Chapter 11
Ethan was drowning in pain. Every time he closed his eyes, Olivia’s last words echoed relentlessly
in his mind.
“The surprise I prepared for you is right here.”
He clutched Olivia’s urn tightly against his chest, whispering countless apologies over and over
again. But no amount of “I’m sorry” could bring her back.
He could only fall asleep under the numbing haze of alcohol, only to be yanked awake by
nightmares moments later.
When the doorbell rang, Ethan didn’t move.
It took a long while before the door finally opened.
The hallway light spilled in, casting a glow around the visitor. Ethan squinted, momentarily
stunned by how familiar the figure looked almost like Olivia.
“Ethan,” a soft voice called out.
It was Lillian.
Disappointment crashed over him like a wave. His head dropped, and the next second, he picked up
a whiskey glass from the coffee table and flew it across the room.
“Crash!”
Lillian had just stepped through the doorway when the glass thrown from the living room and
shattered at her feet. A voice seething with rage followed immediately,
“Get out! All of you, get the hell out!”
Lillian froze mid–step, but carefully stepped around the broken glass and walked inside.
They hadn’t seen each other for just a few days, but Lillian was stunned by how much Ethan had
changed.
His face was drawn, his eyes hollow, and a few strands of gray hair peeked through his temples. He looked years older.
“Ethan…” she called softly.
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Ethan’s gaze finally tore away from the urn and landed on her face.
“Ethan, what happened?” she asked, concern lacing her voice. “Did something happen to you?”
Ever since Sebastian had returned home, his attitude toward her had shifted drastically. He
wouldn’t even respond to their parents, let alone her. He’d moved out altogether.
Lillian had been trying to figure out what had gone wrong.
“Leave,” Ethan growled. “I don’t ever want to see you again.”
As soon as Ethan laid eyes on Lillian, the same thought tormented him. If only he had stood his
ground back then and told Olivia the truth… Would things have turned out differently?
It was all Lillian’s fault. All of the Sinclair family’s fault. They killed Olivia.
“Ethan, I’ve missed you so much these past few days. I-”
Lillian began to walk toward him, her voice laced with longing, completely oblivious to the growing
storm on Ethan’s face.
Suddenly, her eyes landed on a death certificate on the coffee table.
Olivia’s name jumped out at her.
For a split second, something close to joy flickered across Lillian’s face and was quickly replaced by
a look of feigned sorrow.
“Ethan, I know you’re devastated about Olivia,” she said gently, “but she’s gone now. If she saw you like this, she’d be heartbroken too.”
She reached out and placed a hand on Ethan’s arm. Her voice softened. “It’s okay, Ethan. You still
have me. I’ll always be here for you.”
“Smack!”
In the next instant, Ethan’s hand struck her across the face, hard.
Lillian cupped her cheek in shock, staring at him in disbelief.
The Ethan she knew had always been the perfect gentleman, gentle and considerate. Over the past few years, he’d taken such meticulous care of her, to the point where she’d practically seen him as
her fiancé.
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But before she could utter another word, Ethan’s hand closed around her throat.
Panic surged as she gasped for air, struggling against his grip.
Just when she thought he might actually kill her, Ethan let go.
His voice was low and icy. “Get. Out.”
Lillian didn’t dare say another word. She turned and fled.
The moment she left, the villa fell silent once more, cloaked in darkness.
Ethan’s phone rang again.
“Hello, Mr. Carrington. This is the cemetery manager. According to Miss Sinclair’s wishes, she had requested to be laid to rest. May I ask when you’d like to proceed with the funeral.”
It was another call from the cemetery staff, one of many he had received in the past few days. Every time, he’d simply hung up.
But now,
thinking back to Lillian’s earlier expression, something clicked.
He asked, “When exactly did Olivia make that reservation?”
After the manager gave him the date, Ethan instantly realized it was the same day they’d always tormented her. The anniversary of the “deaths” of her so–called parents and Lillian.
But hadn’t Lillian that day claimed Olivia went to the cemetery to vandalize their graves?
Suddenly, a new thought took root.
Ethan’s voice was hoarse. “She said she went to buy a burial plot… not destroy one, didn’t she?”
When the staff member confirmed it, Ethan stopped breathing for a moment.
Everything began to unravel in his mind. Memories twisted. The version of reality he’d clung to flipped upside down.
If that wasn’t true… what else wasn’t?
What about the house fire? The fall from the cruise ship? What was the truth behind all of it?
And that day at the hospital, was it really Olivia who pushed Lillian out the window?
No. None of it made sense anymore.
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If Olivia had known she was dying of cancer all along, why would she bother going after Lillian?
Then it hit him. He hadn’t even looked at the USB drive that came with her diagnosis report.
He had never opened it.
But now… Ethan reached for it, feeling that somehow, all the answers, everything he was too blind
to see, were hidden inside that tiny device.
He plugged it into his computer.
As files began to populate the screen, Ethan’s eyes widened in disbelief.
His hands trembled.
Unable to contain his emotions anymore, he grabbed the drive and stormed straight to the Sinclair
estate.
