Rising from the Ashes The Heiress They Tried to Erase Novel

Chapter 733: Shocked, Jarrod pressed his back against the seat. His words shook with disbelief. "Dad, have you lost your mind? How can you even say that?" The shock in Jarrod's voice matched the confusion spinning inside him. Only a few days earlier, his parents were certain that Maia was the problem. Now, suddenly, Rosanna was taking the blame. Lowering his eyes, Jarrod stared at the phone in his hand. The video kept playing, silent except for the tense confrontation between Maia and Alice on the screen. Moments later, Maia reached into her bag and pulled out the evidence.

She laid everything bare - Alice was exposed, and Maia's innocence was finally undeniable. Footage rolled on, capturing the tense prison interview, the heated words between Rosanna and Maia, and, at last, Maxwell stepping forward to clear Maia's name with the real proof. A tremor ran through Jarrod's hand. His gaze darted up, his face pale with disbelief. His words barely came out. "It wasn't Maia who stole back then? It was Rosanna?" Richard's voice dropped low. "That's right," said Richard.

Ice settled over Jarrod, numbing him from his feet to his spine, as if the car seat itself had turned to stone. Old memories surged in his mind, clear as ever. In those days, Maia still carried the Morgan name. She had wept, swearing she was innocent, pleading with her family to believe her. But Jarrod, as her brother, had refused to listen. He remembered shoving her aside, leaving a scar on her arm - a scar she never deserved. The newest releases are at gⱯlnσνℓs․com He would never forgive himself for the moment he pushed his own sister away - the sister who once never let go of his hand.

In a single act of reckless cruelty, he had sent her into darkness. "How did things get to this point? What have I done?" The words trembled from Jarrod as his gaze remained glued to the screen, Maia's image shining back at him. For the first time, he felt the full weight of everything he had thrown away. That was Maia on the video. Not just a name, but his sister, flesh and blood. Flashes of memory returned. Maia had turned down the birthday gift he had given with such hope. Recognition dawned on him. The strength and distance in her eyes at that moment - they finally made sense.

The Morgans had left Maia broken. They had trampled her spirit until there was nothing left. His grip failed. The phone tumbled from his hand, landing on the seat with a dull thud, as if even the device could not hold onto the ugly truth. Laughter, raw and frantic, burst from Jarrod's lips. Sobs tangled with the sound, tears pouring down his cheeks. "Rosanna... that liar fooled every single one of us," he gasped out between fits of broken laughter. Regret hit with a force that made it hard to breathe. It crashed over him, relentless, dragging him under. . . .