Chapter 22: Chapter 22

Carol sat in shocked silence for some time after her sister cut the call, wondering what on earth her offense was. So she was now the evil one for deciding to bail their family from those evil people? She knew exactly what was wrong with her sister. Victoria had found out that the marriage was nothing like she had thought it would be and that Carol was not suffering like everybody had assumed she would. So she was jealous and angry, preferring to think that Carol had purposely 'stolen' her spot.

"What sort of sister and even family do I have for crying out loud?" Carol asked herself. Already, the call had spoilt her mood and she was feeling agitated and saddened. All she had felt was genuine concern for her sister, but Victoria obviously did not give a damn and preferred to think the worst of her sister. She was even threatening Carol, for crying out loud. Deciding to let her parents know that her sister had finally reached out if "reach out" was the proper term for the conversation that just occurred, Carol picked up her phone and dialed her father's number. He did not pick up the call and after two more tries, she decided to call her mother. Her mother picked up on the first ring and spoke before Carol even got out a single word.

"Hello, Carol. I was just about to call you. I need some money urgently." Belinda said into the phone. She sounded breathless, as though she was hurrying somewhere.

"Huh?" Carol said, not sure that she had heard right.

"I said I need some money. To be precise, I need about twenty thousand dollars. How soon do you think you can send it?"

"You need twenty thousand dollars? Where do you think I would get such a large amount of money so suddenly?" Carol asked incredulously. She had the money, of course, from the money that Sebastian had given her when she newly got here, but Belinda did not know about it and she was not about to tell her mother that.

At her words, Belinda burst into full-bellied laughter and spoke. "You've always been very stupid, so I'm not surprised that you would say such a thing. You think I don't know that Sebastian gave you fifty thousand dollars last month?"

"How did you know about that? I did not even tell dad about it."

"I know because I was the one who signed the fucking contract and I was the one who negotiated with James for Sebastian to pay you that amount. Do you think he was just willing that his nephew dole out cash to you after paying off a debt running into millions for the family? If not that Sebastian said he did not mind, you would not have gotten a single penny."

"First of all, it was not for the family. I knew nothing about such debt neither was it any of my business. Dad racked up the debt by himself, with some help from you with your luxurious lifestyle. S..."

"You will not talk to me like that, you ungrateful little bitch!" Belinda screeched angrily into the phone. Carol could just imagine her face flushing with indignation.

"Look, mom, I don't want to argue with you. I was calling to tell you that Victoria called me."

Her mother paused her tirade long enough to say. "Well, that's good that she's okay. However, if not for that little twit, I would not be begging for money that is rightfully mine from you ungrateful little rat. I don't know why this family was cursed with such awful children."

"Look, I would give you the money if I could, but the fact is that I do not want to spend too much of it. One can never tell with these people. I want to have the money ready in case anything happens and they want their money back."

"It was a fucking contract, you moron. The money is ours. In fact, it should be mine because I bargained hard to get them to pay you that money monthly."

"Monthly?" Carol asked dumbly.

"Of course. What do you take me for? Supposing you were beautiful and sexy like Victoria, I'm sure I would have been able to get up to two hundred grand from them monthly. Unfortunately, I had to make do with what they gave, and now you are trying to deny me the right to the money?"

"So in essence, you wanted to sell Victoria or me off to the highest bidder?" Carol asked, trying desperately hard to ignore the stab of pain that pierced her chest at her mother's awful comparison of her and her sister, but failing dismally. Tears gathered in her eyes and threatened to spill out, but she tried her best to hold them in check. She would not let her awful mother hear her cry.

"Call it whatever you want. I'm not the one driving around in fancy cars and getting more money than I had ever hoped to make in a month. By the way, have you read the contract? I hope you're fulfilling your own end of the bargain."

"I have not. I'll read it soon, though."

"After a whole month? You're not serious at all. Make sure that you read every inch of it, familiarize yourself with what is expected of you, and carry out your duties accordingly, otherwise, you might not like the outcome. Also, you make sure that you send me what I asked you, if not, you'll be sorry." Belinda yelled and cut the call.

Carol removed the phone from her ear and burst into tears, feeling even worse than she had before she called her mother. She should have known better than to call Belinda. Sometimes, Carol wondered if Belinda was the one who gave birth to her with the way she used harsh words that no one should use on their daughters in her.

She felt so alone and utterly dejected that she sobbed passionately and did not hear footsteps approaching until a voice spoke.

"Hello, Carol."

She gasped and wiping quickly at her face, turned around to see Mr. James standing there and watching her solemnly.