Chapter 3

Layla jolted upright in bed, yanking up her shirt and checking herself all over, terrified that those swarming centipedes might still be crawling on her.

Charles said, watching her panicked actions and immediately wrapping her in his arms to comfort her, "It's alright. They're all gone.

"I already checked you, and so did the doctor. Honey, why didn't you tell me about the burns on your leg?"

Layla completely broke down, sobbing her heart out.

Charles gently patted her back, soothing her nonstop. "It's all my fault, honey. I never should've locked you in the basement.

"I had no idea there'd be bugs down there, and I know how much you hate them. This is on me. I've already had the staff fumigate the entire villa. There won't be a single bug left, I promise."

Layla clung to his shirt, her voice trembling with tears. "Charles, we've been living in this villa for three years. How could there be so many centipedes? Did you ever stop to think about that?"

Charles sighed, "Maybe the staff got lazy. We never go down to the basement, so they probably skipped cleaning it."

"It was Olivia," Layla insisted, making one last desperate plea. "She was the one who put those centipedes there."

Charles stopped patting her hand and slowly pushed her away.

He looked at her with a strange, distant expression. "Layla, Olivia really called it. You can't stop blaming her. Do you realize those centipedes are poisonous?

"Where would Olivia get banned, venomous centipedes in the middle of the night?"

Layla's tears slowly dried up, and her heart turned to ice. She should've never let herself hope for Charles again.

Once her emotions finally calmed down, Layla realized the pain in her calf was the beginning.

Every spot the centipedes had bitten, her thighs, her back, her skin felt like it was falling apart, the itch driving her insane.

Her hand moved to scratch at the wounds, but Charles stopped her.

Charles's voice was flat and distant. "The doctor said you can't scratch."

Layla endured the burning pain in her leg, the unbearable itch crawling over her skin, and the icy emptiness in her heart. She sat there in silence with Charles, the air between them heavy and cold.

After taking her meds, Layla finally got a bit of rest.

But it didn't last. She was woken up by urgent knocking at the door.

The maid rushed in and quietly warned, "Mrs. Sterling, you need to come downstairs right now. Olivia messed up your mom's memorial plaque."

Layla struggled to get up, every step sending stabbing pain through her injured calf, like she was walking on blades. She was drenched in sweat from the pain.

When she got downstairs, she saw her mother's memorial plaque, which had its own room, now broken in two and thrown on the floor.

Layla rushed over and grabbed the pieces off the ground.

She glared at Olivia and demanded angrily, "What's going on here?"

Olivia shrugged, feigning innocence. "Charles said the villa needed to be fumigated, no bugs allowed, so I had to drag the staff around and check every corner. I happened to knock it over. Oops, my bad."

Layla glared at her, refusing to believe a word. "This plaque is solid wood. You really expect me to believe it broke like this from dropping it once? You did this on purpose."

Olivia leaned in close, whispering coldly in Layla's ear, "Of course, I did it on purpose. What are you going to do about it? I ran your mom down on purpose.

"What does a street cleaner know about morals? Hey, actually, when I hit your damn mother, her body split in two, like this plaque. I thought I'd help you relive that moment."

Layla's slap rang out, landing hard on Olivia's cheek. Her eyes were blazing red, her body shaking with anger.

'She really killed my mom on purpose,' Layla realized.

"Olivia, are you okay?" Charles rushed in from the doorway.

He yanked Layla away, his voice full of fury. "Layla, how dare you hit her?"

Layla wiped her tears away and spat out angrily, "She killed my mom on purpose, smashed her memorial plaque, and dishonored her. She deserved far worse than a slap."

She wished she could end Olivia right here.

Olivia cried, clutching her face, her voice trembling with indignation and panic, "No, that's not true. How could I ever kill her on purpose? Layla, you can't accuse me like that.

"I was worried about bugs, and it fell when I was checking. I never meant any disrespect to your mother."

Layla sneered, her eyes full of contempt. She knew that unless Charles heard those cruel things Olivia said for himself, he'd never believe her.

She glared at Olivia, almost as if casting a curse, and said coldly, "You'll pay for this."

Olivia collapsed to the floor, crying out, "It's all my fault, I'm to blame. I'm guilty. I never should've driven drunk."

As she spoke, she slapped herself over and over, tears streaming down her face. "You were right to slap me."

"Enough," Charles snapped, pulling Olivia up roughly.

He pulled Olivia behind him, shooting Layla a hostile glare. "It's a piece of wood. Is that really worth slapping her over?"

"A piece of wood?" Layla clutched her mother's broken memorial plaque, shouting, "This is my mother's memorial plaque."

Charles scoffed, his voice cold and indifferent, "It's something from the dead. Keeping it in the house is bad luck anyway. I let you have it before, but that's no reason to make trouble for Olivia."

A dead person's thing?

Layla scanned the room, her gaze lingering on every corner. She'd always believed this was her sanctuary, a place meant to shelter her and her family. But she'd been mistaken.

Layla stumbled into the small room, collected her mother's ashes, and prepared to leave.

"Stop," Charles shouted, a strange panic tightening in his chest as he saw her heading for the door. "Where are you going?"

Layla gave a cold laugh. "You think it's bad luck? Fine, I'll take my mother's things and make room for you and Olivia."

Charles had originally wanted to be gentle, hoping to persuade her not to leave.

But as soon as Layla brought up Olivia, and he saw Olivia looking all pitiful, his mood soured. Frustrated, he snapped, "You hit her, and now you think you can walk out?"

Layla turned her head, her gaze so cold, as if she were looking at a complete stranger. "What do you want?"

Layla's defiant glare made Charles snap instantly.

Charles glared at her, his voice icy. "Apologize to Olivia."

Layla gritted her teeth. "What if I refuse? Are you going to throw me in the basement again?"

Charles was left speechless by her retort. He strode over, grabbed the urn with Layla's mother's ashes, and threatened, "If you don't apologize to Olivia, I'll smash your mother's ashes right here."

"No, Charles," Layla cried out, frantically reaching for it, but she was much shorter than he was, and with her injured leg, she couldn't get close.

Charles lifted the urn high, out of her reach. "I'm counting to three. One, two..."

Layla no longer doubted it. Charles was capable of doing the most insane things for Olivia, and nothing was off limits anymore.

With her heart breaking, she surrendered. "Alright, I'll apologize."

Layla turned to Olivia, forcing the words out. "I'm sorry."

Olivia rolled her eyes. "Is that supposed to be an apology? Seriously?"

Layla took a deep breath, bent over, and bowed low. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have hit you."

Olivia stood there, unmoved, her gaze fixed on the urn Charles held high. Layla's nails dug so deeply into her flesh.

Layla squeezed her eyes shut, a tear of pure despair slipping down her face. In front of the murderer who took her mother, she bowed three times.

The moment she finished her bowing, she felt something inside her shatter for good.

Charles instinctively stepped forward. He hadn't expected to humiliate her.

Olivia covered her mouth, pretending to be shocked. "Oh wow, I got mad for a second. Nobody's ever slapped me before. But I never wanted her to bow so many times. Charles, come on, help her get up."

Olivia looked like she was pleading, but in reality, she was egging things on.

Charles's brief moment of sympathy disappeared.

He sneered, "If a pampered heiress like you can bow after getting slapped for nothing, then why shouldn't a broke girl who can't afford her own medical bills bow? Let her stay there and reflect on her mistakes."

Charles turned to leave, but Layla caught hold of his pant leg. He figured she was about to beg him for forgiveness.

But her eyes were brimming with grief, and she simply said, "Give me my mother's ashes."

Olivia tried to intervene, but something unexpectedly softened inside Charles.

He handed the urn over to Layla without another word, awkwardly making up an excuse to leave. "Don't block the hallway. Go back to your room."