Alone in the study, I printed out the chat logs, preserving every last word. Then, I transferred the recorded hospital conversation onto a USB drive.
A final parting gift.
By morning, not a single one of them had returned.
Elijah had sent a message saying that he and his parents were going out to purchase mourning items and had asked the butler to look after me.
I stared at the screen, my fingers tightening around the phone.
So that was how much I mattered.
I let out a cold laugh and summoned the butler, instructing him to pack up and discard everything Elijah had given me over the years.
With that, I turned and made my way to the study.
My fingers traced the edges of the framed calligraphy my father had once written for me before I yanked it down. Without hesitation, I hurled it into the fire pit.
Two words. That was all he had given me. [Health.]
For Scarlett, he had carefully penned: [A harmonious family brings prosperity.]
Yet for me, his only wish had been health, something he had stolen from me the moment he shattered my legs, ensuring I would never walk again.
The irony burned deeper than the flames before me.
Overcome with rage; I grabbed the scarf and leg warmers my mother had knitted for me and tossed them into the fire, followed by every family photo we had taken over the past decade.
One by one, memories turned to ashes.
Since I was leaving, I wouldn’t leave behind a single trace of my existence in this house.
As I watched the fire consume everything, I made my final decision.
I stepped out into the night and made my way to the lawyer’s office, handing over the printed documents.
I entrusted him with the evidence, instructing him to file a lawsuit against Scarlett the next day.
Even if I couldn’t have her sentence, I wanted the world to know that she was still alive and that my family had been protecting her all along.
Then, I logged into my social media accounts, uploaded the pictures and audio and carefully edited them before scheduling their release to a selected group.
Only then did I reply to Scarlett’s message.
[Do you think I can make them abandon you and come back?]
She took the bait instantly.
[You think too highly of yourself. They’d never return today. Just wait and see.]
A cold smirk played on my lips as my phone rang right on cue.