Chapter 4
“Luciana said she saw Mike’s final moments. Does that mean Justin saw it too–just pretended he didn’t?
“Or maybe he simply didn’t care?”
As Kathy was lost in thought, Justin came down the stairs. He stared at her in silence—then suddenly kicked the white urn, still half full of ashes, across the room.
“Playing dumb? You think I’ll let you get away with that?”
His kicks kept coming, scattering the ashes everywhere.
“Justin, you’re not allowed to hurt Mike!”
Kathy snapped.
She threw herself to the floor, trying to gather the ashes with the only arm she could still move. But Justin stepped on her hand, grinding it down over and over again. The ashes flew further and further apart.
Luciana watched with a smug smile, savoring every second before finally walking down and gently taking Justin’s arm.
“Justin, calm down. It’s probably just plaster dust or something. You’re dirtying up the whole house. Let the maid clean it up, okay?”
“No! Don’t!”
Kathy shook her head in panic, desperately trying to gather what she could.
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“Hold her down. Don’t let her get in the way.”
At his order, two bodyguards dragged her aside and pinned her down.
She could only watch as the maid came in with a broom and mop, sweeping up the shards and ashes like trash.
“Justin, that’s Mike! You monster!”
Kathy thrashed like she’d lost her mind, ignoring the pain in her injured wrist.
But no matter how hard she struggled, she couldn’t break free.
Justin’s eyes were cold, dark with contempt. He stared down at her without a flicker of emotion.
The last trace of ashes was mopped up and dumped into a filthy bucket.
Kathy felt something rise in her throat–then everything went black.
When she woke again, it was still dark.
The marble floor felt cold beneath her.
She pushed herself up slowly and realized where she was.
The staircase wasn’t far.
They had left her right where she collapsed.
Upstairs, a sliver of light escaped from the master bedroom door. There were faint, intimate sounds inside.
But she didn’t care.
Compared to the heartbreak of betrayal, compared to losing her child-
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that didn’t matter anymore.
She turned on the living room lights and got down on the floor, searching carefully.
Finally, between the stairs and the floorboards, she brushed out a small handful of ashes.
It was just enough to fill a glass vial, no wider than a pinky finger.
Kathy clutched the tube to her chest, barely able to breathe under the weight of guilt.
In her heart, she swore, “I’ll remember this. And one day, I’ll make them pay.”
The front door hung a giant couple’s photo at its most prominent spot the following morning.
Luciana leaned into Justin’s arms, smiling seductively in a sea of tulips.
As expected–she’d already stepped into Eternal Heart.
So moving in officially seemed like the natural next step.
Kathy gave it one glance, then looked away, dragging a box of documents down the stairs.
She’d called a moving company–everything was going to her temporary rental.
A loft, one bedroom, one living room, right by the library.
The movers had barely taken the boxes when she locked eyes with a gaze full of scorn.
Justin had left before dawn. Only Luciana was still in the house,
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She never expected such a sharp counterattack. It nearly pierced her heart.
She steadied herself.
“So what if Kathy had a sharp tongue? She couldn’t control her man,” came the thought.
Thinking of Justin gave her confidence again.
“No rush. You eat a meal one bite at a time. You said no woman, but you ever set foot in Eternal Heart–well, I’ve been there. And on that three- meter–wide bed, Justin and I tangled for seven days straight.”
Luciana traced the mottled kiss marks on her neck with her fingers, her smile cold and triumphant.
“While we were having sex, you were clutching a pile of shredded flesh- burning it into ashes–just waiting for me to scatter it, right?”
Smack!
Without hesitation, Kathy slapped her. Hard.
Luciana’s head spun, but she didn’t fall–she tumbled into a cold, fragrant embrace.
“Kathy, how dare you hit her in front of me?”
Justin narrowed his eyes, a storm brewing behind the shadow in his gaze.
The woman in his arms showed half her swollen face, smiling slyly and unrepentant.
She’d clearly heard his footsteps and staged it all.
She wanted him to see what Kathy had done.
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Kathy knew it too.
But that slap had to be given.
Her son, her three–year–old Mike–died tragically, torn apart by beasts, because of Luciana’s fake “kidnapping” and Justin’s ruthless, inhuman revenge.
There wasn’t even a body left to bury.
From that day on, Kathy hadn’t had a single good night’s sleep.
Every waking moment was spent thinking about how to shred those two into pieces.
Now Luciana dared to dance on her wound, using vile words to curse Mike?
Kathy wouldn’t take it. And she wouldn’t stay silent.
As for Justin’s rebuke–she didn’t even want to answer.
She simply shook off her hand and stared coldly at Luciana.
