The Wife's Resolve

Chapter 19: The Aftermath

The shots signaled authorities. Police and an ambulance were on the scene in minutes. Paramedics took over. Paxton was loaded and rushed to the hospital as the officer set out to question witnesses. Valerie looked at her dress and Nicoli's suit, which were soaked in Paxton's blood. It was too much. Since Damon knew the shooter was not a family member, he okayed the family to give statements. Damon and Valerie attempted to leave the scene when they were stopped by Officer White, “I just have a few questions for you, Mr. Dare.”

Valerie was beside herself, “We don’t know anything,” she cried, “we didn’t see anything. WE did not even know Paxton had been hit. I saw him hit the ground. We need to get to the hospital.”

“I hate to be the one to tell you this, Mrs. Dare, but Paxton is in critical condition. You can’t do anything for him at the hospital, but you can help us with the investigation here.”

“Don’t playcate my wife,” Damon practically shouted, “Just let her go to the hospital, and I will stay and answer your questions.”

“Damon,” she pulled his arm, “Please don’t make me go there alone.”

“Mrs. Dare, do you know anyone who would want Paxton dead?” The Officer asked without tact. “The media suggest the two of you may be having an affair,” Damon moved like he was going to punch the officer, but Valerie held him back, “If you want to insult my husband or me, you can talk to my lawyer.” Valerie regained her composure. “I don’t know anyone who would want him dead, and if you insinuate that my husband is after him, you are mistaken.” Valerie thought of the message she had seen on Paxton’s phone, which was tucked in her jacket pocket. What was Paxton involved in?

“You are free to go, Mrs. Dare, but you will probably hear from us,” Officer White waved them off.

“You can contact us through our lawyer,” Valerie said as they got in their car and rushed to the hospital.

When they arrived, the doctor informed them that the bullet had missed the heart by millimeters. Paxton was still in surgery. The bullet was a through-and-through. He was in critical condition but was expected to make a full recovery as long as he survives the surgery.

Valerie sat on a bench, put her face in her hands, and cried. “Please fight Paxton,” she whispered to comfort herself.

Damon knelt in front of her, pulled her hands down, wrapped his arms around her, and pulled her into himself. “It’s okay, Valerie, he will be okay. Paxton is a fighter. He will pull through.”

She nodded into his chest but did not speak.

“I need you to know, I had nothing to do with this,” Damon whispered.

She looked up, shocked he would even suggest such a thing, “Of course you didn’t. I would never think that.”

“The new stations are already speculating that I tried to kill him.” I just want to make sure you know and believe that it is a lie.”

“I know it is,” Valerie sounded so certain that it relieved his doubt. “I have to show you something.” Valerie pulled out Paxton’s phone from her pocket. “He dropped this after he was shot. I picked it up when I saw the last message.”

“Who was it from?”Damon asked.

“The number was unknown, which is weird because Paxton knows everybody. But who sent it is not why I opened it.”

“Why then?” he answered.

“It said a warning is not a suggestion.” Valerie read the message, but that’s not the only threat he received today. Early this morning, he received this message from a separate unknown number, “Stop digging into Evelyn's death. Some secrets are meant to stay buried with the dead.” Valerie was shaking, and Damon held her tighter.

“Do you have any idea what he was looking into?” Damon questioned.

“When I left him last night, he did not have anything except for realizing the connection between Evelyn and the Dare family. Evelyn was in love with Devyn before she died.” Valerie confided.

“Donivan and I figured out that she did not commit suicide, but that's not a secret to warrant this,” Damon said.

“That’s not our only problem today,” Donivan’s voice sounded behind him.

Valerie rubbed her forehead and studied Donivan before speaking, “The dress was poisoned,” she concluded.

At the word poison, Damon stood up and spun around, “Someone better tell me what is going on right now,” he practically yelled.

Donivan cleared his throat, “Someone poisoned Valerie’s dress for the wedding.”

Damon turned to Valerie, “You both told me it was an allergic reaction.”

“Truth is, we did not know what it was till Donivan had tests run,” Valerie explained.

Damon relaxed, realizing they were not hiding the truth, “Now that you know, tell me exactly what happened.”

“Only if you promise me not to kill Nicoli,” she joked, “he worried about it.” She laughed, and Donivan laughed as well.

Damon shook his head, “Seems like I am the only one not in on the joke. I promise not to kill him.”

"After Natali helped me into my dress, she was called away to help Elena. While she was gone, my skin started to feel like it was on fire. I called Nicoli right away. I don’t even remember what happened next, as I could not breathe and passed out.”

Damon took her hand, “Why did you not call me?”

“Damon, if I had called you, you would have had to tell Davius. I did not want to ruin the wedding. I knew Nicoli would not be missed, and as I said when I called him, I did not know what it was. I also did not know it was serious at the time.”

“You always think of everything,” Damon praised and smiled at her. “What happened next?” he asked.

“Well, this is the part you won’t like.” She paused and looked at his face, “Nicoli broke down the door to the suite and found me unconscious. He took me out and brought me to another room. Then he cut my dress off and gave it to Donivan.”

“So both of you saw her without clothes,” Damon snarled.

Donivan held up both hands, “Calm down, man, she had a slip on, she was not naked, and we were too worried about trying to decide if I needed to interrupt the wedding or if she would be fine.”

“Anyways, once the dress was off, Nicoli said my breathing went back to normal fairly quickly, and the rash mostly disappeared.

“I want a doctor to check you out,” Damon said calmly.

“If you think that is necessary,” Valerie smiled.

“I do,” Damon responded, “ It will also give us a distraction while we wait on the news of surgery.” Then he reached his hand into his pocket and pulled out his own phone and sent a text to Nicoli. "Find out who had access to Valerie’s dress.” When he was finished, he replaced his phone and looked back at his wife, “Give Donivan Paxton’s phone so he can track down who sent the messages.