Chapter 13
Alexander stood in Vanessa’s former apartment, dust floating in the air. He had searched hospitals, train stations, and even every city she might have gone to. Yet, it all ended with no
results.
That day, he was inexplicably drawn here to her former home.
As he pushed the door open, the sunlight caught the drifting dust. It was like time stood still
in the space.
The place was clean, and not much was left behind, except for a small metal box on the desk. He walked over, his fingers trembling slightly as he lifted the lid.
Inside was a single photograph. The man in the picture looked almost exactly like him, but the smile was softer, and his arm wrapped protectively around Vanessa’s shoulders.
Alexander recognized that it was actually Matthias, his brother, who had died in a car crash five years ago.
His breath hitched, like a weight had been dropped straight into his chest. He flipped the photo over, and there was a short handwritten note on the back. “Nessa, live on.”
The ink had faded with time, but the message was still perfectly clear. His hands began to shake uncontrollably as he pulled out the journal tucked beneath the photo.
On the first page, Vanessa’s handwriting was neat and controlled. “Matthias, I promised you I’ll take care of him for five years. When those five years are up, I’ll come find you.”
The pages chronicled every single day of the past five years. The days she had taken bullets for him, drunk poisoned wine meant for him, and taken every hit in silence.
He finally realized that she had never done all of these for him. In fact, she had never loved
him at all.
Everything over these five years had been for Matthias.
Alexander dropped to his knees with a loud thud as a suppressed sob escaped his throat.
In Aenfield’s top private club, crystal chandeliers cast a cold light. Alexander tilted his head back and downed a full glass of alcohol. The burn ripped down his throat, but the frustration inside his chest only grew worse.
In the private room, his friends exchanged glances, none daring to speak first. Finally, Kevin couldn’t stand it anymore and snatched away his glass. “Enough! You’ve drunk more in the
Chapter 13
past few days than in the last five years!”
Alexander laughed coldly, reaching to grab it back. “Give it to me.”
“No!” Kevin smashed the bottle on the floor. “Look at yourself! You’re falling apart over a
woman-”
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“What do you know?” Alexander shot up, his eyes bloodshot. “She’s not just a woman! She’s
Vanessa York!”
The room fell silent.
From a corner, someone muttered quietly, “He should’ve realized that sooner…”
Alexander narrowed his eyes as he turned toward the voice. “What did you say?”
Owen Barker was clearly drunk but emboldened. He stood up and raised his voice. “I said, you’re blind! Vanessa gave you everything, but you never even looked at her. Now that she’s gone, you want to act like she’s your whole damn world?”.
Just then, Alexander threw a hard punch across Owen’s face. The glass table was knocked over,
shattering into pieces.
“Alexander!” Kevin held him back with all his might. “Are you out of your mind?”
Owen wiped blood from his mouth and sneered. “Hitting me won’t change a thing. You still
think Lucille’s some saint? I saw her
“Saw what?” Alexander’s voice went cold and deadly.
Owen explained, “At last year’s charity gala, she dumped red wine all over Sonia Lambert’s gown on purpose, then she played innocent.
“And last month, she threatened that model you were rumored to be dating. She scratched the model’s face so badly that she had to quit the industry!”
He hissed, “You didn’t know that, did you? Because when she’s around you, she’s all gentle
and considerate.”
Alexander’s fingers curled so tightly they turned bone white. He refused to believe it, as that wasn’t the Lucille he knew. However, guys who hung out at this club wouldn’t lie for no reason, especially not about this.
Something didn’t add up.
Three days later, in the executive office on the top floor of Hawke Corporation. Alexander stared at the dashcam footage he had bought from the hit-and-run driver’s ex-wife.
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In the video, Lucille stood in the garage shadows, handing the driver, Hector Murray, a thick envelope.
“Make it look like an accident.” Her voice was gentle, as if she were talking about the weather. “Especially the guy in the passenger seat. He has to die.”
Hector hesitated. “But… Mr. Hawke…”
Lucille chuckled and gently ran her fingers over his trembling hand. “I’ll take care of your daughter’s tuition. All of it.”
Then, the video cut off abruptly.
