The Con Man

Chapter Thirty-Five

Ethan walked in to see Belle gaining her consciousness.

"Hey Isabelle...you okay?" Ethan said quietly as he made his way to her.

"I...can I please have some water"

Ethan reached for the glass of water next to her hospital bed and held the glass to her mouth as she drank.

"Where is Hazel?" Belle asked as soon as she was finished drinking the water.

"She is in the children ward. They are just doing some tests to make sure is perfectly fine. I was with her only. She has gone to sleep and doctor told me to leave and let her recover. So I came here."

"And Alex...?" Belle asked, fearing what she would hear as the answer.

"He is still in surgery. The doctors have assured that he is out danger as the bullet missed vital organ but the bullets shattered two of his ribs but his condition is stable."

Isabelle closed her eyes, taking in the news. Both Hazel and Alex were out of danger. Then she remembered Daniel.

"Ethan..."

"He was pronounced dead at the spot Isabelle. He took a bullet to his head and neck while trying to save Hazel. He would have gotten them in his back but he leaned down to cover her body and they hit him in his head and neck. There was nothing the doctors could do. I am so sorry Belle."

"His body..."

"Alex is his next of kin"

Belle nodded and tears flowed down her cheeks. Belle fell back asleep crying.

Ethan looked at Belle's sleeping form. There was one last thing that he needed to handle.

Two days later.

Ethan had gone back to New York to handle some urgent issues.

Belle had been surprised when she had seen her crying mother sitting next to her bedside when Belle had woken up the next day. They had cried and hugged and Martha had told Belle that she knew about everything but was helpless to do anything. Belle had told her to let the past be past and free herself from that man. George Hawking was in prison and facing a lifetime imprisonment for murder and kidnapping.

Her mother had taken Hazel with her and they were now at a hotel where Martha had checked in.

Belle sat next to Alex's bedside and pushed back hair from his forehead. He needed a haircut. His hair almost covered his eyes.

It had been two days since the incident and Alex had not woken up yet. The doctors said he had hit his head hard when he had fallen from the taking the bullets. She was informed that it was nothing to worry about and he was just taking his time to heal. His ribs were well on their way to recovery without any complications.

"Alex...I love you." Belle said as she held his hand.

"You know ever since my childhood, I had seen how relationships worked, well at least around me. My parents were perfect to one another but only I knew what happened behind the closed gate and how much my father hurt my mother but he always used to say that he loved her. I saw my mother's bruises and cuts. I could hear my mother beg but she was always on the receiving end of all that"love". I was scared and thought maybe he did it because I was a girl and couldn't help him with his company. I thought that is why he always hurt her. I stopped believing in relationship and love and instead focused on learning to be a businesswoman so that he could see that I was perfectly capable of running his company and leave my mother alone. I never understood why my mother never left that man. I was afraid to ever let love have that kind of influence on me. All I wanted to do was please him so that he could leave her alone but he never intended that. Then you came into my life and made me believe in love. I thought maybe I was lucky enough to have a chance at it unlike my parents but then misunderstanding happened and I once again locked myself in. I thought that all this which happened with us just proved that love could never exist but once again I was wrong. You made my life shine again Alex and I will not let go of that sunshine. I will treasure it. I promise you that I will never let anything come in between us. I love you so much, Alexander."