No Way Back

Chapter 5

Chapter 5 Madelyn Kneeling Down

The scene after hanging up the phone was bizarre.

The expressions on Jack and Anna’s faces, as well as Peter’s, were all those of extreme embarrassment.

That was mainly because they had just falsely accused Jane.

After careful consideration, they realized that there were indeed many loopholes in Richard’s words. They only found a small amount of evidence. Still, they used it to fabricate an accusation that Jane was intentionally spreading rumors to coerce the Fowler family into recognizing her as the true heiress.

It was still their underlying mistrust of Jane and too much favoring of Madelyn that had caused the whole fuss.

Every time they saw Madelyn sad and upset, they immediately lost their cool.

“Janie, I’m really sorry. Daddy and they lost their cool when they realized I was too upset. This is all my fault. Only if I hadn’t joined this family!” Madelyn sobbed.

She broke the silence and the awkwardness when she walked over to Jane, tears in her eyes, and prepared to kneel before her.

“Maddie, what are you doing?” Peter, who was the closest to them, quickly yelled as he pulled Madelyn up. Madelyn, however, had a firm resolve and knelt, saying, “Peter, I have to do this. This is my fault, and I won’t get up if Jannie doesn’t forgive us!”

Madelyn dropped to her knees on the ground with a dull thud.

Tears kept falling from her cheeks.

“Maddie, what are you doing? Get up quickly!” Jack yelled.

Jack and Anna quickly went to help Madelyn, who had collapsed on the ground.

They were profoundly moved by Madelyn’s efforts to be a good daughter.

At that moment, any remaining doubts about Madelyn in their hearts vanished without a trace.

They knew that it was impossible for such a kind, selfless person who always thought of the Fowler family to devise such a terrible scheme.

Thus, they firmly believed that it must be someone else.

“Jane, we owe you an apology. Don’t worry. I will find out who is behind this and make them pay for what they have done. I can’t believe they were trying to hurt my family!” Jack said, furious at the thought of someone trying to sow discord in his family.

“Anyone who dares to tarnish the Fowler family’s reputation will have me to deal with,” he added, gritting his teeth. This kind of scheming was something that Jack could not tolerate.

Above all else, Jack prioritized maintaining peace in his family.

“Owing me an apology?” Jane laughed as if she had heard the biggest joke in the world.

She began crying from laughing so hard that she couldn’t hold her tears, and her belly hurt.

Jack’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion and he asked, “Why are you laughing?”

Jane just kept laughing and laughing, for what Jack said was the greatest joke she had ever heard.

Instead of defending his biological daughter, Jack had sided with the foster child.

He had led his entire family to stand against Jane, all because he was afraid she would come back and take away everything that belonged to Madelyn.

It caused Jack to develop prejudice, and he began making false accusations against Jane about almost

everything.

From a father like that, Jane certainly didn’t anticipate an apology.

The old Jane would have foolishly believed in the so–called family love, but the new Jane was not a fool blinded by familial ties.

“Mr. Fowler, I truly do not believe you intend to apologize to me in any way. Also, you’re too old and blind to even think of finding the mastermind behind all this.” Jane spoke these cruel words without a hint of

remorse.

Instead, she felt a great sense of release because she was finally letting out pent–up emotions she had been suppressing.

Jane recalled how she had taken a bullet for Jack, only to be abandoned in the hospital to fend for herself while she struggled to stay alive after the incident. Then, she remembered the many years this family had neglected her.

In addition, she recalled the final kick that had sent her tumbling down as the fire continued to rage.

As a result of the accumulation of all of these grudges and resentments, Jane felt a sense of vengeful satisfaction.

It wasn’t enough, however.

Nobody could have foreseen that Jane would express herself in such a manner.

Jane’s actions shocked everyone, including Peter, who questioned whether she’d gone completely insane. Jane had lost all of her previous meekness and timidity, and she went as far as making fun of Jack’s declining eyesight.

Jack growled, “What did you say? I’m your father! How dare you talk to me like that!

“I admit I just made a mistake, but I said I’d apologize to you. What makes you think you can give me that attitude?”

Jack had always been afraid of his wife but never of anyone else.

All his children were always well–behaved in front of him. But now, he felt like Jane had gone mad, threatening his authority as the head of the family.

“Jane, I don’t care what you have to say; Jack will always be your father. Apologize to him now!” Anna said as the expression on her face grew icier.

For all these years, Anna had carried around a sense of guilt regarding Jane, but now she saw her as nothing more than a disobedient daughter.

She couldn’t believe that the daughter she had given birth to, who had been wandering around for 19 years, could turn out to be such a disrespectful person.

The Fowlers would never want such a rude character as their daughter.

“My father? It is revolting to have such a father. I will not apologize, and I do not accept or want your apologies,” Jane said, her eyes gleaming with resolve.

She spoke those words in a single utterance without pausing or hesitating.

With those words, she felt a sense of newfound freedom. She had finally found the courage to speak her truth.

Truth be told, speaking out like that to the Fowler family wasn’t difficult for Jane.

in the past, she was trapped by her own clinging to familial bonds, unable to decide.

Now, she had let go of all her worries and decided she didn’t want a family like this. She tried to set clear boundaries.

“Jane!” Jack yelled, and he was so enraged that he was shaking.

If it weren’t for feeling guilty for falsely accusing Jane earlier, he would have already slapped her across the face.

He couldn’t believe he had a daughter who was so petty and small–minded.

That was a great shame for him.

Madelyn cooed, trying to manipulate the situation, “Janie, I know you’re mad. Don’t blame Daddy and Mommy. Blame just me. If I were to kneel before you, would that not make you feel better? Then I’ll leave the Fowlers and vanish somewhere far away. I’ll give back the role of the Fowler family’s daughter to you. Then you won’t be at odds with Daddy and Mommy anymore.” All text © NôvelD(r)a'ma.Org.

“Sure,” Jane said with a smirk, looking at Madelyn. “You leave the Fowler family, and I’ll let bygones be bygones. You just said that by yourself. That was totally your idea.”

Madelyn was shocked and speechless, unable to believe that Jane had actually agreed.

She wondered if Jane had gone insane.

On second thought, however, Madelyn felt a surge of pleasure, knowing that this would only increase Jack’s hatred of Jane.

Madelyn put on an emotionally scarred face, wiping her watery eyes with the back of her hand. She wiped her tears and managed to stutter out, “I… I understand, Jannie. It’s time for me to go. Once I leave, things should calm down for the Fowlers again. If you want me to do it, I will.”

With that, Madelyn ran upstairs, sobbing all the way.

Quickly, Anna wrapped her arms around Madelyn and comforted her, saying, “Maddie, don’t be sad. Jane is just upset. No one will ever make you leave as long as we’re around.”

“Mom… Let me go. This isn’t my home anymore. Jannie is the true Fowler family heiress, and I’m just a foster daughter…” Madelyn cried in Anna’s arms, her voice breaking.

The Fowler family felt as though each and every word Madelyn spoke was a sharp nail pounding into their hearts. Their hearts hurt, and they felt like they were going to explode from the weight of Madelyn’s grief.

“Jane! How dare you say such things to Maddie!” Peter bellowed.

Hearing that Jane was actually going to kick Madelyn out, Peter was far from calm.

Peter yelled, “Jane, you’ve bared your teeth at last! So that no one can challenge you for the Fowlers‘ affection, you can’t wait to get rid of Maddie and have her banished from the family so that you can be the one and only heiress of the Fowler family!

“But now that I’m here, it’s over! Maddie will always be the child of the Fowler family, and I’ll take her as my sister no matter what!”

Peter stood in front of Madelyn to protect her. His eyes were filled with anger as he gave Jane a stern look. Jane looked at Peter’s face, which was very similar to her own, and for the first time in her life, she didn’t like the way she looked.

Jane felt like she was suffocating and wanted to throw up when she thought about the Fowler family blood that ran through her veins.

Now that she had been given the opportunity to start over, Jane didn’t want to waste this chance.

She coldly sneered, “Yes, she is your sister, and I am… nothing.

“I am just a tool for you all to use, the thorn you’ve had embedded in your hearts for nineteen years.

“If you don’t pay close attention, you wouldn’t even feel it, and taking me back into the Fowler family is only so you can finally pluck out that small thorn.

“In the end, I am nothing.”

As Jane spoke each word, her heart ached.

Her emotions eventually subsided, and she began to experience a bit of relief.

The things that she said were truths that she had never before dared to acknowledge, but she knew in her heart of hearts that they were true.

By giving her voice to them, she has exposed a raw, bloody, and boiling part of her heart that had been hiding for far too long.

Since she was never accepted as one of the family, she anticipated mockery when she spoke up.

Jack put up his hand and said, “I know you’ve been hurt and are angry now, but Maddie is innocent. You must return to your room and consider how offensive and inappropriate your behavior was just

now.”