Chapter 71

Sara’s POV I turned away again, staring at the floor, trying to sort through the storm of emotions swirling inside me. “I need some time,” I said, my voice barely steady. “I don’t know how to move forward from here, Zack. I don’t know if we can.” Zack’s breath hitched, and I could feel the tension in the air thickening. “Sara… I—” “No.” I turned back toward him, holding up my hand. “You went to him without talking to me. You made a decision that affected both of us. You reopened a wound that I’ve been carrying for years. You didn’t think about what it would do to me.” His face crumpled, and for a moment, he looked like he might fall apart right in front of me. “I thought I was helping,” he said softly. “I thought that if I found out the truth, it would… I don’t know, make things better. Clear the air.” “Better?” I repeated, a bitter laugh escaping my lips. “How could this make anything better? You went behind my back, Zack. You brought him into our lives when I wasn’t rea

Last Updated : 2025-12-23

Chapter 72

Sara’s POV The cab ride felt endless, the city blurring past the windows as the reality of what I’d just done sank deeper into my chest. I had left Zack, left everything we built behind, even if just for now. I couldn’t tell if I felt relief or dread—maybe a little of both. All I knew was that this was necessary. I needed to breathe, to think, to be alone without the constant weight of what Zack had done hanging over me. When the cab finally pulled up in front of a small hotel on the outskirts of town, I felt a strange sense of detachment. The place was nothing special—a modest, quiet spot far enough from the life I was leaving behind. I paid the driver, took my suitcase, and headed inside. The receptionist barely looked up as I checked in. That was what I wanted—anonymity, no questions, just a place to disappear for a while. Once I had the key, I dragged my suitcase down the hall and unlocked the door to my room. It was small but clean, with a bed pressed against the wall

Last Updated : 2026-01-03

Chapter 73

Sara’s POV I woke up to the dim light creeping through the hotel curtains, my body feeling heavy, as if the weight of my decisions had settled deep into my bones overnight. I had tossed and turned for hours, my mind refusing to give me the peace I was so desperately seeking. But even here, away from Zack and everything else, the memories and questions kept gnawing at me. I couldn’t escape them. Lying in the quiet of the room, I let myself go over everything again. Zack, Richard, Uncle Jude’s so-called “evidence” that had turned my life upside down. The thought of Richard—the man I was told had killed my parents—being awake now, wanting to talk to Zack, it all felt too much. For so long, I had built my life around the idea that this man was a monster, the reason my parents weren’t here anymore. I couldn’t reconcile that with the fact that he was now awake, speaking, remembering. And worse, that Zack had gone to him. I stared up at the ceiling, replaying the conversation Zack an

Last Updated : 2026-01-03

Chapter 74

Sara’s POV I walked out of the hotel, the cold night air biting at my skin, but I didn’t care. My mind was too jumbled to feel anything else. The weight of what Mary had told me pressed down on my chest, making it hard to breathe. Zack had gone to Richard, had spoken to him, and now… what? Now I didn’t even know if the truth I had believed for years was real. Could Uncle Jude have been wrong? Or worse—could he have lied to me? The thought made me sick. My parents had been taken from me in the worst way possible, and the idea that the story I’d clung to all this time might be built on shaky ground was unbearable. If Richard hadn’t killed them, who did? And why had Jude pointed the finger at him? None of it made sense. I kept walking, my mind racing as fast as my feet, the city around me a blur of noise and lights. I didn’t know where I was going, but I needed to move. Staying still felt impossible. Zack’s face flashed in my mind again—his desperation, his tears. He had begg

Last Updated : 2026-01-14

Chapter 75

Sara’s POV “I wish I knew,” Richard said, looking me straight in the eye. “I’ve spent months trying to figure out why I was blamed. But there’s one thing I do know, Sara: your parents’ deaths were part of something bigger, something none of us fully understand.” His words felt like a punch to the gut. Bigger? What did that mean? I wanted answers, but every question only seemed to lead to more uncertainty, more doubt. I couldn’t stay here anymore. The room felt suffocating, and the truth—or whatever twisted version of it this was—was too much to take in all at once. Without another word, I turned and walked out, my footsteps heavy against the cold hospital floor. Mary rushed to catch up with me in the hallway. “Sara, are you okay? What did he say?” I shook my head, not even sure how to begin explaining. “He said… he said he didn’t do it. He doesn’t know who did.” Mary’s eyes widened in shock, but she didn’t say anything. She just walked beside me as we left the hospital,