After returning to Skybreeze Retreat, Julia wouldn''t stop insisting on going back to the countryside.
Briony tried everything to persuade her to stay, even bringing up Little Nina, but nothing worked.
Maybe it was seeing Mack so frightened that set her off, but Julia-who''d been doing so much bettertely-suddenly started showing signs of a rpse.
In the end, they gave in to her wishes. After spending just one night at Skybreeze Retreat, Kendal and Gina took Julia back to the countryside the very next day.
By then, more than two weeks had passed since Crowning Night.
Julia''s case had gone remarkably smoothly, and there was no denying Stewart''s help had made a huge difference.
Briony was well aware of this, but she felt Stewart was only doing what was expected of him. He''d been thewyer in charge of the original case, and now that things had taken a turn, it was only right for him-as the defense attorney-to see it through.
After all, that was part of the agreement they''d made when they got married.
As for the case involving Ottilie and Rosita stealing her original work, Ottilie ended up paying restitution and a fine, after which the Kensington family took her back home.
She didn''t have to go to jail, but word was, the money the Kensingtons used to bail her out came at a steep price-Ottilie''s own marriage.
Madeline arranged a match for her: the CEO of The Brown Group, a man whose wife had only recently passed away.
Mr. Brown offered a ten-million-dor dowry, plus a three-year new energy contract between The Brown Group and The Kensington Group.
To put it inly, Madeline had sold her granddaughter.
Mr. Brown was well over fifty, and all three of his previous wives had died. Ottilie would be wife number four.
Rumor had it Mr. Brown''s presence was a curse-every one of his wives had met an untimely end.
People were saying that Ottilie''s future didn''t look promising at all.
As for Rosita, she should have gone to prison.
But Garry intervened.
As her husband, he submitted a psychiatric evaluation on her behalf.
It turned out Rosita had been diagnosed with bipr disorder, with a well- documented, ten-year medical history.
She''d recently shown clear signs of self-harm and rpse, so in the end, the court ruled she wasn''t criminally responsible.
Garry paid the damages for her and took her away.
Even Lawyer Hughes couldn''t change the oue.
Briony knew Hughes had done his best. No one had expected Rosita to have a psychiatric disorder.
Thew always has a soft spot for the mentally ill.
But what really caught Briony off guard was an anonymous email she received a few dayster.
It was a video.
In it, Rosita wore the drab uniform of a psychiatric hospital, kneeling on the floor, banging her head over and over as she sobbed and begged, "Please, let me out, please! I was wrong, I swear I was wrong. Dcan''t stand another day in here. Please, let me out... let me out..."
The video wasn''t long.
No one else appeared on camera, but Briony was certain Garry was the one filming.
But if it really was Garry-what was he trying to say?
She showed the video to James.
He watched it and said, "Damn, that''s satisfying. I have no idea. what''s going on in Garry''s head, but knowing Rosita''s suffering makes me happy."
He wasn''t wrong.
Being locked up in a psychiatric hospital was no better than prison-maybe even worse.
For Briony, it was a strangely satisfying ending.
As for thepensation Garry had
paid
sel''s behalf, Briony
hadn''t
touched a cent. She donated it all to
a children''s charity.
That money had cost her son his life-she figured the least she could do was use
it to do some good, in his name.
Maybe, just maybe, he''d be born into a better family next time.
Now that the divorce was finalized, she felt like everything had finally settled.
Briony nned to leave Northborough with Little Nina.
But before she left, she wanted to visit her son onest time.
Last time, she''d gone in a hurry,pletely unprepared.
This time, Briony made sure to buy all sorts of toys little boys love, along with
some kids'' snacks.