Bound by the Past, Locked by the Heart novel Chapter 272

Willa shook her head. "I don't know."

Corbin continued to explain. "All the evidence only pointed to Stella Whitman. Coupled with her mental issues, her testimony couldn't be fully trusted, so that was how the sentencing went down."

"Randal Yates sent her to a psychiatric hospital. She'll probably never get out in this lifetime."

Willa understood perfectly; that was definitely Randal's style. Being locked in a psychiatric ward was far more despair-inducing than serving a few years in prison.

Presumably, Warren Whitman had blamed Naomi for the entire mess and kicked her out of the house.

Arthur looked at his daughter, his red eyes brimming with guilt and heartache. "Willa, I had no idea you suffered so much. I promise you, I'll never see your mother again."

Willa nodded in acknowledgment and placed a piece of meat onto Arthur's plate.

"Dad, eat up. Let's not talk about these sad things anymore."

Just as they were finishing their meal, the doorbell rang.

Arthur stood up to get it, but Willa gently pressed his shoulder down. "I'll get it," she said, rising from her seat.

She walked over and pulled the door open. Randal stood outside, gripping a manila envelope.

Willa recognized it immediately; it was the DNA document Naomi had been clutching earlier.

His gaze drifted past her, catching sight of Corbin in the living room. His pupils slightly constricted before he rapidly averted his eyes.

He looked down, nervously rubbing the edge of the envelope. "Willa, I need to talk to you. Can I come in?"

"If you have something to say, say it out here. We're having a family lunch, so it's not a good time." Willa's tone was unapologetically cold and distant.

Randal's fingers suddenly tightened, crinkling the edge of the envelope.

She offered a faint smile, her tone as polite as one would be to a stranger. "Thank you, but I don't need it anymore."

Randal's hand froze in mid-air. "Why?"

"I don't want to overturn the case anymore. It was my relentless obsession in the past that brought on all those disasters. Now that my dad is out of prison, I just want our family to live in peace."

She looked up at him, calmly calling out his full name. "Randal, I've already let it go. You don't need to hold onto the past either, and you certainly don't need to do anything else for me."

Randal's eyes instantly reddened. "Willa... are we... are we truly over? I actually didn't..."

"If there's nothing else, you should leave," Willa interrupted him directly, turning to go back inside.

In a moment of desperation, Randal reached out and grabbed her wrist.

"Willa, why haven't you come inside?" Corbin's gentle voice drifted from behind, breaking the stalemate at the door.