Lucy had almost dozed off in her car by the time she heard the knock on the window, and she opened her eyes to see Sonia flashing her phone's flashlight inside the car.
Lucy smiled as she opened the door and got down to meet Sonia and Bryan, whose arms were linked as though they were scared to let go of each other.
"Sorry we chased you out of your apartment," Bryan said, and Lucy waved the apology off with a smile.
"I don't mind. You both resolved things, huh?" Lucy asked, looking at Sonia, whose eyes were gleaming happily.
Sonia bobbed her head, "I guess you're going to be a godmother after all," Sonia said, and Lucy smiled happily as she embraced her.
"Thank you so much, Lucy. Thanks for convincing your stubborn best friend to talk to me," Bryan said and chuckled when Sonia pinched his side.
Lucy pressed her lips together and looked from Bryan to Sonia, "It was actually Tom's idea. He threatened to tell you himself if I didn't make Sonia tell you," Lucy confessed with a wince, and Sonia looked at her in surprise.
"You told Tom about it? Why would you do that?" Sonia asked angrily.
"Calm down, babe. I don't think anger is not good for our baby," Bryan said, patting her back, and Sonia turned to look at him in disbelief before throwing back her head to laugh, and Lucy joined her.
"What's funny?" Bryan asked with a confused smile.
"What do you mean anger is not good for our baby? You barely found out about the pregnancy hours ago, and you know what's good for it?" Sonia asked in amusement, and Bryan grinned.
"Just don't get too worked up emotionally. That's my point," Bryan said, and Sonia returned her attention to Lucy.
"You've got some explaining to do, Lucinda Perry," Sonia hissed.
"Why don't we go inside, and I will tell you all you need to know? Or are you in a hurry to leave?" Lucy asked, and Sonia shook her head before turning to look at Bryan.
"Are we?"
"Not at all. Let's go in," Bryan said, and all three of them returned inside with Bryan's arm possessively wrapped around Sonia.
As Sonia made to sit on the couch, Bryan quickly gently helped her sit down, and she grinned up at him in amusement, "Calm down, Bryan. Isn't it too early for all this?" She asked, and he grinned.
"It's never too early," Bryan said as he sat down beside her, and Lucy shook her head in amusement as she watched them.
She would never understand the dynamics of relationships. One minute two people would be hurting so much and on the verge of a breakup, and the next, they were all loved up. How did the human mind work? Why was human emotion so complicated? Lucy mused.
"We are waiting, Lu," Sonia reminded her, and Lucy nodded.
"Evelyn happened to go into Tom's closet, and she found my handbag with the positive pregnancy test kit...."
"And she assumed it was yours?" Sonia asked in surprise.
"Exactly! And she asked Tom about it. We almost had a major misunderstanding about me being pregnant. So to clear all doubt, and also because I wanted to be sure I was doing the right thing for you, I told him about it. And he was very pissed," Lucy concluded, and Sonia looked at her apologetically.
"I can imagine how awkward that conversation must have been for the both of you. I'm sorry. It's my fault...."
"There is no need to pass blame. All you have to do now is to explain to Evelyn that the kit she saw belonged to you and not me," Lucy said, and Sonia looked at Bryan.
"We can do that, right?" She asked, and he gave her a nod.
"Sure. But I had hoped we would find a more dramatic way to share the news with the family," Bryan said sadly.
"I'm sure we have had enough drama. Let's just skip any more drama and tell the family," Sonia said, and Bryan nodded.
"Now that we have gotten that out of the way, let's talk about Anita. Did Tom see the video before he left? What are we going to do about her now?" Sonia asked Lucy before facing Bryan.
"Did you see Anita's video? She confessed to being behind our scandal," Sonia said, and Bryan raised a brow.
"When?" Bryan asked, and Sonia took out her phone to show Bryan the video since she was not done watching it herself.
"Tom wanted to reject her resignation, but I asked him to approve it and let her be. I want her to disappear from our lives completely," Lucy said after they had finished watching it, and Sonia nodded in agreement.
"I agree with you. No good will come from keeping her close. Who knows what she is planning or when she might decide to strike again?" Sonia said thoughtfully.
"Maybe I should write about something like this? I villain who pretends to turn a new leaf and then does something even worse?" Sonia asked no one in particular as she narrowed her eyes and started thinking about it.
Bryan exchanged a look with Lucy, and she shook her head, "Don't jinx it. I prefer to believe she has turned a new leaf and won't be pulling any more stunts," Lucy said, and Sonia flashed her a smile.
"Sure. Doesn't mean I can't use that as a plot in one of my stories," Sonia said with a yawn.
"I'm hungry," she announced.
"It's time to go home. We can find you something to munch on, and then we can have dinner when we get home," Bryan said as he quickly picked up his phone to book a ride.
Although Sonia rolled her eyes when she met Lucy's amused gaze, Lucy could tell that she was more than pleased with Bryan's behavior.
"By the way, have you moved back here already?" Sonia asked when it occurred to her that Lucy did not seem like she was going home with them.
"Moved back? What are you talking about?" Bryan asked in confusion.
"I told you I don't want to spend the night in Tom's bedroom without him. I'd rather spend the night here. I will be here for some time," Lucy rushed to explain before Sonia could say anything.
"I see," Bryan said with an easy smile.
"Our ride is here," Bryan announced when his phone started ringing, and he quickly stood up to help her up, and Sonia smiled as she rose.
"Take care of yourself, Lu. We will talk over the phone," Sonia said, giving Lucy a pointed look.
"Sure. You take care of yourself and our baby," Lucy said as she escorted them to the door.
"I will take care of them, you don't have to worry," Bryan promised, and Lucy giggled when Sonia rolled her eyes once again.
"I'm sure you will."
"Are we not saying hi to Mia and Jeff?" Sonia asked as they approached the cab.
"We already said hi to them earlier in the day. We need to get my babies something to eat," Bryan said as he led her into the cab.
Lucy was beginning to think her jaw was going to ache all night, judging by how much time she had spent smiling and laughing over Bryan's doting behavior.
A smile remained on her face as she waved them goodbye and returned to her apartment.
Alone in her apartment now, Lucy sighed as she locked the door and returned to her bedroom. She was going to have a hot relaxing bath with music playing in the background, and then she was going to lay cuddled up on her bed reading a novel until she dozed up.
Yes. That was what she was going to do. It was going to be just like old times.
Away from there, Tiffany walked into the police station, and the first people she saw were Jackson's parents speaking with one of the detectives.
"Gabe, Angela," Tiffany greeted as she hurried over to join Jackson's parents.
"Why didn't you call me?" She asked her in-laws when she got to where they stood.
"You're here. I was going to call, but Jack asked us not to bother you because you were at the hospital taking care of your sister," Angela said, looking flustered as she embraced Tiffany.
"What is the situation of things? Can I see Jack?" Tiffany asked hopefully as she pulled away from her to look at her father-in-law.
"It's terrible! It's all so terrible, Tiffany! Jack swears he did not lay a finger on Adam," Jack's mother informed her.
"It's a tricky situation. I'm doing all I can, but seeing how this involves the Washington family, it is tough. Jack had no reason to fight Adam, did he? I keep telling them it must have been a friendly fight. One of those stuff guys do, but no one is willing to believe me. Can you explain what happened between them?" Jack's father asked Tiffany with a worried frown.
What was she to say? She couldn't exactly tell his parents that their son not only had an affair with her sister, who was married to Adam but was actually in love with her. That would make even his parents look at him suspiciously, and she knew deep down that Jack was innocent.
"Can I have a few minutes with my husband? Please?" Tiffany asked the detective, who was still standing beside them.
"Please. She is my daughter-in-law. She should at least be allowed to see her husband," Jackson's father pleaded, and the detective asked Tiffany to follow him and led her to the room where Jackson was being kept for questioning.
"You have five minutes. No physical contact. No whispers either," The detective warned before excusing them.
Immediately she walked into the room, Jackson, whose head was bowed, raised his head to look at her, "Tiff? What are you doing here? You didn't have to come...."
"Shut up! How are you doing? What happened?" Tiffany asked as she took the seat across from him, and Jack shook his head.
"I have no idea. I arrived at the location where Adam asked me to meet him. His car was parked there, but my phone's battery was flat, and I left my charger in the other car. Since I couldn't reach him over the phone, I went into the building to search for him. I saw him lying on the ground by one of the stairs, and I panicked. While I was trying to call the emergency number, I heard the sound of sirens, and I was surrounded by the police. I don't know what happened. I swear, Tiff. I didn't lay a finger on him," Jack said, and Tiffany nodded.
"I believe you. Did you explain to them how you felt when you received the text from Adam? You thought it was weird, remember?" Tiffany asked, and Jack nodded.
"I tried to. But someone seemed to have told them about the fight we had at the hospital yesterday. I have no idea how they got to know about it. They've been asking me to tell them what happened, but I can't. You know I can't do that," Jack said, holding her gaze.
Tiffany could tell he was withholding the information for the sake of Bernice's reputation. If he so much as said the truth, the Washington family would get wind of it, and they would throw Bernice out with nothing. Not even her kids.
"It's a setup. Someone set you up," Tiffany said without thinking, and Jack nodded.
"Yeah. I figured out that much. The question now is, who could be behind this?" Jack asked, and Tiffany pressed a finger to her temple as she tried to think.
Apart from the members of their family, no one else had gotten the detail of the fight at the hospital. Yes, there had been onlookers, but they had not been standing close enough to hear what was being said, and she doubted that any of those people were interested in their family business enough to murder Adam or frame Jack. Whoever had reported Jack to the police must have known the reason for the fight, but had deliberately withheld that piece of information from the police.
It couldn't be Anita. She knew that Anita hated both Adam and Jackson, but she was a little miss perfect and wouldn't get her hands soiled with blood out of love or devotion for her sisters. It definitely was not Lisa, either. That left their mother.
According to Adam's supposed text, he had been in their mother's house when he sent the text. The housekeeper had said their mother sent them away during Adam's visit.
Did something happen?
Tiffany's eyes narrowed as she thought of their mother's visit to the hospital, her cool attitude and all she had suggested.
Rebekah Miller. Was this her doing? Did she do this thinking she was doing them a favor? Tiffany mused as she met Jack's gaze.
"What was Adam's state? Can you remember the exact injury on him?" Tiffany asked, and Jack narrowed his eyes.
"He seemed like he had fallen down the stairs, so I suppose the injury was behind his head? But now that I think about it, there was no pool of blood," Jack said, and Tiffany nodded.
"Don't worry. I will do everything I can to get you out of here," Tiffany promised.
"Can you tell Benny that I didn't do it? Tell her I'm sorry about Adam, and I didn't do it," Jack pleaded, and Tiffany nodded.
"Don't worry. Neither of us believes it anyway. We will do what we can to prove your innocence," Tiffany promised as she rose.
"Take care of yourself, Jack. Don't break," she said with a small smile before walking out of the room, her eyes gleaming with determination.
If Rebekah Miller was responsible for this, she was going to answer to her. She could tolerate almost anything but murder. She had not only almost made Bernice take her life, but she also murdered Adam and tried to make Jack take the blame for it? No! If her mother was guilty, she was not going to have that. She was going to make sure Rebekah Miller faced the law.
Tiffany dialed Bernice's line as she got into her car, and Bernice received the call almost immediately, "I was just about to dial your line. Did you see Jack? How is he? What did he say?" Bernice asked with concern and Tiffany quickly explained the situation to her.
"Is there a way we can check Adam's body?" Tiffany asked hopefully.
"I don't think so. I don't think it's a good idea for either of us to go anywhere close to it," Bernice said, and then took a deep breath.
"Listen, Tiff. I know you're probably going to call me crazy, but I've been thinking about it, and I think mother is behind this," Bernice said, and Tiffany raised a brow.
"How did you come to that conclusion?" Tiffany asked, and listened as Bernice repeated all she had thought about a moment ago.
The only part Bernice missed was that someone had informed the police beforehand about the fight between Adam and Jack. And that someone had to be someone within their family who knew they had fought. And most likely someone who knew the reason for the fight but didn't want to say it because they were protecting Bernice.
"I'm heading to her house. I think she is behind this too...."
"I will meet you...."
"No, Benny! You lost your husband. You should be home with your kids. I will handle this."
"And what if she is behind it as we suspect?" Bernice asked skeptically.
"I don't want to believe mother is that sort of person, but if she is, then I will expose her, Benny! I will! I won't let Jack be imprisoned for a crime he did not commit. Someone has to stop her, and it's going to have to be one of us. Take care, Benny! I will deal with this," Tiffany said before hanging up, and Bernice sighed.
She never would have thought Tiffany had it in her to stand up to their mother. So much was changing in such a short time. How did they all get here?
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