“That’s enough!” Anthony cries, rubbing his temples, “Gabrielle, it was sent from your account. Why don’t you tell me what’s going on?”
Gabrielle shakes her head vehemently.
“I don’t know anything about that,” she insists.
“Gabrielle, didn’t you just tell me that Leilani borrowed your phone recently?” Katherine asks with a conniving smile.
Leilani frowns but refuses to respond to Katherine’s insinuation. Leilani knows that she borrowed the phone, but she also knows that borrowing the phone is no proof that she sent the photo. Waylen had already assumed that Leilani sent the photo, and Kathrine’s statement seems to back up his speculation. He knows that Leilani’s phone isn’t properly connected to the outside world, so it makes sense that she’d use Gabrielle’s phone to send the photos. The previously stifling room seems to go cold.
“So you did this?” Waylen asks Leilani.
“I didn’t do it,” Leilani says evenly.
“Leilani, you have to own your mistakes,” Katherine lectures, “Do you want to let this innocent family bear the brunt of your failings? Do you want our family to be completely humiliated?”
“I didn’t do anything,” Leilani insists, lifting her jaw defiantly as she speaks, “What should I admit? You say I did it, Katherine, but tell me, what could I possibly gain by spreading this news?”
“Who knows what you’re thinking?” Katherine sneers, “You invited the press last time to announce a divorce, and Gabrielle told me you’ve been using her phone. Just admit it already.”
“Really? Just because I borrowed Gabrielle’s phone doesn’t mean I sent the photo,” Leilani says, “Why does sending the photo from Gabrielle’s account mean it’s me? I could just as easily say you sent it from Gabrielle’s account.”
“How dare you, Leilani!” Katherine hisses, “I swear we’ll get to the bottom of this—us Peters have nothing to do with it.”
Katherine gives Gabrielle a gentle nudge with her elbow, prompting the young woman to back her up. Gabrielle bites her lip. While Gabrielle was getting her hair and makeup done, Katherine told her that something huge had happened. She said that Leilani and Waylen’s divorce papers had been leaked from her account. She felt dizzy upon hearing the news because she knew nothing about the divorce or any photos.
She recalls Kathrine’s talk with her. She remembers Katherine warning her: “You know all about Waylen’s famous hot temper. If he knows you sent the photos, you’re screwed.”
“It wasn’t me,” she’d told Katherine.
“Then who else could it be?” Katherine insisted, “It was from your Facebook account.”
“Mom, I didn’t do it,” she repeated.
“Then think carefully,” Katherine prompted, “Did you lend your phone to anyone recently?”
“No one apart from Leilani,” Gabrielle had answered without thinking.
“I know it’s not necessarily Leilani who did it,” Katherine said to her, “But I suggest that you tell Waylen she borrowed your phone. She’s his wife and he won’t do anything too severe to her. But you’re different. To tell you the truth, the consequences will be disastrous for anyone who isn’t Leilani.”
“But—” Gabrielle objected.
“Think about it,” Katherine had warned, “If anything happens to you, what will happen to that boy you’re keeping, hmm? Now I know you’re too frightened to say anything. I’ll speak up for you. You just stand there and keep quiet.”
The conversation in the makeup room still rings in Gabrielle’s ears. She takes a swift look at Leilani, trying to see if there’s any guilt on her sister’s face.
“Say something!” Waylen snarls at Leilani.
Gabrielle looks nervously between Waylen, Leilani, and Katherine. She seems too scared to speak.
“Miss Peters, Mr. Bamford only wants you to tell the truth,” Robert prompts her.
Gabrielle digs her freshly polished nails into the palm of her hand. After a while, she takes a deep breath, mustering all the courage she has. She can’t bring herself to look at Waylen as she speaks, and she gazes down at her feet instead.
“Leilani didn’t send the photos,” she whispers.
Kathrine gasps with astonishment.
“What evidence do you have?” Waylen snaps.
“I sent the photos,” Gabrielle whispers.
She knows she has to protect Leilani. In spite of Katherine’s assurances that Waylen won’t hurt Leilani, she feels terrified of his anger. She worries that he’s volatile enough to do anything.
“Gabrielle! Are you out of your mind?” Leilani reproaches.
Vanessa and Janetta’s exchange shocked looks. They can’t believe that meek Gabrielle is willing to take the fall for Leilani. Waylen rushes up the stairs and stands menacingly close to Gabrielle.
“Do you know what you’re in for if I’m certain it’s you?” he whispers.
Gabrielle shakes her head.
“I heard there are saltwater crocodiles in the estuary near here,” he says, “I wouldn’t mind asking you to go for a swim in it.”
“It’s not her!” Leilani shouts.
She rushes up the stairs and throws herself between Waylen and her sister. She knows that Gabrielle is trying to protect her, and she refuses to watch Waylen threaten her little sister. Gabrielle is shocked by Leilani’s action. The saltwater crocodile is the most dangerous reptile in the world, and it’s highly aggressive. If it attacks someone while they’re swimming, there is no chance they’ll survive.
“It wasn’t she? It was you?” Waylen asks.
He stares into Leilani’s eyes attempting to see her heart. The look is so intense she feels herself getting dizzy. Gabrielle shakes her head firmly.
“No, Leilani didn’t send them,” she says a little more loudly, “It was me. I did it.”
Kathrine exchanges a glance with Vanessa and Janetta, celebrating their imminent victory. No matter who takes the fall, it means victory for them. Though they are surprised by the intensity of Gabrielle and Leilani’s loyalty to each other.
“Why?” Waylen asks Gabrielle, “What do you stand to gain by announcing a divorce?”
“I’m jealous of her marriage,” Gabrielle said evenly.
“Gabrielle!” Leilani interjects.
She half wants to choke her younger sister just to make her stop talking. She’s trying so hard to take the blame, but Gabrielle insists on confessing. Leilani knows that if Gabrielle takes the fall, her sisters and step-mother will win.
“Jealous?” Waylen asks.
His face seems hideously distorted, and his hands are clenched into fists. Leilani reaches out and places her hands on Waylen’s chest, to keep him away from Gabrielle.
“Waylen, don’t listen to Gabrielle,” she pleads, “She’s talking nonsense.”
“Gabrielle, you sent this?” Anthony asks.
After going through such trouble to get Waylen and other influential elites to come to their party, Anthony can’t believe his youngest daughter has humiliated the family. He approaches her with his hand raised as if preparing to slap her. Gabrielle takes one glance at her father’s wrathful expression and cowers behind Leilani.
Sudden, slow applause forces Anthony to stop. A man struts into the room, followed by a team of bodyguards. He lifts his face, revealing a mole beneath his eye. His applause slowly dies down as he surveys the people on the stairs.
“I don’t imagine Waylen invited me here for a family drama,” Andrew says, then he smiles flirtatiously at Leilani, “Sorry I’m late.”
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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