Chapter 3

Karsen reported respectfully, "Ms. Byrne and the child fell into the river half a month ago. No trace of them was ever found. They vanished without a trace. The apartment is now empty."

Justin's hand froze mid-motion as he was drying his hair. For a split second, he wondered if he'd misheard.

"What?" he blurted out.

Karsen repeated himself, then let out a sigh. "That's karma for you," he said.

Justin's reputation was finally clean.

Justin suddenly burst out laughing. "No way, Karsen. Are you kidding me now? Since when did you start joking around?"

Karsen glanced at him, then added, "We sent a rescue team to search the area, but it's right at the mouth of the river. The current's way too strong. All they found was the wrecked car. Nothing else."

There was still a trace of smugness on his face.

Justin turned his neck, stiff as a board. "You look way too happy about this."

Karsen said, "Everyone's happy for you, Mr. Bird. Ms. Byrne schemed her way into your life with dirty tricks. Now that she's gone, maybe you and your old man can finally make up."

Justin clenched his fists and nodded slowly. "Yeah, serves her right," he said.

Then he turned and headed for his study.

He kept up his usual routine, commuting between work and home as if nothing had changed.

Laura, his mother, would call him back to the Bird family estate from time to time, pressuring him to settle down.

"Now that Alicia and Lyric are gone, you should reach out to Gwendolyn. She'll understand," Laura told him.

Justin nodded and, that very night, asked Gwendolyn out for dinner.

Lyric and I have been living in Tursey for half a year now.

The climate here was much more pleasant, and everything was way more affordable.

Finally, I could go to work and earn my own money.

As soon as I walked into the office, a coworker rushed over, all excited. "Alicia, have you heard? Vireo Tech is about to acquire our company."

I stopped short. 'Vireo Tech? That's Justin's company,' I thought.

"Rumor has it their team will be here in the next few days to do an evaluation. Ugh, I really hope they don't start laying people off," my coworker said, sounding anxious.

Another colleague joined in, whispering, "I even heard the big boss himself is coming. The CEO of Vireo Tech is supposed to be super handsome."

I sneered to myself. Sure, he was good-looking, but that was literally his only redeeming quality.

On my way home, I bumped into Xander Gaines, the son of the lady next door.

Xander worked at a private hospital. He was always so gentle and well-mannered.

"Alicia, your medical report is ready. If you don't mind, I can bring it over next time I drop by," he said.

I thanked him quietly.

He kept glancing at me, like he wanted to say something but just couldn't get the words out.

I couldn't help but feel a bit awkward. His affection was pretty obvious, especially with Lyric. He acted like she was his own daughter.

Just last week, he even took Lyric to the amusement park.

I really needed to find a chance to set things straight with him.

Lyric was playing at Xander's mom's place across the hall.

As soon as I walked in, she didn't run to me. She dashed straight into Xander's arms, calling out in her sweet, clear voice. "Xander!"

Xander lifted her up and set her on his shoulders. At first glance, they really did look like father and daughter.

I quickly pulled Lyric down, made some small talk, and then headed home.

"Mommy, I really like Uncle Xander. It'd be so nice if he could be my daddy," Lyric said, her eyes shining with hope.

I fell quiet. Maybe Lyric really did need a father figure at home, just for her to grow up healthy.

The next day, we had a meeting at work, and all those rumors turned out to be true.

Justin himself was actually coming.

My heart skipped a beat. What if I ran into Justin? Was he going to try and take us back?

But I hadn't even been here a year yet, so I didn't have any paid vacation. Was I really supposed to call in sick just to dodge him?

It wasn't until I got home that night and saw Justin all over the entertainment news, rumored to be dating some actress, that it finally clicked for me.

Right. He couldn't stand us. He'd be thrilled if we just vanished. He would definitely pretend he didn't even know us.

I could finally relax.

Three days later, Justin walked right past me, not even sparing me a glance, like I was invisible. That just made me even more certain: he was going to keep pretending we didn't exist.

All day, I had a spring in my step and crushed my work. Nothing could slow me down.

But the moment I saw that familiar silhouette waiting downstairs, my good mood came crashing down.

I lowered my head, hugged my bag to my chest, and quickened my pace into the building.

Behind me, I heard slow, deliberate footsteps. My scalp prickled instantly.

There was no way I was going over to pick up Lyric, so I just headed straight home.

That tall figure squeezed in right behind me, forcing his way into my apartment.

The moment the door slammed shut, his hand clamped around my neck.

Justin's voice was cold and vicious in my ear.

He said, "Wow, Alicia, you really went that far? You faked your own death just to run away?"

His grip kept tightening, and my lungs were screaming for air.

Damn, this bastard was actually trying to kill me.

My face was flushed red as I clawed desperately at his hand. Suddenly, he let go.

Coughing and gasping for breath.

Once I finally caught my breath, I rushed to explain myself.

"Just hear me out. I didn't do it on purpose," I pleaded.

I recited the excuse I'd rehearsed a hundred times.