Leanne felt like she was suffocating.
"So you knew all along?"
She looked over at Mary with a dazed expression, the woman who, besides her parents, loved her the most in the world.
"You knew it was him who kidnapped us and killed my parents. Why didn't you tell the police? Why did you hide it when they came investigating?" Leanne's speech was slow, her voice soft, "Just because he's a Richardson. Does that mean he can take three lives and not be accountable?"
Her accusations cut deep into Mary's heart, "My dear child, I'm so sorry."
"Don't call me that!" Leanne suddenly became agitated, "I was never lucky enough to truly be one of the Richardson family. My only fortune was that my parents fought tooth and nail to get me out, or I would have been dead by his hand too."
Tears welled up in Mary's eyes. She asked, "Don't you see me as your Grandma now?"
Leanne's tears fell freely, her fingers clenched so tightly that her nails dug into her palms, just to keep her voice from trembling.
"I recognize you, but who recognizes my parents? For twenty years, their deaths have been a mystery, and you've shielded a murderer. How are you any different from him?"
The troubles Hanley caused at VectorVista, along with Charles' sudden death, added insult to injury.
The case of Joseph's parents pushed Vector Vista Bank into the spotlight. Revealing the truth would not only tarnish the Richardson family's reputation but also plummet the public trust in VectorVista Bank to an all-time low.
Trust was the cornerstone of a bank. Once that collapsed, so did an eighty-year legacy.
But in turbulent times, the Richardson family could ill afford another scandal.
Yet, what did these calculations and considerations have to do with an innocent girl who lost her parents?
This wasn't for Leanne to forgive.
Mary didn't attempt to justify herself further, tears streaming down her cheeks. She kept saying, "I'm so sorry, my dear."
She had brought Leanne back to the Richardson family and spent twenty years in seclusion, praying for redemption, but it did nothing to ease her guilt towards Leanne.
Leanne, feeling suffocated by the heavy air, didn't look back at Mary filled with self-reproach and apologies. Desperate to escape, Leanne hurriedly opened the door and dashed out.
Curtis, amidst an unbearable tension, stood up and opened the window facing the garden.
The afternoon air, laden with the reality of heat and dryness, rushed in, confronting the perennial and comfortable temperature.
At this moment, he understood his parents' caution and obstruction. They feared he'd become another Hanley.
Leanne's figure vanished through the side door, her pace quick, as if something was chasing her.
She cleaned her eyes with the back of her hand, having cried a lot today.
Curtis instinctively wanted to step forward, to hold her and comfort her. He stopped himself before even starting.
Mary's sorrowful cries filled the room, "It's all your fault. Damn! Now that you're gone, leaving me with this mess, Anne won't even acknowledge me. I swear, if you were here, I'd kill you myself, you worthless toad."
Curtis handed her a handkerchief. He who usually made her laugh remained silent today.
Mary cleaned her tears and looked up at him, saying, "You had to tell her, despite my warning. Now she knows and it just adds to her grief. Do you regret it?"
Was he regret of laying the truth bare before Leanne?
"Yes," Curtis said, "But it had to be done. She deserved the truth."
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