Its Too Late To Forgive

Chapter 75: 74. NOT MY DAUGHTER

Anthony and Margaret Evans were waiting in the living room of Jackson Mansion along with Brandon and Vivian. They were eagerly waiting to meet their daughter and son in law, Bella and Henry Jackson. NôvelDrama.Org © 2024.

They heard footsteps approaching them, the two beautiful and elegant couple followed the sound and looked at them. Their eyes lit up and Mrs. Margaret Evans ran forward with joy, and she couldn’t help but grabbed Bella’s palm,

“Bella, it’s great to see you. Mom is so happy.”

“Mrs. Evans...”

A hand gently pulled Margaret's hand away,

"Mrs. Evans please sit down.”

“You… Bella…”

At that instant, Margaret's well maintained face was embarrassed.

"Cough cough.”

Anthony coughed twice,

“Mr. Jackson, we are here to see our daughter today. After we spoke the other day, Bella's mother has been thinking only about Bella. It's only her in her heart now. These days, she doesn’t even think about food or water. I watched Bella’s mother getting thinner and felt sad, so I insisted on bringing her mother to see her.. even without your permission."

This seems to explain why the Evans suddenly came to the door without saying hello. Henry was non committal and said calmly,

"Finally, That's interesting."

Henry's unsalty or undiminished sentence may be a guilty conscience. Anthony understood but tried to ignore. Henry just smiled.

Bella is already numb hearing what her father said just now, 'what she misses!.. what to worry about!.. what she doesn’t want to eat!' The lady that she saw earlier in front of their house was red as a pulp and equally beautiful as always. Right now also Bella didn't happen to see any such so call depressive changes in her mother.

Margaret hooked Bella's hand affectionately and turned around and asked Henry imploringly,

“Mr. Henry, I really miss my child… Could you let Bella and I stay alone for a while? There is too much between us, mother and daughter, that I have to say and share.”

Henry’s eyes crossed Mrs. Evans and fell on Bella,

“I respect Bella's desicion. If she wants to spend alone time with you then I don't have an issue with that."

When he said this, Mrs. Evans quickly looked at Bella anxiously. There were some worry in her eyes, afraid that Bella would refuse hence she quickly approached Bella with a voice that two people could hear, her lips moved and she said something.

Bella's breathing was stagnant and her eyes suddenly fell on Mrs.Evans, seemingly suspicious.

Mrs.Evans grasped Bella’s hand and squeezed her arm with greater force, nodding lightly. Seeing this, Bella took a deep breath and looked up at Henry,

“Today’s sunshine is really good. There are plum blossoms in the garden outside. I want to go for a walk.”

Henry simply nodded and while taking off his jacket, he walked towards Bella. The jacket was now over Bella's body and then wrapped tightly in the front by Henry,

“Go and come back soon. The winter sun is good right now.”

Bella nodded and went out of the house with Mrs. Evans. Henry took a look at Rose who quietly followed behind but didn’t get close, always keeping a distance and just watching.

There are two plum trees on the east side of the yard. The plum blossoms were very beautiful. Bella stopped between the two plum trees and turned around,

“You said, one of the man those who raped Cindy four years ago has returned to the city?”

“Correct.”

Just then they were accompanied by one more lady. Vivian had been sitting quietly along with her husband, Brandon, in Jackson's Mansion. Brandon had not spoken a single word since he has come here. May be it's his guilty conscience or maybe he just doesn't want to acknowledge Bella as his sister anymore.

When Vivian saw Bella and her mother in law Margaret going out into the garden, she couldn't stop herself from being close to Bella and after seeking permission from her husband and Henry, she went after them too.

Bella and Mrs. Evans simply looked at her. Vivian smiled at Bella but the latter held expression less face and turned towards Mrs. Evans,

“How did you and Mr. Evans know about this?”

She didn’t believe it. There was no surveillance video camera at the place where the incident happened. She hadn’t even seen the appearance of those gangsters ever. Then how did her parents

came to know about this?

"Bella, dear don't say like that. He is your father.”

Hearing Mrs. Evans’s words, Bella's heart surged, pursing her lips, her face was cold,

“If Mrs.Evans is here to relive the past, then I think we don’t need to stand here anymore.”

“Hold on, Bella!”

Seeing Bella was about to leave, Mrs.Evans and Vivian called her in unison to stop her,

“Bella.. you refused to forgive your father and me! I can understand that your father and I broke your heart. All of us."

She looked at Vivian, who too had her head low in shame and guilt.

"But we too had no choice. We were forced to be helpless. We feel guilty but it's true that, that time we really wanted to help you. We did our level best to find the best lawyer for you but we couldn't as no one was ready to fight against the Jacksons."

Vivian looked up and stared at Margaret who was straight forward lying. That time Vivian was not married to Brandon yet but as she heard the news of Bella being arrested, she rushed to Evans House to know the truth.

Later, when Vivian got married to Brandon, almost after a year of Bella's arrest, she came to know the truth. Brandon was drunk and depressed and in that state he revealed that his parents actually held back in fighting for Bella. If they wanted they could have arranged best lawyers for her case. In fact they had good relationship with the judiciary and they could have easily released Bella but they refused to do so.

Brandon ran places to places, from people to people but nothing helped. He used to go and stand outside the prison daily for hours just to get a chance to meet Bella once and assure her that her brother is there for her, no matter what. But he never got a chance to do so.

He then told Vivian why he drank so much. Today also he went and stood in front of the prison. He wanted to share his marriage news with his sister but finally he was informed by the guard that Bella was already released 6 months back and they have no idea where she went.

He felt as if the land where he was standing has moved and anytime he will be swallowed inside. He rushed to meet Henry Jackson but was informed that Henry is now settled in the US.

Brandon was helpless and broken. He also went and told his parents about this but none of them showed any reaction and never spoke about Bella again.

Today seeing Margaret lying so clearly to Bella, Vivian felt sour in her heart.

"Bella, dear child give your trust in us once. This time we really want to help you."

Bella’s eyes sparkled, and the bottom of her eyes was sour. Should she believe in them again? Bella shook her head, shook her palm and took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down as much as possible,

“Mrs. Evans, tell me, how did you know about this? How do you know that those gangsters committed the things in the first place? And why are they back?”

“Bella somebody framed you back then. There is a recording where someone has picked up your phone from the bar table and then kept it back after 4 minutes.

May be that was the person who sent the message to Cindy in place of you."

Said Margaret while analysis her theory.

"In fact, you were framed back then Bella. In addition to the call history and text messages on your mobile phone with Cindy, there was a witness who was half drunk at the time. And saw everything that happened at the time of the incident. Dirty things, but was afraid to cause trouble, so didn’t choose to call the police, but still remembers a few of those gangster's faces. The day before yesterday, few of the faces appeared in a bar, the Wild Hunt.”

Said Vivian while looking at Bella and her mother in law at the same time.

“Witness?”

“Yes, witness."

Said Mrs. Evans with a broad smile on her face.

“If there were witnesses, why didn’t I know about this?”

Bella’s words were sharp, it is because this matter is too relevant for her and that's why she must ask clearly.

“Hmmm....."

Mrs.Evans sighed before looking at Bella,

“This person.... you also know people of distinguish family. They don’t want anyone to witness such a dirty thing as rape and be known to everyone as a witness.”

There is something in Mrs. Evans’s words, Bella understood. If this person, she also knows, and the family members of this person don’t want this matter to be known, then, in all likelihood,

“Which young master is it?”

She asked Mrs. Evans bluntly. After so many things, it is difficult to have the warmth of the mother and daughter as it was in the past.

“It’s not the young master of any family, but the second young lady of a distinguished family.”

Bella suddenly realized, It turned out to be a woman!

It’s no wonder that there was no sound of the wind. If the daughter of a distinguished family has witnessed such a sordid thing as rape, the reputation will not sound good.

Not an ordinary crime scene, but a shameless violation of a woman by a few big men!

At the same time that Bella had an epiphany, she couldn’t accept it,

“You said she witnessed the crime, so this became one of the evidence that convicted me of the crime?”

She chuckles.

“Mrs. Evans, I want to know, who is she? What did she see but became one of the evidences to condemn me?

Did she see me at the crime scene? Who is she?"

Bella’s chest rose and fell slightly, she tried her best to stay calm.

“Didn’t Mr. Jackson tell you about this?”

Bella lips evoked a small smile, asked knowingly. If Henry had mentioned to her about this Miss, would she still not know?

She looked at Mrs.Evans again. Really, this person was her biological mother who was pretending to be foolish.

“Ahem… As expected, President Henry didn’t tell you. But why didn’t he tell you such an important thing?”

“Yeah, why didn’t you tell me about such an important thing?”

Bella faintly took the words again from her mouth but they were not directed towards Henry but to her mother. Hearing this Mrs. Evans was embarrassed and said,

“That…we thought Mr. Henry must have told you? Who knew it would be like this.”

Bella didn’t want to keep discussing with Mrs. Evans whether Henry had told her or not. She straight forwardly asked Margaret,

“Since Mrs. Evans also knows about this, please take some trouble in telling me too. What did that young miss witness at the crime scene? And Why did her sentence actually become evidence of my crime?”

She reminded Mrs.Evans,

"At that time, I was not at the scene. What did that young miss saw that made her actually identify me as a criminal!

And why is she coming out in open now after 5 years of the crime?"

Mrs. Evans gave a stern look at Bella and spoke confidently without any guilt,

"Bella I will tell you everything. I ... we love you. We are a family right. We all and you and Henry.

And now as you and Henry are married and I can see that he really cares about you then I am sure getting a land on your father's name wont be so difficult for you. Right!"

Hearing this Vivian could not hold herself back. Her eyes grew in anger. She held her mother-in-law's hand tightly but spoke in her hears very softly,

"Mom, what are you doing? This is not the time for all this things. We are here to mend our relationship with Bella and seek her forgiveness."

Margaret got angry and threw Vivian's hand away, turned towards Bella and spoke again,

"You don't come in between mother and daughter. I know what I am doing. As Henry and Bella are married, everything belonging to Henry is Bella's."

Bella did feel a sharp pain in her heart when she realised what was the real motive of her parents to visit her for sake of "forgiveness".

She masked her feelings and looked at Margaret,

"Answer me first."

Margaret got angry with this stern looks of Bella but still spoke,

“Well... I am not very sure about that but what I have heard is that, that time she didn't intend to speak out immediately, but Cindy committed suicide.

When miss came to know about this she felt unfair to the person who passed away, so she told people what she witnessed. She said that when she witnessed the crime, she heard Cindy’s stern cry.”

With that, Margaret took a careful look at Bella,

“That time she said that Cindy was pressed under her body by several men and she shouted,

'Bella it’s you! It’s you who killed me! You can’t die! I will get back at you!!'

And now she came in open because she knew that those men knew that she was an eye witness and now she feels threatened by their presence.!"

“Ha… ha ha ha ha ha…”

Bella listened to her mother and couldn’t help laughing up to the sky.

Vivian looked worried,

“Bell, Bell, what’s wrong with you?”

Bella reached out and pushed Vivian's hand away,

“I’m fine…Don’t touch me. Let me laugh for a while.”

She backed away from the hand that Mrs. Evans stretched out, smiled and covered her belly, tears streaming out,

“Haha haha…haha ha…”

“Bella... Bella.. Don’t laugh, don’t laugh…”

Mrs. Evans was so flustered by Bella’s laughter that she kept persuading Bella not to laugh, but the latter didn't hear a word her. Mrs. Evans became more irritable because of the laughter, her eyes flashed impatiently, and she couldn’t help shouting loudly,

“I told you to stop laughing! Can’t you hear me!”

When the words fell, suddenly, the laughter disappeared. She covered her mouth with her hand and looked at Bella's eyes. Her eyes flickered left and right,

“No…no… Bella, mom just loves you too much.”

Bella did not speak. She was looking at Mrs. Evans quietly.

Those eyes were not sharp but they made the latter feel the pain.

“Bella …”

Madam Evans’s face suddenly turned blue and white. Bella who fell down while laughing now stood up, stood up straight. Rose was about to come forward. Bella waved to Rose,

“It’s okay. I haven’t seen Mrs. Evans for a long time. Mrs. Evans just told me a joke.”

Rose nodded her head and returned to a safe distance without saying a word. Only then did Bella turn her gaze back on Mrs. Evans's body and slightly curled her lips,

“You are telling that just the witness only heard me this, that Cindy called my name and I became a heinous murderer in everyone's eye. Who is she?”

“No! I believe in you, Bella, your father and I both believe you are innocent. At first, because there was no evidence, your father and I were afraid of Mr. Jackson’s power, so we didn’t dare to stand up and openly confront Henry.

But now he is so kind to you, you have become his wife. And those gangsters, who committed the crime, have appeared in the city again. As long as we find those gangsters, we can definitely ask the truth and wash away your grievances.

And as far as that miss's identity is conserned , only Henry Jackson knows about it. Nobody knows who she is."

Bella wanted to laugh again. What did Mrs. Evans say? Say they all believe that she was innocent? Shaking her head, she thought, laughter can’t resolve her anger and disappointment at the moment.

“Mrs. Evans, it’s windy here and I’m tired and sleepy.”

As she said, Bella had already turned around and were about to leave. Madame Evans was anxious and grabbed Bella's arm from behind,

“Wait a minute, Bella!”

Bella was caught off guard and her arm was caught by Mrs. Evans. She turned her head and looked over. Although she did not speak much, she clearly said made her point that she didn't wanted to stay here anymore,

“Is there anything else?”

Mrs. Evans held Bella’s hand tightly, her eyes softened, and she pleaded with shame,

“Bella, we really want to help you this time. Your father and I are very guilty. We didn’t help you at the beginning, it made you suffer so much.

You were originally a wealthy daughter and the jewel of the Evans family but you were bullied in that kind of place.

Your dad has a good face in the city but after your imprisonment, he has almost become the laughing stock of the city. So, after that incident, your dad… became just so cruel to you.

It’s just that your dad feels guilty in his heart and always wants to make up for you. This time, God pity his beloved daughter eagerly and finally put the opportunity in front of him.

Bella, you… just trust us once."

Mrs. Evans’s eyes were moist, and she firmly grasped Bella’s hand and refused to let go, for fear that when she let go, she would run away.

Bella looked at Mrs. Evans for a long time but there were no tears in her eyes. She didn’t believe that the couple would feel guilty about her and would love her. No matter how sweet and lovely her words are, in last five years, she has lived a life which was worse than death. A life where people are not as good as dogs even. They all look frivolous and ridiculous.

She closed her eyes and said,

“Mrs.Evans, how are you going to help me? And will you help me only if I am able to get your desired land?"

After all she has nothing to lose!

"Sir, tea.”

Nina approached Henry seductively. There was a pot of hot tea on the tray which she held tightly in her hand.

Without seeing her, Henry waved at her to serve the tea to all. Henry looked at Bella who was now coming inside with mother and sister-in-law,

“Come and sit her Bella."

He made a cozy place for Bella to sit and then sat close to her.

"You drink this first. After drinking, Mr. Evans has something to ask you.”

Bella's body suddenly stiffened. She felt very uncomfortable. Henry was talking like this and it seemed to be very considerate but the more he was, the more uncomfortable her heart was.

She didn't say a word silently raised the cup, drank most of the tea and was silently putting the cup back on the tray.

Anthony’s old face trembled at the stare that he was getting from Henry. He turned to look at Bella and spoke softly,

"Bella.…Dad is wrong.”

Click~!

With a crisp sound the cup in her hand broke. Time seemed to stand still. Bella did not look at her father but was staring silently at the broken glass on the ground. She was staring at the pile of debris on the ground without blinking.

Today…her father finally said “he was wrong”!

Bella has no intention of thinking, even she doesn’t want to think at all, whether this phrase “Dad is wrong” comes from sincerity or for the sake of seeking a piece of land that her mother spoke of.

Probably, after staring at the debris on the floor for a long time, her eyes were sore. She blinked, trying to relieve the soreness of her eyes,

“Aunt Rose, I’m sorry, my hand slipped, I broke the cup and soiled the ground. I’m tired. Please help me Clean up here.”

She spoke, her voice was gentle and there was no ups and downs, she said without rush. If one listens carefully, it was a rough voice, but there was a trace of choking that was hard to detect.

Turning around, she walked upstairs, but the moment as she stepped up the stairs, she suddenly stopped,

“Next week, I will go to Mrs. Evans’s house as a guest.”

At Evans's Villa-

"What the hell was that father?"

Brandon seems to have lost his control. He was angry on his mother and father. Both the couple drove separate cars and while returning home Vivian told Brandon about the real motive of her in laws for visiting Bella.

Brandon was furious. He genuinely thought that his parents wants to help to bring back his little sister. But once he came to know the truth he was furious. He wanted answers.

"Tell me Dad, why are you doing this to Bella? Mother, how could you agree to this shit?"

He turned and spoke to his mother. He was surprised to see that neither of them held and guilt or shame.

"You could have helped her earlier also. You had contacts, you had power. But you refused.

And now when fianlly she is having a peaceful life with Henry, you seemed to be not satisfied with that either.

She is you daughter danmit. How could you blackmail her like that?"

Anthony turned towards Brandon and spoke angrily,

"I did this because she is NOT MY DAUGHTER."