"Of course," Her father replied without any sign of hesitation. "I never thought that they would come up with such a despicable way to make me agree. But then again, your dad is not someone who would rather break his spine than bend in front of such people."
He smiled at Mia, who couldn't summon the energy to smile back at her father. She knew that her father was innocent but with Henry's father, Benjamin, not in the city, she was certain that there was little to nothing she could do to help her father.
She also knew that with Henry being so protective of Jamie with his memories gone, he was going to lap up all kinds of bullshit that Jamie was going to feed him.
Which meant that the chances of her father coming out of the prison were really low, unless she could reach Benjamin. The only person who could control Henry at the moment.
"Hey, don't look so worried," Toby said to Mia with a soft smile. "There is no need for you to be so scared. There is no evidence, so there is no case. At most they will keep me locked up for a few days."
"But there is no evidence to prove that you are innocent either." Knowing Jamie, she must have cleared up all the traces that would lead her to trouble; she must have been fully certain that she would not be caught; only then she must have jumped up in this mess.
"Well," Toby pulled back from the glass window and remarked, "I always wanted to retire—"
"DAD!" Mia snapped. She couldn't believe that he was making light of the situation when his entire career was on the line.
"I know that you are worried, sweetie," Toby sighed as he took in the frown on her face. "But there is nothing that we can do for now. Benjamin is not in the city and it will take him some days to return. By the time he returns, I am sure that nothing will be left of my reputation and studio."
Toby was aware that the world was not all sunshine and daisies. When someone unworthy got a hold of power and authority, chaos was doomed to reign. And Jamie was just the kind of woman who should have never been given the chance to taste this kind of authority.
And now that she had gotten her hand on it, Toby was certain that the woman would not leave his daughter alone. Jamie might be unhinged but she was not foolish. She knew that as long as Henry was to regain his memories, it would be game over for her. Thus, she wanted to ruin Mia and him enough to make sure that they would never appear in front of Henry again.
Everything she did was to safeguard her own position.
"Time's over." The officer walked in and tapped on the glass wall, causing the man inside the small box-like communication room to walk over and drag her dad off the chair.
"Promise that you will not go to meet with Henry or Jamie, Mia," her father shouted as the man dragged him away. "Promise me."
And as much as Mia wanted to agree with her father, she just couldn't do it. She couldn't just let Jamie Hudson ruin her father's years of hard work.
The sight of her father's hands cuffed in handcuffs flashed in front of her eyes and Mia gritted her teeth. She had divorced Henry and moved out of his house; what else did that woman want from her?
"Mia!" Taryn, who was waiting for her outside, strode over. She stammered, "These officers are saying that Uncle Wills, he did something to Jamie. How can that be possible?"
"Of course it's not possible," Mia clutched her purse and bit her lower lip. "It's just a petty, cruel scheme to ruin my father's reputation all because a certain spoiled princess didn't get what she wanted."
She then told Taryn what Jamie had done and by the time she was done, her best friend was shaking in rage that mirrored her.
"Fucking bitch, does she ever get satisfied? Is it not enough to kick you out of Henry's life that she is trying to disrespect your father's career and his legacy?" Taryn was a big fan of Toby and his works and it was nearly impossible for her to accept Jamie's actions.
Mia ran a hand through her hair and muttered, "Maybe she thought that she would get what she wanted now that I am no longer Mrs. Holman."
Taryn muttered another round of curses as she questioned, "What are you going to do now?"
"What else can I do?" Mia smiled mockingly. "Other than begging with Henry and hoping that he would let my father off."
The chances were, of course, close to zero but she had to try.
On the other side, in the VIP ward of a well-known hospital in the city.
"H—Henry?" Jamie's eyes flickered open and she looked at the man in front of her with a trace of vulnerability and determination. Her eyes slowly turned red and she started crying, "Oh, Henry. I am so glad that you are here. I thought—I thought—"
She trailed off as her sobs started to echo in the ward.
"Shh, it's okay. My little Devil." Henry walked over to her bedside and immediately brought her to his embrace; though his use of the nickname with which he called Mia annoyed Jamie, she still buried her face into the crook of his neck and cried harder. "Henry, oh Henry, you have no idea how scared I was when I realised that I was drugged. I thought I was going to lose you; now that you are here, I am finally feeling at ease."
Though she spoke these words in a choking voice, if only Henry had looked back,he would have seen Jamie smirking in satisfaction rather than crying.