Killed Me for Your Precious Angel? Now Pray She Can Save You from Hell - Chapter 68: Chapter 68

New Zealand sunshine streamed through the bakery's windows as Brooklyn's fingers traced the smooth marble countertop.
"Name's Steve, by the way. Steve Wingston."
"All this equipment was replaced last month."
The owner pushed up his glasses.
"If it wasn't for the family emergency, I'd never give this place up."
The name hit Brooklyn like a physical blow. Wingston.
Her stomach dropped as memories flooded back—Karina's triumphant smile, her vicious slaps, the way she'd orchestrated Brooklyn's torment.
Alistar stood behind her, naturally taking the brochure from her trembling hands.
"You said this place specializes in French pastries?"
"Yeah, I studied in Paris for three years."
Steve smiled, then noticed Brooklyn's rigid posture.
"You okay, miss? You look like you've seen a ghost."
More like I'm hearing about one.
Brooklyn forced her face into a mask of composure, though her heart was hammering against her ribs.
"Fine, just... did you say Wingston?"
Please be a coincidence. Please don't be related to her.
"That's right. Wingston family from DC. Big political connections, you might've heard of us."
Steve sighed heavily.
"Though I'm just a distant cousin. Always been the black sheep who preferred baking to boardrooms..."
No. This can't be happening.
Alistar's gaze sharpened instantly, his hand finding Brooklyn's lower back in silent support.
"This emergency calling you back—is it related to the Wingston family business?"
Brooklyn could barely breathe. Her hands started shaking so badly she had to clasp them together.
Steve hesitated, then suddenly seemed desperate to unload his burden as he pulled out chairs.
"Sit. Let me make you some coffee. I could use someone to talk to about this nightmare."
As the espresso machine hummed, Brooklyn felt her world tilting off its axis.
She was about to hear about the aftermath of her escape. About what her freedom had cost.
Steve's voice dropped to a whisper.
"The Wingstons picked a fight with the wrong psychopath this time."
Brooklyn's blood turned to ice water.
She found herself unconsciously tracing circles around her coffee cup rim, fighting waves of nausea.
"My cousin Karina."
The name hit like a slap.
Steve's laugh was bitter and broken.
"That Sheridan maniac strapped her to an operating table. Said he was gonna cut open her belly to prove she was lying about being pregnant."
The coffee cup slipped from Brooklyn's nerveless fingers, shattering against the floor in a spray of brown liquid and white ceramic.
This is my fault. This is all my fault.
"Oh God, I'm sorry! I didn't mean—"
She dropped to her knees frantically trying to clean up the mess, her vision blurring with unshed tears.
But Alistar was there instantly, kneeling beside her, his warm hands covering her shaking ones.
"Hey, I've got this."
His voice was soft, steady—an anchor in her storm.
"You're okay. We're okay."
He gently pulled her back to her feet, his thumb stroking across her knuckles.
Steve continued, oblivious to her breakdown.
"Turns out she was faking the whole pregnancy. But that psycho made her have the surgery anyway—said he needed to be sure."
Brooklyn felt like she was drowning.
Karina had been cut open because of her. Because Kaiden thought...
"Now she's completely gone. Locked up in some psychiatric ward, babbling about invisible enemies and phantom babies."
A seagull shrieked outside, and Brooklyn flinched like it was a gunshot.
She could see it so clearly—Karina strapped down, terrified, paying the price for Brooklyn's escape.
"I swear Kaiden Sheridan's completely lost his fucking mind."
Steve shook his head.
"All over some woman who ran off with another man. Doesn't even care that his empire's crumbling—Sheridan Industries is hemorrhaging money."
Me. He's destroying everything because of me.
"And here's the really fucked up part—he had his own parents and sister committed to some 'wellness retreat' upstate."
Brooklyn's face went ashen.
"Wellness retreat?"
Alistar's voice was carefully controlled, but his grip on her hand tightened.
"Yeah, right. Everyone knows that place is basically a prison for rich people's inconvenient relatives."
Steve's voice dropped even lower.
"Word is, most people who go in don't come out the same. If they come out at all."
The room started spinning.
Mr. and Mrs. Sheridan—who'd raised her, loved her, treated her like their own daughter for twenty years.
Alina—cruel, yes, but still just a damaged girl who'd never known real love.
All of them destroyed because she'd dared to leave.
Brooklyn shot to her feet so fast her chair toppled backward.
"Excuse me."
She barely made it to the bathroom before the panic attack hit.
Her reflection in the mirror looked haunted—all wide eyes and bloodless lips.
This is what I caused. This is the destruction I left in my wake.
Cold water splashed against her face, mixing with tears she didn't remember starting to cry.
How many people would suffer because she'd been selfish enough to want freedom?
How long before Kaiden's madness reached across oceans to find her?
A gentle knock pulled her from her spiral.
"Brooklyn?"
Alistar's voice through the door was like a lifeline.
"Talk to me, sweetheart. What do you need?"
Without thinking, she yanked open the door and collapsed against his chest.
His arms came around her immediately—solid, warm, safe.
Cedar and mint surrounded her, drowning out the panic.
"I can't do this."
Her voice cracked against his shirt.
"I can't keep pretending I'm not a monster. Look what leaving him did—Karina's in a mental hospital, his family's destroyed..."
All because I wanted to be free.
"Hey, no."
Alistar pulled back just enough to frame her face with his hands.
"Look at me, Brooklyn. None of this is your fault."
His eyes were fierce, unwavering.
"You didn't make Kaiden into a psychopath. You didn't force him to hurt people. You escaped an abusive situation, and he chose violence."
She wanted to believe him, but the guilt was crushing.
"But if I'd stayed—"
"You'd be dead."
His voice was flat, certain.
"Or broken beyond repair. You saved yourself, and that was the right choice."
He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
"The people who truly loved you would want you safe and happy. The ones who don't... their suffering isn't your responsibility."
Brooklyn searched his face, finding only truth and devotion.
In her darkest moment, here he was again—steady as a lighthouse in a storm.
"Do you still want this place?"
She gestured weakly toward the main room.
"Even knowing it might lead him to us?"
Alistar's smile was soft but determined.
"More than ever. Because you deserve to have dreams again, Brooklyn. You deserve to build something beautiful."
He kissed her forehead gently.
"And I'll be here to protect it. To protect you."
Back in the main room, Steve was organizing paperwork, clearly eager to finalize things and escape back to America.
"So? What's the verdict?"
He tried to sound casual, but there was desperation in his eyes.
Alistar's arm came around Brooklyn's shoulders, and she drew strength from his unwavering presence.
"We'll take it."
Her voice was stronger now.
"But with one condition."
Alistar slid a contract across the table.
"This is 20% above asking price. The only requirement is that you never mention who bought this place. Not to family, not to friends, not to anyone."
Steve stared at the contract, his eyes catching Brooklyn's signature.
Recognition flickered across his face.
"Holy shit. You're her."
His voice was barely a whisper.
"You're the reason my cousin's in a padded room, aren't you?"
Brooklyn's courage almost failed, but Alistar's hand squeezed her shoulder.
"I'm the reason she finally faced consequences for her actions."
Her voice was quiet but clear.
"And I'm hoping you're smart enough to keep that information to yourself."
Steve looked between them, then down at the generous payment offer.
Finally, he smiled—the first genuine expression she'd seen from him.
"You know what? I always hated family reunions anyway."
He signed the papers with a flourish.
"Consider me the cousin with severe amnesia. I can't remember selling this place to anyone at all."
As they walked out into the bright New Zealand afternoon, Brooklyn felt something shift inside her chest.
Not the end of fear—that might take time.
But the beginning of hope that she could face whatever came next.
Especially with Alistar by her side.