Master of his heart (Brielle and Max)

Brielle stepped into the elevator. She couldn't feel any physical pain, only a sharp, unbearable agony radiating from her heart.

She even considered bending over to ease the pain clutching at her chest, but no matter what she did, she felt utterly powerless.

Her mind was a mess, and her legs felt as if they were filled with lead, each step a monumental effort.

She walked out numbly, and it wasn't until she reached the lobby that she pulled out her smartphone to call Patrick.

Patrick was in the midst of reaching out to Mark's relatives when he saw Brielle's incoming call. He hesitated to answer, knowing Max had said to keep this matter from Ms. Brielle for the time being.

Mark's ex-wife, the one who had left him a long time ago, was unreachable. No one knew where she had gone. So, Mark's body had been cremated in the meantime, but now there was no one to claim the ashes, leaving them temporarily stored at the hospital. When Patrick didn't answer, Brielle sent him a text message instead. [Mark has no other relatives. I'll take care of his funeral arrangements.]

Patrick's heart skipped a beat. Did Ms. Brielle find out?

He quickly called Max.

Max stood silently in the nursing home hallway upon hearing the news. After a long pause, his voice hoarse, he said, "Let her do it."

sent Brielle the address of where Mark's

the staff at West Hill Cemetery,

she mentioned it was for Mark, they informed her, "Mark's plot has been purchased long ago. He bought it himself over a decade ago. Additionally, he bought a small plot for a child from the orphanage who perished in a fire. He wanted his resting place to be next to the little one's, perhaps to

this, Brielle felt a sting in her nose. She wanted to say something, but it was as

made arrangements with the cemetery for the

no close family,

the night near the place where Mark's ashes were stored and took the urn to West Hill

the small smiling face on the nearby headstone. It was like a sharp bayonet thrust into her

smile because she was the reason the Fox family had all been sent to prison. The Fox family's daughter had died in a fire

Brielle's fault. If she allowed James to continue suffering in prison,

Martha was right. Everyone who crossed Brielle's path was

ready, and

a spring where everything was supposed to be coming to life, yet her heart felt as barren as winter, riddled with a thousand wounds. Who could she blame for

the Dorsey family, or