Hours later, the family gathers outside the prison as Sophie is brought out, barely able to stand, her frame thin and fragile. She looks almost unrecognizable—her once-vibrant spirit now buried under months of unimaginable suffering.
Natalie rushes toward her, tears streaming down her face, but Sophie doesn't even seem to see her. Her eyes are dull, staring through everyone and everything. Natalie reaches out to touch her, but Sophie flinches, instinctively recoiling from the very sight of the Castellano family.
"I'm so sorry, Sophie. I never meant for any of this… please, forgive me," Natalie chokes out, her voice filled with regret. But Sophie's expression remains empty, as if the words can't even reach her anymore.
Giovanni steps forward, his voice a low, somber tone. "Sophie, I can't undo what we've done. But if there's anything we can do to make this right—"
Sophie's gaze hardens slightly, a glint of defiance flickering back to life in her hollow eyes. She turns away without a word, the silence conveying her disdain more powerfully than any response. They may have realized their mistake, but forgiveness won't come easily—if it comes at all.
As Sophie walks away from them, each step is a painful reminder that the path to redemption for the Castellano family will be a long, lonely journey, shadowed by the irreversible damage they have done. And whether or not Sophie ever finds it in her heart to forgive, they know that her spirit, once broken by them, may never be fully healed.