You Are My Anchor

Will looked intently at his mother who was deliberating whether to tell him or not.

"Tell me what it is, I can handle it." He urged. He had handled worse things after all.

"It's about your father's case." Rayla paused for a second and observed her son's reaction which didn't show any changes.

"What about it?" Will asked without any change in emotion. He had been through this a lot of times in the past and he knew what and what not to expect.

"It was a call from one of Mizzleport's estate management; they want me to come over for some reasons which they haven't told me."

Will sighed and threw himself into the sofa.

"William, there's something you need to know about your father." Rayla said with a bit of hesitation, she didn't know how he would react after hearing this.

"What do I need to know?" Will was now alert. He knew a lot of things about his father but any time something new was mentioned, he would feel like he didn't know anything at all.

"Your father…he wasn't convicted for embezzlement and bribery only," Rayla took a deep breath, "he was accused of multiple crimes. Over the past two years, other evidences have been discovered linking him to so many crimes."

Will had an exasperated look on his face. Of course he knew about this and he knew that his mother had deliberately kept it away from him but he just acted like it was something new to him.

Why do they want him gone so badly? What does he have that's a threat to them?

Will kept wondering. He had no idea about who was framing his father but he was sure that he was innocent.

"Multiple crimes." He repeated it to himself.

"Some of the crimes he's accused of are drugs, human trafficking, illegal weapons and arms deal, tax evasion, smuggling of contra banded goods and even more!" Rayla mentioned most of the crimes that her husband was facing punishment for.

In total, she wasn't sure if he would ever be let off the hook.

"That much? Do you think they've discovered another illegal dealing in Mizzleport?"

Will put up the act just so that his mother wouldn't worry about him. Apart from her believing that he didn't know what was going on, it would be rather odd for him to hear such things and not show the slightest bit of surprise or alarm. It could freak out his mother.

"I don't know but if it is, then I'm not sure what to do anymore." She was deeply disturbed. This wasn't the man she fell in love with and married. This wasn't the man she craved to be with every day. This wasn't the man she vowed to always support and build a family with.

Jeffrey wasn't the kind of man he was made out to be. He was a very gentle man, loving and always willing to sacrifice anything for her and William.

Rayla felt an overwhelming pain rise in her heart; it was painful like thousands of needles were being pushed through her heart and someone was squeezing it so hard. It was the kind of pain that could break even the soul and make one give up.

All these years, she had loved him and still did. It was this love that made her not to abandon him when he was arrested for multiple crimes, she still accepted his name. She could live with all the insults thrown at her for being a bad wife who supported her husband's crimes.

Yes, she could handle them all but now; she wasn't sure what to do anymore. She felt like she being alienated from the man she thought she knew. She hoped, with every fibre of her being, that he was innocent. Sadly, he was already in jail and there was no way for her to fight back.

What if he wasn't really innocent?

What would I do?

Rayla wanted to avoid these questions as much as possible.

She felt a bit guilty that she hadn't gone to the prison to visit him after all that has happened.

Maybe he thinks I've left him… Rayla sighed and comforted himself.

"You know that dad isn't guilty right?" Will asked with his face down like he was afraid of the answer she would give.

"…I believe that he isn't guilty." She replied with a slight hesitation. It might sound so fake but it was true. Deep down she believed he was innocent although she didn't do anything to show that she believed it.

"Okay." Will nodded slightly. He didn't want to ask any further. His mother was doing all she could to give him a better life and he now realised that everything she did was for him.

"Why didn't you tell me about this before?" he asked although he could vaguely guess the reason.

"I was trying to be a good mom, you know," Rayla sniffed and rubbed her reddened eyes, "it's easy to let you believe that your father is the perfect man and that he loved you so much. I wanted you to see him that way and never change your opinion of him.

"I also didn't want to break your heart seeing that you had such a strong faith in your father's innocence, seeing you like that made me feel whole.

"You were my anchor, son. Where my strength failed, all I had to do was look up to you and I would see hope and faith that could make anything possible.

"I don't want you to lose that strength and become like me…weak and pathetic."

Will reached out his small hands and hugged his mother who was now sobbing lightly.

"I will never lose that faith." He reassured.

"Have I failed you as a mother?" Rayla asked with a choked voice.

"No, you're the best mom ever. I wouldn't trade you for anything else." Will replied with a serious tone.

"Can I come along with you?" he asked as he let go of his mother who had calmed down a bit.

"You want to come?" Rayla was surprised. Usually, Will would prefer to stay at home than traveling.

"Yeah, we're a family and we should do things together." He smiled. Rayla felt her heart flutter.

That was a smile of a lifetime for her, not only did it have the innocence of a child, it also resembled her husband's smile…

"Okay then. We'll leave tomorrow."

She pinched his cheek lightly in a playful manner.

Will nodded. He will contact the detective later to inform him that he was going away for a while.