Chapter 233
“So Christian has vanished too?” Warren had looked into Christian’s background. “Given his personality, after helping Daniella and causing the Gibson family fire that killed one and Injured another, wouldn’t he come back to face the consequences?”
Warren knew Christian wasn’t particularly capable, but he also wasn’t bold enough to burn down his own home.
“We have records of Daniella leaving the country, but nothing on him,” James said, finding this detail particularly odd. “But I’m certain Daniella had his help pulling this off.”
Since Gabriel had kicked him out of the Gibson family, Christian hadn’t shown his face. But just because he stayed hidden didn’t mean he wasn’t plotting something.
When Ralph announced yesterday that he was cutting ties with the Gibson family, it must have been a warning sign for both Daniella and Christian.
“We thought we needed to be careful on our way to the police station today,” Warren said, glancing toward the hospital rooms. “But we never imagined Daniella would go this far.”
The fire at Gibson Villa was karma coming full circle, but Wyatt and Abigail weren’t supposed to pay for those sins.
The fire department and police investigation revealed that the blaze started in Abigail’s room. Hospital tests showed everyone in the Gibson family had sleeping pills in their system, with Abigail having the highest concentration.
This meant someone had been drugging her favorite foods. Since she ate more of them than anyone else, she’d consumed the largest dose. That explained why she didn’t wake up until the fire had already spread so far.
Someone had also filled her door lock with glue, inside and out. Even with the electronic keypad, the door wouldn’t open no matter what code was
entered.
By the time anyone noticed the fire, it was too late. When the fire department arrived, flames had already spread from the bedrooms throughout the
house.
These old villas were death traps when it came to fires, built with far more wood furniture and timber framing than modern homes.
When they returned to Abigail’s hospital room, the doctor was just setting up her IV drip.
The doctor finished examining Abigail’s burns and turned to Sebastian. “The burns are severe. Even after healing, there will be significant scarring. If she wants reconstructive surgery later, you should consider transferring her to a specialized facility.”
Abigail lay awake, staring out the window. Her gaze appeared calm, but it was the emptiness behind her eyes that was most striking.
“I understand. You can go now.” Sebastian’s voice was cold, and a dark aura seemed to emanate from him.
Abigail sat motionless, completely shut down, as if nothing around her existed anymore.
After the doctor left, James walked over to Abigail’s bedside and leaned down to look at her.
Bandages covered most of her face, leaving only her eyes, nose, and mouth visible. The sight made Sebastian’s heart ache. She truly had no family left
now.
When James blocked her view of the window, Abigail slowly shifted her gaze to him. Her eyes were clear, with a shimmer of unshed tears.
After a long silence, she finally said, “You know, when I first went to prison, I hated Grandpa too.”
She had hated him for not seeing she’d been framed. He was supposed to love her most in the world, yet he hadn’t saved her.
Now she despised herself for ever feeling that way.
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Chapter 233
Only after her release did she learn that Wyatt had fallen ill from the shock of her imprisonment. He’d been sick for three years because of hers
“I believed he never blamed you for hating him. He probably thought he deserved it.” James crouched beside the bed, reaching out to touch he head before stopping–the bandages covered everything.
He had no idea where it was safe to touch, or how bad the damage was underneath.
Abigail had brought this up because of last night–watching Wyatt rush in to save her without a second thought.
The fire had been massive, and at his age, he’d charged into that house without hesitation.
“He knew he could have died last night, but he didn’t even pause.” Her eyes reddened at the corners. “That’s when I realized–if he’d had any chance back then, he would’ve never let me go to prison.”
She felt deep regret–regret for the resentment she’d harbored toward Wyatt back then.
Sebastian sat beside her, studying her profile. “None of us are saints, especially not when you were only eighteen. Having emotions, even negative ones, makes you human. Without them, we’d just be robots.”
Abigail sniffled, trying to compose herself.
“Abby.” Warren’s voice was exceptionally gentle, like a soft breeze carrying comfort.
He said, “Whenever your grandfather and I talked business, he always ended up talking about you. Out of all the Gibson children, you were his favorite- he made that clear.”
Warren leaned forward and lightly touched Abigail’s head. “If you hadn’t felt some resentment toward him, that would have hurt him more. Real love includes all emotions, even the difficult ones.”
A
