Evelyn was trembling, her eyes zing with anger. "Dahlia''s the reason your daughter and grandmother, who adored you since you were a kid, are gone! And you''re just gonna let her walk away like nothing happened?"


    Charles couldn''t help but feel the sting of Evelyn''s usations. She was ming Dahlia for everything without a shred of evidence, and it cut him deep. The loss of Charlie and his grandmother-both so dear to him-was unbearable. But he knew he couldn''t just pin the me on someone without proof.


    He pushed Evelyn gently into a chair, prying her hands from his shirt and pressing them down onto the armrests. Standing over her, he looked at her with eyes heavy with sorrow.


    He remembered the day Evelyn hadnded him in the hospital. As hey there, the events of the past months yed in his mind-her shift in behavior, the reckless stunts she''d pulled against Dahlia. Her fixation had gone too far.


    He''d wanted to sit her down and talk it out, but he never thought she''d poison his grandmother with her theories. Rosa, who had always doted on Evelyn, believed her wholeheartedly, refusing to hear him out. She was convinced Dahlia was responsible for Charlie''s death, which led to today''s tragic events. In the end, Rosa''s heart gave out from the stress. Wasn''t that enough?


    "Evelyn, you pushed Dahlia down the stairs, disfiguring her, and now


    Grandmother, who always had your back, is also gone. How far are you willing to go before you calm down?"


    "Can''t you think straight? I know you loved Charlie to bits, and losing her is too much to bear."


    He couldn''t handle it either and didn''t want to face it. "You can''t just me Dahlia for Charlie''s death based on a phone call."


    "And Grandmother''s death? Dahlia had nothing to do with it, right?"


    He wasn''t out to me Evelyn. He just wanted toy out the facts, hoping she''d see sense and stop acting on impulse.


    But Evelyn''s eyes were still full of hate, imprable.


    Charles felt his own frustration bubbling over and his grip on her arm tightening. "Evelyn, don''t you get why Grandma went after Dahlia?"


    "Because you convinced her Dahlia was guilty based on a single call. She believed you and sought revenge on Dahlia..."


    He wasn''t pinning Rosa''s death on Evelyn. He just wanted her to understand it was an ident. It wasn''t Dahlia''s fault, nor was it hers.


    But Evelyn heard his words like daggers, piercing her soul. Was he implying she was to me for Rosa''s death?


    A cry of anguish tore from her throat. "Charles!"


    Her eyes were red and brimming with tears, filled with grief and


    despair. "How can you be so


    elket


    ridiculous? A phone call? You think Grandma and I would decide


    Dahlia''s guilt over Charlie''s death from one call and want her dead?"


    She suddenlyughed, but it was augh fulk of tears and bitterness Her sorrowful, angry gaze made. Charles visibly falter. He asked, almost pleading, "Isn''t that what happened?"  en


    He was desperate for the truth.


    Could Dahlia really have been responsible for Charlie''s death?


    "Of course not!" Evelyn screamed. Her voice was raw with agony. "Dahlia stole the kidney transnt that was meant for Charlie, leaving her to die on the operating table!"


    Charles'' lips parted to defend Dahlia, to say, "That''s impossible." But then it hit him-he remembered exactly how Sandy''s transnt came to be. And he was left speechless.