Chapter Twenty-One

"Why couldn't you let it go?"

That was the first question Mr Blake asked Daphne once they were alone in their living room. Daphne sat on the sofa while Mrs Blake and Mr Blake stood before her.

"You weren't there, Dad!" Daphne asked, outraged. "You have no idea what it was like! You have no idea what it felt like! You have no idea what those girls felt like either!"

"You could have been royalty!" Mrs Blake added. "Your father could have become Mayor and then we could have retired after that in Gemonia!"

Daphne felt sick about what she was hearing.

"You think me being treated like a piece of meat would have been worth it?" Daphne asked. "He doesn't think of me as a person! Just some woman he could fuck any way he wanted to!"

"Daphne, you know for a fact that's not what happened!" Mr Blake said. "You and all those girls were there for a religious ceremony to clean your bodies of sin! You should call and apologise to Sebastian!"

Daphne had heard enough, and she stood up.

"Call and apologise to Sebastian?" she asked, feeling sick. "Since when does a victim have to apologise to their attacker!"

Mrs Blake stood before Daphne and pushed her back onto the sofa.

"Daphne, we tolerated enough from you before we went to Gemonia, and Sebastian was going to provide you with an incredible life!" Mrs Blake shouted. "Now, we're going to church tonight, and you better tell the congregation what needs to be said, not what you think is the so-called truth, and you better believe you're wearing a hairclip tonight,"

Daphne began to shake because she knew she was truly alone in the situation. Mrs Blake handed Daphne a hairclip. As Daphne clipped up her hair, her hands couldn't stop shaking.

XXXXX

Daphne was sitting offstage as Mr Blake stood behind the podium. Mrs Blake was sitting in the front row with the rest of the congregation. Mrs Blake stared at Daphne with a furious expression in her eyes, which terrified Daphne to her core. No matter what she said or what she did, she would never escape Sebastian and his sick mind games.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Mr Blake said. "It was truly sad what happened to my daughter in Gemonia, but I can assure you it was all a misunderstanding. A misunderstanding my daughter will gladly clear up. A misunderstanding I hope will win back the heart of Prince Sebastian Gemonia and the Gemonian Royal Family,"

Mr Blake looked stage left directly at Daphne.

"Daphne, will you please join me on stage?" Mr Blake asked.

Daphne began to shake, and she couldn't stand. Mr Blake thought she was defiant, and he didn't appreciate that.

"Daphne, it's important that you join me on stage," Mr Blake warned.

Daphne began to stand up slowly.

"Miss Blake, that won't be necessary," a female voice with a Gemonian accent said.

Mr Blake looked at the first woman in her mid-thirties with black hair and brown eyes walking to her. The second woman had blonde hair and blue eyes and was in her late twenties.

"What's going on?" Mr Blake asked furiously. "What's the meaning of this outrage?"

The first woman lifted her badge.

"I'm agent Ellen," Ellen said. "And this is Portia. We're from Interpol, and we have a warrant for my arrest,"

"A warrant for my arrest?" Mr Blake asked furiously. "That's ridiculous! I'm running for Mayor of Coolsville!"

"Mr Blake, we have police officers waiting outside," Agent Portia said. "So please don't embarrass yourself by trying to run,"

Mr Blake gripped the podium because he was terrified. As Daphne watched from offstage, she collapsed with happiness on the chair, wondering if there was a step towards lifelong freedom.

XXXXX

Mr Blake thought he would be taken to the police station, but to his surprise, he wasn't. He was taken to the Coolsville City Hall, and the Mayor was waiting for him in his office. The Mayor looked particularly smug as Mr Blake was brought in, and Mr Blake hated him for it as he was handcuffed. The Mayor pointed at the chair in front of his desk.

"Take a seat," the Mayor said.

Mr Blake sat on the chair while Agents Ellen and Portia stood behind him.

"Can I have the cuffs taken off?" Mr Blake asked.

"No, that's not happening and here's why," the Mayor replied. "We know that you're involved with international money laundering for your campaign courtesy of the Gemonian Royal Family, so don't try to deny it. Interpol has so much evidence against you and them that a museum could be opened,"

Mr Blake stood up despite being handcuffed, but Agent Ellen and Agent Portia pushed him back down.

"Why am I discussing this with you?" Mr Blake asked. "Why am I not in a police station?"

"You're here because I don't want you to become Mayor of Coolsville because of how dishonorable you are and not just towards this town, but towards Daphne," the Mayor replied.

Mr Blake's eyes bulged, and his draw dropped.

"Daphne?" Mr Blake asked. "What has she got to do with this?"

The Mayor leaned forward.

"Mr Blake, are you aware that the Jones Delivery Service is one of my main contributors to every campaign I've run?" the Mayor asked.

Mr Blake became more confused and didn't know what to say. The Mayor was satisfied with that and couldn't wait to explain.

"Well, here's the thing," the Mayor said. "Mr Jones' son, Fred, has feelings for Daphne, and Daphne called Fred to explain to him what was happening to her in Gemonia and how her own parents treat her. Then Fred told his father the information that she had told him. Then Mr Jones told me, and I contacted my friends in Interpol to see if anything could be done,"

Mr Blake began to stand up again, but Agent Ellen and Agent Portia quickly stopped this and held him down.

"How do you know my ungrateful daughter was telling you the truth?" Mr Blake asked. "Did it ever occur to you that she could have been lying or Fred lied to his own father?"

"Mr Blake, I've known the Jones family for a long time, and they're the very definition of honorable, and I know that Fred is smart enough not to be taken in by a lie, and it's undeniable that you're lying because I used to be an Agent of the FBI before changing my career to small-town politics. So, when I heard about your involvement in an international money laundering scheme, I couldn't believe my luck,"

Mr Blake began to sweat, and he felt confused.

"W-W-What do you want?" Mr Blake asked nervously.

"You're going to have to withdraw your candidacy from the election, but more important than that, I want you and your wife to give Daphne more freedom," the Mayor explained.

"More freedom to wear what clothes she wants to wear, freedom to wear her hair the way she wants to, possibly to date Fred if she has feelings for him too, and most important of all, more freedom to be who she is because the way you treat her is monstrous. And if you don't, you'll be included in the charges of international money laundering,"

As Mr Blake sat there, he couldn't believe how angry he was, and he hated that he had lost more control in his life than he thought he possibly could.

XXXXX

After a night of insomnia, Daphne got the surprise of her life the following morning. Her mother opened the door and was carrying two bags from Coolsville Cool Clothes.

"Good, I see you're up," Mrs Blake said with fake cheerfulness. "You should get up and try on your new clothes,"

Daphne felt confused as she knew her mother was being artificial, but the idea of new clothes intrigued her.

"New clothes?" Daphne asked as she got out of bed. "Why?"

"Your father and I decided you should wear something different," Mrs Blake said.

"Something more fashionable that someone your age should be wearing, and don't worry, the saleslady that helped me was someone that was seventeen and she even goes to your school. I think her name was Rose or something like that,"

Daphne was stunned as Mrs Blake took the dresses from the shopping bags. The dresses were gorgeous.

"So, what do you think?" Mrs Blake asked. "Do you like them?"

"Jeepers, I love them!" Daphne said as she admired them.

"Good, and you can also wear your hair down if you like," Mrs Blade added.

Daphne's jaw dropped with surprise.

"Thank you!" she said gratefully.

"You're welcome, and I'll go outside so you can try on your clothes," Mrs Blake replied as she placed the dresses on Daphne's bed.

Once Mrs Blake stood up again, Daphne hugged her tightly, and she hugged her back gently. Then Mrs Blake broke the hug as she hated how that hug felt.

"You should hurry because you have to get ready for school," Mrs Blake said.

"Wait a second, Mom," Daphne said. "Why have you and Dad done this?"

Mrs Blake could see how confused Daphne was and how she hated the truth.

"Daphne, we're going to take things easier with you," Mrs Blake said. "Not too much easier as we still want you to respect the way we live life, and I think we should leave it at that,"

Daphne was about to say something, but Mrs Blake looked at her sternly. Seeing that stern look made Daphne realise all of this was too good to be true, but she knew well enough not to say anything.

"Is that understood?" Mrs Blake asked.

"Y-Y-Yes, that's understood," Daphne replied a little nervously.

"Good," Mrs Blake said.

Mrs Blake walked out of her room and closed the door behind her. Once she was gone, Daphne selected the purple skirt. It was purple with two light purple stripes at the bottom of the skirt and a stripe, each along the sleeves. Once Daphne wore it, she put on pink stockings, shoes and a green scarf in her closet. Then Daphne added the final touch. She put on a hairband through her hair. As Daphne walked out of her bedroom, she never felt so triumphant.