“Granny, things have already gotten this far. Are you not going to come clean? You’ve changed so much! You weren’t this way before! Everything I know, I learned from you. You said I shouldn’t hurt the ones I love, but I’m hurting right now! Don’t you love me anymore? Am I no longer your beloved grandchild?”
Seeing Winnie so distressed, Jacinta’s eyes gradually reddened. Nonetheless, she retained the impassiveness from before as she said, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Winnie remained rooted to the spot as her sadness overwhelmed her. She could not believe that this was happening.
With a sniffle, Winnie turned to take the maternity test from Josiah before thrusting it into Jacinta’s hands.
“These are the results of the DNA test between you and Stuart. What do you have to say for yourself now? How are you going to get out of this?”
Jacinta eyed the report and went into a daze briefly before ripping the report to pieces.
Winnie merely stood in front of her and watched until Jacinta stopped.
“Granny, you need to stop behaving like this. So what if you’ve ripped the report to bits? I can still request another copy. I can bring you thousands of copies! Even if you manage to rip all of them to shreds, it won’t change the fact that you’re Stuart’s biological mother!”
“Well, then!” Jacinta went silent for a second before launching an explosive tirade of questions, “Now that you know I’m Stuart’s mother, so what! I carried him in the womb for ten months! Is that somehow wrong? Am I unfit to be a mother?”
Soon, tears began to fall from Jacinta’s eyes as she shakily said, “D-Do you think I wanted that child? No. I had no choice! I endured that horrific birthing only for someone to take him away. Alas, he is still my son. He’s still my flesh and blood! Do you know how difficult it was for me to find him?”
Having said this, Jacinta straightened herself and pointed at Rufus.
“As for you! Why did you take him away? You could have just given him to me!” roared Jacinta in anger. “I know my parents had put you through hell, but I was not spared from their machinations too. And I hate them for that. However, that child was innocent! Why did you treat him so harshly after taking him away? You don’t like my son or my grandchild! They were ruined by you! Every single mistake they’ve made is your own doing!”
In the face of Jacinta’s accusations, Rufus frowned.
“I don’t like them. Yes, I’ll admit to this. I’ll admit that I was prejudiced against Stuart in the beginning. I’ve tried to accept him, but his character and mannerisms have really put me off. However, I’ve never been harsh with him. Whatever he was supposed to have was given to him as well.”
“Are you trying to frighten me, Winnie?” asked Jacinta with a smirk. “What are you going to tell him?”
Winnie pinned a sharp glare at Jacinta as she uttered, “How Zyon died. Granny, you never told him the truth, did you? He thinks that Xavier killed Zyon. However, that’s not remotely true. Back then, you were the one who opened fire. I remember Zyon begging me for mercy, saying that I was his cousin and that he was your grandson. I was curious and initially wanted him to clarify this.”
Winnie pursed her lips before continuing, “However, you suddenly opened fire on him. I understand why you did it now. You were worried that Zyon was going to rat you out to me. To hide the truth, you put that bullet in his head. Granny, to be frank, I have no desire to use such methods on you at all. But if you don’t stop, then you’ll leave me with no choice. If Stuart finds out that you’ve killed his only son to ensure his silence, what will Stuart think of you then?”
“No! Absolutely not!” Jacinta suddenly broke the silence with a loud yell. “You cannot tell him the truth! You can’t tell him, Winnie! I can’t let him know the truth!”
“Then turn yourself in,” said Winnie resolutely. She then closed her eyes and sighed before continuing, “It’s too dangerous for you to be allowed contact with each other. Stuart, especially, needs to be punished for his crimes. Tell me what the original plan was and how he wanted to execute it.”
“But Winnie,” croaked Jacinta piteously as she looked at her granddaughter. “Do you really have to do this? He’s your uncle! Can’t you forgive him just this once?”
Winnie could not believe that this was happening right now. Firmly, she replied, “Granny, can you not behave this way? If I let things slide, the next one to die will be Xavier. We’re talking about a man who’s planning a murder. Shouldn’t he be locked up? You need a reality check! I’m giving you a choice. Either Stuart goes to jail, or I tell him how Zyon really died. It’s time for you both to surrender. If you’re still going to be this stubborn, then I won’t care about our familial ties anymore.”
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