Chapter 24 The Culprit Confesses
“Annabel, are you okay?” Mason asked, rushing over from the car, his voice full of
concern.
Annabel snapped out of her daze, her eyes scanning for the man, but he was already gone. Clutching the photo tightly, her gaze turned icy and sharp. “I think something’s happened to my mom.”
Mason’s eyes fell on the photo in her hand, its threatening nature unmistakable. It was the first time he’d seen Annabel so shaken. “Call Sophie first. I’ll drive you there right away,” he said urgently.
Sophie’s phone remained out of service, and with every failed attempt to reach her, Annabel’s heart sank further. When they arrived at Sophie’s house, no matter how hard they knocked, there was no response.
Sophie had a simple life, spending most of her time at home working on crafts and rarely going out.
The thought that she might have been kidnapped–or worse, hurt–filled Annabel with rage. She slammed her fist against the door, the loud bang echoing through the empty hallway.
Mason’s heart ached as he watched her. “Think, Annabel. Where else could Sophie have gone? Hurting yourself won’t help.”
After venting her anger, Annabel was left with a bone–deep chill, her body trembling uncontrollably. “She barely has anyone. I’m all she’s got…”
The photo in her hand was crumpled into a damp ball, her sweat soaking through the paper. “If anyone lays a finger on my mom, I swear, they’ll regret it.”
If it weren’t for the fear of tipping the culprit off, Annabel would’ve stormed back to the White house right now, knife in hand, ready to demand answers from Beatrice about Sophie’s whereabouts.
Mason, on the other hand, stayed calm and collected. He knocked on the neighbor’s door and asked if they’d seen Sophie today, if they knew where she might’ve gone, and when they last saw her.
“Oh, Sophie? I saw her this morning. She was carrying her shopping basket, heading to the nearby market to buy groceries,” said the neighbor.
As soon as the neighbor finished speaking, Annabel bolted downstairs without a second thought. Mason thanked the neighbor and hurried after her.
Successfully unlocked!
On the way to the market, Annabel.self from silently repeating the same prayer over and over: ‘Please let Mom be okay. Please.‘
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The market was a sprawling maze of stalls, packed with people shouting over each other. Finding one person in this chaos felt like searching for a needle in a haystack.
Mason felt torn–he wanted to help search for Sophie but couldn’t leave Annabel alone, afraid something might happen to her too. “Annabel, there’s a crowd gathering over there. Let’s check it out,” Mason suggested.
They approached the commotion with little hope, but as they got closer, Annabel suddenly gasped. “Mom?”
Sophie was having an unbelievably bad day. While out buying groceries, a man had knocked her over. Not only did he refuse to apologize, but he also seemed to
deliberately kick her fallen phone into a filthy drainage ditch.
When she demanded compensation, the man accused her of staging the incident and even shoved her around. “Be reasonable, If you lay another hand on me, I’ll call the police,” Sophie warned.
The man sneered, completely unfazed. “Go ahead, call the cops. I’ll tell them you’re running a scam. That junk phone of yours? You think it’s worth a thousand bucks?”
“That’s a new phone my daughter just bought for me…” Sophie began, but her words were cut off by a sudden voice. “Mom.”
Sophie’s face lit up with relief at the sight of Annabel. She grabbed Annabel’s hand and asked, “Annabel, what are you doing here?”
Annabel didn’t say anything. She scanned Sophie from head to toe, and only when she was sure everything was fine did the tightness in her chest ease up.
Annabel then pulled Sophie behind her and turned to face the burly, menacing man across from them. Her voice was sharp as she said, “That phone cost sixteen hundred bucks and it’s practically brand new. If you don’t want to pay up, we’ll let the law handle it.”
The man, realizing he was dealing with someone tough, began to act out. “Sixteen hundred? You think I’ll just take your word for it?
“And now you’re threatening me? Do I look like someone who scares easily? I’ve seen plenty of scammers like you–always working in teams…”
Mason stepped forward to stand beside Annabel, and the man immediately started shouting, “I knew it. What, you’re trying to gang up on me now? It’s not going to work.”
To everyone’s surprise, the man was the one who called the police. After the officers arrived and pieced together the story, they retrieved the phone from the drainage ditch and confirmed that the man had been the instigator.
Unhappy with the outcome, the man caused a scene and refused to pay
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compensation. In the end, all four of them had to go to the police station to resolve the
matter.
The commotion lasted until noon, and it wasn’t until the man answered a phone call that he finally agreed to pay compensation.
As they left the police station, Sophie looked a bit embarrassed and said, “Mason, I’m sorry this whole thing took up so much of your time. I hope it didn’t mess up your plans?”
Mason smiled warmly and replied, “It’s no problem at all, Sophie. I’m Annabel’s friend, so helping you is the least I can do.”
Sophie’s gaze shifted between Mason and Annabel, and the more she looked, the more she felt they were a perfect match.
She couldn’t help but feel delighted. “You must all be starving by now. I’ll make ravioli for lunch. Mason, what kind of filling do you like?”
Before Annabel could say anything, Mason quickly chimed in, “Anything’s fine, Sophie. As long as you’re the one making them, I know they’ll be delicious.”
Sophie couldn’t stop smiling at Mason’s sweet words. Despite it being their first meeting, the two of them hit it off remarkably well. Annabel sighed inwardly and
followed them back home.
On the way, Annabel kept an eye on their surroundings. The old neighborhood was bustling, with all sorts of people coming and going. Troublemakers like the one they encountered earlier weren’t uncommon in this area.
Thinking about the photo from earlier, Annabel spoke firmly, “Mom, you need to move. I can’t feel at ease with you living here alone.”
Sophie refused, saying she was used to the place and knew all the neighbors. She didn’t want to move elsewhere. What she didn’t say was that she didn’t want to waste Annabel’s time and money.
Annabel frowned, but Mason stepped in with a smile. “Sophie, I actually have a house that’s been sitting empty for a while.
“It’d be great if you could move in–it’ll bring some life to the place. Plus, it’ll make it easier for Annabel and me to visit you.”
Sophie’s expression softened. “Well, it’s true that an empty house shouldn’t stay unused…”
With Mason’s gentle persistence, Sophie finally agreed to the idea. Sophie pulled Annabel into the kitchen to help with dinner, leaving Mason to relax in the living room.
“Annabel, tell me the truth. Did Victor hit you? Is that why your face looks like that?” Sophie had been holding back her questions while Mason was around, but now her
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worry spilled out.
“No, I just tripped and fell. It’s nothing serious,” Annabel said quickly.
Sophie wasn’t buying it. She could easily tell the difference between a fall and a slap.
But just as she was about to press further, Annabel changed the subject, saying she was starving and urging Sophie to hurry with dinner since their guest was probably hungry too.
And just like that, the conversation ended. After they finished eating ravioli and packed up a few belongings, Annabel accompanied Sophie to her new place.
The residence had top–notch security, and once Annabel was sure Sophie was safe,
she returned to the White residence.
*****
To Annabel’s surprise, an anonymous package was waiting for her–a plain envelope. She darted forward and grabbed the envelope from Beatrice’s hands before she could open it, retreating to a corner to check its contents.
Inside were pieces of evidence pointing to Stella’s killer, eerily similar to the
information Mason had given her before. ‘Could someone really be helping me from the shadows?‘ Annabel thought.
As she mulled over the sender’s identity, Beatrice suddenly leaned in, trying to sneak a peek. “Annabel, who sent you this?” she asked.
Annabel shoved the papers back into the envelope, keeping her cool. “Just a friend.”
Beatrice’s unnervingly calm expression hinted that she might have been expecting this all along. Annabel decided to sit back and watch how things unfolded.
Sure enough, Beatrice’s expression didn’t waver. Instead, she offered a seemingly concerned remark, “Annabel, you’ve been through so much, haven’t you? At least now the culprit has turned herself in. You can finally put this behind you.”
