Chapter 83 What Did You Call Me?
“You…You…” Harriet looked at Madeline, her face pale. She then gritted her teeth and pushed Angie away, then she knelt before Madeline. “I beg of you!” She looked up at Madeline in anguish. “I beg of you, please. As a grandmother, I beg of you. Please have mercy on her. Please let her stay with us. Don’t tear the family apart. You don’t want that to happen because of you, right?”
“What are you doing, Auntie?”
“Grandma, please stand up!”
“Please don’t do this, Grandma!”
Michael and his sons quickly went to pull her up.
“Get away!” She pushed them all away and kept looking at Madeline. “Please, I beg you. I promise that she won’t get in your way even if she stays. She can move in with me. I’ll take care of her, alright?” She styled herself out to be a defender of justice, as if Madeline was the villain who was forcing the victim into a corner.
Madeline thought things were getting a bit thorny at this point. It would be easy if the Wendels didn’t care about her. She’d let her do whatever they wanted, while she’d go on with her life. But the problem was that Michael cared about her, and even Jonathan was starting to speak up for her. And then there was her real mother—Crystal. She could see that Crystal was the one who cared about her the most among the Wendels.
That was where her mother differed from her father and brothers. She was the one who got pregnant with her, and she was the one who carried her to term. Madeline was the one in her belly for ten months, not Angie. Kids were their mother’s flesh and bone, and Madeline was Crystal’s flesh and bone, not Angie. Crystal treated her differently from the other Wendels.
Only Crystal had love and heartbreak in her eyes when she looked at Madeline. She felt guilty and agony about her loss, and she was always careful around Madeline. She hated herself for letting Cameron do the switcheroo and lost out on her childhood and teen years. She approached her carefully, worried that Madeline might hate her because of something she did wrongly.
She was the one who truly cared about her. Madeline was a sucker for kindness. Too few people were nice to her, so everyone who was nice to her was precious. She’d repay their kindness at least three fold. Madeline wouldn’t want those who were kind to her to feel sad. So what now? She was in a dilemma, and she looked at Sebastian.
Sebastian looked calm, as if he knew everything and was treating this as a good show. He noticed Madeline’s look, and he smiled confidently. Then he wrapped his arm around her waist. “It’s fine. If she wants to kneel, then let her. We have no work tomorrow, so we can stay up the whole night. Let’s see how long she can go on.”
Cedric had been quiet the whole night, but now he flew into a rage. “You had better watch it, Sebastian!”
“Cedric, shut up!” Michael roared. He closed his eyes and knelt before Harriet. With a trembling voice, he said, “Please don’t force me to do this, Auntie. Crystal wants to call the police. She’s now in the ICU, and I can’t go against that. Cameron must be arrested, or Crystal will never rest easy. Auntie, I know this is insolent of me, but you can punish me how you want. Just don’t force me anymore.”
“You…You…” Harriet was wobbling from fury. “Michael, I-I raised you up, and this is how you’re going to repay me? Is your wife more important than I am? Do I have to die before you’ll let Angie go? Is that what you want?”
“This is all my fault…” He stared down, teardrops falling onto the ground. “If anything were to happen to you, I’d gladly give my life up for you.”
“What are you talking about?” Robert kicked Michael. “After your mother died, you fell terribly ill and almost died. Did you forget who stayed by you at all times? Harriet never had her own children just because she wanted to take care of you three. She poured all her heart and soul into you boys, and now you’re abandoning us just because you have your own family? Do you think your family is more important than we are? Should we just die?”
“Dad, please don’t say that.” Michael banged his head against the floor. “This is all my fault.” He kept banging his head, but he never did say he would let Cameron go and hide Angie’s identity.
Angie’s eyes were red with hatred. It was like she didn’t know her father and brothers. Grandma is already on her knees, but they still won’t let Cameron go and keep my identity a secret? What are their hearts made of? Not even stones are this hard.
Robert kept yelling at his son, while Michael kept banging his head. Blood seeped out of his forehead and covered the floor in red, but he would not relent. He could not relent. His wife was still in the ICU. If he were to relent, he wouldn’t be able to explain himself once his wife woke up. He could relent if his wife was in the wrong, and he would be willing to beg for forgiveness, but his wife was not in the wrong; his father and stepmother were. All his wife wanted was for the truth to be exposed, and for justice to be served. He would not let her down.
Sebastian’s phone rang while they were arguing. He took his phone out and looked at Quinton.
Quinton got what he was trying to say, and he went away.
Sebastian nudged Madeline and huddled closer. “Help Mr. Wendel up,” he whispered.
She hadn’t known him for long, but she noticed that he was always confident no matter what the matter was, and she found him reliable. For some reason, she felt that he would not do or say anything meaningless. Now that he wanted her to help Michael up, she knew he must have a plan. She nodded at him without hesitation and went to Michael, then she bent down and held his arm. “I’ll help you up, Dad.”
“Michael froze up and swiveled around to look at her. “W-What did you call me?” he asked, his voice trembling.
