Chapter 72 Foolishness
Their grandfather said that despite Cameron’s mother’s sin, Cameron was innocent. He forced Michael to swear that he and Crystal would never hurt Cameron unless she did something outrageous. With that protection draped over her, Cameron would harass Crystal all the time, but she couldn’t do anything about it because of the oath. Even if she did something outrageous, they would have to hand her over to the law instead of doling out vigilante justice.
Their grandfather knew that Crystal loved Michael, so instead of having her make the oath, he asked Michael to do it. Because of her deep love, she didn’t want Michael to break his oath, so she never laid a finger on Cameron no matter how horrible Cameron was to her. Now that she finally had the chance to get revenge, she would do it through the only way she could—the law. She would expose Cameron’s heinous crimes and make sure justice was served, but that would mean Angie’s real mother would be exposed as well.
It was a dilemma. Cedric had to choose between his mother’s grudge and Angie’s future. Cedric was silent, contemplating his choice.
Angie was trembling in fear, and she looked at Crystal with a plea in her eyes. “Please, I beg you, don’t do this to me, Mom. I’m your daughter. This must be Cameron’s conspiracy! She must have set this all up so Madeline can take my place as your daughter! You can’t fall for this! You can’t fall for Cameron’s scheme!”
“The truth is clear now, and I don’t wish to speak further on it.” Crystal looked at Angie. “Angie, you are not our daughter, and I will not help Cameron raise you anymore. Once this dinner is over, so are your ties with us. From now on, you have nothing to do with the Wendels. Whether you live or die has nothing to do with us anymore.”
Angie was flabbergasted. “No!” She blanched, shaking her head violently. “You can’t do this to me, Mom. I’m your daughter! And you’re throwing twenty years of love away for a-a paternity test result? Mom, you love me! You can’t just dump me like this!”
“I loved you because I thought you were my daughter. Because Cameron set me up.” Crystal stared at Angie, her eyes filled with hatred that could burn a city. “While I was loving you with all my heart, Cameron was laughing at my foolishness. My idiocy. While you were enjoying all the Wendels have to offer, she was torturing and yelling at my daughter. She almost killed my own girl.” The more she said, the more agitated she became. She slammed the table and shot up from her seat. “Angie Wendel… No. I suppose you’re a Colt now. You are the daughter of Xander and Cameron. You can leave now. I’m not waiting until dinner is done. You can see either of your parents, I don’t care. The point is, you have no ties to us anymore.”
“No, Mom. No…” Angie was still shaking her head, tears streaming down her cheeks. Xander? The Colts used to be rich, but they’ve declined because of his incompetence. He divorced Cameron and married a strong woman with a powerful background to save his ailing family. He has a powerful wife and children of his own. I might be his daughter, but he didn’t raise me, so he won’t care about me. Cameron? The Wendels are going to sue her and send her to jail. Asking her for help is just a death wish.
No. I won’t go anywhere. I’m the Wendels’ daughter and the young miss of the family. My place is with the Wendels, and I won’t go anywhere. She stood up, tears still streaming down her cheeks, and she wobbled over to the Wendel couple and knelt before them. “Dad, Mom, I’m your daughter. You’ve raised me up, and I’ve spent all this time staying by your side and cheering you up whenever you need it. I care for you whenever you are sick, and I am the one who has done her job as a daughter. Dad, Mom, are blood ties that important? Isn’t our love more important than something as insignificant as blood? Dad, Mom, I love you and our family. I won’t leave you or the family unless I die.”
Michael wanted to cave in then, but he looked at Crystal. He wanted to keep Angie around, since he did raise her up, and she was a part of the family for many years. It broke his heart seeing her cry, but he knew his wife was the one who was hurt the most in this matter, and she was the only one who could make the decision, not him.
Crystal looked at her calmly, her face deadpan. “Angie, if it was an accident, I would let you stay and keep you around. I can still see you as my own, but it was not an accident. Cameron planned this. She wanted you to take my daughter’s place and enjoy the Wendels’ wealth as well as my love. And she did it. You enjoyed a great life for many years, while my own daughter suffered hell. I can’t forgive myself, nor can I forgive you. Every time I see you now, I am reminded of my foolishness and Cameron’s wickedness. You must leave.”
“But I’m innocent!” Angie wouldn’t stop crying. “Cameron did that. I had nothing to do with it. And maybe this is a conspiracy. Maybe I’m your daughter, while Madeline is a fake.”
“Enough,” Crystal answered coldly. “You are already of age long ago, and we’ve been kind enough to keep supporting you until this day. You took my own daughter’s place and enjoyed the family’s love and wealth for more than twenty years. For old times’ sake, we aren’t punishing you for that. You are allowed to leave unscathed, so why must you stay and make me suffer?”
“Angie, Mom is right.” I can’t let Mom get angry again. It’s not good for her health. He agreed, “Angie, I know it’s hard for you to accept that you’re not Mom and Dad’s own daughter, but Mom has a point. You’re a grownup now. Even if you are their daughter, they have already fulfilled their responsibility as parents. It’s not out of line to ask you to fend for yourself.”
“That’s not right, Jonathan,” Cedric protested. “If Angie is really Dad and Mom’s daughter, they’d marry her off to a great family, and they’d give her a lot of dowry too. But now that she’s going to get the boot, she’ll be losing everything.”
