Chapter Forty Eight
Raya St Claire

"I thought you betrayed me again, you know?" I tell Archie, sitting in front of him in the leathered chair.

It was strange how fast the time has gone. It felt like yesterday when I came in here to ask him when he was going to start helping me find the people who murdered my family seeing that eight years has elapsed, only to find out that same night that he was one of the three men who went to my house that night, and that he saved my little brother from having the same fate as my parents.

"What do you mean?" He asks, his eyebrows pulled together in a confused frown.

"You said Winchester had a family because I thought you wanted me to spare his life, but you were right when you said that it would lower his guard. I got to him when I mentioned his family. I saw some emotion in his eyes when I mentioned his wife and daughter, and unborn son. And you know... for a brief second... I wanted to spare his life because of his family. Because just because he was the biggest asshole to me, didn't mean that he was the same way with his family, but then I realized something...I realized that they would be better off without him."

Archie nods, not saying anything at all.

"Do you know why I said that they'd be better off without him? Without a father or a husband?"

He shakes his head.

"Because he was abusing them." I nod, to myself. "He was abusing them, Archie."

"What?"

"Yeah." I tell him. "The 'concerned for his family' look he was giving me when I threatened his family was just an act." I sit backward, flush against the backrest of the leathered chair. "It was all an act. He couldn't care less about what happened to his family. I could see it in his eyes. And when he said that he only cared about the money... well... that told me that he couldn't care less about his family, too. That motherfucker deserved to die. Winchester deserved to die, Archie..."

"I know." He says, his voice barely above a whisper. "He did deserve to die." He says a little bit louder. "But what about me, Raya? I was there that night, too. I witnessed your mother and father get murdered and I acted as if I didn't know, for eight years, I acted as if I didn't know."

I nod, swallowing hard. "You are not like Winchester." I tell him. "You're nothing like him."

"But it doesn't make it okay."

"You regret it, Archie." I look at him, I really look at him. "I wanted to kill you, you know? When I found out that you were there that night. I wanted to kill you, Archie, but I didn't... because you were trying to make amends, for eight years, and you saved my little brother. It wouldn't be fair toward you if I still hated you just for being present when my parents was killed. You are not the one who pulled the trigger. You weren't the one who smiled at me after just murdering my mom and dad in cold blood, and was ready to murder me too, for fucking money." I sit forward again, resting my hands on the edge of the table. "I don't blame you anymore, Archie. You have saved my little brother from having the same fate as my parents, and you have looked after me as if I was your own daughter for eight years. I don't hate you anymore. I don't."

Archie smiles, but he looked anything but relieved. "I didn't make things right with you, yet."

"What do you mean? Of course you did. You saved my little brother—"

With that, the doorbell rang from downstairs, the sound echoed throughout the entire mansion.

I frown at Archie when he got up from his chair behind his desk.

"I'm making things right." He says.

"Archie... What did you do?" I ask him, feeling my heart start to hammer inside my chest at a violent speed.  "What did you do?" I ask again, hoping he would answer me this time, but he didn't.

I follow him out of his office until we reached the stairs.

Ezra was talking to someone and when I could see who it was, my heart stopped beating for a second.

It was Lady Agent.

"I was an accomplice, Ray." Archie says. "I should be imprisoned for the things I did. I worked for Winchester. I hurt people. I stole money... I shouldn't be a free man at all. I should be in jail, sitting for my crimes. I should make amends the right way, by sitting for the awful things I did."

I open my mouth to say something, but Lady Agent spots me and walks over to us standing near the end of the staircase. "Raya... It's nice to see you again."

 "Lady Agent," I practically pleaded, "please don't arrest Archie."

It was funny, really. A few weeks ago I would have loved to see Archie suffering for the things he did, but now I was pleading for Lady Agent not to take him away from me. It was hilarious.

"I'm not here to arrest Archie." She says.

Archie frowns at her. He was just as confused as I was.

"Then why are you here if not to arrest me for my crimes?" Archie asks.

"I am here to tell you that the person who murdered your family has been found dead in his office this morning, Raya." Lady Agent says. "By the looks of it, he's been dead for a few days now."

She's here to arrest me. I thought. She knows I killed him.

"I, uh, I—"

"He was a bad man, Raya." She says, eyeing me cautiously. "But at least that's one bad man off of the streets." She smiles at me like it's our little inside joke.

"If you're not here to arrest one of us, Lady Agent, why are you here then?"

She lifts her shoulders and shrugs. "I guess I wanted to give you the good news, that's all." She smiles again. "You don't have to search anymore because you have found him, and he's dead."

I have found two of the three men who were there that night. I wanted to tell her, but I kept my mouth shut instead. She didn't have to know that my search was long not over yet. Not by far.

"So..." She sighs. "I just wanted to give you the good news. That's all."

I nod. "Thank you for letting me know."

She leans in, closer to me. "I see that you have listened to his side of the story."

"I made the right choice." I tell her.

"You sure did." She says, straightening herself again. "Be good, Raya. I don't want to knock on your door again."

I nod, watching her retreating back as she left.

She knew I killed Winchester but she didn't arrest me for it. She knew that Archie was involved in my parent's murder but she didn't even arrest him either. I guess he was pardoned for being an asset to this case.

He helped us. He helped me.

I see Ezra and his little sister sitting on the couch, watching cartoons.

I smile at the two of them before I focus my gaze on Archie. "I forgive you, Archie." I tell him. "And I think it's time for you to forgive yourself, too."

With that, I turned around and went to my room.

I said everything I wanted to say to him, and I felt relieved.

I loved Archie.

Yes, he hurt me by lying to me for years, but there were worse things to worry about right now.

Winchester was dead.

That was one thing scratched off of my list of to-dos.

There is just one thing I need to do before I can put everything behind me.

One is forgiven.

One is dead.

And one person more to kill.