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Chapter 10
“After the fire started, she locked herself inside,” the examiner said quietly.
“We broke the windows and tried to pull her out. But she fought us. Slashed at our arms with a
knife.”
“Once the fire spread, it was too late.”
Arthur stood frozen, eyes locked on the charred remains.
“No… no…”
“Hahahaha…!” His laughter was wild, cracked. “She was burned as a child! She’s terrified of fire!”
“She would never choose to die like this!”
“Marcus… tell me you’re messing with me. Please…”
He grabbed Marcus’s hand, but Marcus just shook his head.
Arthur fell to his knees.
He stumbled toward the gurney.
When he saw the jade bracelet–blackened but still intact–his
eyes
widened.
It was one of a kind, placed on Elaine’s wrist by his late mother.
There was no mistaking it.
It was her.
Arthur laughed again, a broken, empty sound.
He clutched her burned hand in his own.
“Elaine… forget the stupid agreement. We won’t sign it, okay?”
“Here, let me tell you a secret.”
“Vivian? She was just someone I kept on the side.”
“That night, she checked my phone. She saw your messages.”
Chapter 10
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“She found out I was married–and lost her mind.”
“I didn’t want a scandal to tank the company’s stock, so I promised her…”
‘… If she gave birth to my first son, I’d convince my family to take her in as a second wife.”
Chapter 10
