POV: Raphael
"No…
No…
It wasn't me, I have nothing to do with the Hawkins business, I didn't even know that you had a contract with them. Tell him, Mr Hawkins, tell him it wasn't me." I called out to Nathan, but he shook his head and excused himself from the room,
"This is obviously a family matter and I don't think my brother would appreciate it if I get involved in this matter. I'm sure you'll find a way to resolve it, you sure know how to get out of sticky situations," he mumbled as he walked out of the room, smiling to himself.
"Hurt her dad, she did it to destroy us, she is vindictive and wicked. Let's beat her up and lock her up," Cindy yelled in my direction, urging her dad to hurt me. Nathan turned to offer a warm smile when he heard her voice, I guess he loves her attitude. Birds of the same feathers always find their way to each other.
His gaze was more like an invitation to Cindy, she stopped yelling and turned to her mom for guidance. Her mom nodded in approval and she ran towards the door to go flirt with him and maybe get him to screw her. Dad noticed everything that just took place, but he didn't say a word about it.
He was tapping endlessly on his phone, searching for different posts about his company and the disgrace and backlash he was facing from his investors. He would search for the news and bring it to my face, a song that shot out of me as he got closer to me with every step he took. I glimpsed at some of the posts he showed me and I saw the heat he was facing from Raphael. It's terrible, and it's making him go mad with anger. But it's not my fault, is it?
"You did this, you caused me to lose a multi-billion dollar deal, and I won't let you off easily." He threatened angrily.
"Why are you yelling at the brainless child, when it is this old hag you should be yelling at. Isn't it obvious that this is her fault?" Vera chipped in, making Dad turn to Mom with the same anger he has been using to terrorize me since he walked in.
"You?
It's you, isn't it?
You did this." He told her fiercely, taking precise steps towards Mom.
"Don't be ridiculous, Austin!
That company is mine, why would I want to do this, why would I destroy my family's heritage, my inheritance?" Mom asked him in a panic as she limped backward, taking slow steps away from him.
"You did this!
You couldn't get back the company so you decided to destroy it. You did this to get back at me, didn't you?" Dad asked her as she closed the gap between them and held her hand roughly.
"I will kill you before you destroy me, I will destroy everything you love and take your children away.
Fix this, Eloise!
Fix this!" Dad yelled at her, his grip on her wrist getting tighter. He leaned closer and said something to Mom that made her eyes go wide in shock,
"You wouldn't dare," Mom challenged him.
"Try me!" he retorted in an icy tone that made him sound like an evil villain who jumped out of the movie. Mom tried to pull her arm off his tight grip, but he pushed her off instead and she fell to the floor and yelled in pain. I ran to her aid, but I was stopped by Vera who held me back and forced me to look into her eyes as she glared at me,
"I have sacrificed so much to be here today. Your mother stole what is supposed to be mine, and now that I finally succeeded in taking it back. You think I would let you ruin it for me?" she asked fiercely. I struggled to break free, but she wouldn't let me go. Mom lay on the floor bleeding out while Dad trashed the room and broke some very expensive hospital equipment to sink us into more debt.
"Why are you doing this to me, Vera, what did I ever do?
We are sisters, Vera, sisters. We are supposed to look out for each other and teach our children to love one another. This is too much for me to bear, the pain, it's just unbearable, mom sobbed from the floor where she lay bleeding. Hearing her sister's words made Vera furious and she left my hand and turned to face her sister, my mom,
"You greedy fool!
You stopped being my sister the day you married the guy I loved. You dumb fool!
You actually thought I would sit back and let you take everything, didn't you?
You watched Father cut me off and will our inheritance to you alone. And even after he died, you still held on to everything like a greedy bitch that you are. You sat like a queen in your mansion and let me beg you for pennies like a common beggar. Now the tables have turned and you beg for mercy?" she asked Mom with venomous anger.
You see, Mom and Aunt Vera are sisters. But Mom got all the inheritance and that made Aunt Vera hate her with a passion. Aunt Vera set her up with my father, she lied to Mom that she had no interest in being with Austin and she urged Mom to marry him. Unknown to Mom, they both have a plan to swindle her of her inheritance.
After her marriage to my father, they commenced their plot and got everything they wanted. They kicked us out to the street and you know the rest of the story. The funny thing is that even after she got everything from Mom, she still comes around often to cause more trouble for us. She finds a reason to bring Dad around and make him hurt us.
She derives pleasure in watching us get hurt, she enjoys making Dad do her dirty work just to show Mom how much he loves her. She flaunts him around the city, showing the world how much he adores her. You can say that we are used to getting stomped on by Dad and his wife, but what they are doing to us right now is a whole new level of cruelty.
Claire and I ran to Mom's side and tried to help with the bleeding, but there was nothing we could do about it. We just had to wait for them to leave so we could get the doctors in here. Someone was supposed to come here to check on us and see how Mom was doing. But it seemed Dad and Aunt Vera paid them to stay away until they were done with their cruel act.
"You are not my sister, Eloise, and you will get no mercy from me. If you destroy the company with your bastard daughter, then you will see the true extent of my wrath." Vera told her sternly, her eyes blazing with fiery anger.
"Why don't you just leave us alone, go now and leave us the fuck alone!" I yelled in anger.
"You don't have to make up stories just to make things difficult for us. Leave us alone, just go away!" I sobbed sadly.
"I will leave, my dearest daughter, but I'll be back, trust me," he affirmed.
"No!
You will never come back here." Someone told him from the door.
We have no idea that the door has been opened. We looked up to see Carl standing by the opened door, glaring at the duo. I felt so relieved as I saw him, seeing him felt like seeing Raphael, I couldn't stop myself from sobbing even more.