Chapter 111
“I won’t contact him. I never did,” Natalie stammered, her whole body trembling.
She couldn’t bring herself to admit that she had ever reached out to her father.
Audrey looked at her with utter disdain. “Even now, at a time like this, you’re still lying? You’re unbelievably stupid. You’d better tell me the truth, or you’ll end up behind bars just like him. Don’t blame me if I kick you out of the family then.”
“What?” Natalie stammered, panic rising in her voice. “Mom, what did you just say? What do you mean by that? Where exactly is he going?”
Audrey stepped back and slumped onto the sofa. “He was caught planning a kidnapping. Unless a miracle happens, he’s headed straight to prison.”
“How could this be happening?” Natalie went pale, staring at Audrey in utter disbelief. She asked, “How could he get caught? How is this even possible? Mom, you have to believe me. This has nothing to do with me. I had no idea what he was doing. I can’t go to jail!”
“Pathetic,” Audrey spat, disappointment and anger flashing across her face as she kicked Natalie hard, sending her sprawling to the floor. She said, “If you can’t face the consequences, then don’t even think about doing something like this. If you dare to act, you better have a flawless plan to wipe your hands clean. With that cowardly attitude of yours, you really thought you could get someone else to do your dirty work? Did you honestly believe he’d go to jail for you just because he was sweet to you before? That’s beyond stupid. Natalie, remember that nobody does anything for free in this world. No one risks it all for someone else out of kindness. It’s always about what they can get out of it.”
Natalie couldn’t help but feel indignant. Reynard always said she was his precious daughter and that he’d do anything for her. Reynard even told her that if Audrey hadn’t taken her away selfishly and kept him in the dark about her, he never would have ignored her all these years. Reynard told Natalie if she’d grown up by his side, he would have treated her like a princess and made everyone envy her. But instead, she’d been stuck with Audrey, always getting scolded and beaten, growing up with nothing but humiliation and hardship.
Natalie thought bitterly, ‘But I have nothing to offer him! He never got anything out of me. Is it impossible that he just wanted to be good to me for once?’
“I call you stupid, and you still won’t admit it!” Audrey snapped, fury making her stand up, yank a whip from under the coffee table, and lash it hard across Natalie. She asked, “How did I give birth to such an idiot? Have you ever thought about your last name? If you weren’t a Kinberg, do you really think he’d ever treat you like a princess?”
The whip came down so suddenly that Natalie forgot to even try to dodge. It was only when the second lash struck that she screamed and scrambled away.
Natalie thought, ‘No way, this can’t be true! He promised he’d always protect me. He said he would be good to me, spoil me, and care for me. He would never lie to me…’
She couldn’t believe that Reynard–the one who always said he loved her and would do anything for her–would actually deceive and manipulate her. But if he hadn’t told Audrey about it, Audrey would never know that they were still in contact.
“What’s so impossible about that?” Audrey scoffed, “Did you really think he called me just to reminisce?”
Natalie stood there in shock, like the world had just collapsed around her. She thought, ‘Why is he treating me like this? Is there really no one out there who truly cares about me? He is always going on about being a responsible father to me. But is this his idea of responsibility and protection by ratting me out to my mom the moment something happens? Is he just hoping the Kinberg family would step in and save him? But did he ever stop to think that by doing this, it’s possible that my mom could beat me to death? If he never had the ability to back up his big promises, why brag in front of me at all? If he couldn’t do it, why put me in danger? I am better off without a father like that.’