Chapter 11 It was the first time Declan had ever watched the full , unedited footage of the crash . And in that moment , as the truth stared him down , the righteous lawyer everyone once worshipped finally went silent . When the video displayed that familiar , gentle face contorting in agony the moment she was struck , Declan's pupils shrank violently . His entire face turned ghostly white . Just moments ago , he'd been standing there proud and self - assured , basking in the applause . Now , it was as if he'd aged decades in a single breath . He staggered forward , shoulders hunched , eyes glued to the massive screen . Every step looked like it drained everything he had left . He leaned so close to the screen it was as if he wanted to reach through it , to drag her back . Only when he saw her face clearly , lifeless and still , did the truth finally slam into him . His voice cracked apart as a whisper escaped his throat . " Mom ... ? " It came out raspy , fragile , almost childlike . ' This - this can't be real , " he muttered , shaking his head . " That can't be my mom . No , that's not her ... " Then , as if grasping at his last thread of hope , he whirled toward me . His whole body trembled , his voice fracturing between each word . " Thea , please tell me that wasn't my mom , right ? She can't be dead . She's my mom ! " I looked at him calmly and said , " Declan , you've always wondered why I kept appealing over and over , haven't you ? You mocked me for not letting Sloane off the hook . Now you know why . Because the woman who died was YOUR mother . " My words hit him like a lightning bolt . For a long second , he just stared at me blankly , then the realization sank in . All this time , he thought I was being spiteful . All this time , he cursed the " scamming old hag " and the " shameless family . " And yet , the woman he smeared , the one he publicly branded a parasite , was the same woman who had raised him , alone , for thirty years . The same woman whose name he'd dragged through the dirt , the same woman he'd helped her killer shield . " What have I done ? " He clutched his head and let out a guttural , shattered scream . " What have I done ?! " Chapter 11 He thought of everything : how , after his mother was killed , he spent every night consoling Sloane , the woman who'd murdered her ; how he ridiculed me when I tried to seek justice ; how he weaponized his legal skills to distort the truth , branding his own mother a fraud ; how , when I tried to appeal again , he sold his mother's body on the black market , letting strangers carve her open - that gentle woman who'd always been terrified of pain ; and how he'd stoked an online hate storm , desecrating the memory of the only person who had truly loved him . His mother had lived her whole life with kindness , only to die disgraced , her body violated , her name dragged through the mud . Grasping all that , Declan broke completely . He collapsed to his knees before the giant screen , tears streaming down his face , slamming his forehead into the ground again and again . " Mom , I'm sorry ! I'm the worst son in the world ! Please forgive me ! " Discover our latest featured short drama reel. Watch now and enjoy the story!