After Mrs. Dragon kicked me out of her room, I clutched my chest and quickly ran to my own room.
I bet she didn't believe my story about coming to apologize.
As soon as I opened the door, I saw all my kids there.
"What are you guys doing here? Shouldn't you all be playing or something?" I asked, curious.
I had completely forgotten it was Saturday and the kids were home. Something felt off. I knew they had something to say; I could tell from their behavior.
"Come on, talk to me, guys. Why are you all here?"
King, always the spokesperson, wasted no time. He asked me what I was doing snooping around their grandmother's room.
"We saw you, Mom. What were you looking for?" King continued, standing up and pacing around my room with his hands clasped behind his back. I felt like I was being interrogated by a police officer.
I tried to defend myself with a believable story, but then I realized they were just kids. I shouldn't have had to work so hard to convince them, yet I found myself doing just that.
But these kids aren't like other regular kids they're geniuses. I swear, King almost had me confessing everything.
I quickly escorted them to their rooms, telling them to forget what they'd seen.
I really hope my kids don't get involved in any of this. I don't want them snooping around the Dragons. They're too smart for their own good.
After getting them settled, I returned to my room. Tomorrow is another day. We go harder.
The next day, I waited for Mrs. Dragon to leave, ensuring she wouldn't be back anytime soon. I snuck into her room again, went straight to the handbag hanging on the wall, and quickly opened it. I reached in for the recorder, but it wasn't there.
I emptied the bag's contents onto the floor and searched carefully, but the recorder was gone.
I collapsed to the ground, feeling miserable and utterly defeated. What was I expecting? Of course, she took it. She probably suspected something yesterday.
I lay there on the floor, staring at the ceiling fan, feeling defeated. I didn't even care if Mrs. Dragon walked in and caught me.
I was lost in thought when a voice startled me.
I jumped up from the floor, covering my face with my hands. Caught in the act. I thought I didn't care if Mrs. Dragon walked in, but here I was, hiding like a coward.
I knew there was no way I could deny this. Mrs. Dragon would never let it go. Henry would be the first to hear about it.
I finally accepted my fate and the fact that there is no such thing as a smooth revenge.
I removed my hands from my face, ready to defend myself against the old Dragon. But when I looked, I didn't see anyoneuntil I noticed three tiny figures standing right in front of me.
It was my kids.
I almost had a heart attack.
"What are you all doing here?" I asked in a low tone.
"Were you looking for this?" King said, pulling the black recorder from his pocket.
My hands started to shake involuntarily. I rushed toward him and grabbed the recorder, but it slipped from my grasp. Gold caught it before it hit the ground. After placing the handbag back where it belonged, I snatched the recorder from Gold's hand and stuffed it into my back pocket.
Then, I grabbed King's ear and Gold's ear, telling Master to follow me.
Once we were in my room, I started packing my bags and told the kids to go to their rooms and pack theirs.
"We're leaving this house this minute. I can't stay here even for another second," I said, tears streaming down my face.
Beatrice was right; I should never have brought the kids here. I wanted revenge, but now I felt they were after something more.
The kids hadn't moved an inch since I told them to pack.
"Didn't you hear me? Go pack your bags this minute!" I yelled, emphasizing the word "bags" to intimidate them, but they still stood still.
"We're not going anywhere, Mom," said King.
Those words were the last thing I wanted to hear. I felt anger welling up inside.
"It's not your choice to make, Your Royal Majesty. I make the choice. I can't stay here and watch you all get hurt. I say we're leaving," I said, directing my words to Master and Gold as well.
I waited for any of them to speak, but they remained silent. I walked toward my closet to pack, but then I noticed them quietly bickering.
"What's the problem now?" I asked irritably.
At that moment, King told me something that nearly gave me a heart attack. They said they had caught Lisa slipping something into Jeff's tea and then putting the empty container back in her bag.
They searched her bag, found the container, and googled the name to see what it was.
To their shock, they discovered it was a poison that could kill its victim slowly. The symptoms included weight loss, loss of appetite, and eventually coughing up blood. By the final stage, no treatment would work because the poison would have already done too much damage.
I collapsed to the ground upon hearing this. Surely, this was a house of villains. I should never have brought my kids here.
I was too weak to pack my bags, and I couldn't trust the maids to help me either.
I finally concluded that we would leave first thing in the morning.
"The only thing stopping me from leaving this minute is my weak heart. I can't take any more of this. I've had enough of your snooping around and investigations. First thing tomorrow, we're leaving, and that's final."
"So what happened to your plans for revenge?" King cried out. "Are we just going to give up now, Mom? Is that it? What about finding out our brother's whereabouts?" After he finished speaking, he motioned to his siblings, and they all stormed out of my room.
I was dumbfounded. Despite my efforts to keep my plans for revenge a secret, the kids had found out. It was clear now that hiding things from them was useless. I don't know how they do it, but they seem to know everything that happens in this house. That scares me, and it's why we have to leave this place before I regret ever coming back.