Josh’s pov
I kept tracing my hand around the scar that ran from my ribcage to my abdomen. It was painful and had not yet started healing. But I was enjoying every bit of that pain, it sort of reminded me of Amber, I named her Amber. She was too beautiful to be in the hospital for days without a name.
I had no idea how I came to that name but her face looked like Amber. The scar reminded me of the life that I gave her, the horrors that I had gone through the entire year. It was going to be a permanent reminder but I was going to decide what reminder to cling to and I chose Amber.
I had already narrated my horror to my lawyer Kim and first thing in the morning she had driven to the hospital and was in my room trying to persuade me to go for the money.
Brandon Fraser was the richest b*stard on the planet and with all that money it was impossible to bury what Thalia confessed but he could be willing to shut my mouth with a lot of money.
However, all I wanted was baby Amber, I wanted full custody. I was not selfish, I was going to grant them some visitation rights.
I had dismissed her and ordered her to save the p*ycho couple with the lawsuit. I would have loved to see their faces but I was recovering and needed the rest. All I wanted was my Amber Nelson, that was what her birth certificate was supposed to read.
My mother cautioned me to put my baby first and that was what I was doing. Those two were animals, just like my father, they did not deserve to raise a child. I for one had learned my lesson and was going to start a new life away from the hate and revenge.
It was going to be just the three of us. My mother, Amber, and I. That angel gave me hope and a new start.
I slept on the bed, still circling my scar, waiting for Kim who went upstairs to deliver the suit. After an hour she walked back with a pile of papers in her hand. From her facial expressions, I could tell everything was wrong.
She slammed the papers on the bed and folded her arms. “They were willing to settle, you should have gone with my s*upid advice,” she yelled on top of her voice.
“Calm down, what happened?”
“That sick p*ycho threw the papers in my face and asked me to quit!” She yelled. And began pacing the room. “He is going to use the sex tape to end me, Josh.”
I was lost for words, yes I never expected them to just sign and hand the baby to me. I knew we were going to court but threatening to end my lawyer’s career slipped my mind. Brandon Fraser was a power-obsessed maniac that I knew. He enjoyed taking down people and companies.
My first thought was that he would come for me but I had nothing to my name. The only thing I had was the family house and him blocking the sale was nothing to me. I was going to get a new job and start afresh.
But that b*stard was well updated, how could I have forgotten about the sex tape. Maybe my life was so overwhelmed with s*it that I forgot about that part. Kim had done so well to rebrand herself and she was lucky the p*ycho never persuaded her case to make sure she was stripped from practicing law. The bar had decided to give a warning and penalty only.
“Josh Josh Josh?” She called me out and I snapped out of my head.
“What exactly did he say?”
“Does that matter? I actually feel sorry for you and no matter how bad someone has been, they do not deserve to go through what you went through but settle and demand for visitation days,” she advised.
I sniffed, she was scared, I could see it in her eyes. Who wouldn’t be, considering what those two did to me but are still free and turned the hospital into their living room.
“Let’s say a man did what those animals did to me, they took out your womb and stole your eggs. Would you go for the money or the baby?” I asked her. She looked away avoiding eye contact.
I chuckled, “I did not think so, that baby is the only baby that I will ever have, and getting two hours a week or one day is out of the table. I do not need money, I have tasted what money feels and the happiness I have when I look at that baby is nothing compared to whatever amount that b*stard has,” I added.
She swallowed hard, facing me. She wanted to say it but she did not know how to say it. The woman always loved me unconditionally and it was just unfortunate that I had no feelings for her. I once destroyed her life and career and I was not going to do it again.
It was selfish of me, I never even apologized after the horror that sex tape did to her. She had just gone independent and started her law firm and we both knew Brandon Fraser was going to tear it apart and dig for every skeleton in her closet.
“So what’s next?” She asked
“My stance still remains intact, but you are free to go, I will find another lawyer. There are a lot of lawyers out there who owe me,” I lied. Deep down I knew I was cornered. I had no one, no seasoned lawyer would want to take my case, not after what happened to the previous lawyer or the dirty laundry my father aired on our last judge.
Brandon ruined those two careers and made it seem like we did it. Kim was all I had, but I had forgotten about our scandal before I consulted her. She stared at me with pity eyes like she knew that I had no one.
“Maybe you can talk to Thalia, according to my assessment it looked like Brandon did the thinking for her,” she suggested and moved closer to the bed, taking my hand into hers. “She confessed for the sake of that baby. If she wanted she would have taken that liver from you without you even knowing like they did with the sperm but yet they chose not to.
“Did you ask them why?” She asked. She had a point but it was obvious they thought they were above the law and could get the liver, with or without my consent.
“Talk to her Josh, you two can co-parent that little angel without destroying other people’s lives.”
“Then they should hand the baby to me.”
“Josh you need to look for a job, you do not have the money to hire a babysitter or a nanny. How are you going to look after her?” she asked.
“Those are the points they will argue against you.”
I did not like where she was going with her advice. Thalia needed to pay for her sins just like I paid for my sins. How special was she that she was supposed to go scot-free?
“Thank you for your advice Kim, I will think about it,” I replied.
” Please do, I am not asking you to give up, but when you get that job and enough money then maybe you can go after her and we both know Brandon won’t be around then,” she said with a wink. I stared at her surprised, I never filled her in on his sickness, most of us thought it was a rumor until I saw him.
“Do you have an idea how long he has?” she asked. I nodded my head.
“Then take it as a blessing, take your time, learn something from your father and stop using emotions before you lose everything.” She said and stood up. I only stared at her as she left the room.
She was right, the p*ycho was dying and I knew Thalia very well but what if she had changed and could not be manipulated like I used to? Giving them time was risky and could backfire and again striking now was risky, and I would lose.
I had no lawyer and no money. The list I could hire was an amateur lawyer or on pro bono service which would be embarrassing. I laid back defeated and p*ssed, trying to find a way out for both myself and Amber.
Yesterday I thought it was really easy, maybe there was another way, a criminal record for the two of them. Getting Thalia to confess again. I was running out of ideas but that was my only way out if a lawsuit was not going to work.
Time elapsed and I began dozing, not sure for how long but I was only woken up by a poke on my face. I immediately got up and that irritating pale face stared back at me with a straight face. I flinched and moved, putting weight on my stitches and wincing in pain. He noted and a sick grin appeared on his face.
“Do you know how I met Thalia?” He asked, surprising me.
I cleared my throat, I was not in the mood to chit-chat with him. But before I could open my mouth he blocked me. “I met her on an old rusty bridge, we had both gone there to jump to our death,” he stated in a cold tone. I raised my brow in shock, I had wondered how she had managed to bag a rich man like him.
“She had a very hideous sweater on and was holding a garbage bag of her clothes, I believe you put her clothes in it and left her to rot.”
I only stared at him, my face blank, I had no idea where he was going with his speech.
“I was so p*ssed at her because she interrupted my suicide, it had taken me days to gather the courage to jump that was until I learned she was there to jump too because of the s*it you did to her. The hell you put her through when she never did anything to you but love you,” he spat out.
I maintained my gaze on him, I did not want to show any sign that I was scared of him. “I thought I paid for that, why are you bringing the past?” I asked him, trying to hide my shock. Thalia really wanted to commit suicide.
My daughter was one day going to ask about what transpired between Thalia and myself and the shame of telling her the truth hit me. I was a horrible person that was the truth.
“I’m just reminding you of the hell you put her through that forced her to put you in hell too,” he replied. “She really wanted you to be put in a position where you walked on foot to that bridge and Jumped.”
I looked to my left looking for my phone, I needed to record him.
“Are you looking for this?” He asked, waving my phone. I tried to grab it but he moved. My stitches hurt and I almost cried out.
“Even if you recorded me I would just hire a hacker to erase it.”
“What do you want because I’m not backing out!” I yelled at him.
“I am curious? What would you do if that little angel grew up and a man betrayed her as you did to her mother?”
He asked a question that I could not bring myself to answer. I only turned and looked away.
He chuckled, “Well guess what? I would cut off that man’s balls without blinking. That’s why I am a better father than you!”
I turned to ignore the pain, “You are an animal and Amber would turn out bad if you raised her?”
“Who is Amber?” he inquired.
“Since you two are too s*upid to name her, I named her Amber?” I replied.
“keep the s*upid name to yourself, we will name her a name that fits her,” he replied.
“How much time do you have to live?” I asked and watched as his face turned paler. “It is just a pity that you will not be there when Thalia rots in prison.”
He burst out laughing irritating the life out of me,
“So you think if I die you will be able to lay your hands on that angel, wait a minute,” he said and walked to the door. He opened it and the same guy who earlier said he was the pilot walked in.
“Useless Josh, meet Nestor, this man is going to make sure you jump on that bridge should Thalia see the inside of a cell. He is my little brother and he gets custody while you and Thalia exchange cell prisons.If you think I am the devil then you should meet the little devil,” he spat out with so much venom.
I stared at the man who had a serious face on, he waved at me but I only kept my face blank, not giving out any emotions.
“Usually I’m bedridden or in a coma, while he carries out the hell on you,” the p*ycho stated with a smile.
“You do not scare me, your threats won’t work. You have to kill me if you want to shut my mouth!”
“I think he is going for a criminal case,” the young man stated while staring at me like he was reading my mind.
“What criminal case? We never did anything criminal to him,” the p*ycho joked.
“You caused that b*oody accident! Thalia confessed and she will have to lie under oath!” I yelled.
“What accident?” The young man asked.
“I think he is talking about the accident where his father hired men and doctors to cut off his testes so that he could sleep with his wife and steal the company under him,” the p*ycho replied.
I stared at them shocked
“Ooh yeah, and his father ordered the doctor to lie to him about the operation. Boss, did you order any doctors to lie to him?” The Young man asked.
“No no, we can call that doctor and ask him if I did, in fact, even his wife knew about it but she plotted with his father so that she could carry a Nelson in her womb.”
Rage filled me up as I was subjected to hearing how they planned to spin everything on my s*upid father. I began breathing erratically, I wanted to strangle them, I wanted to kill them but they were far from my reach.
“Your father dug your grave and if I were you I would jump in and bury myself,” the young man stated and led the way while the p*ycho walked behind waving at me with a sick grin on his face.
My monitors began flashing, and the nurses rushed in trying to calm me down. As they injected me with what I could only assume was going to put me to sleep. A tear dropped, they could easily frame my father.
The story was believable and there was no way Thalia was not going to go with them or maybe she was the one that sent them. I wanted my father to rot in hell but not at the cost of losing my Amber, I needed to think fast, there was probably a loop in their plot that I could counterattack them but sleep washed over me.
