….. Then what would be the point of getting rid of Arthur Reeves years ago?
…Of getting this company from Patricia by pretending to love her?
….. Yes, I did it! I am the one behind George’s accident. I don’t regret my actions!
Patricia was sure her heart beat stopped as those words echoed out of the laptop in front of her. Nanny Juliet had planted the recorder in Morris’s library just as she had instructed. She decided this morning to finally listen to what was going on in his office and here she was, shaking in shock from what she just discovered.
Patricia clutched her chest as the tears of anguish fell from her eyes. Where did she even start from? To think that Morris was the one behind Arthur Reeves jail term all along….
What a monster!! An innocent man was thrown in jail for ten years. Ten whole years!! Just because of his jealousy and greed. Going so far to fabricate a lie against a man who just wanted to take care of his family! Morris destroyed Arthur’s family, his livelihood, everything he had ever owned or worked for, Morris took it away from him!
Patricia wailed, her tears falling out in torrents…
It was all her fault, Patricia thought, holding her chest. She was the one who recommended Arthur Reeves to Morris when the company was at the verge of collapsing. She was the one who led Morris to Arthur Reeves….
If she had known his plan back then, she would have never done that. She destroyed Arthur Reeves, she destroyed his family. It was all her fault. And now, he had given almost six years of his life away for a crime he didn’t commit. Six whole years gone just like that.
Patricia grabbed a handful of tissue and cleaned off some of the tears on her cheeks and neck. She felt so tired and down, she wasn’t sure where to go from here.
Poor Rachel….
Now she understood why George suddenly started investigating the case again and why Morris had been so uncomfortable. She was such a fool! Gobbling up anything Morris told her, refusing to see things clearly. She was so foolish to trust a man like him…
An evil man like him!
Patricia laughed out loud, her laughter echoing across her empty bedroom. Her whole life here had been a lie at the end of the day. To think that Morris had married her just so he could get his hands on her company.
Her parents had been right all along! She was the foolish one who was never able to see clearly beyond her feelings. Why did she even bring herself so low to marry a man like him? A man who still had the guts to impregnate her own maid and bring her into their ‘family’ house.
She had been so stupid, willing to do anything for him at the expense of her own happiness and sanity. Now, she was paying the price. Her heart ached badly, because of her impatience and stubbornness, she had given George a ‘monster’ as his father.
Patricia fisted her hand and hit her chest multiple times. She made a big mistake by getting married to Morris and in the process, had hurt so many people.
By connecting him to Arthur Reeves, she destroyed his life and not just him, Rachel and her mother….
And not just that, by marrying him and allowing him to bring Judith to live here out of pity, she almost killed her own son!
Patricia seethed in anger at the thought of it. The guts! The audacity! How dare Judith do that to her? Was she that desperate? So having Morris as her lover was not enough, she also wanted to be in her position and have her money?
Patricia howled loudly, her laughter like that of a mad woman. Greedy fool! So Judith had planned to kill her son so she could grow weak? Imbecile! Another big mistake she made was allowing that woman to live here. A very big mistake!
Even when she was simply her maid, Judith had no boundary. If you told her to take a spoonful, she would take a handful. If you told her to take a sip, she would gobble the whole drink down! Nothing was ever enough for her. She always wanted more.
She remembered watching George on the hospital bed after the accident as he battled for his life. She remembered watching him withdraw away from everyone as he became a laughingstock. She remembered watching him turn from a warm, friendly young boy to a cold, distant man.
His scars and burns had seared his soul, not just his flesh. Before her two eyes, he had changed to someone else…..
All because of Judith!
Patricia reached for her laptop and pressed some buttons, transferring the audio recording into a flash drive. When it was done, she pulled out the flash drive and held it in her hands. She had to do something but most importantly, she had to tread carefully. From what she could now see, Morris and Judith were dangerous people who would do anything for more money and power.
Nanny Juliet stepped into her bedroom and at the sight of her teary swollen eyes and tissues on the floor, she quickly raced to Patricia’s side, squatting beside her chair.
“Why do you look this way again? I thought you were recovering since the last time you broke down. Did something happen again?”
Patricia glanced at her, she leaned forward and pulled another chair close “Don’t hurt your legs, you’re no longer young. You can sit down here”
The nanny stood up and moved backwards to sit. Turning towards Patricia, she asked “I don’t like seeing you looking like this? Did something happen?”
“I don’t even know where to start from…” Patricia answered, her voice shaky as she broke down in fresh tears again “… I have never felt this stupid and foolish in my entire life”
Nanny Juliet rubbed her back gently “Talk clearly so I can understand what you are saying”
“Through the recorder, I just found out that Morris is the one behind Arthur Reeves’ crime. He fabricated everything and threw him in jail”
Nanny Juliet’s face remained indifferent, there was no sign of shock in her expression.
Patricia paused and looked at her for a moment, her eyes grew wide in surprise “Wait, you already knew that?”
“Yes, I did”
“How? When? Why didn’t you tell me anything about it?” Patricia asked, staring at the woman sitting in front of her.
“If you try to remember, I brought it up so many times that there was something off about Arthur’s imprisonment. I told you that Morris wasn’t acting like someone who just lost a business partner. I told you that so many things were strange but you wouldn’t listen to anyone badmouth Morris. You were totally smitten and in love with him. When I saw that I was wasting my time, I stopped bringing it up”
Patricia wailed, her body shaking with the force of her tears “I was so foolish, so stupid. If I had paid attention to you, I would have saved that man from wasting away for almost six years. What is wrong with me? How could I be so gullible to believe a man like Morris? How did you know about it?”
“He was very suspicious and I also overheard him and Judith talking about how to bring Arthur down”
Patricia just sat there, crying away her pain. If there was a prize or medal for the most stupid woman in the world, she was quite sure that she would win it right now. Both Morris and Judith had taken her for a complete fool, used her and even tried to destroy her in the process.
“It’s alright, it’s alright. Arthur is so pitiful, I wish he never met a man like Morris” She said as she patted Patricia’s back “Is that all you discovered?”
“No, that’s not all” Patricia reached for a roll of tissue and wiped her nose and eyes.
“What else?”
“Remember George’s accident?” Patricia asked, looking at the floor “Judith is the one behind it”
“WHAT?” Nanny Juliet yelled before covering her mouth with her hands. “What did you just say? Judith?”
“Yes, she was telling Morris how killing George was the only way to bring me down. How she couldn’t wait anymore to take my place and put her son as the CEO of this company. Who wouldn’t want to be in charge of a multibillion dollar company?” Patricia laughed as she spoke “Based on their conversation, he didn’t know she was behind it until today…”
“Unbelievable! And what did Morris say after she revealed herself?”
Patricia smiled. A very sad, bitter smile. “What else would he say? Of course, he would support his dear lover at the end”
“What? How dare he do that? He is disgusting!”
“He has to protect her. Judith is the type of woman who would never allow herself to go down alone. Obviously, Morris knows that. If he decides to go against her to get justice for George, she is going to expose him with all the secret evil things he has done in the past. They have to protect each other if they want to survive”
Nanny Juliet shook her head in anger “Oh poor George, she ruined that boy…So, what do you plan to do from here? You have to act carefully. You are facing not one, but two dangerous people.”
“I know. I’m still thinking about it.” Patricia answered, drying her tears. “But first, I need to reveal all these things to George and Rachel. I have to make it clear to Rachel that I am on her father’s side.”
“Also, Morris is after her friend’s life, I have to let her know. Since I played a part in ruining her father’s life, I have to amend my mistake by protecting his daughter, Rachel by all means”