Chapter 54
Rodrigo just sat down there expressionless. No one can say exactly what was going on in his mind. Only that his eyes were as red as coals of fire. The office suddenly was having a feeling of compression. The atmosphere became tense and heated despite the air conditioner in the room. Mirabel knew Rodrigo's temperament was letting loose. He didn't answer her question but was just quiet, looking straight into an empty space.
"Go to Ocean Hospital and find out the truth. Date and day Camilla was confirmed pregnant and let me know as soon as possible" he ordered and without waiting another minute, Joel walked out. "Rodrigo.." Mirabel was going to say something when he raised his hand indicating she shouldn't say anything. She saw her brother's reddened eyes.
"How did you know Camilla had an abortion?" Rodrigo asked. He remembered she was the one who saw the report of the abortion.
"I found the paper and read what was inside. It was Emma Martins who pointed it out to me" Mirabel answered flippantly and suddenly paused.
What really happened? How can Emma point her to the folded paper behind Camilla's back pocket and she sheepishly went to check and discovered it's a report on abortion.
She was quiet and carefully turned to glance at her brother. Their eyes locked and that was enough. It's not real.
It wasn't quite two minutes, his secretary said a woman named Kimberly had come to see him. The secretary added that she said she was with Camilla last.
Kimberly is smart. She didn't want the secretary to know she was an ex-convict hence, she made it appear as if she went to visit Camilla.
Rodrigo said she could come in. She might have something to tell him from Camilla. Mirabel also stood back to see who the woman was.
But Kimberly walked in and removed her glasses. She scanned the office, looking at it before resting her eyes on Rodrigo.
When she saw him, she knew he was the one she had come to see. This was the face she saw in the picture that day. She traced him by his name and knew he was the one who made Camilla a criminal. "Hello" Rodrigo said, having hopes that he would hear Camilla's message from her but the woman looked weird with her behaviour.
"Forgive my manners. My name is Kimberly, an ex convict and co inmate with Camilla Dickson. Anyways, I had been freed before the news of Camilla's sudden disappearance.
I want to beg you to please let Camilla go from wherever you have taken her. And if you have succeeded in killing her, let us know so we can mourn her as supposed.
That woman is an angel at heart and doesn't deserve to be unfortunately in love with a beast like you, who wouldn't let even her family members come and see her.
Because you think you are rich, you have made yourself a god and trampled upon good and innocent people like My goddaughter Camilla.
Because you are handsome and rich, you go about kissing women in front of cameras and send the photos to her. Now that you have killed her, you can continue kissing the lips of every thing that goes in skirts.
But please (clasping her hands together) tell me where you buried her so I can go and see my goddaughter and give her a befitting mourning.
How will I see the little fellow growing in her belly now? She would always touch her belly and tell me that the little Rodrigo in her belly is the only thing that gives her joy in this whole life.
Now you have killed her and my little godson in her belly. You are a very bad man Rodrigo or Rodricome, whatever it is, tell me her burial place.
If you don't tell me calmly, you will after I mobilise women in this city and we Walk the street everyday seeking Justice for Camilla" Kimberly said, beating her chest like a warrior before dropping her address on Rodrigo's face.
"In less than twenty four hours I need answers. And don't dare to bring your thugs and bodyguards if you don't want my family to leave you without an intact corpse" she concluded and walked away.
It was then confirmed that truly Camilla was pregnant. This woman that just left just proved that she was pregnant.
Mirabel just found a seat and sat down. This is too huge of a reality before her. The woman she slapped, pulled her hair and testified against in the court of law might probably be innocent.
She glanced at her brother and saw him digging his hand into his hair, the fellow was feeling depressed already.
While Rodrigo was losing his peace and decorum, Lola was sweating profusely while in her bedroom. She shut the door and kept staring at the opened envelope in her hands.
She had received the envelope from Ella as agreed. But she had never opened the seal. She kept it hidden away in her bedroom so that none could check or stumbled upon it.
But after the failed wedding ceremony between Rodrigo and Emma, she realised how self centred Ella was. She kept using horrible words at her and threatening her to get Rodrigo to come and apologise to Ella, otherwise she would let loose of their secret.
That has prompted her to go and get the sealed envelope where the company's documents were kept. This was the envelope from Camilla after she was being threatened.
She can't joke around with her family's wealth because of Camilla. But what she saw after removing the seal left her speechless.
How can this be, who is playing jokes here, Ella is playing with fire that is capable of consuming her. How can she seal plain white papers and a hard cardboard and send it to her as the documents to the ownership of the Campbell's group. Lola took her phone and called Ella. It rang the first and second time and Ella did not answer her phone. It was only after it rang the third time that Ella answered. "Have you convinced your Son to apologise to our dear Emma?" Her question came through.
Rodrigo became restless. This can't be true. Camilla was pregnant? Did she really have his child grow in her belly and he was mean to her?
He was just waiting for Joel to bring the reports. He wants to be sure she really was Pregnant.
Sara just left, accusing him of murdering Camilla and now this woman who goes by the name Kimberly was saying the same thing.
He may gone the extreme in his acts but that isn't the same as murdering her. He waited and this time, Mirabel decided to stay with him.
He couldn't raise her head to look at Rodrigo. He was looking so worried already and she knew he was going to blame himself if he discovered that Camilla never had an abortion.
It wasn't long before Joel returned. " Camilla was indeed pregnant, she was seven weeks pregnant. Emma waited at her car when she came out of the hospital and they argued.
When Camilla left, Emma went into the hospital and bribed a nurse for a duplicate of the report that Camilla came to receive. She got it and the surveillance camera showed her taking it away..." Joel quickly made an oral report and placed the evidence before Rodrigo.
What he picked up to check first was the pregnancy test report. Camilla was indeed pregnant. Rodrigo stared at the report for a long time as if he was reading something else on the report. Whoever brought that fake abortion report really did that because he or she already know she was pregnant. Who could that be?
It was stated in the fake report that she had an abortion a week before he travelled. At that time, Camilla probably didn't know she was pregnant yet, otherwise she would have told him.
Could it all be Emma's handwriting on the wall? That woman was capable of doing anything to bring herself before Camill in his sight.
"I want to know what they both argued about. I mean Emma and Camilla" Rodrigo asked Joel.
"She's the first suspect. Anyways, by tomorrow morning, I will give you the answers that you seek" Joel answered and walked away.
The truth he told himself was that he wasn't going to sympathise with Rodrigo when the truth of it all gets exposed.
As soon as they arrived home, Camilla was assigned to her room. Susan told Camilla she had prepared that room, waiting for the day she would come home, to her parents and her family.
Camilla smiled and hugged her mother again. She had lost count of the number of times she hugged her mother after she accepted them as her family.
Her eyes were filled with tears when she saw the looks and decorations of the room, the furnishings and the king size bed, he couldn't hold back her tears.
She let them flow feely down her cheeks. It was way more beautiful than Rodrigo's room. It looked like a five star hotel room where Presidents and highly placed resorts go when they go on vacation.
Susan saw her tears and came to hold her hands. "You've cried enough darling. If you keep having this mood, you will affect the baby. Please clean those tears"she said, her own eyes becoming moist as well. Camilla wanted to express how her new identity was going to change her life, she was already experiencing the change but couldn't. Her voice choked and she sniffled.
Susan wasn't waiting for her to say anything but hugged her long. This is her daughter, the one she had lost but now found her.
"Everything you've been through, will be a thing of the past. Now, you are the youngest miss of this family and you will get all that should be yours.." Susan whispered.
Susan soon left and asked that Camilla take a warm bath and come downstairs. Camilla nodded. When she went into the bathroom, she soaked in the bath and couldn't believe her eyes.
Is she really out of prison? Far away from the shores of City A where she was mocked, ridiculed and subjected to a low class citizen.
She was free from Rodrigo's torture. He really was the one who told that prison official to torture and possibly murder her. He hates her so much?.
Rodrigo did all that to her simply because he believed what others said about her. They've been together for a while and yet cannot attest to her true character to the first degree?
She saved him even if she used her body but he termed her a prostitute. He said he saved her from the mire and used her as an object for sexual satisfaction.
No matter how long it takes, she would never forgive Rodrigo. Time they say heal wounds, but her wounds can never be healed even if it takes a hundred years.
She doesn't know what might be going on at the present at City A, but her disappearance must have been noticed. How will he feel after the news of it gets to him, he would be happy and be glad he would be happy with Emma for the rest of his life.
Well, he can be happy. The times they spent together were brief but would leave an indelible mark in her life forever. That is because she has a piece of him growing in her belly.
Camilla caressed her belly. She smiled. This was the only thing that made her smile all her days in prison. This is her life, her blood and the only indication that she met Rodrigo in this life.
She would cherish the baby forever. He doesn't need to know he has a father Surnamed Campbell. She's enough to look after him and raise him exclusively.
When Camilla came out of the bathroom, she was still hoping this was a dream. And if indeed it is, she doesn't want to ever wake up again.
This is too true to be a lie. She now lives in this luxurious place?. From prison to luxury. She stood and looked at herself in the mirror.
It's been months since she last looked at herself. She looked at her baby bump and saw it was protruding slightly. She caressed it and smiled at the reflection of herself.
But on her body were scars. Some darkened and others still swollen and reddish. That must be the beating from that baton.
Everyone that made her suffer will see her again someday. But when they see her again, they won't recognise her.
She checked the closet and was surprised at the clothes there. She wanted to see if she could get something to change into but the closet was jammed full with clothes of high quality and made. She changed into a free short gown and styled her hair to the side. Since she got to prison she hadn't done anything to her except make it into a ponytail when the wounded scalp was healed. When she came downstairs, she looked different than she was when she came back from the hospital. Susan opened her arms for a hug and Camilla hugged with a megawatt smile. There was no intimate discussion that day. Steve Anderson had said they would have all the time in the world to discuss and talk about the past.
But in the meantime, a gynaecologist would be coming to see Camilla the next day in the morning. Everyone else can leave to their houses while Camilla remains in the Mansion.
Susan called the servants that evening and introduced Camilla to them. Everyone of them was to henceforth revere her as the young lady of Anderson's family.
The family had a sumptuous dinner together before Eduardo stood up to go, pulling his wife along.
Luke lingered a little before Susan told him Camilla needed to rest. The doctor had prescribed a bed rest for her because of the baby.
Luke said goodbye but that was after he planted a featherlight kiss on her chin. Camilla smiled and said goodnight to him.
That night, Susan asked that Steve Anderson let her spend the night in Camilla's place. He agreed and spent her night in Camilla's place.
Mirabel felt unhappy. Rodrigo was almost smoking his life out. She left the company late because Rodrigo was just smoking.
He kept staring at the medical report of Camilla. Was he going to see through to the baby? He felt heartbroken already.
The office was engulfed in smoke from his chain-smoking. He couldn't do anything but just kept smoking. He asked that no one should see him and would raise the bottle of alcohol Vodka to be precise to his mouth and gulped it down like water.
She had to call Joel to come and assist him home. She doesn't know why his assistant turned unconcerned about him. Shouldn't he be nearer to him now than ever before.
She blamed herself for the part she played in attacking Camilla. She didn't know a thing about her before until the whole incident happened when she was supposed to be having her return party.
She was going to tell her mother what Rodrigo just discovered. She couldn't be quiet while her brother was experiencing misery. When she got into the house, she didn't find her mother anywhere. Then she decided to check her in her room. But as she got closer, she heard her mother talking to someone on the phone...