Seeing her flee, James sprang into action; he had wagered everything just to see her. He couldn't let her leave that easily.
But he had overestimated his own ability to make her stay. Once Laurel reached her car, she locked the doors and started the engine.
Carl, heart racing, chased after her but couldn't get inside since she had locked it.
"Mother! Mother, please! I want to go with you! Please take me with you! I don't want to be here!"
Panic engulfed him as he banged against the car, crying and screaming.
"Mother, please! Please take me with you!" Carl's voice was filled with anguish as he continued to plead with her.
Laurel couldn't endure it any longer. It felt as if she were trapped, suffocated by the weight of the situation, and she simply didn't want to be there anymore. Both he and James represented a part of her life that was a constant reminder of the pain she had been trying to escape.
