Blood moon

Chapter 35. I should have stayed home

Chris J. Anderson had had enough of Andrea Smith and the Halland family, as the days progressed he was getting all kinds of notices from the courts to appear for different reasons, they had even opened already closed floodgates like those of his former lovers who filed abuse charges, he could no longer understand what was going on, but an army of lawyers also showed up at the house thanks to Mr. Garroway.

His friends, not answering his calls, pretended not to know him on the street. The only person who remained faithful by his side was his mother, the woman was constantly calling her friends and acquaintances, she was trying to maintain the family image they had preserved for many years in the community but it was practically impossible for her to fight the Hallands.

It was difficult to fight them, they were one of the five founding families of the town. They had been living in the area for more than two hundred years and the locals knew it, they were the fastest growing company in the area, they employed practically at least one member of the family of each inhabitant, so going against them was something crazy, the Andersons had only been living in the area for about twenty years, they were practically newcomers.

Mrs. Anderson noticed the difference in treatment almost immediately as soon as she entered the church that Sunday.

—I can't believe they have the nerve to come in here.

—No one with any shame had ever poked their head in here.

—Some people just have no dignity.

The comments from the women of the town were not long in coming, they were gesturing for him to stay away from them and telling their daughters to stay away from the man, Mrs. Anderson's heart was hurting, no matter how much she tried to show her inner strength it was more than evident that it was affecting her. There were no words to describe the kind of pain his indifference caused her.

—You know people in difficult times, the hypocrisy of some is surprising— she commented on the air for all present to hear.

—Hypocrisy? that's the one you have to show your face around here— answered a man with a deep voice in his back, she turned to look him in the eyes, she found that the man was wearing a plaid shirt and jeans, he looked like an ordinary man.

—Excuse me? You don't even know me, I don't understand what gives you the right to even give an opinion on matters that are obviously above your rank," she answered him in a contemptuous way.

—You don't know me either and I don't think you should talk to people the way you do— the man's tone left no room for doubt, the people of the church began to swirl around them, as the service had concluded.

—I am a Christian woman, I have belonged to this church for many years and honestly, what happens to my life is none of your business, now please go away— he wanted to get this over with and regain the role he once had in the community.

—Mrs. Anderson, you are as impolite as your son, in short, the saying "like father, like son" applies to you, you would do us all a favor by staying away so that people can circulate with confidence— those words had an effect on her, a truly diabolical one.

—Do I know him? How dare you talk about my son? He is a man of integrity and impeccability, everyone in this town owes him an apology for his behavior, the Hallands have said nothing but bullshit about him— her tone of voice was a bit desperate and her eyes were wide in comparison.

—He is so impeccable that he has s****l abuse cases at the police station, anyone who wants to can go to the sheriff and ask him about it.

—That is a vile lie, those girls only want to make my son look bad because he rejected them. The liars dropped the charges almost immediately— I tried to defend him.

—My daughter is not a liar— exclaimed a woman taking a step forward, Mrs. Anderson turned pale —You called my house to talk to her, you left her very upset and then you made a big money transfer, you bought her silence, but not mine, my daughter is not a liar.

—I don't know what you are talking about— the woman's voice broke near the end.

-How do you not know if our children went to graduation together, I still have the pictures and then my daughter came home crying, her dress torn— the woman's voice was too loud now —my daughter didn't eat for many days and she never was the same, she left our house to deal with depression.

—I don't know what you're talking about— she tried to defend herself once again.

—It's true, I was at the same party as them— the supportive comments began to get louder, Mrs. Anderson deeply regretted the way things were going and that she had come alone, although if her son Chris was here maybe people would have been much harsher.

—Mrs. Anderson, you'd better leave now, before tempers flare further— advised the man who had been putting her in a difficult situation in the first place, the woman could not believe the level of gall she was experiencing with that man with the somewhat gray hair.

—You are the cause of my misfortunes today— she exclaimed indignantly, unable to restrain the rage she was feeling.

—I am Harol Halland, the leader of one of the largest companies in the country and a driving force of labor in this town, we know exactly what your son did wrong, how he fraudulently entered our company and we have videos of him trying to assault one of our employees— there was a deep silence in the place, before the low comments about the speculations started, meanwhile the woman turned a pale white color, she felt that even her legs were starting to fail her.

—She has no idea what she is talking about, my son would not be capable of something like that.

—We can play the video, to see if he is capable or not, my lady.

—It's a hoax from that woman, that w***e who tries to incriminate him because he broke up with her and now he's with that punk gangster boy— a chilling smile came to the werewolf's mouth, everything in his instincts told him to tear her apart.

—That punk kid you're talking about is my youngest son, Hunter— this time the woman wished she had kept her mouth shut and the earth swallowed her up.