Chapter 19 Resurface

After the meeting and after the nine people in the room came to their agreed upon decision, everyone left some like Trisha left quick in a huff but most left more gradually one by one each of them left and in the end all who were left in the room were Heathcliff and Bruno, they still remained in their seats neither moving an inch after a while Heathcliff got to his feet using his cane and made his way to the exit. Before he opened the door he spoke to his son still in his spot, he never looked at him because he didn't want to even see the sight of him.

"Didn't I tell you boy, I told you that sleeping with such a vile woman would bring ruin to us all and not only did you lay with her you procreated with her, now you have sullied are family's blood with her's."

The old man's hands were shaking out of pure rage.

"Because of the mistake you made, because you seemed too weak to correct it, we are in this predicament we are in now."

The older man remained standing where he was seething with anger.

"Let me assure you of something, Bruno Sullivan if your little… fuck up fucks everything up, if we are hindered by him again if are family is dragged down into the same gutter that he crawled out of I promise you Bruno."

At this Heathcliff turned to look at Bruno and their eyes met in that moment the old man couldn't hold back his anger, his eyes were burning with rage.

"I promise you I will kill you… I will kill you Bruno, you and your bastard son and I won't stop there I'll kill your family as well…. Do you understand me."

He did but the older man didn't wait to hear his response after he finished telling his son his lethal promise Heathcliff walked out the room slamming the door as he did, Bruno sat there for a little while longer just soaking in everything that had happen transpired over the last 45 minutes, his not sure how long he sat there but when he felt it was long enough he got to his feet and left like all the others, when he exited the meeting room his eyes landed on his older brother Nolan leaning against a far wall, he was waiting for him but not to say anything to him when he finally left the room Nolan gave his brother a smile and a wink. Bruno didn't respond to his brother he simply walked down the stairs and left the main mansion; it took him a while to get home he seemed to walk aimlessly his mind was to jumbled with thoughts to be sorted his knees felt weak he thought he was going to throw up.

If you'd had asked him about 15 years ago earlier before the meeting he would have told you that stage in his life where he was weak and unfaithful to his wife was over, and all the things that came from it were in the pass now and when he told you that he would have honestly thought what he was telling the gods honest truth but his past somehow wiggled its why back into his life. Was it fate he thought as he walked with no purpose was this punishment he walked and walked until he found himself at his front door, he stared blankly at the closed door until one of the maids stationed to his house opened the door for him, for a brief second he could have sworn the maid that opened the door was Jeanette he remember all those years ago when he would return home Jeanette would open the door and say.

"Welcome home Mr. Sullivan."

She would say those words so softly and so sweet that it was like honeysuckle to the ears, then she would smile that warm smile of hers and he would say.

"Jeanette how many times do I have to tell you please just call me Bruno it weird when you call me Mr. Sullivan."

He would then run his fingers through his hair and laugh awkwardly as she took his coat, but the maid that opened the mansion door wasn't Jeanette even though she gave him a nice smile it wasn't as warm and inviting as Jeanette's when, she smiled at him he truly felt like he was home this maid greeted him like Jeanette.

"Welcome home Mr. Sullivan."

But he didn't feel the need to correct her like he would do with Jeanette, there was no playful banter no blushing no bashful smile he just said.

"Yes, thank you."

As he stepped through the door when she was still here, when Jeanette was still working in Bruno's home that's when it truly felt like a home and after she left it was worst then it was before, it was colder more frigid but over time it started to warm up. Bruno and his wife Diana who had such a rocky start to their marriage began to warm up to each other the tension melted they got closer and after years of trying they finally had a child of their own, for the first time without the help from Jeanette Bruno's house felt like a home but he could feel it all starting to crash down as he walked up his mansion stairs. Each step he took felt heavier than the last as he reached the top many of their houses' servants tried to speak to, but he mindlessly shooed them away as he was walking towards his bedroom the room, he shared with his wife happily for almost 15 years. When he reached for the bedroom door he could feel his loss of breath, but he pushed through it as he opened the door before him was his wife Diana sitting on their bed and knelling in front of her with their back to his wife was his daughter, their daughter Nora, Diana was doing the young woman's hair as they laughed and giggled when Bruno opened the door she turned in his direction and smiled then turned back to what she was doing.

"Hello dear, welcome home how was the meeting did you all come to an agreement on what to do with the intruder."

But he didn't waste time making idle chit chat he went straight for it he just wanted to get it over with he wanted this to all end now he needed this nightmare to end.

"Diana, I need to talk to you, Nora sweetie, could you give me and your mother a minute alone."

Diana faced scrunched up.

"Well hold on hold on I just got the girl to stop squirming you know it's impossible to continue doing this tender headed girls' hair once you've paused."

She chuckled and so did the girl, but Bruno didn't he was filled with agony.

"Diana it's really important and I have to talk to you about, and I need to talk to you about it now."

Diana didn't stop or motion for the girl to move she continued doing her hair.

"Well, if it's so important dear then go on and say it, Nora isn't a kid any more she can listen in while we have a discussion."

He should have persisted more but against his better judgement he didn't he told her everything, everything that had gone done during the meeting, the unknown secrets that were revealed a past they both thought was dead and gone had now clawed its way back from the depths of hell, the more he spoke the more the old wound Diana had begun to reopen, and sadly the girl that hadn't be forced to leave heard it all and her perception on a man she had looked up to since she was only a little girls started to shift. It was painful the words he spoke were painful especially to Diana, but it reached its apex when he revealed that the boy wouldn't be executed that on this day he would be seen as a Sullivan, and just like Heathcliff Diana wasn't pleased.