Chapter 9: Chapter 9

We arrived at the Knight Palace, and I parked Claire’s car outside the mansion and went inside.

I looked at the entire Knight with a mix of frustration and concern. The Stones have also arrived; maybe they are helping with what happened to the chairperson. So, I approached them and gained their attention.

“Are you all okay?” I asked. My cousins came up to me.

“The chairperson was ambushed, and our other personnel died, TSK,” said Sandro. Sandro Knight is the son of uncle Alejandro.

“Someone informed us that our enemies were planning to ambush the chairperson, so we moved him to another car,” Rios Knight explained. He is one of the most mysterious of us, but he is gentle with his female cousins. He is Erin's younger brother and the family's second child.

“I can’t believe he can do this to the chairperson! Is there something we did wrong? To avenge us?” asked Lux. She is a beautiful and strong woman. She is the daughter of Aunt Amelia Knight.

I took a deep breath, rubbed Lux's hand, and smiled at her. I can't even express my suspicions that the target isn't the chairperson but me, because I could be wrong.

“Someone also chased us on our way here,” I said. Mom approached me right away.

“Baby, are you all right? Are you hurt?” asked mom. I shook my head, but then I noticed the chairperson had his fist clenched. It is also clear to him he is old.

I don't know what I can do. If I approach the chairperson, I am afraid he'll push me away.

“Ven, approach the chairperson,” said mom. When I looked at her, she just nodded.

So, before approaching the chairperson, I smiled.

I knelt in front of him and held his hand, which surprised him.

“I know you hate me, but I'm worried about you,” I told my grandfather. He didn't respond and just kept looking away, and I noticed his jaw tightening. It is seems that he will never forgive me.

“I'm sorry if I disappointed you, Grandpa, and I made a mistake,” I said. I bit my lower lip to keep my tears from flowing.

He closed his eyes, but he didn't move and didn't even look at me. I just bowed and smiled. Until the tears I'd been holding back flowed.

Nothing compares to how I feel right now to what happened tonight. It bothers me that Grandpa was upset because of what I did.

“I'm sorry if I neglected my responsibilities as a knight; I also forgot about the life we have; and I didn't think about your advice to me back then.” And I wiped my tears and turned away. “I'm sorry if I broke your law, and for leaving without saying a word.” I bit my lower lip. “Please, I will be the only one to bear my punishment, but don't my children…” I said, and I felt my mother hug me.

“Ven…” mom murmured, and I hugged her while crying.

I just felt the chairperson stand up, supported by his nurse. “I don't want to hear your explanation, Scarlett; you're disappointing me,” he said as he walked away from us.

I cried even harder when I heard words from him I had never heard from him before. Maybe everything I did was hurt him. I recognize my mistake and will not deny it.

Regardless of what I've done, I've never regretted it. Because two people came into my life, giving me the strength to fight and working as my light, I could see the hope I had been looking for once more. The hope that my family and my children would return to their former ways.

My cousins approached me and hugged me, so all I could do was kneel in front of them.

“I'm sorry!” I exclaimed. And I'll never grow tired of pleading for forgiveness for all of my sins.

My only mistake was believing the person who assured me he would never hurt me.

“Shh! Grandpa loves you, but he's too frustrated right now,” said Jill Knight. Lux's older brother.

I nodded, wiped my tears away, and smiled at them.

“Oh, you smile!” said Arthur Knight. I just laughed and thought of my children.

So, I got up to look for them because they hadn't greeted me the way they usually do. With so much going on tonight, I forgot about my kids.

“Mommy!”

When I heard Carrie's scream, my family moved aside to allow my children to pass. So, I smiled when I saw my daughter, but I lost my smile when I noticed Dominic was staring at me.

“Mommy!” Carrie screamed again, and she stepped down from carrying Dominic and came over to hug me.

“Welcome home, mommy. What happened?” asked Carrie, smiling. I simply smiled and kissed her on the cheek.

“Nothing, princess,” I said, sighing with relief that they were probably fine. I rubbed her back as she lay on my shoulder.

“Mom,” said Agustin as he hugged me, and I just smiled.

“I'm home. Are you okay?” I asked. He nodded at me.

“Yes, we’re cool.” said Agustin. I shook my head but smiled because they didn't seem to notice what had happened earlier.

Lux exclaimed, “How cute!” I gave them a genuine smile. But when Sophia spoke, we all came to a halt.

“You're not innocent, Scarlett, so stop acting that way,” said Sophia. My smile faded, and I turned to my children, whispering to them. They nodded and ran upstairs to their room.

“Sophia!” Mom yelled at her. She laughed and looked around at my cousins and the rest of the clan in excitement.

“What? I'm telling the truth! She's a disgrace to our family,” she said to everyone. I stood up and shook my head at her.

She is obsessed with making a scene.

“Stop it, Sophia!” dad yelled, making Sophia grin even wider.

“Why, dad? Aren't you ashamed of what she did? Aren't you all ashamed of everything she did?” asked Sophia. I was taken aback by her question, so I looked around at my entire family, who were all looking away from me.

“N-no! Of course not!” dad exclaimed, making Sophia even happier.

So, dad, are you also ashamed of me? Why? You do not know what I went through.

When I heard Sophia laugh again, I blinked.

“Yes, Scarlett! Even our father is ashamed of what you did!” Sophia chuckled. I was staring at her. She's talking nonsense.

I exhaled a sigh. “What do you want, Sophia? There's been a lot of happening tonight; don't cause any trouble,” I said. She came to a halt and raised an eyebrow at me.

“Grandpa would have been fine if you hadn't returned; you're the one putting him in danger!” she yelled. I shook my head because she seemed thrilled to embarrass me in front of the entire clan.

“Are you always making a scene? Are you always going to block my path?” I asked, as I frowned. But I smirked bitterly because she didn't respond. “I've told you several times, but you don't listen; you only listen to yourself.”

With what I told her, she became even more silent. She appeared to be considering what she could say to embarrass me even more. I sighed.

“Yes, I'm a disgrace to the entire clan; how about you? How can you explain to everyone the betrayal you committed?” I asked, which surprised everyone.

“W-what?” asked Sophia, startled, and she was panicking, so I laughed.

“Why don't you seem to know what happened? Why do you seem to have forgotten all your sins against me? And why don't you seem to know what happened?” I asked. She turned away, still looking for a hole to embarrass me further.

“I don’t know what you're talking about—”

“No, Sophia Vivian, you know what I’m talking about,” I interrupted her.

I noticed her panicking more. Isn't that what she wants, to embarrass me? Not only will I be embarrassed, but so will she.

“Shut up!” she yelled at me, pointing at me.

I grinned. “What did we discuss, Sophia?” I asked. “That I won't interfere with you as long as you don't interfere with me, so stop it.” I said, and I walked up to my room, but Sophia grabbed my arm and was about to slap me when my palm landed on her cheek.

For not trying to defend myself, I wasn't even born yesterday.

“I haven't slapped you for all your sins against me, so you don't have the right to put your palm on my face because I am the only one who has the right!” I yelled at her.

My cousins are confused; maybe they are wondering what is going on with us.

“Ven…”

“Wait, what’s going on?”

“I’m confused!”

“Me too!”

“It’s not just you, jerks!”

My hands were trembling as I stared at Sophia, who was holding her cheek and glaring at me.

“I already told you, and I won’t repeat,” I said as I stared at her. “Don’t meddle in everything I do, especially with my children, because they will know what you did,” I warned her, and I walked away in front of them to go to my children, who were already asleep in their beds.

“Mom?”

I wiped my tears away and tried to smile at my son. “I apologize, my little prince; go get some rest,” I said, and he smiled.

“Don’t cry, mom. Do you want me to kick her ass?” asked Agustin, and still acting as if he were about to kick. I burst out laughing and messed up his hair. “What's funny, mom? I'm serious! I'm going to kick that witch.” he said. Oh, my little prince is so cute! I wrapped my arms around him and kissed him on the cheek.

“Mom! I-I can't breathe.” he said. I laughed and kissed him on the cheek.

“Go to sleep, my little prince; I'm fine, I swear,” I said, smiling. “Mommy loves you,” I whispered. Agustin did nothing but smile until he fell asleep.

I smiled and sighed at them. They are more important than anything I have. They are my wealth, and they are my fighting strength, but they will also be my weakness.

I will not let them both be harmed; I will risk my life for them. Because no mother wants to see her children suffer. They are now my life, and I will do anything for their future.

I smiled briefly as I looked at them. “Goodnight…” I whispered.

I turned off the light in their room before closing the door with a smile, but my smile faded when I saw the person I didn’t want to see the most in front of me. “Dominic…”