Chapter 169: Repercussions

THEODORE

The whole family came to meet me at the hospital not twenty minutes after our arrival.

I was still waiting for news, but it hadn't been as long, so I told myself to be patient. Keeping my cool at a time like this was essential.

"What happened to Alice?" Thelma asked hysterically as she rushed to my side. "She left with Rory to...Rory? What happened to you? Theo?"

"I'm equally as confused," I explained. "I was at Hotel Belcourt because that's where Felix and Mom were headed, and then I saw Alice and Felix fighting right outside the doors."

"What?" Oliver questioned with a furrow between his brows. "What do you mean they were fighting? Felix was attacking her?"

"She was scratching his face up, but he slammed her against a pillar and..." I trailed off to pinch the bridge of my nose. "Fuck."

"Finish the story!" Thelma urged. "What happened next?"

"The police showed up and arrested Felix. I don't know about Mom. It seemed she was there, but had gone off somewhere. Maybe she tried to run. What was Alice even doing there?"

"She had a catering event I organized for the bakery," Granny explained as she came to my side. I threw an arm around her and held her close. "Out of all the places in the world...that had to be an awful coincidence."

"But why did things between her and Felix even escalate?" Thelma questioned. "You're not giving us the answers we need, Theo! I'm getting nervous here!"

"I don't know either, Thelma. We'll have to wait for Alice."

"She was hurt?"

"She complained about her back hurting. She's scared. I don't know."

Granny shushed Thelma before she could ask anything else. "Come now. It's very clear that Theo is nervous and doesn't know much about the situation either. Let's all calm down everyone. Here, sit down. I'll sit between you and Rory."

She took Rory's hands in hers and sat down between us. She told him in her usual reassuring voice that Alice would be perfectly fine, and that none of us had anything to worry about.

I held on to her words like they were a lifeline.

Twenty minutes later, we were approached by a Dr. Collins who assured us that Alice was fine and could receive visitors. "There was some bleeding, but nothing threatening. She'll have to rest for a few days and not exert herself, but apart from that, you have nothing to worry about."

I felt relieved. If something happened to my wife, I was going to kill Felix.

Alice smiled as I closed the distance between us in a few strides. I reached for her hand and kissed along her knuckles. "How're you feeling?"

"Better," she claimed. "I'm not in pain."

"I was so worried."

"I know. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have overreacted the way I did."

"No, you didn't overreact. Come here."

I kissed her lips softly. Thank fuck nothing serious had happened. I would've blamed myself forever. "Tell me what happened. How did you come across him?"

Something crossed Alice's eyes and I didn't know what to make of it. She looks equal parts guilty and torn, but about what? "What happened? You saw something, didn't you?"

"I don't know if I should tell you, Theo. I don't know if I can."

I searched her eyes, my mind going a hundred miles an hour. "It was them, wasn't it?"

Alice said nothing.

"It was," I confirmed. "Don't worry. You don't have to feel guilty about telling me. I suspected it for quite some time."

A furrow formed between her brows. "You did?"

I nodded.

Silence fell upon us and Alice just looked at me. This entire situation disgusted me and I didn't want to think about it anymore, but she said, "That's so awful, Theo. I'm so shocked."

I ran my thumb along her cheekbone. "Don't waste another second thinking about those two. They're not worth your time. What matters is that they're going to pay for what they've done, and we can lead our lives without having to look over our shoulders, alright?"

From there, things only got better. Mom was found, naturally, and because she tried to escape, that only made things worse for her where the law was concerned. She kept asking to speak to me, but I never went to see her. I didn't have the stomach to do it. Yeah, maybe that was me being a serious asshole, but I preferred to keep my distance rather than sit across from her in some room and point fingers at her.

I didn't need an explanation from her. Her actions were her decision—I didn't have to agree with them, and that was that.

Clarice decided that she'd be staying with us for a while. Out of the three of us, she was taking this harder than anyone else, but she spent a lot of time with Alice, especially when she was in the bakery. I liked seeing her this way. My sister had always been prone to depressive episodes, so the fact that she wanted to interact with us was a relief.

We all liked having her around.

As the months passed, we were all anxious. Sure, we had security up to our asses, but that didn't mean that Felix couldn't try something. But his court date approached and he got twelve years with a plea deal. In eight years, he could be out on good behavior, but that didn't bother me much. Eight years might as well be eighty for someone like Felix.

As for mom, considering she was an accessory, she got six years. Possibility of parole in four.

It was the scandal of the fucking year. Newspapers and magazines brought it up almost every single day. Mom had always been so concerned with her image and how other people perceived us, and that had all been flushed down the toilet. I didn't care much about what other people thought—I never had.

Fuck them all. I was alive and well with the love of my life beside me, and that was all I focused on.

It was all I cared about.