Tears welled up in Bianca’s eyes. “I’m begging you. I truly see you as my daughter. I know I was wrong before. I didn’t do enough. I finally know that, Abby.”

“Stop trying to make yourself feel better,” Abigail said coldly.

In her mind, the only way Bianca could truly apologize was by going to prison herself. If she really felt sorry, she wouldn’t be trying to clear Daniella’s name.

When it came down to it, they never thought sending an eighteen-year-old girl to prison was wrong.

“Abby.” Bianca had always been indecisive, easily swayed by whoever showed vulnerability. Now, facing Abigail’s raw hatred, she felt a heavy weight crushing her chest.

She had suffered too when Abigail went to prison. She’d lost sleep over it, tormented by the thought that she might have ruined Abigail’s life. But she genuinely didn’t know what to do or how to make things right for both her children.

“Stop calling me that. I need to work,” Abigail said coldly, pointing at the door. “Get out.”

Bianca opened her mouth to speak but finally managed only, “Let me clean this up first.”

She knelt on the floor, gathering the broken porcelain pieces and mopping up the mess. Throughout it all, Abigail never once looked her way, keeping her attention fixed on her work.

Bianca left the room with tears in her eyes. Stephen was waiting outside. Seeing him, she let out a choked sob before heading toward the stairs.

Stephen followed her silently. “Don’t blame Abby,” he said once they reached the bottom.

Bianca looked dazed. “I don’t blame her. I just feel useless. I don’t know what the right thing to do is.”

“Abby’s already ruined. Are we going to let the same thing happen to Dani?” she whispered softly.

Stephen frowned at her. “She’s facing the legal consequences of her own actions. There’s nothing ruined about it!”

Bianca sat on the couch without responding.

“Is the real problem that Abby came back, or that Dani should never have joined the Gibson family in the first place?” Bianca continued.

Stephen shot her an irritated look. “Have you ever considered that maybe you and Dad are the problem here? Maybe it’s how you raised them? You always blame the kids but never think you might be wrong. I’m leaving!” He turned and headed for the door.

“It’s already dark. Where are you going?” Bianca called after him.

“None of your business!” Stephen snapped back.

He overheard Abigail’s conversation with Bianca. Only now did he realize that Abigail would never reconcile with the Gibson family. No matter what they did for her, she couldn’t get past being forced to take the blame and go to prison all those years ago.

Stephen went to a bar. By the time Ralph arrived, he’d already had quite a few drinks.

Ralph had barely sat down when Stephen said, “You know, Daniella wasn’t the only one who should have gone to prison.”

Hearing this, Ralph couldn’t help but frown. “You’re drunk. Let’s talk when you’re sober.”

“Ralph, you know what happened back then. When Daniella hit someone with her car, we made Abigail take the fall. The truth is, we forced her to do it.

Everyone pressured her. I can’t remember all the details anymore, but I know she kept begging us not to make her do this. There was fake evidence, she gave in.”

Stephen had been thinking about this on his drive to the bar. It wasn’t just Daniella who was guilty of the hit and run; the entire Gibson family should share the blame.

Ralph’s eyes widened involuntarily at his words.

“She refused it. In the end, Dad somehow got his hands on evidence that proved it was her. The moment Abigail saw that evidence, she never fought back again.”

Stephen’s voice broke as he spoke. “When I think about how I just stayed silent back then, I feel like I deserve to die.”

The Gibson family should never have been this way. He couldn’t understand how things had gone so wrong.

Now he wanted Abigail as his sister, but it was too late. Abigail would never forgive any of them.

“Stephen, do you know why I always considered you a friend?” Ralph said coldly. “You’re hot-tempered, not too bright, and frankly not that smart. But at least I thought you’d never do something like this.

“That’s why when you hit someone with your car and got arrested, I helped you so much. Turns out I was wrong about you.”

He hadn’t believed Abigail back then, not just because of the Gibson family’s evidence. He’d also seen the victim’s autopsy report.

Back then, he’d truly despised Abigail. He hated that she’d hit someone and fled instead of calling 911, leaving someone who could have survived to die because she ran away.

That was a human life! Her complete disregard for another person’s life had filled him with disgust.

But now the Gibsons were telling him all that evidence was fake, and they were the ones who had forged it.