Deirdre made up an excuse and got Mrs. Engel out of the way before asking Brendan point-blank, “Did you know Charlene was arrested?”“Oh. So, you’ve heard. To be honest, it’s not surprising that you’d know. It’s gotten pretty big,” Brendan replied noncommittally and removed his coat. “I was there when they arrested her.”Deirdre’s lips parted, but nothing came out… at first. She hesitated for a moment and decided to be candid. “Was it you?”It could not be, could it? Brendan could not possibly have done something that could implicate him as well. He must have known that if the whole thing came to light under a thorough investigation, his role in the crime would be exposed and he would be in hot water himself, right?Brendan was unfazed. “It wasn’t me at first.”“What do you mean, ‘at first’?”Brendan thinned his lips. “The people who saw off Charlene’s leg probably thought she was getting off too lightly, so they decided to get her incarcerated. The only thing I added to the mix…

Charlene’s only request, after her admission of guilt, was to see Brendan and Deirdre. Deirdre spat out her soup at the tail-end of Sam’s information. “She wants to see me? For real?”She could understand why Brendan was requested—Charlene’s life depended on him, and she was probably still dreaming about the day he would come to rescue her. But why on Earth would she be interested in seeing Deirdre?Brendan shot a look at her before asking Sam, “Did she say anything else?”“Nothing much in particular. She said she wanted to talk to an old friend.”Brendan wanted to reject Charlene’s request right there and then, but Deirdre wiped away crumbs on her lips and said, “I’ll go.”He furrowed his eyebrows. “Are you sure?”“Yep,” she replied calmly. “She’s stuck behind a sturdy glass window and trapped in a room. She can’t hurt me. Besides, I’m curious about whatever she was planning to say.”Brendan hesitated. “She might… say things that could drive a wedge between us.”Deirdre ca

What did she mean by ‘your father’s whereabouts?’ She never had a father… not even when she was just a child!Deirdre forced herself to calm down. This had got to be another one of Charlene’s tricks! A stupid scheme to ruffle her feathers—she would make up all kinds of things to confuse her so that she became more and more puzzled the longer she dwelled on it. “I know what you’re thinking, Deirdre. You must be thinking to yourself, ‘My father? But he’s dead! What whereabouts could there possibly be?’” A smug grin surfaced on Charlene’s lips. This was the moment she was finally the one with the advantage. “Well, the answer is simple. Your daddy is alive.”Deirdre clenched her hands into fists and shot Charlene a biting glare. “So, this is why you wanted to see me? So someone can listen to some bullsh*t you made up?” Deirdre retorted frigidly. “Sorry to disappoint you, but I don’t believe a single thing out of your mouth! I don’t even know who my father is, so how can someone who’s n

“I’ve been thinking about my mother. Just thinking about how much I owe her… sometimes keeps my sleep away.” She was telling the truth. Ever since the day to see Ophelia drew near, her emotions had just gotten kicked up. Her pregnancy might have amplified it, too. Brendan was silent for a moment. When the car stopped at a red light, he held her hand and squeezed. “You don’t have to think about it. She’s coming back.”“I know.” She turned away from him and said nothing more.They returned to the mansion, where Mrs. Engel heard about Deirdre’s trip to the hospital. Concerned, she began to make a broth according to a herbal home remedy she knew to be effective and helpful. As she brewed, she vented, “It must be that Charlene again, isn’t it? She doesn’t talk with any filters, and she’s a walking jinx magnet. Anyone would catch a cold from looking at her soul. Lord knows how glad I am that her butt is being sent to prison!”Deirdre gave a perfunctory chuckle—until she had to drink

Now, while these two were meek, they were not stupid. One of them even managed to launch a counter-argument weakly. “Brendan Brighthall? Give me a break. How can someone like him even be remotely related to you? And if you really were his fiancee, he wouldn’t have let you be incarcerated in the first place.”Charlene was infuriated. She chucked the pillow at that woman’s face and snarled, “You f*cking tw*t! With an IQ this sh*tty, no wonder you two could only rot in prison for the rest of your life!”The woman jerked backward in fright and squeezed herself at the end of the bed, putting herself as far away from the pillow as she could. Charlene, though, interpreted it as the young woman being terrified of her. She beamed.“Aww, are you scared? Then get your *ss over here and massage my shoulders! I think it’s high time I change the power dynamic in this cell. From now on, a new queen rules this place!”A new voice suddenly joined the conversation from outside. “Oh yeah? Who’s that?