“I was not supposed to die?” Hope asked slowly, her whole being still trying to deny the turn of events.

Georgina Madden’s eyebrow arched slightly, her eyes completely dry now. The worry and fear Hope had seen earlier were suddenly gone. They were now replaced with an unexplainable anger—anger toward Hope. And all the while she thought she was a good actress. Now she knew her mother was even better.

Burton seemed uncomfortable as he shifted his weight to one foot, but he did not say a word. He still held the gun in his hand as if he expected Gina Madden to jump out of the chair and attack Hope. She also saw from the corner of her eye that he checked his watch, probably wondering where the police were. She wanted to tell him to just take her mother himself away from here, away from her, whether it was his job or not. She didn’t care. She wanted to be alone. She wanted to shut herself away from everyone.

Her mother’s dark hair was completely askew, out of its carefully molded display. Hope knew by the look on her face that she had more to say.

She didn’t want to hear anything from the woman. She wasn’t sure if she could handle it. Everything Carl had done to her, everything she had endured during her stay with Devin’s enemies, could never be compared to the pain she was feeling that very moment. It was one thing to know that people you never knew could do so much damage on your whole being and it was another to realize that the person you held dear the most—the person who had been your pillar of strength—was the very same person responsible for all the horrors you’ve been through.

There was only one question that kept running around her mind right now: What could she have done to push her mother to do all those things?

Her mother knew her well and she read the question on Hope’s face without words.

“I am no murderer, Hope,” Gina Madden said, rolling her eyes. “But I am no saint either so don’t look at me like you can’t believe what you are seeing. It makes me hate you even more.”

“Don’t say anything more. I don’t want to hear anything from you again,” Hope said, shaking her head. “You take her away from here, please,” she begged Burton.

“Why? Why would I keep silent now that everything’s out in the open? Sooner or later, everyone will be aware of what I have done, right? And I did them because of you, you ungrateful bitch.”

Hope felt a blow right in her gut. How could her mother say such things?

Her mother tilted her head to the side as if studying Hope hunched on her bed. “You must think I hate you so much. Well, I do. I did everything for you from the moment you were conceived. I sacrificed a lot just to keep you alive after that bastard of a father of yours went AWOL. I helped you achieve your dreams and I did not get anything in return!”

“I tried to give you everything you have ever wanted!” Hope cried out, the tears streaming down her face again.

“But not enough!” Her mother screamed back. “You think I didn’t know about the secret account you created? You think I didn’t know that you had been hiding money from me? I was not stupid to not realize that sooner you’ll find no use of me anymore and I’d end up penniless while you live your dream!” Gina Madden’s eyes were rounded with fury now and a tear dropped from one eye as she chuckled bitterly and angrily.

“So this is all about money? Fucking money?!” She asked aloud, gripping the comforter harder as she tried to contain her own anger.

“Of course! Why else would I have put up with all your whims if not for money?! Your dreams were my dreams! Your money was my money!” Gina Madden blinked the tears of anger from her eyes with a sneer.

“And all the while I thought you did it for the attention. The media had been around you for years since I disappeared.”

“Don’t be pathetic. I only wanted the money. You were putting aside a lot of it for your own. And we had a contract, remember? I was your manager after all. We had a joint account. I had to make a move before you decide to ditch me.”

“I would never have done that to you of all people,” Hope choked out. “I was saving for both of us!”

“Don’t try giving excuses!” her mother’s eyes were almost popping out of their sockets now. She was mad. She was crazy! “And I would not have hurt you of all people, my dear. That’s why I had that bastard take you away, not kill you. Well, not until later, that is.”

“Why?” she asked, looking her mother in the eyes. And then realization struck her. “My death means more money. That’s why you led them to believe that I was the one in that barrel. My life insurance is a bigger catch. And when I resurfaced, your plans went awry and you had to kill me for real.”

Gina Madden scoffed. “I had always thought you were smart for your age. You’re right. When that barrel was discovered, Carl called me to brag about that previous victim of his. That bastard even threatened me to expose everything I had done if I did not give him a share of the fortune I gained because of your disappearance. We came up with a plan to finally make people believe you are dead. Ten years was enough to close your hopeless case. We had people plant the necklace and your very own DNA in that barrel.”

“But you changed your mind. Killing me was much better so you had Carl killed because you couldn’t risk getting caught. And you couldn’t share the money.”

Her mother nodded. “He was being such a nuisance, calling me every now and then whenever he saw me on TV. I had to get rid of him before he could do something stupid.”

“But I escaped.”

Another scoff from Gina Madden. “That was never part of the plan. The man I hired was surprised to see a dead body when he killed Carl so he decided to get rid of that first before he killed you. You were gone by the time he returned.” Gina Madden sighed dramatically. “It would have been a perfect picture if he succeeded. Carl killing you and himself after. A tragic ending for a kidnapped superstar. No one would have thought I was behind everything. I was supposed to live my life peacefully with the money I helped you make. I deserve it after the years I endured raising you. I deserve it!”

Hope felt like a bucket of ice was poured down on her. She was getting numb. Her body was refusing to feel anything. She could no longer hear the words coming out of her mother’s face. Her eyes closed, but the tears continued streaming down her cheeks. 

Burton finally stepped in and his voice was a hum through her ears. Whatever he was saying though was not stopping Gina Madden with her mad screaming.

“You placed your own daughter in the hands of the devil,” Hope said in a deadpan voice. That silenced Burton and her mother. “I wish you just had me killed. I went through hell because of you! Can you imagine what I had been through? The horrors I had to face every night that sick man would crawl on my bed?!” Suddenly, the anger inside her surged up and she faced the woman Gina Madden had become. “You should have just killed me the day you realized you were done with me!” Her mother just blinked and smiled wryly. “You were the only reason I endured the years I spent chained in that house! Your hope was my strength! You don’t know how much the thoughts of killing myself came to me. While you were spending your fortune, I was swallowing the horrors of my day, praying one day I’d be back home. To you. To the one person I depended on, to the only woman who showed me how it was to be strong!”

Hope’s teeth were chattering with so much fury as she looked at the woman across from her. Gina Madden was unmoved. Someone else had consumed her and Hope didn’t know what everything had started. But it was useless to wonder about how her mother had endured the years pretending to love her only daughter.

“Take her away before I do something, please,” she begged Burton. “I don’t want to see her again.”

Burton’s phone rang and he said, “No need to wait any longer. They are here, Miss Madden. So, Georgina Madden, if you please…stand up and let me read your rights. I don’t know about you, but I am willing to testify against you ten times if it would mean you’ll spend the rest of your life in prison. You know that prisons have their own moral standards that place them in their respective ranks, right? And do you know who have the lowest rank—the one with the most stinky life in prison?” Hope was no longer listening. She was staring at her own bruised feet, a tear at the edge of one lid. “You got that right,” Burton continued. “Child offenders. You have to be strong from now on because your inmates will definitely hate your record.”

She did not know when they exited the room and when she was finally alone. She had realized just a few minutes ago that she had been alone even before that day Carl drove off with her in the backseat.

She had really been alone all along.

*****

Devin was in shock with what he had found out.

He wanted to be by her side at the moment but he knew it was not possible.

Georgina Madden had been turned over to the authorities and she would have her own hell to face from now on.

Burton seemed greatly affected as Devin. The man had his own children and Devin was certain he was thinking about them after his encounter with Gina Madden. Doing something against people who are capable of evil is one thing. Doing something to a child, let alone your own, was another. It was unforgivable.

When they left the hospital with the media in a rage outside the gates, Devin was convinced that Gina Madden was, in her own ways, sick in her mind.

When they dropped by Devin’s old apartment upon his request, Burton was silent and even let him out on his own to retrieve the key he had hidden in the sugar container. No one questioned him about it. They could demand for it, even force it out of his hands, but no one mentioned such thing. They all knew the trial was underway and the only way Devin could have a chance of a better life was to surrender the files in due course. They contained the every record of all transactions by the mob that the former firm he was working for had been working on to make all illegal legal. Once he thought that stealing them after uncovering the secret of the firm and the mob may have been a bad move, but he could not say the same thing now. If he turned a blind eye on those files, Hope might still be chained to a wall or worse. Yes, he lost his family in the process and he would pay for that for the rest of his life.

He felt for the key inside his pocket. He’d do the right thing and make good of his actions.

He looked out the window and into the night scenes passing fast before his eyes. He saw people and lights from cars and establishments, all with lives of their own. He could not say what kind of complications they might have gone through. For all he knew, they were all just like him. For all he knew, he was just one of the many who were passing through life with a baggage full of skeletons and pain.

Hope’s face flashed across his mind. She may still be in danger because of him. Burton had promised to keep tabs on her until the trial was over.

Until then, Hope had to be strong. For now, she was on her own again. She had her own battle to fight and a great part of that was herself.

She had to be strong.