The Beast of Stornoway

Chapter 87: Van

Van sat in a small conference room waiting for John Oberman to attend the rescheduled meeting with Amani. He didn't want her going back to work, not until her nausea and brain fog subsided. Dr. Dougan told him she'd have some slight side effects from the drug mixture and she would need at least a week to recover.

He didn't want to be in the office either. He should be at home taking care of Amani, but she insisted he attend this bloody meeting in her place. He couldn't argue with that pleading look in her eyes and he didn't want to fight with her. He knew she wouldn't rest as she needed to if he didn't come here today.

He slid his hand over his mouth and clenched his eyes shut. He couldn't get her frightened look or her panicked voice out of his mind. He had never been that scared in his life. The fear of losing her constantly plagued his thoughts now. He shook his head and blinked back his tears. He couldn't imagine his life without her now and he could've lost her so easily.

She's alright, Blarcum. She's home.

His security agents were stationed at the manor now. She was safe. No one could gain access to his home without his authorization. That would never happen again. It shouldn't have happened in the first place. He wiped a tear rolling down his cheek at the memory of the IV stuck in her arm and the oxygen tubes in her nose. He knew Rebecca was crazy, but he never thought she'd try to kill his little witch.

That vile, disgusting woman would pay for that. He was still working with the police to keep her behind bars for the time being. They'd denied his mother and her parents' requests to release her on bail. A tight smile curled on his lips.

Catriona forgets that Stornoway is *my* island.

She never had any influence over the people there. Rebecca would sit in that jail cell until he was ready to go to trial.

It would drive Rebecca insane to be around such lowly people and dressed in such dingy clothes. She'd be begging to be released, but Van would let her suffer for a while. He'd agree to release her as long as she made a statement from her jail cell that she was calling off the wedding.

Then he'd sweeten her torture by making the police publicly display the date of her murder trial. He'd flood her social media channels with all the evidence he had on her too. He was going to make sure everyone knew what she'd done and what kind of vile person she was. She'd never be able to show her face in public again.

I just need the ownership of the manor before I do that.

No, even if he didn't have it, he had to go through with this. This was about defending Amani's honor and he wasn't letting Rebecca get away with what she'd done. He'd have her killed, but that was too easy. Being nothing and a nobody to the Mionlach would be far worse than death for her.

"Lord Blarcum, I wasn't expecting you." John chuckled as he came into the conference room holding his laptop and a pile of paperwork under his arm.

Van looked up at him as he settled into the chair across from him. "Yes, I'm filling in for Amani. I hope you don't mind. She's...she's still not feeling well."

John shook his head. "I don't mind at all, but I hope Amani's alright?" he said and shuffled around some paperwork. "You look a bit rundown yourself. We could've rescheduled this."

He cleared his throat and sat up straight. "No, I'm fine. She seemed pretty adamant that this meeting goes on. " A smile tugged at his lips. "She's really passionate about this project so I figured I'd do my best to be her substitute."

John raised an eyebrow. "That surprises me, m'Lord. You've never liked these types of financial audits."

"I don't, but it's important to her that this gets done. So, here I am."