Chapter 547
Thaddeus’s heart sank as he quickly turned to Evadne. “Evadne, I’ll handle this.”
After all, the rumors swirling about her were like a relentless tide, and the denigration showed no signs of abating.
And here they were in a hospital, a sensitive place where a confrontation with the relatives of a witness could do
her harm.
He could deal with this, shoulder the burden.
But he didn’t want his woman to face such ugliness. It would hurt him too much to see her in pain.
“Thad, i get it,” Evadne said, capturing his hand in hers and offering comfort with her calm demeanor. “But they
want to see me, and if I hadn’t insisted on meeting with Beverly, we wouldn’t be in this mess. So I need to step up,
apologize, and show sincerity. You know me, the word ‘retreat‘ isn’t in my vocabulary.”
“Coincidentally, it’s not in mine either.”
His gaze was deep and affectionate as he clasped her hand tightly. “So, I’m going with you.”
Although Beverly was tucked away in a private room with a high degree of security,
Jason still feared the relatives might cause a scene in the hospital, damaging the lady’s reputation, so he had them
brought over posthaste.
Side by side, Evadne and Thaddeus stood in the corridor.
Beverly’s mother and the parents of another victim approached swiftly, and while Evadne kept her composure, her
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtheart was in turmoil.
The trio halted before them.
Thaddeus’s eyes were a cold and alert, Jason too kept a vigilant watch, ready to intervene should they lash out at
the lady.
Beverly’s mother, with cheeks stained by tears and eyes red with the ferocity of a lioness deprived of sleep, hadn’t
spoken yet, but her face was a canvas of blame and anger directed at Evadne!
Evadne’s fingers tingled as she geared up to speak-
“Sir, Madam! Please, you must save my daughter! I beg of you!”
With a thud, the other girl’s parents knelt before them!
“Please, please stand up! There’s no need for this!” Evadne and Thaddeus rushed to help them, but the parents
were inconsolable, their bodies heavy with grief. If not for Jason’s timely aid, Evadne feared she couldn’t have
supported the heartbroken mother.
“Please promise you’ll save my child, I won’t get up unless you agree!” The mother wailed, her sorrow piercing the
hearts of all
present.
Evadne felt a sharp pain in her chest, her eyes moistening, “Please, stop crying, you’ll harm yourself. Stand up, and
we can talk it
out.”
“Now you come crying to Mrs. Abernathy here, what’s that about?” Gordon, irate, confronted them with scorn.
“Before this, I’ve been reaching out on behalf of Mrs. Abernathy and Mr. Abernathy, and how did you treat us?
Have you forgotten?
Mrs. Abernathy was ready to throw you a lifeline, but you refused it, didn’t you?”
“Gordon! That’s enough!” Thad’s voice was a stern rebuke.
“A lifeline? You call that a lifeline?”
Mrs. Higgins, pushed to her limit, pointed at Evadne, her voice raw with fury, “If it weren’t for you! Who would have
harmed my daughter like this? You only wanted her to testify for you, to take down the thorn in your side! Did you
ever consider the lives of ordinary folks like us? My daughter is only seventeen, she’s been through enough horror,
she just wants to live a normal life, why can’t you give her that chance?”
Gordon was fuming, but he held back, recognizing the gravity of being in Ms. Higgins‘ mother’s presence.
“The Chambers Group has been watching you, keeping tabs on your every move. Do you want your daughter to live
under such surveillance for the rest of her life?” Thaddeus’s brows were furrowed, baffled by their inability to
discern right from wrong.
“I know. I’ve always known! But what can I do?” Mrs. Higgins trembled, nearly hysterical, “I’d rather have this than
let my daughter suffer any harm, be in danger!Her life was getting back on track, everything was improving and
you, you’ve thrown it all into chaos again! Almost costing my daughter her life! You only care for your own comfort
and meddle in other people’s lives! By what right?”
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmEvadne felt a sting in her heart.
Her mind raced with sharp retorts, but overwhelming guilt and injustice clogged her throat, leaving her speechless.
“You’re being naive.”
Thaddeus’s sculpted hand steadied Evadne’s trembling waist, his expression calm and composed as if he were a
deity observing mortal strife, “The peace you’re experiencing now is because the Chambers Group is in disarray,
with Byron detained at the station. They’re too preoccupied with their own troubles to focus on you.”
Mrs. Higgins froze, her bloodshot eyes filled with confusion.
“Once Byron’s troubles are settled, and he’s free to do as he pleases again. Do you think, with his vindictive nature,
he’ll just leave your daughter alone? If the root of the problem isn’t removed, that’s when Ms. Higgins will truly
never have a moment’s peace.”
“Mr. Abernathy is right! Mrs. Higgins, please don’t be misguided any longer!”
The young girl’s father stood before Evadne and Thaddeus, a firm man by any account, but his eyes brimmed with
tears. His gaze was fraught with a helpless desperation. “Mr. Abernathy, Mrs. Abernathy! It’s not that we didn’t want
to seek your help, but the folks from the Chambers Group have been breathing down our necks! They came
around, threatening us, saying if we spoke out of turn, they had ways to make us disappear from Elmsworth without
a trace. How were we supposed to stand up to such power?”
“We couldn’t be sure you’d be able to help, so we’ve been living in fear, not daring to reach out to you.”
His wife, overcome with despair, covered her face with her hands. “But these days, my daughter’s on the edge of a
breakdown. The day before yesterday, she locked herself in her room and cut her wrists.”