“Mr. Hayes, maybe let it go,” Vanessa interjected, biting her lip. “After all, the dog was poisoned by Lily. His wife merely missed the funeral. It’s not a big deal. I don’t mind.”
“No.” Richard cut her off immediately. “If the mother fails to teach her daughter, then the mother must be punished.”
He sat back down, his expression dark as he continued watching me like a cruel spectator.
How absurd.
Vanessa had no proof. She was an outsider.
And yet Richard believed her over me.
Richard was utterly convinced, blaming both Lily and me. His brain must have been kicked by a mule.
“Mom!”
Just as I managed to stand again, Lily came running toward me, drenched in sweat, her little face pale.
My heart clenched. “Take her home, quickly,” I urged the guards.
“I’m not going back!” Lily shook her head stubbornly.
“How odd,” Vanessa said slyly. “Wasn’t Lily supposed to be in the hospital? Could it be that his wife arranged this?”
Richard narrowed his eyes at me. “Emily, you claim to love your daughter, unwilling to let her suffer. And now you drag her here to beg for you? How despicably fake.”
The disgust in his gaze made me feel like a criminal.