Chapter 188 All I do is for you

Chapter 188 All I do is for you
Rowan's POV 
I sat in the small visitation room, my leg bouncing restlessly as I waited.

I wasn't even sure why I'd come.

Maybe I wanted answers. Because a part still didn't want to believe every evidence that pointed to the fact that my mother was a bad person.

Or maybe, deep down, I was hoping she'd look at me and finally admit that she'd done something terrible. That she was scared of the consequences. 

The door opened. I looked up to see my mother walking into the room.

I barely recognized her.

Her hair, which was usually styled flawlessly, was messy and pulled back loosely. Her face looked tired, the usual makeup she never left the house without completely gone. Dark circles sat beneath her eyes, and her skin looked dull.

She no longer looked like the elegant, high-class woman who had walked into every room like she owned it.

The moment her eyes landed on me, her entire face lit up.

The officer undid her cuffs. 

"Rowan." She smiled, rushing toward me.

I stood, but I didn't move any closer.

"Baby," she said softly. "I'm so glad you're here."

I swallowed. "Hi, Mom."

She reached for me, but I hesitated before allowing her to pull me into a hug. Her arms wrapped around me tightly. I stood there like a mannequin, not hugging her back. 

She pulled away and held my face between her hands.

"Look at you," she whispered. "Are you okay? How's your father? How is everything at home?"

"I'm fine."

She studied my face. "You have no idea how relieved I am to see you."

I nodded, forcing myself to sit down. She sat across from me.

"I don't understand what's happening, Rowan," she said immediately. "None of this makes any sense. They're accusing me of things I didn't do. I don't know where all these lies are coming from."

I stared at her, almost convinced she was innocent. How could she talk like that when she's guilty of everything they've accused her of? 

She reached across the table and took my hand. "Your father is working on getting me out, right? He'll get a lawyer. He'll find a way to prove I'm innocent." 

I slowly pulled my hand away. "Yeah. Maybe," I said quietly.

She frowned. "What's going on? You're sounding different."

"I just..." I looked down at my hands. "I wanted to ask you something." 

"Of course. Anything."

I lifted my eyes to hers. "Did you do it?"

She blinked. "Do what?"

"The things they're accusing you of."

She snorted, her expression changing instantly. "Rowan, how could you even ask me that?"

"I'm asking because I... I need to know."

She shook her head. "No. Absolutely not. Of course I didn't. I could never do those things," she said, her voice firm. "How could you believe all those baseless lies they're spreading about me?"

I stared at her. 

Lies. That's what she called them.

Oh my goodness. 

After everything I'd heard, after every piece of evidence I'd seen with my own eyes... she was still lying to me.

A bitter ache settled in my chest.

"I heard you that night," I whispered, staring down at the table. 

Her eyebrows pulled together. "You heard what?"

"I heard the phone calls. I heard you talking about Elena." I looked up at her, tears burning behind my eyes. "I heard you say you wanted her dead."

Her face slowly lost its color. "Rowan—"

"And I saw the evidence." My voice cracked. "The videos. The documents. The transactions. Everything."

She opened her mouth, but no words came out.

I shook my head, tears filling my eyes. "Stop lying to me."

Her expression turned into complete confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Just stop the pretence." I quickly wiped beneath my eye, but another tear slipped down my cheek. "I found the drive, Mom." 

She froze.

"I found everything."

Her lips parted. "Rowan..."

"I know what you did." 

She stared at me as if she couldn't understand the words coming out of my mouth.

"I know about Iron Kings. I know about the money. I know about you cheating on Dad. I heard you making a call to kill Elena." My voice trembled. "And you still sit here and lie to my face."

She shook her head slowly. "No... Rowan, I—" 

"I was the one who reported you."

Silence.

Her face went completely blank. For a few seconds, she didn't even blink. She just stared at me with a look of disbelief.

"You..." Her voice was barely audible. "You what?" 

"I was the one who reported you, because I couldn't stand hearing you plan someone else's murder."

She stared at me, dumbfounded. I looked away, unable to bear the look on her face. 

"Even after I saw everything on the drive, I gave you a chance. I gave you the benefit of the doubt. But you just ended up doing the worst." 

I pushed my hair back. "I came here because I was looking for..." A scoff escaped me. " I don't even know what I was looking for. Closure, perhaps. And all you do is just lie and lie."

I lowered my head, wiping away the tears. "Why, Mom?"

She said nothing.

I looked back at her. "Why did you do all of this?"

Her eyes remained fixed on me. 

I was looking at my mother, and I didn't see who I thought she was. All I saw was a stranger.

She reached forward to touch my hand, but I withdrew instantly.

"All I do is for you, my sweet boy," she said, her voice low and soft.

I shook my head. "Nothing is for me." 

"Elena and her son are after what belongs to both of us. The best thing was to silence her. Her children would come to terms with that, and... they wouldn't want to be close to our family."

"Oh my God," I whispered in a sob. "What did you just say?"

She pressed her lips together and leaned back on her chair.

I leaned forward. "You're the worst person I've ever met," I said firmly. 

"Rowan, I was doing everything for us."

"No!" I yelled. "I never wanted anything. You were doing everything for yourself!"

I stood up immediately, turning away from her.

Fuck. Even after everything, it still felt unbelievable that my mother was this monster.

"So you're going to testify against me?" she asked.

I turned slowly to face her. "I would if it comes to that."

Just then, the door opened, and an officer walked in. 

"Visiting time is over," he announced, then walked up to Mom and pulled her to her feet. 

Her eyes filled with tears as they remained fixed on me while the office handcuffed her again.

"All I do is for you, my boy," she said.

As she was led toward the door, she turned and kept saying, "All I do is for you."

I looked away, dragging my hands down my face.