Chapter 298

Tessa’s POV

“Tessa?” I heard my name but everything was so foggy, I wasn’t sure if I was hearing correctly or not. “What’s wrong, babe?”

I definitely heard it that time and when the strong and warm arms wrapped around me, I immediately started to calm. But I still felt so clouded and confused by everything. Joseph’s hand went up and down my back soothingly and I found myself leaning into him, basking in the warmth and comfort that he provided.

“I…” I started to say but then froze for a moment.

“What is it?” He asked in the most soothing tone. “What happened?”

I shook my head as tears threatened to spill before wiping my eyes on the back of my sleeve.

“I have to call my dad,” I finally blurted as I reached into my pocket to grab my phone.

“Your dad?” He asked, confused. “Why? What’s going on?”

I turned to look at Joseph.

“I think he might be in trouble,” I admitted.

His brows pinched together but before he could say anything, my father’s voice was on the other end of the phone. I hadn’t even realized I called him yet, but I was relieved to hear his voice.

“Tess? Hey, what’s going on?” My father said on the other end.

I let out the breath I didn’t know I was holding.

“Dad…” I nearly croaked. “Are you alone?”

“Yes,” he answered without hesitation. “Is everything okay, sweetheart?”

“I don’t really know…:” I admitted. “I don’t have actual proof of anything, Dad. But you have to believe me.”

“Tess, calm down. Just tell me what’s going on, Kiddo.”

I took a deep breath.

“Lucias is dead, Dad,” I said in a breath. “He tried to kidnap me and he got into an accident. I healed pretty quickly because I guess that’s a thing I can do. But Lucias died. After his death the coven reached out… they were all freaking out…”

“Wait, the coven?” My father asked, interrupting me. “Your mother’s coven?”

“Yes,” I answered. “Patty called Esmeralda. Apparently, they don’t remember anything since the night of the war.”

“The war?” My father asked.

“Yes, Dad,” I answered. “I guess Lucias did something to them all and they’ve been under his control for the last two decades.”

“Even Patty?” Dad asked and I could hear the worry in his voice.

“Including Patty,” I told him. “She had no idea she even owned a bakery, let alone have a crush on you. When she saw me… she thought I was Mom,” I explained, shaking my head at the memory. “They were crying and freaking out. We went to the coven to try and figure things out. None of them remember anything and we weren’t sure how someone like Lucias, who isn’t very powerful himself, could pull something like this off…”

“And did you figure it out?” My father asked.

“I think so, that’s why I’m calling,” I told him, tears welling up in my eyes because I knew my father wasn’t going to like what I was going to say next. I didn’t have proof of this; I was going off of what Derek had said a hunch in the pit of my stomach.

Joseph, who could hear both ends of the conversation was staring at me confused. I hadn’t even told him yet but I knew he was just as curious and worried as my father was. He kept rubbing circles around my back to soothe me. It helped a little, but not enough.

“It was Penny, Dad…”

There was silence on the other end and felt Joseph freezing beside me as he studied my face.

“Dad?” I asked after what felt like an eternity of silence.

“My Penny?” He asked in barely a whisper. I winced from the question and let the tears release themselves from my eyes.

“Yes,” I answered. “One of the newest coven members remembers her there with Lucias recruiting people. It’s obvious he isn’t working alone. I’m not sure who or what she is… but she isn’t who she says she is.”

More silence.

“Dad, please say something,” I pleaded when I couldn’t stand the silence anymore.

“That’s a huge accusation, Tess,” my dad finally said, making me wince again. I could feel Joseph’s frustrations without even looking at his face and I knew he was seconds away from taking the phone from me.

“I know that, Dad. That’s why it was so hard for me to call you. But I can feel it in my gut that Penny is involved somehow.”

“You never did like her…” my dad said, his tone going cold.

My mouth fell open; I knew there was a chance he wouldn’t believe me because there wasn’t any actual proof of her involvement. But for him to accuse me of lying because I didn’t like her? It was like someone had punched me in the gut and I winced from his harsh tone.

“I think she did something to you too,” I blurted. “Don’t you remember you made a promise to Mom that you would never remarry after her? What happened to that promise?”

“Things changed,” my father said, his tone dry. “I fell in love, Tessa. We discussed this. Penny is a part of our lives whether you like it or not. But to make up this ridiculous lie about her—”

Joseph had the phone out of my hand before I could even react to what he was saying.

“Sir, with all due respect, you should know your daughter better than that. Do you honestly think she would make something so serious up because she dislikes someone?” Joseph asked, I could see the anger on his face as he spoke, but he kept his voice oddly calm.

“Joseph?” My father asked.

“Yes, sir,” Joseph answered, wrapping his arm around me and pulling me into him. I hadn’t realized how badly I was crying until my face was buried in his chest and I saw tear marks I was leaving on his shirt. I would have felt bad, but I was too worried about my father to care about ruining Joseph’s shirt. “A lot has happened over the last 24 hours. Your daughter almost died. She discovered more about herself than she ever thought possible. She doesn’t have time to make up an elaborate lie like that. Her gut instinct is never wrong; it’s part of her gift and who she is. I would trust her blindly any day of the week and I would expect her father to do the same.”

“I don’t care who you are, you don’t speak to me like that,” my father surprised me by saying. He didn’t sound like my father at all and my heart shattered from that.

Could this be because of Penny? Did she do something to make him say these things and act this way? That was the only thing that made sense because he wasn’t sounding like the father I knew.

“I mean no disrespect, but if there’s a part of you that thinks for a second that Tessa could be telling the truth, I advise that you get into the car and come to our home in New York right away. It’s the only place you’ll truly be safe. You’ll be surrounded by witches and wizards, not including myself. At least until we can figure out what exactly is going on here and how we can fix it.”

There was more silence on the other end and I felt my chest tightening with each passing moment.

“I’m not leaving my home,” my father finally said. “I did that once before and I had to sell my animals. I’m not doing that again.”

“Where’s Penny now?” I asked before Joseph could say another word.

“She’s out of town for the week. She will be back on Sunday. She went to visit a sick relative,” he answered.

I looked at Joseph, worry evident on both our faces.

“When did she leave?”

“She received notification of the relative yesterday and she left in a hurry,” my father answered, sounding exhausted and I could tell he was done with this conversation.

“That was when Lucias died,” I whispered to Joseph and he nodded, indicating that he was thinking the same exact thing as I was.

“Sir, it’s better if you used that opportunity to get away from her. I don’t think it’s safe to be in that house when she’s around,” Joseph said louder for my father to hear.

“I already told you, I’m not leaving my home. Whether you two like it or not, Penny is my wife. I love her more than anything and I will stand by her until the very end. If you have nothing more to say, I will say this conversation is now over.”

“Dad—” I tried to reason.

“Goodbye, Tessa,” my father practically spat just before the line went dead.