Reborn Young Miss: Phoenix Burning Red-Chapter 358: The Fate of the Wicked (2)

Rosemary, who had enough of hearing her ex-husband demean their daughter, stepped forward and slapped Lewis in the face. Everyone was stunned to see Rosemary take action, as she was usually calm and collected.

"How dare you speak to our daughter like that!" she exclaimed, her voice quavering with emotion. "You have no right to call her cursed or blame her for your mistakes. You brought this upon yourself with your own actions, and you will take responsibility for it. You never cared about anyone else but yourself."

She glared at Lewis, her eyes filled with anger and disappointment.

Lewis recoiled, surprised by Rosemary’s outburst. He had always thought of her as weak and submissive, but now he saw a fierce determination in her eyes that he had never noticed before.

"You’re defending her?" he asked, incredulous. "After all that, she’s done?"

Rosemary nodded, her expression resolute.

"Yes, I am. Because, unlike you, I know what it’s like to be on the receiving end of your cruelty and neglect. You never cared about us, Lewis. You only cared about your precious company and your own ambitions. Well, now you’ve lost everything and have no one to blame but yourself."

He scoffed and sneered at his ex-wife. "Do you really think Addie is as innocent as you deemed her to be? You’ve been in a coma for a long time and didn’t know the atrocities she’d done to our Jiang family."

Rosemary shook her head, her eyes filled with sadness. It was clear to her that Lewis intended to pin all the blame on their daughter.

"I know that Adrienne has made mistakes, but she is still our daughter. You can’t turn your back on her just because things didn’t go your way, Lewis. I see now that you’ve failed her as her father. I regretted choosing to be with you."

Adrienne watched the exchange between her parents with a sense of satisfaction. She had always known that her mother harbored resentments towards her father, and now she had finally voiced them. Rosemary was always soft-spoken and avoided confrontation and arguments.

But it seemed that her mother had reached her limit and had decided to stand up for herself. Adrienne felt grateful for her mother’s support, but at the same time, she couldn’t help but feel resentful towards her father for causing so much pain to her and her family.

Lewis refused to fuel the tension. He cast one last look at his ex-wife and daughter before turning around and walking away.

Adrienne knew that her mother had finally found the courage to stand up to her father, and she couldn’t help but be proud of her.

"Mom, you don’t have to defend me," Adrienne said, her voice calm and collected. "Father never cared about me, and he never will. He’s just trying to shift the blame onto me because he can’t face the truth."

"Still, Addie. Your father should talk to you like that. Has he always been like this to you?" Rosemary held her daughter’s hand, her eyes filled with worry. "How can I turn a blind eye when he’s bullying my baby?" 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

"Mom, I appreciate your support, but I don’t think it’s necessary," Adrienne answered, stepping forward to stand beside her mother. "I know what I’ve done, and I take full responsibility for it. But I won’t let anyone blame me for their own mistake."

"You’ve suffered, Addie." Rosemary cupped her daughter’s cheek gently. "I just want to make sure you’re okay and that you know you don’t deserve to be treated this way. It’s not your fault, no matter what anyone says."

Adrienne nodded. She didn’t take offense at her father’s cold treatment because she didn’t have any expectations of him anymore. She learned the hard way that Lewis Jiang would never see her as his daughter but as merely an unwanted intrusion in his life. She had accepted that she couldn’t change his perspective, but she refused to let his rejection define her worth.

As the judge announced the verdict an hour later, Lewis felt a sense of emptiness wash over him. He had lost everything, and he didn’t know how he was going to pick up the pieces. But as he looked around the courtroom, he saw his daughter sitting tall and proud, her resilience shining through.

Meanwhile, Camilla was not behaving well. Her head was done throughout the session, and it seemed she was having emotional instability. In fact, Adrienne barely recognized her. Camilla’s appearance had not changed, but her entire demeanor had shifted. She had always been composed and level-headed, but now she seemed lost and distant.

Camilla looked desperate.

It was only when the final verdict was announced that she raised her head and cried hysterically. Her tears flowed uncontrollably as she struggled to comprehend the outcome. The weight of the verdict seemed to shatter her, revealing a vulnerability that Adrienne had never witnessed before.

"No! No! This can’t be! I beg you! My children still need me!" Camilla’s voice trembled with desperation as she pleaded with the judge, her words filled with anguish and desperation.

Adrienne’s eyes turned cold. The memory of Camilla smiling and laughing as she watched the car she and Dylan were in was still clear in her mind. Camilla had no qualms about harming others, but now, faced with the consequences of her actions, she was begging for mercy.

Adrienne scoffed inwardly. Camilla and her children harmed everyone she held dear in her heart in her past life, but she could stop them this time.

She sat in her place with a blank face as she watched Camilla cry hysterically when she was sentenced to imprisonment. Another case against Camilla was waiting as someone revealed that she was also involved in the murder of Hunter’s adoptive mother, Eleanor Nian. It seemed that Camilla was destined to spend the rest of her life in prison, paying for her crimes.

For the first time in Adrienne’s life, she saw Camilla helpless, but she felt no joy or sadness. But she felt a sense of relief knowing that Camilla would finally pay for her crimes. She had caused so much pain and suffering to so many people, and now justice was being served.

As Adrienne left the courtroom with her family, she couldn’t help but feel a sense of closure. Her past life had been full of pain and betrayal, but now she had a chance to start anew. With the Jiang family’s downfall, she could finally bid farewell to her past. She felt free—free from the weight of her past and the chains that had held her down.