Chapter 118
Jonathan’s POV
A small cafe – The next day
We sat near the window table so we could talk in private.
“Is he coming?” I asked John as an hour had passed.
“Ah, it’s her, and she’s the one who called me,” he said. “So, I think…maybe she’s been held…she’s here p>
John got up to let her know where we were.
She came with another man.
As she sat it was clear she was shaken and evidently worried someone might see her.
Even as John tried to ask her some things, she refused to speak.
“Look, if you don’t want to say anything, fine.” I said annoyed as I was over my limit in being patient.
“Jonathan,” John said, trying to make me relax.
“What Jonathan?” I said. “Look lady, I thought you could help me, but no matter what Charles and Fredrick will get what they deserve p>
“No,” she said, clutching the hem of her skirt as if her life depended on it.
“Charles is innocent,” she said. “You can’t harm him p>
“Innocent?” I scoffed. “Like hell he is. He funded the doctor who forged a fake DNA to make me believe my son wasn’t mine p>
“Please,” she said with folded hands as if she was begging me.
“Charles isn’t who you see, please don’t put your anger on him p>
“Okay,” I said, crossing my arms. “Who should I put my anger on p>
“Do you know because of Charles, my family suffered for seven years? Seven damn years p>
Silence fell between us.
“I just,” she trailed off a bit.
“Bringing the past back, will only reopen the pain we all went through p>
“Look, Ms p>
I still didn’t know what her name was.
“You can call me Ms. Freeway,” she said with a warm smile. “Had I married Charles, I would be Mrs. but for me…I am his wife by heart p>
“Ms. Freeway,” I am not seeking any revenge against Charles, if that’s what you’re thinking,” I said.
“I just was justice for my family p>
She exhaled.
I leaned back as I knew she was going to tell me what I wanted to know.
“Charles is not the man he’s in front of you,” she said.
As she spoke, I could clearly see how much she still loved him.
“He was a nice man,” she said. “And I’m sure that man must still be inside of him p>
“He never was a greedy person p>
“He was never cruel, he was a hard working man p>
“His only dream was to have his own business p>
She paused.
“He also loved someone p>
“And even bought an engagement ring p>
That I already knew as Charles cancelled the ring order himself.
As she was talking, I tried to imagine what Charles looked like as an innocent man.
“The Charles you see before you, he became that a week after his proposal p>
“I can remember even today p>
“Charles had invited me to have dinner p>
“We ate over small talk,” a warm smile spread on her face.
“Then someone came over playing my favorite song on the violin p>
“I was barely making out what was going on p>
She trailed off a bit.
“She walked over p>
I looked at her with a tilted head as John repeated, “She walked over p>
“Yes,” she said. “She, Imelda Harmon p>
“The violin,” she said. “It was her request p>
“She proposed to Charles p>
“What?” John said. “Imelda p>
Then John looked towards me.
“Isn’t Charles Fredrick’s age p>
“Yes,” I said. “And then?” I gestured to Ms. Freeway to continue.
“Charles refused her gently p>
“He said he has someone in his heart and will only be hers p>
“She asked if it was the age gap p>
“But he clearly told her it was only because he had someone he loved p>
“How was she after that?” I asked as I knew that would tell me a lot of how she became after that.
“Devastated,” she said.
“She was like she had lost everything p>
That’s when I realized her obsession to be the dominator in a relationship began long before she met him.
And Ms. Freeway was the one who witnessed her rejection.
“A few days later,” she said. “I found out Fredrick had called Charles to come over to his home p>
“For some reason, Fredrick thought it was him who was after his daughter, and warned him to stay away from her p>
“Fredrick also told him he won’t bear to see the Harmon family being embarrassed p>
“Charles refused to apologize as he wasn’t the one who proposed, but Fredrick didn’t believe it p>
I leaned back as I just found a new side to Fredrick.
I knew Fredrick had a controlling nature, but to overlook everything his daughter did p>
Was new to me.
“I left Livelane after a few days, and never came back p>
“Why did you leave?” I asked her in a soft, concerned voice.
“After the proposal thing,” her voice was low.
“I began to receive copies of love letters he sent to her p>
“Pictures of them together p>
She trailed off a bit.
“It was clear from all of that, he had her in his heart, but maybe cause of me or Fredrick, he didn’t accept her in public p>
“So I left without meeting him p>
I exhaled as I realized Ms. Freeway’s walking away meant Charles lost the woman he really loved.
My mind drifted to the fake DNA reports.
“After losing Ms. Freeway,” the man who came with her finally spoke.
“Mr. Freeway changed drastically p>
“He became colder, more ambitious, and more ruthless than he ever was p>
“He even once said there’s no thing known as honesty in this world p>
That’s when I realized pain is what transformed him into the Charles we all know today.
Now, a question came to my mind.
Where did Daniel come into all this then?
If she loved Charles?
“First of all,” the man continued. “I was his warehouse supervisor back then p>
“I know you want to know about Daniel p>
“Mr. Freeway knew about Daniel and Imelda,” the man continued.
“He also knew Daniel was making the Blue Heart and was planning to give it to Imelda p>
This information was a shock to me as Daniel never mentioned he had plans for the Blue Heart.
“Mr. Freeway got men to steal the Blue Heart p>
“Not because he had anything against him p>
“Only because Daniel made it for Imelda, a one of a kind in the world and Mr. Freeway just wanted to take everything away from her p>
“The way she took his love, his everything from him.” I said.
The man nodded as Ms. Freeway looked down.
“Only, he never knew the Blue Heart belonged to you, and you would be a man beyond his reach p>
I exhaled in disbelief as I realized Daniel became a victim of Charles’ revenge even though he was innocent all along.
“But Mr. Freeway didn’t just stop there and neither did Fredrick Harmon p>
“After a few months, Fredrick approached Mr. Freeway p>
“He offered him a way away from Imelda, to become business partners p>
“Fredrick said it’s his rule. Imelda can have no connection with his partners p>
“Mr. Freeway agreed p>
Silence fell between us.
“From here on their contract began p>
“Mr. Freeway had connections while, Fredrick had the money p>
“Together they expanded their work p>
“Illegal export of medicine through the waterways, gathering specimens of carefully selected men under the cover of blood donation, providing rich families with specimens and blood at demanded amounts, and of course fake DNA reports when and if required p>
“The fertility clinic at Livelane was funded by Mr. Freeway p>
A pause followed.
“Soon for Mr. Freeway money became more important than relationships and even his own conscience p>
I exhaled as now I saw Charles as a person who allowed his greed to mend his heartbreak.
Now the last confession that I needed to hear.
Ms. Freeway smiled sadly as she looked up at me.
“You must know whom Imelda loved before proposing to Charles p>
I nodded as I didn’t want her to know I knew Imelda and really well
“No, sorry but the connection was purely business with her father, rather than with her p>
Much to John’s shock, who couldn’t decide why I denied knowing Imelda, while I was denying knowing Daniel.
“But I did know she loved someone and that person betrayed her, before I got to know her p>
“And you?” Ms. Freeway asked. “I heard you’re married, but weren’t you engaged to Imelda p>
“I was married to Veronica before I met the Harmons,” I said in a low voice as my heart was hurting.
“Then thanks to the doctor Charles funded, she got a fake DNA report that proved her son Adrian was mine, which forced me to get engaged with her, and made me make my wife live like a widow and my daughter to live like she didn’t have a father for seven damn years p>
Silence fell between us.
For years I wondered why Imelda was so obsessed with having a marriage with me.
Now p>
I finally understood.
She never wanted me as a human.
All she wanted was the name of a rich man.
She believed by marrying a bigger, richer man she could show Charles what he lost.
And to achieve this p>
She destroyed Veronica.
Manipulated Adrian.
Forced me to get engaged.
All just because she never got over Charles’ rejection.
So the real man she really loved to the extent of destroying anyone p>
Was p>
Charles Freeway.
So I was never her obsession and neither was Daniel.
It was Charles and the life she never got to live.
Then Ms. Freeway removed an old box out of her purse.
“This p>
“Is when I realized I had lost the Charles I loved,” she said. “
I opened the box.
A letter was kept.
From the date, it was from sixteen years ago.
“This might be last words of the man I loved p>
I read the letter.
It was really Charles’ last letter to the woman he loved with his life.
He admitted he became the man even he resents but maybe it’s too late for him, as now he’s a man she would never recognize.
I leaned back as I realized even Charles knew what he had become.
I paused as one paragraph stood out for me.
“The day I decided to get revenge instead of letting go of everything…I realized I had destroyed more than my own life and perhaps also of the woman I love p>
I silently folded the letter and placed it back in the box.
I nodded in disbelief on realizing Charles also knew he had crossed a line he shouldn’t have long ago.
The greatest tragedy of all was p>
He didn’t only lose the woman he loved,
But himself as well.
Just then John’s phone buzzed.
He took the call.
As he disconnected the call, he looked up.
“Jonathan,” he said in a low voice. “I just got a call, Charles and Fredrick plan to move their money abroad p>
I froze.
As this meant they were getting ready to make the evidence disappear.
I realized my time was running out.
Now it was no longer what happened in the past,
Rather p>
How to stop them from making the move.
My mind drifted towards Veronica,
Janet, Adrian, Daniel, Jenny and Joshua whom I barely met.
Each one of us was harmed in one way or another by them.
I exhaled as now I finally understood what I was fighting.
It wasn’t for my own revenge,
But for every boy who was used in the donor scam.
Every family that got destroyed because of this.
I closed the box and looked at a clock on the wall.
“As far as I know from the records,” I said.
“They will begin to move the money tomorrow afternoon p>
“John,” I said in a grave voice. “You will have to stop them p>
“If we fail this time,” I continued.
“We lose the ability to prove they were wrong and we were right p>
“This time,” I said. “I won’t let anyone escape p>