Chapter 5

VERA’S POV

Their eyes were burning into me with rage.  I had thought that they would be shocked when I revealed my desire of getting a divorce from my husband;

I didn't expect it to ignite a storm in them like this.

Rhys was the first to react, slamming his palm on the table. “Princess, who the fuck is he? I swear I’ll crumble him before nightfall.”

Russell leaned forward, his jaw ticking. “Just give the word. I’ll make sure he'll never be able to walk in daylight again.”

The lawyer, James Hudson,  adjusted his glasses with the calmness of a man deciding which law to use to destroy a kingdom. “Send me his name, and he will never know peace again. I’ll make him wish he never heard your name.”

“I don't think there's any reason for you all to…” I tried to protest, my eyes darted to their faces on buy one

Caleb sat back with a cold  precision in his eyes. “He hurt you. That’s enough reason for us to ruin him. He messed with the wrong person, Jewel.”

They were all fuming in anger, but nothing compared to the man at the head of the table.

Mr. Hudson, my father, rose slowly, his darkened eyes and heavy breaths.

“I will go to the ends of the world,” he said, voice low and lethal, “to punish whoever laid a finger on my child. Tell me his name, Jewel.”

My heart clenched and my stomach twisted as I could feel the danger in his voice.

I opened my mouth to talk but nothing came out of my mouth.

My mind drifted to how much Anthony had hoped to have a deal with the Hudsons

It had been his dream to work with them and he wanted to use me to get it while he treated me like trash.

Now, I had the key to his longtime dream. He would end up needing me for it either way.

But now the tables have turned.

“How ironic,” I chuckled, a bitter smile tugging at my lips.

“What is it, Jewel?” Roman frowned.

“I just… never imagined there’d be a day someone cared enough to fight for me.”

Roman leaned forward. “We’re not ‘someone.’ We’re your brothers. And he hurt our sister.”

Mr. Hudson growled, “Tell me his name, Jewel. I won't let him get away with this.”

But I lifted a hand to stop their rage.

“Before that… I need to ask something.” I muttered.

The room fell silent and their curious faces stared at me eagerly.”

I turned slowly to face all of them.

My heart raced as I dropped my questions like grenades onto the table.

“How did I go missing?”

“Why didn’t any of you find me?” I pressed on, my voice shaking,

“Why did I end up with that man? Why did he hate me so much? Why did I grow up suffering when I had a family like this?”

I felt a cold air in the room as all their expressions shift into a form of guilt. Especially Mr. Hudson;

He hung his head down and couldn't look at me in the eyes

Roman swallowed hard, his voice barely audible. “Jewel…”

“You owe me answers,” I whispered, “Before you destroy anyone for me, how about you give me the answers to the questions hunting me. I would prefer that.”

The room was very quiet; none of them could look me in the eyes. What happened to the men who were speaking with so much confidence?

“So that’s it,” I whispered, standing slowly. “You want to give me gifts? Cars? Properties? A party?” My voice cracked. “You want to celebrate me, but none of you thought to explain why I suffered for twenty-three years?”

“Jewel…” Caleb tried to reach out to me, but I stepped away.

“No,” I said firmly. “I don’t want gifts. I don’t want a party. I don’t want anything.”

The room went dead silent.

“I’m not interested,” I whispered, “Not until I get a proper explanation.”

My chair screeched as I pushed it back. Before anyone could speak, I turned away and left the dining room.

My footsteps echoed through the vast hallway as I walked back to my bedroom. I heard voices calling my name but I ignored them.

**********

After a while, I heard a knock on my door, “Jewel?”

It was Caleb. His voice was soft and calm.

I didn't respond. The door creaked open gently and he walked in carefully.

He stood at the entrance at first, leaning casually against the wall with his hands in his pockets, with a guilty expression on his face.

I faced him reluctantly. “I don’t want to talk.”

“You don’t have to talk,” he said gently. “Just listen.”

I stayed silent.

He pushed off the wall and approached me slowly, like he didn’t want to startle me.

“Twenty-three years ago,” he began softly, “we went to the city park. All six of us. You were three and the twins were just five,” he continued “You were our princess and we cherished you more than the world.”

“Everything was chaotic but happy. You were running around, laughing, playing with your little balloon…”

His voice trembled.

“And then… you disappeared.”

I just stared at him without saying a word or giving any expression.

“We searched,” he whispered. “All of us. Every family member. Every police unit. Every agency. Every private detective Dad could afford.  The news channels ran your story for months.”

I didn't want to get emotional, but my vision blurred with tears.

“But we failed,” Caleb admitted. “And the world blamed us. Especially Dad. They called him irresponsible. Reckless and unworthy to be a father.”

He swallowed hard.

“And he never forgave himself. We never forgave ourselves for not protecting you. I wished we never went to the park that day. I wished we could shift back time and we never let you out of our sights that day.”

His voice broke and a lone tear escaped my eyes.

“We thought you were gone forever,” Caleb said quietly, his voice shook as if he was about to cry. “We thought you were dead and would never come back to us. But we kept celebrating your birthday every year, refusing to accept reality.”

I felt my heart twist painfully.

“But all this time…” I whispered, “I was suffering in the hands of a man who I thought was my father.”

Caleb's eyes darkened. “That man will be arrested and investigated and we will find out the truth.”

I clenched my fists. “But what if it’s a mistake? What if I’m not really…”

“You are,” he said firmly. “Blood doesn’t lie. And neither does the way we all love you. We found you, Jewel. We’re not losing you again.”

My tears finally spilled.

Caleb stepped closer and sat on the bed beside me, “Please… don’t walk away. Let us make your birthday special. Let us make it up to you, Jewel.”

I took a shaky breath and nodded;

“I…” I whispered, “I'll do it.”

Relief flooded his face, “Thank you so much, Jewel.” he held my hand and squeezed it with a soft smile on his face.

“About the divorce…”

But I wasn’t ready to tell them about Anthony.

“Yeah,” I cut him off, “I'll tell you about it later. I need time to think about it.”

“Take all the time you need,” he said softly.

Of course, I need to take my time to make Anthony suffer. I need to savour every moment of it.