How
do I face our daughter? How do I live with this?
, Ethan
were enduring their own private hells.
After returning from the law office, Ethan had locked himself in his room, refusing to speak.
The immense guilt and psychological pressure had nearly broken him.
And Clara’s father?
He just sat numbly in the seaside villa, staring at the draft of the novel Clara had left behind.
Tears fell, one by one, onto the exquisite drawings.
It was all he could do.
Clara’s mother handled her daughter’s final arrangements alone. Her eyes were filled with sorrow, but also a steely resolve.
She would ensure that Clara’s talent continued to shine.
One week later, in the dead of night, Zane couldn’t sleep. He drove aimlessly through the streets of Seattle.
Without Clara, he didn’t know how to face the rest of his life.
There was nothing left but endless regret.
As he passed a high–end bar, he saw Hailey.
She was draped over a table of leering men. One of them, a large man with a sweaty face, had his arm wrapped crudely around her waist, and she could only force a smile.
It seemed that without the protection of Clara’s family, this was what she had become.
She couldn’t escape the gambling debts, after all.
He drove past without a second glance.
Since the truth had come out, Hailey had been hounded by her creditors, eventually ending up in this state.
He had no intention of helping. This was her penance for everything she had taken from Clara.
It was a price she had to pay.
And the pain of losing Clara was a price he, and her family, would have to pay for the rest of their lives.
A bitter laugh escaped him as his car disappeared into the Seattle night.
Side Story
Clara’s mother sat before her daughter’s grave, holding a bouquet of white roses.
As she always did, she opened a bottle of Clara’s favorite champagne and gently poured some over the grass.
Then, she sat and nibbled on a blueberry scone.
I remember us making these scones together, right before we were separated. So many years have passed in a blink of an eye.”
Clara’s mother sighed softly and began to recount what had happened over the years.
Clara’s brother, Ethan, was gone. They found him in the sanatorium.
After his breakdown, he had been silent, but on the day before he died, he had a moment of startling clarity. He asked a nurse to help him wash, to get clean.
2/3
The next day, the nurse found he had taken a fatal overdose of sleeping pills and passed away peacefully.
The news was a devastating blow to Clara’s father. He was rushed to the hospital and eventually admitted to the same
sanatorium for treatment
His hair turned white overnight.
He eventually donated the seaside villa to the foundation established in Clara’s name.
Zane’s relationship with Olivia was strained. She chose a university out of state, putting as much distance as she could
between them
Zane was left alone in the house, living a hollow, aimless existence.
He lost his medical license for malpractice. The lawsuits buried him in debt. He lived out the rest of his days alone, a ghost in
his own life.
Hailey was imprisoned for fraud and conspiracy. After her release, she struggled on the lowest rungs of society.
Someone saw her on the street not long ago, emaciated and ignored by everyone.
“My darling,” she whispered, “the people who hurt you… they all got what they deserved.”
Clara’s mother gently caressed her daughter’s name on the headstone.
In the photo, Clara was gentle and serene,
After a long time, Clara’s mother stood up and placed the flowers by the grave.
The foundation has been busy lately. I’ll come see you again next month.
After speaking softly, Clara’s mother turned and left.
A gentle sea breeze biew past, making the white roses on Clara’s grave sway gracefully.
A hummingbird, impossibly light, hovered over the blossoms before landing on a single rose.
It lingered, a tiny, vibrant guardian over something precious and lost.
As the sun set, golden light bathed the tombstone.
Clara’s name shone in the sunlight, forever remembered
And those who had once harmed her were all paying their own price, in their own private hells,
