The day I married Julian Blackwood, the heir to a formidable criminal empire, I was kidnapped. My maid-of-honor and younger sister, Lily, was caught in the crossfire. She died protecting me, brutally assaulted by the kidnappers. My father’s hair turned white overnight, and my mother suffered a heart attack, ending up in the ICU. Julian, who’d loved me fiercely for five years and cherished me more than life itself, mobilized all his connections, vowing to find the culprits. But when all the evidence pointed to Genevieve Thorne, he fell silent. She was the woman he secretly adored – his deceased elder brother’s wife. I filed a lawsuit, but no lawyer dared to take the case. My father, a respected attorney himself, stepped in, only to be imprisoned by Julian. He threw a blank check at me, demanding I withdraw the suit, even threatening to pull my mother’s oxygen tube. “Genevieve lost her husband; she was just jealous of us. I’ve already punished her. Please take the check and drop the charges, okay?” “Scarlett, why are you being so pushy? We’re all family. How will we get along in the future if you act like this?” He didn’t know it then, but the moment he protected Genevieve, there was no future for us. … “Scarlett, Genevieve was wrong, I admit that. Once you’ve calmed down, I’ll bring her to apologize. Let’s just drop this minor incident, alright?” Julian’s long fingers tapped lightly on the table, his tone as if discussing a trivial disagreement. I trembled with rage, glaring at him. “My sister died a horrific death, my mother is fighting for her life in the ICU… In your eyes, are these just ‘minor incidents’? What exactly constitutes a major incident then?” Julian frowned, a hint of displeasure in his voice. “Genevieve is the youngest head of her department at the hospital; she can’t have any stain on her record. Besides, I promised my elder brother I’d protect her.” That sentence was like a blunt knife, brutally carving open my memories. Did this cold man standing before me remember swearing to protect *me*? Did he remember my mother saving his life, caring for him for three days and three nights when he had a high fever, and his vow to treat her like his own mother? Did he remember Lily, who always used to follow him, calling him ‘big brother’? I stood frozen for a long moment. Suddenly, Julian grabbed my wrist, his grip painfully tight. “Scarlett, you wouldn’t want to harm many people you care about over a ‘minor incident,’ would you?” “Are you threatening me?” Tears blurred my vision. I looked at the lapel of his suit, where the wedding brooch I’d given him was still pinned. He lifted a hand to wipe away my tears, his motion gentle, like polishing expensive porcelain, but his voice remained cold. He pointed to documents already laid out on the coffee table. “Sign this release form, waiving all charges, and cease all private investigations into Genevieve. Otherwise, I won’t hesitate to shut down your father’s law firm or reduce your mother’s IV fluids.” “Nobody is more important than Genevieve! She loves her medical career; I can’t let her future be ruined.” “I’m not asking for your opinion! Sign these, and I’ll continue to provide the best medical resources for your mother. I’ll also let your father’s law firm stay open.” “You are the only Mrs. Blackwood. It’s time you settled down and learned how to be a high-society wife. Stop obsessing over my sister-in-law, and stop blaming your sister’s death on her. I told you I can prove she wasn’t at the scene that day. Your sister’s death was an accident, and besides, I’ve already taken care of those twenty kidnappers.” My body stiffened, staring at him in disbelief. In his eyes, Genevieve Thorne’s future was more important than my entire family’s lives? I let out a hollow laugh, the strength to accuse him further draining away. I didn’t want to argue anymore. I closed my eyes. “I’ll sign.” Through tear-filled eyes, I mechanically signed my name, page after page, until the thick stack of documents was complete. Julian curved his lips into a smile, patting the top of my head in a placating gesture. “Scarlett, I knew you were the most sensible one.” “In a month, we’ll have another grand wedding, how about it?” I neither nodded nor shook my head, numbly allowing the pain to consume my shattered soul. Julian hadn’t been gone long when I received a frantic call from my mother’s nurse. “Mrs. Blackwood, you need to come to the hospital now! Your mother isn’t doing well!” I arrived at the hospital, breathless, only to find the entire ICU empty. Only the nurse was pacing frantically. “Mrs. Blackwood, Director Thorne called everyone away to tend to a little girl who scratched her face. I saw it – she was crying hysterically, but the wound was tiny, nothing compared to your mother’s condition!” My mother lay on the hospital bed, pale, her breathing so faint it was almost imperceptible. I pressed the call button next to the bed repeatedly, but no one answered. “Go find doctors from other departments, quickly!” At that moment, my mother slowly opened her eyes. “Don’t cry, Scarlett. Mommy just misses Lily.” “Don’t beg Julian for me anymore, and don’t cry for him…” “Mom! Open your eyes, don’t fall asleep… Don’t leave me and Dad…” I performed CPR on my mother in a frantic breakdown, begging her to open her eyes. By the time the nurse brought a doctor from another ward, my arms were numb with exhaustion, but it was all in vain. “Time of death: July 22, 2025, 6:32:52 PM…” I knelt on the ground, holding my mother, allowing grief and regret to engulf me. I wanted to scream, to cry out, but no sound escaped my throat. I could only slap myself, again and again. It was all my fault! I shouldn’t have met Julian Blackwood, and I certainly shouldn’t have loved him! I killed my mother!
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