Chapter 345

The shouts from inside made Penelope pause, her curiosity piqued. She peered through the doorway.
Inside, besides a furious Mrs. Stapleton, was Mrs. Bishop, who was shaking her head with an air of wounded innocence.
“Renata, it was just an accident. You can’t pin the blame on the Bishops. That’s not fair!”
“I don’t care about fair! I just want my daughter back! I want her to be alive!” Mrs. Stapleton shrieked, her eyes bloodshot.
“You can’t bring back the dead, Renata. It’s been twenty years. You have to let her go!”
“You murderer! Shut your mouth!”
“Have you been skipping your medication again?”
“Get out! Just get out!”
But Mrs. Bishop didn’t leave. Instead, she took a few steps closer.
“Are you having another episode? Let me help you remember, then. That day, you and Carson brought Theodore and Lorraine over to our house. You and I were upstairs having coffee while Carson and Donald were chatting in the living room. The kids were all playing in the first-floor playroom
For a mother who had lost her child, nothing was more agonizing than reliving the moment of their death.
It was as if Mrs. Stapleton’s very soul was being ripped from her body. She collapsed to the floor, her eyes vacant. Shaking her head in a daze, she mumbled, “No, no, please stop. My head hurts so much
Mrs. Bishop, however, advanced until she was standing over the crumpled form on the ground. Her gaze was cold and cruel as she looked down at Mrs. Stapleton.
“There was a thunderstorm that day. It rained for quite a while. The moment it stopped, the children couldn’t wait to run out into the garden. Lorraine went too, but for some reason, she wandered into the backyard and then out the gate. That’s when the tree by the entrance suddenly came crashing down
“Ah!” Mrs. Stapleton’s face went deathly pale. She clapped her hands over her ears. “I’m begging you, please, don’t say another word!”
“It was a massive tree. It came down so hard
“Shut up!”
Penelope stormed into the room, shoving Mrs. Bishop so hard she stumbled back and slammed into the wall.
“Say one more word, and I’ll rip your tongue out.”
The impact sent a jolt through Mrs. Bishop’s bones, and she glared at Penelope, looking like she wanted to tear her apart. But just the several
ve
other ladies, drawn by the commotion, appeared at the doorway. Mrs Bishop quickly masked her fury, her expression
melting into one of sorrow.
“I’m just so worried about Renata. She’s my dearest friend! I only want to help her move on from that tragedy,” she said, managing to squeeze out a few tears. “Twenty years my poor Remata has been tormented into a nervous.
breakdown
“Mrs. Bishop, you could face legal consequences for making accusations like that,” Penelope warned, her voice sharp. She knew how critical this moment was. With
the Zenith Group in the midst of power transition, the last thing they needed was for the worléto learn of Mrs. Stapleton’s mental instability.
Mrs. Bishop shot Penelope a venomous look before turning back to Mrs. Stapleton,
her voice dripping with false sympathy. “Renata, surely you understand my intentions are good, don’t you?”
Penelope blocked her path again, stepping in front of Mrs. Stapleton. “If you want to cry, Mrs. Bishop, go home and do it. My mother-in-law is perfectly fine. I can’t imagine who you’re mourning for.” Follow current novᴇls on.net
“You—!” Mrs. Bishop gritted her teeth, but a sly thought shifted her tactics. “I won’t stoop to arguing with a junior like you. But Renata is clearly not well. She needs to be taken to a hospital immediately.”
“I told you, my mother-in-law is fine!”
“Refusing treatment will only harm her!” Mrs. Bishop declared, gesturing to the women gathered outside. “Come and see for yourselves! Doesn’t she look unwell?”
The other ladies didn’t enter but began whispering among themselves.
“I did hear Mrs. Stapleton has been having some health issues.”
“They say that’s why she was in such a rush for her son to come back and take over the Zenith Group.”
“You don’t think it’s really what Mrs. Bishop said a mental illness, do you?”
Penelope’s brow tightened as she listened to the rising tide of gossip.