19 THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG
'It all started nearly twenty-two years ago,' Charlie Swan gazed into the distance, a sigh of unfamiliar sadness leaving his lips. 'Your mother had just announced over one Sunday brunch that she was pregnant with you, a usual sunny day suddenly becoming the worst day of our lives.'
'Wait.' I frowned, cutting him off. 'You knew my mother?'
I wasn't even about to delve into the offensive ocean of him having termed the news of my arrival as the worst day of his life.
That water was simply too deep to dip my feet into!
'Yes.' Renee was the one to respond, nodding her head briefly, unapologetic in her stance. 'We knew her very well, in fact. We had seen her since the time she was a kid.'
How?
And why was I never informed about this?
I let out a humourless laugh; what more had they kept hidden from me?
Why was I even still surprised by their actions?
I should have expected it by now.
'She was Ron's step-daughter.' Charlie clarified, sighing- a shocked gasp leaving my lips as my eyes went wide in disbelief.
My biological mother was Uncle Ron's step-daughter?
How? I didn't even know that he had any living family?
They had never, never shared this piece of information with me, making it seem like we were his only family, living or dead!
'Now, you need to understand that your grandmother had married Ron in her late forties. And she had a fortune collected by the time she walked down that aisle for the second time. Hotels, estates, a flourishing business- she had billions on her name. And only her name, no one to share it with.'
The unsaid part of that sentence being that Uncle Ron had married for the money!
'Sure, she had one daughter from her previous marriage, but there was more than enough for Ron to live a comfortable life till his last day on this Earth arrived.'
And point proven!
'We had been indifferent to Ron getting married that late in life, initially,' Renee took the lead now, her head bobbing up and down as the words splattered out. 'But when it started benefitting us, we were both instantly on board.'
'Benefitting you, how?' I questioned, narrowing my eyes together.
Renee smiled, pushing a stray strand of hair behind her ear, 'Madeline, that was your grandmother's name, was rather careless when it came to trust. She never even realized that Ron was transferring money- albeit a small share- from her account to his, and even ours. She trusted him, the innocent fool!'
'Wow.' My mouth dropped open, nothing but air willing to pop out.
They were small-time thieves, too; What more was left to hear?
'Life had been going well; We had never been richer. But then your whore of a mother had to go and get herself impregnated! She did not even know who the father to her unborn child was!' Renee spat the words out at me, growling in annoyance. 'She ruined everything!'
'What happened after that?' I calmly demanded to know, ignoring the dramatics around me; it did not deserve the attention.
'Madeline hadn't been thrilled in the beginning, needless to mention.' Charlie took the reins now, Renee seemingly inconsolable. 'But she soon came to accept this development- looking forward to it, in fact- the thought of having a grandchild mellowing her anger and disappointment down. We hadn't been very happy by this news, but till Ron was supplying us with our share, we were content to remain indifferent.'
Their share?
What had they even done to deserve a single penny from my grandmother's hard-earned wealth?
They were well-hidden crooks masquerading under the mask of a caring relative.
That's all they were!
'The next few months had passed by in a similar fashion, with life staying the same- more or less. We moved to Chicago to stay closer to Ron and Madeline, pretending to be a confidante to the latter. She did not have many people she could trust around and was easily convinced that we wanted the best for her.' And you proved her wrong! You proved to be that evil serpent no one should ever trust! 'Megan couldn't have cared any less about what her mother did with her personal life. She was too busy dealing with the changes that her body was experiencing to look beyond her nose, the father's identity still a mystery that could not be revealed. Anyhow, she was hardly fifteen; she was not ready for any of this.' Charlie let out a sigh, shaking his head to himself, his expression telling me wide and clear that he was judging her- an empty vessel making the most noise!
'We had not expected anything to change,' Renee commented next, staring down at her nails, surprising me with her absolute indifference, 'but six months into Megan's pregnancy, Madeline was diagnosed with breast cancer, last stage; treatment being a lost cause.'
Oh.
I let out a gasp, a tear shed for the grandmother I had never known or met.
'Ron was elated. Everything would now be his! Megan was underage, and Madeline had no other family to take charge of the monetary matters. Everything would have been legally his in a few months' time, a fact that made us all exceptionally happy.'
'Did you not once feel the least bit sympathy for that woman there?' I demanded- my voice hoarse from all the varied emotions coursing through me. 'She had trusted you. She had thought of you as family. And you were celebrating her death?'
How heartless could a person even be?
Renee waved me off, Charlie letting out a chuckle, their faces telling me all I needed to know; even if you organized a nationwide search, spending a trillion bucks on this research, you wouldn't be able to find two more selfish and self-centred people than the ones standing in front of me at the moment!
'We had prepared for every possibility, being woken up in the middle of the night as we cried and pretended to mourn the beautiful soul that had been stolen from this Earth rather too soon, a scene that we did come to enact a few months later, internally joyful at our victory.'
I had no words to honour them with.
It just wouldn't be enough!
A part of me was still horrified by the realization of not recognizing their true colours before this moment; how could I have been this blind to not see it?
'Megan had been heartbroken; she was close to delivering you- her due date mere weeks later. Ron had pretended to be there for her, the biggest shock of our life coming our way when we were called for the reading of the will.'
'What was written in the will?' I enquired, a frown covering my face, unable to understand what exactly could have been written on that piece of paper to garner such anger in their eyes.
'Everything that belonged to Madeline was to be legally divided into two, the bigger share going to Megan and a smaller share to her unborn child, the responsibility of this division till both Megan and her child turned of age respectively, to be handled by Madeline's family lawyer, with no interference permitted from anyone else.'
Oh.
Wow.
'Ron was left penniless. Madeline had left absolutely nothing on his name. Everything of hers was now Megan's or yours.' The words were spat out, a menacing glare accompanied. 'Ron had tried arguing with the lawyer, stating that Madeline hadn't been in her senses during those last few months, but it was futile. The will was written. And no one could do a thing about it!'
Good.
My grandmother must have realized their true colours, knowing that their worth was less than that of a single penny.
'We had been devastated. And angry. Very angry.' Charlie muttered, his face red. 'That is when we had decided that we were not going down without a fight. That money was ours, and we would not rest until we had it. We had then devised a plan.'
'What plan?' I whispered in nervousness and apprehension.
Renee let out a sadistic laugh, a far cry from the selfless and philanthropist mother I had once known her as. 'Convincing the naïve Megan to part with her child had been easy enough a task. We just needed to make her realize that this was not a child's job, and voila, she had agreed to sign the adoption papers. More so, she had even agreed to leave the country for a while, accepting our reasoning that she needed to be away from all this pain to truly recover and move on in her life, her only request being to give you those earrings that you so like.'
'You manipulated her?'
How lengthy was their list of transgressions?
Where did it end?
Did it even end?
They shrugged in nonchalance, indifference dripping down their lips, enough to fill an entire bucket.
'We needed full control over your share of the wealth; something we could only achieve by legally being your parents. And so that is exactly what we did! We would demand money from your grandmother's lawyer, stating that the expense was for your benefit- that being our easy way to get back our earlier share that had now stopped. This house, our latest cars, the several vacations that we planned- everything was paid for by your grandmother!' Renee winked at me, seemingly proud of herself.
Again, I was speechless, wondering if they had any sanity left in them.
'But then,' Charlie's voice hardened. 'You turned twenty-one, and your lawyer refused to give us a single penny, owing to what had been written in your grandmother's will all those decades ago. We were no longer authorized to demand money on your name, so was claimed.' He gritted his teeth together, fuming.
'It was unacceptable.' Renee agreed, narrowing her eyes together. 'We needed to find a quick way to get back our share of Madeline's wealth. We were accustomed to the luxury, surviving without it impossible to even imagine.'
'So, you had me kidnapped?' I quirked an eyebrow, whispering the dreaded question out.
'Yes.' Renee shrugged. 'It was Ron's supposedly brilliant idea,' she turned to glare at Charlie, huffing in displeasure. 'We would have you kidnapped and demand a ransom in return, whatever money we managed to get directly going into our pockets. Finding Edward to do the dirty work had been easy enough, the only difficulty being that we needed to keep you alive. You were the hen with the golden egg. We could not afford to lose you. We had assumed it to be a simple enough job, but your mother had refused to budge. She was suspicious of our intentions and had stated that until she was clear that we were not responsible for your disappearance, not a single dime would leave either of your accounts. That heartless bitch!'
'She…she knew about me?' I mumbled out, hesitantly. 'And yet, she never once tried to contact me?'
Why?
Didn't she want me?
Just like everyone else here!
Renee scoffed, rolling her eyes at me. 'Legally, she has no right over you. And she knows that. She has moved on in her life. Has a husband and two kids.'
Oh.
So, even she didn't want me.
I wrapped my arms around my torso, holding to myself tightly.
'Everything had been going well. We had almost managed to convince your mother to pay the ransom, but then you had to message Alice, ruining everything for us! She informed the cops right away; did not wait a spare second to listen to our protests.'
Thank God for that!
'Everything went downhill from there on. You know the rest.' Renee waved a hand in air, dismissing the conversation away.
I nodded my head, mumbling under my breath.
Yes. I did know the rest of the story.
'So, this was indeed all for the money?' I let out a humourless laugh, shaking my head to myself, unable to comprehend how my life could have been ruined for the selfish desires of someone else.
They wanted the money.
They wanted the luxury.
They wanted the power.
And my life was ruined?
How was this any fair?
How could they do this to an innocent child?
Not only had they duped Madeline- and then her lawyer- for years together, but they had even committed the moral crime of separating a mother from her child.
They had manipulated that vulnerable girl for their advantage!
She had been mourning her mother- and instead of consoling her and standing by her side, they had used her helplessness to their gain!
How cruel and self- centred could a person even be?
'Oh, don't be so melodramatic now, Bella!' Renee rolled her eyes in amusement. 'This world revolves around money. It is nothing new. We just admit to wanting it, while others don't.'
I let out a scoff, twisting my lips in a grimace. 'Strangely, the people who raised me taught me that family and togetherness mattered more than your material possessions. But unfortunately, I can no longer see their reflection in the two of you. They had been good people. It is a pity.'
I still couldn't believe that my parents, the ones I had trusted more than anyone else, could betray me in this manner. That they would value material possessions over the girl they had once called their daughter.
Fake or not, they had indeed termed me as their daughter for all these years of my existence.
They had loved me in their own strange way.
Love cannot be faked.
It is either there or not.
Renee waved a hand in air, shrugging me off. 'The curtains had to raise one fine day, so, well!'
I winced, holding to myself tightly, aware that while my biological mother and I were in the same unfortunate boat of being duped by the people we trusted, I was luckier than her. At least my culprits had admitted to committing the crime; hers had simply pretended to be her well-wishers, cheating her in the worst possible manner.
'Just one question,' I frowned, pin drop silence awaiting my next few words, 'What was the fight about? Why had Uncle Ron and Da…Charlie Swan fought all those years ago at Christmas dinner?'
He did not deserve to be called dad. Especially not after confessing his transgressions.
'Megan had returned to the country.' Charlie let out a sigh. 'Ron had tried to contact her, but she had refused to even see his face; with her now being an adult, the situation a little more complex than we would have preferred. Ron was humiliated and refused to attempt again, but we were unwilling to give up. We needed to be on Megan's good side. She was our lottery ticket out of poverty and a life of compromise.'
Oh.
Did they take any decision that was not concerned with money or them taking advantage of some poor being?
So far it seemed an impossibility!
'And what about the pendant?' I demanded an answer, still puzzled over this unsolvable mystery. 'Why did he have a pendant that belonged to my mother on him?'
Why keep her photo with him at all times?
What purpose was that to solve?
'He wanted her.'
Excuse me?
'If not Madeline, then her daughter would have to suffice. Ron is a man with needs. You cannot expect him to remain celibate for the rest of his life!'
Jeez. Are you kidding me?
Did Charlie Swan just mutter that bullshit with a straight face?
This was so fucking creepy!
They needed help.
Like immediate fucking help.
'But now that you know the truth,' Charlie smirked, his overly relaxed stance enough to make me severely uncomfortable, 'you are of no help to us.'
'What do you mean?' I enquired, taking a step back in fear and apprehension.
What were they planning to do?
Shit.
Why had I even returned to this hell of a place?
I was better off with Edward.
I could have trusted him!
He would have saved me….
'What my husband means,' Renee offered me a smirk of her own, taking a step ahead in my direction, 'is that no one takes pride in collecting the waste. If it is useless, it is better off in the garbage. There is no place for trash in anyone's home or life.'
'I don't understand.' I mumbled under my breath, my eyes desperately searching for an escape route.
I needed to get out of here!
The two of them were insane!
'Well, you will understand very soon.' Charlie clapped his hands together in mock glee, taking a step ahead in my direction, my heartbeat erratic as I stared at the creep.
'Don't.' I gulped, barely managing to speak. 'I will get you arrested. Just let me peacefully leave. And I will never bother you again.'
Renee let out a booming laugh, mercilessly glaring at me. 'That is kind of an overstatement now, don't you think, considering one needs to be alive in order to get us arrested.'
'No.' I shrieked the word out, panting for air. 'You can't kill me! I will not let you kill me.'
'And what will you do in order to stop us?' Charlie enquired, grinning, a hand pushed into his pant pocket, as the infamous gun that had followed me all through these days was once again pulled out, the gun unlocked with a finger on the trigger, ready to shoot.
'You…' I stumbled over my words, my tone nothing more than a beg, 'You can't do this! Alice knows where I am; she will get you reported! You are better off letting me go!'
Charlie let out an evil laugh at that, turning to look at Renee, 'Now, my dear, are we averse to committing two murders instead of one?'
'Of course not, my love.' Renee winked at me, her face reflecting the amusement she felt at my current predicament.
'No.' I took another step back, my eyes wide in horror as my feet shivered in fear. 'You are my parents. You have legally adopted me. You can't do this to me!'
'Say goodbye to the world, Isabella Marie. We will never meet again.'
I shut my eyes, tears freely flowing down, the courage to escape having deserted me long ago. It was of no use.
It was ending here today.
I had survived through so much pain, torture and unpredictability…. just to die here in this horrid manner today.
This was the end.
I couldn't possibly survive this.
No one was coming to my rescue.
And it was all my fault.
Alice had insisted to come and get me; maybe if I had….
No.
Nothing would have changed, only two people would have lost their lives today in this very yard instead of just one.
She would have been the unfortunate casualty dragged in a mess she had no reason to be pulled into.
She was better off out and away from it!
I let out one last sigh, lamenting over my broken luck and the rollercoaster ride it had taken me through in these gone-by weeks, accepting my fate but unwilling to open my eyes and see it occur.
I knew what was about to come…just did not have it in me to look into the eyes of my parents…of my killer…as they ended my poor excuse of an existence, holding my breath as the first gunshot resounded through the air, quickly followed by a second one, a slimy liquid drenching my face mere seconds later, causing me to frown in confusion, opening my eyes, as I rushed my hands all over my body, wondering where I had been shot….only to realize that I hadn't been the one to be shot, the red, wet blood that lay on my face and now on my shivering fingertips did not belong to me.
No.
It belonged to the middle-aged couple lying dead on the floor a few steps away from where I stood, expressionless and having never expected this outcome, their blank faces a testimony to this reality.
Renee and Charlie Swan were dead.
Killed by the two gunshots that I had heard echo through the air mere minutes ago.
I quickly turned, my eyes wide, as I stared into the eyes of the person who had saved me, and in turn had stolen my culprit's miserable lives away from them.