Chapter 218 Tears and Truths
Finished
Felix’s lips parted slightly, and his deep, magnetic voice flowed through the air, “Laurie, sit!”
The way he said “Laurie” sent a blush to her cheeks and quickened her heartbeat. She didn’t know when he had stopped calling her as Ms. Bennett, but he seemed to favor drawing her close, face–to–face, whenever they spoke.
“Mr. Brooker, is something wrong?” Lauren’s voice was soft and slightly trembling.
“Yes, Kenneth’s parents brought Elaine with them. Felix’s voice was deep and calm, as if he were discussing something utterly mundane, yet Lauren could feel a tense atmosphere spreading instantly through the air.
Lauren’s pupils dilated sharply; the moment she had been anxiously awaiting for five long years had finally
arrived.
Although the truth had been thoroughly investigated by Gael, Elaine held a special significance for her; she was the only key witness who could prove Lauren’s innocence. Only Elaine’s testimony could fully clear the false accusations she had carried for five years.
She followed the pull of Felix’s hand and slowly sat beside him.
Felix turned slightly and instructed Anna, “Anna, open the door. Let them in.”
Brendan and Brielle had already been waiting outside for a long time.
After learning the truth from Elaine, their faces had turned ashen, filled with guilt and self–reproach, almost unable to face Lauren.
During the hour it took Lauren to wake up, wash up, and eat breakfast, the couple had stood rigidly outside the Brooker’s Villa, letting the cold rain drench them.
They hadn’t used an umbrella, almost as if they were using this nearly self–torturous method to punish themselves for their past mistakes and seek Lauren’s forgiveness.
The relentless rain soaked their clothes through, their hair plastered wetly to their pale faces, making them look utterly wretched. Anna opened the villa door and said to Brendan, Brielle, and Elaine standing outside the iron gate, “Come in.”
At her words, Brendan’s body jolted.
In that instant, they felt as if their legs were weighted down with lead, too heavy to move. Just yesterday, they had been adamant about punishing Lauren and humiliating her, but in just one day, everything had changed dramatically.
Five years ago, Lauren had not harmed Elaine. Yet, Elaine’s supposed victimization had started Lauren’s nightmarish ordeal, subjecting her to five years of wrongful imprisonment and endless torment.
Elaine looked at her ashen–faced parents and felt only endless sorrow.
“Let’s go in. We have to face it. No one can escape their sins; this is what we owe Lauren.”
Her voice was calm and resolute as she pushed her wheelchair straight into the villa, with Brendan following
behind like a zombie.
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Chapter 218 Tears and Truths
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invisible force, and their legs gave out. They both collapsed with a thud in front of Lauren, begging for
mercy.
“Lauren, we are so sorry,” Brendan’s voice was hoarse and shaking with profound guilt.
“We didn’t mean to. We thought you had hurt Elaine, so we sent you to prison. We are truly sorry.” Brielle was already in tears, the tears streaming down her checks.
In just a few days, they had been shattered by one brutal truth after another, seemingly aged a decade in an instant. They were genuinely remorseful, but it was difficult to see how Lauren could easily accept this belated apology.
“A simple ‘sorry‘ is supposed to make up for all the suffering I endured in prison?” Lauren’s voice was calm but carried an undeniable anger and resentment. “In prison, I was slapped daily, forced to beg for mercy, had toilet water poured over me, was stabbed with needles, had my leg bones broken…”
As Lauren listed her torments, Brendan and Brielle’s faces turned even paler.
“All these horrors, aren’t they thanks to you? Of course, it wasn’t just you–David and Willow, among others, bribed prison inmates to torture me in the cruelest ways, even going so far as to take one of my kidneys. I went from being a healthy, promising young woman to the crippled state I am in now. None of you can escape responsibility.”
Lauren’s voice trembled slightly, “My life was destroyed by you. What makes you think a flippant ‘sorry‘ can erase the damage you’ve done to me?”
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