Sins Of The Father

“Don, I have my reasons. Try to understand that.” I rolled my eyes, acting unconcerned just to provoke him.

Don’s breath hitched at my unusual and nonchalant response. This was a side I had never shown to him before so I understand his awe.

“Bela Armani!” He called out in disbelief and just then, my phone rang.

I quickly picked it up when I noticed it was Miller. He asked to meet up and immediately, I picked my back and strode past Don who quickly grabbed my hand and pulled me back.

“Bela, we are in the middle of a conversation, What’s wrong with you?” He asked, tension filling his body.

“I understand you want to talk but I’ve got more important things to do right now. Let’s talk when I’m back.” I replied rudely, tilting my head slightly to the side while his body tense at my every word.

“Is Miller more important than our future?” He asked, his voice cracked.

“Can you stop being so emotional about such a petty thing? I need to leave now so let go of my hand!” I scolded, taking Don by surprise and rendering him speechless.

“Let Go!” I bellowed once more before his grip on me loosened and immediately, I strode away, leaving him speechless and breathless.

As soon as I stepped out of the house my resolve weakened as I let out a soft sigh. I know I’m intentionally causing Donovan emotional pain but I wonder why my heart felt so heavy saying those words to him.

I climbed onto one of the several cars in the compound and drove as fast as I could to Miller's house which was just about an hour drive from mine.

As I walked into Miller’s rustic-styled home, I met him discussing with Janet Hart, another FBI agent. Immediately, I knew it had to be something important.

I joined them and after exchanging a few pleasantries, I expected Miller or Janet to brief me about my reason for being there but the tense look in their faces confirmed something wasn’t right.

“I risked my life, my job, and my marriage to get those files from Hudson’s office computer. Spare me the suspense and tell me what you found.” I urged and with much hesitation, Miller handed me a file which I thoroughly read through.

“Are you trying to tell me that Diego’s time of death was fabricated?” I asked in disbelief and Miller nodded positively.

“No. It took me about 10 minutes to arrive at the hospital as soon as I received the news. There is no way the time was fabricated.” I pointed out.

“He was injected with an Amiodarone Injection which stopped his heart temporarily. This means that at the time you saw him being transported to the morgue, he was still alive and for the next minutes you spent with his corpse, he was still alive.” Janet explained.

“What we are trying to say in essence is that contrary to the report, Diego died two hours after the accident. As agreed, while conducting the second autopsy on Diego’s exhumed corpse, we noticed his heart was missing. Which means he had been operated on before being buried four years ago.” Miller explained and I felt a sudden contraction in my chest.

I didn’t realize when the file slipped from my hand as I became lightheaded.

“Bela, I think you need to rest…”

“Continue. Who got my brother’s heart? Tell me exactly what they did to my brother’s heart!” I bellowed furiously, my vision blurred as I fought off the tears.

“It wasn’t officially reported but Donovan had a heart condition since birth. On the day of your brother’s accident, Don was also in the operating room because they found a donor.

A few hours into the surgery they discovered the heart was infected. Donovan’s life was in danger and they needed an urgent heart. Diego turned out to be the only option.” There was a hard edge in his voice as he explained.

The room fell silent except for my constant hyperventilation. Diego’s death has always remained a scar I didn’t dare open until I was strong enough but today, the scar only deepened. The pain in my heart ramped up from stiffness all the way to searing, blinding agony faster than I could blink.

“I’m sorry you had to go through this once again.” He apologized even though it wasn’t his fault.

“We have a…” Janet tried to continue the conversation but was immediately cut short by Miller.

“I will brief her about that later.” He remarked.

I wasn’t really interested in whatever he had to say anymore as I was still saddened and overwhelmed by the news.

The fact that Donovan had no idea about the whole thing saddens me more because for the past three years we’ve been married, he always visits the grave of his supposed donor to pay his condolences and also cared so much for the donor’s family not knowing that it was all a lie.

Maybe this explains why he fell in love with me so quickly…because he had his heart.

I spent the rest of my day drinking anything available on Miller’s bar shelf as I imagined the pain he must have felt that day.

Even though I didn’t go back home that day, I could tell just how frustrated Don was through his several calls and text messages.

Early the next morning, I was determined to frustrate him even more so I asked Miller to drive me home.

Miller was smart enough to know I was trying to use him to make Don jealous but without questioning me, he just played along.

As soon as heard the revving of my car, he immediately dashed out of the house and attempted to walk towards the black SUV but stopped as soon as he noticed I had company.

Just by looking at his tired eyes and messed up hair, I could tell he also drank away his night.

I stepped out of the car followed by Miller who didn’t notice my husband standing.

“One more thing, Bela.” He said as he took a few steps closer to me, his lips slowly brushing over my ear. My eyes were fixated on Don and I could see his eyes burning with rage and jealousy.

“I couldn’t tell you this yesterday but we’ve got a witness who is ready to take the stand about what happened in the operation room.” He whispered, his words bringing solace to my grieving heart but before I could open my mouth to say a word, Donovan matched towards us and forcefully pulled Miller away.

Before Miller could understand what was going on, Donovan set a hard punch across his face, causing an immediate split on his lower lip.

“How dare you flirt with my wife right under my nose?” Donovan bellowed furiously, his eyes burning with rage and his hands still clenched into fists. This was a side of Don which I’ve never seen before.