Forrest — Chapter 37 Sin of A Father

FORREST

My plans worked.

AFTER SENDING an email to my mother that I made myself out alive from my father, I kept my end of the bargain, and I hoped he wouldn’t cross me now he knew my relationship to him. I changed a quarter from the amount I promise to Francois from one of my offshore accounts to Bitcoin and transferred to him. Then I wired him the rest from my two Cayman accounts.

I replied to an email to the company account in London to hire a new assistant for my mother so that Meadow would be out of the picture. I hadn’t checked my phone yet, and I knew Alan and Megan were worried shit.

As soon as the chartered jet landed, I asked the driver to head to Rexwell Tower where Sean was staying at his penthouse. I didn’t know why I had to settle with him when the only thing that tied me with my bastard father was blood.

I was a little bit antsy to just drop the bomb to Sean, but I had to clean up my name. I was just a little bit optimistic that one day, people would find out my connection to Francois Xavier.

Now my relationship with Megan was great, it was harder for me to keep my friends in the dark about my true identity. I couldn’t lie anymore to the people who cared about me, and I was already struggling to be someone who wasn’t me. Living in a lie was messing my head. I wanted my life back, the real person I left in London.

One of Sean Rexwell’s security allowed us to enter his building. My driver parked the car in the private parking area. One of the CCTV angled toward me as soon as I was outside the car. I must admit Sean was pretty tight when it came to his safety. The elevator slid open, one of his guys gestured us to enter.

“I’m good,” I told my driver.

He stopped and looked at me that I knew what to do when something went south. I nodded at him in understanding before I entered the elevator.

After a few ticks, the penthouse door swung open, revealing Sean Rexwell in a white crisp shirt and navy blue suit pants. The surprised look on his face was priceless when he saw me I was more dressy than he was.

He smiled, holding his hand out. “Good to see you, Wood.”

I shook his hand firmly. “Good to see you, too, Rexwell. I’m sorry for dropping by in such short notice.”

“I’m glad you came by. Please, come in.”

I followed him inside his well-polished living room.

“This is far from home, Wood. Is everything okay back there?”

Before I could answer, Saphoera walked in, smiling gleefully at me. “Look who’s here. So, it’s true then, huh? You and Meg?”

“Williams, leave Forrest alone,” Rexwell said, amused, kissing his girlfriend on the cheek.

“Fine. When I get back to New York, I won’t let that go.” She pointed her finger at me. “We have unfinished business. Anyway, nice to see you, and you clean up pretty well.”

“Good to see you, too, Saph. Thanks.”

Saph climbed upstairs. Then I faced Rexwell. “Can we talk a little bit more private.”

He eyed me warily for a few seconds before he spoke. “What’s this all about?”

“It’s important.”

“That must be. Follow me.” He marched toward the hallway, leading to probably his office. His penthouse was somehow had the same similar structure as mine. “When I received a call from the reception, I knew this is crucial, and you wouldn’t come all the way here to meet me. You could have just called me if this meeting doesn’t need to be discussed in person.”

“Thanks for understanding.” I drew a deep breath as he unlocked his office.

“But you’re making me worried, man.” His office had dark red oak wood from floor to ceiling and walled with shelves filled with hardbound books.

“Nothing to worry about.”

He went to the table with bottles of liquor and glasses. “Have a seat. I’m kind of surprised to see you in a fancy suit. I guess I know nothing about you after all.”

He came back with two glasses of whiskey and offered me a glass.

“Thanks.” I was sure that he wouldn’t see me the same Forrest again once I was done telling him the reason why I was here. He could’ve beat me into a bloody pulp in this very room without someone noticing us.

He sat on his desk after sipping the amber liquid. I sipped mine just to calm my nerves down.

He studied me when I was about to speak. “I am sure this has nothing to do with Megan, is it?” He laughed. “Because I don’t know if I can help. I can agree to be your kid’s godfather though. I won’t say no to that.”

“No. It has nothing to do with her. It’s about Francois Xavier.”

“I beg your pardon?” His body tensed, eyes widened as he stared at me in shock.

“I met him this afternoon,” I added.

Sean was still shocked to answer. He became pale, but he managed to close his mouth and blink.

“I’m sorry, Rexwell.”

“How do you know him? I thought he’s dead.”

I shook my head and stood up. “He’s alive. He’s dying, but he’s still breathing when I left him.”

“You didn’t answer me. How did you know that bastard.”

I looked away. My stomach clenched that I had a strong connection with the person who killed Sean’s real father. “He’s my father.”

Sean caught me off guard that landed me back to the chair. My heart jumped up to my throat as he pushed me hard and grabbed me by my shirt. He was furious, I got it, and he was shocked to figure out that after all this time, he had the son of his father’s murderer in their lair.

“Tell me you are joking, Wood or I swear to God,” he said in a scathing tone, grinding his teeth. He was shaking with rage.

I let him do whatever he wanted if that took at least a dot of the pain of what my father had inflicted him.

“I wish I am.” I met his hard and flinty stare.

“Do you want me to kill you? Is that why you are here? After all this time. Goddamn it! Was this all a part of a fucking game to you and your murderer of a father?”

“No. I don’t want to put my life on your hands, Sean. That’s the reason why I am here. I could have hurt you if I wanted to because no one had ever suspected me that I am the son of a murderer. I realized someone would eventually connect the dots, and I didn’t want that day to come.”

He let me go, stepping back, but the anger and disgust were still gleaming in his eyes. “Why are you telling me this? Why now?”

“Because I was also running away from him. That’s how I ended up in New York.”

“Yet, you met him this afternoon. How can I believe that you are telling the truth? That you didn’t come here to cut some loose ends?” He looked skeptical. That was totally understandable considering now he knew who I was. I was a stranger who knocked on his door, and I just blew off the bomb on his face.

I sipped the remaining drink. “Because I am nothing like him. Contrary to the fucking belief that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, but I am not my father. I loathed him for years. We were hiding from him for years. The moment I faced him this afternoon, the urge of ending his life was surging inside me, but if I did that for my satisfaction, then I ended up being just like him.” I hadn’t realized I was slowly revealing myself to Sean, and he did not miss a bit of it.

“What did he do to you?”

“He hurt my mother.”

“You still have a mother?” He seemed surprised.

I lifted my gaze even though I felt ashamed that now he knew I was the son of a murderer. “Yes. I kept away from her to protect her. Do you know how hard it is? For years, I missed my Mama and I have to meet her far from home. We’d been receiving info that someone was asking about me, that’s why I had to leave her.”

“Go on.”

“I didn’t want you to find out that I had a connection with him. For me, he was dead for years.”

“You do not seem to be the type of person who lies, but I don’t know what to believe anymore, Forrest Wood. If that is even your real name.”

“He’s staying in New York’s Duncan Hotel until tomorrow morning. You can do whatever you want to him. Besides, he’s not gonna live long. He just got out from chemo before he traveled.”

Sean paused and looked away as if thinking through the tidbits I spilled to him.

“I don’t want any involvement when the time comes. I want my life back. I want peace of mind. If he was involved or somehow he was the one who ordered to shoot your father, I am terribly sorry for that, but he and I are nothing alike. If he gets killed, I can assure you, I will be at peace. I may sound like a selfish bastard, but I would be glad that someone could cut the head of the snake, and my mother can finally live the life she deserves.”

“I don’t know how did you find out about my real father, but whatever he did before was awful, and you’re right, we are nothing like them.”

“I don’t know how to fix this, Rexwell.” I stood up, shoving my hands into my pockets. I wanted to breathe, but it seemed harder to do when I might have lost a good friend at this moment.

“I’m glad you came to tell me about this, but I care more about my family now. I won’t take avenge for him when until now I don’t even know the real reason behind his death. I don’t wanna get involved with his mess, but thanks for telling me. I appreciate it.”

“Thank you, Sean.” I let out a shaky sigh and sagged back against the chair. I rubbed my face, and my hands were still trembling.

Minutes ticked by. Sean hadn’t said another word. When I lifted my gaze, he was studying me.

“What?”

“You didn’t do this just for your mother alone. Don’t fool me.”

“Yes. For me and my mother.”

“And for Megan.”

My mouth slacked open.

“That’s what love does. It changes a person.”

“You’re wrong. A person changed because he’d been through hell, learned a lot, and probably tired of being the person who wasn’t he in the first place.”

“Whatever floats your boat, man.” He laughed, shaking his head in amusement. Not so long ago, he was collaring me, and now, it seemed like nothing happened between us. “But I am serious, Wood. Who the fuck are you?”

I shrugged. “I am no one.”

“I doubt that. You just said that you’re tired of being the person who is not you. And I can see through your eyes, that suit you’re wearing, your pose, the way you talk. It’s all started to peel off layer by layer. And that ring on your finger doesn’t tell nothing.” He was right.

The ring on my finger was an emblem used by the person who raised me to be the better version of me.

“Trust me, this is just a ring.”

“If my memory serves right, I met a few aristocrats in England, mostly Lords, and they call themselves as Oirdheirc Society. The owner of that ring is one of the members, am I right, Forrest fucking Wood?”

“Yeah.” I swallowed.

“Why did you have to handle it alone? You could’ve just asked for help. They don’t turn away from their brothers.”

“It was my fight, my battle with Francois, and certainly not Father’s. I couldn’t drag his name down with me. That’s was one of the many reasons I had to come and change my identity.”

“I’m glad you didn’t take his life into your hands.”

“Trust me, that’s the plan. I could’ve just hired a mercenary to end his miserable life, but I wanted to see his reaction once he knew I am still alive. But things changed lately.”

“Revenge won’t fill the void, Wood. It’s not gonna bring back the past. It will just drag you to the darkest part of yourself until you don’t recognize yourself anymore. That’s one thing my adopted father told me.”

“He seems a good man.”

“Yeah. He is.”

My phone suddenly rang. It was one of my employees at Atto Tech. “Excuse me. I have to take this.”

“Sir, there’s a little a little bit of hiccup.”

“What do you mean?”

“Bill is admitted to the hospital.” The call ended.

I was already pursing my lips as the anger and disappointment spiraled inside me. He fell off the wagon again.

Then my phone rang again. Great. I answered the call because I knew he wouldn’t call me when it was not an emergency. “Davis.”

“Ms. Simons is gone.”