The Prison-Made Queen novel Chapter 785

Hearing her mother entirely shattered, Yvonne's immediate instinct was to comfort her.

"Mom, please don't panic."

Leilani, sitting right beside her, noticed the sudden shift in Yvonne's demeanor. "What's wrong? Did something happen?" she asked softly.

The moment Gloria heard Leilani's voice through the speaker, a desperate spark of hope ignited.

"Yvonne, are you with Leilani right now? Please, ask her to call your brother. He cares about her so much—there's no way he would block her number. Please, beg her to help me. Just one phone call."

Yvonne glanced at Leilani, her chest tightening. Her first instinct was to say no. Her mother had said horrible things to Leilani and crossed unforgivable lines in the past. The Sherwoods already owed her too much. How could she possibly ask Leilani to clean up their family's mess yet again?

Especially now that Leilani was happily engaged to Callahan. Dragging her back into Sherwood drama felt entirely wrong.

Yvonne bit her lip in torment.

Sensing her daughter's hesitation, Gloria went quiet for a moment. When she spoke again, her voice was painfully small, stripped of all its usual pride.

"I know... I know our family has treated her horribly," she wept. "But I have nowhere else to turn. Please... can you just ask her to do this one thing? I don't need anything else. I just need one call so I know he's alive and safe."

Leilani cut in smoothly, her tone perfectly even. "He is an adult. He is fully capable of managing his own emotions. Knowing him, he isn't going to do anything to hurt himself. Right now, he likely just needs to be alone to process things."

Her voice was polite, logical, and entirely detached. It was a firm, undeniable refusal.

With boundaries drawn that clearly, Gloria knew she couldn't push it. A heavy silence stretched over the line, broken only by Gloria's muffled, humiliating sobs.

She knew Leilani was right. After everything they had put her through, she had absolutely no right to demand favors.

"...You're right," Gloria whispered, sounding exhausted and deeply ashamed. "I was just out of my mind with worry. I shouldn't have bothered you with this. I am so sorry... I am truly sorry."