Regret Came Too Late (Grace and Ethan)

Brent burst into laughter when he heard this. "Oh, Maria. You and Randy worked hard your whole lives only to raise an ungrateful snake. Do you know how Randy ended up in prison or who planted his semen on the victim?

"You'll never understand how dark Alice's methods really are. She destroyed your family, yet you still think she's a good daughter. Hahaha!

"Let me tell you the truth-Taylor is lying in that bed because Alice put him there herself. That poor fool liked following her around everywhere, which made people mock her. She couldn't stand it anymore, so she came up with a permanent solution.noveldrama

"Don't ask how I know-I saw it with my own eyes. I happened to be asking Randy for a loan that day, but he refused, so I never told you. All I can say is you deserved it!

"You've all been acting all high and mighty, so you deserve to be fooled for the rest of your life!"

Brent's words were venomous, each one seemingly stabbing Maria right in the heart. Her legs gave out, and she collapsed instantly. "Alice isn't like that. She can't be..."

Brent sneered, as if talking helped distract him from the pain. "Maria, do you know how much money I've taken from the Lamberts over the years? Nearly ten million dollars. But Alice only gave me 300 thousand dollars.

"Every time she looks at me, it's like she's looking at garbage. If I didn't need money for gambling, I would've stabbed her to death. How can a woman be so horrible? Damn it!

"Just talking about her makes me angry. But she's too vicious, and she has bodyguards. If I hadn't dropped to my knees fast enough back then, I would've lost both my legs and arms."

As he spoke about this, his whole body started trembling. "How can there be such an evil woman? She's too good at acting. At first, I thought she was just an innocent young woman. Hahahaha! We were all fooled by her."

He then turned to Grace. "Are you serious about giving me one and a half million dollars?"

Grace tried to help Maria up, who was crying hard and shaking uncontrollably. If this continued, she might pass out. "Ms. Vickham, please try to calm down."

Maria found this almost laughable. Her fingernails dug deep into the floor, several of them bending backward from the pressure, but she felt no pain.

She wiped the tears from her face. "Do you have proof for that?" Brent shrugged. "She's too smart to leave evidence."

Alice was extremely careful about these things. Grace added from the side, "Call her then."

Brent's expression darkened. "No way. I can only text her, and I've had someone trace the ID she uses to message me. That ID is overseas, and somehow, it's untraceable.

"She's had me completely under her thumb all these years. It's not like I haven't thought about fighting back."

Grace took a deep breath. Even if they brought Brent to the Lambert residence, Alice would just cry, and everyone would believe her.

She stayed quiet as Brent continued, "Please take me to the hospital first. My finger can still be reattached. I'll cooperate with everything afterward, as long as I get the one and a half million dollars."

He felt that trading a finger for that much money was a good deal. As a gambler, he knew what worked in his favor.

Grace looked at Paul. Though he was the hospital director, he was also a doctor himself, so his medical skills must be decent. Paul nodded and wheeled Brent into a hospital room.

Grace looked at Maria, who was still crying, and sighed. "Ms. Vickham, your husband just happened to be at the crime scene back then. His semen was in the victim's body. Only someone close to him could have obtained those fluids, and Alice was living with you both."

Planting his semen on the victim was all the evidence they needed. Since Alice was determined to frame him, she would have erased all other evidence completely.

Plus, Randy had no connections-Maria was the only one who fought for him when trouble came. Maria, on the other hand, had been tormented for years and was living a miserable life. This couple was simply an easy target.

Suddenly, Maria began to wail loudly. All of this happened to her husband and son because she had been kind enough to adopt Alice. She hated Alice so much right now, but she could do nothing about it.

In her husband's most recent letter, he had mentioned his final wishes, saying he couldn't hold on much longer. She hated that good people never seemed to get what they deserved. "Why..."

Her cries were filled with grief and anger, heartbreaking to anyone who heard them. Grace didn't know how to comfort her, so she just sat quietly nearby, feeling even more disgusted with Alice.

She had thought Alice only loved playing those terrible mind games. She never imagined that Alice could do such cruel things to her targets behind the scenes.

Maria cried for an hour. Outside, the sky had turned dark. She suddenly bowed deeply before Grace.

"Ms. Lambert, you've already helped me so much, but I have one more request. Please let me see my husband one last time."

Grace looked at her malnourished frame and the wrinkles on her face, then sighed. "I'll figure something out. Just wait for my message. Alice has probably warned the prison staff, and she has connections with the Sidlers.

"Even if I want to arrange a meeting for you, I'll need to find the right people."

Back then, Sloan was willing to do anything for Alice, including arranging things at the prison. That would explain why Randy suffered so much there.

"Thank you, Ms. Lambert. Thank you so much."

After learning all this tonight, Maria's worldview had been shattered. She thanked Grace, then struggled to stand and slowly walked toward her room. She couldn't hold on anymore and desperately needed some sleep.

Grace waited until Paul had reattached Brent's finger before saying goodbye and preparing to leave. As she was leaving, Paul said, "Don't make hasty decisions while you have amnesia."

She stopped walking, then turned to look at him. Paul's face still held a kind smile. "Grace, you're like a granddaughter to me. I would never hurt you."