NovelEnglishChapter 278 No one could say exactly when it started, but at spoint, he had stopped calling her Ms. Linwood. Now, every tthey spoke, he seemed to insist on drawing her close, making sure they faced each other directly.
"Mr. Foster, is there something you need?" Claire's voice was soft, with a faint tremble.
Sean's reply was deep and even, almost casual. "Brian's parents are here. They've brought Irene." His tone made it sound like the most ordinary news, but Claire instantly felt a tension settle over the room, heavy and unyielding.
Her pupils constricted in shock.
The moment she had waited and hoped for-endured five years for-had finally arrived.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtThough Jeffry had already uncovered the truth, Irene's presence meant everything to Claire. Irene was the only one who could truly clear her name. Only Irene's testimony could finally, completely, lift the injustice that had haunted Claire for five long years.
Letting Sean's guiding hand lead her, Claire sat down beside him.
Sean turned slightly, giving a quiet instruction to Grace. "Grace, open the door. Let them in." Outside, Jarrod and Karin had been waiting for what felt like an eternity.
Ever since Irene had told them the truth about that night, the color had drained from their faces. Guilt and regret weighed so heavily on them that neither could bear to look Claire in the eye.
For over an hour-while Claire had gotten up, washed, and eaten breakfast-this couple had stood outside Foster Manor, letting the chilly rain soak them through.
They hadn't bothered with umbrellas. It was as if, by standing there exposed to the elements, they were trying to punish themselves for their mistakes, to offer ssmall atonement for their wrongs against Claire.
The rain mercilessly plastered their clothes to their bodies, their hair limp and lifeless against skin that had gone pale as paper. They looked utterly wretched, every bit as broken as they felt inside.
Grace opened the front door and called out to the figures waiting beyond the iron gate, "You can cin now." Jarrod and Karin flinched at her words, as if the sound itself was a blow.
In that instant, their legs felt like they'd turned to lead. It was all they could do to take a single step.
Just yesterday, they'd been so sure of themselves, so eager to confront Claire, to shher. And now, in the space of a day, everything had been turned upside down.
Five years ago, Claire had never harmed Irene. Yet what happened to Irene had becthe start of Claire's nightmare, sending her to prison for a crshe didn't commit and leaving her to endure five years of hell. Irene glanced at her parents, their faces ashen with remorse. Her heart was heavy with sorrow.
"Con. We have to face this. We owe it to Claire-there's no running from what we did." Her voice was steady, unwavering. Pushing her wheelchair forward, she led the way into the house, her parents trailing behind her like ghosts.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmWhen they saw Claire sitting on the living room sofa, it was as if all the strength left their bodies. Their knees buckled, and with a dull thud, Jarrod and Karin dropped to their knees before her.
"Claire, we're so sorry." Jarrod's voice was hoarse and shaking, thick with shame.
"We never meant for any of this to happen. We thought you'd hurt Irene-that's why we had you sent to ve prison. We're so, so sorry." Karin's tears streamed unchecked down her cheeks; she could barely get the words out. In just a few days, the truth had struck them again and again, stripping away their pride until they seemed to age a decade overnight.
Their remorse was real. But how could Claire simply accept their apology, so late, and after so much pain?
"Do you really think a single sorry can erase what I suffered in prison?m Claire's voice was calm, but there wasla was a fury and bitterness in it that no one could miss. "Every day in there, I was slapped, forced to kneel, made to drink filthy water, stabbed with needles, even had my leg broken..." As Claire listed each torment, Jarrod and Karin grew paler and paler.
"Weren't these your doing? You and your friends?"
"And it wasn't just you. Nathan, Vanessa, all the rest-they bribed the test other inmates just to make my life hell. They even had one of my kidneys taken." "I was a healthy woman with a future ahead of me. Now look at what I am. Every single one of you is responsible." Claire's voice quivered. "You destroyed my life. What makes you think a simple 'sorry' could ever make things right?"
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