There had never been a day like this at the Archie dynasty where utter silence carried the atmosphere except for sobs. It was always quiet and peaceful but not this silent, even the animals seemed to have understood what had happened, the horses in the stable did not neigh,even the goats and cows. She was kind to them too. Lord sat down pale and stared at the frame of the heiress on the wall, his eyes without void, it was like he had lost his soul too. He had felt the same way when Mona had died years after she gave birth to Isla, he had felt so hurt, so much he thought he would die too. But now he felt worse, Mona had died from cancer, stage 4 cervical cancer, he had sent her to the best hospitals within and outside the country, to the best doctors. She had fought too but the cancer had eaten her too deep-it was inevitable. But that was not Nadia's case- she was murdered in cold blood, in the Mansion where they lived away from human contact, in her beloved garden. She was young and vibrant, beautiful and elegant, full of life and peace and she was killed and dumped like an animal. It broke him, more in shatters than Mona's. It hurt him more that the murder weapon was his special dagger, now it lay on the table on a piece of cloth in front of him, still soaked in her blood. It bothered him about who could have gotten access to his precious dagger, and used it to aggressively murder his beloved wife who had given him a reason to live and love again after years of grief and pain he suffered.
Olivia and the other maids stood side by side next to Noah. Luca and Isla sat on one couch, Isla sobbing her eyes out, Luca with teary eyes but a calm expression. Men don't cry. She might not have been his mom but she was a nice step mom, and he knew he would miss her for reasons others did not understand. Nate had the worst countenance, his world had crumbled before his eyes. He had lost everything. He had nothing left. His eyes were more teary, he emitted so much pain that you could feel by just standing 10 steps away from him.
"Who killed her?" Lord asked. There was even more silence.
"Who killed my wife?" This time he asked in a cracked hoarse voice. "Olivia, had she not retired to her chambers last night?"
"She had gone out for some air sir and also to check on her garden, she had told me to change her sheets and light up candles and I left to the staff quarters afterwards".
The mention of the garden weakened George's guts. Eyes met him and he cringed again, still dirty, sweaty, he looked down on his gardener pinafore stained with so much blood, his feet trembling-this is the longest he had stood in the mansion, the air nauseated him and the reason for being there dampened his spirit.
"I never saw her after she instructed me to get tulips for your study this morning. I had left for my quarters, I had no idea if she had left or if she had returned with someone". He didn't wait to be asked. He needed to clear the air of doubt about him, he had loved her, she was the sweetest soul,he had no reason to do it.
Her body has been brought into the house , cleaned up and laid on her bed. Soon the authorities would begin their investigation. An autopsy would be conducted, Lord Needed to know the time of death.
" How is it possible that no one knows who killed her?" Nate chipped in a teary and stuttering voice. " How on earth did no one hear a thing, no one saw what happened, how can someone have gotten into the estate without anyone's knowledge?? It has to be from within, the enemy is here!!!
" You can't conclude that for sure Nate, Archie dynasty has a lot of enemies, this might be from one of them" Luca said frantically.
" And how did these said enemies gain access to the mansion and to the garden, and kill my mom, just my mom, no one else?" Nate added " it's easier to rule it out as an outside enemy when you never even liked her…"
"That's enough!!!" Lord sounded. It was not the time for who liked who or who did not, they were all family and they had to face this together. Luca looked at Nate with disdain.
Nate left and went upstairs to his mother's room. He sat beside her bed and took her hand in his. It was cold and soft. He stared at her white face, she was beautiful even in death, her face smoother than a baby's. He kissed the back of her palm as tears slowly ran down his cheek unto the skin of her hand. " You did not deserve this!" He said " Mom it did not have to end this way". He sobbed even louder. Olivia stood by the door and watched him pitifully. She remembered when he had first moved in with the heiress after her marriage to Lord. He was so young, about 14 years old. Luca and Isla were already 16years and 12years old. Lord had accepted him, he was the child of his beloved second wife. Luca and Isla on the other hand were indifferent about him, always keeping to themselves. Although it had been years, They had not fully recovered from their mother's demise, their father's marriage to another woman and the redecoration of the mansion to accommodate the new heiress-Their mother's portraits were no longer all over the walls, except for the ones in their rooms and one in Lord's study- it was too much to adjust to. And so Nate had found solace in bonding with Olivia and the others, Olivia especially, she was like a second mom to him. She listened, treated him fairly and encouraged him. She taught him so much that he still remained grateful for. And now in this time where his biggest fear had come to pass, she was his biggest consolation.
"She will get the Justice she deserves…sir will ensure that she gets the Justice she deserves" Olivia said stuttering, her voice tainted by tears. "Ma was an amazing woman, she had no enemies, she did not deserve an end like this…poor Maaaa" she continued sobbing.
Jovana came and stood close to Olivia by the door. "The police are here". Olivia stared at her with a frightened expression. "I suspect George, aside ma he's the only one that goes to the garden" she added.
"Yeah you would suspect him because he never looked your way…better watch your mouth before you end up putting an innocent man in trouble". Olivia cautioned her.
Jovana frowned. It was true that she liked George, No, she absolutely loved him, everything about him, and she was the friendliest to him, she added extra ketchup in his sauce, she made coleslaw specially for him but he always accepted it as a 'friendly gesture' and not a token of her undying love. But it was not because of this fact that she suspected him. To her, he was simply in the middle of all angles. He was the only one besides her that entered that garden, and he was the first person to see her body and probably the last person that spoke to her, who else would it be?. He would definitely be the first person to be questioned by the police other than ma'am Olivia, Noah, Theodore, flora and Antoine.