Josie's voice was hoarse as she spoke. "Deirdre, Brendan and Declan are part of the same group.

"If Brendan refuses to help you, how can Declan agree to help? You've been lying to me about this from the beginning, haven't you?"

Deirdre felt hopeless. "Did Saul tell you that?"

"Hmm." Josie weakly replied, "He also told me that if you give birth to a child in prison, the baby will be sent to a welfare center.

"I can't let you be separated from your child as soon as she's born. I can't be the one to allow that to happen. So, you must seize the opportunity to live and persist, Deirdre."

Deirdre bit her lower lip tightly, unable to utter a realistic remark. She wanted to tell Josie that she had underestimated Emily's cruelty and that Emily was using the life-saving $30,000 to push her into a disastrous situation. With Josie sharing part of the responsibility, Emily would not be pleased with the outcome.

"I... Where are you now?"

"Us?" Josie turned her head to glance at Joseph, who wa