Chapter 13

The prison warden's words echoed endlessly in Zachary's mind. "After the second appeal failed, Mr. Sterling took his own life in prison. He said he was getting old and didn't want to keep dragging his daughter down. Mr. Wright, we tried to contact you at the time, but we couldn't reach you. That's why we informed Mrs. Wright instead. Didn't she tell you?" Each sentence pierced his chest like a small, sharpened blade. The pain was unbearable. He had personally sent William to prison, but he had consoled himself with promises that after five years, he would bring him home and ensure the old man lived out his days in comfort. He believed Lynette would eventually forget the pain. But he had miscalculated. William never lived to see freedom, and Lynette never gave him another chance. Rain poured suddenly from the sky, drenching him. His face was soaked, indistinguishable between rain and tears. The low, broken sounds of his sobbing were swallowed by the storm—just as Lynette's sufferi