Chapter 267: Let my daughter rest in peace.
Anne stood frozen, her hands still gripping the bars, her heart twisting painfully. Patricia wasn’t just a mother drowning in guilt—she was a broken soul desperately trying to rewrite her daughter’s ending, even if it meant sacrificing her own.
"Lorie is already dead...I don’t hold a grudge with her any longer," she said compassionately. "You should tell the truth. Don’t destroy yourself like this..."
But Patricia shook her head violently. "No," she cried out, her pain spilling over in broken words. "The truth will never come out. I told you because I had to—I owed you that much. But no one else can know." Her gaze turned desperate, almost frantic. "Promise me, Anne. Please... promise me this dies with me."
Anne stared at her, bewildered. "Why? Why would you do this to yourself? You didn’t even know what Lorie was planning. You didn’t commit the crime. Why shoulder this burden?"
"Because I won’t let anyone tarnish her name," Patricia shouted. "She is dead now. Whatever she did, she paid the price. Let her rest in peace... please. She went through enough already."
Tears welled in her eyes as her voice dropped to a whisper. "She begged me to save her... again and again. She said Robert was killing her slowly, that she couldn’t take it anymore. But I didn’t help her. Instead, I told her to endure it. I told her to win his heart, to be patient—like love could fix a monster like him."
Her shoulders hunched as she wrapped her arms tightly around herself. "I was scared. I was weak. I owed him money, and I thought keeping quiet was safer. I told her to accept the marriage, to submit to her fate. I thought things would smooth between them if they spent more time together. But I was wrong. I didn’t do anything to help her. And now... she is gone."
She began slamming her fist against her chest. "It’s my fault. All my fault... If I had done something—anything—she might still be alive. She needed me, and I turned away. I abandoned my daughter when she needed me most."
Her sobs grew louder, echoing through the cell. "She must have hated me... she must’ve..."
Seeing Patricia break down like that, Anne’s heart twisted painfully. Tears shimmered in her eyes, her throat thick with emotion.
"Patricia..." she whispered, clasping the bars a little tighter.