Baillie was furious, as if he’d suffered some monumental injustice, and finally, his patience snapped.

Ivy had long since given up on her family, but hearing this outrageous nonsense still sent a wave of anger and heartache through her.

“Baillie, are you even human?” she asked, her voice calm but icy.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Baillie’s tone was cold and threatening.

“If you were, would you be lashing out at people like a rabid dog? No, you’re even worse than that.”

“You–”

“Don’t forget, you and your precious family did everything you could to force me out of the Windsor house. I left, just like you wanted. And now, somehow, that’s my fault?”

“That was because–”

He tried to interrupt, but Ivy didn’t give him the chance.

“I was the victim here. I was tossed out for something I didn’t even do. You showed me no sympathy, no kindness – just the door. But when Emma repeatedly set me up – even tried to kill me – you just scold her a little and expect me to forgive her? Does your conscience not ache at all when you say things like that?”

“You…” Baillie was at a loss for words. He fell silent, searching for the right thing to say. “Emma knows she was wrong. She wants to apologize. It’s you who refuses to see her.”

“She wants to apologize, so I’m supposed to just forgive her?”

Ivy let out a cold laugh, her words sharp as knives. “You’re the ones who did wrong, yet you’re forcing me to play the saint. If I don’t forgive, suddenly I’m the monster. Mr. Windsor, maybe you all need to call in a priest for an exorcism – seems like the whole family’s under a curse.”

Baillie was so angry he couldn’t speak.

“If she’s truly sorry, she can go to the police and confess everything – how she conspired with traffickers to have me kidnapped. Let’s see how sincere her apology is then.”

Baillie tried again, “That wasn’t Emma. There’s definitely been some misunderstanding. Just like we misunderstood about you being HIV positive.”

Ivy scoffed. “It’s bad enough you’re idiots – don’t insult my intelligence on top of it.”

“Ivy! Do you want us to get on our knees and beg?”

“No need.”

“You–”

Baillie stood outside the hospital room, his temper still flaring. Inside, Rosetta really was sick – dizzy, weak, unable to get out of bed. Yet after every medical test, the doctors found nothing physically wrong. They said it was all in her heart – a sickness of the soul.

So Baillie had called, hoping to smooth things over with his sister, hoping she might come see their mother. Instead, he just ended up more infuriated than ever.

“Ivy, I’ll ask you one last time. Are you coming to the hospital or not?” His voice was cold, almost threatening.

Ivy snorted in disdain and hung up without answering.

Baillie stared at his phone in disbelief.

Behind him, the hospital room door opened and Emma stepped out.

“Baillie…” she called softly, her eyes lowered. She hesitated, then asked, “Is Ivy… is she coming?” Baillie gritted his teeth, clutching his phone. “She’s not coming!”

“She must still be mad at me. It’s my fault, I dragged you all into this…” Emma lowered her head, tears slipping down her cheeks. “I want to apologize in person, but she won’t even see me.”

Baillie looked at her tears, and for the first time, instead of his usual sympathy, he felt a twinge of irritation. He stared at her, his expression cold. Suddenly, he asked, “If we find her, and she wants you to get down on your knees and apologize, would you do it?”

Emma’s eyes widened, shimmering with tears. She bit her lip, hesitated, then nodded. “I’ll kneel. I’ll stay on my knees until she forgives me. After all, I misled everyone and caused her so much pain. It’s my fault – I accept that…”

Ever since the Windsors learned Ivy wasn’t HIV positive, Adkins and Rosetta had spent the past few days picking apart what really happened all those years ago, trying to figure out where they went wrong.

The first person they questioned was Emma. Back then at the police station, it was Emma who claimed she’d seen the list of trafficked children first. She’d rushed to show Rosetta, who barely glanced at it before noticing words like “HIV,” “pregnant,” “mentally challenged,” and “deformed child” scrawled on the page. Then an officer showed up, and the conversation was cut short.

Afterwards, Emma insisted she’d seen Ivy’s name on the list. Now, when Adkins and Rosetta pressed her again, Emma made up an excuse – maybe she’d seen someone with the same name and made a mistake.

But she could tell the Windsors no longer trusted her the way they used to. So she decided to stop arguing, to shoulder all the blame herself. The result was that Rosetta, after a fierce scolding, didn’t know what else to say.

Now, Emma stood in the hallway, looking utterly pitiful, leaving Baillie at a loss for words.

Inside the room, Rosetta had overheard them. She called out weakly.

Baillie turned and went in. “Mom? What is it?”

Rosetta looked at him with tired eyes. “Ivy isn’t coming to see me, is she?”

Baillie pressed his lips together, silent.

Emma stepped forward and grabbed Rosetta’s hand, pulling it to her own face. “Mom… this is all my fault. I’m so sorry. If you want to hit me, go ahead – hit me as hard as you want.”

Rosetta’s eyes reddened, her expression tangled with emotion.

Suddenly, Baillie remembered something. “Didn’t you say a few days ago that Micah had seen Ivy? Where did he see her? Go ask him.”

Emma glanced nervously at her brother. “I asked. He wouldn’t say…”

“Then ask again! He’s trying to break off the engagement, and you’re just letting him slip away? You’re usually so clever – why are you so useless now?” Baillie snapped.

Emma wiped her tears and stood up. “I’ll go find him now…”