When She Rose From the Ashes

Chapter 452 Wash Away the Years

Chapter 452 Wash Away the Years

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As Waylon spoke, his eyes reddened. Though Natalie was already a mother of two, she had never gone through

what her parents had; yet she could still feel their pain deep in her heart.

“Dad, I'll get a towel and wash mom's face.”

“Alright.”

Waylon nodded. Natalie went to the bathroom, filled a basin with warm water, and used a damp towel to gently

wipe Ruby's face and hands; then she carefully smoothed out her mother’s hair.

Ruby must have been a beauty once-but the years of grief over her lost child, and the endless, relapse of her

illness, had left faint traces of age and exhaustion on her face.

Looking at her mother’s delicate features, Natalie whispered, “Mom, I'm home. We may have lost over twenty

years together, but we still have many more ahead of us. If you really love me, you have to get better. All the

motherly love | missed out on-you have to make it up to me, double.”

Ruby's fingers twitched slightly, but her eyes stayed closed.

Both Waylon and Natalie knew she was awake; she just didn’t know how to face the daughter in front of her.

Natalie didn’t press her. She sighed softly and took Ruby’s hand in hers.

The doctor arrived quickly. When Flynn led him into the room and saw Ruby's condition, he froze for a moment.

He looked as if he wanted to say something, but Waylon gave him a subtle shake of the head.

Flynn immediately fell silent.

After examining Ruby, the doctor determined that her injuries were only superficial and prescribed some

medication. As for her depression, there wasn’t much he could say-such an illness required tand patience.

Ruby had battled it for over two decades, with constant relapses and no real recovery.

Any story about a kidnapped child, or the death of one, could trigger her raw nerves in an instant.

The Stone family had long grown used to that.

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8:33 Thu, Oct 16

Chapter 452 Wash Away the Years

Once the doctor left, Natalic personally applied the medicine to Ruby’s wounds.

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Throughout it all, Ruby's tears flowed continuously, even though she never opened her eyes.

She felt too ashamed to face her daughter; Natalie didn’t push her.

When she finished tending to her, she noticed Ruby's breathing had evened out-she must have fallen asleep.

Natalie tucked her in and quietly straightened the room before slipping out.

Waylon sat alone in the living room.

The once commanding businessman now looked tired and worn; his back was slightly hunched, and Natalie could

even see strands of white in his hair.

He was only in his early fifties, yet in that moment, he looked so much older.

Natalie knew he carried an enormous weight-Ruby’s long illness had been draining enough, and on top of that,

he still had to manage the entire Stone family.

She sat down beside him.

“Dad,” she said softly, “tellthe truth. What's really going on with our family?”

Waylon blinked in surprise at her question.

Flynn returned after seeing the doctor out and quietly sat next to Natalie without saying a word.

Waylon looked at his daughter with a small smile. “What makes you ask that all of a sudden?”

Natalie lowered her voice. “Dad, I'm

not stupid. If what happened more

than twenty years ago -the baby

switch—was an accident, then how

do you explain whatbppened at the

pblice aitian? | was kidnapped and

taken to Ocevaris; are you saying that

was an accident too? | don't think

Rachel planned that. She wanted me

dead, that much was obvious. When

Anna kidnapped me, her goal was to

kill me; if Jensen hadn't taken that

knife for me, | probably would've

been seriously hurt—or worse.” The

content is on novelenglish.net! Read

the latest chapter there!

She paused, then continued, “Since

Anna didn't manage to killand

was captured right after by Baron's

men, she never had the phante Ww

fipd quits stl alive; that means

she couldn't have arranged another

kidnapping at the station. So I'm

more inclined to believe Rachel knew

nothing about that incident—though

that doesn't rule out her connection

to whoever was behind it.” The

content is on novelenglish.net! Read

the latest chapter there!

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8:33 Thu, Oct 16

Chapter 452 Wash Away the Years

Waylon said nothing, only watched Natalie with quiet admiration.

Flynn paused too, then urged gently, “Go on, Natalie.”

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Natalie felt a little embarrassed under the way the two of them were looking at her-so full of pride and

amazement. Con, it’s just basic reasoning; anyone could figure this out.

Still, their admiration felt nice.

She gave a faint, almost wistful smile before continuing.

“After | was taken to Ocevaris, | found

out there was going to be an

auction—one where women from all

over the world were being sold. Beth

toldthose aucti g9nly @ppen

pote yéan Ears had

a ready cand gone. So the fact

that they were hosting another one,

and inviting powerful people from

Ocean City and beyond, couldn't be a

coincidence. Something bigger was

at play. | don't know what it is yet, but

| can't shake the feeling that it's tied

to our family—or more specifically,

that it was targeting the Stone family

itself.” The content is on

novelenglish.net! Read the latest

chapter there!

8:33 Thu, Oct 16