Hello, Ex! I Finally Found My Worth! - Chapter 61

Chapter 61: Release Jake

Claire parked her car in front of Margaret’s house, determined to address the situation head-on before Margaret found out about it.

She had just come from the company meeting; her mind weighed down by everything that had happened.

Even though she had acted determinedly in front of Alex and Emma, facing Margaret sort of made her vulnerable.

Margaret was her younger sister, after all, and the person in question was her only son. How was she even going to broach the subject?

How was Margaret going to react? How would she take the news? Claire mused, her heart already breaking for her sister.

Although she knew Margaret would be in pain, this was the only to set Jake right. With a newfound determination and confidence, Claire stepped out of her car.

But just as she stepped out of the car, she saw Margaret storming out of the house, her face twisted in anger.

Claire’s heart skipped a beat as she took in the scene.

“Maggie?” Claire called, frowning as she noticed the fury radiating from her. Did she already know about everything?

Margaret, fumbling with her purse in search of her car keys, looked up sharply at the sound of Claire’s voice.

What was this traitor doing here? How could she show up at her doorstep after what she did to her son? Margaret mused, her anger rising to its peak.

“You’ve got guts, you know that, right?” she spat, her eyes narrowing as she marched toward Claire.

Claire took a cautious step back. “Calm down, Maggie,” she said, sensing that Margaret already knew; hence, she was talking to her in that tone.

“Calm down?” Margaret’s voice rose. “What’s this I’m hearing about Jake being arrested? What on earth have you done?” Margaret asked, tears gathering in her eyes.

Claire let out a sigh, trying to keep her composure. “Look, you need to stay calm so I can explain.”

“Explain?” Margaret asked and then took a shaky breath. “Fine,” Margaret said, her hands on her hips as she glared at Claire. “Explain. I’m all ears.”

Claire took a deep breath. “We discovered that Jake has been embezzling money from the company for over five years. There was overwhelming evidence, Margaret. We couldn’t just ignore it. I had to do something,” Claire said, leaving out the part where she knew Jake was the reason their family name was in the mud.

Telling Margaret that might break her more. Knowing that Jake was in jail right now was enough bad news already, and it was best she didn’t tell Margaret that the son she was crying for was the reason their family name was in the mud. She would be too disappointed.

Margaret let out a sharp laugh, her eyes flashing with disbelief. “Evidence? You arrested my son based on evidence you claim to have? He’s your nephew, Claire! How could you do this to him?” Margaret asked, the hurt evident in her eyes.

Claire’s jaw tightened. “You know I love Jake as I would my own son. But, he went too far this time, and you know it. He needs to face the consequences of his actions. The earlier he did, the better for us,” Claire said hotly.

Margaret shook her head, her voice trembling with anger. “He went far, so what? That’s still not a good enough reason to have him arrested. You should’ve handled this differently—as a family!” Margaret said in an accusatory tone.

Claire’s patience snapped. “Handled it differently? As family? Did he handle things as a family? Does he even consider Alex or me family, or all he ever considers is the company? Margaret, I blame you for how Jake turned out. If you had raised him with better values, we wouldn’t even be here right now, so don’t tell me about handling things differently!”

She had always known Margaret took Jake’s side even when it was obvious Jake had done wrong, but Margaret saying all these unreasonable things after all Jake had done just goes to prove how irresponsible Margaret was.

If there was ever a chance she would’ve approved Jake’s release after all that Margaret had said, she was going to make sure Jake never stepped out. He would serve his full term, and Margaret would have to live with it.

Margaret’s eyes widened in shock. “Excuse me? I raised my son the best way I could! Don’t you dare accuse me of failing as a mother!” Margaret said defensively.

Claire scoffed. “The best way you could? Look where that’s gotten him! Jake is sitting in a jail cell, Margaret. To think you’re not even the least bit remorseful of how you indulging him had made him turn out,” Claire said, and Margaret swallowed.

“He’s my son, Claire. My only son. If I don’t indulge him, who would?” Margaret asked, and Claire narrowed her eyes when something occurred to her.

“Did you know about truly what he did to Emma?” Claire asked, not wanting to believe Margaret knew and still let him go on with it, knowing he was destroying someone else’s life.

Margaret frowned, startled. “Why are you bringing Emma into this? What does she have to do with any of this?”

“She has everything to do with it!” Claire snapped. “Your son lied to my face, painted her as some gold-digging cheater, and dragged her reputation through the mud—all of it lies. Yet you stood there and said nothing. You indulged and let him do that to a woman who loved him. I had hoped that you would’ve learned and become a better person after the way Jake’s father treated you. But you’re just as blind as ever. You disappoint me, Maggie.”

Margaret’s face reddened with anger and shame. “That’s enough, Claire. Don’t you dare speak to me like that….”

“I’ll speak to you however I like. You’re my younger sister, and I have the right to bring you to order when I think you’re off the track. Right now, you and Jake have done enough harm to others and to the family. If Jake being in Jail is what would bring back his sense of humanity, then I’ll gladly leave him there. You’ll become a better and sensible mother when you see how much his wrongdoing has cost him…..”

“No, please,” Margaret cut in, tears streaming down her cheeks now.

Claire shook her head and turned to leave. “I’m done here.”

Margaret grabbed her arm. “Wait, please. I’m sorry,” she pleaded, her voice breaking. “Just release Jake, and let’s handle this as a family. I’ll apologize to Emma or even Alex if that’s what you want, but please, don’t leave my son there.”

Claire looked at Margaret, her face softening slightly. Margaret was in pain, and although she was tempted to believe her, Claire shook her head.

“I’m doing this because I care about him, Margaret. If Jake is ever going to change, he needs to stay there and face the consequences. It’s the only way,” she said, patting Margaret’s hand.

Margaret’s eyes filled with tears as she begged, “Please, Claire. If he were your son, you wouldn’t let this happen. Don’t let him…..”

Claire’s expression hardened again and she interrupted immediately. “If he were my son, he wouldn’t turn out this way in the first place. And if peradventure he did, I’d do the exact same thing. Jake needs to learn, and this is final.”

Without another word, Claire walked back to her car and drove off, leaving Margaret standing there, tears streaming down her face.

How could Claire not understand her? It was understandable that Claire didn’t understand a mother’s pain because she didn’t have a child, but what about a sister’s pain?

She had thought Claire loved and doted on her, but after what happened today, she was more than convinced that Claire didn’t love her or Jake. If anything, Claire seemed to have been waiting for an opportunity to discard her and her son, and she wouldn’t let that happen.

She would think about that later. What she needed to do was go see her son first. She thought as she quickly got into her car and drove to the station.

As she headed there, her mind raced back to her exchange with Claire, and she couldn’t help but think deeply about it.

“Did I really fail as a mother? Where did I go wrong?” she thought, her heart heavy with guilt and worry.

Was supporting her son wrong? Or was Claire only saying those words because she wasn’t a mother and didn’t understand the depth of a mother’s love?

Perhaps Claire had told her all that just to justify what she had done to Jake. She wouldn’t let Claire’s negative words get to her. She thought, pushing every other thought out of her mind, only focusing on how her son might be feeling being locked behind bars.

When she arrived at the station, she approached the officer at the desk. “Good afternoon. My son, Jake Thompson, was brought here earlier. Can I see him?”

The officer glanced at her. “Good afternoon. Who are you to him?”

“I’m his mother,” Margaret replied calmly, even though she was very much tempted to ask him if he was deaf. “Please, I just need to talk to him.”

The officer nodded. “Wait here. I’ll get someone to bring him out.”