Chapter 74 Murphy’s Law
Michael patted her back and kept calming her down. Then, he roared at Cedric, “What the hell did you just say, Cedric? Do you think we want this to happen? Can you be a bit more understanding? Let your mother calm down, will you. We can talk about this tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?” Cedric flailed his arms around angrily. “Mom’s going to call the cops on Cameron tonight, and everyone will know she’s Angie’s real mother. Angie will be ruined, and everything will be too late then.”
Angie was hiding behind Cedric and holding his arm, crying her heart out.
“So?” Crystal stared at him. “Tell me then, what do you want to do?”
“I told you what I want to do,” Cedric said. “We’re keeping this a secret and pretend nothing ever happened. Once we marry Angie off to a good family, we’ll call the cops on Cameron and make her pay the price.”
“And what if I refuse? What will you do?” Crystal stared at her son darkly, her eyes looking like two little black holes that could suck all the light around her. “I can’t wait anymore. Cameron took my daughter away for twenty years, and I can’t wait any longer. I want to call the cops on her now, so what will you do, Cedric?” She went to take her phone, but she didn’t look away from him.
Cedric’s face was red with anger and he held Angie’s hand. “Fine; if that’s what you want to do, I’ll take Angie and leave. You might not want her anymore, but I do. I’ll keep her safe. I’ll make enough money for the both of us. I’ll—”
“Very well then. If you wish to cut ties with your own mother for her enemy’s daughter, then so be it.” Crystal looked at him and she laughed. “I see now. I see that I raised you only for her to cash in on my efforts. Very well. Take her and leave. Leave!”
He froze up. “Mom, I never said I wanted to cut ties with you. I…”
Cedric was still talking, but Crystal couldn’t hear him anymore. All she could hear was the thumping of her heart. It was like thunder roiling within her, beating her eardrums, threatening to make her fall at any moment. She didn’t want to fall. She just found her daughter, and she hadn’t gotten to know her yet.
She hadn’t called the cops to arrest Cameron and make her pay for her crimes yet. She hadn’t asked her family if they thought she was cruel as well. She didn’t want to fall, but that was not up to her. The last thing she remembered was spewing blood everywhere and everything turned dark.
Michael stared dumbly as his wife spewed blood and collapsed to the ground, but he reflexively held her in his arms. Her face was deathly white, but her lips were eerily red and his mind blanked.
Jonathan blanched. “Dr. Ziegler! Dr. Hiddleston!” he roared.
The doctors rushed to their side.
As Cedric was standing right in front of Crystal, her blood was splattered all over his face. He didn’t even manage to close his eyes and avoid the blood before he already saw his mother falling backward, much to his shock. M-Mom just spewed blood? B-Because of me? No. I never wanted this.
He staggered backward as his legs turned to jelly and he almost fell down. Everything around him disappeared for a moment, but when his brothers called out to their mother, he suddenly snapped out of it. He rushed to his mother and kneeled beside her. “D-Don’t scare me, Mom. I-I didn’t mean it. I didn’t mean to make you mad. Wake up, Mom. Don’t scare me.”
“F*ck off!” Joseph pulled him up by the collar and punched him square in the face. There were tears in Joseph’s eyes as he shouted, “I f*cking told you to let Mom calm down and put off this sh*t for later! I f*cking told you, but you didn’t f*cking listen! Now, nobody’s going to call the cops on Cameron! Are you happy now?”
Cedric fell down from the punch, but he crawled back to his mother in tears. “I’m sorry… I’m sorry, Mom. I shouldn’t have argued with you. Please, wake up! I’m sorry! Please…”
If something happens to Mom, Dad and the others will never forgive me. I will never forgive myself. She can’t die! She must not. Joseph is right. Why couldn’t I have just put this off until later? I could have talked with her about it after everything had settled down. Why did I have to argue with her? I already know she has a heart condition. Why did I go and make her mad?
The doctors were trying their best to save Crystal, but she just wouldn’t open her eyes or say anything.
Cedric slapped himself, but he couldn’t even muster any strength. Fear robbed him of everything including his strength.
Nigel and his family had arrived at the worst of times. They were late because Nigel had something to do and the first thing they saw was the living room looking like a mess. The door was open as the butler and maids came out in a hurry to see if the ambulance had arrived.
Nigel knew about Crystal’s condition, and the sight of the Wendel Residence in a mess reminded him of that. Please don’t let that be the reason. He strode to the living room, but his prayers weren’t answered.
His sister was lying in Michael’s arms, her face deathly white, and her breathing almost nonexistent. The doctors were kneeling beside her while administering emergency treatment. He pushed the throng away and kneeled on one knee beside Michael, but he held Michael by his collar. “What happened? What happened to Crystal?”
Michael’s eyes were red and tears were streaming down his cheeks. He loved all his children, but the one who would stay with him for the rest of his life was his wife. They were childhood friends and fell in love with each other along the way. They never argued once after they got married, and they were each other’s soulmates. Their hobbies matched, and after so long, Crystal was still the only one who truly understood him.
What should I do if she leaves me behind all by myself? How should I face life? Fear was gripping his heart tightly. He never wanted to cry, but the tears kept falling by themselves. He had never felt so terrified in his life before. Ever since he knew about his wife’s condition, he had feared losing her to death. When the time to face that fear came, he realized that the pain he had imagined paled in comparison to the real thing.
