Part 6
Sarah knew Brian was angry but she chose to ignore it. "What’s that suppose to mean, Bri?" asked Sarah sweetly.
"You can take the whore out of the whorehouse but she’ll always be a whore. You’ve seen them, haven’t you?"
"Brian, it’s not like you to be this drunk this early in the evening," said Sarah as she brushed by him. "Let’s go eat so you can sober up a bit."
Brian grabbed her by the arm and spun her around to face him. "Where were you this afternoon?"
"I was at the school, grading papers," said Sarah calmly trying to pry Brian’s hand off her arm.
"Don’t lie to me, you whore!" growled Brian. "I know THEY were at the school."
Sarah laughed in Brian’s face. "That’s rich…you telling ME not to lie to YOU! You’ve been lying to me for the last two years. You told me they were dead! You’ve been using me to draw them out."
"And it worked too! I have them RIGHT where I want them…to KILL them."
"You’ll NEVER do it! Now let go of me."
Sarah pulled away from Brian and headed to the dining room.
"Don’t walk away from me, Sarah!"
"And what are you going to do to stop me?"
Brian caught Sarah again. "You’re MY wife and you WILL obey me."
"That’s where you’re wrong, Brian. See, what you didn’t know was I
was MARRIED to Howie and since he’s alive, my marriage to you doesn’t exist.
And know what’ even more ironic…it’ll be YOUR child that’s the
bastard."
"My child?" questioned Brian.
"Yes, Brian…your child. I’m pregnant but don’t worry…Howie won’t treat him or her the way you’ve treated his son. And for the record, Howard is named for his father…NOT your brother. Another irony in this whole thing…the man who killed your brother shared his name."
Brian’s anger was unleashed on Sarah as he slapped her with all his might. It sent her reeling across the room, landing in a chair, as a couple servants looked on. They didn’t dare step in.
Once Sarah regained her senses, she slowly reached down to her ankle all the while thinking how grateful she was to Alex for giving her the knife she had strapped to her leg. He had given it to her one night at the dance hall where they’d met after a man tried to proposition her and she’d turned him down in favor of Alex. Brandishing it now, she looked at Brian through steely eyes.
"You bastard…touch me again and I will kill you."
Laughing maniacally, Brian advanced on her. "You can’t do it, you whore!"
Sarah lunged at Brian but he managed to sidestep her and she tripped. Still laughing, Brian watched as she fell. An anguished scream echoed through the house.
Seeing Brian hit their mother, Scott turned to James and Dwaine. "Go NOW! Get our fathers."
James started to move but Dwaine was frozen in place, tears streaming down his cheeks. James took the younger boy’s hand. "Come on, Dwaine," he said softly. "Your Pa will know what to do."
Scott watched his brothers leave and turned back in time to see his mother falling and hear her scream. Unable to stay hidden any longer, he scrambled from his hiding place.
"LEAVE HER ALONE!" he screamed as Brian knelt beside Sarah.
Brian looked up at the boy, blood on his hands. "It was an accident…I swear," he whispered.
"Get away from her!" cried the little boy, his emerald green eyes filled with angry tears as he took his mother’s head in his lap. "You HATE her! You wanted her dead! My father is going to KILL YOU FOR THIS!"
"She needs a doctor, Scott," responded Brian matter-of-factly. His face was ashen seeing Sarah bleeding and knowing that he’d been the cause.
"I’m not leaving my mother."
"No, you don’t have to. I’ll get the doctor after I get her to a bed."
Having heard Sarah’s scream, the entire staff had gathered. Becky, the cook, spoke up now. "I’ll get the doctor."
Brian scooped Sarah up in his arms and carried her to their room setting her on the bed. Scott sat beside her, holding her hand, her head in his lap. His tears poured down on her as she lay pale and lifeless.
"Oh god…Mama…please, don’t die!" begged Scott.
Brian stood at the foot of the bed, helpless. Despite his ultimate motive, he had fallen in love with Sarah and had wanted a child by her. His only chance for that had just been destroyed. They had killed his brother and were now the reason he had lost his baby. He vowed to himself that he would see them dead…all three of them.
