Chapter 522

Patriarch Sullivan slumped in his chair.

He looked at Vivian Bennett and Liam Sullivan lying on the floor.

His gaze then shifted to the pool of glaring blood not far away.

Tears silently streamed down his aged face.

Family members turning on each other.

The cruelest drama in the human world was playing out before his eyes.

Sorrow, like a cold tide, engulfed his hunched body.

He covered his face, his shoulders trembling violently.

The room was filled with the sound of weeping.

Isabella Sullivan was also crying.

She wasn't crying for Liam Sullivan.

She knelt on the floor, clutching the small body in front of her desperately.

Leo Sullivan had taken that bullet for her.

At such close range, the bullet had pierced his frail chest.

Blood bloomed like crimson lotuses, soaking his clothes and staining Isabella Sullivan's trembling hands.

"Leo... why were you so foolish?" Isabella Sullivan's voice was hoarse and broken.

The madness faded from her eyes, leaving only boundless despair.

The child in her arms was as pale as paper, his breathing so faint it was almost imperceptible.

Only his eyes still held a final glimmer of light.

Leo Sullivan's lips moved.

Blood-flecked foam spilled from the corner of his mouth.

"Mom..." he whispered, his voice a thread of sound, "I'm... atoning for your sins..."

"No!" Isabella Sullivan shook her head frantically, her tears falling on Leo Sullivan's face. "The sin is mine! It shouldn't be you! Leo, don't die... I'm begging you..."

Leo Sullivan managed a faint, painful tug at the corner of his mouth.

It was a bleak smile.

"Only if I die... will you be free."

His cold fingers gently grasped Isabella Sullivan's hand.

"Mom... promise me... live well from now on... stop hurting people..."

Isabella Sullivan nodded desperately.

As if her promise alone could make Death loosen its grip.

Leo Sullivan turned his head with great effort.

His gaze pierced through the lingering scent of blood, settling on Liam Sullivan.

"Uncle..." his voice was raspy, "can you... forgive my mother?"

Vivian Bennett helped Liam Sullivan to his feet.

She looked at the child lying in the pool of blood, tears flowing uncontrollably.

Who could have imagined that the one to finally cleanse this sin would be an innocent child.

Dark hatred was sublimated by a pure soul.

How unfortunate Isabella Sullivan was, lost in delusion her whole life.

And yet, how fortunate she was, to have a son willing to die in her place.

Liam Sullivan looked at Leo Sullivan.

This sickly child he had always overlooked now shone like a beam of light, piercing the gloom that had accumulated in his heart for years.

Within that frail body resided the soul of a true man.

Pure, warm, enough to illuminate the deepest darkness.

"I forgive her." Liam Sullivan's voice was low and clear.

It was like a thousand-pound weight had been lifted.

Leo Sullivan smiled.

The smile was faint, yet it seemed to carry a sense of release.

"Thank you, Uncle..."

His voice grew softer, the light in his eyes gradually dimming.

"You will... be happy..."

His last breath dissipated amidst the room's mournful weeping.

Isabella Sullivan held her son's gradually cooling body tightly, letting out a piercing wail of grief.

That cry held remorse, despair, and a certain emptiness born from complete collapse.

Patriarch Sullivan closed his eyes, tears streaming down his aged face.

Vivian Bennett leaned against Liam Sullivan's chest, silently weeping.

A bloody revenge had concluded in the most unexpected way.

Hatred had no victors.

The price of forgiveness was a child's life.

But perhaps only such a price could truly end this tragedy that had spanned years.

Night seeped in from the window.

It enveloped the room's sorrow and a newborn-like silence.