Chapter 20: Loyalty Testing

"Freda." I was startled out of my reverie by Williams's voice. His eyes met mine, and his voice became more urgent. "You are no longer the only focus of this. This is about the business and the legacy of my family. Additionally, your family is currently under attack. Since trust is currently a luxury we cannot afford, we must know who we can trust.

With a dry throat, I nodded. Every inch of my skin felt as though it were being studied, every thought I had clouded with mistrust. This was not merely a warning message. It was a proclamation. Too much was known by someone. My past was known to someone. And that changed everything, as Williams had stated.

I had anticipated issues from my relationship with the Harringtons. However, this was something for which I was unprepared. There had always been layers of mystery around my birth family, keeping the truth hidden. My adopted parents, the family that had forster me, and the individuals I had believed I could trust were now at the centre of a web that I could hardly understand. Their silence—or rather, their involvement—had always cast a pall over me. It was now drawing me into something more sinister and frightening.

I had to face them. However, how? Without admitting how much I already knew, how could I even start to ask the correct questions? Without telling them that I had discovered more about my ancestry than I should have?

Williams stated, "You need to talk to your family," with a keen gaze. "This becomes worse the longer you wait. If I don't know what's happening, I can't defend you."

I gave a headshake. Williams, “I'm not sure if I can trust them. Not in light of everything that has transpired. Not in light of what I've discovered."

"You have to trust someone, Freda," he demanded. And it must be your adoptive family at the moment. They have been concealing things. You must determine why.”

"But how do I know they’re not lying to me?" With a mixture of rage and dread rising to the surface, my voice broke. "I don't even know if they are responsible for this, so how can I trust them? In the back of the danger I'm in?"

For a brief while, Williams's eyes softened as though he realised how much I was bearing. His face more sympathetic, he stepped forward. "You must choose with whom you will stand. I am unable to decide for you. But Freda, you have to face them. Additionally, you must force them to be honest with you.”

The words were weighty and unforgiving as they hung in the air. The reality. How could I possibly know the truth? After living my entire life with the belief that I understood who I was, I found out that all of my assumptions were false. My entire past had been exaggerated, twisted, and concealed from me. And now, after all of that, after being pulled into the savage world of the Harringtons and their foes, I was expected to have faith in the people who had brought me up?

I looked at Williams, the person who had supported me during my most trying times and whom I had once believed I could trust. I wasn't sure what to believe at this point. Had I known him at all? Was there ever a time when I had a true understanding of his life, his sacrifices, or the risky game he played with his own family?

I forced my misgivings aside with a forceful swallow. I couldn't afford to be uncertain. Not right now. Not when everything in my universe was falling apart. I had to do something. I had to initiate contact.

I said, "I’m going to talk to them," in a firm voice despite the roaring storm inside my chest. "But please don't get involved. I need to hear from them if they are complicit in this or if they have been deceiving me all along. Not from you.”

Williams clenched his jaw, but he remained silent. Rather, he merely nodded. "I won't get involved. I won't, however, leave you defenceless. Freda, you have to use caution. The depth of this is beyond your comprehension.”

As I walked out of the room into the dark, cold night that felt heavier than usual, his words continued to reverberate in my head. Every time my heart beat, it served as a reminder of the peril I was in. I wasn't sure if I was even prepared to face what awaited me on the other side of the hazy and foggy route.

The familiar features of my adopted family's estate loomed ahead as I drove through the peaceful streets. It felt like a jail now, the house that had once stood for protection and safety. Originally constructed to protect me from the truth, the walls had simply kept me in the dark and shielded things I had no right to know. And I was going to face them now.

I took a deep breath before getting out of the car after pulling up to the front gate and parking. Every step I took towards the front door felt heavier than the one before as my heart raced. I was on the verge of destroying all I had ever known and believed. But now there was no going back. I had to stop living in ignorance. I couldn't act as though this didn't exist.

When I waited, my nerves nearly overcame me when I rang the doorbell. My mother, who had raised me and whom I had always referred to as "Mom," was standing there when the door creaked open. Although her grin was warm, I felt sick to my stomach because of something in her eyes—a little moment of doubt.

She murmured, "Freda, sweetheart," in a calming manner, but I could hear the stress beneath it. "What brings you here so late?"

I said, "I need to talk to you," in a steady voice that was unmistakably urgent. "The truth. Almost anything.”

For a brief moment, her face wavered, but she soon got over it and moved aside to let me in. "Obviously, sweetheart. Come on in. We'll sit down and discuss."

I had a strong sense of closure when the door shut behind me. It was this. Everything was going to change at this point. Now I can't go back.

We sat in the formal sitting room, where I had spent many hours as a child, acting as though nothing was wrong and that I was a member of a loving, caring family. However, I became aware of how much of it had been a delusion as I looked around. There was nothing recognizable about this place. There was nothing familiar about these people.

"Freda," my mother said, her voice quiet but tinged with anxiety. "What's going on here? Lately, you've been so aloof. Are you bothered by something?"

I steadied myself by taking a big breath. I said, "I know about the Harringtons," in a firm voice. "I am aware of my biological mother. And I want to know why you didn't tell me about all of this. Why did you never be honest with me?”

There was a brief period of silence. For the first time, I noticed a break in my mother's collected, serene exterior as her eyes widened in disbelief. But it was short-lived. She gathered herself quickly and forced a smile that stopped short of her eyes.

"Freda," she continued in a tone that was almost imploring. "You're not getting it. We acted in your best interest. We protected you. That life should never have come to your attention.”

"Why not?" I leaned forward and demanded. "Why don't you tell me? Why prevent me from discovering my true self?”

She paused, and I briefly feared she may snap. Her smile grew more persistent, though, and her eyes hardened. "My dear, it's complicated. You are ignorant of certain things. You're not prepared to hear certain things.”

I reclined as a sense of impending doom descended upon me. "I think I’m ready."

The doorbell rang loudly and urgently again before she could answer. The sound shook the room like a shock of electricity, and we both froze. I could see the panic mounting in my mother's eyes as her face turned pale.

"Who is that?" I questioned, my voice shaking from a feeling I couldn't quite put my finger on.

She simply stood up and walked towards the door without responding.

It dawned on me then that they weren't the only ones holding whatever secrets they had been concealing.