Iron Rose Ch. 06

"Okay," Alicia hollered on the other end.

Yvette cut the call and slipped the phone in her bag. She then stood on the side of the road, trying to stop a taxi but the driver just passed without stopping. She somehow got pissed but started waiting again, looking at her watch. She had called Miguel to tell him that she was on his way to his office. He was probably waiting for her.

"God!" She groaned, getting a bit angry. "Why are there no taxis today? I am getting late."

She started waiting for a taxi. It didn't take long and she saw a black car coming slowly towards her. But since it wasn't a taxi, she just looked away, trying to see if she could spot a taxi. Suddenly, the black car stopped in front of her and it opened quickly.

"Hello!" A deep manly voice spoke. "Going somewhere?"

"Yeah, I..." Yvette trailed off when she turned and saw the person who was talking to her, with an evil grin on his face. "...you?"

But she didn't even finish her sentence as Brandon grabbed her forcefully and started pushing her towards the car. Yvette felt really scared. She tried to scream for help but the man was just too powerful and he covered her mouth with his hand. She tried to let herself free but he was just too strong. She was really scared and from the way her heart violently pounded, she thought she was gonna have a heart attack.

Brandon threw her in the car and sped off. He had finally gotten the woman he wanted.

***

Carter was running inside the big abandoned building, his heart racing miles and his breaths coming out heavily. He was sweating terribly and he was tired. He was really scared and there were so many thoughts running at the back of his mind.

Brandon had called him and told him he had his mother. Carter had the biggest shock of his life and had gotten really scared that he hadn't wasted any time when Brandon had told him the location where they were. He hadn't called anyone for fear of his mother getting killed. He was gonna rescue her himself.

As soon as he entered the building, behind some boxes, he saw his mother tied to a chair with her mouth muffled.

"Mother!" He screamed as he ran to her.

Reaching her, he started removing the cloth that covered her mouth. Yvette on the other hand was scared when she saw her son. She knew what Brandon had wanted and why he had her tied up there so she wanted to tell him to run. But she couldn't say anything as only muffled screams came out.

"Mother, I got you!" He said as he released her mouth. "I will..."

"No!" Yvette shuddered, tears going down her cheeks. "Please, get out of here. He'll kill you."

"But..."

Before he even finished his sentence, he heard someone clapping loudly. He quickly looked in that direction and found Brandon walking majestically towards him with a smile on his face like he had just won a grand prize. He was looking really messy, not the type of person Carter knew him to be.

He was wearing an old brown shirt which was folded at the sleeves, a black jean with old black shoes. His hair had grown a bit long and those beards that looked bushy didn't really suit him. The only thing that didn't change about him was that evil smile on his face and that look in his eyes.

"At last," Brandon breathed in deeply, looking satisfied. "I have found my prey. Welcome Carter... to hell!" He laughed manically.

"Brandon!" Carter's heart missed a bit as he got up.

"The one and only." Brandon opened his arms as if to welcome Carter into them. "It's just a pity that you're gonna have to pay for the mistakes of Miguel and Christian."

Carter swallowed as a shiver went down his spine. His hands instantly begin trembling. "Please, let my mother go. I am the one you want, right?"

"Carter, shut the hell up!" Yvette yelled as she slowly began freeing her hands. "I don't want to be released. Let Brandon leave you alone. I am ready to die as long as I know you and Miguel are safe."

"No, mother..." Carter pleaded, feeling tears in his eyes. "...I am the one he wants. Kill me but get my mother out of this. She doesn't know anything."

But Brandon was just looking at the two, giving them that evil grin because he knew that they were not gonna survive. Suddenly, Carter's phone started ringing which Brandon gripped from him. When his eyes landed on the screen, he went into bliss as he raised his eyes to stare at a shocked and scared Carter. Then he raised the phone to show him who was calling.

"Looks like the heavens are also in my favor." He chuckled as he pointed his gun at Carter. "Miguel will get to witness the death of his brother. What can be more blissful than seeing Miguel suffer for the death of his brother? I will kill two birds with one stone."

Yvette got so scared that she started sweating. She knew she had to do something or it was gonna be too late.

"Miguel doesn't even care about his brother!" Yvette yelled, trying her best to free her hands. "He doesn't love Carter. He wants him out of the way so that he can be with Christian." She lied. "Killing Carter won't really help you or anyone at this point. You won't cause Miguel any pain because he doesn't love Carter. He sees him as a rival."

Brandon laughed as he pulled Carter furiously, placing the gun right under his chin as he looked straight in his scared eyes. Carter felt really cold and scared. He knew Brandon was a dangerous man and wasn't gonna spare him.

"Carter doesn't even care for Miguel as a brother!" She added.

"And you think I care about what this bastard feels or thinks?" He laughed, cocking the gun. Carter closed his eyes shut as he felt his mind instantly freeze. He'd never been so scared. "All I care about is hurting Miguel."

The phone started ringing again and Brandon just laughed like an evil man that he was. He moved away from Carter, stood at a distance but still pointing the gun at him. He loved seeing tears on his face and that look, it was the last ingredient to Brandon's happiness.

"Hello, baby..." He answered, putting the call on loud speaker. "...did you miss me?"

"Brandon!" Miguel gasped on the other end.

"Hmm, I love that voice, Miguel." He laughed.

"No, Brandon..." Yvette screamed. "...don't do this. The only one you'll be hurting if you kill Carter is me. Carter is standing in the way of Miguel and Christian. You won't hurt him by doing this."

Miguel who was in his office, standing on his feet and feeling like he was about to experience the most painful thing in his life knew he had to act fast. He was so scared that his heart was only a moment away from ripping out of his chest.

"Why do you wanna hurt Carter?" He asked with a chuckle. "Hurting Carter won't hurt me. I just want you to realize that..."

"There's nothing to realize here." Brandon laughed. "I am not foolish. I know very well that you love Carter so much. "I am glad you've called so that you can hear what happens to you brother." He laughed. "It's time to hear your brother die."

He gave an evil gleam as he stared at Carter who just stood there like a statue, crying with his eyes closed shut. He was breathing heavily and his heart raced.

"Goodbye, Carter!"

"No, Carter's my son!" Yvette screamed.

Carter felt a shiver run down his spine at Brandon's words. He knew that it was over for him. What he heard next was a loud gun shot that made his heart jump painfully. He heard the gunshot... he could have sworn he felt it in his chest... He felt to breathe, holding his chest as painful gasps escaped his lips, more tears following. But then suddenly, he realized that he wasn't shot at all. What was going on, he thought? But when he heard a thud on the floor near him, he quickly opened his eyes and met with the greatest shock of his life.

Carter wanted to breathe but he couldn't... his heart stopped beating as everything got quiet... his eyes widened and his mouth gaped as his chest tightened painfully. Tears came flowing like water and he felt both hot and cold.

"No!" Carter cried, falling to his feet. "Mother, please..." He muttered as he took a bloody Yvette who was convulsing as blood gushed out her chest. "No!"

Brandon was shocked, staring at the scene before him. He couldn't believe the woman had managed to free herself and save her son just in time. He was really shocked and his face was blank. He just kept on staring at the two.

"Yvette!" Miguel was going insane on the other end. And that tone in his voice only showed how enraged he was. "Brandon, if you hurt Carter, I swear I am gonna kill you. Don't you dare hurt them? I will find you and kill you, I swear."

Brandon cut the call and threw the phone on the floor. Then he pointed his gun at a crying Carter.

"No, no, no!" Carter cried, holding his mother tightly. She was staring at him but couldn't mask that pain on her face. She was breathing like she was in labor and losing blood like it was just water. Carter didn't know what to do. "Mother, please, hold on..." He cried, rubbing on her beautiful face. "...don't leave me, please. You're gonna be fine."

Yvette opened her mouth but only blood came out as pain shot all over. She couldn't feel her body. She was losing blood so much and her vision blurred. She was scared but...

"Unite with..." She coughed as the pain intensified. "...your brother... He loves you... so much. I was the one at fault, the one that..." She grimaced, her mouth shaking uncontrollably. "...stole you when you were a baby. D-don't let anyone come between you two. I... I... I love you."

Those were her final words. Yvette died in Carter's arms, leaving him feeling so much pain. Carter just looked at his mother without even blinking or doing anything. He was frozen, just staring at his mother, failing to believe that she was gone. She was dead. The only thing that was showing his pain were the tears that had flooded his face. He was so much in pain.

"How'd that woman untie herself?" Brandon groaned, furiously stamping on the ground. "Such an idiot. But that isn't going to save you, Carter."

He cocked the gun and pointed it at the man that was busy mourning his mother. An evil grin appeared on his face as his finger touched the trigger. Another gunshot was heard followed by painful cries. Carter quickly raised his face and saw Brandon screaming, holding his arm with his hand bloody. He dropped his gun and started running away, cursing as he did.

Carter was shocked. He had no idea what had just happened. He just watched in fear as Brandon cried out in pain and ran away. Then he heard someone shouting his name. He quickly looked and found Christian rushing towards him with a gun in his hand.

"Carter!" Christian ran as fast as he could, looking towards where Brandon he had seen Brandon run to. "Oh my God, are you okay?"

Carter gave out a loud cry at Christian's question. "Mom!" He cried out in pain. "He killed her, Christian. My mother is dead." He wailed, holding her lifeless body closer to him. "Brandon killed her. Please, save her, Christian. You need to do something."

Christian knelt down and looked at Yvette's body. He touched her hand, trying to feel a pulse but it was already cold as ice. She was gone. He looked at a crying Carter, his heart breaking when he saw him crying like that. He wanted to follow Brandon but he couldn't leave Carter like that. The guy had blood on his hands and his clothes. Christian knew it wasn't his blood. It was Yvette's.

"Mom!" Carter wailed as his heart pounded painfully in his chest. "No! Please, you can't leave me like this. Please, come back."

"Carter..."

"No, Christian..." Carter said in between sobs, taking Christian's hands. He placed them on his mother's corpse. "Please... Check her. I am... I am sure she's not dead. Please!"

Christian just looked at Carter, feeling his own tears at the surface. "Carter..."

"No!" Carter shook his head. He felt like someone was pounding on his head with a heavy metal. "No! She can't be. Please! Let's take her to the hospital."

"She's gone, Carter." Christian muttered, holding his hands. "It's too late."

Carter stopped crying for a second. He just looked at Christian, trying to process what he had said to him. Then it hit him that his mother was gone. He cried harder than before, placing his head on his mother's chest. It was really painful for Christian to watch. He felt really helpless. He just called the police to report a murder.

He knew how hard it was for Carter to lose a mother because he too had lost a father. Goodbye, Yvette.

***

Miguel was rushing inside the station, feeling his heart race. He was breathing heavily, feeling both cold and hot. He was really worried and he had been looking for the whereabouts of his brother before Mark had finally told him where they had taken Yvette's body. He was feeling chills and had tears in his eyes.

He rushed past the officers and went inside the room. As soon as he entered, he found Carter crying softly, looking at Yvette's body with Christian rubbing his shoulder. Seeing his brother looking so bad and in so much pain, Miguel felt terrible. He looked at Yvette's body and covered his mouth as he remembered what his spirits had revealed to him, a death. It had been Yvette all along. Miguel felt really terrible. The woman had raised Carter although she had stolen him. He was just starting to get to know her. It was bad.

"Carter..." He started walking slowly to his brother. "I heard what happened to Yvette. I am so sorry."

Carter felt like he had just been possessed when he heard Miguel's voice. He slowly raised his head and when his eyes landed on Miguel, he felt so much rage that his body slightly trembled. He clenched his fists, his jaws shaking terribly as more tears flooded his face. Seeing Miguel there, Carter felt all the anger and hatred that he had felt hit him. And when Miguel tried to touch him, he simply lost it.

Carter retaliated. "Don't you ever touch me. What the fuck are you doing here?" He roared. "You're to blame for all this, Miguel!"

To say Miguel was surprised would be an understatement. He had come to mourn with his brother but all he did was blame him. Miguel's mouth gaped in surprise as Carter's accusations caused so much pain on him.

"I don't understand." Miguel said as a tear went down his cheek. "Why are you blaming me?"

"Why shouldn't I blame you, huh?" Carter literally jumped, raising his finger at Miguel. "After all, that bastard was your accomplice. You chose to live this... this corrupt life and this is the result of it all. You didn't even care about Ximena when Brandon beat her up." Okay, he was just going out of topic. "Brandon abducted my mother and I because you chose to abandon him. You don't care about anyone but yourself. You're very selfish and you love no one."

Miguel rubbed his tears, feeling a sharp pain in his chest. "Carter, honestly I don't know what you're talking about." He said softly, trying to reason with his brother. "I abandoned Brandon because I couldn't condone his crimes anymore, especially with the event that happened with your friend, Lawrence. He raped that man and you don't have the right to pin everything on me because you don't know the whole story."

"I know more than enough." Carter snapped, furiously rubbing his tears. "You passed on that rage and pain to me with your hatred and thirst for revenge." He yelled. "How many more deaths must I endure because of your rage?" He got closer to Miguel, clenching his teeth. "My life was smooth before I knew you, before I even knew you existed."

"Carter," Christian had had enough of Carter's words. He couldn't bear to see Miguel's pain anymore. "What are you telling him? Miguel was..."

"Don't you dare defend him?" Carter furiously turned, pointing his finger at Christian. He was just so mad. "My mother is dead because of him and I won't let you defend him."

Miguel suppressed his tears, feeling really weak. He hadn't prepared for that. "Carter, you don't have to blame me for everything." He said as his eyes became glassy. "You know of my past. You know what I have been through."

"Don't you dare use your past to justify anything?" Carter warned, his voice getting deep. "To hell with your past and anything that has happened to you."

Miguel's heart broke to pieces as his wounds reopened. He couldn't fight his tears anymore. They came flowing and no matter how much he rubbed them, they were still there. Christian was getting heart broken by this. He was stuck between a rock and a hard place.

"It's unfair," Miguel sobbed as he tried not to make himself look weak. "It's just unfair that you have to blame me for everything."

"This is the result of your malice!" carter's voice was high it would have awaken a baby miles away. "I have lost everything all because of you, my mother, my love, Pablo and everyone that I love. Ever since you came into my life, from the very day that I knew you, I have known nothing but pain."

"Carter, please!" Christian muttered but the man wouldn't stop.

"No, let him..." Miguel said weakly, just standing still as Carter blamed him for everything including landslides. Funny!

"You're like this plague in my life that seems to follow me everywhere." He was breathing heavily. "Everything that you touch, you destroy. You're to be blamed for everything, for Brandon's murders and crimes and for even meeting those dragons. Had you not met them then none of this would be happening. But now you're destroying all of us together with them."

"Excuse me!" Miguel said, a little harshly. "You can blame me for everything, Carter but you seem to have forgotten one thing." He rubbed his tears, pointing his finger at his brother. "When you arrived in this city, no one wanted to help you but I was the only that helped you. I gave you a job, paid you good money and gave you clothes just to make you happy. I even made sure that..."

"Wow!" Carter laughed sarcastically, eyeing Miguel from head to toe. "Am I supposed to clap for you or bow for you?" Then his face got serious again. "Do you even care about anyone in this life? No!"

Miguel shook his head, trying to get things straight. "I care for you and you're only alive because of me." He said, his voice rising. He couldn't just stand while he got blamed for every single little thing. "Let me tell you this, Carter. I care for you a lot. I have done nothing but love you and care for you. I saved you from Gabino that day because if not for me, you'd have died." He glowered, furiously rubbing his tears. "I even Sacrificed Christian, the only man that I have fallen in love with after a long time.

But what do I get from you..." He paused and looked at his brother who was staring at him with his mouth wide open. "...insults and pain. I am done trying to prove myself to you, Carter. I am done trying to show you how sorry I am because none of that is important to you. You want me to turn bad again, then fine! It seems when you try to be good, people will only perceive you to be bad. You can think all you want. I am done here."

Carter remained speechless as he watched Miguel walking out of there. He couldn't cry, speak or even move. He was dumbstruck and didn't know what to do.

Meanwhile, Miguel was getting out of the room, gracefully walking towards the exit when he met with some people from the neighborhood who were with Ruth. Apparently, they had come to be with Carter and to help him mourn. He wanted to just walk away without talking to them but...

"You're not going anywhere." Ruth said angrily, blocking his path. "First, you have to explain to us why you can't just leave us alone and..."

"And who are you people to hold me hostage here?" He snapped, looking at the badly dressed woman in front of him. He glanced Darren who was just standing there, watching the whole commotion. "Are you just gonna stand there without doing anything?"