Tessa had barely made it through, but she was going to be okay. Caleb, on the other hand, wasn’t nearly as lucky.

The doctors said the poisoning had been going on for a long time. His internal organs were already severely damaged. There was nothing more they could do.

When Rowena heard the news, everything went black in front of her, and she passed out on the spot.

The next day, Sophia went to the prison as she’d planned.

Through a glass partition, she sat across from Jacqueline, who was wearing the standard-issue prison uniform. They spoke through a wired phone.

A mocking smile flashed across Jacqueline’s face. “Mrs. Jacobson, well, this is a surprise. I never expected you to be here.”

Ever since Jacqueline’s feelings for Stephen had been exposed and Sophia had slapped her, any pretense of a “mother-daughter” relationship between them had completely vanished.

Later, Jacqueline was kicked out of the Jacobson residence.

After that, she stopped calling Sophia “Mom” and started calling her “Mrs. Jacobson” instead.

From the moment she was arrested to the day she was sentenced and her punishment was carried out, Sophia hadn’t visited her once. The only one who had gone to see her was Rowena, who had gone twice.

Rowena couldn’t see things clearly and continued to dote on Jacqueline. Even now, with Caleb on the verge of death from poisoning, she refused to believe Jacqueline could’ve done it.

Sophia’s gaze was cold as ice. She didn’t waste any time. “Did you poison Caleb?”

“Poisoned? Caleb got poisoned?” Jacqueline pretended to be shocked, but there was amusement in her eyes.

“Drop the act,” Sophia said expressionlessly. “No one else has the motive to do such a thing. It was James who told you to do it.”

Jacqueline smiled. “Mrs. Jacobson, you really should watch what you say. You’re accusing me of poisoning someone. Do you have any proof?”

“If you did it, there will be traces. We’ll find the evidence.”

Jacqueline let out a cold laugh, and her eyes were full of smug defiance. “So what you’re saying is… you haven’t found any yet.”

A flicker of menace crossed Sophia’s eyes. “Jacqueline, if you really poisoned Caleb, the Jacobson family won’t let you off. And don’t count on James to bail you out. You might not know this since you’re stuck in here, but he has already been arrested.”

Jacqueline’s smug smile vanished in an instant. Her voice shot up. “What did you say? Has James been arrested?”

Sophia’s lips curled into a cold smirk. “You thought James was untouchable in Arcton, huh? His political backers fell during the prime minister election.

“As soon as the new prime minister took office, he launched a joint operation to take James down. He barely escaped, ran back to

Rivertown, and tried to take Stephen down with him.

“Luckily, Stephen had bodyguards with him, and James didn’t succeed. The police arrested him thereafter. He can’t even save himself now. What makes you think he can save you?”

Jacqueline flinched at the mention of James trying to take Stephen down with him. Her heart clenched. She blurted out, “Is Stephen okay? Was he hurt?”

Sophia laughed coldly. “That’s none of your business. No one’s coming to save you. If you come clean about poisoning Caleb now, it could still count as turning yourself in.

“You might get a reduced sentence. But if you wait for the police to find the evidence themselves, that chance is gone.”

“Reduced sentence?” Jacqueline sneered. Do you think I’m stupid? Even if did poison Caleb, do you think the Jacobson family would really go easy on me? A reduced sentence? That’s hilarious.

Sophia’s voice went flat. “So you’re not planning to confess, are you?”

Jacqueline didn’t blink. “Why should I confess to something I didn’t do?”

“That’s enough. Time’s up,” the prison guard said.

They hung up. The guard came over to escort Jacqueline away.

Just before she walked off, she turned back and flashed Sophia a deliberate, cryptic smile.

It wasn’t until after Tessa was out of danger that Sophia finally told Stephen about Caleb being poisoned.

The damage to Caleb’s organs was so severe that there was no pointin keeping him in the ICU. The doctors transferred him to a regular ward so he could spend his final days with his family.

After the shock of learning about Caleb’s condition, Rowena had another episode

and passed out. She was hospitalized too.

Since last night, aside from checking in on Rowena, Stephen hadn’t left Caleb’s bedside.

After leaving the prison and grabbing a quick lunch, Sophia finally made her way to the hospital.