to her feet.

When Chelsey’s head tilted, her bang
fell down over her eye. “I think you know why I’m here, Kayla.
Russell left me tonight because of you.” She swung her hair back
over her shoulders.

“
Because of me…why
me?”

“
You know why, Kayla!” she
screamed, taking a step forward.

Thinking of how she’d escape, Kayla
kept her eyes trained on Chelsey. “Look. If I caused any problems
between you and Russell, I’m sorry. I’m sure he’ll be
back.”

Frowning, Chelsey’s eyes darkened.
“He’s not coming back because he thinks you’re going to reveal his
secrets. Because of you, I’m out in the cold. Have nowhere to stay.
Nowhere to go.” Kayla had no idea she’d been living with Russell
and things were that serious between the two of them. Chelsey put
her fists up in front of her face and started shuffling her feet.
“Put up your fucking dukes, bitch!” Swinging at the air, Chelsey
began closing the distance on Kayla, backing her into the
door.

This chick is
crazy
. “Chelsey, I’m not up for a fight.
Let’s just talk about this. Calm down.”

Chelsey ran up to Kayla and punched
her in the face. A hot pang stung her cheek. “Now wait a second,
bitch!” Kayla kneed Chelsey in the gut. When Chelsey clenched her
stomach and slumped over, Kayla jabbed her side, and then her other
side.

Chelsey lunged forward. They fell to
the floor.

Tussling and wrestling on the ground,
they rolled into the brand new coffee table. The legs on the table
broke. Glass shattered everywhere. Using all her strength, Kayla
clutched Chelsey’s shoulders and flopped that crazy bitch to her
back. On top of her, Kayla grabbed the sides of Chelsey’s head and
banged it in the floor. Banged it again. And again.

Clawing at Kayla’s face, Chelsey’s
eyes rolled.

“
Kayla!” At the sound of
her voice being called, Kayla felt someone grab her from behind.
The next thing she knew, she was flying off Chelsey. Now on her
feet gasping for air, she turned. Her heart dunked. Russell stood
before her, with murder written on his twisted face.

A loud scream tore from Kayla’s
mouth.

Suddenly, the front door flung open
and in walked Richmond. “What the hell is going on
here?”

“
Oh, Richmond.” Kayla ran
up to Richmond, then stood by his side. “Chelsey broke in here and
tried to kill me.”

Holding a CD and a book to his chest,
Russell reached for Chelsey’s hand and helped her to her
feet.

Grabbing the sides of her head,
Chelsey squeezed her eyes, then shook her head. Focusing her gaze
on Kayla, she sucked her teeth. “Ah, Kayla. Ain’t nobody tried to
kill you. If I wanted you dead, I would’ve brought a knife or gun.
I just wanted to scare you, that’s all.”

Unbelievable! Shaking her head, Kayla
rolled her eyes.

Disgrace shattered
Richmond’s pupils. “The
three
of you disgust me.” The room fell silent. “That’s
right. I know about
all
of your secrets. Russell, I know you’re sleeping
with Chelsey. To take the advantage of a young girl like her, how
low could you go?” Russell parted his lips to speak. Richmond flung
up his hand, stopping him. “I already know how low you can go. You
were with Kayla’s grandfather the night he killed Salina. You knew
all along that Leroy Van Buren killed my wife, and you never said a
fucking word! Not one fucking word to me!” Richmond’s lips
quivered. He glowered down at Kayla. “And you, Kayla; you knew,
too. You knew that your grandfather killed my wife, and you said
nothing! Nothing! Of all the people in this room, what you did
hurts me the most! You should’ve told me your grandfather killed my
wife.”

A chilly black silence surrounded
them.

Kayla’s eyes clouded with tears. “I’m
sorry, Richmond. I never meant to hurt you. But you have to
understand…I didn’t say anything because I wasn’t sure my
grandfather had killed Salina. I didn’t want to badmouth his name
unless I was sure he did it.”

When Kayla touched his arm, Richmond
snatched it away. “Liar! All of you are liars!”

The big knot in Russell’s throat
pushed against the skin. “Let me explain, son.”

“
Don’t you ‘son’ me, you
sonofabitch! You knew Leroy poisoned Salina, and you never said a
damn thing. How could you be so selfish? How could you put Leroy
before me? Before Salina? Before Isabelle? Night after night after
night…I wondered who killed Salina. And you knew. But you never
said a gotdamn thing.”

Russell’s jaws shook like jelly as he
bellowed, “I didn’t say anything because I killed her gotdammit!”
Shaking his head, he muttered, “Leroy didn’t kill Salina. I killed
her. I murdered your wife.” Crying profusely, Russell brought his
trembling hands up to his face and looked at them as if he didn’t
recognize them. “Leroy didn’t kill Salina, son,” he reiterated,
grabbing his chest. “I did. And I’m going straight to fucking hell
for killing her.” Nose running, Russell smothered a sob.

Richmond gave his head one hard shake
after another. “No. No. You couldn’t. You loved Salina. You might
not have given a damn about me…or Mom…or Dirk or Suade, but you
loved Salina. You. Loved. Salina.”

Distressed, Kayla could
feel nausea rising in her as she listened on. The effect on Kayla
was shattering.
OhmyGod. Russell killed
Salina. His own daughter-in-law.

Russell confirmed, “You’re right. I
did love Salina, and that’s why I couldn’t tell her no when she
begged me to help her die. As you know, she was dying, son. She was
in a lot of pain. I couldn’t stand the sight of seeing her suffer.”
Tears dropped from Russell’s eyes like rain. “On the night I killed
her…this is what happened…” Russell’s words trailed off as he began
telling his side of the story.

Struggling to inhale her
next breath through the thin, clear oxygen tubes inside her nose,
Salina looked across the pitch dark bedroom toward the entrance to
find Russell standing there. Wearing an ivory, silk nightgown,
Salina struggled to bring her arms from by her sides to rest them
in her lap beneath the cotton comforter.

With a portable ventilator
positioned beside her king-sized bed, Salina inhaled oxygen through
the tiny tubes inside her nose. “Please,” she whispered, then
swallowed. “Come in.” She struggled to convey the two words to
Russell.

Slithers of moonlight
shined on Russell as he stalked toward Salina, feeling horrible for
being there behind his son, Richmond’s, back. Reaching her bedside,
Russell paused and stood over a dying Salina for what seemed like
long minutes.

Standing over Salina’s
bed, glowering down at her, Russell pulled the beaded string of the
lamp positioned on the nightstand, the gloomy room vaguely
brightened. He felt a weary expression settling on his face as
remorse dulled his beating heart. “Oh, Salina,” he murmured,
shaking his aching head. “My dear, sweet Salina.” A sharp breath
expelled from his lips.

Honing in on his
daughter-in-law’s face, Russell tilted his head. His dark gaze
wandered over the ivory, silk comforter down to the foot of the
bed, then back up to her brown, pale face. Knowing he was about to
kill her, Russell’s heart grappled inside his aching chest. How
could he even think about killing his son’s wife?

Shaking his head
profusely, his shoulders sagged. He swiped his bearded face, placed
the black medical bag on the wooden nightstand, then sat on the
mattress next to her. “Are you sure you want to do this, Salina?”
His deep, baritone voice flowed over the cold room.

Salina sucked in a deep
breath. She nodded. “I’m positive, Russell. I can’t do this
anymore. Tired.” Her lids lowered, then reopened. As if she were
about to change her mind, she turned her head and stared at the
window.

With a soft pillow propped
beneath her head, Salina turned her head to recapture Russell’s
teary gaze. A single tear streamed from her right eye down over her
cheek just as a tear slid down his trembling cheek. Using the pad
of his thumb, Russell wiped the water from his dear, sweet Salina’s
face. Many people never understood their bond, but she was truly
like a daughter to him. The daughter he always wanted, but never
had.