C210 Thank You Mother-in-law

Samantha slowly walked forward. Her footsteps finally caught Kelvin's attention. He looked up in surprise. "Sarah..." "Samantha..." Both women stood quietly before them. Tracy hurriedly wiped away her tears. "You two..." "When did you come in?" Sarah knelt beside her mother and gently held both of her hands. "Mom..." "It isn't like that." Tracy looked at her blankly.

Sarah smiled sadly. "You can't keep blaming yourself for everything." She took a deep breath before continuing. "When I studied in England..." "I wasn't lonely because you abandoned me." "I went because our family believed it was the best opportunity for my future." She squeezed Tracy's hands gently. "And yes..." "You couldn't attend my graduation." "But do you know what I kept thinking that day?"

Tracy slowly shook her head. Sarah smiled faintly. "I kept thinking..." 'My parents must be working hard for me right now.'" "They weren't absent because they didn't love me." "They were absent because they were protecting everything waiting for me back home." "Which is why i planned to invite my brother instead." "But then everything happned." Tears quietly rolled down Tracy's cheeks again. Sarah continued, "As for taking over the company..."

She turned toward Kelvin. "Dad..." "You know better than anyone." "If Ben hadn't poisoned you..." "You would never have stepped down." "I never wanted your position." "I accepted it because someone had to stand in front of those shareholders." She paused. "Mom was already carrying enough pressure." "I couldn't just watch." Kelvin slowly lowered his head. He knew every word was true.

Sarah's expression gradually became more serious. "And Samantha..." She looked toward her sister. "If Ben hadn't drugged her..." "Would she have suffered like this?" She shook her head. "No." "If Ben hadn't tried to spike Mike's drink in France..." "Chris would never have collapsed." "I would never have spent that terrifying night wondering whether he would survive." She smiled bitterly. "If I hadn't found Chris..." "How would we have explained everything to the Chambers family?"

The room became completely silent. Every sentence reminded them of another painful memory. Sarah slowly concluded, "Even after everything..." "The family still forgave Ben." "He wasn't imprisoned because of France." "He wasn't imprisoned for poisoning Dad." "He wasn't imprisoned for hurting Samantha." "He confessed to framing Mike and Laura." "That was why he went to prison." "So..." "It isn't fair for him to say we all abandoned him." No one spoke.

The silence lingered for several moments. Then... Samantha slowly stepped forward. Without saying a word... She wrapped her arms around Tracy. "Mother..." Her voice trembled. "Thank you." Tracy blinked through her tears. "Thank you..." "...for believing in me." "For accepting Monica." "For never treating us as outsiders." She smiled weakly through her tears. "I know..." "I wasn't the daughter-in-law you wished for." "But even after what Ben said you still thinking about my wellbeing..." "You still protected me." "You still cared about me." "You still called me your daughter."

Tracy's tears burst forth again. She hugged Samantha tightly. "My child..." "You have always been my daughter." "Always." Seeing the two women embracing each other... Sarah quietly wiped away her own tears before joining the hug. Kelvin looked at the three women in front of him. His wife. His daughter. His daughter-in-law One by blood. One by marriage. Yet both equally precious. The heavy silence inside the room began to ease.

Still... Deep inside Kelvin's heart... One painful thought refused to disappear. He had spent years believing he understood his children. Only now... Did he realize how much they had all been suffering in silence. Ben remained alone with his own thoughts... After leaving the Wood residence, His anger had not subsided. Instead, he drove straight toward the city prison. His hands gripped the steering wheel tightly as the morning's confrontation replayed repeatedly in his mind.

He felt betrayed. In his eyes, his own family had abandoned him. The one favor he had asked from them to help post Jack's bail had been ignored. The more he thought about it, the more frustrated he became. When he arrived at the prison, he parked his car and walked briskly toward the reception desk. A prison receptionist looked up and smiled politely. "Good morning, sir. How may I help you?" Ben placed both hands on the counter. "I'd like to visit Jack Harrison." The receptionist typed the name into the system.

After a few moments, she looked back at him apologetically. "I'm sorry, Mr. Wood." "Mr. Jack Harrison is no longer in our custody." Ben frowned. "What do you mean?" The receptionist checked the record once more before replying, "His bail was approved late last night, and he was released early this morning." Ben froze. "...Released?" "Yes, sir." For several seconds he simply stared at the receptionist. His thoughts became a complete mess. Impossible. Jack himself had insisted that only Ben could help him get out.

If his family had refused to post Jack's bail... Then who had? Before Ben could ask another question, another visitor stepped forward to the counter. Seeing the receptionist busy attending someone else, Ben slowly stepped aside. He walked out of the prison in silence. Questions flooded his mind, but not a single answer came. Who had bailed Jack out? Why hadn't Jack contacted him? And most importantly... Why did he suddenly have the feeling that he was only a pawn in someone else's game? Was his father telling the truth about jack? With a conflicted expression, he climbed back into his car and quietly drove home.

Meanwhile, at Wood IT Company... Chris had already tried calling Sarah several times. Every call went straight to voicemail. He frowned. "That's strange..." Sarah almost always answered his calls. Unable to shake the uneasy feeling in his chest, he left his office and walked downstairs to the reception. The HR receptionist immediately stood up. "Good morning, Vice Director Chambers. How may I help you?"

Chris asked anxiously, "Has Vice Director Samantha Wood reported for work today?" She shook her head. "No, sir." "Neither Vice Director Samantha nor Director Sarah has arrived." Chris stood there in silence. His heartbeat quickened. Images from the previous evening flashed through his mind. Sarah's swollen eyes. Samantha and Sarah crying during lunch. The moment he had asked what was wrong... Only for Samantha to interrupt before Sarah could answer. Something had definitely happened.

Returning to his office, Chris sank into his chair, absent-mindedly rubbing his forehead. Amanda noticed his unusually pale expression and quietly placed a glass of water on his desk. "Mr. Chambers..." "Is everything alright?" Chris accepted the glass but slowly shook his head. "I honestly don't know." He sighed heavily. "But Director Sarah and Vice Director Samantha missing work together..." "That isn't normal."

Inside the Cybersecurity Department... Bright Gomez had only recently been promoted to Senior Cybersecurity Engineer. Sitting comfortably at his desk, he couldn't help smiling as he remembered how much Laura had changed over the past few days. She laughed more. She smiled more. Most importantly... She had started calling him "Husband." Just then, Josh Tryon pushed open the office door and took a seat opposite him.

Bright immediately smiled. "Mr. Tryon." Josh returned the greeting before speaking with concern. "Bright..." "My daughter still refuses to answer my calls." He hesitated. "Would you mind telling me honestly..." "Is Laura doing alright?" Bright chuckled. "She's doing better than ever." "She's now the Chief Design Inspector at Nova Blaze Jewelry." Josh stared at him in disbelief. "You mean... you're serious?" Bright nodded. "Why would I lie to my father-in-law?"

Without another word, he took out his phone and called Laura, deliberately placing the call on speaker. After a few rings, Laura answered cheerfully. "Husband?" "What's the matter?" Bright smiled. "I just wanted to check on you." "How's your second day at work?" Laura laughed softly. "It's going well." "My first assignment is inspecting the purity of gold used in a custom necklace." Bright glanced at Josh as if he wanted him to say something, but josh remained speechless.

Seeing his reaction, Bright grinned. "Alright, then." "I won't disturb you." "I love you." Laura laughed again. "You're becoming clingy." There was a brief pause before she smiled warmly. Bright asked "Won't you answer me?" "Fine..." "I love you too." "Bye." The call ended. Josh let out a long breath of relief. A smile finally appeared on his face. "Knowing my daughter is happy..." "Is enough for me." He slowly stood up. "I should stop worrying so much." With a grateful nod toward Bright, he quietly left the office, his heart much lighter than when he had arrived.