Chapter 78: Poor boy


    “What are you doing with my phone?” Penelope asked in terror. She wanted to move closer to


    Elena, but she raised her hand and made her stop.


    “Why?” Elena mumbled.


    Penelope clenched her jaws and stared at the phones in her hand. She could guess that Elena


    already knew her secret.


    “Come here.” She hastily walked up to her and pulled her by the hand, into the room. She shut the


    door behind her and locked it.


    “Why would you do that to your daughter, Mom?! Your daughter and granddaughter too?!” Elena


    eximed in disappointment.


    “Will you at least listen to what I have to say first?”


    “There’s nothing to justify what you have just done to my sister, Mom. This is too extreme. There


    should never be anything that would push you to do such a wicked thing to your own blood.”


    “My blood? Yes! Truly she is my blood, but she has no pity for her own blood too! Elena, she sent


    your father to Jail!”


    Elena’s mouth fell open in awe, and she scoffed afterwards.


    “Because he was guilty of murder! He killed her guardians!...”


    “Lower your voice! Someone could be listening!” Penelope whispered audibly, and Elena gulped


    hard and looked away.


    “That better not be the reason why you are letting her, an innocent child and every other person


    suffer!”


    “I don’t like the Parkers, okay? Sit and let me exin things to you.”


    Elena stared at her for a few minutes as she was reluctant to sit.


    “Sit, Elena. You want to know why, right? You should sit and listen attentively.”


    Elena sat and kept her eyes off Penelope because she was so angry and disgusted to look her in


    the eyes.


    “Fine. I’m listening.” Elena responded icily.


    “Good. When the truth about the cause of Amelia’s parents was revealed, I felt so scared that she


    would want to avenge their death or even fight for their justice. I didn’t want to lose Hopper, so I


    went to Amelia to talk to her. I pleaded so hard for her mercy, I told her not to press charges.” She


    paused and lowered her head in sadness.


    “Amelia said she was going to press charges no matter what. I understood her because she was


    hurting so badly, and I was also in no ce to tell her that because I was part of it. So I went to


    James too. This time, it was Hopper and I. We went to plead with him to talk to his wife, but he said


    he could not. That justice should be served.”


    “I felt so angry and helpless. We were already regretting what had happened and wished we could


    put them all behind us. After James paid little attention to us, we went to his parents. We knew after


    James, they were the next people she would always listen to…”


    “I don’t get it, Mom. What were you expecting? A happy ever after? After killing two people?”


    “Let me finish, okay? I talked to Helen, who was my best friend in high school. I wanted her to use


    her influence to speak to Amelia about not pressing charges. But what did my best friend do? She


    turned me down too. The same way Charles turned down Hopper.”


    Tears streamed down her eyes, and she shut them pretty tight. She folded her palms on her knees


    and shook her legs nervously.


    “And so you thought of punishing them for it?”


    “Helen has always wanted what is mine! She has always taken what I love from me! First, she took


    all the attention and acted like the Angel and most intelligent girl in high school, then she stole my


    dream man from me, then the love of my kid and turned her back against me…”


    “She didn’t turn Amelia’s back against you! Y’all got what you deserved! And his the f**k did she


    steal your dream man?”


    “And now Hopper isn’t with me anymore! If only she had helped me out, maybe this wouldn’t have


    happened!”


    “So you’re saying Dad is the dream man she stole from you?”


    “No! Charles! She told Charles away from me? Okay?!” She smacked as she broke into tears.


    Elena creased her brows and stared at her in great confusion. “Charles? She has been married to


    him for years! How did she steal him from you?”


    “He was the one I bumped into at the shopping mall. I’ve told you that story several times.”


    Penelope shook her head and exhaled loudly. She stood up and moved away from the bed.


    “But you never got the chance to talk to him. You didn’t even ask for his name. How did you expect


    her to know who your dream man was?”


    “I told her every detail. How he looked, how his voice was so soothing to my ears.”


    “Mom! You''re speaking like a child! Who would keep such details for years?!”


    “Why him? Why did she have to marry him?! Why is it always what she gets with ease, hun?!”


    Elena went mute for a few minutes and watched Penelope sob.


    “But how does this have to do with you abducting Alice and keeping Amelia there too?”


    “I don’t want her to have anything to do with the Parkers anymore. I don’t want anything to bring us


    together. I want another man for my daughter.”


    This belongs ? N?velDra/ma.Org.


    “The dead have been done! They are married and happy. Can’t you just let it slide? All these are


    just flimsy excuses to show the kind of person you are!”


    “The deed has not been done! I’ll change that deed to what I want. She will get married to another


    person, a man from a rich and neutral home. That’s what I want?”


    Elena shook her head and looked away from her. “I should have known that you are this evil. No


    wonder I am also evil. I won’t let you do this. Everyone would know the truth.”


    Penelope cleaned her eyes with the bank of her palm and sprang to her feet. “You’ll say nothing to


    anyone, Elena! I am your mother!”


    “No, you are not! I want a caring and matured mother. Not someone like you! Everyone has to know


    this.”


    “Don’t you dare or else…”


    “You’ll kill me too just like you killed her parents? Or lock me up just like you have done to Alice and


    Amelia? I won’t be so shocked if that happens. But, I won’t have a hand in this atrocity. I can’t keep


    this secret for you. Not when it has to do with my sister and my baby Alice.”


    “So you’ll let them throw me into jail too?! You want to lose your both parents?!” She grabbed


    Elena’s arm as she spoke.


    “You should have been thrown in there with dad. Now I understand why Amelia found it so hard to


    love you like her mother. If you go away, I still have good people to call my parents.”


    “I am your mother, Elena!”


    “And all this while you let James say those horrible things to your innocent daughter. You could take


    that! If you could take that, then you are not my mother. A mother would always protect her child,


    not endanger her! You have endangered both of your children for your selfish interest. We disown


    you as our mother! You’ll suffer for what you’ve done to my sister.”


    Elena yanked her arm off Penelope’s grip and stormed out of the room before she could stop her.


    “Elena!” Penelope called as she followed behind her. Elena took her heels and kept running until


    she got out of the house.


    ‘I need space from her.’ She thought as she shed tears.


    “Elena!” Penelope called again and was about to open the door when James walked into the living


    room.


    “What is happening, Mrs. Penelope? Why are you screaming her name thiste at night?” He


    inquired.


    She swallowed and shook her head ufortably. “We had a minor argument and she got so


    pissed. She just ran out of the house.”


    James sighed and sipped the wine in his hand.


    “She isn’t a baby. She’lle back when she wants. You should go back to your room and rest.


    Maybe this is even the best for us. For her to be far away from here.”


    He staggered to the couch and mmed into it. The ss of wine fell from his hand and scattered


    all over the ce, causing a loud noise.


    “James! Have you been drinking?!” Penelope asked in surprise. It was the first time she had seen


    him so drunk.


    “Mind your business, woman. Go to bed. I’m fine.” He muttered andid on the couch.


    “Where are you, Amelia? When will youe to me?” He murmured as his eyes closed to take a


    rest.


    Penelope scoffed and shook her head. ‘Poor boy.’


    ***


    Elena got to a hotel and booked a room to stay the night. She sat on the bed and unlocked her


    phone.


    She stared at the phone number she had copied from her mom’s phone and began to reminisce.


    ‘Should I call him? What if she has called him and he has gotten rid of this line? I need to act first.’


    She sent a text message to someone else, a friend of hers who was a good tracker.


    She texted him the number she had copied to him and texted; “Please I need you to help me track


    this person. He has my sister and her daughter.”


    After texting, the message was delivered, and luckily in no time, her friend saw the message.


    She waited for him to reply, and he replied with, “on it.”


    “Thank you so much.” She texted again in excitement.


    She exhaled loudly and raised her head to look at the ceiling.


    “Who do I tell about this?! This is too much for me to bear alone. I can’t keep it to myself. But what if


    mom is sent to jail too? Must she be sent to jail? Can’t I just act like another detective of mine found


    her before everyone else?”


    She started pacing around the room, cing her jaw between her two fingers.


    “I can just act like I found her. I don’t have to mention Mom. But what if the man with them tries to


    say something? I would love us to punish him but won’t he mention Mom? Won’t that spoil the


    whole n? Does that mean I have to forgive him too?”


    “Arrrrggghh!…” She grabbed her head in frustration and fell on the bed.


    “I need to think this through! I can’t let my two parents go to jail, and I would never let that kidnapper


    get away with this. He must have traumatized Amelia.” She muttered.


    She shut her eyes tight and buried her face in the soft pillow.


    ‘Oh God! I need to sleep now. My head is going to explode!’


    ‘But how is Amelia? What is she doing right now? Does this man hurt her?’


    She pulled the duvet over her aggressively and shut her eyes tight again, forcing herself to sleep.