CHAPTER 234

Once a person was locked up, it would be difficult for anyone to meet with the person arrested.

It took a long time and a lot of effort before Ethan could talk to Holly.

After just one night in jail, her hair was already a mess. Her face was pale and swollen with fatigue. Gone was the elegance brought about by luxury.

When she saw him, it was as if she saw her savior. "Ethan," she sobbed loudly. "Save me! You must save me! I don't want to be charged! I don't want to go to prison! It's too scary!"

The interrogation had only ended late at night.

After the interrogation was over, she was shoved into a holding cell.

Each holding cell was designed to hold eight prisoners. People talked in their sleep, gnashed their teeth, burped, and farted. The room was so smelly that she could hardly breathe.

She spent the worst night of her life trapped in a dark room on a hard and narrow bed with a coarse, damp blanket.

Although her mind was hazy from exhaustion, she did not dare to sleep.

In the morning, her cellmates all watched her with ill intentions. Hence, her hair stood on end from fear.

She could not spend another day like that. All she wanted was to get out of that place.

Any price was acceptable as bail to her as long as she was out of the cell.

"Mom." Ethan gazed at her and reluctantly said, "I'm sorry. I can't help you."

"What do you mean?" Her eyes went wide with horror. "You cannot abandon me. You have always been my pride and joy. You are so capable and amazing. You will surely get me out of here..."

"I'm sorry, but I can't," he interrupted. "If you are innocent, I would have done anything and everything to get you out of here. However, you are not. The evidence is clear. No one can help you. The lawyer says you will be faced with at least ten years. You have to be ready..."

"No, no, no!" She shook her head as tears rolled down her cheeks. "Save me, Ethan! I cannot even last ten days! It's too scary inside. I will die here! Ethan, you must get me out of here at any cost! Please, I am begging you!"

"Would you have done what you did if you knew this would happen?" he asked with red eyes. "Mom, you and Dad have always told Stephen and me to be kind, upstanding citizens. You taught us to never be evil or do anything illegal. Why did you not do as you said? The Shefford family—" He paused and sighed. "You and Uncle Scott took three human lives. Have you ever felt guilty about that? Have you ever dreamed about the people you killed?" Once a person was locked up, it would be difficult for anyone to meet with the person arrested.

"What do you mean by that, Ethan?" she roared, slamming her hands down on the table. "Are you lecturing me? I am your mother! I gave birth to you! I raised you! I worked hard to do right by you! Was it all so that you could lecture me while I am in a tough spot?"

He let out a bitter chuckle and ignored her fury. "Mom, do you remember? You once asked me why I

would not attend the blind dates you arranged and if I had a girl I liked. Well, I can tell you now; yes, I fell in love at first sight with someone I only met once. I could not get her out of my mind. I love her. I constantly think about her, fantasizing about meeting her once more. I dreamed of our next encounter. I often wished I would be given a second chance. If we meet again, I will definitely seize my chance to tell her of my feelings..."

"What are you babbling about, Ethan?" She slammed her palms repeatedly against the table. "Stop talking! Stop it! I don't want to hear about that! Get me out of here! I don't want to be in prison. Ethan Taylor, I am your mother, and you must get me out of here!"

He looked down and continued, "I saw her today, but I did not dare to approach her, let alone tell her about my feelings. Do you know why?"

He looked up and stared into her eyes as he stated, "Her name is Leigh Shefford, and my mother and uncle killed her entire family! She sat before me with hatred and disgust in her eyes. How can I tell her I love her?"

Holly was stunned.

At that moment, an idea flashed through her mind.

She leaned forward and hurriedly said, "Since you like her, go after her! Tell her that you will marry her if she lets me go. She can be your wife, and the Taylors will properly pay our reparations. We will give back everything we owe!"

"Mom." He stared at her in disappointment. Suddenly, it felt as if he did not truly know his mother.

The woman sitting across from him was the woman who gave birth to him yet she acted so much like a stranger.

"Go, Ethan! Tell her that you will marry her!" she urged. "If she lets me walk free, she can be Mrs. Taylor. We will be family then. I will be really good to her. In fact, I would treat her better than her parents ever did. Hurry, go!"

"Stop daydreaming, Mom." Pain flashed in his eyes. "She detests us. She will not love me, nor will she marry me. Saying that to her will only make her laugh at us. She will think I am crazy!"

"She will not!" She shook her head hard. "You are such a good man, Ethan. Do you not know how many women want to marry you? She is an orphan with nothing. If she knows she could be your wife, she would be ecstatic! She might play hard to get at first, but don't worry. Properly explain everything to her, and she will agree to your proposal!"

"Are you talking about yourself, Mom?" he asked. "If you were her, would you give up on avenging your family just to be Mrs. Taylor?"

"How can you compare the two of us?" she roared. "I am the daughter of the Baker family while she is just an orphan. How is she anything like me? I was born in luxury. There is nothing I lack. She is the lowest of the low with greedy eyes and an ignorant mind. You are an amazing, capable, and handsome young man. A few nice words from you, and she would surely say yes to anything. She would even die for you!"

He stared at her in silence for a few moments before standing up. There was nothing he wished to say to her anymore.

No one could open the eyes of someone who wished to dream on.

Holly was stuck in her own world, so everything he said would only fall on deaf ears.

"What are you doing?" She shot to her feet when she saw him standing to leave. "Don't go, Ethan! Take me with you! You have to take me with you!"

She did not want to return to the stinking, suffocating, and terrifying cell.

She wanted to leave.

She had to leave this place! exclusive content.