Betrayed and Dumped She Rose Stronger Than Ever novel Chapter 528

Stephen clenched his fists, trying to steady his voice. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Joan’s smile was shaky, almost broken. “I already told you why. I felt so small next to you. Stephen, you were like the moon in the sky to me. So out of reach. My background was nothing like yours. I couldn’t even tell you that Colton was my uncle, let alone something like this.”

“When I was kidnapped, I was terrified. My dad knelt down and begged for forgiveness, but it didn’t matter. I asked him how much he owed, and the number he gave me... I’d never even dreamed of something that big. We were out of time and out of choices. All I could think about was paying off that debt before you found out. Then, I saw a news story on TV about a kidnapping and that’s when the idea first hit me.”

“Honestly, neither my dad nor I ever wanted to hurt your family. We just needed the money so badly, we needed a way to breathe. Before anything happened, I begged my dad to make sure no one got hurt, and to let them go as soon as we got the money. But no matter how much we planned, we never expected they’d wake up in the middle of it.”

Tears streamed down Joan’s face. She couldn’t stop crying.

She finally looked at the three generations of the Duncan family. The apology that had weighed on her chest for so long was finally out.

George looked like he’d aged ten years in a second.

“Sorry? Sorry isn’t enough!” His voice shook with anger. “I took you and your father in out of kindness, and you turned around and bit the hand that fed you.”

He pounded his chest, barely holding back his grief. “This is on me. It’s my fault they died. And to think, I wanted you back in the family, to recognize your son as one of us. You’re heartless. I should never have pitied you. Now I see it. Ben probably isn’t Stephen’s son either. He was just your tool for getting what you wanted.”

He turned to Frank, ready to give the order to throw Ben out.

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