Chapter115HeHasNotStoopedThatLow
Themeetingendedinanhour,andWilliamretumedtohis<b>office</b><b>.</b>
Hissecretary,Fabian,wentinimmediatelytoupdate.
“Mr.Middleton,Ms. Bowen’sfather’ssurgeryisunderwayandhasn’tfinishedyet.Ifthere’sanynews,thehospitalwillcontactme.”
Williamfrownedslightlybutreplied,“FindoutwhathappenedtoEmelie.”
Fabianpausedandthensaid,“okay.”
Afterleavingthepolicestation,EmelietetumedtoAlderbrook
Whentheincidenturred,Billy,herbrother–inw,quicklytoolsCertaaway.
IfGretahadseenit,herconditioncouldhaveworsenedfromtheagitation.
<b>Once</b><b>she</b>enteredthehouse,Elianarushedtoaskcher,“Emelle,how’sDad?”
“He’sbeendetained,”Emeliereplied.
Elianacopsedintoachair.“Doesthatmean<b>he’s</b>going<b>to</b>jail?”
Emelienodded.“Maybe.”
Enabitherlip<b>,</b>poundingher leeinself–reproach.“It’sallmyfault!IknewDadgetsriledupeasilybut didn’twatchhimcloselyenough!”
“Don’tmeyourself.I’llgetwyerforDad.There<b>should</b>beawayout,”Emelie<b>said</b>,pouringherselfassofwater.
“How’sMom<b>?</b><b>”</b>
Elianapointedtothebedroom.“She’sveryworried.Butthankfully,shehasn’thadan episode.She’srestingthere.”
EmeliewentintocheckonGreta.
Seeingher,Gretabrightenedwithhope,sittingup.“Emelie,yourfather…”
Emelie<b>eased</b>herbackdown“llhandleDad’smatter.Trustme.Content (C) N?v/elDra/ma.Org.
TearsfellfromGreta’seyes.
“Itoldyounotto<be</b>back,nottocontactus.Ourtroublesalwaysholdyou<b>back</b>.Weareaburdentoyou.
“We’refamily,sothere’sno needforthat.Everyproblemhasasolution.”
<b>Emily</b>paused.“Ifwe<b>can’t</b>solveit,weepttheconsequences.Whenhe’sreleased,we’llstillbefamily.”
Oreta<b>said</b><b>in</b>agony,“It’sallmy<b>fault</b>.Igotthisillness.Whendiagnosed,Ishouldhaveendeditallinsteadofdraggingyoualldown!”
Emelie’snervestensed.
“Mom,youmustn’tlosehope.You knowourfamily’ssituation.Don’tmakerashchoicesagain.Deathsolvesnothingandonlycasts<b>a</b>lifelongshadow!”
“No,Iwon’t.Iwon’tlosehope,Iwon’tcausetroubleanymore.”Gretamanured.
Emelleheldhermother’s<b>hand</b>,herthoughtsinturmoil.
Suddenly,sheremembered.“Dadtoldmethat<b>day</b>,youbothsavedupseventytoeightythousand<b>dors</b>.Howdidyousavethatmuch?Doyou<b>have</b>jobs?”Bonnardtorunasmallgrocerystore.Afterwellingeverythingtopayoffdebts,hewasleftwithnomeansoflivelihood<b>.</b>Theyhadlimitededucationandnoskills.Beingoverfiftyyearsold,theyshouldhavereliedontheirchildren’ssupport.However,fromwhatsheobserved,Eliana’sinwswereanaveragefamily.Theycouldn’tsupporttheirelderlyparents.
However,RonanandGretaseemedreasonablywell–off.Howhadtheybeenmakingaliving alltheseyears?
Gretaansweredher.“WepackagedthecooldesatNibblers‘factoryinAlderbrookTheircooldesarethemostfamous.
“Weweretryingourluckbyinquiringiftheywerehiring.Surprisingly,bothyourfatherand1gothired.Howfortunate!Factoriesrarely<b>employ</b>elderlylikeuswithnoworkexperience.”
Shetouchedherchest.“Theydetectedmyheartconditionduringthefactory’smualhealthcheck.”
Emelledidn’taskfurther.“Please<b>test</b><b>.</b>I’sksomefriendsaboutDad’ssituation.”
“okay,okay”
Thoughburdened,Gretawasstipatientwithlimitedenergy.Sheslowlydriftedtosleep
Emeliewalkedout<b>and</b>satonthe<b>small</b>stooloutsidethehouse.<b>She</b>understoodnow.
<b>William</b>likelyarrangedGretaandponam’sjobs.Initially,hesaidthatifshefollowedhim,hewouldtakecareofherparents.
Shethoughtheonlypaidofftheirthreemilliondordebt.Buthealsohelpedthemfind<b>a</b>basic jobtomakeendsmeet.
Probably,hisarrangementresultedinthefactorynotifyinghimaboutGreta’s<b>heart</b>condition.<b>That’s</b>howheknew.
Williamtoldhertofindtheanswersherself,andshedid.
ButEmeliestillwasn’tsure.Washe behindGetslosingthathearttransntopportunity?
Hopefully,itwasn’t?dan.
Hopefully,hehadnotstoopedthatlow.