The Broken-hearted She And The Icy He (Lily and John) novel Chapter 409

Chapter 409 Shattered Illusions

Bodger, Taylor, and Mergan’s faces drained of all color.

They’d seen some of the online buzz. News clips. Videos.

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Jenn had gone live more than once, angrily accusing Mathilda of betrayal–of selfishly and maliciously turning her and Sharon in.

They knew Mathilda had also been trafficked to that same village. They had asked her about it back then.

Through tears, she’d claimed she had no idea why Jenn would smear her like that. Said she never betrayed

anyone.

They’d asked her, too–if she and Jenn and Sharon had all ended up in the same village, why hadn’t she told the police, when they came to rescue her over four years ago, that there were still other girls being held captive?

She said she’d had no freedom at all, was beaten daily, and had no idea there were others. She cried. She apologized. She said if only she had known Jenn and Sharon were there, she would’ve helped.

And they believed her.

They already felt guilty about what she’d endured. Seeing her cry like that, they couldn’t bring themselves to doubt her.

To them, their baby sister was pure–good–hearted. If she ever did something wrong, like setting Lily up, it was because Lily had bullied her terribly in the past, She’d only been retaliating.

They never imagined that the sister they cherished, the one they thought was innocent and kind, would lie… would betray others… would stand by and watch two girls suffer, even when she had the power to help.

The video had been short–but the truth couldn’t have been clearer.

Bodger, Taylor, and Mergan were frozen in stunned silence, their worldviews crumbling in real time.

It was a long while before Bodger could speak, his voice raw and hoarse. “Mathilda… This morning you said you’d never met Jenn or Sharon… Why did you lie? Why did you betray them? Why, when you knew there were other innocent girls in that village… when we came for you, why didn’t you say a word?”

“Why?!”

Bodger had seen the viral story of Charles dying for Sharon too.

He wasn’t heartless. In a world full of shallow affection, that kind of love moved him–left him with a sense of grief and awe.

He’d seen the clips online: Charles holding Sharon’s ashes under the parasol tree, slowly growing cold.

It had hurt to watch.

And he couldn’t help but wonder–what if, back then, they’d searched the village more thoroughly after finding Mathilda? Maybe Sharon could have been saved. Maybe this whole tragedy wouldn’t have

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happened.

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He couldn’t bear the thought that Sharon and Charles’s deaths were caused–however indirectly—by the- very sister he’d always thought was the kindest person he knew.

Maybe… he’d never really known her at all.

Taylor and Mergan looked no better.

They couldn’t wrap their heads around it. Why would Mathilda betray Jenn and Sharon? Why, once she was safe, hadn’t she spoken up?

They both stared at her, waiting for an answer.

“I… I only gave Jenn and Sharon up because I was forced to…”

Mathilda sobbed, gasping for breath between words.

She didn’t want to admit it. She never wanted to admit she’d betrayed anyone. But James’s video had her cornered. There was no denying it now.

Her crying grew louder, more desperate–like she was the victim, more pitiful than Sharon who died, more tragic than anyone else.

“I didn’t mean to… If I didn’t tell them about the escape plan, those monsters would’ve killed me. I just wanted to live…”

“I was scared. I’m not a bad person…”

In the past, the moment Mathilda cried, Bodger and the others would rush to comfort her, believe her without hesitation.

But not this time.

They couldn’t convince themselves anymore.

Even if she had been under threat five years ago, what excuse could she have for staying silent four years ago, when she’d already been rescued?

What possible justification could there be for leaving those girls behind?

And deep down, they had a nagging suspicion–maybe she wasn’t even threatened at all.

Taylor couldn’t help it anymore. He turned toward her, voice shaking. “Mathilda… Lily said you were behind her kidnapping this time. That you worked with traffickers to sell her into the mountains again. Was she telling the truth?”

“Taylor…”

Mathilda’s face turned ghostly pale. Her knees buckled, and she stumbled backward, nearly collapsing.

She grabbed onto the edge of the table for balance, lifting her head with trembling effort, eyes wide in disbelief and overflowing with wounded accusation as she looked at him.

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Chapter 410 Unmasked