I closed my eyes, waiting to be sent to heaven or something.
Instead, I heard Daven's loud voice thunder,
"Are you out of your mind Eric?"
"She deserves to die!" Grandma spat.
I opened my eyes, just to see Daven grabbing the gun from Eric's hand. The bullet had missed me by just a few inches, all thanks to Daven.
"If you kill her, there'll be no redemption for this family!" Daven fired.
"All the shitty fake evidence against us would be believed by everyone!"
"That's what you don't get, Daven! I'll kill her and make sure that her body can never be traced." Eric said, glaring at me. His hands were shaking and his breath was heavy.
"You fool!" Daven yelled.
"If anything happens to her, all fingers would be pointed at us! Think for once in your life Eric! She knows what she's doing "
That is true. The only reason I agreed to give an open statement is because it'll back the evidence more. And most especially because Daven already knows what I am up to, he'd definitely expose me after the news leak, so I just decided to expose myself.
But it's done. They are done, from here, they'll keep falling and failing, and I'll watch them till they crumble completely.
"Go to your room! And don't fucking step out till we handle this!" Eric said, grabbing my hands. "I'll deal with you later."
"No fucking way." I muttered, then fiercely pulled my arms out of his grip.
"Do not touch me!" I fired. "And you can't tell me what to do!"
With that, I marched towards the exit, leaving them all to their problems.
My job here is done.
For now.
I took a cab back home.
Yes, the Steeles Mansion.
I pushed the door to the living room and stepped in.
"Mom?" I called out, "Mom."
"Adriana! My baby," Mom ran down the stairs the moment she spotted me.
"Oh, you are okay!" Then wrapped her arms around me, covering me in her warm hug.
"Oh, They didn't hurt you right?" she leaned back a bit, scanning my face, making sure I was not hurt for real.
"I'm fine mom. I'm fine!" I assured her.
"Oh Baby," She led me to the sofa.
"What were you thinking? Risking your life like that?" She was almost crying.
"Mom, nothing happened. I'm fine." I hadn't thought about the fact that everyone including mom would see the news.
Making this sweet woman worried is the last thing on my mind.
"How dare you!" Father roared from the lobby.
I flinched, at the sound of his voice. I really did not mentally prepare for this.
"You ungrateful brat!" He came to the living room, and pulled me off the sofa.
"Ah," I screamed as he pushed me to the floor.
"Christopher! What is wrong with you?" Mom screamed. She tried taking me away from him, but he was not letting her get close to me.
"Useless ingrate!" He yelled kicking me.
"Christopher, stop! I said stop!" Mom was in tears as she tried getting him to calm down.
He finally did.
With heavy breaths, he said, "This, Lisa, is the reason I hate helping orphans. Look at how she disgraced us tonight!"
"Adriana did what was right! She reported them because they are criminals!" Mom backed me.
"No! She's a stupid fool who gave up her spot as a daughter-in-law to the Willinghams for some stupid social media approval!" Dad fired.
"My daughter is a good person Christopher! And she would always stand for good."
"Life would be way easier if she stops meddling in people's lives!"
"Come on baby, let's go to your room." Mom said helping me up.
"She's not going anywhere." Dad said.
"She's going to her room!" Mom yelled.
"There is no room for Adriana in this house anymore!" He said.
"What?" I gasped, surprised at his sudden decision.
"Christopher, what are you saying? She's our daughter!"
"No! Lisa, she is your daughter! From this night henceforth, she no longer has business with the name Steele!"
"Dad,"
"Don't call me that! Who knows, You might betray me next! You are nothing but a dangerous hypocritical snake!"
"Christopher, are you out of your mind?" Mom was in tears again.
"Get out of my house Adriana. If not I'll throw you out myself!" He said.
"If Adriana is not welcome, then I'm not staying here either." Mom said.
"Suit yourself." Dad said.
I couldn't believe my ears.
"No, no mom, you don't have to do this. I'll be fine on my own." I held her arms.
"I've made up my mind. I'll go pack," She said, taking my hands off her.
She ascended the stairs, leaving me and Dad downstairs.
"Are you crazy?" I yelled.
"You can't do this to her! She's your wife!"
"I'll do anything to get you and your bad luck out of my life." Dad said.
"Mom, don't listen to him!" I made my way up the stairs. I hate that she wants to leave her home for my sake. It is right.
"Mom?" By the time I got to her room, she was already packed.
"Let's go." She said,
"Don't do this please. I'm old enough to handle this myself please."
I begged, but she was already marching down the stairs.
"Mom, listen," I called, holding her arm.
"Let's not drag this Adriana, I'm not staying in a place where you aren't welcome." She said,
"Besides, I was going to move out sooner or later." She added, confusing me.
"Wait, why?" I asked.
"Why were you planning to move out?"
"That's a tale for another day."
"Christopher, Goodbye." She said, walking towards the door.
"Mom, please, I beg you, we can settle this." I didn't like the idea of this family breaking apart because of me.
I don't deserve this kind of sacrifice.
"Dad please stop her." I begged him.
He looked me straight in the eyes and said,
"Get out now! I need to go to bed."
My jaw dropped.
This can't be the same Christopher that has loved mom so so much.
That is when I realized that this isn't just about me, there's more.