Chapter 532: He Was Too Scared
Wendy was getting irritated when the phone rang yet again.
She figured that since he was calling again even after she had declined his first two calls, something must be up.
Should she accept the call? That would not be appropriate because Michael would hit the roof.
Decline it? But what if Todd had called about something urgent?
Wendy turned to look at Michael as though seeking his opinion.
Although he had kept his eyes on the road, Michael could tell that Wendy was gazing at him from the corner of his eye.
Sighing, he relented, "Take it."
Wendy paused as a thought came into her head. Accepting the call, she passed the phone to Leah in the back seat.
Oblivious to what was going on, Leah happily took over the phone and said sweetly, "Hi, Uncle Todd."
On his end, Todd could literally hear his heart pounding.
Wendy had accepted his call after all.
So, it would seem that she still treasured what they had.
Of course, he was referring to the friendship they used to enjoy.
But he was nonetheless surprised to hear Leah’s voice.
"Oh, hi, Leah," Todd responded, sounding a little disappointed. "Are you with your mommy?"
"Oh, yes! We are going to visit our great-grandmother at the mansion today. Daddy and Jake are in the car with us too," Leah replied smilingly.
"Uncle Todd, do you miss us? I miss you so much. Please come and see us when you have the time."
"Oh, sure," Todd replied, feeling sad at Leah’s words.
This family of four was enjoying a healthy, happy familial life.
He felt that he should wish the best for them.
But then, he suddenly felt tears forming in his eyes.
"Uncle Todd, I learned a few new songs at school recently. I will sing them to you on your next visit," Leah said innocently.
"OK, sure," Todd laughed softly, adding, "Leah, can you pass the phone to Mummy please? Uncle Todd needs to talk to her."
"OK," Leah replied as she did as she was told and passed the phone back to Wendy.
"Uncle Todd wants to talk to you, Mummy."
After some hesitation, Wendy took over the phone from her daughter.
By this time, they had arrived at the main door of the mansion. Michael stopped and parked the car safely.
Turning around to Jake and Leah, Michael instructed them, "You two should go on inside to your great-grandma first. Mummy and I will follow shortly."
"OK," Leah said as she opened the door and jumped out of the car excitedly.
Although Jake had sensed that something was amiss, he did not ask any questions.
Instead, he followed his sister out of the car.
Once the kids were out of the car, Michael took the phone from Wendy and put it in speaker mode.
"Todd, why don’t you cut to the chase and tell us what it is that you wish to say? I don’t see the need for formalities or subtlety," Michael said bluntly in a cold voice.
On his part, Todd was not at all surprised to hear Michael’s voice.
Leah had already informed him that their entire family was traveling together.
"Mr. Lucas," Todd began, unclenching his fist finger by finger.
That was how anxious he was feeling right now.
"I’m aware that you have been searching high and low for Clement. I have information on his whereabouts," he said.
"I believe this information might be of use to you."
Wendy frowned immediately when the name Clement was uttered.
She had struggled for a long time trying to accept her unborn child and wanted nothing more than to just forget that awful night.
Unfortunately, Todd had picked this very moment to tell them that he had news about Clement.
Wendy’s uplifted mood came crashing down in an instant.
She felt as though her wound, which had been healing gradually, had once again been ripped open.
...
Indeed, Michael had been actively investigating Clement.
He had even hired many people to be based in Rheinsville City to conduct in-depth investigations.
Unfortunately, since he was not a native of Rheinsville City, trying to track Clement down in his own stronghold was no mean feat.
That was why his interest was piqued when Todd mentioned that he had news of Clement.
He wanted, very badly, to get his hands on Clement, to skin him alive and rip him apart.
But when he turned towards Wendy, he noticed that she had paled and looked decidedly different from her cheery self a few minutes ago.
He knew the name Clement was, to Wendy, a forbidden word.
Reaching towards the phone, he switched off the speaker mode. Picking up the phone, he was about to leave the car with it.
He was planning to deal with the matter himself and leave Wendy out of the loop.
Alas, Wendy had already gotten wind of his intention.
Grabbing at his hand, she bit her lip and said resolutely, "Talk in the car. I want to listen in."
"Are you OK with this?" Michael looked worriedly at her.
Wendy inhaled sharply and nodded.
For now, she had been struggling to step out of the menacing shadow from that awful night.
But then again, she could not be running away forever.
She was, of course, aware that Todd had made this call with good intentions.
Noting Michael’s hesitation, she took the phone from him and turned the speaker mode back on. Calmly, she instructed Todd over the phone, "What have you got for us? Please tell us."
"He’s getting on a plane to Lake City. I don’t know why he’s going there but, based on my investigations, he will be on the flight that lands at 3.12 in the afternoon," Todd said.
Truth be told, Todd had been tracking Clement all along.
Knowing that Michael was also trying to track Clement down, he had decided to help him out.
That was his way of making amends for his inappropriate behavior in the past.
With Todd’s information, Michael pulled out his phone and called Mr. York, "Trace the flight from Rheinsville City that is scheduled to land at 3.12 this afternoon.
Mobilize all the men you can and lockdown the airport. I want Clement apprehended."
"Yes, Mr. Lucas. I’ll get on it right now," Mr. York replied. He knew Michael had been trying to track Clement down for a long time. With this latest information, they were going all out to catch him.
"Corinne, about that night, actually... " Todd was midway through his sentence when Michael cut in abruptly, "This information about Clement that you’re giving us now. If it turns out to be true, you have my thanks.
"As for the previous incident, I don’t think you deserve to be heard!"
Todd knew then that Michael had made a mistake.
Michael had assumed that he was trying to talk about that night when he had gotten drunk and behaved inappropriately towards Wendy.
In fact, Todd had wanted to explain that incident that involved Clement.
He had wanted to reassure Wendy that Clement had not done anything to her that night.
In fact, Todd deeply regretted having done something so despicable that night.
He had, on several occasions, wanted to call Wendy and tell her the truth.
But alas, he lacked the courage to do so.
He could not bring himself to face up to that ugly side of himself.
And now, just when he had managed to muster up enough courage to confess, Michael had rudely interrupted him.
But then again, by going to Lake City, Clement was walking into a trap.
The truth of what had actually happened that night would be exposed once Clement was caught by Michael.
Unfortunately, when Wendy finds out the truth about that night, she would also realize how evil and scary her friend Todd was!
In fact, Todd had been mentally prepared for the inevitable consequences before making this call.
Because once the details of what had actually happened that night were known, he would no longer be able to face Wendy.
Regardless of how small he would feel, the bottom line was that he was the one who had failed Wendy.
...
"Sorry," Todd said and hung up.
He was ashamed and did not know how to face Wendy.
So, apart from apologizing, he was at a loss for what else to say.
After ending the call, Todd could feel the tears welling up in his eyes. Covering his mouth with his hand, he wept quietly.
There had been a time when Wendy was very close to him, so close that he had assumed he would soon be able to be with her.
But then, Michael had once again appeared and had taken her away from him.
And he had felt that it was all very unfair.
There really was no turning back when one succumbs to evil intentions.
However, now that the dust had settled, Todd finally realized that everything he had done had been unbelievably stupid.
If he could turn the clock back, he would opt to be a knight who watched over Wendy silently, never crossing the line of propriety.
Even if the entire world became aware of his love for her, he would never allow himself to profess his love for her himself.
That way, they would still be able to remain the best of friends.
Unfortunately, God had been cruel to him, not even giving him the chance to remain friends with her.
"Do you think he’s telling the truth?" Wendy asked Michael.
"I don’t know," Michael shook his head. After all, Todd had singlehandedly destroyed their trust in him.
"Nevertheless, since we now have some news of Clement and that he is in my territory, I should get it validated regardless of whether the information is kosher."
"Yep."
Wendy was about to say something else when they heard their grandmother calling out to them, "Wendy, Michael, why are you still in the car?"
There she was, leaning heavily on her walking stick, her aged face beaming widely.
Smiling, she walked over to them, "Get out here now."
Wendy took a long, deep breath to calm herself down.
But, try as she might, she realized that she could not relax completely.
Even the smile that she had forced on her face appeared unnatural.
Noticing that Wendy was grimacing, their grandmother asked, full of concern, "Are you not well?"
"Oh no, I’m good," Wendy shook her head as she responded.
Initially, the objective of their visit today was to inform their grandmother of her pregnancy.
However, with just one look at Wendy’s demeanor, Michael knew that she had changed her mind.
So be it. They would announce her pregnancy some other time.
They would tell their grandmother after they had resolved the matter regarding Clement.
"Oh, but look at you. You’re way too pale. How could you be well? Michael, why aren’t you taking proper care of your wife?" His grandmother lifted her walking stick and brought it down on Michael.
Looking wronged, Michael protested, "Grandmother, aren’t you being a tad too obvious in the way you show favor? May I remind you that I am your grandson, your blood relative?"
"So what if you’re my grandson? Wendy here is my granddaughter-in-law," his grandmother scowled at him. She rebuked, "You take good care of her and don’t be mean to her, get it?"
"Oh, I wouldn’t dare do otherwise," Michael retorted.
"Daddy is really good to Mummy. Of course, he won’t be mean to her," Leah chimed in. "With the baby inside her, Daddy is even nicer to Mummy now."
"Daddy is really good to Mummy, that’s great," Michael’s grandmother had only caught the first part of what Leah had said.
Then, when the rest of what Leah had said sank in, she reacted and immediately looked at Wendy’s belly.
Smiling broadly and joyously, she asked, "Wendy, are you expecting?"
"I... " Wendy looked helplessly at the innocent and smiling Leah.
Oh, why did she have to spill the beans now?
She was still struggling to manage her emotions about the baby and did not know how to react, and now their grandmother knew.
Nonetheless, she knew that the cat had already been let out of the bag, and there was no turning back.
So, she nodded meekly.
