Chapter 8
I never imagined Sylvia had gone through something like that.
But at the same time… I couldn’t understand.
“My dad saved you,” I asked, “why did you still send him to prison?”
She smirked. “To drive a wedge between you and Veyne, of course.”
“If I didn’t do something drastic to tear you two apart, how would I ever get the chance to become his woman?”
My whole body trembled.
Something suddenly clicked in my mind–sharp, clear, undeniable.
“So… you leaked that video online on purpose. You wanted to push my dad over the edge, to make sure Veyne and I would be enemies for
life. You wanted to make sure there was no way back for us.”
Sylvia’s eyes gleamed with approval. “Not bad. You’re not as stupid as you look.”
“But that’s just what I wanted you to think.”
“No matter how chaotic things got online, prison communication is always spotty. So I delivered the video to your dad in person.‘
“I told him everything was his fault. That you were humiliated and violated because of him. That he should die for what he’d done.”
“And what do you know? Turns out your dad really loved you. Just one night later–he was gone.”
No wonder Dad said those words before he died.
Huge tears streamed down my face, while hatred surged like wildfire through my chest.
I glared at her, my voice raw with fury.
“Sylvia… I’m going to kill you. I swear I’ll kill you!”
She leaned back in her seat and laughed like she wasn’t afraid of me in the slightest.
“Hate to break it to you, but tonight… you won’t be killing anyone. If anything, you’re the one who’ll die.”
“Honestly, I didn’t plan to kill you. I already got what I wanted. But you..”
“You shook him. After what happened at the cemetery, he started pulling away from me. He wouldn’t even let me stay at the villa.”
“So now? I can’t afford to let you live.”
I didn’t speak again.
I turned my head to look out the window, but my mind was racing, searching for any possible way out.
The car kept driving. The road became more and more remote.
Finally, as we crossed the river bridge, I gritted my teeth and made my move.
I shoved the man beside me with all my strength and lunged for Sylvia, grabbing a fistful of her hair.
The two goons flanking me reached in to restrain me, but they didn’t dare use full force–so they kept hitting me again and again, blow after blow.
I clenched my teeth and bore it, no matter how much it hurt.
Sylvia screamed in frustration.
“What are you standing there for?! Stop the damn car and help!”
The vehicle screeched to a halt, and the doors flung open.
I seized the moment and yanked Sylvia toward the edge of the van.
The driver rushed forward to shield her and ended up crushed beneath us as we fell.
I scrambled to my feet, leapt over their tangled limbs, and vaulted out of the van.
I cleared the railings–one, then another–until I stood at the edge of the bridge.
Below me was a steep drop–ten, maybe fifteen meters–to the river.
But I had no choice.
I turned back and saw them closing in.
So I let go.
And fell.
The moment I dropped, I felt nothing but wind–and the blaring horn of a cargo ship approaching fast.
Panic seized me. Was this it? Was I really going to die here?
Then, just as the ship’s horn split the air, a wave crashed hard against me and flung me aside.
The cargo vessel roared past, missing me by mere feet.
But that moment of chaos turned out to be my greatest shield.
Sylvia and the others were convinced was
propellers.
None of them came down to check.
They just fled.
dead. That from that height, I’d been sucked beneath the freighter, shredded by theory of
I swam–clinging to consciousness, pushing through the burning pain in my limbs–until I reached the riverbank.
I dragged myself toward the docks, every stroke like a knife to the ribs.
Just as I was about to black out, something looped around me–a flotation ring.
I looked up, dazed… and saw Justin.
I couldn’t believe it.
“I told you to take my mom and get out of the city!” I gasped.
Justin gave me a helpless look and shrugged. “You two are really something, you know that?”
“You told me to take your mom–but she said she wouldn’t leave without seeing you first. So… what was I supposed to do?”
Shame rushed through me. I’d lashed out without thinking at the one person still helping us.
“I’m sorry,” I said softly.
Justin didn’t seem to mind. He brushed his hands off and then scooped me up into his arms like I weighed nothing at all.
Without another word, he carried me straight to the military SUV.
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