Suddenlt, Edith's voice cut through the silence. "Don't bother. I'm already in the loop."They looked up to see Edith entering, leaning on Felicia for support.The two felt a chill run down their spines and quickly helped the old lady sit down. They stood by, quiet as mice.Edith eyed them, clearly annoyed. "Aren't you two usually on the ball? What's with the coward act now?"They both managed a nervous chuckle.Yahir braved a question. "Madam Gibson, what are you doing here?"No sooner had the words left his lips than Edith shot him a withering look. "Had I not shown up, you guys would probably be in over your heads, wouldn't you?"Yahir winced and clammed up.Edith's gaze shifted to her grandson, who lay on the bed out like a light. Worry etched deep in her eyes, she demanded, "Out with it. What in the world happened?"Yahir nudged Daniel, giving him a look that screamed 'Spill it, now'.Daniel got the message. With things as bad as they were, the truth could not stay burie
The two were dismissed by Edith.Then, only the steady ticking of the machines filled the sickroom.Felicia, noticing the weariness on Edith's face, gently suggested, "Why don't you take a break? I'll stay here."Edith had been under the weather since winter set in.Her youthful overexertion had left her with a slew of lingering health issues, and the cold always made her ache.Once Trevon was capable enough, she had taken a step back from the limelight.Her body just was not holding up like it used to. That was how Riley managed to keep her in the dark so easily.If Walter had not called the family home, worried about Trevon's serious condition, they would have remained clueless about everything that had happened.Edith dismissed the concern with a wave of her hand."I'm alright. He came to me last time, asking for help to get rid of Lydia and to make sure Madeline was safe. I thought he was finally getting wise, learning to distinguish good from bad. However, I never expecte
Trevon was silent for what felt like an eternity. Honestly, he was clueless about what to do next, his mind was a total mess.Edith's temper flared again at his silence. "Aren't you the guy with all the big ideas? What, got nothing to say now? You're not still thinking of getting Lydia back, are you? Drop that thought right now! Otherwise, forget I ever called you my grandson."Trevon furiously blurted, "Grandma, Lydia's the one who set up the car crash, and she's the one who told Mom about the pregnancy. Her and me? No chance of that happening."Edith blinked in surprise.The bombshell of Madeline's pregnancy had been so shocking that it had cut Daniel off before he could explain everything.It was Lydia pulling the strings all along, and Riley, the poor sap, got played.Edith's expression darkened. "That's just evil. What kind of grudge does she have against Madeline to go this far? You shouldn't confront your mom about this. I'll take care of it. She's been getting too comfort
Madeline blinked, her mind foggy from sleep.Had she imagined the phone ringing?No, that could not be right. Edith was not the type to pester someone with calls after being hung up on.After a brief pause, Madeline replied, "Grandma, what's up?"Trevon's breath hitched when he heard her voice.She was not out of it, and she knew someone was on the line, yet she had hung up the second she heard him. Had she forgotten about the whopping 900 thousand dollars she still owed?Edith shot Trevon a look that could freeze lava, mouthing a silent 'shush' before speaking into the phone with a heavy heart."Madeline, you're asking me what's up? You've got a major crisis on your hands, and you didn't even give me a heads-up."Madeline felt a lump in her throat but pushed it down. "Grandma, I'm okay. It's all sorted out."Edith's voice turned tender. "Sweetie, did you forget what I've always told you? No matter what, I'm your grandma, and I'm always here for you. I've already taken care of
Trevon rushed back and, as expected, found Madeline's door open with the sound of shuffling inside.For some reason, he tiptoed closer.Madeline was there, surrounded by two large boxes, transferring items into them.Unable to resist, Trevon called out for her."Madeline."She stopped for a second but did not look up. She replied, "I'm just grabbing my stuff and then I'm gone."Trevon's brow creased with concern. "Where will you go?"Instead of answering, Madeline pulled out her phone and flashed the bank application at him. "Mr. Gibson, I'm stuck until you unfreeze my card."Trevon's hands balled into fists.He did not want to lift the freeze. That money was his excuse to keep her in his life.He cleared his throat and extended a new card toward her. "I've got someone handling the freeze, but these things take time. If you're in a hurry, use this card of mine for now."Madeline refused to take the card, simply giving him a look. "Deduct it from the nine hundred thousand dol
A flicker of panic flashed in Madeline's eyes.Why would Trevon suddenly ask such a question out of nowhere? Could it be that he remembered what happened that night?No! Even if he did remember, so what? Only she knew who the child's father was!Madeline instantly snapped back to reality and swiftly kicked him."Madeline!"She did not aim, but her foot landed right at Trevon's groin.Trevon doubled over, the pain twisting his face as he dropped to his knees. His grip went slack, and Madeline wriggled free.She did not even bother with the stuff she was still packing. Half mad, half annoyed, she bolted out the door."In your dreams!"At the door, Madeline let out a disgusted spit and stormed off, leaving Trevon alone, curled up in pain.It took forever, but the sharp pain finally faded.Trevon wiped off the sweat that the pain had wrung out of him, leaned back on the bed, and let out a loopy laugh.Madeline was clutching her belly as she ran.That slight tightness, the fain
Tanner's expression turned grim. He got what Madeline was implying.However, he was there to clear his name, not play bargaining games."Ms. Sanders, we'll help you find the jerk who's after you and your mom, but we're not to blame. It was an accident, plain and simple!"Madeline turned her attention to Chandler.A lawyer, Colt Sawyer, who stood by Chandler's side piped up."Hello, I'm Mr. Sawyer. Ms. Sanders has asked me to sort out this mess. You might not be all that familiar with the law, so let me break it down for you."Legally speaking, you all crossed the line when you tried to stop Ms. Sanders from getting her mother the medical help she needed abroad. You're looking at charges like disturbing the peace, extortion, and assault."These are serious offenses, folks. Evenif Ms. Sanders is willing to let bygones be bygones, the law's got its own score to settle with you."Look, if you can smooth things over with Ms. Sanders and since it's your first strike, the court might
As Tanner told his story, everyone else nodded like it was all making sense."Right, I got that call too. They even gave me the exact time to show up and stop you. They said that was the only way to catch you and get some cash out of it."Tanner added, "The girl on the phone sounded pretty young, maybe in her twenties."Madeline's frown deepened as she played a voice message from Lydia. "Does she sound familiar?"Tanner listened and without hesitation, he confirmed, "That's the one. Yeah, that's her voice. No doubt about it."Tanner cleared his throat. "Ms. Sanders, here's the lowdown. It's about three million bucks that got this kid too greedy. I'm here to say sorry for what he did. Let's not forget all the times we've worked together, okay? How about we let this one slide?"Madeline kept silent.Colt chimed in, "Listen up, folks. Just help us out with the investigation, and the judge will do right by the law. However, for now, nobody gets out of town, got it? We'll need you al