The council meeting was still going on when Jennifer received a call from the hospital informing her that Sydney Brown was awake. Jennifer didn't tell anyone except Mr. Wilson and James Hunt. They left the meeting for the hospital. The doctor advised the family that only those people should go inside who are close. Jennifer gets in first to see her. Sydney had her eyes closed. But the moment she felt someone around her she opened them slowly. She was taking short breaths. Because taking a long breath was making her ribs ache. Jennifer carefully came close and held her hand.

"How are you feeling honey?" Jennifer asked with concern in her eyes.

"Mom?" She mouthed while a tear escaped her eye.

"Oh, honey don't cry. Everything will be alright. I am here." She said as she wiped her tear.

She just looked at her mother with her lips dry and so many untold things in her eyes.

"There is someone who wants to talk to you. And it's important honey. Just relax and listen what he needs to say." Jennifer said very carefully.

Sydney held her mother's hand tightly, blinked twice and then nodded with her head.

Jennifer passed her a light reassuring smile.

"Come in," Jennifer said looking at the door.

Sydney followed her gaze and looked at the door too. But the moment she saw the person coming through the door she was scared to death. Her breathing got erratic. Her eyes were wide open with fear written all over her face.

Jennifer told her to relax. "Honey look at me." Jennifer tried to make her relax.

But Sydney could not look at her mother. She was looking at the person who might be coming to kill her. Sydney kept on saying, mom, while holding her mother's arm tightly. She couldn't relax. That person was so close. She couldn't move as she felt so weak. So, she started sobbing.

"Relax." Arthur said making Sydney so quite that she even hold her breath. But her eyes were so wide and alert.

"I am here to tell you that I am sorry. I was drunk and not myself. So, I expect you to be a good girl and forget everything." He said slowly like he was dictating her every word.

"If you tell anyone... You remember what I said right?" He said with a knowing smile.

"I will take my leave now. I hope that I never need to see you again. So, behave well." He said and left taking long steps.

She looked at her mother with questions and tears in her eyes.

"You better forget about everything honey. No one should know about this. Everyone will hate you. And I don't want that for my little girl." Jennifer said with a small smile on her lips and concern in her eyes.

"I see that you need to rest now. Sleep well." She added while patting her head and left.

I won't tell anyone. I promise I won't. Don't hurt me. Daddy, please help me. These were the words she kept on saying in her sleep. She dreamt about that day over and over. She woke up at 3 am and tried her best not to sleep. Until morning she had bags under her eyes. A nurse came to feed her in the morning and in the noon. No one from her home came. It made her feel so scared and lonely. That person knows that I am here. What if he came here? This thought was consuming her. Later in the day, her mother came to see her. Her mother told her that sheriff will come to see her and all she needs to say is this that she doesn't know the person who is responsible. Sydney nodded hurriedly.

When Sherrif came, she told the Sherrif exact same thing her mother taught her. But when the officer left she got seizures with so much anxiety.

Two months passed. Her injuries were getting better. Staff was injecting her sedatives from the day she gave her statement to the police. It made her sleep well at night. At first, Jennifer came on the daily basis. But now she only visited twice a week.

Jennifer told her about Addison's wedding. She was so sad that Addison left her but didn't show because her mother looked so happy recalling her wedding day. Looking Jennifer so happy made her guts churn. She felt like she will throw up. After each passing day, she was getting bitter. All she wanted was to run home and hug her dad.

One more month passed and the day came when she was about to leave the hospital. Sydney was so anxious to see her father. But she could not stop feeling afraid. She was afraid of leaving the hospital thinking something might happen again.

Addison came to visit her that day. Helped her pack her things. While driving her home, Addison too, told her to forget about this. All of this made Sydney so mad at Addison and her mother. But she tried not to show it. She even answered her to all the questions Adi asked.

"Is it true? You really don't remember a thing about that person." Adi asked.

This made Sydney looked at Addison in shock. Sydney thought that Addison might know about that person.

"Don't you know?" Sydney questioned her back rudely with tears in her eyes.

Addison looked at her with her brows raised.

So, Sydney told her about the person and all the things that mother told her.

Adi got beyond shocked. She was fuming in anger when she growled.

"I am gonna kill him," This made Sydney panicked. Maybe she was not supposed to tell Adi too.

"He will hurt you. Besides he said he will hurt me again or hurt my dad if I tell anyone." She said in between her sobs.

"No one will hurt you or dad. I swear." Addison tried to convince her. But she was nowhere near to be convinced.

Addison drove her home and left.

Sydney got to her father's room without wasting a minute.

She cried when she held her father's hand. She told her father that she fell from the stairs and that she is sorry and will be careful next time. Little did she know that her father already knew the truth. His friend Oliver Blake visited him a month ago and told him everything about Sydney' incident. He was so angry at his so-called wife and Addison. He asked Oliver to keep an eye on the matter and protect his daughter as his own.

Mr. Brown bought his daughter's lie and patted her head when she hugged him. His daughter lay there for hours. Only if he knew who does that to his daughter. Only if he could save his daughter. But no, he failed her. He wrapped his whole arm around his daughter.

Jennifer and Addison didn't come home that night. Even a week passed.

After a week, Addison came home. She stopped when she saw Sydney.

"You are going to school tomorrow,"

Adi announced and marched to her room. Sydney saw her eyes. Adi looked like she's been crying.

Next morning Addison was driving her school. They were silent on the whole drive. But when she pulled the car in front of school Addison explained her the whole situation. She told her that no one knows anything in school. She told her that bastard is not confessing, her in-laws and even her husband and mother is supporting him. She also told her that today the DNA result will come out and that excuse of a human will go behind the bars. Sydney looked at her in awe. At that time she felt like she is looking at the strongest person.

"Thank you, Addison." She said with tears in her eyes.

"Don't worry and be strong," Addison told her but inside Adi was breaking. She felt like she can't breathe without Caleb and believed that once Caleb sees the proofs he will support her.

The day at school was the worst. She tried to look and talk normally without knowing that everyone knows about her truth. She was behaving normally without having any idea that people expect her to grieve. Kids soon started to talk on her back. She didn't notice at first but then some girls caught her near the lockers.

"Look who is here. The star of Huntsville." One girl stopped her by catching her from her bag.

She couldn't understand at first. But then one of them said. "Or should we say the star of Hunt's." And every one of them laughed.

"Isn't he so old to do anything at all?" One of them said. Two girls started coughing acting like an old man.

She started shaking badly and run out of there but not before she heard one of them saying "Oh please tell us how his thing felt?"

She ran without looking back. Everyone knows this. Mom was right that everyone will hate me if this gets out. She thought. She swears that she will never go back to school. She was crying and her legs were shaking but she still ran with all her might. In 10 mins, she was home. But what she found in her home sucked the life out of her. She found her mom and her worst nightmare sitting in there.

"Welcome home little girl. How was school?" Mr. A. Hunter asked.

"Mom... Mom" She called Jennifer over and over without breathing.

Jennifer acts like she couldn't listen. But when Jennifer couldn't bear she shouted.

"Don't call me mom. My daughter's marriage almost broke because of you. I told you to shut your mouth. Now everyone knows that you lied. Or if not they believe that you hurt your head so bad that you don't even know what you talk about anymore." Jennifer was fuming in anger. So, she took a breath first.

"But enough. I won't let Addison be any of this. So, stop using her. And yeah she is leaving with Caleb to France in two days. So you better learn to obey."

The news was so much for her to take. Her bag fell on the floor. She couldn't breathe. She tried but she couldn't. Her hand went to her neck. She felt like she was choking.

"Hold on Jennifer! I think I warned her about something." Arthur said with a stoic expression. His shaved head was making him look even more horrible.

"I don't care. We suffered a lot because of her. So you better teach her a lesson but remember I can't go to visit the hospital. So be lenient this time." She said without looking at Sydney.

And the moment she realized what they said she runs. Instead of going to her own room she went to her father's thinking they won't come here. Her father was sound asleep when she hugged him tightly.

"Daddy, daddy, daddy please save me. He is here." She said frantically waking her father up.

Her father couldn't understand a thing. He saw his daughter with confusion in his eyes. But the moment he saw the man entering his room he knew what happened? With his functional arm, he hugged his daughter back.

"Long time, no see Charlie," Arthur said with humor in his eyes.

"How are you? Oh, I forgot you can't speak." He said while closing the gap between them. Sydney was crying in her father's chest when she felt a hand groping her.

"If you excuse us. I have a lesson to teach her." Arthur said while pulling his daughter out from his hold. Her father tried to get up with all his might. While that person took her out. She kept on calling her daddy. Her dad throws all the things from his side table to cause some noise to call for her help.

Things fall on the floor and glass crashed. No one came. Just half an hour ago Jennifer sent his caregiver home. He used his functional arm and leg to get up but fall on the floor crashing into all the broken glass.

Sydney, on the other hand, kept on calling her daddy even when that vicious person took her to her room to throw her on the floor like she weighs nothing and closed the door behind.

"Your room is cute...Oh shut up, you know where screaming takes you. Don't you?" He screamed in anger.

"I am so sorry. I didn't tell anyone. I thought Adi knows all of this." She explained in one breath while rubbing her elbow that crashed on the floor badly.

"You almost ruined my family's name. And now you expect me to forgive you?" He yelled.

She was shivering badly. She didn't know what to say.

"And besides I could not forget that little kitten you have." He said and this is when she noticed the cane in his hand.

It was after two hours when Arthur left her room.

Sydney was shivering on her bed with her head down. Her back had lashes everywhere. The yellow bed sheets were tainted red. Her hands were holding her stomach while she hiccups because it pained a lot. It was after half an hour when she recalled her father.

The moment she caught her t-shirt and skirt she broke into tears again. Getting out of the bed made her winced in pain again. But she still tried to walk with all her might. Her whole body was aching. It was so difficult for her to walk. Her legs were stained with blood again. But she needed to see her father. It took her 15 mins to get to her father's room.

But what was in there she was never ready for it. His father's body was lying on the floor bathed in his blood. She tried to run to her father and hugged his body just to realize that her father's body was so cold and not breathing. She rubbed his hands and kept on screaming daddy until her throat was aching. It was not happening. Her father can't leave her. He just can't leave her daughter alone.

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