Chapter 24 Accusations Fly

Chapter 24 Accusations Fly
“You lied? All these years?” Susan’s voice cracked, sharp enough to slice through the room. “You let me think he was my father? Let him abuse me, thinking I was his blood?”

Mom’s hands trembled where they clutched the edge of the table. Tears welled up instantly, spilling down her cheeks.

“I was scared,” she whispered. “Young. I didn’t know what to do. I thought it would ruin everything. I’m so sorry, honey.”

“Sorry?” Susan let out a harsh laugh that sounded closer to a sob. She pushed her chair back so violently it scraped across the floor. The paper in her hand shook as she pointed it at Mom. “You let that monster raise me,hurt me,beat me,touch me and now I’m pregnant by him.”

The words fell like stones. “And the worst part?” she continued, voice breaking. “I thought he was my father,my own father.”

Lilly rushed to her side and grabbed her arm gently. “Susan, sit down,” Lilly said, voice soft but urgent. “Please. You’re shaking, think about the baby.”

But Susan jerked her arm away.“No! Don’t tell me to sit down!” She spun around, eyes blazing, until they landed on Robbinson.

“You knew?” she demanded. “Didn’t you?” Robbinson’s face had gone pale, the color draining from it like someone had pulled a plug.

“I… suspected,” he muttered.

The room erupted again.“You suspected?” Susan screamed. “You suspected and you said nothing?”

He rubbed a hand across his face. “Annie said it was best not to interfere.”
“Best?” Susan shouted, her voice rising higher. “Best for who? For you? So you could keep your little secret while pretending to be some respectable family man?”

Mom tried to speak through her sobs. “Please… please stop fighting.. ”

But Susan wasn’t finished.“You hid your bastard kid,” she said bitterly, gesturing between herself and Robbinson, “while you played house with Ruby like nothing ever happened!”

Robbinson pushed back his chair and stood. “Watch your mouth, girl,” he snapped. “I’m still your father.”

Susan stared at him,then she laughed.
It wasn’t a normal laugh. It was high, hysterical, almost broken.

“Father?” she said between breaths. “You were never a father to me. You were a ghost, a rumor,
a name whispered in secret.”

She jabbed a finger toward him. “You’re nothing but the man who knocked up my mom while married to Ruby.”

Mom covered her face, shoulders shaking.

Lilly’s eyes filled with tears as she looked at her.

“How could you?” Lilly whispered to Mom. “We grew up thinking we were one thing… and now everything is a lie.”

Robbinson stepped forward, trying to regain control.

“This isn’t helping anyone,” he said firmly. “We need to calm down.”

“Shut up!” Susan snapped instantly.

She turned on him like a storm.“You’re just as bad as Humphrey!” she yelled. “Cheating,Lying,hiding the truth while the rest of us suffer!”

For a moment, the entire room fell silent.Ruby had been quiet the whole time, watching everything unfold with an unsettling calm.

But now she finally spoke,“Everyone needs to calm down,” she said steadily. “Screaming won’t fix anything.”

Susan’s head snapped toward her,“Oh, look who wants peace now.”
Ruby frowned slightly.“This is a difficult moment,” she said. “We’re all hurting.”

Susan’s eyes darkened,“You,” she said slowly.

Ruby stiffened,“Don’t act innocent.”Susan stepped closer, her gaze dropping briefly to Ruby’s stomach.

“You’re pregnant too, aren’t you?”

Ruby instinctively placed a hand over her belly.

“Yes,” she said cautiously.

Susan pointed straight at me.“By who?” she asked coldly. “Him?”

My heart stopped,The room seemed to tilt sideways.Ruby’s face went pale.“Don’t be ridiculous,” she said quickly. “That’s grief talking.”

But Lilly leaned forward, studying both of us carefully.“Is it?” she asked quietly.

Ruby looked at her,Lilly’s eyes were sharp now.

“We’ve seen the looks,” Lilly continued. “The way you two disappear together,the whispers. The late nights.”

My chest tightened.“And the timing,” Lilly added slowly. “Your pregnancy lines up exactly with when Richy started acting… different.”

Robbinson turned toward Ruby,his expression darkened.

“What are they talking about?”

Ruby stood abruptly.
“Nothing!” she snapped. “Just lies from two hurt girls!”

But Susan wasn’t backing down.
“Oh no,” she said, voice dripping with venom. “We’re not letting you run from this.”

She stepped closer, pointing at Ruby again.
“Admit it,” she said. Ruby glared at her.

“Admit what?” Susan’s voice cut through the room like a knife. “You’re sleeping with Richy.”

The room went dead silent.

“And that baby?” Susan continued.

Her finger swung toward me.

“It’s his.”

The silence that followed was suffocating.

Robbinson stared at Ruby like he had never seen her before.“Ruby,” he said slowly. “Is that true?”

Mom gasped loudly,her eyes darted to me.

“Richy?” she whispered. “Tell me that’s not true.”
Lilly’s face twisted with disbelief.
“You monster,” she said under her breath.

I couldn’t breathe,My chest felt like it was collapsing in on itself.

The lies. The secrets. The guilt.It all crashed down at once and something inside me finally broke.

“It’s true.”

Mom made a small, broken sound.
“No…”

Robbinson’s face turned red with rage,“You bastard!” he roared. “My wife? You slept with my wife?”

He stepped forward, shaking with fury.
“My own son impregnating my wife!”

The word “Son”hung in the air.

Everyone froze.
Susan blinked.

“Wait,” she said slowly,she turned toward him.

“Son?”

Robbinson realized what he had just revealed,but it was too late.

“Richy,” he said hoarsely, “he’s mine too.”

The room exploded again.
Mom burst into louder sobs.

“Robbinson…!”

“Like you,” he finished, looking at Susan. “Richy is my child with Annie.”

Lilly stood up so fast her chair tipped over.

“What?” she breathed.

Susan’s laugh returned, manic and wild.

“This family,” she said, shaking her head. “It’s nothing but incest and lies.”

Ruby stepped forward suddenly,Her voice rose with fierce emotion.“Stop saying that!”

Everyone turned to her,“It’s not like that,” she insisted. “What Richy and I have is real.”

Robbinson stared at her in disbelief, “Real?”

“Yes!” Ruby shouted.

She grabbed my hand tightly,“It’s love,passion,and something I never had with you.”

Robbinson’s face twisted with fury,“You cheated on me with my own son!”

“You neglected me for years!” Ruby shot back. “You were always distant,always cheating,and always gone!”

Her voice trembled with raw emotion.

“But Richy… he saw me,and made me feel alive again.”

Susan looked disgusted.

“Alive?” she said. “You’re sick. He’s family.”

Ruby shook her head fiercely. “By marriage!” she said. “Not by blood.”

Robbinson lunged forward suddenly.

“You whore!”He grabbed Ruby’s arm roughly
She winced. “Let go!”

I jumped up and shoved him away.“Don’t touch her!”

He swung at me instantly,his fist slammed into my shoulder, sending a jolt of pain down my arm.

Susan screamed.“Stop! The babies!”

Lilly pulled her back.“This is insane!”

Mom rushed between us with her arms stretched wide.“Enough!” she cried. “Please, stop!”

But the chaos didn’t stop,Robbinson glared at Mom.“You told him?” he demanded. “That I was his father?”

Mom nodded weakly.

“Yes… after Humphrey died.”
Susan’s head whipped toward her.

“You hid that too?”

Her voice trembled with rage.

“Both of us? Me and Richy? Both from your affair?”

Mom’s shoulders collapsed.“I didn’t know the abuse was that bad,” she whispered.

Susan stared at her.

“I saw bruises,” Mom continued through tears. “But Humphrey said they were accidents. Falls.”

Her voice cracked.

“I wanted to believe him.” Susan’s eyes filled with fresh tears.

“You enabled it.”

Mom nodded miserably,“I know.”

Lilly wiped her face with trembling hands.“So let me get this straight,” she said weakly.

She gestured around the room,“We’re all carrying babies… from this broken mess of a family.”

She pointed at Susan,“Your baby is from the man you thought was your father.”

Then at Ruby.“Your baby is from Richy.”

She laughed bitterly,“And now we find out Richy and Susan are actually siblings.”

She shook her head slowly,“This is completely fucked.”

Robbinson turned toward Ruby again.
“So you admit it?”

Ruby lifted her chin.
“Yes.”

Her voice was firm,"I'm pregnant with Richy’s child,and I don’t regret it.”

Susan stared at her like she was looking at a stranger.“You’re proud of it?”

Ruby’s eyes burned with emotion,“What we have is real.”

Robbinson pointed at me.
,“He’s my son!”

“And you never acted like a husband!” Ruby snapped.

Susan suddenly lunged toward her,“You knew!” she screamed.

Lilly grabbed her quickly,“Susan, stop!”

But Susan struggled wildly,“You knew about me!” she yelled at Ruby. “About Annie and Robbinson!”

Ruby hesitated,then she nodded slowly.

“I overheard it years ago.”Susan’s face twisted with rage.“And you still let Humphrey abuse me?”

More shouting erupted

Robbinson pointed at me,“You leave her,” he growled. “Now. Or I expose everything.”

Mom looked confused,“Expose what?”

Robbinson’s voice dropped coldly.“All of it.”

He gestured around the room.

“The affairs,“The abuse,The incest.

The room spun with tension,no one spoke,nor one moved.

The truth was finally out,and the storm had only just begun.