CHAPTER 319

"What am I supposed to do now, Sam? Please! You must help me!" Isabel cried and begged her brother. "I wasn't going to do Madeline any harm initially. It was all Angie's idea. She was the one who kept encouraging me to pull all those things off. I know I was a fool to have listened to her, but I'm still so young, and I don't want to spend the rest of my life behind bars, Sam. Please help me! I don't want to die, Sam! Please save me!"

"I can't help you." Sam helplessly sighed and said, "No matter what you said, you still can't change the fact that you were the one who bribed the driver to kill Madeline and her two sons. Fortunately, none of them were hurt, or else I wouldn't be able to forgive you my whole life!"

"Why?!" Isabel screamed while questioning him. "I'm you sister, Sam! Why are you always on Madeline's side?"

"I wish I could help you, but I can't." Then, he added, "Furthermore, have you forgotten how Joel and Quincy were born? They were born only because Madeline tried to save my life. Can you imagine how terrible it was for her to go through all the judgment, humiliation, and disdain over the years when she was pregnant yet unmarried? Then, when the boys were born, they had to suffer through the same harsh judgment that their mother did. So, I owed it to them! Why didn't it occur to you that I was indebted to them when you were plotting against them? What made you want to kill them so badly?!"

"What is it that you owe to them?" Isabel angrily questioned her brother. "Madeline wouldn't have been pregnant with Sebastian's children if it hadn't been for you. If it weren't for Sebastian's children, would Aunt Crystal and Uncle Michael still treat her so well? Angie was the apple of their eyes until Madeline gave birth to Sebastian's sons. Otherwise, why do you think they abandoned Angie and took Madeline into the Wendel Family? So, everything that Madeline has now was given by you!" Suddenly, Isabel became agitated and continued to say, "That's right! You were the one who gave Madeline everything

she has today, which means she owes it to you. Therefore, I'm sure she'll listen to you. Please, Sam! Talk to her and tell her to drop the charge. By then, I'm sure the police will let me go."

Sam looked at his sister helplessly. "Can you please stop acting like a child, Isabel? This incident has just become a criminal case with the police's involvement. Therefore, it won't change anything even if Madeline decides to drop the charge. When Madeline accepted Dad's advice to undergo the in vitro fertilization, neither of us knew she would be pregnant with Sebastian's children. So, you can say that Madeline has her luck to thank for everything she has today. She—"

"What difference did that make?" Isabel interrupted him while crying. "Why does she get all the credit for all the good things that happened while I get blamed for all the bad things that went wrong? That doesn't seem fair! If Dan hadn't saved her back then, she would have been dead a long time ago. If Dad hadn't told her to undergo the in vitro fertilization, she wouldn't have been pregnant with Sebastian's sons. Everything she owns now was given by us, so what makes her have the right to put me through so much suffering? Please do something, Sam! Help me! I don't want to go to jail! I can't go to jail, Sam! Help me!"

Feeling helpless, Sam looked at Isabel in disappointment without any idea on what else he could say to knock some sense into his sister's head. After all, no one could help her unless she decided to help herself.

In response to her stubborn attitude, he had no idea what to do as he grew increasingly disappointed. Soon, he sighed and replied, "There's nothing I can do for you, Isabel. I'm sorry, but don't worry, I'll get the best lawyer in town to help you. It's the least a brother can do for his sister, but that's it. It's out of my power to help you with things other than that." After finishing his words, he walked out the door.

"Don't leave me, Sam! Please! Don't go away!" Isabel was frightened out of her wits as she screamed at the top of her lungs. "Sam! You wanted me to tell you the truth, and I did. It wasn't me who wanted to hurt Madeline. It was Angie! It was all her idea. Please tell the cops to let me go. Tell them to arrest Angie! Please help me, Sam."

Sam stopped in his tracks without looking back. "The cops won’t believe you just based on your words. You'll need to show them evidence in order to do so. So, you only have yourself to blame for being used by Angie."

"No… Sam! Please! Don't leave me here! Please…" Isabel cried, wanting to catch up to her brother, only to be restrained by the prison guards. The next second, she found her face pressed against the table as she cried and struggled frantically to break free. "Help me, Sam! Please help me! Angie is the mastermind! I have nothing to do with the entire incident. Please tell the police to arrest Angie. She is the one who should be punished. So, get me out of here!"

While Sam smiled bitterly and walked away in silence, Isabel watched her brother slowly disappearing from her sight, whereupon she collapsed onto her chair in a panicky manner. At the same time, she curled up, shaking from head to toe as she struggled to accept the fact that her beloved brother just left her to her own fate. How could you just leave me behind like that, Sam? I used to be your beloved little sister. What am I going to do now? Am I going to jail or even… Die? No! I don't want to go to prison or die! It should be Angie instead, not me! I didn't want to hurt Madeline. Angie made me do it. Angie! I'll never forget what you did to me, you cunning woman! I'm going to drag you down with me or haunt you if I die.

"What difference did that make?" Isabel interrupted him while crying. "Why does she get all the credit for all the good things that happened while I get blamed for all the bad things that went wrong? That doesn't seem fair! If Dan hadn't saved her back then, she would have been dead a long time ago. If

Dad hadn't told her to undergo the in vitro fertilization, she wouldn't have been pregnant with Sebastian's sons. Everything she owns now was given by us, so what makes her have the right to put me through so much suffering? Please do something, Sam! Help me! I don't want to go to jail! I can't go to jail, Sam! Help me!"

In that instant, Isabel suddenly turned around and grabbed the prison guard's arm. "I want to expose Angie for her crime! I'm not the mastermind! Angie is! You should arrest her! She is the wanted criminal that every law enforcer is looking for." Isabel refused to let Angie go unpunished as she was determined to drag the latter down with her.

Since her request was logical, the prison guard nodded her head. "Sure. Do you have proof?"

"Proof? I… Proof…" Isabel's eyes were left wide open because she had no evidence to prove that Angie was guilty. Damn you, Angie! You planned all this from the beginning! You covered up all your tracks because you wanted me to be your scapegoat from the start. At the thought of that, Isabel was terrified and her countenance was turning pale by the second. What am I going to do? Am I going to die a scapegoat for Angie just like that? Why am I the one who gets punished when Angie was the one who planned everything all along? Why do I have to face the impending doom while Angie gets to live her life out there comfortably? No! No way I'm letting that happen!

She then scratched her head and racked her brain until something came to her mind. Once again, she seized the prison guard's arm and said, "I want to see Madeline. I want to tell her who's trying to kill her." Although Isabel did not have the evidence to testify against Angie, she knew Sebastian could gather the proof she needed to expose Angie's crime since he was the smartest man in Dusktown. Even if he did not find any evidence, knowing how protective Sebastian was of Madeline and his sons, she was counting on him to go after Angie, against whom she was hoping to leverage her odds.

While Isabel was merely just exercising her rights, the prison guard nodded and replied, "I'll make the arrangements for you, but it's up to her whether she wants to meet you." Content is property © .

"I'm sure she will!" Isabel desperately replied, "Just tell her that I know the culprit who tried to kill her and her sons, and she will see me!"

The prison guard nodded and walked Isabel back to her cell before she went along with the procedures to contact Madeline to whom she passed on Isabel's words.