𝑺 𝑬 𝑹 𝑬 𝑵 𝑰 𝑻 𝒀 (18+)

twenty-four

S E R E N I T Y

♥

Though Katrina's confession was fairly sound, there was one thing I didn't understand. What could possibly be her father's motive? I didn't get why he was there, or why he thought taking out Andrew would solve all of his problems—

So I made Katrina spell it out.

Her father had gotten himself in a bind with the business. He lost an entire shipment of drugs, the monetary value being over 1.5 million dollars worth of product. He was scared shitless and he had every right to be. Katrina wouldn't tell me who exactly they were involved with but they didn't take incompetence lightly.

They'd given him a deadline. Two weeks to give them money for the missing product or kiss his comfy life goodbye. He went to Katrina's home in a frenzy, begging her for the remaining money in her trust fund. You see, Mr. Armstrong didn't just provide travel for drugs, he was also an avid user. He'd managed to run his family's remaining wealth into the ground to support his habit. What was left was tied into the legitimate side of his business and there was no way for him to get his hands on it.

Katrina however was short 500,000 dollars which put her father at a disadvantage. He'd flown into a rage, placing the blame on his sweet daughter Katrina. She'd given him her all, wasted most of her twenties dating men she had no interest in, and planting evidence that made her stomach curl. She was tired, she was angry, and she was fed up.

The wheels in my head began to churn, how did framing her romantic partners bring the Armstrongs any money? It was simple. Katrina would give the men a price to make the charges go away. They pay up, they're in the clear. They refuse? They go to jail.

I could hardly wrap my head around anything she was telling me. If she'd gone through with her plans for Andrew she would have probably made the money to save her father's livelihood. Why didn't she do it?

For love of course.

I was being a tad dramatic but she did have a change of heart, or so she said. After her father's ranting he'd made himself so sick he had to expel the contents of his stomach. While he was in the bathroom Andrew made his appearance, demanding to know how he knew of me and Noah's relationship. Sex wasn't enough to get him to spill so she resorted to her least favorite method. Coercion. She drugged him, asked him deep and personal questions, then tucked him into bed and left a sweet note for him to wake up to.

Obviously, Andrew was livid when he found out.

Feeling the weight of her actions finally crush her; Katrina fell to her knees and begged for his forgiveness but Andrew wouldn't hear it. He was planning to end it all and confess for her, only her father had heard everything from the bathroom. He rushed out and knocked Andrew to the ground. Katrina screamed for him to stop but he was blinded by rage and fear. He searched her kitchen for a weapon, settling for a knife she'd left out that morning.

And then he stabbed Andrew.

Katrina made him leave, then she called the police, and we all ended up at St. Rose Hospital on a random Thursday morning.

My brother took Katrina to the police station because I didn't trust her enough to make it on her own. She made one request before she left, to tell Andrew how sorry she was. She didn't deserve his forgiveness but it wasn't my place to take that away from him so I  agreed.

But it burned me to do so.

I took a second to catch my breath before re-entering the hospital. The adrenaline had worn off and now it was replaced with fear. How bad was the stab wound? He was already in critical condition, what if he didn't make it?