Aaron, Ivan and Daisy were just getting ready to drop Daisy off at
the Clarke estate, when a large black limousine pulled up in front of
the house.
The rear door opened
and Michael staggered out, supported by his wife Linda.
"Mom! Dad! Is
everything OK?" asked Daisy in concern. Michael was limping, and
shivering. His butler uniform was hanging in shreds, and stained with
blood.
"I-Inside! I'll
explain inside," panted Michael. With Ivan's and Linda's support
he staggered into the house.
----
"Those girls
are evil!" said Daisy, struggling to hold back tears at the
sight of her father covered in welts and bruises.
"We need to
call the police!" said Ivan, his face pale with shock.
"No! No police!
They will just make things worse!" gasped Michael, clutching his
stomach.
"What do you
mean?" asked Daisy, her voice trembling.
"Sarah has them
in her pocket," said Michael hoarsely.
Feeling powerless,
Ivan called Father Abel who came immediately along with a friend of
his who was a lawyer.
"I'm afraid
this employment contract is pretty well-designed. While it is
certainly possible to fight it in court, it will be a very long and
very expensive process," said Andre Esposito, Father Abel's
lawyer friend.
"If I didn't
have crippling debt, I would have left as soon as Emily started
bullying poor Daisy," gasped Michael as Father Abel dressed his
bleeding wounds with a first-aid kit.
Andre's eyes lit up.
"I think I have an idea, we deport you, and you can start with a
clean slate while Sarah gets stuck with paying off your debts,"
he said.
"Deported? But
I'm an American citizen!" said Michael wincing as Father Abel
applied antiseptic on an open welt.
"I have a
friend in ICE who can make arrange for your citizenship to be
revoked, and you to be deported. We stick you on a plane to England,
and you'll be able to start fresh. Unfortunately, that would also
mean you would be declared a persona non grata and be banned from
entering the US," he explained.
"Does that
apply to just me or to my entire family?" asked Michael.
Andre's face fell
and looked sadly at Aaron and Daisy. "Unfortunately that means
your family as well, at least until Daisy turns 18," he said.
Tears welled up in
Daisy's eyes as she processed this information.
"Can you apply
it to just me and Linda? Daisy was born here. With us out of the
picture Daisy can stay here and finish her education without worrying
about us," said Michael.
Linda nodded. "It
doesn't matter where we are as long as Daisy is safe and protected,"
she said.
But Daisy shook her
head. "I hate this! I hate Sarah and Emily! Why do they want to
destroy my family like this?" she wailed.
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Michael and Linda
hugged Daisy tightly. "It's my fault Daisy. I led our family to
ruin with my bad investments. If I hadn't been so carried away by the
cryptocurrency boom, we would have been safe, happy and comfortable,"
sobbed Michael.
"I'm at fault
as well. I thought working for Mrs. Clarke's was a wonderful
opportunity, and I foolishly asked her to help us. If only I knew
what a horrible witch she was!" cried Linda.
"I hate to
break this up, but blaming yourselves is not going to help right
now," said Father Abel firmly. He laid a gentle hand on Daisy.
"Daisy, what
would you like to do? Do you want to stay here with Ivan and Aaron,
or do you want to go back to England with your parents? It is a
horrible thing to ask of you, believe me I know. But the fact is your
parents are not safe here," he said gently.
Daisy took a deep
breath, dried her eyes and looked at Father Abel with renewed
resolve.
"They are my
family. They have already made too many sacrifices for my happiness.
I'll go with them," she said firmly.
She turned to Aaron
and Ivan. "Thank you both for everything. I mean it from the
bottom of my heart," she said tears welling up in her eyes.
"You are a very
brave girl Daisy. It was a pleasure knowing you," said Ivan
gently hugging her.
Aaron's Stoic facade
was crumbling. Tears rolled down his cheeks. "Goodbye Daisy,"
he said softly.
"I'll never
forget everything you've done for me. I owe you my life Aaron,"
sobbed Daisy hugging him tightly.
With their farewells
said, Andre acted swiftly to put his plan in action.
Plane tickets were
booked for Daisy, Michael and Linda.
An airport shuttle
quickly and efficiently took them to the airport where they boarded
the flight to London.
"Ivan. I want
Aaron out of that horrible school!" snapped Annette as soon as
Father Abel and the others had left.
"Calm down
Annette -" began Ivan, but Annette was past reasoning.
"Don't you dare
tell me to calm down! We have been subjected to investigations and
scrutiny by the IRS and child services! That little tramp Daisy has
brought nothing but trouble to us! And now she just breaks Aaron's
heart and runs off to England!" raged Annette.
"That's enough,
Mother!" shouted Aaron.
Ivan and Annette
jumped.
They had forgotten
Aaron was still there, and they had never heard him shout.
"I will be
going to St. Ignatius Academy. It is where I feel I belong. The other
students can go to hell for all I care. I will not be intimidated
into running away!" growled Aaron. A fierce determination
shining in his eyes.
Annette broke down
into hysterical sobs. "Why won't you listen to me?" she
wailed.
Ivan held her
gently. "We'll be all right Annette. We'll be all right. Aaron
is strong. He feels alive in St. Ignatius. Even without Daisy, he
will be all right," he softly assured her as her sobs subsided.
Annette slowly
regained her composure. She looked at Ivan and Aaron reproachfully.
"Summer break
has started. Please use it to reconsider transferring. That's all I
ask," she pleaded.
"All right,"
said Aaron.
----
Natasha coughed and
spat out a mouthful of blood as she swayed in the chair she was tied
to.
Her face was bruised
and swollen, and her clothes were torn and bloodied.
A massive hulking
man stood silently behind her, his arms crossed, while his face had a
cruel smirk on it.
"I told you to
tail Zakhrov, so why is it that my pets have now gone missing?"
snarled Sarah Clarke, her voice cold and furious. Her fists covered
in blood.
Natasha winced as
she touched her swollen face. "I did tail Zakhrov, but he is not
the one who is responsible for the Michael Eddington's disappearance.
I found out that ICE had revoked Michael Eddington's citizenship and
deported him and his family to England," she said.
"This is the
second time Zakhrov has foiled my plans. Natasha, I want you to tap
into his online accounts. I want dirt on him, even if you have to
fake it!"
snapped Sarah, her
eyes blazing with fury.
"He's thirteen
years old, Sarah. Why are you so obsessed?" asked Natasha.
"Don't delude
yourself! He forced Viola Davis to leave St. Ignatius Academy, and me
to lose a lot of political capital! He stole my Emily's pet, and
enabled even my pet to escape! I could kill him, but that's not
enough! I want him broken!" shouted Sarah, smashing her
brass-knuckled fist into Natasha's abdomen.
Natasha doubled over
in pain, gasping for breath.
Sarah grabbed her by
the hair, yanking her head back to look into her eyes.
"Get me that
dirt, or I will feed you to Jamal over here. If you thought Libya was
bad, he's worse," she hissed, her voice low and dangerous.
"Understood,"
rasped Natasha.
"There's a good
girl! Now run along," purred Sarah, gesturing to the man to
release Natasha.
Natasha staggered to
her feet and out of the office.
"Jamal, I need
some fresh meat. Go and find me some, and you can have some fun as
well, just not with mine," said Sarah.
"Yes,
mistress," rumbled Jamal, and left the office.
