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Jackie's POV

Later that afternoon, I was sitting on the bed, thinking about Maddy and how she has always been fake. I began to think about how my life would have been different if I had not met Maddy that day after walking those dogs for money to buy an outfit for Lucas' party.

Everything would not have been this way. Those boys would not have assaulted me and no one would have been hurt like we all were. Maybe, Lucas and I would have had a better relationship from the beginning. It was crazy how jealousy and hatred would make someone act.

Maddy's actions have made everyone feel unsafe and on guard because we did not know what she had done that we were not aware of or what she was about to do. I don't even know the extent she has gone after sending those boys to hurt me.

I looked down at my stomach and placed my hand on the small bump. I rubbed it and a smile formed on my face.

"Some crazy lady is trying to ruin our future, little one. She's trying to go after your father who doesn't even care about her," I said and patted my bump softly.

I glanced to my right and spotted my phone. I eyed the device when a thought crossed my mind. I bit my lip as I weighed the options I had and the outcome of it all. I grabbed my phone and unlocked it then scrolled to my call logs. I stopped at Maddy's phone number, my thumb hovering over the number.

I swallowed and clicked on it. My heart started to pound when the phone rang. I exhaled hard and clenched my hand, nervousness flowing through my body.

I held my breath when Maddy accepted the call.

"Jackie?" Her voice was always the same but it sounded so foreign now that I knew who she was to me.

"I... H-Hey, Maddy-y," I stuttered.

"Are you okay? You sound off," she said in a concerned tone.

"Yeah. I'm good. I was just calling to check up on you. I know the last time we saw each other was with the whole marriage thing. I... I want to apologize for what I did and said that day," I lied and crossed my fingers.

"Oh... No, you don't have to apologize. It's... It's natural for you to react that way. I should be the one to apologize for hiding such from you."

I rubbed my neck as I did not know what else to say to her. She was no longer a friend to me so I didn't have any topic to raise.

"Where are you anyway? I was at Lucas' place yesterday and one of his neighbors said he left or something. Are you in Carli?"

I looked around the room to think of a lie but knowing there was no use and how she could probably find out where I was, I had to tell the truth.

"I'm in Redside. I went to see my mom. I'll be back this week," I replied and she hummed.

"Okay... Oh, I have to go now. I'm at school registering for the new year. I'll talk to you later. Bye."

The call ended and I felt like I was back to breathing normally. There was so much negative energy around the call I had made and it had to do with the realization of who she was. I dropped my phone and placed my hand back on my baby bump.

"Little one, your mom befriended a backstabber. How will I be able to confront her after all these? I hope I don't lose you with all of these problems going on," I said and I gasped. "Lose you... Losing you."

I rushed out of bed. "Maddy's mom. Yes, she might know something about her daughter if she comes to give me an overdose of those pills."

I grabbed my phone and rushed out of the room. I saw Lucas, Jared, and Ruth standing outside, talking. I ran up to them and stood in front of Lucas who was looking worried.

"What is it? Is anyone chasing you?" He asked and the others looked around.

"No, no one's chasing me. Lucas, I need you to take me to the police station," I said.

"Why? Are you turning yourself in or something?" Jared asked beside me.

"No," I answered. "I need to talk to Maddy's mom."

Lucas frowned. "Why the fuck do you want to speak to a woman who almost killed you and our baby."

His face was turning red and I remembered that Lucas will forever hate anyone who tried to hurt me, take an example, Andrea. Even though she was helping us, he still hated her.

"I know but maybe we could get something important or a piece of evidence against Maddy to get her arrested, right? She's our only hope even though she hates my guts," I pleaded and looked at every one of them.

"Are you sure about this? My brother told me everything and I don't know if she's willing to give you any information about her daughter," Ruth said and I saw a point.

"But there's no harm in trying, right?" I asked and made eye contact with Lucas who was looking at me as if I was crazy. "Pretty, please?"

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I was stiff as we walked through the hallway leading to the cell where Mrs. Kingston was kept. Lucas was behind me while I was ahead of him. I was not comfortable around such a place because most of the people who were behind the bars had done crimes that were so extreme.

"We're here," the officer ahead of us said, pointing to the cell upfront.

It was clean and bright from the fluorescent lights in it. There was a single bed in the center of the square cell but no sign of Maddy's mother. I looked at the officer who banged the railings and a whimper followed.

I walked further and saw Maddy's mother sitting on the floor in a corner with her arms around her body. She raised her head and her eyes widened when she saw me.

"You have five minutes," the officer said and walked away.

Mrs. Kingston barely moved or blinked as she stared at me, almost in wonder.

"We don't have all day," Lucas said in a harsh tone and she nodded her head.

"Mrs. Kingston, I know you hate me and feel disgusted at my presence. I know you blame me for being behind bars but I'm not here to apologize if that's what you're thinking. We're here to ask you to tell us what your daughter is up to and what she has done. Yes, we know about the truth and it hurts to know that she is a backstabber," I said and wrapped my hands around the railings.

The woman was staring away from us, her eyes on the wall to her left.

"Please, tell us what you know," I begged and waited for a response from her.

Some seconds went by still she did not speak or turn her head.

"Listen, lady. I can easily have these people torture you for the shit that you did to my woman and baby. It'll just take a little cash and extra pain on you if you don't start talking," Lucas angrily said and I saw her body flinch.

Mrs. Kingston slowly turned her head and looked from me to Lucas before standing up. She looked frail and pale compared to the rich and elegant woman she was and she had only been here for a short time. I wondered what she would look like once she was sent to a different prison to serve her punishment.

The woman walked toward us and stopped two feet away from the railings. She held my gaze and slowly raised her hands to her chest. She pressed them together and sighed.

"Please, forgive me for everything my daughter has done. I am such a bad mother for watching her turn to something else," she said and brought down her hands. "I don't know what has come over Maddy. Ever since she knew about Lucas, she's said she liked him and wanted him for herself, even at a young age. Sometimes, I wished I never befriended your mother, Lucas because it was through our friendship that our husbands met."

I exchanged a look with Lucas who was surprised before nodding his head for her to continue after she had paused.

"Maddy never stopped talking about you and her father fed into it because he has an ulterior motive. He wants to take so much from your family business. He wants control and when Maddy suggested the marriage contract, he saw it as an avenue and pushed it to your family. I tried so many times to stop them but they didn't listen. When I found out that you started hanging out with Jackie, I was happy because maybe that would put an end to her obsession but it didn't," she said and came closer.

I wanted to step back out of panic but remained in my position. I didn't want to appear weak anymore.

"Go on," I said.

"She went too far when she planned with her cousin to assault you. I heard about it and didn't know what to do, I was speechless. I even tried to expose her but got beaten by my husband because of it. I am in an abusive relationship with my daughter and husband. Fast forward to when you all graduated, Maddy found out you got an admission letter from a prestigious university in the United Kingdom and did everything possible with the help of her father to revoke it. It worked."

My heart stung at the news. I felt hatred develop in me for Maddy unlike ever before because I remember I had spent so much to get admission to that university. I had a hundred percent chance of getting into that university and all along, I had thought that it was just my bad luck, not knowing Maddy was behind it.

"Maddy, revoked my scholarship?" I whispered, my heart burning from anger and sadness.

"Wait... I remember something from a year ago. I remember finding out that you applied for that same university through your mom, Jackie. I was happy and wanted to make sure you got in because I wanted to find a way to make you happy after the whole party incident. Maddy knew about it because she was always visiting me and acting like she knew nothing about your whereabouts," Lucas said.

I clenched my hands as I realized Maddy had toiled with everyone in my life. She manipulated everything to her satisfaction just so she could have her happy ending. She made everything seem so good yet so bad.

"I tried to stop it from happening from my connections but I wasn't that powerful like them. I let it go and she ended up paying for you to get admission into the college you are in with her. She wanted to keep you close because she found out that Lucas was looking for you," Mrs. Kingston said and held the railings.

"Why didn't you try to tell Lucas or something?" I asked and she shook her head.

"You think I didn't try to? But it was hard when you were getting abused here and there. I valued the last piece of sanity I had." She sighed. "But that's not the worst of it all. Maddy forced me to be someone that I wasn't."

I stepped back as a wave of shock came over me.

"S-she made you act as if you hated me, right?" I whispered in the same wave of shock.

"Yes. She made me that way so you would not suspect a thing and so that I would not try to tell you anything. Also...."

The woman paused with tears in her eyes. She took deep breaths and exhaled.

"Maddy... Maddy made me give you an overdose of those pills just so you could lose the baby. When it didn't work, she beat me and sent me to prison when I threatened to spill everything."

I felt like everything around me became dark. I could barely hear anything else but the ringing in my ears and the beating of my heart.