Chapter 29: Sacrifice

Katelyn Bishop

They may have told you differently, but this much is true. The hardest part isn't falling. The hardest part is hitting the ground and shattering into a million pieces. With his slam of the door, Katelyn felt more empty than she'd ever been.

This is how it feels, she told herself. This is what it feels like for the most important person in your life decides they can not trust you. This is what feels like to fall in love. This is what it feels like to fall apart. Katelyn's eyes dampened their bright spark as Drake held out the bag for her.

Katelyn stuttered out a quiet reply, "maybe I- I should let them find the body of Lewis."

Drake's eyes flamed concern. "Why? So you can go to jail for a crime you never committed?"

Katelyn's eyes dragged around. "I might as well of committed him. If he believes I am capable of such things, why can't other people believe it too? They already think I have something to do with Wynn and Jared. It would make sense that I'd do something to Lewis. It fits their story. Why wouldn't I give them the story they want?"

"Because...Kate...we may not agree on everything, but there's one thing we both know. That man loved you before any of us got involved and started manipulating you. And after he gets his memory back, he'll love you again. I have faith in you guys."

Katelyn hesitated in replying for a second. Finally, Katelyn cut her blue eyes up to Drake's.

"There's not much else to do but turn myself in. I can't waste my time thinking he ever loved me. I think that's what hurt me most. Staying up all night and talking about the night that haunted me for years, that was the man I fell in love with. But he never said anything about what we were.
Did he love me? Or was I just some shiny and new foreign object for him? Was I his novelty flavor of the month?"

Drake sighed. "Does it really matter? Was your life really that great before you two met?"

Katelyn gawked and was speechless about this accusation. Drake took that as an answer.

"Being with someone doesn't make your life complete. You make your life complete. It may take someone else to realize just how complete you became, but it will happen. Someday you'll wake up happy and nothing else will matter, but until then, you need to live in the hope that someday you'll realize just complete you are," Drake said.

Katelyn's jaw shuttered closed. The realization hit her almost immediately. Katelyn couldn't hold in the budding smile dancing on her lips.

Drake drew a confused expression at this.

"What?" Drake asked.

Katelyn laughed. "You're acting like a best friend would."

Drake turned away with her arms crossed archly. "No, I'm not!"

"You care." Katelyn grinned ear to ear.

"No. Don't be ridiculous. You're just here to help me kill Carter. That's it!"

Katelyn put her hand on Drake's shoulder. "It's okay. You can tell me."

"Fine! I care! I don't want you shot or ending up in prison. I don't want to be in this alone. I want friends. I'm just not good with people. Annie hates me for doing what I did and getting pregnant with Carter's kid. I just saw it as the only option. And then I saw you...but I know that doesn't change anything. I'm still so sorry about making Flint disappear. I just didn't-"

A grumble came from the couch where Lewis had laid.

Katelyn and Drake both rushed over. He moaned for a moment and then Lewis's chocolate eyes opened in surprise. Drake splayed an awed reaction across her face to him awakening.

"I thought he was dead," Drake muttered out.

"Lewis?" Katelyn asked.

The clone sat up. Katelyn stared at him intently. Slowly, the clone looked up at Katelyn. An unusual look befell his face as he stared up at her. Katelyn felt his soft skin she touched his hand. The clone jerked away.

Drake wasn't keen on fooling around. She got straight to the point. "Where's Carter?"

The clone looked up at her confused. "Why would you want to know where he is?"

"Carter is a bad man, Lewis...okay this freaky. I can't call you Lewis. You're not him...but you look exactly like him."

"Call me whatever you'd like, but I can't help you find Carter."

Katelyn and Drake looked at each other. "Why not?"

The clone sighed like it was obvious. "Clones can't get close to each other. I'm out of Jay's satellite range so he can't control me now, but once he does, he'll be unstoppable."

"What?" Katelyn and Drake said in unison.

Drake's eyes dragged away thinking. "Does that mean..."

The clone nodded. "Carter is a clone. Jay Farley made him. Carter's his science experiment. I suppose we all are, but Carter and me are the only living clones from it. I got away before he could use me to get you, Kate."

"Does that mean...he has the real Lewis?" Katelyn asked.

He nodded back to her. "He has every one of us. He's making copies to infiltrate your life Kate."

"Even Wynn?"

"Especially her-"

A sharp knock at the door interrupted them. "Katelyn Bishop. We have a warrant out for your arrest. We can do this the easy way or the hard way Ms. Bishop. Which will it be?"

The clone looked over at the door. "What was that?"

Katelyn cleared her throat. "Long story."

Drake cut her eyes up at Katelyn in concern. "How are we going to get out of this Kate?"

Katelyn smiled wide in response. " It's simple. We're not. We're going to give Carter just what he wants."

Both the clone and Drake gaped at this, "huh?" they asked in unison.

Katelyn shushed them both." I want him to catch me," Katelyn said with strong resolve.

"What? Do you have an urge to be shot or skewered by Jay or Carter? They will kill you. Jay thinks you're the reason that he and his mother were shot. He wants revenge. What makes you think you can negotiate with a lunatic?" Drake asked.

Katelyn ignored Drake's words. Her eyes quickly trailed to Lewis's clone. "I am going to call you Blake so I don't confuse you with the real Lewis." She paused a moment looking at him. Finally, she spoke again. "Blake, do you think you can take care of Drake while I'm gone?"

Blake solemnly nodded. Katelyn's eyes moved back to Drake who still stood there with an agape mouth and an awed expression. "Drake. You're going to have to let me go. You're going to get what you want someday. Just don't follow me. I have this all worked out. I may not end up with Flint, but I have to save all of you."

A tear trickled from Drake's crystal eyes. Another forcibly knock broke out and Katelyn slowly walked to the door.

Her heart thundered as Drake and Blake watched her intently.

Katelyn turned away for the last time and reached for the knob.

Finally, she opened the door and almost immediately cuffs were stretched against her skin as they pulled her away. Tears pooled in Katelyn's eyes as she followed the officers in a daze while they put her in the police cruiser.

The sirens blared in her ears as they sped away. So many questions flitted by her. They asked why she killed them. They asked her what her plan was. They knew nothing, but they acted like they knew everything. Katelyn didn't know what to say to them. She just followed along.

Sitting on an iron chair while they interrogated her, Katelyn's heart began to slow down. It was all becoming so easy. All she was doing was waiting for Jay or Carter to come along and try to kill her.The police, however, they wanted answers.

"Why did you kill Wynn Silver?" one of them asked again, causing Katelyn to look back at them.

"Kill her?" she sarcastically taunted them.

The officers ironed another hard pressed gaze into her. Katelyn was unaffected. The officers tried taking another stab at her. Handing her a photo of Jared they asked, "what connection did you have to Jared Morgan, huh? We looked, you're not his ex-secretary or a former lover of him. So why try to assassinate him? What do you have to gain from all of this?"

Katelyn scoffed a reply. "Me? Gaining something from any of this? If anything, I lost everything from this."

"So why did you do this Ms. Bishop?"

Katelyn crossed her arms. She had to make this believable.

Looking straight into the officer's icy gaze, Katelyn spoke evenly. "Jared Morgan killed my mother in cold blood."

One of the officers shifted their weight of their arm on the iron table. "So why kill Wynn Silver, then? Wasn't Jared enough?"

Katelyn laughed. "You act like any of this will be enough for him."

Both of the officers perked up. "Him?" they repeated inquisitively.

Katelyn shook her head. "No I mean. I did this alone. I didn't do this for anyone but myself."

"Really?" the officers quizzed her.

Suddenly, a knock rattled off the door. Katelyn casted her glance downwards. The officers, meanwhile, looked up to see who was at the door. Soon, both of the officers had an identical smile on their face. Katelyn looked up at them in confusion.

Finally, a voice lifted her eyes to meet the man at the door. "It's okay guys. I have it from here," he said confidently.

Katelyn's eyes met Jared in a blaze of feeling. Soon, Jared sat down across from Katelyn. His steel grey eyes trapped her inside his gaze. Raking away his hair, Jared stared intently at Katelyn, waiting for her to speak first.

With nothing to say, Katelyn stuttered. "I-"

Jared shushed her. "We don't have much time. Carter is going to come in here and bail you out only to kill you."

Katelyn put her hands comfortingly on Jared's. "But that's what I want Jared."

Jared's expression dropped in awe. "Kate, we may not have been that close, but I still love you. I may not be in love with you, but I still love you. I want to save you. Why won't you let me save you?"

Katelyn scoffed. "Why is it always guys saving the day? Why can't I save my own day? I do love you Jared, but I have to do this on my own."

"He's going to kill you, Kate."

"Do I look like the person without a plan?"

Jared looked up her down. "Yeah, you do look like the brazen type that would go in without a plan or any help."

Katelyn chuckled as tears began forming around her eyes. "I might have to sacrifice myself for this plan, but I do have one. I need you to take care of Flint while I'm gone though. He doesn't remember us and he's with Carter, so be careful, but tell him the truth. Just don't tell him about what we were. I want him to remember that on his own. Just tell him that you're his brother."

"But Kate-"

"Remember me, Jared. I may have been a poor girl who got caught up with the wrong brothers, but I was never the victim."

Jared took a deep breath in as a single tear fled his eyes in escape.

Turning away, Jared yelled out to the officers. "Keep her here. Let her feel like the criminal she is. That animal only cares about herself. Let her feel the whole wrath of her actions. She killed my wife...and for that, she will perish. I'll make sure of it."

The officers nodded and entered the room with her.

Yanking her once again, Katelyn was moved to a cell. Grey iron bars surrounded her as she silently plead for this part of her plan to be over. Fear rattled through her as she sat on the cold iron bed. Hours passed as her nerves cracked all over. Carter hadn't come yet.

Anxiety rolled through her as she thought about it intensely.

Maybe Carter already guessed her plan. Maybe Blake was a spy. Maybe Flint told Carter about her. Maybe the world was ending and she couldn't do anything to stop it.

Her heart thundered quieter and quieter as the hours trickled down to complete and vast darkness.

Katelyn melted into the minutes as she awaited her doom. Slinking her head back finally, Katelyn fell asleep.

A few moments later, however, she was sharply awoken by a creaking. Katelyn quickly jerked awake. Clenching her fists, a shadowy figure illuminated over her as the figure unlocked the iron door.

Katelyn quaked in fear as she hoarsely asked, "Carter? Is that you?"

Immediately, the figure stood over her and grasped her neck with a strong hold. Quickly applying pressure to her neck, Katelyn gasped for air. Katelyn could only choke out a few words as the figure kept grasping her neck with immense pressure.

Struggling, she exclaimed, "Who...are...you?"

The figure smirked a cunning and clever smile as it replied. "I am Ryan Morgan. The father of Flint and Jared. And you...you are the witch who caused my first wife to die."

Katelyn coughed out, "no. That was my Aunt Erin. I did nothing... I swear"

"Oh really?"

Katelyn gulped bitterly. "Really."

"So you're not the reason Jay is loose?"

Katelyn replied softly. "I am, but-"

"Jay has my new wife, Helena. He has my new wife captive, and its all your fault," he said poignantly.

Ryan's grip on her neck strengthened in the cold dark air and Katelyn started losing consciousness. Her lungs begged for oxygen, but her throat only tightened in response. She was going to die before ever putting her plan into action.

But that's just the problem with sacrifice.

Sometimes you never get to see it all work out because you're already dead.

Thank you for reading! Sorry for that long hiatus between updates. I was on vacation for one thing and second I was having a little writer's block. Anyways...we now get to meet Flint's parents...how will this work out? Will Ryan kill Kate before Carter can get to her? Where are the real Lewis, Helena and Wynn being held? What is Jay planning to do once Kate is dead?

I love you guys so much for reading. ❤❤❤