Chasing Eden Ch. 14 - Final

Chapter 14

One fateful day, three years prior, Irene was at Sunshine's headquarters later than she expected. Although she didn't go as often as she did when her company was first contracted by Sunshine, she still found herself there from time to time to import more information onto their secured servers.

On this day however, the young woman spent extra time not only gathering the information, but trying to find a source to decode it. Eventually, her eyes grew big as she started to realize she had stumbled onto a jackpot of incriminating information.

This is it... she thought to herself, looking around to make sure no one was watching. My VPN should block them from seeing me, but I need to screenshot this and show it to Peter... And if we can reverse engineer these algorithms... I think this will unlock everything he needs...

Checking over her shoulders once again, she quietly placed a flash drive into the computer before separating some documents for herself. Then, as she started to close out of the computer, there was something else that caught her eye, causing her to grow pale in the face.

Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap oh crap... she thought as her heart raced. The VPN is functioning weird... Could they have installed something to go around it?

Quickly, Irene grabbed her belongings and walked out, hoping to appear as normal as possible. However, severe adrenaline started rushing through her, making her more anxious to get home.

If they find out I took this... I don't even want to think about what they'll do to me... she thought to herself as she got in her car. Then, as she placed it in drive, an even more daunting thought came to her mind. Peter might get upset if he finds out how risky I played this...

***

Later that day, the CEO, Greg Hawthorne, received a call on one of his separate phones. It was from a hidden number, which signified it was someone representing the offshore company that was protecting their illegal coding.

"This is Hawthorne... What do you mean? You detected screenshots and an extraction of what?! At exactly what time?! And what exactly was taken?!"

A couple of seconds later, he ended the call and slammed his phone on the table. He then sat there for a moment, fuming as he contemplated his next move.

Grabbing the phone again, he made a call to a different person. "Hello... Yes... It seems someone has been meddling around where they don't belong... The information they have absolutely cannot be seen by anyone..."

As Hawthorne got up from his seat, he walked to the corner of the room and spoke in a low volume. "It's been a long time since we've had to do something like this... but I'm willing to go to drastic measures to stop this mole..."

***

Only a few days later, Irene found herself driving in the midst of a storm. She had to run a few errands that Peter was planning on doing on his way from work because, unfortunately, he was forced to stay late to finish a last-minute report.

As the rain poured down heavily, she made sure to exit their driveway slowly. However, her mind was preoccupied with her nervous thoughts, leaving her less aware of her surroundings.

I still haven't heard anything about the files I extracted, she thought to herself as she made her way towards the winding road outside of their neighborhood. I'm sure they would have said something to Peter by now if they suspected something... Hopefully we can just enjoy his birthday tonight, and then I'll go back to worrying about this tomorrow.

At that very moment, the winding road began going downhill. Just as Irene had done a hundred times before, she started to apply the brakes... but this time... she didn't feel anything happening with her car.

"Oh, no..." she said to herself as her eyes got big. "I'm not slowing down... Why aren't my brakes... No!"

As Irene shoved the brake pedal down as hard as she could, the daunting reality of what was going on hit her. I can't stop and the road is about to curve... They must know!

Going downhill, the car picked up even more speed as it quickly approached the curve. Then, as Irene's eyes locked on to the railing on the edge of the road, she thought to herself, My only hope is for those barriers to hold up!

Irene closed her eyes, but once she heard the pop, she immediately felt the car being subjected to gravity. And then... as the car turned in the air, it eventually hit the ground and her head smacked the window.

That's when everything went white.

***

"What have you done?!" Eddie asked as he and Kenny stood outside of Camilla's door. With fire in his eyes, he continued, "Why the fuck did you get involved?!"

Camilla looked at both men with a satisfied smile on her face. "It seems you've already figured out that I'm the one who released Peter."

"How could you do something so stupid?!" Kenny asked.

"Stupid? I think Peter's smarter than all of us, so trusting him with deciding how this thing ends doesn't sound stupid to me."

"You understand he's not in the right mental state, correct?" Eddie asked in a serious tone.

"I understand everything," Camilla answered with a confident smirk. "It seems as if you underestimated me. And you've definitely underestimated Peter."

"Oh, really?"

"You think I don't know what's going on, but I do. You needed him to decode all that information, but you knew it would make him angrier as he kept going. You also figured he'd eventually be in such a rage that he would do something to jeopardize the case. That's why he was supposed to remain in the mental institute.

"On that day, he was running to find Hawthorne because he figured he was the one responsible for Irene's death. You're afraid now, like you were then, that once he encounters him, he's going to lose his mind and kill him. I don't think that's how it's going to work out, however.

"Peter is such a genius, logic will step in and he won't jeopardize the entire case. As angry as he is, he knows doing something like that would ruin the entire case. He doesn't care about going to jail, but he does care about finishing what he and Irene started."

There was an awkward silence as Camilla chuckled to herself. In her mind, she had left the two men speechless now that she was the one moving the chess pieces; not them.

Finally, Eddie spoke up. "Actually, Camilla... it looks as if... I've overestimated you."

"Huh?!" the blonde reacted as her eyes got big.

"I thought you had a good understanding of Peter, but I guess I was wrong. It's a shame."

"Okay... what are you talking about?"

"The stuff you said about Peter finishing what he and Irene started is correct," Eddie first pointed out. "And it's also correct that he probably won't murder Hawthorne because of what it will do to the case. We were never worried about that though..."

"Oh... then... what were you worried about...?"

After staring at Camilla for a moment, Eddie took a deep breath before answering, "We're worried about Peter killing himself."

Suddenly, all the air in Camilla's body escaped as reality came crashing down on her. "What do you mean, he's going to kill himself? Why the hell would he do that?!"

"If he dies in front of someone else, there has to be an investigation on what led up to the death," Kenny explained. "It's his way of making sure everything is uncovered, regardless of if the information was taken illegally."

"Peter has also made several comments about Hawthorne being too much of a coward to face his actions," Eddie also pointed out. "What he meant by that is... Hawthorne should have seen the damage he caused. This will be his way of showing him."

With her mouth wide open, and a look of horror in her eyes, Camilla finally reacted by saying, "I might have made a mistake..."

***

At the Hawthorne's house, Peter stood in front of the scared man and woman as they shivered in fear. Though his face remained mostly expressionless, it was the fire in his eyes and the gun in his hand that brought fear into Hawthorne's heart.

"It's time... to face what you've done..."

"What does that mean?!" Mrs. Hawthorne screamed as she looked over at her husband. "What is happening?!"

"Yes, Gregory Hawthorne... Tell her what's happening..."

Shuffling back as hard as he could as he pressed his back against the wall, the Sunshine CEO exclaimed, "You broke into our house like the psychopath that you are!"

"But why...? Why am I here?"

"How the fuck am I supposed to know that?!"

"You know why I'm here... You know what I want..."

The frantic woman looked over at her husband and demanded answers. "What does he want?! Why is he in our house?! Can't you just give him what he wants?!"

"You should listen to your wife," Peter said with a calm tone as he slid the rack of his gun back just enough to make sure there was a round in the chamber. "I sure wish I could listen to my wife... but she was taken away from me... taken away from this world... and now... I'm here."

"What is he saying?!"

Gritting his teeth, Hawthorne yelled out, "You're here for revenge! I should have known you were destroying my company this entire time! But that's not good enough for you, is it?!"

"That's right... I destroyed your company. Blame me..."

"Of course I'm going to fucking blame you! You're the fucking mole!"

"Yes, I am the mole who leaked information to the media just so you would know I was coming... I'm the owl in the night that watched your every step, even when you tried to push me further from the truth. I'm the lone wolf who strayed from the path of the others... but of all that... I'm also a consequence... I'm the consequence that happens when a genius becomes mentally ill because his wife was murdered over illegal information that was only for your monetary gain."

With tears rushing down her face, Mrs. Hawthorne yelled out, "What the hell is he talking about?! Honey, give him whatever he wants!"

Raising his gun up, Peter continued, "You... you are the folly of mankind... and this is the result..."

In a last desperate attempt, Greg Hawthorne cried out, "You're right! I made the call to have your wife murdered!" But then, in a shocking twist, he continued, "I took your wife, so you can take mine! Just please don't kill me! I'll give you as much money as you want!"

Unfortunately for Hawthorne, as he was spewing out his last desperate attempt to save his own life, he finally noticed that Peter was not pointing the gun at him. Instead, he pointed it at his own head.

Suddenly, the room stood still as everyone stared at each other quietly, waiting for the next move to be made. The tension in the air was so thick, everyone felt completely frozen in their tracks.

As Peter stood there with his hand shaking and the gun pressed on his own temple, there was a sudden emptiness in his eyes, and the fire inside started to dissolve.

Quickly, Hawthorne seized the opportunity and jumped up to his feet to run away. He escaped from the room, making his way out the door and leaving his frantic wife there with Peter.

All of a sudden, Peter was the one shaking from head to toe, looking just as shocked as Mrs. Hawthorne. Then, as he looked down and connected with her scared eyes, he tried to pull the trigger... but he couldn't...

Why can't I move?! he thought to himself, as he stared into her tearful eyes. I've waited so long for this moment... Why won't my body respond?

Suddenly, he felt his heart pump loudly as an image popped into his head. Looking down at the fear in Mrs. Hawthorne's tearful eyes, he suddenly felt as if he were looking into Irene's eyes on that fateful day.

***

As Irene's car broke through the weak railing and eventually hit the ground, her head smacked the window, and everything started to go white. Then, as the car began rolling, her eyes opened one last time as she searched desperately through the broken windshield. Though she knew she was rolling to her death, one last thought popped into her mind before she closed her eyes for the final time.

Peter... I don't regret anything we did together... My only regret is that I won't get to physically be with you anymore... but I'll always be with you in spirit.

Peter, I love you... and I always will, even if I'm not there... I can't find a shooting star, but my final wish is that you can hear this one last message... Please... just let go...

I know you're going to figure this out, and you're going to be on a warpath... but if this last message can somehow find you... Just let go... and live... for us.

***

Peter didn't know why, but all of a sudden he couldn't hold on to the gun anymore. It fell out of his hand, and as it hit the floor, so too did his knees as he dropped to the ground.

There were so many emotions swirling inside him. However, most of the rage and fury had suddenly turned into grief and sorrow. In that moment, he felt almost as if he had failed, and he was now on the ground with his face in his hands and tears in his eyes.

"I can't do it... I'm sorry."

Though still filled with fear, the shaking woman poked her head up and asked, "Sir... are you going to kill me?"

"No."

"Were you planning on killing... yourself?"

"I was, but... not anymore..."

Mrs. Hawthorne was relieved, but she could still sense a storm brewing inside the broken man. Feeling her only option was to talk to him, she asked, "Do you mind telling me what's going on? I'm so confused... Why did my husband offer to let you kill me? And did he really kill your wife?"

"He did..." Peter answered quietly, as he remained on the floor. "He hired someone to cut her brakes because she stumbled onto some incriminating information... I was going to kill myself in front of him so he could see what he did to our family."

"You didn't expect him to offer my life, did you? You never even considered killing me."

"No... he and I... we're not the same..."

***

Fortunately, Kenny and the police arrived at the Hawthorne household and prevented anything further from happening. They took custody of Peter, who agreed to go to a more strict mental facility where he could get the help he was ready to receive.

Now that Kenny and the FBI were officially involved, the entirety of Sunshine's background was opened up, and everything that Peter had discovered was revealed. Then, in the criminal case, Mrs. Hawthorne decided to testify against her husband now that she witnessed what he admitted, and that he offered to let Peter murder her to atone for what he did.

Though Peter did not take part in the rest of the civil case, he was allowed to participate in the criminal proceedings. Much to everyone's shock, he was able to prove that Irene had jurisdiction to take any information from Sunshine she needed. It was on the disclosure he created for her when they first met. This, of course, was never seen by anyone from Sunshine, since she started working exclusively with Peter.

Hawthorne was found guilty on all charges and was sent to prison for life. Everyone with any sort of knowledge of the situation, including Sasha, was found guilty as well, but received lesser prison sentences. However, the organizations used to commit the market manipulation and the murders were discovered and eradicated.

Due to the unusual circumstances, another company was able to buy out Sunshine at a cheap price, and most of the employees who were not involved with the crimes were able to retain their jobs. However, Jane, Veronica, and even Miranda left the company and the state for new opportunities. They all wanted a new start after the crazy ride they had been on over the last several months.

This left us with Peter, Eddie, Kenny, and Camilla.

***

After the final Court proceeding, and the verdicts had been read, Eddie and his team were outside the courthouse, talking over their victorious efforts. Also, there was Kenny, Camilla, and off in the distance, Peter.

It wasn't exactly a time for celebration, but a time for relief that everything was finally over. The criminal antics of the company had been uncovered, the dangerous threats to those who sought out the truth were nullified, and for Kenny and Eddie, they felt at peace after finishing what Irene started.

Camilla, on the other hand, was worried about Peter, who was off to the side, staring out into the distance. Not knowing how he was taking everything, she approached him and asked, "How are you feeling?"

Never turning back, he answered with a quiet voice, "I think I'll be okay now. "

When Kenny and Eddie noticed Camilla talking to Peter, they slowly made their way over. Although the battle was finally finished, they understood that Peter was on a new journey.

"What do you plan on doing now, Peter?" the blonde asked, too scared to put her hand on his back.

"I'm finally going back to the house Irene and I lived in," Peter answered after a deep breath. "I never went back after I found the flash drive... I need to finish sorting through her stuff."

"Peter... We were going to grab a bite to eat later... Will you please join us?"

"No, thank you... I'd like to be alone for a while."

As Peter started to walk off, Camilla called his name out one more time. However, Kenny gently grabbed her hand and pulled her away as Eddie explained why they should just let him be.

"Don't worry about him. He's going to check himself back in to that facility, but I really don't think he's a threat to himself anymore. He's just got some unraveling to do."

"Unraveling?"

"Yes," Kenny explained, taking her further away. "Since Irene's death, Peter has worked non-stop every hour of the day until he uncovered all the information. In a way, he distracted himself from grieving. But now that he's accomplished everything... all there is left to do is mourn for her loss."

"He's going to be sad for a long time," Eddie added. "Maybe forever. But unfortunately, that's part of it. There's nothing left for him to do but miss her."

Camilla watched on with sad eyes as Peter's figure slowly disappeared into the distance. Holding back tears, she expressed, "I just wish there was something I could say or do..".

"You don't need to say anything. And all we can do is give him time. He'll come around."

"I hope so..."

***

That night, instead of going through their belongings, Peter spent the majority of his time sitting at the piano that he and Irene spent so much time playing together. With his head resting on some of the keys, and tears slowly coming from his eyes, he played the sad part of one of their favorite songs, over and over.

Eventually, he became so exhausted, he went unconscious. However, the same piano song was playing around him as he suddenly found himself walking through a white mist.

Looking around as he tried to figure out where he was, he walked slowly until he noticed a figure approaching him. Then, as he came to a complete stop, he finally saw her... standing before him.

"Irene...?" he said, suddenly shaking. "Irene...? Irene... It's really you..."

The young woman stood there, wearing a black turtleneck and blue jeans. Her hair was down and there was a calm presence about her.

"Hi, Peter."

With tears coming from his eyes, Peter's entire body trembled as a smile came over his face. "This is just a dream, but... I can tell... it's really you..."

Nodding with a smile of her own, she responded, "Yes... it's really me."

"You look amazing," Peter said, as his voice broke from the happiness of laying his eyes on her once again.

"Oh, this? This is what I was wearing on my last day. I planned on changing into something cuter before you got home, but I liked this outfit, too."

"No, it's perfect... I guess I just didn't notice it because..."