Chapter Seventy-EightRaphael’s POVIt was just Jason and I chilling in the house. We spent the whole day making plans for his birthday. We had already sent out invites to most of his friends and our extended family.We were in his room watching TV when I got a text from Camilla saying I should come outside the house. I was a bit confused but did as she asked. I opened the front door and saw she answered Rory standing outside. “Daddy.” Rory ran to give me a hug.“What the heck. You didn’t tell me you would be arriving today.” I said with a smile on my face. “It was a surprise.” She said as we went into the house. “Where’s Jason?”“He's upstairs. I’ll go get him.” I went upstairs to Jason’s room. “I have a surprise for you.” I said to him.“What is it?” He asked excitedly.“Come on.” I said to him and we both went downstairs. When he saw Rory, he ran to her with excitement and hugged her. I smiled.“Can I get you something to drink?” I asked Camilla.“Water’s fine.” She replied and I
Chapter Seventy-SevenCamilla’s POVThe days were passing by fast and Rory still hadn’t returned to school yet because I hadn’t made a decision. The plan was to go to New York for Jason’s birthday and then figure out if I wanted to stay there or return to California.We went to the store last night to get a gift for Jason. Rory asked me to get Spider-Man themed toys because that was what Jason liked. We were on the plane to New York. I didn’t tell anyone that I was arriving that day, not even my grandpa or Skye.We finally landed and the driver was already waiting to pick us up. We made our way to my grandpa's house.When we got there, we got out of the car and made our way to the front door. I already knew he would be home since he hadn’t resumed work yet.We went inside and went to the study. I knocked gently on the hard door and heard a response from him to go in.I opened the door slowly and walked inside with Rory.“Pops.” Rory screamed excitedly.“Camilla, Rory. What a surprise.
Chapter Seventy-SixRaphael’s POVWe were finally able to go home after a week at the hospital. He still needed regular checkups and doctor appointments, but for now, we were in the clear to leave the hospital.He was still so happy even after going through one of the most traumatic things a child can go through. He was most excited for his birthday on Friday, which was three days away. He got even more excited when I told him Rory would be attending.We got to the house and I carried Jason upstairs to his room so he could rest. He was awake so I stayed with him until he fell asleep.“Is he asleep?” Audrey asked when I went back downstairs.“Yes.”“When are you going to speak to Sam?”“I don’t know. I don’t have the energy to have that conversation.”“Raph, you can’t keep putting that away. You need to have a conversation with him while your feelings are still fresh so you can get everything out of your system and you guys can return to your friendship.”“What if we can’t return to th
Chapter Seventy-FiveCamilla’s POVIt had been two days since James told me the truth about everything. We hadn’t spoken since then. I didn’t know if I wanted to be angry at him. Like he said, he didn’t have a choice, they were going to kill him if he didn’t give them what they wanted.There was some good news at least, Jason had woken up and was recovering in the hospital. Rory was asking about him, she didn’t know he had been in an accident and was in the hospital. I wasn’t planning on telling.I’d been doing a lot of thinking these past few days. I’ve been thinking about Rory, myself, my grandfather, and also Raphael. I kept thinking about whether I wanted to raise my daughter here, especially after what happened with James. One of my closet friends here had betrayed my trust and compromised my daughter’s safety.I didn’t tell Raphael about what James told me. He had enough on his plate already, I didn't want him to worry more.“Mummy, can I talk to Daddy?” Rory asked.“I don’t kno
Chapter Seventy-FourRaphael’s POVAfter I hung up the phone, I went to the restroom to wash my face. Jason was still in surgery ans it was killing me waiting for an update.My sister was with my mum while Tori was in the waiting room. We still hadn’t spoken to each other. I was angry at her, angry at Sam and angry at my self. Sam was already out of surgery and resting in the room.My phone was also blowing up with calls from acquaintances and friends. The news about the accident had spread like wildfire. Investigations were also going on about the cause of the accident.I walked out of the restroom and went back to the waiting room.“Mum wants to see you.” Audrey said.“I’ll go see her soon.”“She wants to see you now.”“I said I’ll go see her soon, Audrey.”“Fine.” She said and walked away.I went back to sit down, and then I saw the doctor coming towards me.“How is he?” I asked while standing up.“The surgery went well. He’s in the ICU. When he wakes up, you’ll be able to see him.
Chapter Seventy-ThreeCamilla’s POVI decided that Rory would stay home for the rest of the week. I was looking into other schools for her to transfer to. She couldn’t go to that school anymore, not after what had happened.I still hadn’t heard from Raphael after he left. Every minute, I said a prayer Im my heart for Jason. I also took a break from work for the whole week. I needed time to rest and think about what was going on my life.The investigation was still ongoing. Emily and the man she hired to kidnap Rory were awaiting trial. The news that she was arrested made it rounds. Everyone was aware that she had a hand in a kidnapping. However, they didn’t know who she kidnapped or why.The news that Jason and Mrs Edwards were in an accident was also going around barely 24 hours later. The cause of the accident was still unknown.I was in the living room watching TV when my phone rang. It was Raphael, I picked up immediately.“Hello, how is he?” I asked.“He’s in surgery. He’s gettin
Chapter Seventy-TwoRaphael’s POVQuite ironic wasn’t it? How quick things can change. Few hours ago I was enjoying a fun day with my daughter and now I was rushing back home because my son and mother were involved in an accident.We landed, and I dashed into the car, and we made our way to the hospital.I rushed into the waiting room and went to the receptionist. “Jason Edwards and Grace Edwards. They were brought in a few hours ago.”She looked through her computer and then directed me to the room they were in after asking some questions. I made my way there and I found Audrey waiting outside.“Audrey.” She ran to me and hugged me. “How’s Jason? How’s mum?” “Mum’s going to be fine. She had two broken bones and some injuries. She’s resting right now. But Jason is in the ICU. The accident affected him more. The doctors haven’t said anything yet.”“He’s going to be fine. I know that. Stop crying. Let me go and speak to the doctor.”I went to look for the doctor and told him who I was.
Chapter Seventy-OneCamilla’s POVThe next morning, it felt like a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders. The air was lighter than usual and I felt like I could finally breathe.I went into the kitchen to make coffee to start my day. Rory and Raphael still hadn’t woken up. I drank my coffee and got started on making breakfast.A few minutes later, Raphael walked into the kitchen. “Good morning.” He greeted.“Good morning. There’s coffee if you want some.” I said.“Thank you.”“Rory’s still asleep?”“Yeah.”There was silence in the kitchen. Raphael was focused on his coffee while I was focused on making breakfast. Rory trudged into the kitchen a few minutes later.“Hey, sleepyhead. Good morning.” I said.“Good morning.”“How’d you sleep?”“Fine.” She said.“Go brush your teeth so you can have breakfast.” I said.“I’ll help her.” Raphael offered, and then both of them went away.I finished making breakfast and set the table for the three of us. I had given Martha some time off.
Chapter SeventyRaphael’s POVCamilla was furious after, but Alexander managed to calm her down. She was a thin line away from causing me major bodily harm. I understood her. My personal life had interfered with hers, causing trouble for her.What I didn’t understand was why and how Emily did what she did. I was still trying to wrap my head around everything. How did she find out about Camilla and her life back here in California?We all made our way to the station to give our statements. We spent about an hour in the station. They also asked Rory some questions about the man who took her. She said he was kind to her and that he gave her ice cream and let her watch TV.By the end of the night, they had managed to track down the guy who took her and confirmed the relationship between him and Emily. She was the one who hired him to do the kidnapping.The guy immediately confessed to everything. It kind of made me wonder why a hardcore criminal would confess to his crimes that easily. He