Chapter 543

Evelyn wasn’t focused on Charles’s explanations.
Her mind fixated on what he’d said: Wesley had already handed over the evidence of Dahlia’s crimes.
He’d told her the proof was now with the police-solid and indisputable.
This time, Dahlia wouldn’t escape justice. She would finally face the law.
Charlie and Rosa, resting peacefully beneath the earth, could finally find peace.
Evelyn’s emotions threatened to overwhelm her. Her lips trembled as she struggled for composure.
She bowed her head, pressing a hand to her mouth.
Tears welled up, spilling over in heavy drops.
Plop
Each tear hit the hardwood floor with a soft, heartbreaking sound.
She sobbed, silent but wracked with pain.
Ever since she’d learned Dahlia was behind Charlie’s death-
She’d fought so hard to seek justice for Charlie. The road had been impossibly long.
Every memory replayed, vivid and unrelenting in her mind.
Her beloved Charlie had lain beneath the cold soil nearly three years before justice was done.
A thousand lonely nights since Charlie’s death.
Every time she thought of Dahlia, the woman who killed Charlie and Rosa, living her life untouched, Evelyn’s grief choked her-she couldn’t eat, couldn’t sleep.
At last-
At last, she’d lived to see the day Dahlia got what she deserved.
Brooks had been right: “Justice may be slow, but it never fails.”
The wicked always get what’s coming to them.
It’s not that justice doesn’t come, only that its time hasn’t arrived.
Seeing Evelyn’s tears, Charles felt his heart clench painfully.
He gazed at her, eyes filled with regret and affection, his voice husky. “Eve, I’m so sorry.”
He reached out, wanting to pull her into his arms, longing to offer comfort.
Regret burned through him.
If only he’d never mistaken Dahlia
for someone else, never given her
эла
the devotion that should have belonged to Debbie, none of this would have happened.
He wouldn’t have hurt Eve so deeply because of a misunderstanding.
He wouldn’t have lashed out at Charlie-or neglected her for five long years.
He wouldn’t have, even indirectly, caused the deaths of Charlie and his grandmother.
Smack!
His hand had barely brushed Evelyn’s shoulder when Josephine stormed in and slapped him hard across the face.
Like a fierce mother bear, she shielded Evelyn behind her, glaring daggers at Charles. “What did you do this time to make her cry?”
“Charles, haven’t you hurt her enough? How could you stand to hurt her again?”
Josephine had just finished her checkup when she’d seen Evelyn and Charles face-to-face-Evelyn in tears.
Since Eve’s depression had improved, it had been so long since Josephine had seen her this devastated.
Naturally, she assumed Charles was to blame.
As a mother, she already carried too much guilt for what Evelyn had endured.
The pain her daughter suffered cut Josephine to the bone.
Protecting her child was instinct.
“Ms. Josephine, I’m sorry.”
Charles didn’t defend himself. He simply apologized.
There was too much guilt in his heart, too many wounds he’d inflicted on Evelyn to ever explain away.
Shielded behind her mother, Evelyn’s composure finally shattered when she saw Josephine.
She flung herself into her mother’s
arms, clutching her tightly as tears
streamed down her face. “Mom,
Dahlia’s finally been caught.”
“Charlie’s death can finally be avenged. My Charlie… she can finally rest in peace.”
Not being able to bring justice for Charlie had left Evelyn with so much guilt-too much to bear.
Josephine froze in surprise at Evelyn’s words.
Evelyn could barely speak for her sobs, and Josephine didn’t have the heart to press for details. Instead, she held her daughter close,
soothing her with gentle stronet
on
her back, all the while turning a hard gaze on Charles.
Charles quietly repeated everything he’d just told Evelyn, explaining it all to Josephine.