Mercer Boutique Hotel, Downtown Boston...

"I can't believe this," Mariah breathed to herself for what felt like the umpteenth time as she and Andrew were currently under police protection after witnessing her Alex and Leigh-Anne shoot down the former's twin brother after being stunned with the truth behind Hezekiah's death and the reason he was hated by Jeffrey and Adelle. After watching her parents, Alex, and Leigh-Anne being led away in handcuffs and Cameron being taken away in an ambulance to Boston General Hospital; it became clear that everything that her family believed in was distorted in dark secrets and lies as two people paid the heavy price with their lives.

Regarding Hezekiah, she knew that his birth was not his fault with him being the son of disgraced and murdered chauffer scorned by their mother. And yet, she participated in the hatred against him. As for Cameron, she knew that he was right for defecting against the family. If she was under Minnie Jean's care with the boys, she would've made sure to do right by Hezekiah in the first place.

But it was too late to turn back time.

"Mariah?"

Said woman snapped out of her thoughts to face her betrothed, the senator's son still reeling from what he witnessed. "Yeah?"

"Still shaken from earlier?"

Mariah nodded. "Everything that I was taught by Mom and Dad about how Hezekiah was the product of rape and how he wasn't meant for their family- all lies," she replied. "And now, Cameron's in the fight of his life while this family is now disgraced."

Andrew sighed. "You never knew anything about what your parents were planning regarding Cameron?"

She shook her head. "I assumed that Cameron was heading back to England after the ceremony, firmly deciding to cut ties with everyone after today. Couldn't blame him regarding the circumstances."

"Can't argue with that. What do you think's going to happen after today?"

Mariah sighed. "All I know is that I can't stick around after today, not after what I know about Hezekiah," she replied. "Andy, I actually helped in tearing down one of the two siblings who had common sense and was more practical than I'd thought I was. If it wasn't for his death, he might've gone places and enjoyed life far from Mom and Dad's clutches. I'll never forgive myself for not being a good sister to him."

"It's going to be okay, Mariah," Andrew assured his fiance.

"How, Andy? I may not have ended his life, but I might as well have allowed Mom and Dad execute the order to have the bodyguards kill him," she replied, tears running down her face with her mascara being ruined. "I'm the worst sister in the world. If Cameron dies in the same way that Hezekiah did, I'll have innocent blood on my hands."

There was a knock at the door. "Come in," Andrew said.

A stout, middle-aged officer came into the room. "Miss Chamblee and Mr. Coleman? I just heard from Captain Slater regarding Cameron," he said gruffly. "Thankfully, there wasn't too much internal damage and the young man's going to be okay."

"Thank God," Mariah sobbed, crossing herself and sinking out of her chair onto her knees. "Can I please see him?"

"Unfortunately, you can't," the officer replied. "Given the circumstances, he's being under police guard as you and your fiance are. There's been some recent developments regarding your family's estate."

"What circumstances?" Andrew asked.

"All will be explained at the station where you two are to take statements and answer questions," a female officer replied as she came into the hotel room.

The young couple nodded as Andrew helped Mariah to her feet. "We'll answer everything you want to know," the groom replied.

********************

Boston Metro Police Department, one hour later...

"What an ordeal," Mariah breathed as she and Andrew sat back in the metal chairs after talking with Cameron's roommate and the attorneys that explained the liquidation of the Chamblee estate. "Maybe it's for the best that my family's going to answer for their crimes. And as for everything they owned in Hezekiah's name, the sale of it all is going to be the cleansing that we all needed. I never even knew that Mom and Dad used his name to gain everything they wanted."

"Well, they believed that Hezekiah was useless unless they had something in his name," Andrew replied, pausing to sip on his water. "And with your parents and two of your siblings owning accounts and cars in his name, it's clear that they wanted to keep everything for themselves."

Mariah sniffed in disdain. "This family is finally going down the tubes," she spat lowly. "Cameron did the right thing by selling everything down the wire. And it's all the more reason for him to leave this family while he had the chance."

"Maybe we should do the same thing, you know? I know that you and I haven't made it official yet after what we witnessed, but I still want to be your husband, Mariah," Andrew said.

The bride turned to her husband. "Andrew, are you sure?" she asked hesitantly. "My family's name is tarnished and who knows what might happen if we start a family of our own? For all we know, we might repeat the vicious cycle in playing favorites with our kids."

"We won't know unless we try," Andrew rebutted. "I want you to have a fresh start in the same way that Cameron's going to get his when he leaves the hospital and heads back to England. And if that means starting from the bottom, then so be it."

Mariah knew he was right. They initially followed into Jeffrey and Adelle's path of blind ambitions and dark greed. But with the Chamblee name tarnished, the couple had to start over and make a name for themselves. "All right," she said. "But we have to make it official first. I mean, we haven't even-"

"We can have a private ceremony with someone here," Andrew replied. "Once we're out of Boston, we can have a simplified and formal ceremony with people we can trust."

"Right." Mariah shifted in her chair, the designer gown soon becoming uncomfortable. "I guess we can have a ceremony here. But who's going to marry us after what went down?"

"Maybe I can be of assistance," came the voice of Captain Slater as the man in question came into the room. "Miss Chamblee and Mr. Coleman, your wedding was supposed to be a wonderful occasion, but ended in scandal and tragedy. I know that you two were only minutes of being officially married, so I think it's only fitting that you two are properly married by myself. And since I am an officiated minister, I can have you two married in minutes."

"Thank you," Mariah said gratefully. "And Cameron?"

"He'll be expecting to wake up soon. Given the success of the surgery in removing the bullet, he can be awake any moment now. But right now, you two need to make it official as a married couple."

***************

"You may now kiss the bride."

Mariah and Andrew shared a soft kiss with the applause of the few officers and citizens acting as witnesses alongside the priest from St. Angus who also helped in the abbreviated ceremony. "We did it," Andrew cheered to his new bride. "You and I are officially Mr. and Mrs. Coleman."

"After today, we're going to leave town and start over," Mariah told him. "But not before we bid Cameron goodbye, Andy. I owed him that much after everything."

"I can have you at Boston General in minutes, Mrs. Coleman," Captain Slater said as he got a message on his smart phone. "Cameron's awake and asking for you and Andrew."

With that, the newly-married couple followed the chief of police and several officers out of the building to greet the now-awake teenager in the hospital.

Well, that was unexpected in a way. I originally planned to have Andrew and Mariah killed off, but it wouldn't do any good since neither of them knew what went down. Still, they are joining Cameron in the exodus in leaving the Chamblee Diamond Standard for good.

As for Cameron himself, he's still at the Palace of Dreams as he'll be witnessing the heavenly bonding ceremony between Hezekiah and Chance. And that, my dear friends, is coming up next. Unlike what went down in chapters 39 and 40, this is one wedding you can't afford to miss, so you better stick around!

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