“She deserves this,” Kendrick said softly.
“Then why do you look so down?”
Kendrick smiled superficially after hearing that. Sarcasm escaped from his lips as he said, “If she’s guilty, then I’m equally guilty.”
Niamh lifted her gaze. “Is the reason why you think you’re guilty because you didn’t take care of Nevaeh well enough and that’s why she ended up like this today?”
Kendrick looked at Niamh’s cold face profoundly. “I did neglect one person. However, that person isn’t Nevaeh,” he said and stood up. He then held Niamh’s hand. “Let’s go.”
Niamh was making guesses at what he was saying after he gave her such a vague answer.
Maybe the person he was talking about was the woman who was sleeping forever in the grave.
However, who was that woman?
…
On the other side, after Sean left the court, he went straight to the hospital.
Sean returned just as Eloise’s wounds were redressed. She immediately rushed forward to ask, “How did it go, Sean? How’s Nevaeh—”
“Evidence is conclusive. The judge ruled Nevaeh a 12-year time in prison.”
“No!” Eloise’s expression paled as her vision went black. She almost fainted over.
Sean immediately went to hold her. “We’ve done everything we can, Eloise.”
“So what? We still couldn’t save our precious daughter in the end!” Eloise cried heartbreakingly. “The lawyer said he could 100 percent guarantee that Nevaeh would be able to get out of it! How could it end like this?”
“Vera came out with a final piece of evidence and Nevaeh’s foster parents suddenly came forward to testify against Nevaeh as well.”
“What? That Vera Quinn again!” Fury flared in Eloise’s eyes. “To think that I had invited her over for dinner last night, hoping she would let Nevaeh go. I can’t believe how cruel she is! Why did she have to force Nevaeh to a corner? I should never have held Diana back last night! This would never have happened if she had died!”
“Have you gone mad from the anger, Eloise? How could you say such a thing?” Sean felt both shocked and exasperated. “Don’t you know who donated blood to you last night? Had it not been for Vera, you wouldn’t be well and alright here now!”
Eloise was stunned by his words.
Eloise clenched her teeth when she remembered Nevaeh’s current situation and replied disdainfully, “I don’t need her to save me! How much did she donate? I’ll just give it back to her!”
“You may be able to return hers, but how will we return Niamh’s?” Sean asked dejectedly.
Eloise stared at Sean in confusion. “Niamh? Why are you reminding me of that wretched woman? Death is the smallest penalty for all the horrible things she has done. What can we possibly owe her?”
Sean frowned bitterly and sighed. “You lost an unexpectedly huge amount of blood during an appendicitis surgery you did three years ago, do you remember?
“Nevaeh and her foster mother even told you that Nevaeh was the one who donated the blood that brought you back to safety, but that was far from the truth. Nevaeh wasn’t the one who donated the blood at all. In fact, she actually rejected to do so.”
“What… Why?” Eloise’s eyes widened in disbelief. “What are you saying, Sean? Why would Nevaeh refuse to donate blood to me? And… And if it wasn’t Nevaeh, then whose blood was it?”
“It was Niamh’s.”
“…” Eloise was gaping in shock. She felt the air around her suddenly turn into a vacuum, making it hard for her to breathe. “What… What are you saying, Sean? After all those horrible things she’s done, why would Niamh donate blood to me? You must be mistaken!”
“I’m not. I contacted a friend to help me check too. From the records back then, Niamh had saved not only you, but she saved our grandson, Jackson, as well.”
Sean exhaled a long sigh, leaving the guilt and regret he felt to simmer in the silence around them.
“It seems like we’ve been left in the dark for too long, Eloise. I can’t possibly imagine how many wrongdoings our daughter has done behind our backs. It’s all our fault for not being there to nurture her. She’s been led completely astray by her foster parents.”
“…” Eloise was still dazed while her eyes were blankly staring ahead. “It can’t be. It can’t. It just can’t…”
Eloise could not bring herself to accept the truth, yet the evidence that was laid bare in front of her had guilt and remorse bubbling from within anyway.
Both Niamh and Vera had saved her without asking for repayment, yet all they got were such horrible words in return…
Sean persuaded her to rest and heal, but Eloise could not hold back the need to see Nevaeh.
Eloise turned to Sean just before she alighted the car. “Won’t you come with me? Nevaeh’s still our daughter, after all.”
“I don’t think I’m ready to meet such a daughter yet.” Sean frowned conflictingly. “She may be our only daughter, but her actions…”
Eloise understood without Sean needing to say more, so she turned and got out of the car herself.
Eloise still found it impossible to believe that this was Nevaeh’s true appearance now that she had calmed down, but Eloise admitted that Nevaeh had indeed taken it too far.
As a mother, she felt the responsibility to rein Nevaeh back.
After walking inside, she was informed by the police that someone else was currently visiting Nevaeh.
When she asked him, she found that it was none other than Rose and Jon.
Thanks to a small tip from Sean, Eloise was allowed in.
However, she was met with Nevaeh’s agitated shouts just as she arrived at the door of the conjugal room. “Are you happy now that I’m in jail? You’ve gone mad! How could you betray me?”
The corners of Nevaeh’s eyes were dyed red as she glared at Rose and Jon.
Eloise had never seen such a ferocious look on her.
Rose explained herself with her head drooped down. “We didn’t have a choice. It was either you or us.”
“Then it should have been you!” Nevaeh banged on the table harshly.
“Calm down, Nevaeh. Being upset won’t get you anywhere. Just hold off for a little longer, okay? I’m sure Eloise and Sean will get you out of here,” Rose brushed her off exasperatedly.
Nevaeh ground her molars together impatiently. “Just who are my parents, you or them? I can’t believe you’d indict me just to save yourselves. Did I not bring you enough advantages these few years from the Montgomeries? How could you betray your biological daughter? Or are you telling me that you’ve forgotten that I’m your daughter after all the luxuries you’ve sucked off me!”
Eloise felt her body freeze at the words Nevaeh had shouted.
Her hand trembled as it pushed hard at the door to the conjugal room.
The three inside jolted at Eloise’s sudden arrival.
“Mrs. Montgomery… What are you doing here?” Rose shot up from her seat to look uneasily at Eloise.
Nevaeh looked calm now that the wave of shock had passed. “Are you here to see me, Mom? What happened to your hand? What’s with the bandages?”
Her tone was now kind and the look in her eyes was delicate, leaving no traces of the dominance and bossiness that were there mere moments ago.
Eloise could not care less about Nevaeh’s false concern and greetings, for her eyes were currently boring into that ever-so delicate-looking appearance. “The words you just said, did you mean them?”
Nevaeh was stunned. She deduced that Eloise must have heard the words she shouted earlier in unrestrained anger.
“You’ve misunderstood, Mom. It’s just…”
“I did not misunderstand!” Eloise interrupted icily, a mist of wet anger tinting her eyes. “You’ve been lying to me this entire time! You were never my daughter! I can’t believe I let myself believe this horrid lie you fed me!”
“We didn’t lie, Mrs. Montgomery. You’ve misunderstood us.” Rose frantically insisted. “Nevaeh is your daughter. Don’t you remember her birthmark and the DNA test? Both of which prove that she is yours and Mr. Montgomery’s daughter!”
“Birthmark?” Eloise suddenly scoffed self-deprecatingly. “Now I know why the two of you went to that tattoo parlor the other day.”
“…”
At that, Nevaeh and Rose turned to share a look.
They had not expected Eloise to know of such a thing.
“It was never a birthmark, but a tattoo! You had someone tattoo a birthmark on you!” Eloise saw through their lie.
Both Nevaeh and Rose were lost for words.
“The DNA test must be fake as well then. You must have tampered with it too.” Eloise stared furiously at Nevaeh whose eyes began to harden and grow fierce. “You’re an abomination, Nevaeh Delgado! I saw you as my own daughter and defended you time and again after all the despicable things you’ve done. Hell, I even helped you deal with Vera and thought to pull you out from whatever horrendous place you must be in, but instead, what I get is you teaming up to lie to me?”
“That’s not true, Mrs. Montgomery. It’s just a misunderstanding…”
“Forget it. You don’t have to explain anymore.” Nevaeh interrupted Rose coldly as she raised her dark and sinister gaze to meet Eloise’s furious ones. “You’re right. I’m not your daughter.”
Eloise felt her heart clench and her mind buzz at Nevaeh’s admittance.
She admitted it.
She was not her daughter!
“So Vera has been telling the truth the entire time.” Eloise could not feel more regretful. Remorse and guilt ate away at her as she recalled the horrible things she had told and done to Vera.
Nevaeh scoffed condescendingly. “You’d better think of a way to get me out of here, Eloise Patton. Or you can give up on seeing your daughter ever again!”
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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