Chapter 14

It was then that Joseph finally faced the direct consequence of his own making, a "bullet" he himself had fired. He had once naively believed that all the lies he had spun could be fully retracted. But now, those lies had spread like wildfire, creating an inferno that consumed everything and was dragging him into the flames. … Joseph's grim fate was something the Chapman family withheld from Winona. They chose not to utter his name in her earshot. Their only remark, delivered dismissively on their arrival back in Havenport, was that it had all been taken care of and that he wouldn't bother her anymore. Winona didn't give it much thought when she heard that. She had her own affairs to focus on, after all. The Chapman family, much like the Lowe family, was a vast and influential clan, with relationships among its members proving even more intricate. Although Winona's divorce had remained unspoken among the family, her aunt, Giselle Chapman, who consistently viewed Winona's branch of