"Has any of you heard from Anita today? I've been trying to reach her all day," Rebekah said as she joined her daughters, who were gathered in Lisa's house.
Lisa had been discharged some hours ago, and both Bernice and Tiffany had offered to keep her company since they didn't want to be alone at the moment either.
"She left last night. Would you like something to drink?" Lisa asked as she breastfed her baby.
"Left? What do you mean?" Rebekah asked with a confused frown.
"She moved away. She decided she didn't want to be part of the family drama anymore and wanted to start afresh, so she left Ludus," Lisa explained, and Rebekah looked at all three of them as though they had lost their minds.
"She told you so? You all knew, and yet you allowed her to do that?" Rebekah asked harshly, and Bernice eyed her with displeasure.
"Allow? Anita is an adult, mother! Were we supposed to tie her down with something and wait for you to approve before letting her go?" Lisa asked in amusement.
"This isn't funny! How can you be so irresponsible? She is your younger sister and you are all supposed to…"
"You are in no position to yell at us or talk down to us. You don't have any right to talk about irresponsibility either! We may have forgiven you, but that doesn't mean you still have the right to play mother to us. Anita is an adult, and if what she wants is to have nothing to do with you and this family, then it's good," Bernice hissed at her.
Even though all three sisters had agreed to keep a close watch on Rebekah by pretending to let go of everything she had done, Bernice couldn't hide her resentment.
And thankfully, neither Tiffany nor Lisa expected her to. That was the only way the forgiveness would appear to be real. If she forgave all and chose to act like nothing had happened, that would be too suspicious.
Rebekah took a deep breath to calm herself before sitting down, "Anita is ruining her life and…."
"It's her life to ruin!" Bernice snapped at Rebekah.
"Calm down, Benny. Mother has every right to be worried about Anita," Tiffany cut in, acting the role of mummy's girl as was expected.
"And Anita doesn't have a right to choose what to do with her life? If mother wants to remain a part of our lives, she needs to stop trying to tell us what to do or how to live. She should be supporting us not controlling us," Bernice insisted.
"I agree with Benny. Mother, give Anita a break. She needs it after everything that has happened lately. I'm pretty sure she will come back to her senses soon once she figures out that she has taken things too far," Lisa said what she believed Rebekah would want to hear, and Rebekah sighed.
"Listen, I'm sorry for everything. I know I haven't exactly been the best mother, but all I want is for you girls to succeed," Rebekah said, and Bernice snorted.
"By fucking my husband under my roof?" She asked, and Lisa glared at her.
"Watch your language, Benny. I have an impressionable child with me," Lisa warned.
"Oh, c'mon Lisa! She's just a baby and can't even make out what is being said," Tiffany said with a roll of her eyes.
"You can say whatever you want around your baby when you have one, but I insist that you all watch your language around mine," Lisa repeated firmly, grateful that Ron wasn't around to witness the scene in the living room.
"By the way, are you still going for the live show with Eric Howells next week?" Lisa asked, changing the subject.
"Of course! I wouldn't miss that for anything. This is one of those once in a lifetime opportunity you know?" Rebekah asked, and the sisters exchanged a look.
"You do realize it doesn't make sense for you to do that right now, don't you? I mean, considering one of your sons-in-law is dead, and the other is being held as the suspect," Lisa pointed out.
"Lisa is right," Tiffany said, and Rebekah shook her head.
"I don't think one has anything to do with the other. Besides, I received the invitation before any of these came up. It's fine if you girls can't be on the show with me. I can give Eric a call to let him know I will be on the show alone. I'm pretty sure he will understand," Rebekah said, and neither of her daughters were surprised by her selfish insistence on going on the show in such a trying time.
Before any of them could say a word, Rebekah's phone rang, and she frowned when she saw the call was from Priscilla, "What?" She asked once she received the call, annoyed by the interruption.
"I was asking to know what your plans are concerning the Lucinda Perry. Tomorrow is Friday. Should I go on with the plan?" Priscilla asked, and Rebekah scowled with disapproval.
"Are you stupid? How do you expect us to go on with it after the nonsense Anita spewed on social media? Cancel it! Cancel everything! Put an end to the contract with her!" Rebekah snapped angrily while her daughters watched her.
"I don't think that's wise. The contract terms clearly stated that anyone who breached the terms would pay…."
"So, what do you expect me to do?" Rebekah cut in angrily.
"Well, it would be wiser to go on like nothing happened. I mean, keep Lucinda Perry as the face of the foundation and…."
"I should keep my daughter's rival as the face of my foundation?" Rebekah asked in disbelief.
"You have to. Canceling the contract with her will cost you much more than it will cost you to keep her on the job. And doing that will also make everyone believe Anita was telling the truth," Priscilla said, and Rebekah drew a deep breath.
"Just handle the business with her as you deem fit and keep me out of it. I'm not interested in her anymore. Or at least not at the moment, until Anita returns to her senses and claims what is hers," Rebekah said, and without waiting for Priscilla to say another word, she hung up the call.
"I suppose that was about Thomas Hank's girlfriend?" Lisa asked and Rebekah sighed.
"Everything is a mess. All my carefully arranged plans is a mess right now! Where the heck did Anita go to? Did she say where she was going?" Rebekah asked without answering Lisa's question.
"She didn't," Tiffany said, and Rebekah rose.
"I'm worried about her. I need to try to find her," Rebekah said as she headed for the door.
"Mother, maybe you should let her be. At least for the time being," Lisa called, stopping Rebekah.
Rebekah turned to her daughters, "I just need to be sure she is alright and knows what she is doing. I know you must all think me to be a bad mother. But that doesn't mean I would ever want to see anyone of you hurt," Rebekah said and opened her handbag when her phone started ringing.
She frowned when she saw the unfamiliar number and reluctantly received the call, "Hello! This is Rebekah Miller. How may I help you?" She asked very politely.
"Hello! I'm Jade Hank. The lawyer representing your son-in-law. I would love to see you now if you're not very busy," Jade said, and Rebekah frowned.
"Why? What for?" She asked, while her daughters looked at her curiously.
"I was told your late son-in-law was with you before he met with my client. I would love to hear more about your meeting with him. Where can I meet you?" Jade asked again.
"Now?" Rebekah asked.
"If you're not very busy, it would be best we meet now. The earlier we meet, the sooner I can find the real culprit. I'm sure you're as eager as I am to find out who truly murdered your son-in-law," Jade said, and Rebekah's frown deepened.
Something about Jade, put her on edge and made her uneasy. She felt as though every statement was calculated to elicit a certain response from her.
"I will be happy to assist you in anyway I can. Instead of coming to me, you can tell me where to meet you," Rebekah said, and Jade told her where to meet her.
Once she hung up the call, Rebekah looked at Tiffany, "Who is representing your husband?"
"Jade Hank…."
"Hank? Is she related to Thomas? Hold on! Isn't that the name of his younger sister?" Rebekah asked, and Tiffany nodded.
"Yeah. She showed up and volunteered to help," Tiffany said, and Rebekah looked at her as if she had lost her mind.
"Are you crazy? Why would you let his sister represent your husband? Especially after what transpired between you all at the spa! Have you no sense?" Rebekah shrieked angrily.
Although Tiffany felt her temper snap, she tried to remain calm. She couldn't let her temper ruin her plan, "No one else was willing to go against Adam's father to represent Jack. How was I supposed to turn down her offer? Anita already apologized to them for what she did. And so did I. I have no problem with Jade Hank. She is a pretty good lawyer and I'm sure she will be able to prove Jack's innocence," Tiffany said, and Rebekah drew a deep breath.
"How are you sure she is not doing this to get back at you somehow?" Rebekah asked, and Bernice raised a brow.
"You think she would deliberately lose the case to punish Tiffany? Well, shouldn't that make you happy then? After all that was what you wanted. For Jack to go to jail so that Tiffany can get a divorce and take as much as she can from him," Bernice said, and Rebekah pursed her lips.
"For your sakes, I hope you're not making a mistake by letting her handle this case," Rebekah said before walking away. She wasn't going to take any chances with Jade Hank. She was going to find out what the girl was up to, and take care of her if need be.
Once they were certain she had left, Bernice stood, "God! I hate that woman! I never knew I could hate anyone this way!" Bernice said passionately.
"She seems worried about Jade Hank. I think letting her take the case was a good idea. Anything that worries Rebekah Miller is good," Lisa said, and Tiffany nodded.
"I think so too. For a moment I thought I was going to blow up," Tiffany said with a sigh and then looked at her sisters.
"I've been thinking. Perhaps we should do a DNA test," Bernice said, and Tiffany raised a brow.
"What for?" Lisa asked in surprise.
"Well, have you considered the fact that we may all not have the same fathers? If she was cheating on father, seducing your husband, and having sex with my husband, I wonder how many others she has been with, and how long she has been so promiscuous," Bernice said reasonably.
"I don't know. I don't care. I don't want a DNA test. Dad remains my father. He is the only father I want to know," Lisa said stubbornly.
"What if…."
"No what ifs Benny. You can both carry out a test if you so desire, but I'd rather not know. It would be too painful to even consider that she did such wickedness to a man who did nothing but love her," Lisa said, and Tiffany nodded.
"What will we do with the knowledge anyway? Go look for our biological fathers if it turns out true? I don't think so. This is one of those things I'd rather not know as well. You all are my sisters, and Richard Miller is our father whether or not mother had sexual relations with anyone else," Tiffany said, and Bernice sighed.
"You do have a point. Alright. Let's not do it. I will just…" the rest of her words trailed off when her phone started ringing and she frowned when she saw the caller was her father in-law.
They both hardly ever had any reason to call each other. He had made it clear from the start that he didn't approve of her marriage to his son. Especially as she had gotten married to him by getting pregnant.
Bernice rose as she received the call, "Where are you?" He asked without so much as a hello.
"I'm at my sister's. She put to bed and…."
"Shouldn't you be at home with the kids at a time like this instead of moving about?" He growled angrily.
"The kids are fine. They have several activities lined up for the day. I will be with them before they miss me. By the way, I was going to visit you. I went to the morgue to see my husband's body but I was told you instructed them not to let anyone go near his body until the case was over," Bernice said, while her sisters watched her.
"Yes, I did. I can't trust anyone not to tamper with evidence…."
"I am his wife!" Bernice protested.
"This is not why I called. It will be in your best interest not to let anyone else know about whatever Adam had going on with your mother. If you so much as tarnish my son's reputation, I will make sure you never see the kids anymore, and I will destroy you," he threatened, leaving Bernice speechless.
"You called to threaten me?" She asked in disbelief.
"I called to ask you to keep shut! I don't care what was going on in your marriage. If you love the kids, you will do well to heed to my warning. I love my son as much as I believe you love your boys, and I will do whatever I can to protect him, dead or alive." With that he hung up, and Bernice turned to look at her sisters in disbelief.
"Can you believe he called to threaten me?" She asked as she told them all about the conversation.
"Did he always know about mother and Adam?" Tiffany asked thoughtfully.
"He would rather cover his son's immorality then focus on finding his son's murderer?" Lisa asked with a frown.
"And what was his reason for not letting you see Adam's corpse?" Lisa asked and Bernice shrugged.
"He said he didn't trust anyone not to tamper with evidence," Bernice explained and Tiffany frowned.
"What evidence? That doesn't make any sense. Are they conducting an autopsy or what?" Tiffany asked and Bernice shook her head.
"I have no idea. Honestly, if Jack wasn't currently behind bars, I wouldn't believe Adam is dead," Bernice said with a sigh.
"What is he isn't?" Lisa asked, and both Tiffany and Bernice exchanged a look.
"Jack wouldn't be behind bars if he wasn't. Jack saw the body, remember?" Tiffany pointed out.
"True. Okay. What if they're actually hiding something else? What if there is evidence on him to prove that Jack is innocent? Jack's lawyer is allowed access to the body, right?" Lisa asked, and Tiffany tried not to roll her eyes.
"Why would Adam's father want to hide the evidence that would prove Jack is innocent? Do you think if he knows the real culprit he won't release Jack right away?" Bernice pointed out.
"What if there is evidence on the body that mother was responsible? What if that's how he knows about mother and Adam? Seeing how he just threatened you, don't you think he might be willing to keep the truth hidden and blame everything on someone innocent just so he wouldn't tarnish his son's reputation? I mean, it's not like the Washington's are honest in their dealings after all," Lisa explained, and Tiffany narrowed her eyes thoughtfully.
"You may be right. Maybe I should meet with Jade…."
"Let's invite her over. We should all meet with her. And maybe we can also have her look into father's murder. I believe if there is anyone who can look into what happened to father and get results, she can," Lisa said, and both Tiffany and Bernice nodded in agreement.
The sourc𝗲 of this content is fre(e)webnovel