Madam Escaped Again, Sir (Lillian Hawkins and Eric Walker) novel Chapter 101

“What else is there? Cynthia has been angling to get acquitted, which is why she’s so insistent on lodging an appeal in the first place. That being said, the appeal wouldn’t make a difference, and the sentences would still run anyway. Her mom probably rushed over here to convince you to drop the charges,” Charles said as he leaned close to Sonia’s ear.

He spoke softly, but Carmen heard it nonetheless, and she winced in embarrassment as she interjected, “Well, Miss Reed, Mr. Lane is right. I am indeed here to convince you to drop the charges.”

“See? Told you so,” Charles mused, shrugging dismissively.

Sonia rolled her eyes at him in mild exasperation before addressing Carmen with a distant smile.

“I’m sorry, Mrs. Stone, but I won’t be dropping the charges.”

Carmen stiffened when she heard her words and grew a little uneasy; she had not expected such an outright rejection from the other woman. However, she was quick to regain her composure as she pleaded, “Please, Miss Reed. I know Cynthia has completely crossed the line this time, but she’s been repentant ever since. Could you please—”

“No!” Sonia was expressionless as she cut Carmen off mid-sentence. “Mrs. Stone, you said she’s been repentant ever since, so why is it that she has yet to apologize to me? More to the point, why didn’t you apologize to me on her part? Don’t you think that’s the least you could do as a parent after realizing your daughter’s in the wrong?”

That’s right,” Charles chimed. He put his hands on the back of his head as he added insouciantly, “It seems rather insincere on your part to show up—without gifts, might I add— and ask my darling for a favor now that the ruling is about to be given and Cynthia is going to be pronounced guilty. It’s almost like a bad joke.”

Carmen tightened her grip on her purse, growing flustered after the two persons in front of her had put her down without much decorum. The humiliation left her speechless. She thought she might be able to persuade Sonia to relent on the charges. I didn’t know how cold-hearted these two could be, she thought grimly.

Not wanting to be pestered by Carmen any longer, Sonia glanced at Charles meaningfully and declared, “Well then, we should make a move.

Just as the both of them turned to leave,

Carmen stepped forward and grabbed Sonia by the hand abruptly. “I’m begging you, Miss Reed. Please go easy on my daughter and give her a second chance.”

Sonia frowned when she heard this and tried to pull away from the older woman’s grasp, but the latter’s vise-like grip prevented this from happening. “Won’t you please just drop the charges for my sake, Miss Reed? If you do, I’ll personally bring Cynthia over and give you a formal apology. Please, Miss Reed.”

“Mrs. Stone, I’m sure I’ve made myself very clear just now that I will not drop the charges, so begging me won’t do you any good at all. Could you please let go of me now?” Sonia bit out impatiently.

However, her words fell upon deaf ears as Carmen gazed at her peevishly. “How could you be so heartless, Miss Reed?”

“Did you just say my darling is heartless? Come on, even you have to admit that Cynthia deserves what she got,” Charles pointed out in dark amusement as he scoffed, only to be ignored by Carmen.

Instead, Carmen put her attention on Sonia as she went on to say, “Should I get down on my knees before you then, Miss Reed?” With that, she promptly let go of Sonia and dropped to her knees in front of the latter.

Sonia and Charles were shocked by her action, and when they finally registered the situation, they quickly hauled her to her feet.

“Don’t do this, Mrs. Stone!” Sonia sighed tiredly, rubbing her temples in frustration.

Charles, too, was displeased by this turn of events. “This is emotional blackmail, Mrs. Stone.”

He could hardly believe that Carmen would resort to begging on her knees after Sonia’s outright rejection. This was virtually no different from running away from responsibilities. Besides, this was far more than just emotional blackmailing; it was as good as duress.

Evidently, Carmen’s outlook on things was just as twisted as Cynthia’s. It was no wonder that the latter turned out the way she did.

Carmen ignored Charles. Upon seeing Sonia’s expression soften, she gazed at her hopefully and seized the chance to ask, “Does this mean you’ve agreed to drop the charges, Miss Reed?”

Sonia started to say, “I’m sorry, Mrs. Stone, but I