"Exactly," Noreen typed back. "As long as you''re alive, there''s still meaning."
When she had first heard that Seth might face the death penalty, her mind had been aplete mess.
She could ept never seeing him again for the rest of their lives, but she had never imagined losing him to death.
No matter how much she hated him, she had never wished for that.
***
It waste at night when Seth''s flightnded in Rivercrest City.
Jude retrieved the car and asked him if they were going straight to find Noreen.
Seth paused, then decided to call Sophia Cole first.
Sophia was bewildered when she answered the phone. "Ms. Gilmore isn''t back in Rivercrest City. She went to Harborview City."
After a long silence, Seth finally mumbled, "I see."
Jude was still waiting for instructions when Seth got out of the car, his face grim.
"What''s wrong? Aren''t we going to see Noreen?"
"She flew to Harborview City."
Seth hadn''t expected ire to mislead him like that.
But ultimately, he had brought this on himself. He couldn''t me anyone else.
Having just left the airport, Seth turned around and went right back in to buy a ticket for the next flight to Harborview City.
***
The weather was beautiful on the day of Katy''spetition. Noreen drove her to the venue herself.
She promised she would wait outside the entire time, guaranteeing she''d be the first person Katy saw when she came out.
Katy was ecstatic. It felt like a dreame true.
For years, she had traveled topetitions with only her nanny and bodyguard,
unlike the other contestants who always had their families with them.
But now, things were different. She had family waiting for her too!
"When I win the prize money, I''ll buy you something delicious!"
Noreen smiled and agreed.
Just as their car pulled up to the venue, the driver mmed on the brakes.
Caught off guard, both passengers in the back were thrown forward.
Katy reacted quickly, throwing out a hand to shield Noreen and preventing her from hitting her head.
But her own head smacked against the back of the front seat with a dull thud.
"What happened?" Noreen asked, steadying herself and immediately checking on Katy.
Katy shook her head, insisting she was fine.
"Someone''s blocking the car," the driver exined.
As soon as he spoke, a middle-aged man and woman started pounding on the rear window, screaming for their child back.
Recognizing the people outside, Katy cried out and buried her face in Noreen''s
arms.
The bodyguard in the back immediately got out to drive the two away.
Noreen didn''t need to ask who they were.
She held Katy close, covering her ears to shield her from the outside world.
But their vile words still reached Noreen''s ears.
They used them of kidnapping their child, of Castle using his power to bully them.
All the while, they kept calling out to Katy, iming they were her real parents and pleading for her toe back to them.
They promised to love and cherish her from now on.
If they cared so much, why had they abandoned her in the first ce?
Noreen had heard from the staff at、 the estat that Katy was already four years old when she was abandoned, old enough to understand things.
Her biological parents had left her because she couldn''t speak. They suspected she was mentally disabled and worried about the cost
of Content her medical care.
When Katy was brought to the orphanage, her back was covered in
bruises from abuse, and she wol?
thmshe was nothing but skin and bones.
They had left her in a cruel ce, too—a remote, wooded area where almost no one
ever went.
If a hiker hadn''t stumbled upon her, Katy might have starved to death in those woods.
Once the bodyguard had driven the couple away, she helped a shaken Katy out of the car.
Thankfully, they hadn''t missed the start of thepetition.
While waiting for Katy, Noreen learned just how difficult thepetition was.