That night, however, Zandra heard crying coming from Keilani's room.

Rushing over, Zandra found Keilani trapped in a nightmare.

Keilani was curled up in a corner of her bed, drenched in sweat, and mumbling incoherently, "No, no! I'm scared! Mom, where are you? I'm scared! Please come save me!"

Zandra's heart twisted with pain at the sight. This was the little girl she had cherished and protected for so many years! Once again, Zandra started to scold Lance silently. How could Lance be so indifferent toward Keilani? Keilani was his younger sister, yet he allowed her to stay in that place for a whole month. Could it be that Bettie was more important to him than his sister, who had been by his side for years?

Zandra hugged Keilani, gently patting her back. “Keilani, I'm here now. Mommy is here."

"Mom... You finally came!" Keilani was quite emotional.

"Yes, sweetie, I'm here. I'll protect you and won't let anything bad happen to you. Try to sleep now."

Keilani slowly calmed down from her nightmare.

Zandra watched Keilani's sleeping face, feeling a pang of sorrow in her heart as she carefully tucked the blanket around Keilani.

Just then, Keilani woke up, rubbing her eyes groggily. “Mom? What are you doing in my room?"

Zandra smiled gently. “I came to check on you."

Keilani smiled back. "Mom, I'm okay. You don't have to worry about me."

Despite her words, tears welled up in her eyes and spilled over before she could stop them. She quickly turned away to wipe her tears.

Zandra's heart wrenched, her chest aching as she pulled Keilani into her embrace, saying, "Keilani, don't cry. You've been through so much. This is all my fault."

Zandra believed she had failed to teach Keilani properly. She also felt that she hadn't protected Keilani as she should have.

"This is all my doing!" Zandra mused.

Keilani lay in Zandra's arms, tears streaming down her face. "Mom, why didn't you come to save me? I was terrified in there. I couldn't sleep at all. Every moment, I prayed you'd come. Why didn't you?"

“I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry!" Zandra apologized, her eyes brimming with emotion.

Zandra felt she had erred by allowing Keilani to be confined for so long. She should have insisted on Lance releasing Keilani much sooner.

Even if Keilani had made a mistake, two days of confinement should have sufficed to teach her a lesson. Why impose such a draconian punishment?