He’d dismissed it, thinking Grandma just
didn’t like Chloe. Now he realized he’d been a
fool.
Chloe finally panicked, begging for
forgiveness.
“Brother, I didn’t mean to. I don’t know how it
happened. Believe me!”
A scream erupted from a nearby room.
Someone shouted, “Murder!”
Everyone rushed in. I stood there, knife in
hand, blood on the blade.
“Mindy!” Charles cried out, his face ashen.
“What are you doing?”
I stared at the man I’d stabbed, writhing in
pain. I laughed hollowly.
<
I stared at the man I’d stabbed, writhing in
pain. I laughed hollowly.
“Revenge for Lily! This man electrocuted my
daughter!”
“He’s still alive…”
I raised the knife again. Charles tackled me,
holding me tightly. His eyes held a rare flicker
of compassion.
“Mindy, you’re insane! You’ll go to prison!”
I sneered. “And you and Chloe are still free?”
Charles was speechless.
I was about to kill that man and Chloe too,
then turn myself in. But Charles burst in, his
men subduing me.
The man on the floor, terrified, confessed.
“It wasn’t me! The boss made me do it!
Chloe Harrison! She paid me five million to kill
Lily!”
Silence. Charles froze.
“Say it again?”
<
Chloe laughed. “Charles, I told you not to
come! Even if you know the truth, you can’t
escape.”
The academy was sealed. We turned to see
Chloe, her face devoid of vulnerability,
replaced with arrogance and madness.
“Charles, I love you, but why couldn’t you be
with me openly?”
“Because I’m adopted? You married someone
else to hide your dirty secret?”
Charles’s face went white. He slapped Chloe.
“I never expected you to be so vicious!”
“Charles, you love me? Why didn’t you divorce
Mindy, marry me?”
“You said if it weren’t for Lily, you’d have
married me!”
“Now Lily’s dead, you can marry me!”
Charles was shocked.
“I’m sorry… but that’s no excuse for killing
Lily! You’re her aunt…”
“So what? She wasn’t my blood relative!”
Chloe was completely unhinged. “To get you,
I’d do anything, even kill.”
I sneered. Charles had said he didn’t divorce
Mindy because of Lily. Chloe had decided to
kill Lily to become Mrs. Harrison.
Charles looked at her with disgust and horror.
“Chloe, you’re so frightening. I barely
recognize you.”
We were trapped. Chloe locked us in a dark
room. I planned our escape, but Charles held my hand. “Don’t worry, I called the police.”
I shoved him away.
Charles looked at me, guilt in his eyes.
“I’m sorry, Mindy. I never meant for things to
go this far. I wanted to punish Lily, I didn’t
know about Chloe’s plan…”
I scoffed. “It doesn’t matter now.”
“Charles, will you avenge Lily and kill Chloe?”
“If you do, I’ll forgive you.”
<
I studied him. Shock, disbelief, confusion
flashed in his eyes.
I laughed bitterly. “I knew you wouldn’t.”
“I know murder means prison. But Lily was my
life. Without her, I have nothing.”
“If you still protect Chloe, I’ll kill anyone
necessary. I’ll join Lily in death.”
Chloe appeared, knife in hand, taunting me. “Mindy, why don’t you just leave? If you’d
divorced Charles, you wouldn’t have lost your
daughter.”
“This is all your fault.”
I held my own knife, ready to kill her. But
Charles grabbed my knife and plunged it into
Chloe’s chest.
He looked at me coldly.
“This is her fault.”
“I’m Lily’s father. Avenging my daughter is my
right.”
I watched, stunned, until Chloe died. Charles
cleaned the blood, urged me to leave. The
police arrived.
Expecting Charles to take the blame, he
stepped forward. “It was me.”
Stunned, I watched him arrested. Before they
handcuffed him, he slipped me a note.
“Be good. Read this later. If I’m gone, please
care for Grandma. I’m sorry. I’ll make amends
in the next life.”
He took the blame. Though he’d committed
murder, his sentence was reduced to 20 years due to extenuating circumstances.
I opened the note.
“I’m sorry, Mindy. I was a fool, hurting you
and Lily. I’ll bear the consequences: Whether
I’m imprisoned or executed, I hope you can
let go of the past, forget me.”
He urged me to remarry, to find happiness.
Soon, I received the divorce papers.
“Ms. Harrison, Mr. Harrison has signed.
Please sign, and the divorce is finalized.”
I signed, packed my bags, booked a flight south. Lily wanted to visit Dali on her fifth
birthday. She never got to. Now, with her
ashes, I would take her to see the world.
[The End]
