Briony pounded both fists against the heavy iron gates, her cries echoing into the empty night.


    No matter how loud she screamed, nobody came to unlock the door for her.


    This was the truth.


    This was the reality behind Stewart and Lorna taking her son away...


    Darkness pressed down from above, thick and suffocating.


    The wind was rising-an omen of the storm toe.


    Still, Briony refused to leave. She remained outside the gates, stubborn and unmoving.


    Upstairs in the study, Lorna knocked softly before entering.


    Stewart sat at his desk, eyes fixed on the security footage on his screen. He could see Briony still outside, bracing herself against theing storm, showing no sign of backing down.


    "Maybe we should let Carol talk to her?" Lorna suggested.


    "No." Stewart''s voice was rough, tired. "She needs to see things as they are. That''s the only way she''ll let go."


    Lorna sighed. "But her nerves are already stretched to the breaking point... Do we really have to do this?"


    Stewart closed his eyes. "We don''t have time to do it any other way, do we?"


    Lorna pressed her lips together.


    He was right. Time was running out.


    For Stewart, there really wasn''t much left.


    The wind howled, rain beating against the tall windows in sharp bursts.


    In an instant, the downpour was upon them.


    Briony was soaked through, hair and clothes stered to her skin, but still she refused to budge.


    In the end, it was Carol who came out with an umbre, trying to coax her inside.


    "Carol, please, can''t you help me?" Briony pleaded.


    Carol looked at Briony''s pale, drawn face, her own heart twisting. Still, she forced herself to keep her tone cold and distant.


    "Ms. Kensington, I work for Mr. Wentworth now. There''s nothing I can do. Please... you should go home."


    "Carol, didn''t you see the way they''re treating my son?"


    Carol''s expression softened, her voice tinged with helplessness. "Mario''s a good kid, Ms. Kensington. Everyone has their own way of raising children. I know it''s hard for you to ept how Mr. and Mrs. Wentworth do things, but when Mario grows up, when you see how well he does-you''ll understand they only want the best for him."


    Briony shook her head, her voice trembling. "That''s not it. Stewart doesn''t care about Mario''s feelings at all. He just wants an heir-"


    "Oh, Ms. Kensington, there are plenty of people who''d give anything for their child to be the Wentworth heir." Carol shoved the umbre into Briony''s hands. "Please, just go home."


    With that, Carol shut the door and hurried back inside through the rain.


    Briony clutched the umbre, her whole body shaking.


    Even Carol had changed...


    Why?


    Briony couldn''t understand. She had no idea how to get her son out of the twisted grip of the Wentworth family.


    The storm raged on. Briony stayed outside, soaked and shivering, refusing to leave.


    Eventually, it was Carol who called James.


    By the time James arrived, Briony was trembling uncontrobly, lips tinged blue from the cold.


    The moment she saw him, relief flooded her face as if she''d spotted a lifeline.


    She tossed aside the umbre and


    grabbed his arm. "James," he


    me, won''t you? Please, help bring Mario home. He can''t stay here..."


    James''s heart ached for her. "Let''s get you home first, alright?"


    "You think this is my fault too, don''t you?" Briony stared at him, stunned. "You


    think I''m just overreacting?"


    "No, Bryn. We''ll talk about it at home, okay?" He held the umbre with one hand, the other gripped by her desperate fingers. He could feel she was on the verge of falling apart.


    "I know you''re worried about Mario. But we can''t just barge in and take him. Please, Bryn. Let''s go home first."


    Briony shook her head. "I can''t leave him here. I want to bring him back. He can''t turn into another Stewart..."


    "Another Stewart?" James frowned. "Who told you that?"


    Briony opened her mouth, but before she could answer, everything went ck and she copsed backward.


    "Bryn!"


    James dropped the umbre and caught her just in time.


    ...


    Briony was rushed to the hospital.


    Cedric rke had already received Stewart''s call and was waiting in the ER.


    James burst through the doors, carrying Briony-soaked, unconscious, burning with fever. Cedric hurried over to meet them.


    Briony''s fever wouldn''t break. Even with an IV, she slipped into a restless, feverish sleep, tossing and murmuring incoherently.


    It wasn''t until Briony was finally moved to a private room that Cedric quietly stepped out to call Stewart.