Web Fic
Chapter 426
Chapter 426
“Molly, how are you feeling?” Coleen asked gently, sitting beside her daughter’s bed. Her eyes were
filled with concern.
“Where’s Chad?” Molly’s first thought upon waking was of Chad.
Soon enough, Chad approached. His expression was stern and his hands were clasped behind his
back. “What’s up?”
“I want to report a crime,” replied Molly.
…
Mia and Leo went towards Andre, laying out their entire plan in full.
“What would you do if I didn’t show up, Mia?” Andre asked. His face was dark with anger.
“I would run,” Mia replied tearfully.
“You think you could outrun him, in your condition?” Andre retorted sharply, making Mia’s tears fall
faster.
“I’d never let her get hurt,” Leo tried to assure him.
“Shut up!” Andre snapped at his nephew. “I told you all to stay away from Tom. And now look at Molly,
lying in a hospital bed.”
“Stand out there!” Andre ordered, determined to discipline the group.
His gaze softened slightly as he looked at Mia, who was still crying. But he didn’t hold back on his
words. “Especially you, Mia. You think you’re some kind of heroine? If you were the one in that hospital
bed, you’d regret it for the rest of your life.”
Hearing this, Mia bit her lip to stop the tears from overflowing, but to no avail.
Leo felt pity for her as he heard her crying for the first time in such way. He glanced at his fuming uncle,
whom he truly angered this time.
Andre left the two and headed to the patient room. A pregnant woman and a young man were left at
the entrance, standing against the wall as a punishment.
Mia's sobbing was the most loud. Passersby could hear her whimpering sound. Gossiping nurses in
the hallway were whispering secretly, about Andre chastising his wife and she being punished to stand
in the hospital corridor.
The gossip even attracted the interest of many doctors and nurses, who came to observe this scene.
Leo, being tall, glanced sideways at Mia who was still crying with her head lowered, "It's not your fault.
If it weren't for my aunt and I dragging you in, you wouldn't have helped us."
Mia didn't say anything, still crying with her head bowed. Her hands were behind her back, just as she
had been standing.
Leo continued to say: "You did try to stop us in the beginning, but we insisted on dragging you in."
Mia said with a heavy nasal voice, "But I still ended up giving you guys an idea."
"That's because you felt sorry for Jade. You wanted to help her." Leo tried to ease Mia's guilt. But he
realized that his words were not getting through to Mia as she only cared about what Andre had to say.
Leo looked at his uncle, whose anger was palpable. “Stop crying, Mia. It’s not good for the baby.”
Then Mia wiped her tears, but the sadness lingered. “If anything happened to Molly, I’d regret it
forever,” she confessed.
“I would too,” admitted Leo, staring at the ceiling of the hospital corridor.
…
Back in the room, Molly told Chad, “I remember. Sixteen years ago, it was Finley and Tom who
kidnapped me and Andre. And I remember the reef in the sea which they threw me into.”
She picked up her phone and played a recording. “Listen, Tom confessed.” Content property of NôvelDra/ma.Org.
The members of the Cedillo family listened. Their faces were turning grim.
Kendrick and Coleen were more concerned about their daughter’s well-being than the truth of the past.
“Is this why you met with Tom today?” Chad asked Molly.
She nodded. She had hoped to jog her memory and. If she failed that, she could use the recording to
prove Tom’s guilt. But she had remembered everything, and also gained audio evidence. To her, it was
worth the punch she took.
“Sixteen years ago, their target was Leo. Not just because he is the root of the Cedillo family, but also
because he is my brother’s son,” Molly revealed.
After Anthony’s (Finley’s second son) death, Bruce was the prime suspect. But the police found no
motive or opportunity for him to commit the crime. The investigation revealed that Anthony’s car
accident was caused by his high blood-alcohol level, but Finley demanded Bruce’s son to pay for his
son’s death.
Just as the car came to kidnap Leo, Andre risked his life to protect his nephew. But his beloved sister
was taken instead. He willingly followed the kidnappers to protect her.
In the Walton family.
Finley was already aware of the day’s events. He knew what was coming. He calmly addressed Tom at
his home, “Tom, I made peace with Anthony’s death a long time ago…”
His eldest son was too kind-hearted and indecisive. To help his father climb the social ladder, he
betrayed his superior.
Finley knew his son lived in guilt and remorse. The guilt kept him awake at night. Only by receiving
forgiveness from the person he had wronged, or by revealing the truth about his father’s political
campaign, would he find peace.
But Finley refused to give up his hard-earned status. He wouldn’t step back. Trevor, unwilling to betray
his father, sought forgiveness from the Cedillo family. He approached Hansen, who was a minister at
the time, and pleaded for his forgiveness.
However, Hansen didn’t offer his son, Trevor, an ounce of leniency, not even a chance meeting. Later,
Hansen shockingly resigned from his position to pursue a career in business. This only exacerbated
Trevor’s condition. Trevor believed he caused his superior to leave the public sector to provide for his
family through business.
Later on, he was even scolded by Mrs. Cedillo. Eventually, he did get to meet his former superior, but
the encounter only served to push him into an abyss from which he could never return.
Finley knew his actions weren’t honorable. He took everything from Hansen, which indirectly led to his
eldest son’s death. He swallowed this bitter pill, persistently convincing himself to let go of his grudge
against the Cedillo family.
However, his animosity towards the Cedillo family never waned. He incessantly instilled the idea in his
second son, Anthony, that the Cedillos were responsible for Trevor’s demise. It fuelled his hatred even
further.
He made sure that Anthony’s loathing for the Cedillo family ran deep in his bones.