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Chapter 40

"Thank you officer."

Tony managed to let a weak smile overshadow the stress line son his forehead as he took the purse and plastic bag that was handed to him by the police man. He held on to them tightly, letting out a breath he didn't know he was holding.

It had been a while since he ever had a reason to visit the police station and he sure wasn't expecting to leave the office, ten minutes before stand up after receiving that emergency call from there. He let himself whirl till he was facing the door leading to the jail room. He could see how pityful Amy was, even while she tried to put on a strong front in front of the police woman that took off her handcuffs.

Amy massaged her wrists one after the other the moment they were set lose and he could see the steel marks they made around them especially since they had been worn around them since the night before.

"Stay away from trouble." He heard the older woman tell Amy in the coldest tone ever as he walked towards them.

"I never looked for one. If you police people had just done your jobs correctly and properly investigated the situation-"

"Don't worry officer," Tony had to cut in immediately, pulling Amy right behind him as soon as he did. The last thing any of them wanted was for her to say anything that could deter her release. "It won't happen again,"

Amy rolled her eyes just as the lady let out a breath and walked away. Tony needed a minute, a minute to process the things he never got the chance to before he stormed out of the office. He raised a hand to his nose bridge and rubbed both sides with his fingers gently before he slowly turned to Amy.

He had so many questions, a lot of them and he didn't even know where to start.

Theft.

That was what the police said. They had arrested her and about five other girls from the club for allegedly stealing a client's gold wristwatch. The thought that she had to spend a whole night into the morning in a cell without them even giving her the chance to change out of her really tiny dress gave him a headache especially since she kept rubbing her arms together and shivering from the cold.

Tony pulled off his jacket slowly and placed it over her shoulders.

"Thank you." Amy told him as she pushed her arms into them to wear the jacket on fully. She shook her head.

"I know you must have been busy, and you'd have been in a lot of shock when you got my call, I just couldn't think of anyone else. I didn't want to make Olivia worried either. Oh, and thank you for bailing me out too. I promise, I'd pay back every cent as soon as I get paid, even if it takes the rest of the year's salaries worth."

Tony squinted his eyes, leaning closer to her.

"Amy, what on earth really happened?"

Amy exhaled and scratched her thigh gently in reaction to the tingling and stinging feeling she had there.

"It's nothing." She told him. "I just ran into a little situation at work."

"You were arrested Amy, you had to spend a whole night behind bars in a dirty cold cell room because you were accused of stealing, that doesn't seem like a small situation to me-"

"I didn't steal anything okay." She snapped before she took a quick scan around the room, noticing how the police officers were looking at them. She was uncomfortable with the way they were all watching them, while one of them had his eyes focused on her visible thighs. She rolled her eyes and quickly grabbed Tony's hand.

"Let's go outside."

She pulled him behind her before Tony could even say a word, walking as fast as she could until she got past the door and was outside the small building. She didn't stop there, she kept pulling him till they got to the car park. That was where she let go of his hand immediately and turned to him.

Tony took his time to tuck his shirt back in his trousers.

"I would never steal from anyone." She told him as he raised his gaze to her. "It was a misunderstanding and I'm sure the club is going to find whoever it is that actually stole his gold chain."

Tony exhaled.

"Please don't make a big deal out of it and don't tell Olivia. It's bad enough that I'm working at the club, If she ever finds out that I was arrested too, she might get a heart attack."

"Is that your problem right now?" Tony raised a brow as he looked at her.

"Ehn?" She didn't understand. She was about to say something else when she felt a sting in her belly, followed by loud rumbling sounds that even Tony could hear. Amy placed her hand over her belly immediately and looked away.

She was extremely embarrassed about everything at that moment even if she had sworn to herself that she had no shame around Tony.

Tony let out a loud exhale. He honestly didn't know what to do with her.

"Come on," he said and walked away from her, heading straight to his black Mercedes' parked right beside them. Amy turned slowly to him as she watched him open the door to the front seat.

"Where are-"

"It's obvious you've not had anything to eat last night, and all morning. We should get you a change of clothes and then something to eat, we'd also need to get you some drugs at the pharmacy for all that cold and mosquito bites so you don't fall ill."

Amy swallowed hard. He had read her mind entirely about the food, but for the mosquito bites, she didn't really think too much about them. Drugs weren't necessary.

"Get in." He told her. "Please." He gestured into the car and nodded his head in the direction.

Amy hesitated for a second. She took a good look at him and then at the car.

It's just one more ride Amy, what harm could it possible do?

And besides, it was Tony, he was harmless, plus she could really need to eat something at that moment, and shower too. She sighed and walked towards the car. She got in immediately and Tony closed the door after her. He walked briskly to the driver's side, opened the door and got in.

The car drove off.

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Edwin and Edward hurried into the house as fast as they could. It was extremely hot outside, hotter as they played basket ball together. With the way they had sweat beads forming on their forehead and trails running down their arm, it was pretty obvious that they were heading for the kitchen to help themselves with lots of water to keep them hydrated.

Edwin managed to bounce the ball up and down, loudly, keeping his eyes glued to it so he didn't miss every bounce as he walked right behind Edwin who led the way into the kitchen.

"What are you doing?"

Edward froze at the sound of Edwin's voice. He had also noticed how Edwin had stopped walking the moment they both went into the room. He picked the ball up quickly and raised his gaze to his twin to know what was wrong, right before he pushed his gaze to where Edwin was looking at.

He widened his gaze at the sight of the scene front of them in utmost shock, too much shock that he had no idea when he had let go of the ball he had tried so hard to protect all along. He could feel like the whole world had stopped as he looked at Grace and the mess she had made on the counter of all the chocolates in the fridge. She had not used them all since he could count only a few opened wraps but it looked like she was planning to use more from the boxes with the way she had them in an untidy circle close to her mixing bowl where she was melting them.

Grace froze from where she had been standing on the stool, with her little hand wrapped tightly around the whisk handle while the other hand held the bowl in place. She was a bit shocked by the way they kept staring at her, wondering why they were staring at her like that. She had barely even noticed the mess she had made before and was only starting to see it at that moment. She lowered her head to the counter, taking in the sight of melted chocolates all over and in the transparent bowl too. She could see how her fingers were stained with loads of them, down to the sleeves of her lavender "powerpuff girls" top.

She swallowed hard and stood straight when Edward started to walk to her quickly.

"I'm making chocolate cake." She said, forcing a bright smile on her face, hoping that if she had explained to them, they would understand.  She saw how Edward was trying to take a look at what she was doing, but it didn't look like he was impressed. It was more like he was trying to analyze the situation, like he was too shocked to even express himself or speak. She turned to Edwin who had the same expression on his face, it was like he had just seen a ghost. His face had suddenly become pale and his jaw was dropped too.

She gulped again.

"It's for everyone." She went on, trying to salvage the situation. She sniffed and broadened her shoulders. If they didn't have the appropriate reaction, she knew she was ready to give them something to be proud of her for. "Daddy Rafael said I could make one and even Miss Lucy is going to help me."

Edward raised his head to her, settling his eyes on her chocolate stained mouth. It looked like she had been eating a lot of them more than she had been melting them in the bowl with the way she had lots of chocolates stains all over her mouth area.

He looked like he also needed some color on his face as well.

"D-did Lucy say you could start first?" Edward asked her in the lowest tone ever.

Grace shook her head.

"Not yet." She said, pointing her chocolate stained lips. "Miss Lucy is doing the laundry right now while Nanny Benita went grocery shopping. I thought I at least helped melt the chocolates before we started."
She lowered her head to him.
"Why?" She dragged those words and took her tone down a bit. Now she was starting to get really worried.

She blinked.

"Did I do something wrong?"

Edward looked right back at her and chuckled nervously. He didn't have the right words or reaction but he knew one thing, it wasn't going to help anyone if he frightened her.

"No," he told her, shaking his head. "No, no you didn't." But Grace could see it, she could see how his hands were starting to tremble as he slowly took them away from the counter.  His voice trembled too.

"What do you mean no?" Edwin asked him as he suddenly started to feel his legs again, he hurried towards them as fast as he could, staring at Edward sternly.

"Did you forget already?" Edwin asked him just as Grace turned to him. What did he mean? What did they forget.

"Huh?" Grace said in a little whisper.

She watched how Edward turned to Edwin immediately and pushed himself closer to him, grabbing him immediately by his arm like he was trying to get him to stop.

"Keep your voice down or we are going to get caught." He reprimanded Edwin in a really loud whisper.

"We?" Edwin asked him, widening his eyes to glare at him. "There is no we in this, we didn't do anything." He turned to Grace. "It's all her, she used the chocolates not us."

Grace turned back to the bowl and frowned. She had no idea what was going on but she was starting to get really worried with the way they were acting and whispering between themselves.

"We shouldn't be here." Edwin went on, this time, it was like he was trying to get his brother to see reason with him.
"Wardy, we can't be here when she comes. We are in enough trouble as it is for skipping school on Tuesday, Mother is going to kill her, it's inevitable, and then she'd kill us when she finds out we tried to help her or hid this from her." He grabbed Edwards hand.

"Let's go before she comes." He tried to turn away with Edward without caring what he said and if he wanted to Edward stopped him. He just couldn't do it, he couldn't leave Grace that way by herself. He wasn't able to considering how much trouble she was going to get into if she got caught. Edward pulled his hand out.

"We can't just leave her here."

Edwin turned to him immediately, now his frown worsened.

"Yes we can, we have to. We'd just say we didn't know, we didn't see anything."

Edward shook his head, that wasn't enough. He turned to Grace who was pouting at the thought of what they had just said. Was it true? Was all of it true? Was she going to get into a lot of trouble for what she did? For using the chocolates? She didn't know, she had no idea she was not supposed to. She could feel her legs starting to tremble as the twins had already instilled that much fear in her. She had already made too much mess of the counter, how on earth was she going to get rid of them all? What was she going to do?

Her eyes were starting to get wet but she managed to take a sharp breath and raise them to the boys. Edward turned to her just in time.

"You know how mother gets with her sweet tooth, with her chocolates. She never even lets us have them, if she finds out what happened here, she's not going to let it go, and even what's worse, it had to be her. We both know how mum feels about them. We shouldn't be here."

She could hear how enthusiastic Edwin was getting with trying to convince his brother.

"Grace," he called her in a hurry and walked closer to her stool where she climbed. "where is your mum?"

"Mummy?" Grace repeated. She was in a lot of shock to even think of anything. She didn't know, she had no idea. She shook her head.

"Oh God." Edwin placed a hand over his head. He couldn't believe he was going to put himself in a lot of trouble right beside them.

"I think she's in the garden."

Edward swallowed hard, he nodded. Olivia wasn't so far away, all he had to do was get her attention. Maybe if she found out first, she would have been in a better position to talk to Sommadina about it. He turned to leave when...

Knock, knock, knock.

The knocking sounds were loud. Footsteps, loud footsteps similar to the ones Sommadina made each time she walked down the hallway in the mansion. Her block-heeled sandals always made a statement about her entrance whenever she wore them and she wore them every time around the house. She had a closet filled with them.

Edward's eyes widened immediately at the thought of it, it was her. Edwin hurried as quickly as he could to the door without hesitation. He peeked outside and gasped the moment he sighted her walking down the hallway,  using her right hand as a fan over her chest as she stopped each time she got to every room and peeped inside like she was looking for something, or someone.

Edwin swallowed hard when she looked out of the living room and kept her gaze towards the direction of the kitchen. He turned to them Immediately.

"Guys?" He said to them, hurrying back as fast as his legs could take him and stopping halfway in panic. "She's coming."

Edward turned to the counter without thinking. He knew he had to do something to make the situation a bit better. His heart was pounding as he took one more look at the counter, wondering what he could do to make all the chocolate boxes go away before she got there.

"Quick." He told Grace. "Help me." He said as he picked a few boxes and hurried towards the refrigerator. Grace panicked too, she knew she couldn't stay on the stool any longer, she had to help him. She struggled to get down from the stool when-

"What on earth is going on here?!"

Edward froze immediately, dropping all the boxes too the ground at the sound of Sommadina's hoarse voice without even bothering to turn. Grace too.

They had been caught.

Grace raised her head to the door in shock while Edward shut his eyes immediately, cursing under his breath and biting his lower lip as he heard her slow footsteps getting closer to them. He lowered his gaze to the chocolates on the ground, now everything was going to get worse.

It was useless. It was useless trying to run from it. He let out an exhale and turned to her immediately.

"M-m-mother." He called her name, forcing a nervous smile on his face like he was trying to lighten up the mood in the room but Sommadina didn't look like she was interested in pretending like she didn't see what just happened. Like she didn't walk into the room to see her expensive Italian and Spanish chocolates scattered on the ground. Her eyes widened in shock as she took slow steps into the room, glaring at the counter with shock written all over her face, she turned to the ground too. Her jaw was dropped and she was speechless about the mess they had made.

Edwin stood still behind her, too frozen to move, too scared to make a sound so she didn't notice him.

"What on earth is this?" Sommadina asked as he got closer to the chocolates, still looking at them in disarray.

"Mother I can explain-" Edward took a step forward. She slowly raised her head to him, waiting for it, she knew she needed to hear it and he had better done so fast.

"Grace did it."

Grace jumped at the mention of her name.
Edward turned to Edwin immediately. Why did he just do that? Why did he just cut him off and throw Grace under the bus like like? Edwin tried to avoid Edward's gaze just as Sommadina slowly turned to him.

"What?" She asked him.

"Eddie!" Edward yelled at him immediately so he didn't dare say anything else.

"What?" Edwin asked him. "I told you we shouldn't hide it from her, why should we take the blame for something we didn't do?" Edward glared at him and then turned right to Sommadina.

"It wasn't Edward," he went on, pulling glasses up his nose bridge. "It was Grace." He told Sommadina, trying all he could to be brave.

Edward exhaled weakly just as Sommadina widened her gaze as she slowly turned to the counter where Grace was. Now she could see it, all the evidence pointed at her. She could see how Grace had all her precious chocolates all over her and she felt the walls around her heart get stiffened immediately

Grace slowly came down from the kitchen stool as fast as her little legs could take her, cleaning her chocolate filled hands on her apron that was already stained with chocolates from all her aggressive whisking. She gave Grace a stern look, from up to down, still lost of words.

"You?" She asked like she wasn't sure she was seeing correctly or hearing right.

Grace hurried to her,  making sure she just stood a bit in front of Edward. She was still so shocked, she didn't know what to say.  She just stood there with her hands folded in front of her and her eyes looking at Sommadina,

"I'm sorry Grandma," she said slowly.

"You ate my chocolates?" She asked in disbelief.

"I- I didn't know they were- I asked for permission." Grace had started trembling in effect. "My God daddy said I could use them-"

"What?" Sommadina lowered her brows. She didn't believe she had just heard that.

What was that? Was that an excuse? Was she using Rafael as an excuse now rather than just taking responsibility? How dare her? How dare her mention her son's name with that filthy little mouth of hers?

That was exactly how Sommadina felt.

"What did you just say to me?" She took a step towards Grace and then another. Edward watched, he knew what was going to come next and he tried to protect Grace from it. He hurried as fast as he could in time to stand right in front of her immediately.

"Mother," he called Sommadina, before she got even closer, "I can explain-"

Sommadina placed a hand on his arm and pushed him out of her sight immediately. She didn't know, she didn't think of it. Edward fell to the edge of the counter, his arm hitting it hard before he made it to the ground in a thud that made Edwin and Grace gasp in shock.  Grace placed her hand over her mouth just as Edward started to groan in pain while Edwin rushed to him quickly and bent over to see if he was fine.

"Edward, are you okay?"

Edward turned to him and then back at Sommadina. She didn't care, she wasn't the least worried about him, she just had her eyes on one thing, Grace. Nothing Edward did was working and now, there was only a few things he could do especially since it looked like he sustained a sprain on his arm from the collision.

He turned to Edwin immediately and tried to push himself closer to him.

"Go get help." He whispered.

"Huh?" Edwin wasn't sure, he wasn't sure he was supposed to leave him, if he could, especially in his condition. How could he ask him to leave, why?

Edward grabbed his arm, managing to keep his gaze on him through the pain. He inhaled sharply and pulled Edwin closer.

"Now."

Edwin hesitated for a second and let out a weak exhale before he got up quickly and made out of the kitchen. He didn't know why he even listened to Edward but he just knew he had to. Edward was counting on him to. Edward let out a relief exhale and gulped hard.
Help was coming.
He slowly turned back to Grace and watched, trying to pull himself back up to his feet but all his attempt to do so were useless. He had sprained his ankle too from falling on it.

"How dare you?" Sommadina asked her just as Grace slowly turned back to her.
"How dare a dirty little demon like you take what's mine and use my son as an excuse? How dare you eat my chocolates without my permission? Do you have any idea how much they cost?!"

Grace swallowed hard.

She was afraid, she had no idea about any of it. She didn't know it was so wrong to use the chocolates, she didn't know using them was going to get the reaction she was getting at that moment from Sommadina. Sommadina's gaze on her was terrifying and it made her tremble unexpectedly.

"I'm so sorry Grandma." Grace had tears already welling up in her eyes. "I didn't mean to offend you-"

"Grandma?"

"I was only trying to make a chocolate cake for my mum-"

"I do not care what you were trying to do for that stupid mother of yours!" Sommadina cut her off with her voice raised a bit before Grace said anymore. Grace shook.
"Why would you go around touching things that aren't yours to begin with?!" Sommadina yelled at her, loudly  this time. Too loud that it made Grace jump in fright.

Sommadina scoffed.

"What is it?" She asked Grace. "What exactly do I have to do to have something to myself in this house, to have some peace, to have rest?" She asked herself.
"Have I not tried? Have I not been accommodating enough? Have my family not done enough? Given enough? What else do you want huh? It's bad enough that your mother is trying to force you on my son, force you into this family, so what? You want to eat even my chocolates now? You want a taste of expensive too?"

She pointed at Grace.

"It's bad enough that you both have bewitched my son and turned him against his family, it's bad enough that your evil mother has destroyed my family, what more do you want huh? Why do I also have to deal with a brat like you?!"

Grace had started to sob. She couldn't hold it in anymore, all the words she heard, they were sad and terrifying. Sommadina took a look at the counter and placed a hand over her chest like she was trying to stop herself from getting a heart attack. She placed another hand behind her neck as her blood pressure started to rise.

She turned back to Grace, she could see how Grace was biting hard on her lower lip as more tears rolled from her eyes. She was trying so hard to not cry loudly but she couldn't help herself. She was numb, she was paralyzed. It was like it was happening again, her trauma from her time with the Victoria. She was starting to remember all over again how abusive Victoria was and she was relieving those moments once more.

Sommadina lowered her gaze to the ground the moment she heard a dripping sound on it. Grace had peed on herself.

"Grace." Edward said in a whisper.

But she couldn't help herself. The yelling and screaming, the fear made her lose control of all her nerves, but Sommadina was even more traumatized now, irritated too.

"Urgh!" She yelled at the top of her lungs, taking a step back just as Grace started to cry even more. She was frightened, all that happened was frightening to her. Hearing Sommadina scream like that, it made her paralyzed from head to toe, the only part of her that functioned properly were her eyes.

"Dirty, so dirty and so disgusting!" She screamed once again. "What is this!" She turned back to Grace. She was irritated, offended, she was angry and her glare on Grace told her exactly how much.

"Why do I have to deal with this?!" She asked Grace. "What exactly do I have to do to get you and your prostitute of a mother out of me and my son's lives? Tell me, what do I have to do huh?"

"Mum is not prostitute!" Grace sobbed as she slowly raised her hand to her eyes to clean her tears.

"What did you just say to me?"

Grace raised her head to Sommadina. Hearing Sommadina talk about Olivia in that light broke her. She was going to take all of it, she was going to get scolded and insulted by Sommadina if it was going to make it all okay but insulting her mother was one thing she was not going to accept. She wasn't going to sit back and watch people say those bad things about Olivia just like how Diana's mother did. She had heard those words before, and she knew they didn't mean good.

"My mother is not a prostitute." Grace sobbed. "Please stop saying bad things about my mother." Grace raised her chin and tried to broaden her shoulders, pouting as she sobbed. She tried to be brave, she had to be, even as her trousers got even wetter from how she was still peeing on herself in fear. Sommadina lowered her gaze to her and scoffed again.

"Is that how she trained you?" She asked Grace with a smirk on her face. "To talk back at your elders especially when you're in the wrong?"

She gasped.

"Oh I see, she told you to disrespect me, and be a rebel in my son's house. That must be how she raised you."

Grace kept sobbing.

It was starting to get annoying. Seeing Grace cry annoyed her. At that moment, it was like she could feel like there were ants crawling on her skin. She wanted to see more of it, if she couldn't hurt Olivia, taking it out on Grace, taking all that frustration and anger out on the easier target was what she was going to do.

"What wrong did I say huh?" She pushed closer to Grace, still glaring at her.

"I didn't lie. The whole world knows the truth, the whole world knows who your mother is, the kind of woman that she is. We all know how she destroys everything she ever comes in contact with. She did before, with your fathers family and now she is doing it to my family. She wants to turn my son to a mad man just like she turned your father. She's a murderer, and a cheap whore. A home wrecker, an evil woman."

"That's a lie!" Grace kept crying even louder.

"Shut up!" Sommadina reprimanded her, grabbing on to her arm tightly and jerking her with it. "Didn't you hear me?" Sommadina asked her. She pulled her even closer and tightened her grip on Grace's arm, she didn't care, she didn't care if she hurt. She was angry, furious and she just needed to blow steam.

"Mum, stop it, you're hurting her!" Edward yelled from where he was but it didn't look like Sommadina was listening. He could see how Grace kept crying and wincing in pain as she struggled to free herself but Sommadina held on even tighter to her, she didn't want to let her leave and she didn't care if she was hurting.

"You won't talk while I'm talking or I'm going to have to discipline you since your mother failed in doing so." She pulled off her sandals and reached for it quickly.

"Mum!" Edward yelled at her. "Mum don't!"

Like Sommadina was listening, she had her eyes glued to Grace and forcefully tugged her once and then again. It was intentional. Grace bit her lower lip hard, she was holding back.

"Go on, I dare you." Sommadina told her.

Grace started to cry loudly. She was hurting a lot and couldn't hold it in anymore. She just wanted it to end, she wanted all of it to end.

Where was Olivia?

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