Coleman residence, that evening...

"Blanche?" Senator Coleman said as he sat down at his desk with Hezekiah's journal in his hand. "Ready for more journal reading?"

"Coming, dear," his wife called from the kitchen. "Just finishing up with putting these leftovers. Give me a few minutes."

Since inheriting Hezekiah's journal from Cameron Chamblee by way of his former nanny, Michael Coleman and his wife wanted to learn more about the deceased teenager's private life. And it was quite a pleasure for them to read more about what Hezekiah's life in high school was like behind closed doors. From his relationship with Chance and his feelings about being displaced in his own home, it both intrigued and surprised the couple how Hezekiah was able to keep his feelings to himself yet pitied him because he never had the proper chance to truly shine like his siblings did. And they both agreed that Jeffrey and Adelle Chamblee had arranged something to finally be free from Hezekiah's presence in their homes once and for all, hence their plans to read through the journal every chance they had when not dealing with dinner parties, campaign visits, and other agendas that took up most of their time. And tonight was no different given that they had some time away from the campaign trails to continue their evening rendezvous.

Blanche came into her husband's office with glasses of iced tea and a platter of her homemade cookies on hand. "Figured that you and I could use some after-dinner treats while we read," she said. "It's quite amazing what we can learn about someone who never had a charmed life."

"All the more reason for us to keep at it and see what led to his 'suicide,' my dear," Michael hummed to himself. "So far, we know that he was born out of rape and he only had my old school mum and the other workers who truly cared for him alongside Cameron who saw him as family.  We also know that he had a three-year friendship with Chance Dalton before the jock was murdered and their families, classmates, and teachers wanted them to remain separate due to their biased beliefs and all. Not only that, Adelle often hinted that she wanted him dead, according to the number of entries that depicted his mother's candid talks of how easy it would be if she hired a hitman to take him out and make it look like a suicide."

"I wonder what was through his head when everyone finally kept him and Dalton separate from each other," Blanche mused. "In the last entry, he said that he knew that they would be inevitably kept apart by their parents."

"Only one way to find out," her husband replied, pausing to bite into a brownie before wiping his hands and opening the journal to the bookmarked page from where they last left off. "Oh, wow. This entry takes place days after Dalton was killed."

August 19th

Cameron, my heart is heavy after learning of Chance's murder.

It's bad enough that everyone finally got what they wanted- to keep me away from the one friend whom I ever had in my life. But for Chance to be killed is something that I can't even deal right now. I'm now getting ready for the first day of senior year and all I can think about is how someone was full of life was taken away much too soon. If you want my opinion, I think that Mom and Dad had something to do with this since they and Chance's parents hated the idea of me being friends with him.

Mom said that it's no use crying over him and that I should just focus on my schoolwork. "It's for the best that you keep your mind on your books and off any distractions," she had said when she told me of what happened that fateful day. "I know that you miss him and all, but there are more important things in life other than some useless friendship who's not of the diamond standards. All eyes are on you to keep your nose clean from any lurking scandal that can taint the family name. The less you think about him, the better off you'll be."

I never hated our mother more than I already do, Cameron. When she said that, it made me feel like I had no use for living anymore. But I know that Chance wouldn't allow me to end my life just because he's gone. So, I'm going to be working twice as hard for the both of us. Even when he's gone, I can still remember the good times that we did have together. Yeah, I might cry, but I gotta carry on no matter what. And like Minnie Jean said, what's done in the dark would come to the light.

I better go, Cameron. Word to the wise? Always treasure the friendships that you'll establish, even the ones that our parents will never approve of.

The older couple looked heartbroken as Blanche wiped her eyes clean of the tears she shedded. "My goodness," she breathed. "The poor boy."

"I know, my dear," Michael said. "Let's keep reading."

August 21st.

Cameron, some days are better than others after word of Chance's death finally reached the students of Allendale Christian Academy. But today was a bad day as everyone didn't seem to care that Chance was dead. There was no assembly, no counselors on hand for anyone to talk about what had happened, no mourning period other than a moment of silence- it was as if everyone was glad that Chance was dead and they wanted it that way. "Such a poser," one of the cheerleaders mocked when I was walking down the halls at one point with a designated guard. "He always wanted to fit in, but yet stood out like a sore thumb."

"I heard that his parents killed him because he was a faggot," a football player told his friends. "If he was, they did this school a favor in getting rid of him."

I was steaming inside while dealing with the classwork and project assignments from the teachers and my parents with the latter "encouraging" me to just focus on the now. "Life goes on, son," Dad intoned over lunch. "That boy was too much of a distraction for you, anyhow, and who knows what might've happened if you got roped into his wiles. Keeping you two separated basically saved your life. You'll understand when you're older and someday thank us for what we had to do."

If it wasn't for my endless lessons of proper manners while at St. Anslem's, I'd gladly punch my father's lights out. I hate the fact that no one stood up for Chance, and I hate myself more because I didn't fight for what friendship I had with him. It's all the more reason why I'm going to keep studying my ass off to finally get a scholarship to some Ivy League school other than Harvard and leave the family once and for all.

How messed up life is nowadays, Cameron, that people aren't being decent to each other regardless of who we are. God said to love one another and to not judge each other. But I think that this school is far from its supposed Christian values. The moment graduation is over is when I'll be leaving Boston in the dust. And when the time comes, little bro, I strongly recommend that you follow my example. You and I deserve one another, don't you think?

With that said, I have some homework to get done. It waits for no one, even when you're in mourning.

"Shameless," Blanche spat lowly. "No sane school worth its salt would allow a travesty like that to happen, disregarding a dead student as if he or she was nothing more than a beggar."

"Quite," Michael intoned, setting the journal aside. "But there's still no mention of what might've led to Hezekiah's 'suicide' at all."

There was a knock at the door. "I'll get it," Blanche said, leaving the office. Two minutes later, she returned with Captain Slater as the older man greeted them warmly. "Dear, Officer Slater's been investigating the death of Hezekiah and has heard something that might be useful."

"Sir, apologies for stopping by this late, but I thought that I should let you know that Hezekiah didn't kill himself as his parents said," the chief of police intoned. "The men who shot him confessed to killing him under the parents' command and had been paid to keep quiet."

"I knew it," the senator hissed. "Does anyone else know?"

"Not right now, so I strongly suggest keeping this to yourself until we get the arrest warrants ready," Slater replied. He saw Hezekiah's journal sitting on the man's desk. "What's that?"

"That's Hezekiah's private journal," Blanche explained. "It was given to us by Cameron, Hezekiah's brother, as it was the one thing that the poor dear had left from the deceased to remember him by. My husband and I were reading it to see if there's any hints that might led to his death until tonight."

"I see," the chief of police replied. "May I hold onto that journal? It might be useful for what we could find. I'll make sure that Cameron Chamblee gets this back after everything's been wrapped up."

"Of course," the senator replied, handing the journal to Slater. "This definitely changes everything, Captain Slater. My wife and I had a strong hunch that there's more than what we're told. Now that we know the truth, we only hope that justice is administered."

"It will, especially after some new revelations have been made regarding Mrs. Chamblee's story about her being raped," Captain Slater replied. "As it turns out, she and the other man had quite the history with each other."

Blanche gasped. "You don't mean-" she began.

"Yes, Mrs. Coleman," Captain Slater cut her off. "Adelle Chamblee had an affair that soon turned violent and led to her being raped and conceiving the late Hezekiah Oshea Chamblee. And the man in question is...none other than the former chauffer who was killed by her husband."

Gentle reader, if this story is beginning to sound more and more like a storyline out of a soap opera, then it practically is since this would indeed lead to the inevitable downfall of the Chamblee family with more secrets soon to be revealed. And by the day of the wedding of Mariah Chamblee and Andrew Coleman, the upper-crust society members of the greater Bostonia are would be hit with the biggest scandal of the year that would be memorable for a very long time.

And I oop...

PERIODT!

Cue the clutching pearls and the spit takes, folks! We got ourselves a game-changer on hand and all I can say is that the perfect storm is about to rain down on the Chamblee family once the wedding of Andrew and Mariah takes place! And by then, you're not going to be prepared enough for what will happen next!

But coming up next, we head back to Winterhaven in the Nexus afterlife as Cameron recalls the moment when he and Chance were finally kept apart as Thorn makes a house call to check in on the boys! Fasten those seatbelts, folks, and grab the tissues because the next two chapters are going to be tearjerkers!