Jamison spoke softly, “Everything happened so fast. None of us were prepared. We were afraid the shock might be too much for you.”

“And what about Carla? Your father said… she’s at home. What’s really going on with her? Did she… did she really kill that monster, Farley Shepherd? Will she go to prison?” Adela Ludwig pressed on, her voice trembling. Right now, nothing mattered more to her than her daughter.

Thad looked surprised. “You don’t know about Carla yet?”

Hearing this, the old woman’s face went rigid, her mind jumping to the worst conclusion. “What–did she… did she try to hurt herself?”

“No, no, Carla’s alive. She’s safe,” Jamison quickly reassured her. “But after she killed Farley Shepherd, her mind broke. The police had her evaluated, and the doctors diagnosed her with a severe mental illness. They determined she wasn’t legally responsible at the time of the crime. She won’t face charges. We brought her home a couple of days ago, arranged for someone to look after her, and Thad and I check in every day.”

He glanced at his mother, worried she might faint from the shock, and hurried to explain everything as gently as he could.

Adela listened in silence.

Once her youngest son finished, she suddenly pulled her IV hand out from under the covers, murmuring, “I have to see her. I need to see my daughter…”

Davina rushed forward to hold her down. “Mom, it’s too late now. Carla’s already asleep, and it’s cold and pouring outside. Let’s wait until morning, okay? We’ll go first thing.”

But Adela was stubborn. Before she could insist on getting out of bed, Danny added his own plea “Come on, Mom, listen to the kids for once. So much has happened lately. They’ve been running themselves ragged, no one’s slept properly. Don’t make it harder for them.”

Adela’s face crumpled with hurt. “I just want to see my own daughter. How is that a problem? All of this happened, and you–you all kept it from me. Carla’s had to shoulder everything by herself, and as her mother, I just want to see her. Is that really so wrong?”

Ivy stood silently nearby, her heart aching at the old woman’s pain.

From a mother’s perspective, she wasn’t wrong. But stirring up the whole house at this hour, in her condition, was a risk no one wanted to take.

She looked at Jamison, thinking he could use his authority as a doctor to persuade his mother, but before she could say anything, Jamison spoke up himself, unable to hold back.

“We’re not saying you can’t see her, Mom. Just that it’s too late right now. If you go, you’ll wake her up. And with this rain and cold, you shouldn’t be moving around. If you really insist, I can arrange a car, but if something happens to you on the way–if we can’t get you help in time…”

He deliberately made it sound graver, his eyes watching his mother’s face for her reaction.

“You always say we don’t care enough about Carla. No one loves her more than you do. But if something happens to you, she really will be left all alone.”

“Jamison!” Thad cut in sharply, seeing his brother take things too far.

Jamison’s expression remained cold. “I’m just saying what’s true. Mom needs to take care of herself. The longer she’s here, the longer she can look after Carla.”

“You ungrateful child!” Adela’s hands shook with anger. “Your sister–she’s been driven to this by both of you! If you two had done your jobs as brothers, she never would have had to go that far!”

Thad felt a stab of guilt.

Their own sister, with a family behind her, yet Farley Shepherd had tormented her so terribly. They’d been careless, never imagining that Farley would go so far as to harm his own son just to force a divorce.

This wasn’t a battle of power or influence. It was a battle of human nature–the darkest corners of the heart.

Clearly, they hadn’t been ruthless enough.

Davina, seeing the two brothers stay silent, stepped in to smooth things over. “Mom, none of us wanted this to happen. Thad and Jamison did everything they could. Blaming them now won’t help. All we can do is focus on Carla, help her get better as soon as possible.”

Adela waved her hand in defeat, sinking back onto the bed, her voice weak with sorrow. “None of you can be counted on. You all only care about yourselves. No one cares about Carla…”

Jamison said nothing. But seeing that his mother had stopped insisting on seeing Carla that night, his face softened a little.

“It’s nearly eleven. Everyone should go home and get some rest. I’ll stay at the hospital tonight.”

He couldn’t leave his mother in this state. Even if he went home, he wouldn’t be able to sleep.

Thad nodded. “Thank you, Jamison. I’ll come by first thing tomorrow and take Mom to see Carla.”

“Alright. We’ll talk in the morning.”

Thad and his wife left.

Jamison turned to Ivy and asked quietly, “Are you heading home, or do you want to stay here with me?”

She looked at him, worry written all over her face. “Of course I’ll stay with you.”

There was no way she’d be able to sleep alone tonight.

“Alright. You go ahead and settle in. I need to speak with the doctor about Mom’s condition–see if there’s been any change.”

“I will,” Ivy replied quietly.