CHAPTER FIFTY FIVE

"That can't be," Mr. Black said.
"What? aren't I allowed to have a father?" Mabel asked.
"That's not what I meant... You know what I mean"
"I am Ben's daughter and yes, I am his biological daughter," Mabel said.
" What about your parents, Mr. and Mrs. Jone? "
" Those people weren't my parents, they were just some people my father hired, probably to get me off his back or something," Mabel said.
" Isn't that a little too cruel? " Mr. Black said.
" It might be, but I don't blame him. I am not good enough for him. It has always been Lia, that's why I hate her so much" Mabel said almost tearing up.
" You can let it out all you want. I would have dried your tears if I wasn't held back by these chains, but please do tell me everything" Mr. Black said.
" I used to live with my father before Lia came into our lives. It wasn't anything special, but at least I was happy to be with him. He would always ignore me as if I wasn't there, but I never complained. I would always watch him from a close enough distance, but neither of us would utter a word.
One day, I was playing with my toys and then he returned home with guests. He told me that they were my new parents and that I should pack my things and then leave with them. I think I had just turned four then, Anyway I refused because I wanted to stay with my father and then he slapped me..." Mabel said and paused, before continuing.
" That was the first time he had ever hit me. I left that day wondering what I could have done wrong for him to give me away just like that. I behaved myself and did everything the couple asked me to do, just so that my father could see that I had changed and so that he would come and take me back, but he never did.
The couple wasn't helping matters, they would abuse me verbally and sometimes they would hit me, but at least it wasn't anything I couldn't handle.
Later on, I got to find out that he was paying the couple to take care of me, I was happy because I thought that he still cared and was just too busy to look after me himself and that was why he hired the couple to take care of me. But he never came to visit me.
And it remained that way for two years, two whole years without seeing my father.
And then I met Lia. She looked so delicate and fragile, I wanted to be her friend so bad. I would always approach her and drive the other kids away from her. I was a pretty scary child back then" Mabel said and laughed at the end.
" Anyways we became friends and soon enough we were the best of friends, we would do everything together, she made me happy.
She told me that she wanted to introduce her father to me and I happily accepted. She took me to meet him and to my surprise, it was my father.
It hurt me so badly to know that I wasn't only replaced but also abandoned. He smiled at her so lovingly and he acted as if he didn't know me.
Lia excused herself to go somewhere and immediately after she left, Ben's demeanor changed. He stared at me coldly and told me to never go near his daughter again. His words pierced through me like a sharp knife. I ran home and I cried all night.
I made up my mind not to follow through with his order. I believed that staying closer to Lia would also bring me closer to him, but the threats only became worse. I didn't want to give up and continued to stay by her side always.
With time, I witnessed how much he loved Lia, and he expressed it in so many ways and this man wouldn't even flash me a smile. Lia was living the perfect life while I suffered without anyone there by my side.
And that was where my hatred for her started. I began to spread false rumors about her in school, while I played the innocent role. Lia was always laughed at and made fun of everywhere she went and she would go crying to ***daddy***." Mabel said the last part with a mocking tone.
" For the first time, Ben came to visit. I was so happy when he told the couple that he wanted to see me. I thought that all my efforts had finally paid off. But I was wrong, he only came to talk to me about Lia.
He told me that I should protect her from those nasty bullies at school. He didn't even ask nicely, it was more of a threat. My hatred for Lia grew with every passing second, and whatever I did back then before Ben's visit, I did it again and even worse.
Lia was so clueless, she was too naive for her own good. She would come crying to me and tell me about, what the other kids were doing to her. She would always say that I was her one and only true friend. What a joke.
My fake parents got into a fight with Ben. They wanted to get rid of me too. I guess I was too much of a burden to them.
Ben refused to take me back, and they ended the argument with Ben offering them some more money, which they happily accepted. And do you know the worse part about everything? They argued about it in my presence. No one cared if I was going to get hurt by their harsh words or emotionally unstable, I mean I was just a child.
I ended up staying with them until they died"
" How did they die?" Mr. Black asked.
" I don't know honestly, but I believe it was my father who killed them," Mabel said.
" And why is that?"
" My fake parents left one day and instead of them returning Ben came by and he told me that they were dead"
" But that doesn't mean he killed them"
" True but then, he said to me ***Those who betray me will end up just like your parents, keep that in mind***. Back then I didn't understand what he meant, but now I do"