“What have you done?” Christopher shouted, his face red and his eyes panicked.
“I did what I had to, old man,” Tyler spat angrily, looking more like a ferocious animal.
Violet stood in the doorway with her hand over her mouth. She surveyed the carnage with a horrified look on her face. Suddenly, she dashed from the room and the sound of retching could be heard in the hall.
“Tyler,” Sarah said softly, looking at him with a heartbroken expression.
“I did it for us,” Tyler looked at her, looking for understanding in the faces around him. “I know what you did for the family when Ruby tried to wreck it. I knew I had to do the same to Penelope. She was going to ruin us. She was sleeping with her professor! And she was going to tell everyone! I did what I had to do!”
“No!” Christopher shouted, pulling his son back, “You didn’t! Please, tell me you’re lying!”
“He’s not,” Henry said in disgust.
“Call the police!” James yelled when he realized that no one was focused on that.
“No police!” Tyler shouted. “Please, you know I did the right thing,” he pleaded with his family. “The newspapers would’ve torn us to shreds. You know the company is vulnerable right now. Dad, you’re retiring. We can’t let that happen.”
“You don’t get it, do you?” Henry said in disgust. “This isn’t about the business! You killed your sister!”
“She was confused!” Tyler shouted, “She was lost! She knew how important family is. She would’ve wanted it this way.”
“You can’t believe that,” Christopher said with a heartbroken voice. “You can’t justify this.”
“Grandmother,” he turned to her, “you know why I had to do this.”
“No,” Sarah shook her head. “I never stopped paying for what I did. I regretted it as soon as I did it. I wish every day that I could take it back. I wish I had never done it. Ruby was my sister, she was my family. The business, the reputation, it’s not family, Tyler. The people are your family.”
“Get him out of here,” Henry growled, pulling at his nephew’s shirt. Christopher helped to pull the struggling man out of the room, his eyes wide and confused.
“You’re wrong,” Allegra gasped, finally able to breathe normally.
“What?” Sarah asked, her face was streaked with tears and she looked about an inch away from a breakdown. James helped Allegra to her feet and she stood there unsteadily, glaring at the fragile old woman. There was no sympathy in her, and she wasn’t going to fall for the emotional abuse again. Sarah had earned her punishment.
“You never paid for what you did. You didn’t regret it. Regret makes you change, and you didn’t do that. You raised them to be like this.” In the distance, the wailing of sirens emerged. “Everything that’s happened here, is your fault.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
One week later, Allegra and Greta walked into the local chapel dressed in all black. The place was crowded, and Greta was about to yell at a middle-aged lady for sitting down before they could when Violet caught sight of them and waved them over. She was standing in a corner at the front while her husband greeted all the guests.
“Allegra!” she called, causing a few people to glance in their direction. Allegra smiled at her and pulled Greta away from an impending altercation. They pushed their way to the front where James stood making sure that only a few people got through to sit at the front.
“Hello,” James said with a sad smile, “thank you for coming.”
“I’m happy you could make it,” Violet said gratefully. Allegra was sad to see that the poor woman looked more than a little frightened and overwhelmed. The crowds of people must have been making her feel more than a little uncomfortable. Allegra wondered how many people actually knew Penelope or Ruby. The room was filled with various business people. In the corner, a few young people sat, all looking shocked and upset.
“Allegra can’t talk,” Greta apologized, “my name is Greta, I’ve been her voice box for the past week.”
“Oh,” Violet said in concern, “I’m sorry. How is your throat? I didn’t even think to ask you about that. It was so careless of me.”
Allegra gave her a comforting smile and waved her hand dismissively to show that it didn’t bother her. If anything, she should’ve been apologizing for not coming to visit them after that fateful day. Instead, Greta launched into the standard explanation.
“The doctor says that she isn’t in any lasting danger, she just needs to rest her throat and avoid talking for a few weeks.”
“That must be such a relief for you,” James said with a mischievous smile. Allegra rolled her eyes at him and Violet elbowed him, giving him a stern look, which caused his smile to fade.
“I mean,” Greta said slowly, “he’s not wrong. No offense, friend, but you talk so much.” Allegra shook her head at Greta’s words and shared an unimpressed look with Violet. At least she knew she could always count on Violet to be on her side.
“So, what happened after we whisked Allegra away?” Greta asked bluntly, causing Allegra to elbow her in protest.
When Allegra had realized what was in the diary, she had called Greta. The two of them had come up with a good game plan to catch Sarah out and make sure that Allegra wouldn’t be in any danger. After she had conferred with her friend, Allegra called Crane, who wasn’t very happy about being woken up that early. To his credit, he wasted no time in gathering the necessary forces.
The next step was to make sure that there were multiple copies of the diary. Allegra had taken pictures of every inch of the book before sending them to everyone who had been remotely involved. Then she downloaded all the videos in Penny’s unfinished documentary and sent them too. They weren’t going to take any chances with the evidence. The stakes were too high.
The plan was flawless, Crane was going to give her enough time to get a verbal confession from Sarah and then they would be there to take her away. Unfortunately, the plan had been hatched when they thought they were up against a little old lady. Tyler had been the wild card that threw everything into chaos. Thankfully, there were multiple people who heard his confession. This was a stroke of good fortune because Allegra’s phone had been the unfortunate casualty in the ensuing fight. By the time her friends arrived, she was waiting for them at the bottom of the stairs, more than a little shaken by what had happened.
In his infinite wisdom, Crane had called an ambulance just in case. He would never let her forget that he had been so clever and would never stop reminding her. After a few days of insufferable crowing, Matty announced that the real reason he called the ambulance was because he thought that Sarah wouldn’t be able to handle the shock of being arrested. That revelation had shut him up for a while.
“Things were a little chaotic,” James said diplomatically, scratching the back of his head uncomfortably as he tried to come up with a good way to explain how the last few days had been.
“More than a little,” Violet scoffed. “Christopher called in and told his secretary everything. He hasn’t been back since. I think he’s really going to retire this time. We’re talking about going away for a little while.”
“I’m looking for a job,” James announced, “but I think Henry is going to keep me around. He’s a good guy. I just don’t know how to tell him that I really don’t want to be a butler anymore. Red said I could try cooking. She’s been giving me a few lessons.”
“Red, huh?” Greta said mischievously. Allegra rolled her eyes at her friend’s behavior. She put her hand on James’ arm, showing her support for his decision. The two of them would be a wonderful couple, but if they decided to remain friends then she would be a good influence on him. But judging from his blush they weren’t going to be just friends for very long.
Allegra poked Greta’s arm and she jumped up slightly before nodding.
“I think she wants to ask about Henry.”
“Well, he asked Mark’s family if he could do a paternity test. They’r
e getting along very well. They still have the old carpentry business and he’s been going there lately. I think they’re teaching him a few tricks. He might also retire, although I don’t trust his skills enough to sit on that chair that he made for the house.”
“They also set Tyler and Sarah’s bail, but I don’t think that anyone is going to be paying that price right now. It’s very high, with good reason. Tyler’s been calling a lot, but Sarah is very quiet. I think she realizes just how bad it is for them.” James explained quickly, thinking that someone should say something about them.
“I feel guilty,” Violet admitted, “but I can’t bring myself to go see them yet.”
“Of course not,” Greta said angrily, “They are family, but that doesn’t excuse what they did. You need time to process what has happened. It’s been traumatic to all of you. They need to understand that. If they wanted understanding, they shouldn’t have done the stupid things they did.”
“I am a little worried,” Violet told her sadly, “the lawyers say that Tyler needs to go to a psychologist. Apparently, there’s strong evidence that he has Narcissistic Personality Disorder.”
“That sounds serious,” Greta whistled, raising her eyebrows.
“To be honest, I had to read up about it. It wasn’t something I knew about, and I still don’t know all that much. I feel like I should’ve seen it. He was such a different person these last few years, I just didn’t think it was because he had a disorder.”
“Let us know how that goes,” Greta said seriously, her face scrunched up in concern.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” Christopher addressed the crowds from the podium. A hush fell over the room as everyone quickly made their way to their seats. Violet ushered Greta and Allegra to the spots next to her and looked up with rapt attention.
The chapel was brimming with all sorts of flowers. In the front, the two caskets sat side-by-side, as if the two women died together. If you looked quickly, you could’ve concluded that they were friends or sisters being buried together. In the corner, Penny was smiling from a massive photo, and Ruby looked at the camera with a demure smile. The two looked almost identical and Allegra’s heart lurched. Ruby was stunning. And so was Penny.
“I wanted to thank you all for coming out today,” Christopher told everyone, looking out at the crowd. When his eyes settled on Allegra he nodded slightly, pausing his speech. Allegra gave him an encouraging smile and he took a deep breath. “This is going to be a little different from normal funerals, but this isn’t exactly a normal funeral. The pastor was kind enough to let me speak on behalf of my family. To start off, I want to tell you a little about these two very special women.
“You all know Penny, my daughter. Well, think again. She was so much more than any of us knew. When she was born, I was terrified. I knew how to handle a boy, but a girl? From the moment I held her, I was terrified. I swore I would do everything I could to protect her. As she grew up, she taught me something I never knew. She taught me that I underestimated women. She did something every day to make me proud or that surprised me. Maybe I should’ve been more scared for her, but she always showed me that she wouldn’t be held back by fear.
“I don’t think many of you know about Ruby. Ruby was my aunt, and I never knew her. I wish that I did. I still don’t know that much about her, but she is a shining figure in our family history. Just looking at her picture, you can tell that she breathed vitality. From her story, we can tell that she was an exceptional young woman.”
Allegra felt her eyes well up with tears, so she took the time to look around the room. None of the faces seemed familiar, but then she caught sight of Ethan Smith. He sat at the back with an old lady next to him. She was holding onto his arm and she was crying, but her tears weren’t sad. Her expression was peaceful, and she had a grateful smile on her face. He looked up and caught her gaze. The two shared a secretive smile before looking back up again.
“These women were born in very different times,” Christopher continued, “but they were very similar. In their own way, they each taught me something invaluable. Ruby, you taught that freedom is important, but it’s important to think about others too. You wanted to live your own life, but instead of running away, you were willing to do the right thing and face the consequences of living the life you wanted. Thank you.
“Penny, my little Pencakes, you taught me how to be courageous. All my life I was held back by fear. You never were. You ran ahead, and when you found the truth, you shouted it from the rooftops. I’m so proud of you, baby girl. Thank you. On that day, when we found out what really happened, our private investigator, Allegra, said something important. She told my mother that regret caused you to change. And I agree. When I said that you taught me something, Penny, I meant it. And so, I’m going to tell the whole truth.”
Allegra didn’t try and stop the tears after that. She let them flow. There was no stopping it now.
“More than sixty years ago, my aunt Ruby fell in love with a man my parents’ thought was unsuitable. Unfortunately, she got pregnant. Their solution was to send her away to a maternity house. My aunt was forced to give up her baby boy, and that must’ve hurt more than anyone can imagine. While she was gone, my grandfather and mother launched a vicious smear campaign against the man. Mark Smith did nothing wrong. He loved a woman, and they punished him for it. He didn’t deserve that, and I’d like to apologize to the Smith family.”
Allegra looked back at Ethan and his grandmother. She wasn’t the only one who was crying now.
“Ruby decided that she still wanted to be with Mark, but that she wanted to do it in the right way. The two decided to get married, but they didn’t know that my mother was following them. She was obsessed with Mark and didn’t want her sister to be the one to throw the family name away. The night Ruby was supposed to get married, Sarah set a fire in her room. The fire distracted everyone, and she killed her sister on the estate. When Mark arrived, all he saw was that Ruby’s room was on fire. By then, she was already dead.”
The room had been silent, but now a few murmurs erupted here and there. Christopher plowed on, determined to say what needed to be said.
“A few weeks ago, my daughter came home from school. She had been having an affair with her professor, who she didn’t know was married. He threatened her, and she decided to come home and re-evaluate her life. In the meantime, she had decided she was going to change her major and pursue her dream career. Not only that, but she found Ruby’s diary and was determined to find the truth. While the rest of us were content to forget Ruby, my daughter wanted to give her voice back. She pieced together what happened and decided to give the story to the local newspaper. Unfortunately, my son hadn’t been happy with her secretive behavior.”
Christopher took a deep breath when he got to this part and everyone could see that this was the most difficult part for him.
“I was planning to retire and let him have my position in the family business. In his mind, Penny was endangering his future. He decided to go to the school and find out what happened. He met with a few of Penny’s friends and found out about the professor. In a fit of rage, he drove home and confronted Penny at her favorite spot. She told him what she had found, and he snapped. He killed her and buried her with Ruby. I don’t know if he knew about Ruby. The truth is, he probably did.
“I can’t excuse his behavior; I can’t even explain it. I can’t explain my mother’s behavior either. What I can do, is make sure that these women will be remembered as they were, and not for what was done for them. I’m happy to announce that we have started two new charities. The Penny Scholarship is a new scholarship program at Penny’s school for the most remarkable aspiring filmmaker. The aim is to help those who want to pursue their dream but can’t afford it. And, we have also started the Ruby Foundation. The Ruby Foundation aims to help single mothers who have been abandoned by those closest to them. It will help all those mothers who want to start a new life with their children.
“P
enny, Ruby, we love you.”
*THE END*
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A Vicious Cycle Page 16
