Chapter 9
Victor didn't seem to hear a word anyone said.
He bowed his head, gazing at that ghostly pale face, and suddenly, he gathered Charlotte's lifeless body into his arms.
The coldness of her body pierced him like icy needles, making him shiver to his core.
He didn't pay attention to anyone and kept moving forward through the crowd, focused only on what was ahead.
Suddenly, Sophie tugged at his sleeve.
"Victor, what are you doing?" she asked softly. "Whatever you're about to do, I'll go with you."
"No, that's not necessary," Victor said, shaking his head, his tone distant. "I'll do it alone."
Someone complained, "Victor, what's up with you? She's gone. Why are you getting all worked up at Sophie?"
"Yeah, it was just a fling between you and Charlotte. You only hung around her to get back at her. She used to be so chubby, and still managed to score a guy as hot as you. She lucked out," someone else chimed in.
"Big deal, she's dead. Why are you acting as if you care?" another sneered.
"Seriously, it's not like you killed her. What's with all the drama? You should focus on marrying Sophie and getting the girl you've wanted since you were a kid," someone shouted.
Just a few meters apart, it felt like two different worlds.
On one side, they laughed and mocked, unfazed by the loss of a life.
On the other side, there was only a cold, lifeless body, unable to respond or defend itself.
For a split second, Victor felt numb, caught between those two worlds.
He remembered what Charlotte once said to him, "Also, I know you'll never believe me, but I never bullied anyone."
Suddenly, Victor realized Charlotte had been nothing but a walking corpse all these years.
She couldn't speak, couldn't defend herself, buried alive under that bullying rumor, never able to lift her head or clear her name.
Not once did anyone ever ask her if it was true that she bullied Sophie.
But then, someone suddenly blurted out, "Victor, you're not—
"Are you in love with Charlotte or something?"
Everyone was holding their breath, waiting for him to shoot it down.
But what happened next shocked them all.
He didn't deny it.
He cradled Charlotte's lifeless body in his arms, silent and weighed down by grief, slowly making his way toward the end of the hallway.
Sophie broke down, her sobs bursting out in a flood of hurt and betrayal. She looked at Victor, her voice trembling with pain.
She cried, "Victor, don't you want me anymore?
"What's so great about Charlotte anyway? She hurt me so much. Have you forgotten all that?"
But as she finished speaking, David came rushing down the hallway, anxious.
Facing all those questioning eyes, he swallowed hard, looking uncertain.
"Mr. Sterling, there's something critical. I took the liberty of pausing the presentation," he said. "But I think you need to see this."
As he spoke, he pulled out his phone and showed Victor everything that had been stopped on the big screen, leaving nothing out.
There were countless threats, each one sent by Sophie to Charlotte, all coming from her.
Just like that, everything blew up right in front of Victor.
Sophie rolled up in her wheelchair, looking devastated.
Sophie said, "Victor, the dead can't come back. I know you're soft-hearted. That's why you can't bear what happened to Charlotte, but when she was hurting me, she never cared how I felt."
She clung to Victor's arm, voice shaking. "Victor, do you not want me anymore?" she asked.
Victor looked down at her tear-streaked face.
Any sympathy he'd ever had for her vanished.
Disgust churned in his gut.
Victor didn't hesitate and shoved her hand off. "Let go," he ordered.
"Victor?" Sophie said as she stared at him in disbelief. "You..."
Victor turned away, holding Charlotte in his arms. His voice sounded low and chilling as he said, "Find out what happened."
Victor didn't send Charlotte off to be cremated and buried right away.
This time, he was dead set on getting to the bottom of everything and making sure the innocent got their name cleared.