The Day Our Promise Breaks

While Wesley was deep in thought,

And Charles was waiting,

A taxi sat idling some distance away from the prison gates.

Inside the car were Dahlia and Sandy.

It was only when Dahlia was about to leave Jenkins Enterprises that a sudden realization struck her.

She remembered the words Charles had hissed at her as he tightened his grip around her throat.

The truth about her crippled legs was something only she and Evelyn knew.

If Charles was aware, then it had to be Evelyn who told him.

If Evelyn had let that slip, then all the other things she'd done to Evelyn-Evelyn would certainly have recounted those to Charles as well, with plenty of embellishment.

Including how she'd intentionally caused the death of that little brat Charlie, and all the times she'd gone out of her way to torment and disgust Evelyn.

No one understood better than Dahlia how deep Charles's feelings for Debbie had run-she'd benefited from it for a decade.

Now that Evelyn had become Debbie in Charles's eyes, anything Evelyn said, Charles would believe without a doubt.

No wonder Charles had abruptly frozen her credit cards and thrown her out of the manor.

He'd even transferred the deed of the house she lived in to Evelyn, letting Evelyn dispose of it as she pleased, just to spite her.

The moment Dahlia realized all this, she no longer had the energy to curse Evelyn. Her mind was spinning.

If Charles truly believed all the things she'd tried so hard to hide,

He would never let her off the hook.

Revoking the privileges for her and Sandy, kicking her out of the house-those were just the beginning.

He felt so much guilt over Charlie's death. If he discovered she'd orchestrated it, he wouldn't just let it slide.

The only reason he hadn't already acted was because Charles had always been a law-abiding man.

He'd toed the gray line for Sandy's sake before, but that was the furthest he'd ever go.

He wouldn't take the law into his own hands and kill her for revenge without solid evidence.

He would only gather proof, send her to prison, and let her rot away behind bars.

And the only evidence left was in Wesley's hands.

She hadn't been sure Charles would go looking for Wesley.

But she'd considered the possibility, so she'd rushed to the prison, hoping to

silence Wesley before Charles could get to him.

But she was too late.

Sitting in the taxi, Dahlia watched the familiar Bentley parked at the prison entrance.

Charles's car.

He was already here.

A step ahead of her.

A chill ran down Dahlia's spine. She felt as if she'd been plunged into an ice bath. She was terrified that Wesley would really hand the evidence over to Charles. Without evidence, even if Charles had heard the truth from Evelyn,

She could still deny it all-without proof, there was nothing Charles could do.

She'd still have a chance to use Sandy to regain her footing and return to the life of luxury she craved.

But if Charles got his hands on the evidence, she was truly finished.

...

Inside the prison.

Charles fixed his deep, penetrating gaze on Wesley, as if he could read straight through him.

His voice was low and steady. "Wesley, I've given you my word—I keep my promises. Taking care of Sandy is nothing to me."

It had to be said, Charles's offer was incredibly tempting.

For Wesley, there was nothing he wanted more than for his daughter to be safe and well.

When he got out, he could build a new life with her, guide her, and watch her grow

up.

All of that, he could have-if he handed over the evidence to Charles.

Wesley was already leaning toward trust.

But still, he didn't agree right away.

Precisely because Charles's offer was everything he wanted and risked nothing,

Wesley forced himself to stay calm and think it through.

He didn't want to let the promise of reward cloud his judgment.

Suppressing the turmoil inside,

Wesley replied in an even tone, "Mr. Jenkins, give me one more day to consider it. I'll give you my answer tomorrow."

Charles left with Aiden.

tom

"Mr. Jenkins, Wesley's clearly tempted He'll hand over the evidence tomorrow for sure," said, unable to hide his excitement.

Wesley's expression had made it obvious.

The thought that they'd have the evidence tomorrow made Aiden almost giddy. With it, they could send Dahlia to prison and finally get justice for Miss Charlie. Only then would Mr. Jenkins be worthy of asking Ms. Evelyn for forgiveness. Ms. Evelyn had loved Mr. Jenkins deeply. Feelings like that don't just fade away. The only reason Ms. Evelyn was so cold now was that Mr. Jenkins's attitude over Charlie's death had been so ambiguous.

Once justice was served for Charlie, most of the pain in Ms. Evelyn's heart would be lifted.

Then, if Mr. Jenkins truly redeemed himself, Ms. Evelyn would surely give him another chance.

Hope brightened Aiden's eyes.

Ever since Mr. Jenkins learned of Miss Charlie's death, these past two years had been nothing but torment for him.

Now, at last, things were about to change.

And as for Dahlia-she could forget about ever having another good day in hernoveldrama

life.

Charles said nothing.

Just then, his phone rang.

It was a call from Andrew.

"Charles, Ms. Josephine is being discharged this afternoon instead of tomorrow. I

can stall for about half an hour."

Josephine had originally been

scheduled to leave the hospital the next day, but after her final checkup,

everything was fine and she'd

decided not to wait.

No matter how comfortable the hospital was, no one wanted to stay longer than necessary.

After so long in the hospital, the moment Josephine got her clean bill of health, she had Andrew arrange her discharge for that afternoon.