Family Unity
Rachel
After more than an hour of great anticipation, Sarah finally called me to give news about the meeting with Jensen Thompson. The information was quite encouraging, considerably easing my mind.
Despite everything that had happened between us and the discoveries about the secrets in our family, my relationship with Sarah seemed to be rebuilding, returning to what it was before. I was sincerely honest in my apology, and she seemed to have understood, truly willing to leave the past behind and start a new chapter, free from resentment and grudges. It was a wonderful prospect for all of us.
Sarah was visibly worn out by the confrontation with our uncle, who confessed his wrongdoings without hesitation, even boasting about helping our mother separate Mary's twins, making her believe for so many years that her children were dead.
"It was as if he was proud to have contributed to separating the twins from Mary," Sarah reported, extremely outraged. "It affected me too much, as I can't understand how someone can be so cruel."
I was silent for a few seconds, absorbing her words. I have also felt proud of doing bad things to other people, including my sister, and that was now a source of deep shame.
"Don't feel like that, Rachel," Sarah said as if even through the phone call she could tell that I was blaming myself. "I imagine that you have been a person like that before, but today you understand that it's wrong and are truly repentant, unlike our uncle. That's all that matters to me."
We talked for almost an hour about this topic and several others related. Enrico remained by my side the entire time as if he was supporting me to clarify all the mistakes and misunderstandings that haunted our lives for years. This made me feel lighter and more optimistic about the future.
Enrico asked for a moment on the call and spoke personally with Sarah. They had become great friends, and he invited her to dinner at Joseph's house. Not necessarily that night, as my sister was tired from all the day's activity. We scheduled it for the weekend when I would probably have been cleared by the doctor to return to my normal activities as well.
However, a few hours later, Ryan called Enrico to discuss financial matters and requested his presence the next day as my representative. They had summoned Thompson to meet them at Mitchell's company and transfer to Sarah and me the shares and anything else that was rightfully ours.
Enrico invited him to join us for dinner and discuss the matter in person. When Lindsay informed me that Mary was also coming with her son, I was very happy for the opportunity to apologize to her, as she was one of the most affected people by what my mother did, and I ended up helping to cover up.
I was excited to go downstairs and share everything Sarah told me with Lindsay and Joseph, people I now considered part of my family. However, Enrico did not allow me to do so, insisting that I should rest a little longer. He proposed that, at dinner time, we would all gather to talk. The news that we would have more people at the meeting increased my excitement even more.
I didn't plan on obeying Enrico's commands, but he knew how to persuade a woman to stay in bed, I thought mischievously, feeling sexually satisfied. He could make me forget everything and just surrender to the pleasure he aroused in me. Besides being kind and caring, he could also drive me crazy with desire. He was the perfect combo, and I had no reason to deny my feelings anymore.
"Finally, things seem to be falling back into place," I commented during dinner.
In addition to Enrico, Joseph, and Lindsay, Mary and Ryan were also at the table with us. Ryan shared details about how they approached Thompson and how he reacted to the discovery of his crimes because that's exactly what he did: he committed several crimes and should pay for them.
"I have to say I agree with Kael and also don't agree with the way you decided to resolve all of this," Enrico pointed out with a hint of irritation. "The guy is a criminal and should go to jail. You're being too lenient with him."
"Sarah's only desire right now is peace and tranquility to live her life, and I agree with her," Ryan asserted. "What's done and the time Maíra and I lost with our family can't be regained, regardless of whether Thompson is in prison or not."
Mary touched her son's hand on the table as if expressing support for his words.
"Ryan is right," she agreed, smiling gently at her son and then casting a meaningful glance at Joseph, clearly indicating the emotions overtaking her now. "The most important thing is that we're all together, and they can't hurt us anymore. I have all my children with me, and as Rachel said, everything is slowly falling back into place."
Ryan recounted their plan to go up to the floor where they discovered Thompson lived, but upon arriving at the underground parking lot, they noticed him heading toward his car. It wasn't surprising to see Madison, my brother's girlfriend, accompanying him.
After Ryan uncovered messages exchanged between the newly discovered enemy and his girlfriend, along with Thompson's ties to our father's company and his false attempt to help Rachel in any way, my brother mobilized several people to investigate everything about Thompson and Madison. Besides uncovering Thompson's connection to his and Maíra's abduction, they also discovered he had been betraying him since the beginning of his relationship with Madison. They had been having a secret affair even before Ryan met her at the club through Sarah.
Sarah was also deeply disappointed in her sister-in-law, as she had only gotten close to gaining insider information about what was happening with the family. It was understandable, and I perfectly understood Sarah's feelings, as she had been betrayed in every way, just like I had been one of those people. I pushed away those thoughts.
No more dwelling on the past. I desired to build a new life alongside my family, which had now grown considerably. I sought only the best for my son, for the love of a family is unmatched.
"I'm so happy to have you all here with us," I made sure to express. "And I want to take this moment to apologize for getting in the way of your discovery of the twins, Mary. I know I inadvertently contributed to Thompson in that."
"I felt ashamed of the things I had done, but it was necessary to acknowledge it to everyone, especially to Mary.
'We all make mistakes... some more than others,' Mary said kindly. 'I'm sure we've already overcome the worst part of this story. Now, it's just about trying to make the most of it.'
'Maíra also wanted to be here,' Ryan shared. 'Soon, we can all be together.'
Maíra had traveled to Texas to visit her adoptive parents. She was slowly rebuilding her ties with the family that raised her and forgiving them for not revealing the truth about her adoption sooner.
'But Sarah told me you've already scheduled a dinner at Kael's house for when you're cleared by the doctor,' Lindsay recalled.
'That's true,' Ryan agreed, looking at Lindsay with a gentle smile.
I smiled in agreement with his words, also noticing something more in his gaze towards my friend.
'I was very happy to hear about the dinner,' Joseph commented, but his gaze was fixed on Mary.
'Now, more than ever, we need to come together as the family we are and confront Thompson,' Mary replied, seemingly also referring to my father-in-law, which brought a broad smile to my face. 'And then we can live in complete peace.'
'Well, maybe you're right about handling this as peacefully as possible,' Enrico seemed to change his mind, and I felt his hand grip my leg under the table. His hand was doing more than that, and I looked at him with a reprimanding gaze. He responded only with a smile laden with innuendo, that pervert.
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