Landon had heard the very words he had hoped not to. He could see the agony filling her as she uttered those words; "I killed him." Whatever was left of her innocence had now been swooshed away with the wind. No matter how long it takes her to come to terms with the act of taking the life of another, it would always remain an indelible trauma.
All this he thought whilst he held onto her empathetically, like he understood perfectly how she felt. It was a moment suspended in time, filled with an unbearable weight that seemed to crush the air around her.
"It was an accident, and we both know he deserved it," Camile said intently, stressing each word to make certain the importance of her statement was impressed upon the both of them. Her voice was steady, almost rehearsed, as if she had been preparing for this confrontation long before it unfolded. Landon could see the determination in her eyes, a fierce loyalty to Katherine that was both admirable and concerning.
"He had parents and a family, and I took him away!" Katherine raised her voice in protest, guilt laced in every word, and the tears flowed even more. Her body shook with sobs, each one a reminder of the gravity of her actions. Landon felt his heart ache for her.
"There was no way you could've known this was gonna happen," Camile relentlessly continued her correction, like she had been doing since she arrived at the apartment. "His death was an accident, and his blood is not on your hands." She pointed to the body lying on the giant bed, a stark reminder of the life that had been lost. The sight was haunting, and Landon struggled to comprehend the chaos that had unfolded.
Katherine was too weak to argue further; instead, she sobbed some more as Landon wrapped both arms around her, trying to provide a semblance of comfort amidst the storm of emotions. He stayed silent throughout the exchange, trying to process the situation the best he could. How could this have happened? What had led to this tragic turn of events?
Landon asked, "How did he die?" The question slipping out before he could stop it. He needed to understand; he needed to grasp the reality of the situation, unpleasant as it was.
"It was during the party." Katherine began, her voice shaky and tinged with urgency. "Things got out of hand. You know how it is with these gatherings—everyone's drinking, and then there are the drugs. He was acting erratically, pushing everyone's buttons so I sent them all home early."
She paused for a moment then went on, tears still streaming down her face. "He was... he was always like that. He used to blackmail me into staying with him, threatening to expose things I did. I thought I could handle it, but that night... it was different. He was more aggressive than usual."
Landon felt a surge of anger at the thought of someone manipulating his sister like that. "What do you mean by blackmail?" he pressed, even though his voice remained indifferent, Camile could notice his eyes grow darker.
Katherine head sunk, staring long and hard at nothing in particular.
Camile interjected "He had pictures," Her voice steady and controlled. "Some of her from previous parties, intimate pictures of both of them, you name it. She was trapped, Landon. If she ever tried to leave him, he'd expose them."
Katherine took over, "That night, he cornered me. He was high and out of control. He started yelling, saying he would ruin my life if I even thought about leaving. It escalated quickly."
Katherine's sobs intensified as she recalled the moment. "I just wanted him to stop. I didn't mean to hurt him. I just wanted him to leave me alone. I pushed him away, and he stumbled and fell… Then he started choking, wheezing and gasping for air. I tried to call an ambulance but he was dead before I got to the phone."
Camile held her still as she was overwhelmed from having to relive the nightmare. "She called me instead."
Arnold had started to worry, the sliding door was slightly open so he could hear the voices speaking inside the bedroom, but couldn't make out what exactly was being said.
He strode towards the room inquisitively and asked as soon as he got there if everything was alright. "All good boss?"
Landon's attention is turned away from his sister for the first time since he stepped into her bedroom, whipping his head towards Arnold instantly.
"Not exactly. How soon could we get Dani here?" The vagueness of the reply was abated by the question which followed. There were only a few reasons for Dani's services and none of them good.
"Not soon, she's not in the country." Arnold responded promptly, eyes wandering to where the body laid.
"Alejandro?" Landon stood up now, he had a duty, not just to comfort her but to make this all go away. That's why Camile called him regardless of how shattered their relationship was.
Now wasn't the time to question how she knew he was capable but one thing was for sure; this had to be handled carefully or the Archer family would drown underneath the tide of many brewing scandals. The guilt would be impossible for Katherine to recover and Lucia doesn't deserve any of it. Camile understood this.
"He's still serving time for the assault charges." Arnold reminded him what he seemed to have forgotten. He kept tabs on all the people he dealt with but hardly ever required the services of fixers.
Landon sighed in frustration, death wasn't something he could ever get used to, he needed to make absolutely certain there wasn't an ounce of guilt leading to Katherine and whatever the bastard was using to blackmail her had to be gone completely.
Katherine was a simmering broth of strong emotions, overwhelming grief and insurmountable guilt being the most prominent but panic and anxiety were starting to join the mix.
Camile remained her infallible self, she had taken Landon's place at Katherine's side, soothing her and assuring her this wasn't her fault even if she was having a hard time believing it.
"I know a guy who could help. He's local and could get here within the hour." Arnold announced and immediately piqued Landon's interest.
"He hasn't been vetted through the proper channels though, has he?" He wasn't one for impulsively assigning jobs to personnel he had not beforehand tested their professionalism.
"No but this isn't a conventional situation, he's meticulous and discreet." Arnold tried to assure his boss.
"This isn't just business. It's my family, so he better be." Landon said and Arnold responded with a simple nod then reached for his cellphone in his pocket while turning to walk away.
Landon went over to Katherine as Camile sat by her side. "It's gonna be okay, I promise." These weren't mere words to calm her amidst all the fear that clouded her but something he truly meant.
Camile noticed once again his demeanor hadn't changed, they never gave any answers or revealed his true state of mind and she had many questions. Asking some of them might not be best for Katherine right now so she was reluctant to ask them.
"What are you gonna do?" Camile hesitantly decided to ask.
He answered unceremoniously, "Exactly what you called me here to do."
"The fixer's en route." Arnold informed, as soon as the call ended.
"When all this is over, I'll take you to the house and you can spend some time with mom, okay?" He said and Katherine instantly had a look of disapproval.
"No! I can't go there. I wanna stay with Camile." Katherine protested and Landon let out an exasperated sigh. Their bond was much stronger than anything he could possibly be comfortable with.
Camile pulled him outside the bedroom so they could have a quick word.
"I'll take her to my home, she'll be safe there." She assured. "I wanna help, whatever it is I can do just let me know." Her offer somehow served only to upset him.
"What good was your help when she was being blackmailed by an abusive partner?" His ever blank tone didn't do much to mask the venom behind his words.
Camile responded defensively, "I've been there for her in more ways than you could ever be and just so you know, I was taking care of it, he just happened to die first."
"We're gonna need his phone, laptop, whatever devices he owns, his home and work address and anything else that might be useful." Just as he finished speaking his phone rang and it was Marcus.
"It's not a good time Marcus." He announced bluntly immediately he picked up the call, excusing himself from Camile by walking a few meters away.
"I'll be quick, I promise. Do you want the good news or the bad news first?" He proceeded regardless of Landon's remark.
Landon sighed in frustration, "You promised to be quick Marcus."
"Alright good news then." Marcus ignored his friend's disinterest and enthusiastically went about delivering his message. "My government buddies found the girl. Her name's Roselind Park.
"And…?" Landon questions impatiently, signalling Marcus to get on with the bad news already.
"She's dead." Marcus announced bluntly. Landon who had previously been completely disinterested was now paying full attention to Marcus who was speaking through the phone.
"Been that way for the past six months." A million thoughts flooded into Landon's head as he tried to make sense of the information he had just received.
"That's impossible." He reacted the very way anyone else would whilst he tried to come up with a possible explanation for why he had spent last night with a ghost.