Chapter 97 Chapter 97
Hailey’s POV
I stared at Sophia, disgust rising in my throat at her accusation.
“A thief?” I repeated, my voice sharp with anger. “You’re calling my mother a thief?”
“I saw what I saw!” Sophia insisted, pointing at Barbara. “She was trying to open the doors she has no business touching!”
“My mother is not a thief,” I said coldly, stepping forward. “She’s probably just confused about the layout of this massive house. But you wouldn’t understand that, would you? You’re too busy looking for reasons to attack everyone who isn’t you.”
“I know what I saw!” Sophia repeated.
“You know what I think?” I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm. “I think you’re acting this way because I plucked your precious tulips earlier. This is retaliation. You’re so petty and childish that you can’t handle someone touching your mother’s flowers, so now you’re making up lies about mine.”
Sophia’s face flushed red. “This has nothing to do with the tulips!”
“Doesn’t it?” I challenged. “Because the timing is awfully convenient. I hurt your feelings in the garden, so now you’re trying to hurt mine by accusing my mother of theft.”
“I’m not making anything up!” Sophia shouted. “She was trying to open locked rooms! Tell them!” She turned to Barbara. “Tell them what you were doing!”
But my mother stayed silent, her face pale, her lips pressed into a thin line.
“Mom?” I said, confused by her silence. “Tell Damien she’s just lying against you.”
Still, my mother said nothing.
Damien stepped forward, his expression stern as he looked between Sophia and Barbara.
“Sophia,” he said, his voice hard. “That’s enough. Barbara is a guest in this house. She deserves respect, not accusations.”
“But Dad….” Sophia started.
“I said enough,” Damien interrupted firmly. “You have no evidence that Barbara was doing anything wrong. You jumped to the worst possible conclusion because that’s what you do. You assume everyone has bad intentions.”
“I saw her trying doors!” Sophia insisted desperately.
“And maybe she was confused about where her room was,” Damien said. “Maybe she was looking for a bathroom or a place to get some air. There are a dozen innocent explanations.”
He turned to Barbara, his expression softening. “Barbara, I apologize for my daughter’s behavior. She’s been under a lot of stress, but that doesn’t excuse her rudeness.”
My mother nodded stiffly, her face still pale. “It’s fine.”
“It’s not fine,” Damien said. “Sophia, go to your room. Now. I don’t want to see you for the rest of the day.”
“You’re defending her over me?” Sophia’s voice broke. “Your own daughter?”
“I’m defending common decency,” Damien said coldly. “Go. To. Your. Room.”
She hissed and want to turn away but I took a step closer, dropping my voice to meet only her ears.
“Sophia, you should stop accusing people, nothing will bring back your mother.”
I saw the flicked in her eyes, I took a step back and cared her shoulder.
Sophia stared at Damien like he expect him to hear what I just said, when she got no respond, she turned and ran down the hallway. I heard a door slam in the distance.
Damien sighed deeply, running a hand through his hair.
“Barbara, again, I’m sorry. Sophia is… she’s struggling.”
“I understand,” my mother said quietly, though her voice was strained. “If you’ll excuse me, I’d like to rest.”
She turned and walked away quickly, heading toward her bedroom.
I stood there for a moment, confused by her behavior. Why hadn’t she defended herself? Why hadn’t she explained what she was really doing?
“Go check on her,” Damien said softly, looking at me with concern. “Make sure she’s okay.”
I nodded and hurried after my mother, catching up to her just as she reached her bedroom door.
“Mom, wait,” I called.
She paused but didn’t turn around.
“Mom, what’s going on?” I asked, moving to stand in front of her. “Why didn’t you tell them you were just confused?”
My mother’s eyes met mine, and the guilt I saw there that made my stomach drop.
“Come inside,” she said quietly, opening her bedroom door. “We need to talk.”
I followed her into the room, my heart pounding. She closed the door behind us and locked it, then turned to face me.
“Mom, you’re scaring me,” I said. “What’s going on?”
Barbara took a deep breath. “Sophia was right. I was snooping around.”
My mouth fell open. “What? Why?”
“Because I don’t trust the safety of this safehouse,” my mother said, her voice tight with anxiety. “After what happened at the compound, after nearly dying, I can’t just accept that we’re safe here. I needed to know.”
“Know what?” I asked.
“Where the exits are,” Barbara said. “Where we could hide if another attack happens. Escape routes. Safe rooms. Places to run if we need to.”
I stared at her, understanding dawning. “You were looking for hiding places?”
“Yes,” my mother confirmed. “I was checking every room I could access, mapping out the house in my head. If something happens, I need to know where to take you to keep you safe.”
The paranoia in her voice broke my heart. “Mom, this place is secure. Damien said….”
“I don’t care what Damien said,” my mother interrupted. “He said the other house was secure too, and look what happened. I can’t rely on his promises anymore. I need to protect you myself.”
She moved to her bed and reached underneath, pulling out a small piece of paper.
“And I found this,” she said, holding it out to me.
I took the paper, my hands shaking slightly. It was torn, jagged edges suggesting it had been ripped from something larger.
Two words were written on it in hurried, desperate handwriting:
Run Ele
“What is this?” I whispered.
“I found it under my bed,” my mother said. “Hidden in the bed frame, like someone had stuffed it there deliberately.”
I stared at the partial message. Run Ele.
“It looks like a sentence that was torn,” I said slowly. “Like the person was trying to pass a message but only this part survived?”
“Yes, exactly,” my mother agreed.