"Family?" J repeated theughable word, her head bowed and hands hanging limply at her sides.


    "Yes!" Seeing that J hadn''t pushed her away, Deirdre sensed a glimmer of hope and immediately forced Yelena to her knees as well.


    "J, I was a monster before. I swear, I''ll never bully you again. No..." Yelena shook her head frantically, stammering, "From now on, you''ll be the only youngdy of the Wilcox family. As long as you drop the charges, I''ll do whatever you say."


    "J, for your father''s sake, please forgive me this one time!"


    "Family..." J slowly lifted her head. Her face was pale, but her eyes were a terrifying shade of red, brimming with tears. She kept murmuring the word "family," and then, she started tough.


    "So now you acknowledge my father was part of the Wilcox family?" J''s voice was like ice. "He gave up his inheritance and moved away to Moulnds. What more did you want? And yet, you hunted him down to the bitter end!"


    Silence fell as everyone stared at her.


    "And you have the audacity to mention my father?" J stepped in front of Deirdre and Yelena, bending down slightly with a twisted smile. "Listen to me very carefully. Not only will I not let you go, but I will do everything in my power to ensure you receive the harshest sentence possible."


    "Ezra, Trent, Deirdre, and you, Yelena..." J enunciated each name, her voice frosted over, every word a piercing de. "You will all face the judgment of thew!"


    Yelena and Deirdre copsed to the floor, tears streaming down their faces.


    As Trent and Ezra were led past J and Juniper, they paused for a few seconds.


    "J, you''ve really outdone yourself," Ezra said, his weathered face twisted in a sneer. "With a daughter like you, I suppose Zorion can finally rest in peace, can''t he?"


    "Don''t be so sure," J shot back, her fists clenched. "Soon enough, you can go down and ask him yourself."


    All the color drained from Ezra''s face, leaving it as white as a sheet.


    "Let''s go," an officer urged. "Time to transfer you to the correctional facility."


    Outside the police station, the moment the Wilcox family emerged, they were swarmed by a horde of reporters. Camera shes exploded around them.


    "Don''t take my picture! Stop!" Yelena cried, ducking her head and hiding behind her mother.


    Microphones were shoved in their faces, leaving Ezra and Trent no room to escape. The reporters shouted questions over one another:


    "Mr. Wilcox, is it true that years ago you framed your own brother andter had him murdered?"


    "We hear you also tried to kill his daughter to secure the inheritance!"


    "And Yelena, aren''t you the real daughter of a mistress? What right did you have to nder J?"


    "It''s true what they say, the apple doesn''t fall far from the tree. A whole family of criminals!"


    "Mr. Wilcox, say something!" a reporter at the front pressed, his tone sharp. "The truth is, Zorion


    never abandoned his fiancée. H


    was forced into an arranged marriage by your father. And Ms.


    Jada lover but you


    Miffer already


    had him killed to secure your position as heir, making it look like Zorion was the one who abandoned


    her, and letting J and her


    mother carry that shame for over a decade!"


    The crowd of reporters began to piece the whole sordid story together.


    "Why didn''t the Miller family say anything?" one journalist shouted, hitting on a key point.


    "Because. The first reporter


    paused for effect. "Because Ms. Miller''sdover was another woman. The Miller family was afraid of the scandal so they let the me fall on Zorion."


    "What?"


    A wave of shocked murmurs rippled through the crowd. Now it all made sense. In the end, the true victims had been Zorion and his wife and daughter.


    "Ezra is a monster!" a photographer yelled, furiously snapping pictures of the family''s disgraced faces before posting the photos and the whole truth online.