Stella was still in some shock. Even wild beasts like tigers would never eat their own children, what more Guinevere, who was willing to go that far just to frame her.
She frowned and looked at the old couple.
âSince youâre so adamant that sheâs innocent,â she told them, âthen you should help her by finding the evidence to prove she is. If you find no evidence, then it must really mean that she committed the murder. I donât understand why youâre wasting your time trying to distort the truth.â
âNo!â Mrs. Cohen insisted as she stepped forward, tearfully looking at Stella. âIt canât be true! Youâre a mother too. Surely youâd understand that no mother would be so crazy as to kill her own child! Iâm convinced there must be some misunderstanding!â
She almost blurted out that it was all because Weston Ford was taking revenge on Guinevere.
Mr. Cohen, himself looking decades older after only three years, hunched over, and his eyes were red and bloodshot, but unlike Mrs. Cohen, he managed to stop himself from shedding tears.
âMy wife and I are both very old,â he said, âand we came here to beg you⦠please spare Guinevereâs lifeâ¦â
âWeston Ford is clearly doing all this for you,â Mrs. Cohen added. âGwen has suffered enough now, so why canât you let go of her?â 1 They never thought that Stella Sealey-the woman that Guinevere hated so much that she was willing to kill her own son to frame her, the woman that they thought had committed suicide in prisonâwas now standing before. them, safe and aliveâ¦
But the better this womanâs life was, the more of a mockery it became to Guinevereâs present condition.
âYou have everything now. Weston Ford would do anything for you! Please just spare Gwenâs life! I beg of you! Canât you show a little mercy on her?â
âA little mercy?â Stella scoffed when she heard the word. âWhy didnât you ask your own daughter that question. back then? You know what sheâs done to me all these years, yet you never stopped her or did anything about it. But perhaps I shouldnât be surprisedâ¦â
Stella glanced at them and added, âWith parents like you, itâs only to be expected that your daughter would turn out this way. Even after all that sheâs done, she remains remorseless and unrepentant.â
âBut sheâs been punished enough now! Sheâs been locked up in that sanitarium for three years! What more do you want?â
âYou think thatâs enough punishment for what she did?!â Stella snapped, her tone audibly raising by a few notches. âPutting aside the fact that she killed her own son, she still owes me a life! She used her son to frame me, and if I hadnât been lucky, I wouldâve died because of her! Sheâs been only locked up for three years, yet youâre already begging me to let her go? You think thatâs enough punishment? You think thatâs justice? Donât be ridiculous!â
As the Cohens tried to argue with her, Jason could no longer keep quiet and stand aside without interfering. He walked over to them and said, âStop wasting your time begging her. Why donât you go to Warren Ford instead? Itâs been so many years. You know whatâs happened between her and your family, so whatâs the use of staying here and begging for her help?â
Jason was Warren Fordâs good friend. He was aware of Warrenâs strained relationship with Stella, but for some reason, he still liked Stella despite all that.
Still, he was stuck in the middle of them both, so he thought it best not to interfere. All those years, he had stood aside and turned a blind eye to the bleak situation that Stella was trapped in, but he could no longer watch quietly without helping her today.
âI just canât bear to see you bullying a young woman like this!â he exclaimed.
The Cohens looked at each other. They paid no attention to anything else Jason said. All they focused on was his suggestion for them to go to Warren Ford instead.
Perhaps that might workâ¦
After all, Warren Ford had been on their side back then. Seeing how close the Cohen family was with him, perhaps they might be able to persuade him to help them.
Perhaps they might even be able to persuade him to spare Guinevereâs life.
Jason shook his head as he watched the Cohens leave.
âNo wonder the Cohen family fell so quickly from grace, he commented. âThey really are brainless idiotsâ¦â