Chapter 9 (Mother-in-law And The Police)

“This is all your fault,” Rachel spat angrily, turning to face Drake who suddenly looked stunned, wondering how her being stopped by the police was his fault. “My daughter is lying in the hospital bed because of you,” she added.

Drake found it hard to connect the dots between Summer being in the hospital and she driving recklessly but all attempts seemed to appear futile.

“Mom, please..” Drake begged, his voice calm while trying to reason with the police officers to let Rachel go.

“Don't you dare call me mom,” she interrupted, her voice rising. “You are nothing but a coward and a gold digger. You never deserved my daughter. Summer's greatest mistake was marrying you. Now see where it landed her - in the hospital bed battling for her life.”

Drake's brows furrowed, confusion mounting up within him, almost making him want to regret having to stopped by to salvage the situation.

“Mother…, not here, please.” He begged.

“Then where?” Rachel snarled.

The officers exchanged puzzled glances wondering what the two of them were talking about. The reason they had stopped Rachel was for her reckless driving but hearing her talk about her daughter and her being in the hospital raised their curiosity.

“What exactly is going on here?” The senior officer asked, trying to find out what exactly the two of them were talking about.

“You see officers,” Rachel began. “This man is a manipulator! He doesn't care about my daughter. The only person he cares about is himself. He plotted the accident and now my daughter is in the hospital.”

“Is that true?” The officer asked, turning to Drake who suddenly felt a pang of hurt but tried to focus, turning his attention to the police officers. “Officers, if you don't mind, can I have a moment with you?” Drake requested, politely.

“You're going to listen to him?” Rachel cut in, her tone dripping with disdain. “He's the reason my daughter is suffering!”

The police officers, clearly uncomfortable with the scene, turned to Drake who seemed to be more responsible to talk to than Rachel who was sounding so lousy.

“Officers, I swear I had nothing to do with the accident,” Drake began, his voice steady and firm. “I've been doing everything within my power to support my family.” He added.

“Don't listen to him!” Rachel shouted.

“Ma'am, will you keep quiet, please?” One of the officers said, trying to sound as politely as possible.

“Yes ma'am, I'll advise you to keep quiet, else we'll have to issue a citation against you for reckless driving.” The other police officer said, his tone firm.

Rachel sneered, her eyes flashing with no remorse. “This is absurd! You can't issue a citation against me for reckless driving.”

“We will, if you don't keep quiet. Maybe you've forgotten that the reason we stopped you is for reckless driving and not because of your family issues?” The first police officer blurted out angrily.

Rachel's brow furrowed, surprised that the police officers would decide to take Drake's side instead of her own.

“This isn't fair, I'm the victim here. My daughter is the one lying on the hospital bed. I deserve to be heard.” Rachel cried.

The second police officer's patience wore thin, “Ma'am, if you don't calm down and allow us to do our Jobs, we'll have to take further actions.” 

Rachel glared at the police officer, her defiance palpable. “Further actions? Against me?”

“Yes ma'am,” the officer replied sternly. “You can be charged for reckless driving, just incase you seemed to have forgotten that you exceeded the required speed limit on a minor street road.” 

Rachel's face countered with rage but she had no choice but to fall silent. “I can't believe this is happening,” she whispered under her breath.