1 The golden boy they adopted said I stole his precious necklace. My sister, my own flesh and blood, went ballistic. She didn’t just drag me to court; she hired the best lawyer to make sure he won. I got three years. Branded a thief. Before they took me away, her lawyer tried to reason with her. “Just scare him a little, that’s enough,” he’d said. “A real prison sentence will ruin your brother’s life!” My sister’s face was a mask of stone. “Stealing isn’t a small thing. He needs to learn a hard lesson.” “As for his future?” she added, her voice unwavering. “I’ll be his safety net.” Three years later, I walked out of those gates. She was waiting, her eyes bloodshot as she reached for me. “You see your mistake now, don’t you?” she asked. “Come on. Let’s go home.” But I just took a quiet step back, letting her hand fall through empty air. I had a new sister now. I met her on the inside. She told me she believed me. … My sister, Pathy, froze, a flicker of disbelief in her eyes as I dodged her touch. But she didn’t pull her hand back. Instead, it shot out again, faster this time, her fingers wrapping around my wrist with a grip of iron. “Patrick, why are you avoiding me? Did someone hurt you in there?” Her voice was thick, like it was being pushed through cotton. I tried to pull my hand away, once, twice, but her grip was too tight. I gave up. “No,” I said, my voice flat. She let out a breath she’d been holding. “Good,” she whispered, squeezing my hand tighter. “That’s good. I read things online, that it’s… not a place for people. I’m so glad you weren’t bullied…” Watching the relief flood her face, the way her eyes grew redder by the second, a bitter, mocking laugh echoed in my head. The one who moved heaven and earth to put me in here… wasn’t that you, Pathy? What good was this concern now? She forced a bright smile, tugging me toward a sleek black car like a peace offering. “You always loved a good party, right? I’ve planned a huge welcome-home celebration for you.” “Come on,” she said again. “Let’s go home.” I glanced back at the prison, its grey walls stark against the sky. Nina. That was my new sister’s name. She’d been framed for financial fraud and had another month left on her sentence. We’d made a pact. In one month, I’d be back here, waiting at this very gate to pick her up. We were going to build a life together. But Dad’s old photos and his signet ring were still in that house. I needed them. So, I let Pathy lead me to the car. On the drive, she ran her hand over my shaved head, a gesture that was half a caress, half a warning. “Patrick, no more stealing. You understand? This was your lesson.” My fingers curled into a fist. For three years, I’d used the prison guards to pass her countless messages. I didn’t steal Ethan’s necklace. He framed me. She never believed it. So this time, I didn’t bother explaining. I just nodded like a good boy and played along. “I know.” A satisfied smile spread across her face. When she pushed open the front door, a party popper exploded with a loud BANG!, showering us in a blizzard of colored streamers. Ethan, the boy I hadn’t seen in three years, stood there holding the empty tube, his eyes crinkling with a joyful smile. “Welcome home, big brother!” He laid the affection on thick, his eyes practically overflowing with feigned adoration. He looked nothing like the boy whose face had been twisted with jealousy and venom when he’d accused me of theft. I ignored him, brushing past his shoulder as I walked inside. His smile faltered. He looked to Pathy, a wounded, awkward plea in his eyes. “Why is he ignoring me? Is he… is he still mad at me?” Pathy patted his head, her voice dripping with indulgence. “Patrick just got out, he’s probably not used to things yet. It’s not your fault.” I was already in my old bedroom, pulling open the drawer under my bed. Dad’s photos and his ring were still there. A wave of relief washed over me. Pathy appeared at the doorway. “Patrick,” she called softly, “come out and eat. You’re so thin I can see your ribs.” I slid the drawer shut and followed her out. At dinner, Ethan kept prodding, his questions laced with a false innocence. “So, what was it like in there, bro? I heard it’s really rough, is that true?” “It’s not rough,” I said, my voice monotone. “You read books and newspapers every day. After dinner, you go back to your dorm.” “Oh. Well, that sounds alright, then. Not as bad as I imagined.” A shadow of disappointment flickered across his face. Pathy placed a peeled shrimp on my plate. “Now that you’re out, let’s not talk about that place anymore,” she said with a light laugh. “Just think of it as an experience. Put it behind you.” Ethan’s eyes darkened, and he fell silent. A moment later, as if remembering something, he jumped up and ran to his room. He came back with a small, exquisitely wrapped box and held it out to me. “This is for you, big brother. A welcome home present!” I didn’t take it. I just kept eating. He didn’t seem to mind. With a grin, he opened the box himself. A luxury watch lay nestled on a velvet cushion, its face gleaming under the dining room lights. I saw it, and my pupils shrank to pinpricks. The blood in my veins turned to ice. It felt like I’d been plunged into a frozen lake. Ethan pushed the box closer, his face twisting into a grotesque, chilling grin. “What’s wrong, brother? Isn’t this your favorite watch? You loved it so much you had to steal it.” “Now I’m giving it to you,” he hissed, his voice a venomous whisper. “Aren’t you happy?” That watch. The “pearl necklace” was a lie to the press. It had been a watch. A gift from Pathy to Ethan. And it was the very reason I’d spent three years behind bars. 2 After Dad died on the battlefield, Mom took his survivor benefits and vanished, leaving me and Pathy to fend for ourselves. She dropped out of high school, working God knows how many dead-end jobs before she finally scraped together enough to start her own company. The moment she made real money, she adopted Ethan, another boy who’d lost his father, and brought him into our home. I was against it from the start, but Pathy pleaded with me. “Ethan is just as lost as we were, Patrick. At least you have me. He has nothing.” “Just be generous,” she’d said. “It’s only one more plate at the table.” But it was never just one more plate. She treated him better than she’d ever treated me. It was like she was trying to raise a brother all over again, showering him with all the things she couldn’t give me when we were poor. Toys, designer clothes, luxury watches. Anything Ethan wanted, he got. In just two years, she’d spent millions on him. That was the money she bled for. How many nights had she been forced to go to client dinners, drinking until she was sick, only to come back to the table and drink more? I hated seeing her waste her hard-earned money like that. I was always telling her to cut back. And for that, Ethan hated me. He hid the watch under my pillow and then ran to Pathy, crying his eyes out, telling her I’d stolen it. Pathy exploded. She made me kneel in the pouring rain, demanding I confess. “How could Dad’s son be a thief? He was a soldier! I’ve built my life on honesty!” she’d screamed, her voice raw with rage. “Who are you learning this from? That mother who took the money and ran?” “Have I ever let you go hungry? Have you ever needed anything? Why would you steal?” I was burning up with a fever, crying, swearing I didn’t do it, but she wouldn’t listen. The next day, she hired the best lawyer in the city and took me to court. My own sister. Standing on the witness stand, fighting for Ethan, testifying against me. The verdict was three years. I was officially a thief. Before the sentencing, friends, family, even her own lawyer, begged her not to go through with it. I was her brother. Three years in prison would destroy my future. But she was relentless. She was willing to push everyone away to see me locked up. “Patrick won’t be destroyed,” she’d insisted. “I work this hard for him. Even if he is ruined, I can support him for the rest of his life.” “But he stole,” she’d said, her voice like ice. “He has to learn his lesson.” Every month for three years, she came to visit me. Every month, she’d ask if I was ready to admit I was wrong. And every time, I refused to see her. I’d just have the guard pass on the same message. “I didn’t steal anything.” After she’d leave, the guard would shake his head with a sigh. “Your sister doesn’t believe you, kid.” Disappointment, repeated over and over, slowly curdled into a cold, hard despair. I felt like the entire world had abandoned me. I used to have Pathy’s love, at least. Now, I had nothing. Seeing that watch again, something inside me snapped. I swept my arm across the table, sending the box flying. It hit the floor with a loud crack. Ethan stared, stunned into silence. Pathy’s face instantly darkened. “Ethan was being kind, giving you a gift! He’s forgiven you, and this is how you act?” I sat there, trembling, my face pale as a ghost. She grabbed my arm, trying to haul me to my feet. “You think because you’re out you can throw a tantrum? Pick up that watch and apologize to Ethan, now!” Apologize? Never. I shoved her away, hard, and bolted out the door. The night air was bitingly cold, but it was nothing compared to the storm of grief and betrayal churning in my chest. I never should have come back. If it wasn’t for Dad’s things, I wouldn’t have set foot in this house. I was done being framed. I was done being hurt. Pathy caught up to me in seconds, her fingers digging into my wrist. Her brows were knitted together in a tight, angry line. “Where do you think you’re going? You spent three years in prison and you still haven’t learned to control your temper?” I couldn’t take it anymore. I ripped my arm from her grasp, my eyes burning with unshed tears. “That watch… was that a peace offering or a poisoned arrow, Pathy? Can you honestly not see the difference?” “I’m your brother!” I yelled, my voice cracking. “You already sent me to hell once, what more do you want from me?” “I’m doing this for your own good!” she shot back, her voice turning cold. “If you do the crime, you do the time. How else are you going to learn? Am I supposed to just stand by and watch you throw your life away?” Her words slammed into my heart like a sledgehammer, leaving a gaping hole. When had I ever stolen anything? What reason could I possibly have to steal a watch from Ethan? Why couldn’t she just think for one damn second? Why wouldn’t she ever, ever believe me? Tears of frustration finally spilled over, hot against my cold cheeks. The despair of the last three years crashed over me like a tidal wave. I gave up trying to explain. She looked at my shaved head, and her voice softened, as if admitting defeat. “Patrick, everything I do, I do it with you in mind. Yes, you spent three years in jail, but I’ve paved the way for you.” “My company… it’s all going to be yours one day. This was just a small punishment. It’s nothing in the long run.” “Come home with me,” she pleaded. “Stop running away.” She took my hand again, leading me back toward the house. I followed numbly, the fight gone out of me. I didn’t say another word. When we walked back in, Ethan’s eyes widened in surprise. He clearly hadn’t expected Pathy to bring me back after all that. I just felt drained, exhausted to my very soul. I retreated to my bedroom and didn’t come out. Late that night, my door creaked open. It was Ethan. My eyes snapped open in the darkness, but I stayed perfectly still. He thought I was asleep. I watched him feel around under my pillow, his movements furtive as he slipped something beneath it. I didn’t move. I didn’t say a word. He was so predictable, pulling the same trick the day I got back. This time, I wanted to see. I had to know if Pathy would finally choose to believe me. The next morning, just as I expected, he was in the living room, crying to Pathy that I had stolen his new watch—the replacement for the one I’d supposedly taken before. “Pathy, if he liked it, he just had to ask! I even offered him the old one yesterday, and he threw it on the floor!” he wailed. “Is he just… a kleptomaniac?” Pathy’s face was a thundercloud as she stared at me. “You just can’t help yourself, can you?” My heart plummeted into a black abyss. Her words were a final, brutal sword stroke, severing the last thread of family that tied us together. A humorless smile twisted my lips. “No,” I said. “I guess I can’t.” CRACK! The sound of her hand connecting with my cheek echoed in the silent room. The anger and disappointment in her eyes were about to spill over. “How could I have a brother like you!” I was silent for a moment, my cheek stinging. Then, I let out a cold, hollow laugh. “I don’t know,” I said, my voice dripping with ice. “How could I have a sister like you?” “You—!” She pointed a trembling finger at me, too furious to speak. Before her second slap could land, I dropped to my knees. I bowed my head to the floor, one final gesture. “Thank you for raising me after you dropped out of school,” I said, my voice empty. “From now on, I don’t have a sister.” With that, I stood up, pulled the box with Dad’s things from under the bed, and turned to leave. Her face was grim as she snatched the box from my hands. “These were Dad’s. You have no right to take them!” Fine. Let her have them. I just nodded, accepting my fate, and walked toward the door. “You’re an ex-con!” she yelled at my back, her voice tight with rage. “What can you do without me? Starve?” I didn’t stop. I didn’t even slow down. “Don’t worry about me.” 3 I left the house and sat on a bench in the neighborhood park all day. This time, Pathy didn’t come after me. She must have finally washed her hands of me, disgusted and disappointed beyond repair. I had no money, so I started looking for a job, any job that offered food and board. But the moment they heard I’d been in prison, the answer was always no. My only option was a construction site. The foreman looked me up and down, his brow furrowed. “You’re all skin and bones. This is hard labor. You sure you can handle it?” I put on my most eager smile. “Give me a shot, sir. I might be thin, but I’m stronger than I look.” He was still hesitant, but I didn’t wait for permission. I grabbed a wheelbarrow and started working, moving with a speed and efficiency that surprised him. Finally, he nodded. “Alright, you’re on. Food and a bunk are included. Hundred bucks a day.” “One thing, though,” he added. “This is a short-term project. We’ll be done in a month.” I beamed. A month was perfect. By then, Nina would be out, and I’d have a place to go. I worked on that site for over three weeks. When Pathy found me, she was so shocked she almost didn’t recognize me. My hair had grown out into a messy, unkempt mop. My clothes were caked in a permanent layer of dust that puffed off me with every step. She stood at a distance, just watching, her eyes slowly turning red. Finally, she ran over and grabbed my wrist. “What are you doing here? Patrick, do you have any idea how long I’ve been looking for you?” “Come on, let’s go home. You can’t be doing this kind of work!” I shook her off and hefted a stack of bricks onto my shoulder, pretending I didn’t know her. Her lips tightened into a thin line. She didn’t try to persuade me again. Instead, she turned and marched over to the foreman. I couldn’t hear what she said. A few minutes later, the foreman walked over, his face grim. “Patrick, why didn’t you tell me you did time for theft? We can’t have thieves on this site. You’re fired.” “And don’t expect any pay,” he grunted. “Get lost.” Panic seized me. “Please, sir, give me a chance,” I begged. “I was framed, I swear. I’ve never stolen anything in my life. I won’t cause any trouble!” “That’s your sister, right?” he sneered, jerking his head toward Pathy. “You expect me to believe she’d lie about that?” “We don’t hire dishonest people. Now beat it!” he barked, giving me a hard shove. I stumbled backward, losing my balance, and fell straight into Pathy’s arms. She held me steady. A triumphant smile played on her lips as she pressed a phone into my hand. “See? You can’t survive anywhere else. The only place for you is with me.” “Patrick, we’re family. The path I’ve made for you is the only one that works.” She reached up and ruffled my messy hair, not even flinching at the dust that came off on her hand. Her smile was genuine now as she took my arm. “Come on. Let’s go home. And don’t you ever make me look for you again.” I didn’t move. She turned, confused by my resistance. Her eyes met mine, and she saw the absolute, glacial coldness there. “Pathy,” I said, my voice dangerously quiet. “What do I have to do for you to just let me go?” She didn’t seem to grasp that she’d done anything wrong. Her smile vanished. “What are you talking about, ‘let you go’? Haven’t I been good to you?” “I’ve spent the last three weeks searching for you! I’ve ignored my company, do you know how much money I’ve lost?” Without another word, she yanked me toward her car. I was bundled inside, taken back to that house one more time. On the way, she took a call, and after dropping me off, she raced to her office, ordering Ethan to make sure I didn’t run off again. The moment she was gone, Ethan’s face transformed. “You idiot!” he sneered. “I can’t believe she brought you back again. After all that, she still cares about you?” I fought the urge to punch him, my voice tight with a rage I’d held in for three years. “Why? Why did you frame me? I was always decent to you, wasn’t I?” He let out a cold laugh, his eyes filled with pure malice. “Because you told Pathy to stop spending money on me.” “She made it perfectly clear years ago. The company goes to you. Not me.” “You have this amazing sister to fall back on, and you couldn’t even stand to see her spend a little money on me,” he spat. “Why should you have everything?” My hands clenched into fists. “Do you have any idea how she earned that money? She never went to college. The executives at her company look down on her. She has to work twice as hard just to stay afloat.” “Those old sharks force her into business dinners, and she has to drink until she’s puking blood! And you? You ask for millions like it’s nothing. She’s my sister, of course I care! What’s wrong with asking her to spend less on you?” “So what? It’s not like she’s earning it for me,” Ethan scoffed, admiring his expensive sneakers. “If she drinks herself to death, I still get nothing. The only way I get a piece of the pie is if you’re out of the picture.” I stared at him, a chill spreading through my entire body. I always thought he framed me because he wanted Pathy all to himself. I never imagined it was only ever about the money. “You’re a real snake,” I bit out, heading for my room. He laughed behind me. “I framed you once, I can do it again. And again.” “Just wait, Patrick,” he called out. “I’ll get you thrown out of here for good!”

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “MotoNovel” app 🔍 search for “386693”, and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel

1 When the story ended, I, the designated villainess, lost everything. My own brother had me committed to a psychiatric hospital. My fate was to be tormented until I died. But I refused to let them control even the way I died. At the fairytale wedding of the story’s beloved heroine, in front of all the glittering guests, I threw myself into the sea. And just like that, Port Sterling lost its most outrageously wicked heiress. In her place, a small-time food vendor appeared on the streets of Riverbend, hawking braised meats from a cart. Until three years later, when a man stopped in front of my stall. He asked me if I wanted to go back and burn it all to the ground. … I kept my head down, my knife moving deftly as I sliced beef on the cutting board. An old regular, one of my best customers, kept shooting glances at the man standing silently before my cart. Finally, his curiosity got the better of him and he leaned in. “Bea,” he whispered, “who’s this guy? You know friends this rich, why are you out here selling braised pork knuckles?” My knife came down with a final, clean chop. I lifted my head, my gaze skipping over the old man and landing on Caleb Thorne, my voice even. “Oh, him?” “He used to be one of our house staff.” The old man let out a short, barking laugh, as if I’d told the funniest joke he’d ever heard. “Get outta here! The way you pinch every penny, you? A high-society lady?” “A real heiress wouldn’t last a day out here,” he said, picking up his bag with a grin. “She’d be crying for her daddy by lunchtime.” He walked away, still chuckling. I pulled off my disposable gloves and smiled too. He was right. I was Bea, the woman who’d been selling braised meats on this street for two years. Not Beatrice Parish, the arrogant, couture-clad heiress of Port Sterling. My smile faded. I put my hands on my hips and called out to the lingering customers. “Alright, show’s over, folks! Come and get it! Last three pork knuckles for the day! When they’re gone, I’m gone!” I sold the last one, packed it up, and watched the crowd disperse. Only then did a voice, tight with emotion, break the silence. “Beatrice.” “Are you going to hide in this place and sling food for the rest of your life?” I didn’t turn around. I just kept scrubbing the heavy pot under the faucet, the scouring pad scraping against the metal. He was quiet for a moment. When he spoke again, his voice was trembling. “Bea, your brother… Larry is looking for you, too. If you want to go back, I’ll help you this time. I swear it.” I shut off the water. The sudden silence was deafening. “Help me?” I turned, hoisting the clean pot onto the cart with a loud clang. “Caleb, is there anything left on me that you could possibly want?” He’d said he would help me once before. The result was him helping my brother drive the final, most vicious knife into my back. 2 Three years ago, after the heroine, Clara, got into a minor car accident, my brother and my childhood sweetheart jointly cornered me, leaving me with no way out. My father, on his deathbed, secretly pressed a card and a small USB drive into my hand. “Beatrice, go,” he’d rasped. “Go now! To Switzerland. There’s enough money there for you to live comfortably for the rest of your life… Don’t ever come back!” It was my only escape route in a world that had turned against me. I told no one. I only called Caleb. The one person I thought would leave a window open for me, even if the rest of the world wanted me dead. When I handed him the plane ticket, I didn’t notice the conflict warring in his eyes. It wasn’t until my limbs grew weak and my vision blurred that a cold dread washed over me. In the last second before I lost consciousness, I saw him pull the USB drive from my pocket. “Bea,” he’d said, his voice devoid of all warmth. “People have to pay for their mistakes.” When I woke up, I was in a psychiatric hospital. Later, on a newspaper I was allowed to read once a week, I saw the engagement announcement for Clara and Victor. The article gushed about the bride’s staggering dowry, a fortune that would secure her place in high society. The amount they quoted was, to the dollar, the exact sum my father had left for me. How absurdly tragic. My father’s last act of love for me had become the glittering centerpiece of her wedding. And now, the architect of my ruin was standing before me, his voice choked with emotion. “Bea, why do you have to be so stubborn!” “Three years ago, you threw yourself into the sea right in front of us! Have you ever thought about how the people you left behind have been living?!” “Or are you so unafraid of death that you’re somehow afraid to go back with me?” I gave him a long, cool look. His eyes were red with frustration. I thought for a moment. “I’ll apologize to Clara,” I said. Caleb, his eyes still fixed on me, flinched. “What?” I smiled. “For ruining her wedding three years ago. I sincerely regret it. But please, assure her that her brilliant, happy life will no longer be troubled by my existence.” “And you can rest easy, too. I swear on my father’s grave, I will never, ever interfere with your perfect little happy ending.” So please, just leave me alone. Don’t stand here with your false sincerity, talking about taking me back to reclaim what’s mine. He was just mad that I’d ruined the wedding of his precious goddess, Clara, and this was his new, twisted way of messing with me. Caleb stood frozen, staring at me, his mouth opening and closing but no words coming out. I took the opportunity to hop on my tricycle cart and pedal away as fast as I could. In the small rearview mirror, I saw him clutch his chest and slowly sink to his knees, his face as white as a sheet. I pushed harder on the pedals. After all, I didn’t have any money for him to scam out of me this time. 3 I had no idea what had gone wrong with Clara and her little fan club. But I, the villainess, had survived. And Caleb, the original arch-villain, had somehow switched sides to join the heroes. The entire plot must have become a complete mess. Sure enough, the day after Caleb showed up, my brother, Larry, appeared downstairs from my apartment. When I came down, he was holding the tarp covering my tricycle between two fingers, as if touching something foul. The sight of my shabby little cart seemed to physically revolt him; his knuckles were white. He heard my footsteps and stiffened before slowly turning around. The moment he saw me, his eyes widened in shock. He scanned me from head to toe, over and over again. I stood there, letting him take in my worn clothes, my cheap shoes, my entire pathetic existence. After a long moment, he looked away, unable to meet my eyes. His voice was hoarse. “You really are alive…” “Thanks to you,” I replied calmly. “Sorry to disappoint you by not dying in that asylum.” My words hit their mark. His chest heaved. “Do you have to talk to me like this?” “I’m… I’m your brother, Bea…” Brother. I hadn’t used that word in a long, long time. When we were kids, I followed Larry around like a little shadow, constantly chirping his name. He loved it, always swinging me up onto his shoulders and taking me out to play. Back then, he was the brother I loved and trusted most in the world. That’s why, when I “awakened” at eighteen and realized he was the story’s devoted second male lead, destined to lock me away, I ran to him in a panic. He’d just laughed and tapped my forehead, telling me I’d been reading too many stupid novels. He said he would abandon himself before he ever abandoned me. I believed him. But then Clara appeared. And Larry forgot his promise. Suddenly, I was spoiled. I was unreasonable. A dress I loved? He’d say it would look purer on Clara. A concert I wanted to go to? Clara was afraid of loud noises. I told him again and again that I had never, ever done anything to hurt Clara, but he never once believed me. He would just hold her close and look at me with an expression so foreign it made me tremble. “Beatrice, all the disgusting things you do… don’t you feel any shame?” “I don’t have a sister like you. Get out!” In that moment, I knew. The brother who had loved me was gone forever. All that was left was the character from the story, the man who only had eyes for the heroine. And now this man was standing here, telling me he was my brother. What kind of brother was he? The thought slipped out. I actually asked him. I can’t describe the way his composure shattered. He looked at me, his face a mask of pain. “Bea, three years ago, I never thought you would actually try to die. I was too—” “Is something wrong with Clara again?” I cut him off. Larry stared at me blankly for a few seconds. “What?” For both of them to show up out of the blue, acting like this… the only reason I could think of was Clara. I chose my words carefully, my guard up. “Was she kidnapped again? Or hit by another car?” “You don’t have to come all this way to lecture me. Whatever happened to her has nothing to do with me.” “I’m at the East Gate Market every afternoon and evening. I haven’t missed a single day. Go ask the other vendors if you don’t believe me.” “Besides,” I added, gesturing to myself, “look at me. I obviously don’t have the money to hire a hitman. So whatever happened to Clara, it wasn’t me.” I said it all in one calm, even breath. Larry just stood there, completely still. I frowned. “Is there anything else?” He snapped out of his trance, shaking his head. “No, it’s not because of Clara.” “I just… I just heard you were alive—” “Oh, so this is a preemptive strike? Worried I’ll come back for revenge?” “Yes, Caleb came to see me yesterday. Said he’d help me ‘burn it all down.’ But I know he was just messing with me. I turned him down.” “You can ask the market vendors—” “No!” Larry’s voice cracked. “Bea, I just came to see my sister!” “I really… I just wanted to see my sister…” The silence that followed was heavy, suffocating. Then, I let out a snort of laughter. The look on Larry’s face became even more frantic, more pathetic. “Sorry,” I said, waving a hand. “It was just… a really funny joke.” I met his bloodshot eyes again. “Looking at you now, anyone who didn’t know better would think you were the one who got locked in an asylum three years ago.” Larry tried to smile, to mirror my casual posture. But the expression he managed was uglier than crying. His lips twitched, and he finally bowed his head, unable to look at me any longer. “Bea, come home.” “Just… for Dad’s sake.” I froze, my hand on the cart. Larry’s voice was thick with emotion. “When Dad was dying… he was holding my hand, and the only name he said was yours.” “He wouldn’t close his eyes. He begged me to protect you… he just kept begging me…” “I—” “Shut up!” “Just shut your mouth!” I lost control. I grabbed whatever was on my cart and started hurling it at him. He didn’t move, didn’t even try to dodge as a jar of spices struck his forehead, leaving a dark red welt. “You have no right to talk about my father!” “Larry, you’re a monster! An animal!” “I begged you! I got on my knees and begged you!” “I said I was wrong, that you could kill me, just let me out to see him one last time!” “I bashed my head on the floor until it was covered in blood! But you still said no! You said if Dad knew what I’d done, the shock would kill him!” But all along, when I thought the entire world had abandoned me, my father was thinking of me in his final moments. I clawed at my own hair, a wave of agony washing over me. The tears I never shed—not when they gave me electroshock, not when they strapped me down and forced pills down my throat—came pouring out now. Larry remained crouched on the ground, his shoulders shaking violently, his voice shattered. “I was possessed… Clara said if you got out, you’d try to take her down with you… that you’d ruin Dad’s reputation… I believed her… God, I actually believed her…” “So you let me miss his last moments?” I rushed at him, grabbing the collar of his shirt, forcing him to look into my tear-filled eyes. “You let me hear the news of his death in a psychiatric ward! You wouldn’t even let me go to his funeral!” “Larry, what kind of brother are you!” “I’m begging you, all of you! Just have some mercy! I don’t have a father, I don’t have a brother! I have nothing left! I can’t hurt Clara anymore!” “So why are you showing up in my life again?!” “I was lucky not to die three years ago! Do I have to actually die in front of you before you’ll finally be satisfied?!” Larry let me shake him, tears streaming down his face. “I know… I know you hate me…” “Bea, come back to the family. I’ll give everything back to you…” “I’ll atone for what I did. I’ll listen to Dad. I’ll protect you…” I slapped him. A vicious, resounding crack that echoed in the quiet alley. His head snapped to the side, a red handprint already blooming on his cheek. “My brother,” I said, my voice dead, “died a long time ago.” My quiet life was shattered. Caleb and Larry were like a curse, bringing nothing but trouble. I was taken from my own apartment. When I came to, I was tied to a pillar on a beach. Tied to another pillar not far from me was Clara. Seeing I was awake, she gave me a brilliant smile. “Beatrice. I can’t believe you’re still alive.” “But that’s okay. Since you didn’t die then, we can play a little game now.” “Right about now, your brother, your childhood sweetheart, and your little lapdog should all be getting a text message saying we’ve been kidnapped together.” “But very soon, they’ll also receive ‘proof’ that you were the one who orchestrated my kidnapping.” “So, let’s guess. This time, who do you think will win?” “The loser,” she said, her smile widening, “gets to die. How does that sound?” The icy seawater washed over my ankles, sending a violent shiver through my body. I knew I would lose. In any contest against Clara, I was always the loser. But I couldn’t die! Dad’s last wish was for me to live. I couldn’t die. As I struggled against the ropes, three cars screeched to a halt on the beach. The doors flew open almost simultaneously. Larry was the first one out. His face was chalk-white, and he was so frantic he’d lost a shoe. His panicked gaze darted between me and Clara. Right behind him were Caleb and the story’s male lead, Victor. They all looked equally terrified. Clara immediately began to sob. “Save Bea first,” she cried weakly. “Don’t worry about me…” I said nothing, twisting my wrists against the coarse rope. The tide was coming in fast, the saltwater already up to our chests. The raw, chafed skin on my wrists screamed in agony. But I couldn’t stop. I wasn’t the heroine. No one was coming to save me. But in the next second: “Save Bea!” “Get Bea first!”

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “MotoNovel” app 🔍 search for “386692”, and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel

I thought my parents gave me all their love. They decorated a princess room for me, overflowing with countless Barbies. They even splurged on renovating the bathroom just to put in a big bathtub for me, all because I loved my baths. They always told my little brother, Leo, that his job was to protect me for his entire life. But that all changed after I gave him a bubble bath, and he accidentally choked on a bit of water. My mom went ballistic. Her fingers dug into my neck, her voice a furious hiss. “We thought if we were good to you, you’d learn to love your brother! We never imagined you were such an ungrateful little monster, trying to drown him!” I shook my head frantically, but she just dragged me over to the front-loading washing machine and shoved me inside. “You love baths so much, right? Fine! You can wash to your heart’s content!” My parents rushed out the door with Leo, but in their panic, one of them must have bumped the start button. Water began to pour in, but I couldn’t climb out. Tangled with the laundry, I forced my eyes open and saw them rushing back in. I don’t want a bath anymore. Mom, Dad, can you please not be angry anymore? 1 The washing machine began to hum, a low, menacing rumble. I pounded on the thick glass door, my small fists making dull thuds. “Daddy, Mommy, it’s on! Let me out!” Water streamed in from the pipes, cold and fast. I curled into a ball, but it rose quickly, already reaching my chest. I sputtered, swallowing a mouthful. On the other side of the glass, my parents were pacing, cradling my coughing little brother. “Mommy, Daddy, I choked too!” I tried to shout, my voice a muffled plea. If only one of them would just turn around. One glance was all it would take to save me. I threw all my weight against the door, but it wouldn’t budge. I remembered them talking about it once—how they’d bought this specific model with a child lock, just in case I got big enough to be mischievous and climb inside. Once it was locked, it was locked for good. The drum began to twitch, then slowly turn. The icy touch of the metal walls pressed against my skin. Suddenly, the whole world jolted and then began to spin. An irresistible force threw me up, slammed me down, and threw me up again. My body crashed against the hard drum with a sickening thud. I tried to scream for help, but the moment I opened my mouth, soapy, sweet-smelling water flooded my mouth and nose. Dad, Mom… Dizziness washed over me, a crushing weight on my chest. I fought to keep my eyes open, desperate for one last look at them. I saw them, a blur of motion, hastily pulling on their jackets. “I am so disappointed in Penny,” my mom’s voice cut through the roar. “If she’d do this to her brother while we’re right here, who knows what she does in private. She needs to learn a real lesson this time.” “What do we do, honey?” Dad sounded panicked. “Leo’s been coughing forever, his face is turning red.” “The hospital. We’re going to the hospital, now!” The machine’s first spin cycle paused. The suffocating water slowly drained away, but my relief was short-lived as a new gush began to pour in. Terrified, I used every last bit of my strength to bang on the glass. “Daddy, Mommy, please save me! Penny can’t hold on!” My mom, who was putting on her shoes, froze. She walked towards me! “Mommy, help me,” I whimpered, a flicker of hope igniting in my chest. I knew it. She was just trying to scare me. I’d never, ever hurt Leo again, not even by accident. She reached out a hand, but not for the door handle. She stood a few feet away, her face a mask of disappointment as she pointed a finger at me. “You still don’t think you’re wrong, do you? Trying to break the machine to show me you’re angry? Penny, your brother is two years old! The first word he learned was ‘sis,’ and this is how you treat him?” “You can stay in there and think about what you’ve done. We’ve spoiled you rotten, and that’s how you became so entitled.” I cried and shook my head, feeling the water rising up my back again. My head was still spinning from the first cycle. I weakly slapped the glass to get her attention, but it only fueled her rage. She kicked the machine, the metal frame vibrating from the impact. “You dare talk back to me?!” No, no, Mommy! The water will fill the whole thing! I can’t survive that! I started praying for the water to rise faster, so she’d see the danger and let me out. A soft beep echoed, and I braced myself, pushing against the walls with my arms and legs. Just hold on. As soon as she opens the door, I’ll be safe. But then, the drum began to turn again, and my dad walked over, holding Leo. “Honey, stop wasting time being angry with Penny. We need to get to the hospital.” No… I watched in horror as my mom turned her back on me and walked away. The front door slammed shut. The next second, the machine roared to life. The world spun, tossing me back and forth, a discarded rag in a violent storm. 2 When I opened my eyes again, I was floating in mid-air. I thought I’d been saved. My first instinct was to go find Mom and Dad. But I didn’t want to make them angry again, so I quietly went to my room and curled up amongst my Barbies, drifting off to sleep. I don’t know how long I was asleep, but I woke to the sound of the front door opening. Mom and Dad were back, carrying Leo. In Dad’s other hand was a huge, ride-on electric toy car. “Thank God Leo’s okay,” Dad said with a sigh of relief. “Otherwise, Penny would have been in serious trouble.” “Our little boy went through a lot,” Mom said, deliberately raising her voice and glancing towards the laundry room. “This toy car is to make up for it! From now on, whoever gets hurt gets a present. The one who does the hurting gets put in time-out!” They exchanged a look, then tilted their heads, listening for a sound from the washing machine. After a long moment of silence, they both frowned and sneered. “See? Still sulking,” Mom scoffed. “If she wants to stay in there, let her. It’s not like the machine is running. She’s not going to die.” I floated back and forth in front of them. Mommy, Daddy, I’m already out! Can’t you see me? Penny’s not sulking. Please don’t say that about me. I kept trying to talk to them, but it was like I was invisible. Their eyes passed right through me. I tried to touch them, but my hand phased straight through their bodies. It was only then that I realized the horrible truth. I think I died in the washing machine. I drifted over and peered through the glass door. A small figure was curled up inside, twisted into a strange, unnatural position. Was that me? I turned back to see my parents cooing over Leo. Oh well. This was my punishment. At least this way, I wouldn’t have to wash Leo’s dirty diapers anymore. They hadn’t spent any real time with me since he was born. Now, maybe I could be with them all the time. I swallowed the heavy lump in my throat and forced a smile. For dinner, Dad made my favorite: BBQ ribs. After feeding Leo, they sat at the table, their faces grim, and glanced towards the laundry room again. Dad spoke first. “Penny, come out and eat.” 3 The only reply was the soft gurgle from Leo. Mom slammed her bowl down on the table, her patience gone. “Fine, don’t eat! Who spoiled you into this brat? You screw up and then you throw a tantrum? Don’t eat now, don’t eat ever!” “I might as well have given birth to a bad seed,” she muttered. “Everyone says it’s impossible to treat two kids equally. We thought if we were extra nice to you, you’d be nice to your brother. Instead, it just made you an arrogant, ungrateful brat.” “Just leave her,” Dad said. “It’s not comfortable in there. She’s so delicate, she won’t last long. She’s probably already snuck back to her room.” I floated nearby, listening, a stinging sensation building behind my eyes. Mommy, I really didn’t mean it. I was just trying to help you give Leo a bath. They ignored me. They ate most of the ribs, and my mom took the leftovers outside to feed a stray dog. “I’d get more gratitude from a dog than from her,” she said bitterly. I didn’t dare follow them anymore. I curled up in my room, a lonely ghost. My parents were laughing as they played with Leo. They read him a picture book, and Mom’s voice was so gentle—a gentleness I hadn’t heard directed at me in a very long time. I listened until I fell asleep, only to be woken by my mother’s shout. “Penny, your brother’s looking for you again! Get out here and play with him!” I stared at my closed bedroom door. But Mommy, I’m dead. I can’t help you, even if I want to. If you’d just open the washing machine door, just for a second, you’d see that I’m gone. “Penny! Have you had enough of this? My patience with you has reached its limit!” After a moment of silence in the living room, my bedroom door was thrown open. My mom stormed in, Dad right behind her. They froze when they saw the empty room. Dad looked around, even checking under the bed. “Where’s Penny?” I thought they’d be worried. I thought they’d finally run to the washing machine. But Mom’s face just grew colder. “She’s small, but she’s full of tricks. Where else could she be? She must have snuck out and run to Grandma’s to tattle on us while we were gone!” “Who spoiled her into this monster? She wants to play games with me? Fine! Let’s play!” Mom spun around and marched toward my collection of Barbie dolls. She grabbed a pair of scissors and started snipping off their hair, then their heads. She snapped off their arms and legs, throwing the mangled pieces on the floor and stomping on them with her heel. I cried, trying to push her away, but it was useless. Mommy, I’m not throwing a tantrum. I want to be with you, but I can’t. I’m trapped in that machine forever. Dad sighed. “Forget it. We don’t have time for this now. If she’s at your mom’s place, it gives us a break anyway. I’ll go do Leo’s laundry.” Laundry? I followed him. He grabbed a small pile of clothes and walked toward the washing machine. My non-existent heart started to pound. I was terrified of them seeing the gruesome scene inside, but also desperate for them to find me. Once Dad saw me, Mom would have to believe I wasn’t just throwing a fit. I know it was pointless, but I stretched out my little ghostly hands and tried to cover his eyes. But before he could bend down and open the door, Mom called out. “You can’t put baby clothes in the washing machine! Wash them by hand!” Dejected, I lowered my hands and glanced back at the machine. In the sealed, warm environment, my body… I think it was starting to swell. A faint, unpleasant smell was beginning to seep out. I had been gone for two full days. It wasn’t until the evening of the second day that Dad finally nudged Mom to call my grandma. “Why don’t you call your mom and ask if Penny is behaving over there? Make sure she’s okay.” Mom reluctantly picked up her phone, grumbling as she dialed. “She’s a big girl, what could happen to her? Honestly, sometimes I look at her and I just get so angry. I’d rather have no daughter than one so thoughtless. It would have been better if she just died.” I looked down, picking at my fingers, too sad to speak. But Mommy, your wish came true. When the call connected, Mom asked bluntly, “Mom, is Penny at your house? Is she giving you any trouble?” On the other end, Grandma’s voice boomed. “What’d you say?” 4 I thought she was asking in shock, but her next words dashed my hopes. “I couldn’t hear you! Speak up!” The light in my eyes dimmed again. Just as Mom was about to speak, Leo started crying. The answer that was on the tip of her tongue was lost forever. “Oh, never mind, never mind. I have to go check on the baby.” For the next few days, my parents didn’t mention me again. Dad went to work every day like clockwork. But Leo suddenly started refusing his bottle and spitting up his food. Worried sick, Mom took him to several hospitals, but nothing worked. Then, she heard from a friend, Aunt Jenna, about a renowned traditional doctor. She called Aunt Jenna, her voice dripping with false sweetness. “Oh, Jenna, hi! Your son Kyle hasn’t come over to play with my Penny in ages. I’ll send Penny over in a few days to keep him company.” A chill ran down my spine. I had played with Aunt Jenna’s son before. He was a bully. He once hit me over the head with a chair. Another time, he made me watch as he strangled a newborn kitten. The nightmares haunted me for a month. My parents had strictly forbidden me from ever seeing Kyle again. Mom said he was trouble, that he’d even gouged another kid’s eye once. Aunt Jenna laughed coldly on the phone. “I thought Penny didn’t like playing with my son.” Mom lowered her voice, sounding almost desperate. “Jenna, I heard you know a really good doctor. My son hasn’t been eating lately. Do you think you could take me to see him sometime? I could drop Penny off at your place while we go. The kids can keep each other company.” My heart sank. To find a doctor for Leo, my mom was willing to just throw me to the wolves. I wanted to leave this house, but I couldn’t. It was as if I was tethered to my parents. I started to hope, to pray, that someone, anyone, would find me. Then one day, just as Mom and Dad were about to leave with Leo, both sets of my grandparents showed up. They were all carrying presents. The wrapping paper was pink and sparkly. Were they for me? A little spark of excitement lit up inside me, but my mom’s brow furrowed when she saw them. “Mom, Dad, how many times have I told you? You have to be fair! These gifts are all for Penny. What about my son?” she complained. “He might be young, but he’s not stupid. This will hurt his feelings. When you have two kids, you can’t play favorites.” My paternal grandma frowned and brought in a strawberry cake from the hallway, her expression annoyed. “How can you, his own mother, forget your daughter’s birthday? Of course we’re bringing her presents.” A wave of warmth finally washed over me. My grandparents all remembered my birthday. I was still a loved child. The strawberry cake smelled so sweet, my absolute favorite. I circled it, nuzzling my cheek against my grandma’s arm. Grandma looked around the apartment. “Where’s Penny?” My parents froze, their faces flashing with embarrassment before they turned to my maternal grandma. “Yeah, Mom, we were just about to come to your place to pick her up,” Dad said quickly. “Since you were coming for her birthday, why didn’t you bring her with you?” Mom added. My maternal grandparents frowned deeply. “When did you ever bring her to our house? You two must be losing your minds from stress.” With that, all four of them went to check my room. “Penny? Grandma’s sweet girl, come on out! Look what Grandma got for your birthday!” My parents stood stiffly in the doorway, their bodies rigid. My paternal grandma searched the whole apartment and came out again, her voice sharp with worry. “Where is the child? When was the last time you saw her?” My parents started to tremble, an uncontrollable shaking that ran through their bodies. They didn’t speak. They couldn’t. Their eyes, wide with a dawning horror, drifted towards the washing machine.

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “MotoNovel” app 🔍 search for “386691”, and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel

The third year after my death, my husband sent me a lawsuit. He was suing me. The papers alleged that the kidney I had donated to his childhood sweetheart, Olivia, was defective. He, of course, received no response. To force me out of hiding, he held a press conference, publicly transferring twenty percent of his company’s shares to her. When that failed, he finally drove back to my hometown, his patience exhausted. Our old neighbor was baffled. “Maya? We haven’t seen her since her grandfather passed.” He pounded on my family’s door, his fury a palpable thing. My sister was the one who opened it. “Ethan? Don’t you know? My sister has been dead for two years.” 1 The man, my husband, jammed his hands into the pockets of his tailored slacks. A derisive laugh escaped his lips. “What new game is Maya playing now? Faking her death? Trying to make me feel guilty?” His voice was laced with ice. “She had the nerve to drive her car at Olivia two years ago. All I did was cut off her credit cards, and she throws a tantrum like this?” He shook his head, a muscle ticking in his jaw. “If Olivia’s kidney hadn’t started acting up today, I never would have forgiven her.” My sister Chloe’s brow furrowed, her expression a mixture of grief and disbelief. “My sister has been dead for two years. What are you talking about, you forgive her? That’s insane.” Ethan ignored Chloe completely, his gaze shifting past her into the small house. A flash of white fur caught his eye; our little dog, Buddy, was wagging his tail. “Don’t even try to lie to me,” Ethan scoffed. “Buddy’s here. Where could Maya have possibly gone?” He lowered his voice, the sound a low threat. “You tell her I’m giving her an out. If she doesn’t take it, she can stay gone forever.” As if he understood, Buddy limped forward, barking twice at Ethan’s expensive shoes. Chloe reached down, scooping the little dog into her arms to soothe him. But it was too late. Buddy’s tongue lolled out, and his small body was seized by violent, spasming convulsions. Chloe scrambled, frantically searching for the small oxygen tank and the tongue depressor. Seeing Buddy like that, a fissure of pain cracked through my soul. I instinctively reached out, my ghostly arms trying to embrace him. But they passed right through his trembling body. The cold reality washed over me again. I wasn’t in this world anymore. I could never hold my loved ones again. A look of disgust twisted Ethan’s handsome features. “Damn dog. You want me to kick you again?” Two years ago, in a fight over Olivia, Ethan had slapped me across the face. Buddy, ever loyal, had sunk his teeth into Ethan’s leg. Ethan had kicked him so hard he flew across the room. The attack had left Buddy with permanent damage to his right leg and these terrifying stress-induced seizures. Ethan’s voice dropped to a low warning. “I’ll say it one last time. Get Maya out here. Now.” “She’s dead!” Chloe’s voice was a raw, desperate scream. “And even if she were alive, she would never want to see you again! I’d make her stay away from you, find a good man, and build a life that had absolutely nothing to do with you!” Ethan didn’t believe a word of it. “So that’s it?” He sneered. “She’s shacked up with some other guy behind my back? Just like Olivia said. A cheap, faithless woman. I must have been blind to ever marry her.” The words struck me like a physical blow, tearing through the fabric of my spirit. So, this is what it felt like. Even in death, your heart could still break. He and his perfect Olivia had already pushed me to my grave, and still, he stood here, desecrating my memory with his filth. The agony was a wildfire in my soul, scorching me from the inside out. “How dare you,” Chloe choked out, tears streaming down her face. “Get out. Get out of our house!” Ethan’s eyes, cold and hard, swept over her. “Your house? Every brick and board of this place was paid for by me, Ethan Blackwood. Didn’t your sister tell you? Even the money for your deadbeat brother’s wedding—that came from my pocket.” It was true. Ethan had been our family’s twisted savior. When my mother was dying, he’d paid the medical bills that saved her life. When my brother’s fiancée got pregnant and her family pressured her to have an abortion, Ethan had provided the money that allowed them to marry, the money that allowed my nephew to be born. And so, in his mind, everything I gave, everything he took, was simply a debt being repaid. What he never knew, what he never bothered to ask, was that I was born with only one kidney. The doctor who did my pre-donation physical, the one who was supposed to protect me, had been bought off by Olivia long before. I only found out on the operating table. The anesthesiologist, in on the scheme, had given me half the standard dose. I drifted in and out of a hazy, paralyzed consciousness, a silent witness to my own violation. I heard them chatting idly as they worked. I felt the searing pain as they removed my only healthy kidney, replacing it with a cold, mechanical device that was a torture chamber inside my own body. After the surgery, a severe infection took hold. Complications followed with terrifying speed. Less than two weeks later, I was dead. And all the while, Ethan was by Olivia’s side, whispering comforting words, tending to her recovery, never once thinking of me. Chloe was sobbing now, her composure shattered. “Mr. Blackwood, if you don’t believe me, then go to the hospital where she had the surgery! Go and ask them!” “They have my sister’s death certificate!” Ethan let out a cold, humorless laugh. “I already did. They told me she was discharged without any complications. You can’t even get your lies straight.” That wasn’t what happened. I died in that hospital. They couldn’t save me. But a simple lie, one that could be disproven with a single phone call, was all it took for Ethan to believe what he wanted to believe. “Ethan Blackwood! You dare show your face here!” A new voice, low and shaking with rage, cut through the tension. My brother, Leo, stood in the doorway, his eyes burning red. 2 Leo had just gotten home from his construction job, his face streaked with grime and exhaustion. But the weariness was eclipsed by the inferno of fury in his eyes. “I’ve paid back every cent we owed you,” he growled. “What the hell are you still doing here?” Ethan calmly took a cigarette from the pack his assistant offered him, leaning into the flame. Smoke curled around his face, obscuring his expression. “Leo. Your family leeched off my wife, and through her, you leeched off me. Do you really think a debt like that can ever be ‘paid in full’?” A flicker of pain crossed Leo’s face. He looked down, his voice a low murmur. “You’re right. I was a burden to her. But you… you have no right to say that to me.” He lunged forward, grabbing the collar of Ethan’s expensive shirt. “I was the only one who told her not to marry you. She knelt on our doorstep for a day and a night to get my blessing…” His voice broke. “And what was the result? You shattered her heart. You got her killed! You should be off somewhere with your precious Olivia, living happily ever after. You have no business being here, disturbing her spirit!” “Ethan! You’re a piece of garbage, worse than an animal!” Ethan’s face hardened. He calmly pressed the glowing tip of his cigarette onto the back of Leo’s hand. Flesh sizzled. “Leo!” Chloe screamed. “It was just a kidney,” Ethan said, his voice dangerously quiet. “I gave her ten million dollars for it. What kind of garbage is that generous?” He shoved Leo back. “She agreed to it herself. Don’t you dare try to blame me now.” Leo cradled his burned hand. “What ten million? The fifty thousand for the wedding and the half-million for Mom’s treatment, I paid it all back! Stop spewing your lies!” “You took the money and now you deny it. Is everyone in this family so disgusting?” Ethan’s patience snapped. He gestured to the black-suited men who had been waiting silently by his car. “Grab them. Let the dogs out. Time to teach them some manners.” Panic seized me. My spectral form dropped to its knees in a useless plea as the security guards stormed the house, surrounding my family. Vicious, slobbering dogs, bred for fighting, were unleashed from the back of an SUV. They lunged. My brother shielded my sister, but Buddy was too small, too slow. He was torn apart in a blur of fur and blood. “No! Stop! Please, stop!” I shrieked, but no one could hear me. Tears of blood streamed down my face. Only Buddy, in his final moments, looked up, his dying eyes seeming to find mine. My Buddy. You knew I was here the whole time, didn’t you? And all I could do was watch him die. “That was just a small lesson,” Ethan snarled, his face a mask of rage. “You have three days. Tell Maya to come back on her own. Otherwise, what happened to that mutt is what happens to you.” The door slammed shut, shaking the small house to its foundations. He would do it. Years ago, after I’d said something unflattering about Olivia, he had systematically destroyed my family’s business, driving my father into a stress-induced illness from which he never recovered. When it came to protecting Olivia, Ethan was a force of nature, destroying anything and anyone in his path. For two years, my soul has been tethered to him by the ghost of that stolen kidney. It is a fate more agonizing than any hell I could have imagined. Downstairs, in his car, his phone rang. The name on the screen was Olivia. Instantly, the rage vanished from Ethan’s face, replaced by a soft tenderness. “Hey, Liv. What’s up?” My spirit was pulled along, an invisible passenger. I watched him, my heart aching as his entire demeanor changed. “Ethan, honey,” Olivia’s voice purred through the speaker. “Is Maya still hiding from us?” A delicate, fake cough. “It’s all my fault. My body is so weak, it couldn’t even handle the rejection. I ruined the beautiful kidney she gave me. I bet she’ll never agree to give me another one…” Her cloying, manipulative tone made me want to vomit. “Don’t be silly,” Ethan cooed. “How could you say that? We’ll get her the best bio-printed artificial kidney on the market. She’ll do it whether she wants to or not.” He laughed. “The doctors said your body can only accept a living transplant. Maya works out all the time, she’s as strong as an ox. She’s been living just fine with an artificial one, hasn’t she?” He spent another thirty minutes soothing her before he reluctantly hung up. Just then, another assistant, a younger man, knocked on the car window. “Mr. Blackwood, sir. An anonymous email just came through. It’s a death certificate…” Ethan raised an eyebrow. “Whose?” “It’s… it’s for Ms. Maya.” 3 Ethan took the printed document from his assistant with an air of casual indifference. My name, Maya, was clearly typed across the top. He let out a short, sharp laugh. “Maya, you really are something else. Forging a death certificate just to avoid me? Do you really think that’s going to work?” The assistant hesitated. “Sir, I don’t think it’s a forgery. I ran a check with the county clerk’s office, and the police department confirmed it as well…” “Enough!” Ethan cut him off, his voice sharp with irritation. “It’s obviously another one of her little games. She wants me to regret what I did. She can dream on.” He jabbed a finger at the man. “Find her. I don’t care where she’s hiding. Tear this state apart inch by inch if you have to, but you will find her.” The assistant sighed, nodding meekly. “Yes, Mr. Blackwood.” A week passed. The assistant returned, his face pale and unsettled. “Sir, the private investigators have reported back. They’ve… they’ve confirmed Ms. Maya’s death. The body was cremated at the municipal funeral home. Her brother, Leo, signed for the ashes. There’s no mistake.” Ethan’s brow furrowed. “Bullshit! Maya loves life more than anyone I know. She’d never just give up and die. This is the woman who went on some crazy spiritual quest in the desert just to find some miracle cure for a damn fever!” A bitter laugh escaped my spectral form. He had no idea. That trip to the New Mexico desert wasn’t for me. That year, Ethan had contracted a rare, aggressive infection on a business trip to South America. The best doctors, the strongest antibiotics—nothing could break his fever. I heard a rumor about a reclusive herbalist in a remote desert community who had an ancient remedy. I drove for days, then hiked for miles into the mountains, the high altitude leaving me dizzy and breathless, on the verge of collapse. But I found the old woman in her isolated cabin. I got the remedy. And whether it was the herbs or my desperate faith, I’ll never know, but after he took it, Ethan’s fever broke. And he thought I did it all for myself. The irony was almost funny. The assistant looked deeply uncomfortable. “But sir, I hired two separate firms. They both came back with the same result. It’s possible that Ms. Maya really is…” “Bullshit!” Ethan slammed his fist on his desk. “I know her better than that! She’s relentless. She never gives up until she gets what she wants, and she was determined to be stuck to me for the rest of our lives.” A cruel, knowing smile spread across his face. “Maybe she knew her kidney was failing all along. She’s playing dead to avoid taking responsibility. I bet she’s off somewhere right now, laughing her ass off.” The assistant was stunned into silence. “But sir, that’s… that’s incredibly dramatic.” Ethan’s smile widened. “She was the star of the drama club in college, remember? Faking her own death is right up her alley. She’s a professional.” The assistant had no response. “So, Mr. Blackwood,” he finally managed. “Should I tell them to continue the investigation?” Ethan lit another cigarette, blowing a perfect smoke ring. “Yes. I want to know exactly which funeral home, which crematorium. I want to know where the ashes are buried.” He took a long drag, his eyes glinting. “I want to see just how perfect Maya’s little performance really is.” I stood behind him, this man I had loved for seven years, and felt the last embers of my affection turn to ice. My soul felt a little more transparent, a little more faded. Another week went by. The assistant came to report, his expression grim. He placed a file on Ethan’s desk. “I found it. Ms. Maya was cremated at the City Central Funeral Home. The date of cremation was two years ago.” He took a deep breath. “Her ashes are interred at Green Hills Memorial Park, just outside the city. Section C, row six, plot eight.” “The groundskeeper confirmed it. Her brother and sister visit every year on her birthday.” Ethan’s face was a thundercloud. “Well, well,” he whispered, his lips barely moving. “She really thought of everything.” He shot up from his chair, his movements sharp and violent. “You’re really committed to hiding from me, aren’t you, Maya?” He strode towards the door. “Let’s go. We’re taking a drive to Green Hills.” 4 I was a freshman in college when that photo was taken. My smile was shy, my eyes full of a hopeful, uncomplicated light. Ethan stood frozen before the headstone, his gaze locked on that black-and-white image of a girl he barely remembered. His assistant hovered a respectful distance away, not daring to breathe. My soul drifted beside them, a wave of melancholy washing over me as I looked at my own grave. Leo took such good care of it. My mother, broken by grief, had followed me into death the year after I passed. “Dig it up.” Ethan’s voice was a harsh rasp, making his assistant jump. “Sir? What… what did you say?” “Are you deaf? I said dig up her grave.” The assistant’s face went white. “Mr. Blackwood, we can’t do that! That’s… that’s a desecration! Ms. Maya is gone. Please, let her rest in peace.” Ethan was relentless. “If you won’t do it, you can pack your things and be out of my company by the end of the day. All of you.” The bodyguards exchanged uneasy glances, but they were paid to obey. With grim faces, they picked up shovels from the groundskeeper’s shed and began to dig. Ethan watched, his eyes never leaving the disturbed earth, until the shovels struck something hard. A small, simple urn was lifted from the ground. He snatched it from the bodyguard’s hands and wrenched the lid open. I saw his Adam’s apple bob as he swallowed hard, a tense exhalation of breath just before his hands moved. The assistant and the bodyguards respectfully looked away. A sound cut through the quiet cemetery—a laugh. It was sharp, triumphant, and utterly devoid of warmth. “Hahahaha! I knew it! I knew she was playing me! Maya, let’s see you act your way out of this one!” The assistant, bewildered, glanced at the urn. His jaw dropped. “It’s… empty.”

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “MotoNovel” app 🔍 search for “386690”, and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel

At the welcome-home dinner, my parents’ adopted daughter, Chloe, leaned in and whispered in my ear. “The Ainsworths have room for one daughter. You’re just some trash they scraped off the street.” I thought she had a point. So I turned and walked into the intersection, right into the stream of oncoming headlights. My new family completely lost their minds. They dragged me back to the curb, a chaotic mess of pleading and shouting. My brother, Ethan, his face a mask of fury, warned me never to upset his sister like that again. I nodded obediently. Later that night, I went downstairs, turned on the gas stove without lighting it, and left a note on the counter. 【It’s my fault I made my sister sad. I want to take the whole family to heaven with me, so no one has to worry anymore.】 The way they all looked at me after that, you would’ve thought they’d seen a ghost. A few weeks later, at a party, Chloe and her little friends cornered me by the pool. With a collective shove, they sent me into the deep end. But I didn’t struggle. I didn’t even kick. I just let my body sink toward the blue-painted concrete. Panic erupted. Chloe, her perfect makeup ruined by a splash of water, had to dive in after me, yanking me up by my hair. “You idiot,” she hissed, water streaming from her mouth. “If you actually drowned, Mom and Dad would hate me!” She dragged me to the edge. “Couldn’t you at least pretend to fight it?” What she didn’t know was that I had fought back before. The reward for fighting was dying, again and again, in far worse ways. This was my tenth life. This time, all I wanted was to finally die. 1 The chlorine in the pool water burned my stomach, a familiar fire. Ethan was the one who pulled me out completely. I collapsed on the poolside tiles, coughing up a lungful of water, my body limp. Chloe’s face was sheet-white. Her friends began to stammer, their voices overlapping in a frantic chorus. “We were just kidding around!” “Yeah, who knew she’d just let herself sink like that!” “No one just… stops moving when they’re drowning. Is she trying to scam us or something?” Ethan wrapped his suit jacket around my shivering shoulders as I struggled to my feet. My teeth chattered violently, a rhythm I couldn’t control. Still, I managed to force a smile as I looked directly at Chloe. “Sister, you told me to get in, so I got in.” My voice was quiet. “I do what you say.” A visible shudder ran through Chloe. She took a step back, as if I were some kind of monster. “What are you talking about?” she shrieked. “I never told you to do that!” Her eyes filled with tears as our parents rushed over, drawn by the commotion. “Dad, Mom, don’t listen to her, she’s crazy!” Chloe sobbed, pointing a trembling finger at me. “Sadie is trying to frame me!” My parents’ expressions were grim as they took in my drenched, pathetic state. One of Chloe’s friends, a girl in a designer dress, spoke up. “It’s true, Mr. and Mrs. Ainsworth. She just jumped in. We tried to help her, but she wouldn’t even grab our hands!” I peered out from behind Ethan’s arm, my face a canvas of pure innocence. “I wasn’t refusing help,” I said softly. “It’s just… when my sister tells me to do something, I have to do it perfectly. Otherwise, she gets upset.” I looked from my mother to my father, then to my brother. “When sister gets upset, Ethan gets upset. When they’re upset, you both get upset.” My eyes were wide and earnest. “So please, just tell me. What do I have to do to make you all happy?” A dead silence fell over the patio. Everyone was staring at me like I belonged in a straitjacket. Ethan’s body went rigid beside me. His grip on my arm was suddenly bruisingly tight. “Sadie, shut up.” My father’s voice was sharp as he barked at the housekeeper. “Take Miss Sadie to her room. And call Dr. Miller. I want him to run a full evaluation.” Then he turned to Chloe, his gaze uncharacteristically stern. “Chloe, you come with me. Now.” Chloe had always been the princess of this castle, shielded from so much as a harsh word. The tone of his voice made her flinch. The tears she’d been holding back finally broke free, and she began to truly weep. “Dad, it wasn’t me, I swear…” Watching their troubled faces, a profound weariness washed over me. What more do you people want from me? When Chloe’s toy poodle ran away, she’d put a collar around my neck, made me eat kibble from a bowl on the floor, and sleep in the doghouse as her new pet. When she went camping with her friends, she zipped me into a sealed sleeping bag and kicked me down a hillside. I remember the sickening crunch of my bones against the rocks, a pain so sharp it became a kind of numbness before I suffocated. As she looked down at my broken, twisted body, all she did was purse her lips. “Guess the quality of this sleeping bag is pretty terrible. I should leave a bad review.” A small, cruel smile. “Good thing my little sister tested it for me.” This time, I didn’t fight her torment. I did everything I was told. So why, Mom, Dad, Ethan… why are you still not happy? 2 After the doctor left, my mother, Eleanor, came into my room with a glass of warm milk and sat on the edge of my bed. She watched me for a long time, her expression a mix of pity and confusion. “Sadie, tell me the truth.” Her voice was soft. “Do you… do you really hate this family so much?” I shook my head. “I don’t hate you.” “Then why do you do these things? Why do you keep hurting yourself?” I took a small sip of the milk, considering her question seriously before answering. “I just want to make everyone happy.” Her eyes instantly reddened. “But you’re my daughter. My real daughter. You don’t have to please anyone!” I set the glass down and looked up at her. “But since I came home, Chloe hasn’t been happy. Ethan hasn’t been happy.” My gaze was steady. “Mom, was finding me a mistake?” The question left her speechless. All she could do was pull me into a hug. “No, Sadie. You are not a mistake.” Her embrace was warm. But it only made me remember another life. The one where Chloe had sliced her own palm with a paring knife and collapsed into this same embrace, weeping. Eleanor’s eyes had been so cold as she looked at me then. She’d locked me in a dark, musty storage closet, letting Chloe turn the knob on the old gas line outside, telling me I could come out when I’d reflected on how to stop “hurting” my sister. Back then, I didn’t understand what I had done wrong. All I’d wanted was to survive, to make them like me. Now, all I wanted was to die. And suddenly, my mother was calling me her precious child. The next day, there was a family meeting. Chloe, whose eyes were swollen shut from a night of crying, sobbed her piece. “I really didn’t push her. I was just… I was just scared.” She looked at our parents, her voice trembling. “I was scared that if she was back, you wouldn’t want me anymore.” That was all it took for Ethan. His protective instincts flared. “Mom, Chloe didn’t mean it. She’s just insecure,” he said, defending her immediately. “Look at Sadie. She’s only been here a few weeks, and she’s turned this house upside down!” He pointed at me, his face filled with disgust. “She’s not normal!” My father, Richard, rubbed his temples and sighed. “This can’t go on.” He made a decision. “We’ll find a therapist for Sadie. Get her some proper help.” On the day of the appointment, I was perfectly cooperative. I answered every question the doctor asked. “Why do you think about dying so often?” I sat on the plush leather sofa, swinging my legs. “Because it’s the easiest way to make all the problems disappear.” The therapist adjusted his glasses, trying to guide me. “But have you considered that if you die, the people who love you will be heartbroken?” I blinked, genuinely curious. “Love me?” I leaned forward slightly. “You mean love like the woman at the orphanage, who would say she loved me while she watched the other kids beat me?” “Or love like the man who bought me, who called me his good little girl while he locked me in a dog cage?” “Or…” I paused, glancing at the door. “Is it love like my brother? The one who warns me not to upset his precious sister, but waits until I’m half-drowned to pull me from the water?” I leaned closer, my voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. “Doctor, they don’t love me. They’re just afraid I’ll die in their house and cause a scandal.” “They think I’m sick and need to be fixed.” “But I’m not sick. I’m just… listening to them.” “To make them happy, I’ll do whatever they want.” “They wanted me to die, so I’ll die. Is that so wrong?” The doctor’s hand, the one holding the pen, froze mid-air. His face had gone completely pale. 3 The therapist reported every single word I said back to my parents. His final diagnosis was chilling: I wasn’t sick. Not in the way they thought. I was using an extreme, self-destructive form of self-preservation and revenge. My mental state was a string stretched to its breaking point; the slightest pressure could snap it completely. For me, actively seeking death had become the ultimate defense mechanism. After hearing this, my mother locked herself in her study for the rest of the day. My father chain-smoked on the balcony, one cigarette after another. Only Ethan remained convinced it was all an act. “Sadie is playing you!” he insisted. “You’re all falling for it! This is just her twisted way of trying to get rid of Chloe!” Chloe hid behind him, peering at me with timid eyes, though I could see a flicker of triumph deep within them. As long as Ethan was on her side, she believed she was invincible. “Mom, Dad, don’t worry,” she said, her voice soft and caring. “I’ll be nice to Sadie. I’ll help her get better.” The atmosphere in the house grew heavier each day. In a desperate attempt to normalize things, my parents decided to enroll me in King’s Academy, the same exclusive private school that Chloe and Ethan attended. They naively believed that putting me in a regular peer environment might help. Chloe was the first to protest. Her eyes widened in horror. “I don’t want her at my school! Everyone will make fun of me!” For the first time, my father’s voice was unyielding. “This is not up for discussion.” Chloe stormed off to her room, but I knew she wouldn’t let it go that easily. Sure enough, on my first day, I was the center of attention. The rumor had already spread like wildfire: the long-lost Ainsworth heiress was a lunatic fresh out of a psych ward. A clique of girls constantly surrounded Chloe, offering sympathetic whispers while shooting pointed glares in my direction. “Chloe, your sister is so weird. She has this creepy, vacant look…” “I heard she tried to kill your whole family with a gas leak! Isn’t that, like, certifiable?” “You should be careful. What if she tries to hurt you?” Chloe would put on a pained, sorrowful expression. “You guys, don’t say that. My sister… she’s just sick.” The more she “defended” me, the more monstrous I seemed to everyone else. The isolation was immediate and absolute. No one spoke to me. A chalk line was drawn around my desk. Ink was spilled on my textbooks. I didn’t care. Compared to the orphanage, this was child’s play. During gym class, the teacher told us to have free play. The gym captain, one of Chloe’s friends, ordered me to go to the equipment room to get more basketballs. The moment I stepped inside, the heavy door clicked shut behind me. The lock scraped into place. The room plunged into darkness. Through the door, I could hear Chloe and her friends giggling. “A psycho like her should be locked up, not let out of the hospital!” “Chloe, do you think she’ll freak out and start biting herself in there?” “Hahaha, probably! You should crack the door and peek.” “No way, I’m not going near her!” Class wouldn’t be over for another forty minutes. All I had to do was wait. The dark, cramped space gave me a strange sense of peace. I felt myself growing drowsy. After some time, an impatient voice came from outside the door. “Hey, crazy girl in there! Are you dead yet?” A pause. “Make a noise if you’re not dead!” I ignored her. A few moments later, the voice returned, now tinged with panic. “She’s not making any sound. What if something really happened?” “So what if it did?” It was Chloe’s voice, cold and dismissive. “If she dies, I’ll still be here to take care of Mom and Dad when they’re old. Let her figure out how to break the door down herself. Let’s go.” Their footsteps faded away. I closed my eyes, ready to get some real sleep. Suddenly, a sharp, acrid smell filled the air. Smoke. 4 The fire spread with terrifying speed. Within three minutes, the thick smoke was choking me, and the small equipment room had become a furnace. I didn’t scream for help. I didn’t bang on the door. I just hugged a basketball to my chest and curled up in the corner farthest from the flames. My consciousness began to fade. This is good, I thought. This time, I can finally succeed. No jumping off buildings, no gas leaks, no one to pull me from the water. Just a quiet exit, without bothering a soul. Once this life was over, I could finally be free of this body and move on. This body, covered in scars. My wrists, broken more times than I could count. My legs, mottled with cigarette burns. I wouldn’t have to live this painful, pathetic life of trying to please everyone anymore. Just as I was about to slip away completely, there was a deafening crash. The door splintered off its hinges. A figure, silhouetted against the flames, charged in and swept me up from the floor. It was Ethan. His clothes were blackened with soot, his face a mess of panic and terror. “Sadie! Wake up!” He carried me out of the inferno. A crowd had gathered on the lawn outside. When Chloe and her friends saw me emerge, alive, their expressions were a wild mix of shock, guilt, and a sliver of unmistakable disappointment. I was laid on the grass, and I greedily gasped for fresh air. Ethan knelt in front of me, his voice tighter and more strained than I had ever heard it. “Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?” I stared at him, my chest rattling with each cough. “Brother, you saved me again.” I looked him dead in the eye, my tone flat but laced with genuine regret. “Why did you have to save me? I was so close to being dead.” Ethan’s face went dark. He grabbed my shoulders, his voice a raw roar. “Why didn’t you call for help?! Why didn’t you try to break the door down?! Did you really want to die?!” He shook me, his control gone. “Sadie, what the fuck are you trying to do!” I didn’t answer him. Instead, my gaze shifted to Chloe, standing in the crowd. She flinched as if I’d struck her. “It wasn’t me!” she yelped. “I didn’t start the fire! I don’t know how it started!” Her friends quickly chimed in. “We were already gone! It has nothing to do with us!” “Sadie went to get the basketballs herself! We just showed her where the room was!” Just then, the head of campus security ran up, panting, to the school principal. “We found the cause. It was old wiring in the equipment room. It short-circuited and started the fire.” It was an accident. A collective sigh of relief went through the crowd. Chloe’s shoulders slumped, and she immediately put her mask of fragile innocence back on. “Oh, Sadie, I’m so glad you’re okay!” she cried, rushing toward me. “It’s all our fault. We shouldn’t have played that joke on you, making you get the equipment all alone.” She reached for my hand. I recoiled, pulling away from her touch with the instinct of a chronically abused animal. And then, in front of everyone, for the first time, I began to scream and cry. A raw, piercing wail of terror. “I’m sorry, sister! I’m sorry! I should have stayed in there, but I don’t like the dark room! I don’t like it!” I looked up at her, my face a mess of tears and soot. “Next time,” I sobbed, “next time, can you pick a different way for me to die? Please?”

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “MotoNovel” app 🔍 search for “386689”, and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel

For six years, I was Ava Brown’s boyfriend and her assistant. I was with her from the day she had nothing to her name to the moment she became a star. But on the night she won her fifth award, she stood on stage and announced her engagement to another man. “I owe all of my success to Cody’s support,” she declared, a spotlight haloing her. “He is the love of my life.” Her eyes, deliberately or not, flickered to where I stood in the corner of the crowd, a silent warning in their depths. I walked out of the auditorium and dialed my family’s number. “Dad,” I said, my voice steady. “I was wrong. Go ahead and find me a match for an arranged marriage.” My father’s joy was palpable. “Forget the marriage! Your mother and I are just waiting for you to take over! Son, when are you coming home to run Vance Corporation?” A roar erupted from the auditorium behind me, punctuated by ecstatic screams of “They kissed! My ship has sailed!” I smiled faintly. “Soon. I should be home the day after tomorrow.” 1 My father was stunned by my reply. Every time he’d tried to persuade me to come home and inherit the business, I’d shut him down, insisting that Ava was on the verge of greatness and my patience would soon pay off. Well, she’d found her greatness. I, however, hadn’t been paid at all. Just as I hung up, Ava emerged from a side exit, clinging to Cody as they slipped away from the throng of people. She saw me looking at my phone and frowned, walking over. At that moment, a text from my father came through. To celebrate you getting your head on straight, I’m buying you a watch. Pick one. He’d sent photos from several elite brands. Every single one was a seven-figure timepiece. Before I could reply, the phone was snatched from my hand. I looked up. Ava was smiling. “Well, you’re catching on. I was just about to buy Cody a diamond watch.” She pointed to one of the photos. “This one. I’ll take this one for Cody.” Cody leaned down and kissed her cheek. “Thanks, Ava!” Then he turned to me with a saccharine smile. “Thanks for taking care of Ava all these years, Leo. But you don’t have to trouble yourself anymore. You can leave her to me now!” With that, he and Ava walked towards the media scrum that had chased them out. I watched them go, a sharp pain twisting in my chest. As I was leaving, a message from Ava popped up: [Paparazzi at the back entrance. Be careful when you leave. And remember not to say anything you shouldn’t. I don’t want Cody to be harassed.] I texted back: [I don’t have the car keys.] Her reply came half an hour later: [I’m taking Cody for a drive. What do you need keys for? Figure out a way to distract the paparazzi yourself. No excuses for being lazy!]. I gave a bitter laugh and headed out anyway. The news of her engagement was explosive enough that most of the seasoned paparazzi had already snuck into the main hall. Only a few inexperienced stragglers were left waiting outside. I tried to slip away unnoticed. The day had left me emotionally and physically exhausted. In my haste, I misstepped and twisted my ankle, forcing me to limp a long way before I felt safe enough to call a car. At two in the morning, the incessant ringing of the doorbell woke me. I looked through the peephole to see a drunken Ava swaying on my doorstep. The moment I opened the door, she fell into my arms, murmuring, “Honey, I’m a little hungry. Can you make me some of that soothing chicken broth?” In the past, whenever she had a late night of schmoozing, I’d make her a pot of broth, worried about her stomach. This time, I just pushed her away, my face a blank mask. “I’m tired. Order something.” Her drunken haze seemed to clear a little. Her expression soured. “Leo Vance, have I been too nice to you? I told you beforehand this was a publicity stunt. I told you to stay calm and wait for my explanation. And now you’re throwing a tantrum?” I met her gaze evenly. “Then explain.” Her face flushed. After a few seconds of silence, she suddenly swept everything off the coffee table with a furious roar. “Why are you doing this? Why now?! We agreed from the start! We said we’d focus on our careers, and once I was successful, we’d get married! I just won a major award, but I’m still a long way from the top! “Being with Cody is for the buzz, for the exposure! If you can’t help me, fine, but at least don’t drag me down! You’re exhausting me!” She stormed out, slamming the door behind her. I stood in the living room for a long time, a desolate coldness seeping into my heart. Six years, and it was still the same old line: wait until she was successful. I took a deep breath. If I still held onto any illusions after this, then whatever happened next, I would have no one to blame but myself. It was time to get my head on straight. 2 Sleep was impossible now, so I scrolled through my phone and noticed an unread message from my father. [Leo, about that musician girlfriend you kept insisting Stellar Records sign. I never thought she was right for you. I assume you don’t want us to sign her now?] To help Ava, I had relentlessly badgered my family for resources. They’d finally given in and thrown a few contracts her way, helping her through her toughest period. But I’d thought it wasn’t enough. I demanded our family’s record label, Stellar Records, sign her to a long-term deal. Stellar Records had an incredibly high bar for talent. Based on Ava’s fame over the past couple of years, she didn’t actually qualify. But my love-addled brain hadn’t cared. I’d fought with my family for months, even giving them the silent treatment when they refused. Finally, they’d relented, making a deal with me: if Ava won this year’s Musician of the Year award, they would sign her. Thinking about it now, maybe I owed Ava a thank you for her little announcement today. If I’d been the one to drag down Stellar’s reputation, I’d be the family’s greatest sinner. I checked the time. My father was likely asleep. I decided to reply in the morning. But as I scrolled, I drifted into a hazy sleep on the couch. I was jolted awake before seven by a commotion downstairs. I opened the bedroom door and stepped into the hallway. Before I even made it to the stairs, Ava, who had just come in, saw me and her face darkened. “Get back in your room,” she snapped. “The media is coming for an interview.” I was leaving tomorrow anyway and didn’t want any more drama, so I turned to go back. “Wait! Go hide in the storeroom!” she called after me. “They’ll want to photograph the master bedroom. Go clean it up first. Make sure there’s no sign a man has been living here. Hurry up!” She then turned and pulled Cody in from the doorway. “What are you doing standing out there, silly?” I needed to pack my things regardless, so I didn’t argue. I went straight to the master bedroom. The packing was done quickly. It was laughable, really. I’d lived here for over two years, but the sum of my possessions was pitifully small. When I emerged with my suitcase, Ava and Cody were flirting. The moment she saw me, her face hardened. “What took you so long to pack your things? Fine, whatever. Just get in the storeroom. Now.” But I ignored her and walked toward the front door. Ava panicked. She rushed over to grab me, yelling, “They’re almost here! Are you trying to get yourself killed walking out now?” I was sleep-deprived and weak. She easily dragged me to the storeroom, shoved me inside, and locked the door from the outside. “Don’t come out until they’re gone!” Soon after, I heard the sounds of many people arriving. The noise was muffled; the villa she’d bought after making it big had excellent soundproofing. I could hear her giving them a tour, her voice fading in and out as she moved from room to room, chattering away. I hadn’t eaten breakfast, and a gnawing hunger began to set in. Nearly three hours later, the voices started to fade as the crew seemed to be leaving. But after that, Ava didn’t come back. My stomach was now aching with hunger. I wanted to message her and tell her to let me out, but when I pulled out my phone, I saw the battery was dead. I pounded on the door a few times, but it was useless. Ava hated having strangers in the house, so she only ever hired hourly cleaners. Most of the housework fell to me. It was ten o’clock at night when the door finally opened. By then, I was lying on the floor, on the verge of passing out from hunger. 3 Ava looked down at me, not with concern, but with a disgusted frown. “What are you being so dramatic for? It’s just one day without food. Seriously?” I was too weak to argue. I just managed to part my lips. “Oh my, Leo, are you okay?” Cody peeked out from behind Ava, his face beaming with unconcealed glee. “It’s all my fault. I told Ava I was craving the fish from that famous seafood place, so she drove an hour just to take me there. That’s why we’re back so late.” Ava waved a dismissive hand. “Don’t mind him. It’s not the first time he’s skipped a meal. He’ll be fine.” Her words sent a chill through me. I’d developed stomach problems years ago while running myself ragged trying to prove her talent to my parents, often forgetting to eat. To keep her from worrying, I’d always pretended it was nothing. Back then, she’d cried and promised that when she made it big, she’d treat me to the finest food in the world. Now, that memory had become a knife she used to stab me. A loaf of bread was tossed onto the floor in front of me. “Cody was kind enough to remember you probably hadn’t eaten, so he had me bring this back for you. You should be grateful.” I didn’t have the energy to fight. I grabbed the bread and wolfed it down, choking in my haste. I scrambled to the kitchen, grabbed the nearest cup, and filled it with tap water, gulping it down until I could breathe again. Cody burst out laughing behind me. “Leo, you looked like a starving ghost just now!” I turned around. He stuck his tongue out playfully. “Oops, sorry. I’m just a really direct person. I say what I think. No hard feelings.” Ava soothed him. “It’s fine, you weren’t wrong. He looked like he hadn’t eaten in a decade. How can he blame you for pointing it out?” She glanced at me. “Full now? Good. I have something to tell you. “Cody and I are engaged now. He’ll be living here, so it’s not convenient for you to stay. You can move out tonight.” I stared at her in disbelief. “It’s ten-thirty at night, we’re in a suburb with no cabs, and you want me to leave now? “And you locked me up all day, my phone is dead! Where am I supposed to go at this hour?!” Ava ran a hand through her hair, annoyed. “But the moving company is coming tomorrow. It’ll be awkward if they see you here! “Ugh, just figure something out. I can call a car for you. Once you’re in the city, you can charge your phone and find a motel or something for the night. Don’t worry, it’s a safe society, the ride-shares are all regulated. Nothing will happen.” I watched her, my gaze cold, as her expression shifted from evasive to furious. “What the hell do you want?!” she shrieked. “Stop looking at me like that!” Cody stepped in, the picture of reason. “Ava, why don’t we let Leo stay for one more night? He can just leave early in the morning.” Her face softened instantly for Cody. She turned back to me, her tone sharp. “Cody’s helping you out again. You’d better be more polite to him in the future. Fine. Be gone by six… no, five in the morning! “And don’t sleep in the bedroom tonight. Just crash on the sofa. It’ll be easier for you to leave early. “I’m being generous enough. Don’t push your luck!” “No need,” I said, my heart a dead weight. “Just give me twenty minutes to charge my phone. I’ll call a car and be gone tonight.” Cody put on a show of concern. “Don’t do that. It’s not really safe to get a car this late.” Right. As if calling one at five in the morning in the dead of winter, when it’s pitch black, would be any safer. Ava’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. “What are you planning now? I’m warning you, if you try to pull anything at a time like this, don’t blame me for being ruthless.” “I promise I won’t cause any trouble,” I said coolly. “Just let me charge my phone. Please?” Cody started to protest again, but Ava stopped him. “If he wants to leave today, let him. Ungrateful jerk.” She pulled Cody away. “Come on, let me show you the master bedroom.” He wrapped his arms around her, grinning. “Great. I want to see where my future wife and I will be sleeping.” “Stop it! I haven’t said I’ll marry you yet!” I silently plugged in my phone. The moment it turned on, a flood of messages appeared, all from my parents. [Leo, please answer your dad. Are you angry?] [Son, don’t be mad. I talked to your father. If you want that woman signed to Stellar, we’ll do it. The company can handle one person.] [Son, please talk to me. Dad knows he was wrong. I’ll have her come in to sign the contract tomorrow!] I clutched the phone, tears blurring my vision. All this time, I had poured everything I had into Ava, while completely ignoring the people who truly cared about me. Looking at the long list of messages, I sniffled and sent them both a voice message, telling them not to worry and under no circumstances to sign Ava. I kept it brief, not wanting to worry them further, and just asked them to send a car to pick me up. They didn’t ask any questions. As soon as I gave them the address, they said they were on their way. Just then, Ava walked over. Seeing my red-rimmed eyes, she sneered. “Are you serious? It was just a small grievance. Once this blows over, you’ll still be my boyfriend. If you want to maintain our relationship during this time, as long as you’re careful…” “Thirty minutes,” I cut her off. Ava blinked. “What?” “The car picking me up will be here in thirty minutes,” I said flatly. For a moment, her expression was complex. “Don’t call some shady car service just to spite me. If you have to, just stay here one night. Tomorrow…” I closed my eyes and leaned back against the sofa. Ava’s words died in her throat. She huffed. “Fine. Sulk all you want. Don’t blame me if something happens to you.” The car my parents sent arrived even faster than I’d expected. The moment I heard the familiar purr of the engine, my eyes snapped open. I grabbed my suitcase and headed for the door. From behind me, I heard Ava’s hesitant voice. “What’s the rush? That might not even be your…” And Cody’s syrupy tone. “Let it go, Ava. Leo’s feeling awkward. Just let him leave. He’s been with you for so long, you have to protect his pride a little.” I ignored the wretched pair, flung open the door, and walked out to the Bentley Mulsanne waiting in the driveway.

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “MotoNovel” app 🔍 search for “386688”, and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel

I found a girl passed out on the sidewalk, dead drunk. Being a decent guy, I got her a room at a five-star hotel to keep her safe. She thanked me by calling the cops and accusing me of rape. She sobbed on the stand. “I was drunk… I woke up in a hotel bed, naked.” “You monster,” she cried, pointing at me. “I don’t even know you. How could you do this to me?” … I paid an exorbitant amount for bail. The day after I got out, I saw her again. Same situation, passed out drunk on the street. This time, I walked on by. 1 “You bastard! She’s only twenty! Are you even human?!” A middle-aged man, his eyes bloodshot, screamed at me, his voice cracking with rage. If the bailiffs weren’t holding him back, he would have torn me apart with his bare hands. Beside him, the girl, Tina, was a portrait of sorrow, her shoulders shaking with sobs as if I were some kind of monster. “Mr. Vance,” the opposing counsel’s voice was like ice, “my client, Miss Tina Reed, accuses you of raping her two nights ago in room 708 of the Grand Astoria Hotel. How do you plead?” The comments on the livestream of the trial were a torrent of hate. “Scumbag! Fry him!” “Looks so clean-cut in that suit, but he’s a total predator.” “That poor girl. They need to throw the book at him!” I stood in the defendant’s box, my mind a complete blank. I thought back to two nights ago. I was on my way to meet friends after a work dinner when I saw a girl passed out on the sidewalk. A group of guys who looked like trouble were circling her, whistling, their intentions clear. I frowned and walked over. “What do you think you’re doing?” They were younger than me, but I’m built solid. They muttered a few curses and shuffled off. I knelt and gently tapped the girl’s cheek. “Hey, wake up. Where do you live?” The reek of alcohol was overpowering. She was completely unresponsive, just mumbling something incoherent. I looked in her purse for a phone or an ID, but all I found was makeup and a set of keys. Leaving her there, dead drunk, was just too dangerous. I sighed, hauled her to her feet, and half-carried her to the nearest decent place, the Grand Astoria. I got her a room and laid her on the bed. I remembered my first-aid training and made sure to turn her on her side, in case she got sick. The moment I did, she threw up. All over the brand-new Armani suit I was wearing for the first time. The smell was so foul I almost joined her. I stripped off the ruined jacket, threw it in the trash, pulled the covers over her, and left. My friends were waiting. I thought that was the end of it. A small, insignificant act of kindness that had cost me a new suit. Bad luck, nothing more. The next day, I was in the middle of a crucial project meeting at my firm when two police officers walked right into the boardroom. “Who’s Alex Vance?” Every head in the room turned to me. “We’re from the city PD. You’re a suspect in a sexual assault case. Please come with us.” In front of my bosses and my entire team, they slapped handcuffs on my wrists. In that moment, I went from the company’s rising star to its resident rapist. 2 “Mr. Vance, please explain to the court why you would take a complete stranger, a drunk young woman, to a hotel?” Tina’s lawyer was relentless. “Like I said, I was concerned for her safety,” I answered calmly. “Her safety?” he sneered. “So your ‘kindness’ was to get her a hotel room?” “She was unconscious. I couldn’t get an address out of her. A hotel was the safest option at the time.” Tina’s father exploded again. “Bullshit! You were just using that as an excuse to take advantage of my daughter!” “Order!” the judge warned, banging his gavel. The lawyer continued. “Hotel security footage shows you entering room 708 with Miss Reed at 11:10 PM and leaving at 11:35 PM. What did you do in that room for twenty-five minutes, Mr. Vance?” “I got her settled, dealt with my ruined clothes, and left.” “Dealt with your clothes? Or dealt with the evidence of your crime?” Tina’s sobs grew louder. “When I woke up, I was in the hotel bed. My clothes were off. My head was pounding… I couldn’t remember anything.” She pointed a trembling finger at me, her eyes filled with a mixture of terror and hatred. “I found the room key on the nightstand and had the front desk look up who paid for it. It was him. I don’t even know you! Why would you do this to me?!” Her accusation was like a bucket of ice water dumped over my head. I looked straight at her. “Let me ask you,” I said, my voice low and steady, “do you have a single piece of evidence that I touched you? Any marks on your body? Any physical evidence from the room?” Her lawyer answered for her. “My client underwent a full examination. Due to your sophisticated methods, you left no obvious signs of violence! But that does not exonerate you! As for evidence, my client was disoriented. Who knows if you cleaned the scene?” Her father roared, “My daughter’s word is all the proof we need! She’s a good girl! Do you think she would ruin her own reputation to frame you? What kind of monster are you?!” The online vitriol intensified. “Still denying it! What a piece of work.” “These smart criminals are the scariest. They know how to cover their tracks.” “She has no reason to lie. Believe the victim!” I was trapped. A young woman’s tears were the most powerful “evidence” in the world. In the court of public opinion, a thirty-year-old man taking a drunk twenty-year-old to a hotel was guilty by definition. My explanations were useless. The lawyer pressed on. “Mr. Vance, you claim this was an act of kindness. Have you ever performed similar acts of ‘kindness’ before? Can you produce a single witness to testify to your sterling character?” I was speechless. I was an orphan, raised on the pension benefits of my father, a fallen soldier. I’d worked my ass off to get where I was. I didn’t have a large circle of friends, and certainly no one I could call to vouch for my moral character on a witness stand. My silence was taken as an admission of guilt. The judge looked from me to the weeping girl and called for a recess. “We will reconvene next week to examine the prosecution’s evidence.” Because I was the son of a war hero and had a clean record, and because my father’s old unit stepped in to post an astronomical bail, I was temporarily released. The moment I stepped out of the courthouse, I was swarmed by reporters. The flashbulbs were blinding. Tina’s father broke through the crowd and punched me square in the jaw. “Scumbag! I’ll kill you!” I didn’t fight back. I couldn’t. I was out on bail. If I retaliated, I’d be back in a cell with an added assault charge, and tomorrow’s headlines would read: ACCUSED RAPIST ATTACKS VICTIM’S FATHER OUTSIDE COURTHOUSE. 3 My life was in ruins. The company put me on indefinite leave to “handle my personal affairs”—a polite way of firing me. In my apartment complex, neighbors would see me and immediately cross the street, their eyes filled with disgust and fear. My landlord called and told me to get out, said I was ruining the building’s reputation and he was getting grief from the other tenants. I locked myself in my apartment, poring over legal texts. The evidence was all against me, the DA was sharp, and the public had already convicted me. Tina’s father had used his media connections to paint me as a monster. Someone had even dug up the fact that my parents were fallen heroes. “He’s spitting on their graves!” “They should strip him of his parents’ honors! He doesn’t deserve them!” “Human trash.” Those words hurt more than any punch. I turned off my phone, feeling the walls close in. That night, I went out for a walk, just to breathe. I found myself at the same intersection as two nights ago. And I froze. A familiar figure, in the exact same pose, in the exact same spot. It was Tina. She was drunk again, passed out on the cold pavement. Her purse was open, lipstick and a compact scattered on the ground. The night air was chilly, and she was wearing nothing but a thin dress. I stood about thirty feet away, just watching her. My fists clenched and unclenched. I saw her father’s twisted face. Her lawyer’s cold, accusatory eyes. Her own pitiful, tear-streaked performance on the stand. Help her again? And wait for another accusation when she sobered up? Maybe this time it would be robbery? A bitter laugh escaped my lips. To hell with kindness. This world doesn’t deserve it. I pulled out my phone. 10:30 PM. Then I turned and walked around her, like stepping over a piece of trash that had nothing to do with me. Behind me, I heard a few low whistles as a group of young men headed in her direction. I didn’t look back. 4 The next morning, the frantic buzzing of my phone woke me. It was my lawyer. “Alex! It’s bad! Turn on the news!” I switched on the TV. The local morning news was covering a story. “Tragedy struck last night as a young woman was found deceased on a city street. Police have identified her as twenty-year-old Tina Reed. A preliminary investigation suggests the cause of death was asphyxiation after choking on her own vomit while intoxicated…” The screen showed Tina’s face, pale and lifeless. Police tape cordoned off the scene. The anchor’s voice was filled with sorrow. “Sources say Miss Reed had been drinking heavily. If only a kind passerby had noticed her condition and helped her, even by simply turning her head to the side, this tragedy might have been avoided. The death of this young woman is another stark reminder that apathy is the most terrifying disease of our society.” I stared at the screen, my face a blank mask. A kind passerby? The last kind passerby was being raked over the coals by the entire country and was about to face prison time. Just as I turned off the TV, my phone rang. It was her father’s number. I didn’t answer. I could imagine the venom, the unhinged accusations he would be screaming into the phone. He would blame me for his daughter’s death. In his mind, it was all my fault. Sure enough, within half an hour, the narrative online had shifted. #RapeVictimDiesAfterOrdeal The hashtag shot to the top of the trending list. The comments were a baying mob, calling for my head. “He’s a murderer now!” “It wasn’t just rape, it was manslaughter! He needs the death penalty!” “Avenge this poor girl! Make the monster pay!” My face and personal details were plastered all over the internet again. I was now the villain responsible for a young girl’s death. My lawyer called again, his voice grim. “Alex, this is not good. Public opinion is overwhelmingly against you. They’re saying you killed her. You need to be prepared for court this afternoon.” “Prepared for what?” I asked. “They’re going to use this. The pressure on you will be immense. You…” “I know,” I cut him off. I hung up, walked into my bedroom, and put on my best suit. I stood in front of the mirror and straightened my tie. The man looking back at me was calm, his eyes cold. Tina, you tried to ruin me with a lie about your honor. Now you’re trying to bury me with your death. You and your self-righteous father have underestimated me. This game is just getting started. At 1:30 PM, I was back in the defendant’s box. The gallery was packed with reporters. Tina’s father sat in the front row, dressed in black, his bloodshot eyes fixed on me like a predator.

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “MotoNovel” app 🔍 search for “386687”, and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel

1 Shane Crawford paid a fortune for coffee beans that cost thousands of dollars a pound, all so he could hand-brew me a pour-over every single morning. Facing a global livestream, he told the cameras, “My wife isn’t a morning person. Only the scent of fresh coffee and a kiss can wake her.” The whole world thought he was madly in love with me. But I was staring at the small bouquet of daisies tucked into his suit pocket in the video as I sent him a text. 【Let’s get a divorce.】 … The news that the CEO of Crawford Corporation had bought out a top Panamanian estate’s coffee beans at a record-breaking price became the headline of the week. Shane’s and my names shot to the top of the trending topics. 【My husband can’t even be bothered to get me a glass of hot water when I’m on my period, but Shane Crawford makes his wife coffee every morning. Jealousy is a disease, and I’m terminal.】 【When are Shane and Sienna having a baby? I need to time my reincarnation just right.】 【What did Sienna Scott do to deserve a life this good?!】 Shane had never been shy about his grand displays of affection, and I had once been swept away by their intensity. But I couldn’t lie to myself anymore. The moment he got my text, he called. “Sweetheart, don’t do this. You can yell at me, hit me, whatever you want. But don’t you ever say that word. It would kill me.” “Shane, I’m serious.” “Tell me what you’re angry about. I’ll fix it,” Shane’s voice was impossibly gentle, as if he were incapable of anger. “I don’t like daisies.” He was silent for a few seconds. “That’s it? That’s what this is about?” “Yes. That’s it.” It took him a moment to remember why. “I’m so sorry, sweetheart. It was an oversight. Hannah must have picked it out when she was prepping everything, and I didn’t even notice. Don’t be angry. When I get home tonight, you can have me any way you want as compensation.” When did his assistant, “Ms. Vance,” become just “Hannah”? He probably didn’t even notice the slip himself. Years ago, a single daisy had bloomed in our garden. Shane hired a crew to excavate the entire garden, scorching the earth for seven days just to ensure not a single seed remained before replanting it with roses. How could a man that meticulous be so careless as to pin a bouquet of daisies to his chest? The winter garden outside my window was lifeless, just like my marriage, dying a slow death. A few minutes later, Hannah Vance’s call came through. “Mrs. Crawford, I’m so sorry. It was my mistake, and I’m terribly sorry for upsetting you. Please, don’t be angry with Mr. Crawford. I’ll be much more careful next time.” Her voice was a fragile whisper, as if a slight breeze could carry her away. I knew Shane was right there with her. “Next time?” I sneered. “What other disasters are you planning to cause next time?” “Sienna, that’s enough,” Shane’s voice cut in, sharp and protective. “The kid apologized. Be a little gracious.” Of course. He couldn’t bear to see her suffer the slightest grievance. A soft sob came through the phone. “It’s okay, I’m fine,” Hannah cried. “Sienna can say whatever she wants to me, as long as she’s not angry with you, Shane.” “Hey, stop crying. It’s nothing, really,” Shane soothed, his voice a low, gentle murmur. But to me, it was a razor’s edge, slicing a bloody gash across my heart. “Just leave me alone.” I couldn’t stand to listen to another second of it and tossed the phone aside. A moment later, two messages pinged. One was from Shane. 【You’ve yelled, you’ve let off some steam. Feeling better now? My dear wife is getting quite the temper. You’re making my life difficult. ;)】 I gave a bitter smile. So, raising my voice to the person he was comforting was considered “yelling.” The other was from Hannah. 【Oops, I forgot. Your mother jumped to her death in a field of daisies, didn’t she? Were they pretty? As pretty as this?】 She attached a photo. A vast field of white daisies stretched to the horizon. The world spun. I reached for a chair to steady myself but missed, collapsing to the floor and hitting my head on the wooden leg. My mother had jumped right in front of me. My father’s endless affairs had worn her down to nothing. Her final, desperate leap was the only thing that made him stop. “Love makes you pathetic. It makes you weak. Don’t become me.” Her last words still echoed in my nightmares. Shane and I were high school classmates. Girls flocked to him, but he only had eyes for me. I rejected him ten times, but each refusal only fueled his determination. Later, my father’s company was on the brink of collapse. He wanted me to marry into the Ashford family to secure funding. Shane had cornered me then, his eyes red. “Why him? Why a stranger you don’t even know, but not me?” The next day, Shane showed up with an investment contract for my father. “Sienna is a free woman,” he’d said. “You can’t force her to marry anyone.” The left side of his face was swollen that day. I knew his own father must have beaten him for that contract. I pressed an ice pack to his cheek and asked him if he wanted to marry me. He stared at me for a long time, and then he started to cry. After we married, he truly did spoil me rotten. He memorized all my likes and dislikes, planning elaborate surprises for every holiday. When I had nightmares, he would hold me tight, stroking my back until I fell back asleep. I used to think my mother was wrong. Love could make a withered rose bloom again. How could it make someone weak? It wasn’t until a few months ago, when he hired Hannah Vance as his assistant against my express wishes, that I understood. Shane was no different from any other man. He never understood my hostility toward a fresh-faced college graduate. But I knew from the moment I saw her photo that he would hire her. Because she looked exactly like I did in high school. The version of me that Shane could never have. After sending the text, Hannah posted on her social media. 【I’m such an idiot. I messed up big time, and the boss canceled my year-end bonus. I just want to hide somewhere and cry.】 Shane commented instantly. 【Everyone messes up. Take the afternoon off. Go have a good cry.】 I couldn’t tell if he was protecting my honor or just flaunting their relationship in my face. After lunch, I drove out to our spa villa in the suburbs. It was a wedding gift, but we’d moved out because the commute was too long. Many of my important documents were still stored there. Before I even reached the door, I heard the sound of splashing water. The villa had a small outdoor hot tub in the courtyard. We hadn’t been here all year. There shouldn’t have been any noise. “Feeling better? Still want to cry?” Shane’s voice, so painfully familiar, drifted through the wall. A chill ran down my spine. He’d brought her to our wedding home. “You owe me my bonus!” Hannah’s voice was no longer weak, but laced with a flirtatious pout. “You were a bad girl. You need to be punished so you learn your lesson. I told you not to provoke Sienna. That is my one and only rule.” “Then you should have sent a company-wide email about it! I feel so wronged.” “I know you do. Did you like that apartment we looked at last week? You should move in. It’ll be more convenient for you to get to work.” “Is that all I get? You’re just trying to buy me off?” “Then what do you want?” Hannah’s voice dropped to a breathy whisper. I couldn’t hear the words. I only heard the sound of water sloshing violently from the tub. “Hmph. I’ll make you cry out for a different reason,” Shane’s voice was hoarse and low, but every word was perfectly clear. I knew Hannah was confident in their relationship to have taunted me with the daisies. But hearing it for myself, right outside the door… the agony was a physical blow. I pressed my hand to my mouth to keep from being sick and dragged my leaden body back to the car. My mother was right. Love really does make you weak. But I would not become her. I took several deep breaths and called Shane. “Sienna, baby, what’s wrong?” He sounded a little breathless. “Where are you?” “In a meeting with a client.” “I can’t find one of the old contracts. I was wondering if it might be at the spa villa…” I tested. “No way, it wouldn’t be there. I remember moving all the important documents to the house. Just look again.” “Are you sure? I think I’ll go check anyway.” “Don’t go—” His voice shot up an octave. “I mean, it’s not safe for you to drive all that way alone. I’ll go with you this weekend, okay?” “Forget it. It’s not urgent. Get back to your work.” I hung up, my hand numb. A message from Hannah arrived instantly. 【So you check up on him too? Let me give you a status report.】 She sent a photo. On a nightstand, a box of condoms was nearly empty. Bile rose in my throat. The man who swore he would cherish me for a lifetime was utterly filthy. I didn’t go home. I drove to an event production company. Next month, they would be handling the 20th-anniversary celebration for Crawford Corp. To liven things up, Shane was scheduled to perform a televised underwater escape act with a professional magician. “Can I be the one in the tank? I want to give my husband a surprise.” “Mrs. Crawford, without proper training, it’s very risky.” The company was afraid of an accident and hesitated. “A hundred thousand dollars for my training. I’ll be here every day.” “Well, in that case… You and Mr. Crawford are truly a match made in heaven. So romantic.” “Please keep it a secret,” I said, forcing a smile at their praise. Since he loved playing the doting husband for an audience, I would tear up his script myself. I would disappear from the world, right before his very eyes. When Shane got home that night, I was still reviewing the materials from the production company. “Sweetheart, I got held up at the client’s. I’m so sorry I’m late.” “What happened to your forehead? Are you hurt?” He leaned in, tilting my face to inspect the scrape. As he did, his shirt collar gaped open, revealing a faint red mark on his collarbone. I snapped my laptop shut and pushed him away in disgust. “Still angry?” He pulled out a square jewelry box and opened it. Inside lay a magnificent emerald necklace worth half a million dollars. “I’ve had my eye on this for a while. It’s perfect for you. Do you like it?” I laughed at the absurdity. I never thought I’d sink so low. He buys Hannah an apartment and immediately “compensates” me with a necklace. How pathetic. He actually thought he could balance the scales between his wife and his mistress. I pushed the box away. “I don’t like it.” “Can’t you just be agreeable for once? You’re impossible to please. Harder to handle than any of my clients.” Shane finally lost his patience and slammed the bathroom door. He didn’t know that I used to be easy to please because I never wanted to argue with him. Now, I was impossible because I had no intention of ever forgiving him. In the weeks leading up to the gala, I became increasingly busy. I saw less and less of Shane. But someone else was keeping me updated on his schedule. 【He introduced me to his friends today. We all went out for drinks. It was fun. Why do you think they dislike you so much?】 【Ever done it in a car on a mountain top? He’s an animal.】 【Guess where I am? Your old high school track. I can barely walk.】 【This is boring. You never reply. Are you just going to let me walk all over you? How does it feel to be abandoned? Feel like killing yourself yet?】 I ignored Hannah. Shane’s taste was truly appalling. I dialed the most recent number in my call log. “How is he?” I asked in a low voice. “Is the old man still alive? Did he sign?” “Mr. Scott has agreed to transfer all his company shares to you,” the voice on the other end replied. Satisfied, I hung up, a bit of the weight lifting from my chest. I opened a drawer and scanned the contents—contracts, documents, plane tickets—my eyes finally landing on a set of divorce papers. On the day of the gala, I dressed in simple, casual clothes for convenience. Hannah, however, arrived in a stunning, form-fitting silver gown that showcased her figure perfectly. But the real showstopper was the emerald necklace she wore. The very same one I had rejected. Shane had publicly stated the necklace was a gift for his beloved wife. Now, seeing it on his assistant, the crowd began to whisper. Shane’s eyes flickered over the necklace, and he said to Hannah, “Take it off.” Then he saw me in my plain clothes, and his brow furrowed. “Why are you dressed like that? Where’s your sense of occasion?” “A dog ate it.” In the dressing room, Hannah deliberately dangled the necklace in front of me. “This was supposed to be yours, but it’s mine now. Don’t worry, I’ll take everything that belongs to you, piece by piece.” I didn’t waste a second. I slapped her across the face. “Go back to digging through the trash, little bitch.” The theater was packed. Every Crawford Corp employee, every invited client and media member, filled the seats to capacity. When it was time for the highly anticipated magic act, the applause was deafening. Shane stood center stage, bathed in a single spotlight. When he asked the audience to welcome his partner, a look of confusion crossed his face. “Sweetheart? What are you doing up here?” I bowed graciously to the audience. Whispers erupted from the front rows. “Is that his wife?” “A husband and wife act? Are they trying to kill us with their cuteness?” I took Shane’s cold hand. “This is my surprise for you. Are you ready?” As the audience realized who I was, the cheers grew even louder. Shane, ever the showman, recovered quickly. He pulled me into a hug and kissed my forehead. “Sweetheart, you’re amazing. I’m completely blown away.” “Oh, the best is yet to come.” I smiled and held out my hands, signaling for him to apply the handcuffs. “Are you sure about this?” he whispered, his hands trembling. “Don’t worry. I won’t mess it up.” He secured my hands and lifted me gently into the water tank. I took a deep breath as the cold water enveloped me. A large cloth was draped over the glass tank. The sounds from outside were distorted, but I could faintly hear Shane leading the countdown. “30, 29, 28… 10, 9, 8…” The countdown ended. A spotlight hit the empty escape tank on the other side of the stage. The entire audience held its breath. Suddenly, a scream erupted from the front row. Shane turned, confused. He saw that while the figure in the escape tank was gone, the original tank was now clouded with a spreading pool of crimson. “Sienna! Sienna!” Shane was shaking, his eyes darting to the audience where I was supposed to have reappeared. The spotlight followed his gaze. The seat was empty. “Sienna! Where are you? Don’t scare me like this!” “Somebody! Help!” His panicked shouts boomed through the speakers, and the entire venue descended into chaos. “Let’s go. Take me to the airport.” I sat in the back of a Maybach parked behind the theater, toweling my wet hair as I watched a livestream of the event on a new phone. The scene was pure mayhem. Stagehands swarmed the stage. The main camera, pointed right at the chaos, had been forgotten. I watched Shane’s colorless, horrified face on the small screen. He was frantically directing people to search for me while fumbling for his phone to call me. Suddenly, he froze. The phone slipped from his grasp and clattered to the floor. He had seen it. A faint light glowed from within the blood-red tank. It was my phone, which I had “dropped.” The sight of it sent him into a greater panic. He yelled for someone to retrieve it. The production crew told him they’d checked the secret passage. I had simply vanished into thin air. “You told me this was perfectly safe! That it was foolproof!” he roared, his voice cracking. “We don’t know what happened! Mrs. Crawford trained with us every day. We ran over a dozen rehearsals without a single issue. She kept saying the surprise had to be perfect.” Shane’s eyes turned red. “Find her!” he screamed at the crew. “I don’t care if you have to tear this theater apart, find my wife!” When they handed him my phone, he used his own birthday to unlock the screen. He stood on stage, frantically scrolling, desperate for a clue. But it was no use. I had wiped every contact, every call log. The SIM card was deactivated. The only thing he could find was the photo gallery. Filled with screenshots of every single message Hannah had ever sent me. As he scrolled, his face grew darker and darker. He was so engrossed that he didn’t see the edge of the stage, stumbling and falling into the orchestra pit below. Hannah rushed to his side, but the look in his eyes made her recoil in terror. “It was you,” he snarled, a feral light I had never seen before in his eyes. “You pushed her to this. How dare you?” “If anything happens to Sienna, I will end you!” He shoved Hannah to the ground and scrambled back onto the stage. “Shane, no! It’s dangerous!” Hannah screamed, seeing him climb onto the water tank, ready to jump in. She grabbed his legs, trying to hold him back. “Don’t… touch me,” he hissed, his voice ragged with hysteria. “I have to know where she went.” He kicked out violently, catching her in the chest. She collapsed, gasping in pain. With a huge splash, Shane plunged into the two-meter-deep tank, thrashing in the bloody water. The theater was a cacophony of screams, shouts, and sobs. Soon, the wail of sirens filled the livestream. When the police led Shane away, his face was streaked with tears. “Let me go! I have to find my wife! She could be in danger…” So much noise. So very, very loud.

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “MotoNovel” app 🔍 search for “386686”, and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel

My best friend and I married into the same powerful family on the same day—I married the uncle, Mike Pei, and she married his nephew, Adrian. At the wedding, our fathers were brutally beaten by bodyguards. We begged Mike and Adrian to stop, but Mike accused them of harassing his beloved Elara. I insisted it was a misunderstanding, but he called me a liar. Defeated, I knelt and apologized to Elara. My friend was slapped by Adrian and blamed for ruining everything. We rushed our fathers to the hospital, but it was too late. The wedding cost us our families and futures. Overcome with regret, we tried to leave—but they came after us. 1 The light above the emergency room door went dark. My father and my best friend’s father were wheeled out, covered in white sheets. The moment the doctor shook his head, my best friend and I collapsed to the floor, sobbing into each other’s arms. Nurses hurried past us, their voices low but clear. “Did you hear? The Pei family is paying millions to have the hospital’s top psychiatrist treat their precious Elara’s trauma.” “I heard she was harassed by two old men at the wedding.” The words struck me like a physical blow. My nails dug into my palms, drawing blood that dripped silently onto the polished floor. Elara Jiang. The woman Mike and Adrian had always loved but could never have. And the monster responsible for our fathers’ deaths. At the wedding, Elara’s screams had drawn everyone’s attention. We’d rushed over to find our fathers cornering her against a wall. She was a picture of distress—tear-streaked, the collar of her dress pulled down to her shoulder, her skirt hiked up in disarray as she struggled to break free from their grasp. The guests gasped. Mike and Adrian exploded with rage. They didn’t give our fathers a chance to explain. They just ordered the bodyguards to attack. My friend and I knelt at their feet, pleading, telling them those were our fathers, begging them to stop. But Elara just cried harder. “I already gave Mike and Adrian to you. Why won’t you leave me alone? Why did you have to hire two old men to assault me?” “They even took pictures… Are you claiming they’re your fathers just to protect them? To get those photos and ruin my reputation?” That sealed it. Mike and Adrian were convinced we were lying. They forced us to watch as our fathers were beaten unconscious. By the time they reached the hospital, there was nothing to be done. A wedding had become a funeral. Suddenly, my phone buzzed. It was a video, sent from the wedding photographer who had caught it by chance. In the clip, Elara deliberately mussed her own clothes before throwing herself into our fathers’ arms, clinging to them so they couldn’t push her away. A second later, she started screaming. My vision went red. I looked up and saw her across the hall, being coddled by Mike and Adrian like a precious jewel. Rage surged through me, a hot, blinding wave. I charged toward them, my eyes burning. “Elara, you liar! It was all an act! You set it all up!” Mike stepped in front of me, his eyes cold with impatience. “Sienna, when are you going to stop this nonsense?” “If you hadn’t hired those men to attack Elara, the wedding would never have been canceled. You brought this on yourselves.” The mixture of disappointment and anger in his eyes was a dagger to my heart. Tears streamed down my face. I held out my phone, playing the video for him. “Mike, I didn’t do this. Please, you have to believe me.” Elara’s eyes filled with fresh tears, and she let out a soft sob. “Sienna… you even forged a video just to frame me…” Seeing Elara’s wounded expression, Mike and Adrian’s faces softened with pity. Mike snatched my phone and smashed it on the floor. He then slapped me, his voice dripping with disgust. “Sienna Yang, you are the most vile, venomous woman I have ever met. You sicken me.” I stared at him in disbelief, the blood freezing in my veins. My best friend was draped over her father’s body, her cries echoing in the sterile hallway. “Our fathers are dead, don’t you understand? Elara killed them! Why won’t you believe us?” Annoyed by her wailing, Adrian strode over and kicked the gurney, sending it rattling against the wall. “What an act,” he sneered. “You almost had me believing they were really your fathers.” He kicked my father’s covered body. “Stop playing dead. Tell us how much these two paid you to harass Elara and put on this little show.” When there was no response, a vicious glint entered his eye, and he kicked again, and again. “NO!” I screamed, my eyes bloodshot, and threw myself over my father’s body to protect him. Adrian’s boot slammed into my back with such force that I nearly vomited blood. Mike’s brow furrowed for a split second. But Elara spoke first, her voice a gentle balm. “Mike, Adrian, please don’t be angry with them because of me. I’m just an outsider. It’s okay if I’m treated unfairly. I’m sure Sienna and her friend won’t do something like this again.” Adrian’s face was a mask of fury. “They dare to have a ‘next time’?” Mike’s expression darkened. “Elara, you are not an outsider.” “And don’t worry. Once you’ve recovered, I will make them pay for what happened today.” His cold, menacing gaze sent a shiver down my spine. I bit my lip until the metallic taste of blood filled my mouth, the pain sharpening my senses. My voice trembled. “I’m not marrying you.” My friend looked at Adrian with utter despair. “I’m not marrying you either.” For a moment, their expressions flickered. Then, indifference settled back in, as if they were certain we’d come crawling back. “Suit yourself,” Mike said coolly. Adrian scoffed. “You were the ones begging to get married, not me.” With that, they escorted Elara away, brushing past us without another glance. The moment they were gone, my friend’s tears started anew. I gently wiped them away, my own heart aching. We were from ordinary families. The Peis of the capital were a world away, a dynasty we could never have touched. But we had saved Mrs. Pei’s life by chance. She was Mike’s mother, Adrian’s grandmother. She was the one who had arranged our marriages. I had felt that Mike liked me, at least a little. But that affection was meaningless next to Elara, his first love who had just returned from abroad. In fact, that affection had cost me the only family I had left. And against the power of the Pei family, we couldn’t even get justice for our own fathers. I held my friend close. “Let’s go. Let’s get as far away from them as we can.” We took our fathers to the funeral home to be cremated. With their ashes in hand, we went to the Pei family estate to see Mrs. Pei one last time. Seeing us standing there, holding the urns of our fathers, her voice caught in her throat. Any words of apology for her son and grandson died on her lips. She took our hands, and after a long moment, she spoke, her voice bitter with regret. “I’m so sorry.” “The Pei family is prepared to compensate you.” I gave a hollow laugh. “Mrs. Pei, please, just let us go.” Her expression was complicated. In the end, she returned the marriage contracts to us. The Peis were a traditional family of old money. A legal marriage certificate meant less than a formal pact, acknowledged by the head of the family. I remembered how Mike and Adrian, to show their sincerity, had written the vows in their own blood, a symbol of a bond that transcended life and death. They had been sincere then. But that sincerity was a fleeting illusion, a mirage that vanished as quickly as it appeared. Now, without these contracts, they were free. After returning to our rooms, we changed out of our wedding dresses. As we were packing, Mike and Adrian returned. With Elara. Mike’s eyes fell on the suitcase at my feet, and his face darkened. “Where do you think you’re going?” “I haven’t settled the score with you for what you did to Elara.” I ignored him, taking my friend’s hand and walking toward the door. I knew nothing we said would change their minds. I just wanted to escape this suffocating place. As we reached the door, Elara’s plaintive voice drifted over. “Mike, Adrian, if they don’t want to apologize, don’t force them. I don’t want you fighting with them because of me again.” The words had their intended effect. Adrian slammed the door in our faces and locked it. My heart seized. Mike’s gaze hardened, a glacial coldness radiating from his eyes. “Get on your knees. Apologize to Elara.” His command was a blade that carved a hole in my chest, the pain making it impossible to breathe. Adrian didn’t even bother to speak. He kicked the back of my friend’s knees, forcing her to the floor in front of Elara. Before I could react, Mike grabbed a fistful of my hair. The searing pain in my scalp blinded me. When I could finally breathe again, I was kneeling like a lamb for slaughter before the woman who had murdered my father. Elara leaned in close, her words a poison whispered in our ears. “Did you know? You killed your own fathers.” Our eyes shot wide. She smiled. “They didn’t die from the beating.” “Mike and Adrian decided they weren’t worthy of being saved. They ordered the doctors to stop the surgery. They let them bleed out on the table.” “Can you imagine what that was like? Lying there, conscious, feeling your own life drain away?” “It’s all your fault. You two daughters sent your own fathers to hell.” The color drained from my face. My best friend completely shattered. With a wild scream, she launched herself at Elara, slapping and clawing at her. “You’re a monster!” Elara didn’t fight back, just collapsed into a heap of sobs. Everyone was stunned. Adrian reacted first, kicking my friend away. Mike gathered Elara into his arms, cooing and comforting her. Adrian tenderly wiped the tears from her cheeks. Seeing the red handprints on her face, his own face contorted with rage. He spun around, grabbed my friend by the hair, and yanked her head back. “I’ve been too good to you,” he snarled. “And it’s made you bold.” SMACK! “That was for being born without a heart.” SMACK! “That was for being a woman who would destroy another woman’s honor.” SMACK! “And that was for all the times you’ve schemed against Elara…” My friend’s face swelled, becoming a grotesque mask of bruises. But Adrian didn’t stop. I tried to help her, but Mike held me back. The relentless sound of the slaps echoed in the room, a hammer pounding against my heart, making my entire body tremble. One hundred slaps. My friend finally went limp, blood trickling from her mouth as she collapsed against a suitcase, unconscious. The fall knocked her marriage contract onto the floor. Only then did Elara speak. “Adrian, stop. I didn’t want to make things worse.” “But they are your fiancées, chosen by Mrs. Pei. With that status, they feel they can do anything to me without consequence.” “It’s better to be clear today, so they won’t bother me again.” Mike’s face was stone. “Elara, if they were capable of listening to reason, they wouldn’t have targeted you again and again.” “They think being my fiancée gives them power? Fine. I’ll make sure she never gets to be my wife.” He snatched the marriage contract from my luggage. In front of my eyes, he set it on fire. He grabbed my chin, his eyes like chips of ice. “From now on, you’re nothing but a kept woman. A pet. Do you understand?” The ashes of our contract drifted into my eyes, extinguishing the last flicker of love I ever had for him. Fine. Without that paper, we were both free. Adrian, following his uncle’s lead, burned his contract with my friend as well. Numbly, I helped my friend to her feet as she stirred, my expression blank. “Can we go now?” Mike’s eyes darkened for a moment. “Where will you go?” Adrian just waved us away impatiently. “Let them go, uncle. They’ll come crawling back on their own.” Their condescending smirks met a dead, silent pool in my heart. We will never come back. I stumbled out, supporting my friend. As we passed Elara, I spoke, my voice devoid of emotion. “You think you’ve won? You think you can marry into the Pei family now?” “You will never be anything more than a dirty little secret.” A flash of anger crossed her face. I took my friend and left the Pei estate. We found a clinic to patch up our injuries. Even hearing that Adrian had burned their contract, my friend’s face remained blank. Neither of us had ever imagined our wedding day would become our fathers’ funeral. We had both lost our mothers when we were young. Our fathers were all we had. Now, all we wanted was to bring them home. We took their ashes back to our hometown and began preparing for their burial. Even far from the city, news of the Peis reached us. Mike and Adrian publicly bidding against each other for jewelry that Elara admired. Tabloids publishing stories of the three of them living together. Paparazzi photos of Elara kissing Mike one day, and Adrian the next. None of it touched me. My heart was numb. I focused only on the funeral. But on the day we were to bury our fathers’ ashes, Mike and Adrian found us. They arrived like a storm. “Come back with me,” Mike demanded. “I need you to tell my mother that I have no intention of marrying Elara. I’m only being kind to her because I owe her.” I gave him a dead-eyed stare. Mrs. Pei despised Elara. Years ago, Mike and Adrian had nearly destroyed each other fighting over her. It was Mrs. Pei who had sent Elara abroad to end it. Now that the scandal was public, they were afraid of history repeating itself. They needed us as a shield to protect Elara. I used to love him enough to endure any humiliation. Now, I just found my past self pathetic. I turned away, muttering, “Get lost.” My friend, however, found her voice. “Isn’t everything in the papers true? If you have nothing to hide, why don’t you explain it to Mrs. Pei yourselves?” “Besides, we have nothing to do with you. You’re both CEOs, used to getting your way. Are you really so shameless that you have to cling to us now?” Adrian snapped first. “If my grandmother didn’t only trust your word, do you think we’d be here?” “Just come back with us. Do this one thing, and we’ll allow you to move back in.” His tone was one of magnanimous charity. They had no idea that Mrs. Pei had already investigated everything. Seeing my continued silence, Mike’s face hardened. “Sienna, how long are you going to keep this act up?” “I promise you, we can have another wedding. Didn’t your father say it was a custom in your hometown to have a ceremony here as well? Fine. I agree.” “If you’re worried, we can do it right now.” “But after the wedding, you are coming back to the Pei estate with me.” At the mention of my father, a hot rage surged through my veins. I stopped what I was doing and spun on him. “You have no right to even say his name! I’ve told you a hundred times, my father is dead! Elara killed him. You both killed him! You’re murderers!” Mike’s brow creased in annoyance. “What is wrong with you? Do you think your father would want to hear you cursing him like this?” Adrian sneered. “He must have been a real sinner to have a daughter who wishes him dead.” I didn’t want to argue anymore. I raised the shovel in my hands. “Get out! Today is my father’s funeral. Don’t you dare disturb his peace.” Mike’s patience was gone. He glared at the fresh graves. “You’d rather attend some pathetic funeral than have your own wedding?” Before I could react, he snatched the shovel from my hands and plunged it into my father’s grave. Adrian followed his lead, grabbing my friend’s shovel and starting to dig. I screamed, and we lunged at them, but their bodyguards held us back. We were forced to watch as they desecrated the graves we had dug with our own hands, exposing the simple porcelain urns that held our fathers’ ashes. With cold sneers, they smashed the urns before our eyes. A cloud of dark ash scattered in the wind. The shock was too much. My best friend fainted in my arms. Mike strode toward me, looking down his nose at me. “Be smart. Come back with me now. Don’t force me to prepare a grave for your living father.” Just then, the village elder came running toward us with the police. “Who are you people? How dare you desecrate Sienna’s father’s grave! You’re breaking the law!”

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “MotoNovel” app 🔍 search for “386685”, and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel

Everyone could hear my seven-year-old stepson’s thoughts—except me. At Thanksgiving dinner, I carefully removed the shellfish he was allergic to from his plate. He hung his head, shoulders slumped. [Grandma, I’m scared! Stepmom said I don’t deserve expensive food, but it smells so good!] My mother-in-law slammed the table, stood up, and slapped me. “You bitch! Is this how you treat my grandson?” Later, while pregnant and sick, I used an app to arrange a ride for Leo to school. He went down an hour early, crouching tearfully by the entrance. [I’ll be late… Is she sending that uncle who hates Dad again?] After that, I wasn’t just the “evil stepmother”—rumors spread that I was unfaithful. When my husband Daniel confronted me, I had no defense, hoping our baby would calm him. But Leo sighed from the corner. [How do I tell Dad the baby is the other uncle’s?] That broke Daniel. He dragged me to the rooftop and threw us both off. When I opened my eyes, I was back at Thanksgiving, my cheek still stinging. But this time—I could hear Leo too. 1. At the dinner table, my mother-in-law heaped a generous serving of roasted potatoes onto Leo’s plate, her voice thick with pity. “Leo, darling, you’ve gotten so thin again. Haven’t you been eating properly?” My sister-in-law, sitting beside her, chimed in with a saccharine smile, her eyes dripping with contempt. “Oh, Mom, can’t you see? It’s obvious someone with a wicked heart has been deliberately starving him.” The kitchen had been a sweltering furnace, but my heart felt like it was encased in a block of ice. The next second, Leo’s thoughts flooded my mind, dripping with a carefully crafted, fake timidity. [I want to tell Grandma that I never get enough to eat. At night, when I’m hungry, I have to sneak sips of cold water to fill my stomach… But if Stepmom finds out, she’ll hit me again.] Leo timidly lowered his head, but I didn’t miss the flash of venom in his eyes. [Stepmom said the crab is too expensive, that I’m just a useless waste of money who doesn’t deserve it.] [But it smells so, so good… Maybe when she’s done eating, I can secretly lick the plate. She won’t find out, right?] In my past life, this was how he’d branded me the “evil stepmother.” My mother-in-law had assaulted me in front of all our relatives, and when Daniel tried to defend me, she’d screamed him into silence. I had tried to explain over and over that Leo was allergic to shellfish, but no one listened. My mother-in-law even worked herself up into such a state she had to be hospitalized. Even Daniel had frowned, chiding me for arguing with his mother. And just like that, the labels “child abuser” and “disrespectful daughter-in-law” were permanently stuck to me. The tragic irony was that I genuinely believed I was the problem. I thought my communication skills were flawed, and I started obsessively rehearsing every word before I spoke, which eventually led to a spiral of severe depression and anxiety. Only now, reborn, did I understand. It was all Leo. He had been using his strange ability to manipulate everyone, to orchestrate my expulsion from this family. Just as his thought finished, my mother-in-law’s face flushed a deep crimson. “So that’s it! My son works himself to the bone to provide for this family, and you stay home abusing his child? Clara, he’s seven years old! Is your heart made of stone?” I immediately put on a wounded expression, shaking my head frantically. “Mom, how can you say that? Leo is allergic to shellfish! I was just looking out for his health!” A flicker of excitement crossed Leo’s face, and his inner voice became even more pathetic. [Why is Stepmom lying about my allergy? The doctor said I’m just underdeveloped because of long-term malnutrition!] My mother-in-law pounded the table, making the silverware jump. “He could eat anything when his real mother was around! The moment you show up, he’s suddenly allergic to this and that!” “Do you take us for fools? You think we can’t see through your disgusting little schemes?” My sister-in-law piled on. “Clara, ever since you married my brother, I’ve watched Leo get thinner and thinner. But you… you’ve put on a few pounds recently, haven’t you?” “And even if he is allergic, what’s the harm in a few bites? He’s a growing boy, he needs the nutrition!” I lowered my eyes, pretending to be convinced, and gave a small nod. “You’re right. Mom, you and Sarah know best. I wasn’t thinking clearly. You have more experience.” My mother-in-law snorted, then gestured for my sister-in-law to serve Leo. Sarah was quick, and in moments, a mountain of shrimp and crab meat was piled on Leo’s plate. He devoured it like a wolf, occasionally glancing up to shoot me a look of pure triumph. I pretended not to notice, my eyes fixed on the angry red welts beginning to bloom across his neck. “Eat up! They’ve starved my poor grandson to skin and bones!” my mother-in-law cooed. Sarah nodded, but as her gaze swept over Leo, she suddenly shrieked. “Leo, you’re having a reaction!” My mother-in-law’s first instinct was fury. “Oh, so now you’re worried about the cost too, are you?” She whipped her head around, her angry retort dying on her lips as she saw Leo clutching his throat, his face contorted in agony before he tipped backward out of his chair. 2. In the hospital room, the doctor’s voice was a low, angry reprimand. “How could you be so irresponsible? You knew the child had a severe shellfish allergy and you let him eat that much? Another minute, and he would have been dead.” My mother-in-law puffed out her chest, trying to argue, but her bluster had deflated. “People get sick. It’s normal. Who’s to say it was the allergy that made him pass out?” “I think… I think you doctors did something to him!” “Mom! That’s enough!” Daniel’s voice was a low growl, his fists clenched so tight his knuckles were white. “If you had just listened to Clara for one second, would any of this have happened?” Looking at Leo’s pale, bloodless lips, a flicker of regret crossed my mother-in-law’s face. Then, she spun around and slapped Sarah hard across the cheek. “This is all your fault! You were the one saying a little bit wouldn’t hurt him!” “And look what happened! My grandson suffered because of you!” Sarah, stunned, cradled her stinging cheek. “Mom! It was you! You were the one who said he wasn’t allergic, that it was just an excuse Clara made up because she’s cheap!” “You said, ‘a new wife means a new father,’ and that Leo was probably suffering in silence! How is this my fault?” “When did I ever say that? That was you!” They argued, their faces red, until their eyes fell simultaneously on Leo’s still form on the bed. Their expressions grew complicated. “It was Leo…” my mother-in-law murmured, her voice trembling. “Leo said… he said he was always hungry, that he had to do so many chores…” Sarah frowned, her tone uncertain. “He also said Clara was always yelling at him, and sometimes… sometimes hitting him.” They had believed Leo’s every word without question. After all, who would suspect a seven-year-old of such elaborate lies, especially when my position as a stepmother was already so precarious? But after witnessing the violent allergic reaction with their own eyes, a seed of doubt had been planted. I feigned a look of utter devastation, a bitter smile on my lips. “Leo has a sensitive stomach. The doctor told us he should only eat until he’s about seventy percent full. Any more is bad for him.” “As for chores, that was a ‘life skills’ assignment from his school. I would never force him to do heavy labor.” I wiped away a tear, my voice thick with false grief. “We’ve been married for a year. I’ve poured my heart and soul into caring for Leo, and to think he would spread such lies about me behind my back…” Sarah instinctively started to retort, “That’s impossible, Leo’s only seven, he wouldn’t…” But as she thought about it, she realized that every negative impression she had of me came directly from Leo’s thoughts. She had never actually seen me mistreat the boy herself. My mother-in-law’s face went pale. The same realization was dawning on her. Just then, Leo’s eyes fluttered open. Unaware that his scheme was unraveling, he immediately started projecting his thoughts. [Grandma, Aunt Sarah, I’m so scared… Is Stepmom going to yell at me again? I didn’t mean to have a reaction, I just wanted to eat something nice for once…] But this time, my mother-in-law and Sarah only offered a few half-hearted words of comfort. The pity in their eyes was gone, replaced by a sharp, probing scrutiny. Leo, confused by the change, looked crestfallen. But when his gaze landed on me, it was filled with pure, unadulterated hatred. I looked at him and almost laughed. A little bit of suspicion was nothing compared to the hell they’d put me through in my past life. My mother-in-law, embarrassed, stayed away for a long time. It was Sarah who came to me, offering a quiet apology. When she mentioned Leo, she hesitated. “Clara… from now on… you should probably keep a closer eye on Leo. I think there’s more going on in that little head of his than we realize.” Leo, too, seemed to have settled down. But I could see the darkness growing behind his mask of obedience. It wasn’t long before the familiar waves of nausea returned. I gently placed a hand on my still-flat stomach, my resolve hardening. “Don’t worry, little one. This time, Mommy will protect you.” One morning, the sickness was so bad I couldn’t get out of bed. Just like in my past life, I ordered a courier to take Leo to school. I knew his performance was about to begin. I took a walk around the complex and, sure enough, I found him in the community playground, putting on a show for a small crowd of neighbors. [I’m going to be late for school! But Stepmom gets so angry if you wake her up. She’ll hit me!] [When Dad’s not home, so many strange uncles come to visit.] [I wonder if the one taking me to school today is Stepmom’s favorite?] 3. Leo’s dramatic sobs quickly attracted a circle of concerned mothers from the neighborhood. He pretended not to see them, wiping away crocodile tears. [That uncle always says bad things about Dad. He said that when he and Stepmom get married, they’re going to send me away…] [If Dad knew, he would be so heartbroken, right?] Half an hour later, Daniel stormed through the front door, his face a thundercloud. “Where is he? Tell me where you’re hiding your lover!” I looked at him calmly. “I haven’t done anything like that. If you don’t believe me, you can check the security cameras.” Daniel let out a cold, humorless laugh and turned toward his office. “Fine. Let’s check. Let’s see just how much of a liar you are.” Just then, Leo’s thoughts, laced with panic, cut through the air. [No wonder Stepmom unplugged the cameras! She was afraid Dad would find out about the uncle!] Daniel froze, the disappointment in his eyes so thick it was almost tangible. “Clara, you really have thought of everything, haven’t you?” I didn’t argue. Instead, I called out toward the door. “Mrs. Peterson, Mrs. Gable, would you mind stepping in for a moment?” The women who had been comforting Leo filed into our apartment, their faces a mixture of curiosity and judgment. I led them into the office and pulled up the security system on the monitor. “Please, have a look. This is the footage from the last month. You can all see for yourselves whether I’ve been bringing strange men home.” Eight high-definition feeds played simultaneously, showing nothing but me. Me, waking up early to make Leo breakfast. Me, cleaning the house while he napped. Me, helping him with his homework at night. Occasionally, when the morning sickness was bad, the camera would catch me resting on the sofa for a few minutes. As they watched, the expressions on the women’s faces began to change. “Oh, Clara, dear, we are so sorry. We completely misunderstood.” “Look at this footage. You treat Leo so well. You spent two hours making him that special bone broth porridge, and he just knocked it over. Then he ran outside telling everyone you made him eat off the floor…” Leo, seeing his narrative crumble, panicked. He wasn’t done yet. [Is Stepmom doing this on purpose? She must have deleted the videos with the uncle in them and only kept the good ones to show everyone!] [Besides, this is all old footage! If she was really so nice to me, why would she make a strange man take me to school?] The flicker of doubt in Daniel’s eyes vanished, replaced by disgust. “A lie is still a lie. Why won’t you show us the recent footage? Are you afraid we’ll see that you’ve finally dropped the act?” I looked at his distrustful face, and the last shred of hope I had for him died. “The doctor said I’ve been overexerting myself. If I don’t get some bed rest, I could lose the baby.” The room fell silent. A hint of joy crept onto Daniel’s face. “You’re… you’re pregnant?” But before the news could sink in, Leo’s thoughts struck again. [No wonder that uncle brought Stepmom so many supplements yesterday! It’s because she’s having a baby!] [But the baby isn’t his, so why was he so happy? Why did he hug Stepmom’s tummy and say, ‘You have to grow up healthy and strong, little one’?] The color drained from Daniel’s face. His eyes were filled with a terrible, hollow despair. “Clara, I want you to swear to me. Swear that this child is mine.” “Of course I can!” I said, my voice choked with emotion. I raised my right hand, ready to make the oath. But Mrs. Peterson grabbed my arm, her face grim. “Clara! Don’t you be foolish just because you’re young. You don’t make oaths like that!” “What if it comes true one day? What will you do then?” The other women chimed in, a chorus of warnings, as if they had personally witnessed me in bed with this phantom lover. I tried to speak, to explain, but my voice was drowned out by their concerned shouting. Leo shot me a grin, a dark, triumphant smirk. I took a deep breath, ready to lay out the entire, ridiculous truth. But then, a familiar voice cut through the noise from behind me. “Clara, what’s going on here?” The next second, Leo’s thoughts exploded in my mind. [It’s him!] [No, it’s the baby’s real daddy!]

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “MotoNovel” app 🔍 search for “386684”, and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel