Kylie’s mind was spinning. She felt torn apart. Lucinda had let her down in ways she never expected, but this was still the girl she’d loved and cared for all these years. How was she supposed to just throw her out?

Cameron sat quietly, his brow furrowed. He was clearly struggling with the same impossible choice.

“Please, Mom, Dad, just give me another chance! I swear I’ll get along with Lydia. I won’t let anyone use me again. I promise!” Lucinda dropped to her knees, begging, bowing her head over and over.

After a long pause, Kylie let out a deep sigh. “Get up. We’ll talk more when we get home.”

Lucinda thought she was off the hook. She burst into tears, relieved. “Thank you, Mom! I’ll change, I promise! I mean it this time!”

By the time they returned to the Norwood house, the sky was already getting light. Cameron and Kylie looked like they’d aged ten years overnight. It wasn’t just how tired they were. It was the kind of exhaustion that came from the heart.

Lydia hadn’t slept at all. She sat quietly, dark circles under her eyes.

Lucinda’s eyes were red and swollen, but she looked almost giddy, so relieved to have survived the night. She moved with shaky steps, already thinking the worst was over, that the Norwood house was still her safe place.

But then Kylie sat down on the couch, calm and steady. She looked up at Lucinda, her voice rough but filled with a kind of resolve Lucinda had never heard before. “Lucinda, pack your things. You’re leaving the Norwood family.”

The words hit Lucinda like a punch. Her smile disappeared. She stared at her mother, stunned. “Mom, what are you saying? Didn’t you forgive me already?”

Kylie’s expression was complicated. For a moment, there was a hint of regret, but then her eyes hardenedz “I’ll admit, I nearly changed my mind at the police station. You’ve always been our child, and I’ve loved you like my own.

“But on the way home, I thought about everything that’s happened.

“Grace says she treats you like her daughter, says she’d do anything to protect you, even take the blame for you. It might seem like she’s helping you, but really, she’s hurting you.”

Lucinda clenched her fists so tightly her knuckles turned white, but Kylie kept going. “Real love isn’t about covering up someone’s mistakes. It’s about helping them do what’s right.

“Even if you were my biological daughter, I couldn’t let you keep going down the wrong path.

“The last time you and Grace tried to ruin your sister, we forgave you. You promised you’d never do it again. But here we are. If we let this slide, you’ll just keep making the same mistakes.”

Lucinda’s knees buckled and she

sank to the floor, crying so hard she could barely breathe. “Mom, I’m

really sorry. I swear, it won’t happen again. Please, give me another

chance. Don’t send me away.”

Cameron let out a long, tired breath. “Lucinda, your mother’s right. The Norwood family has always stood for doing the right thing. We hope you can really understand what you’ve done and start over.”

Lucinda didn’t seem to hear a word. She just kept sobbing, hoping if she cried hard enough, they’d change their minds.

“Please, Mom, Dad, don’t send me away. I’m your daughter too, remember…”

Kylie turned her face to the side,

tears gathering in her eyes, but her voice stayed steady. “I’ll make sure you have enough money to live comfortably for the rest of your life But you need to Teave the Norwood Take

family. Go somewhere new

some time to truly think about what you’ve done.”