Chapter 3
"There's something stitched inside her clothes," the servant added.
Everett took it and unwrapped it, layer by layer.
When he saw what was inside, his wine glass fell to the ground and shattered.
Inside the sealed plastic bag were only two things. They were a ring and a letter.
The ring was the one he gave me when he proposed.
Now it was stained with something dark and red, making it look downright nasty.
Everett's lips pressed into a thin line as he asked, "Why bring me this rusty piece of trash? You think I'd ever want something this dirty again?"
I drifted frantically and desperately to tell him, "That's not rust.
"That's my blood. Gideon chopped off my finger, and that's what stained it."
Everett picked up the letter, and he was visibly stunned when he saw my handwriting.
He used to always beg me to write love letters, saying my handwriting looked good.
When I was locked up, every time I tried to run, Gideon would hack off one of my fingers.
In the end, I barely had three fingers left. Just holding a pen was almost impossible.
I forced myself to write this letter with what was left of my hand, every word pure agony.
As long as he finished reading, he would understand everything.
It read, "Everett, if you're reading this, I'm probably already..."
Just then, Rowena came over.
She said, "Everett, now that you're back on your feet, Liora's just trying to play the sympathy card and get you to go soft on her.
"Back then, she thought you would be paralyzed for the rest of your life, so she abandoned you. Now she's suddenly pretending to care?"
Everett's face instantly darkened.
He crumpled the letter up out of spite and threw it into the drawer.
He snapped, "It's been five years. Liora, you're still trying to mess with me using this crap?"
My heart went cold. Everett almost figured out that I was already dead.
There was a stir in the guest room. The house doctor was in there, checking over Celeste.
Soon, the doctor came out. He couldn't help but gasp.
He said, "Everett, she got bruises all over her. She's so skinny her ribs are sticking out. It's obvious she's been starving for ages."
Everett's face darkened as he asked, "Liora actually abused you? Is she crazy?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Celeste, who was huddled in the corner of the bed, shook her head frantically.
"It wasn't my mommy who hit me," she cried out.
She sobbed, "My mommy never hit me. It was the bad guy who hit her.
"He pinned my mommy to the ground and beat her with a stick, whipped her."
Celeste hugged herself in fear, her whole little body shaking.
"I wanted to help her, but I couldn't pull him off. She told me to run," she whispered.
Everett was stunned, frozen in place.
Celeste's words were so genuine. There was no way she was lying.
Seeing his stunned expression like that, a tiny spark of hope flickered in my heart.
Did he finally have some doubts?
But Rowena let out an exaggerated gasp, covering her mouth.
She said, "Everett, Liora actually had an affair right in front of her kid, messing around with another man.
"She must've been caught by her lover, the one she ran off with years ago, and that's why she told Celeste to run. She is too shameless."
With just a few twisted words, she turned my tragic death into nothing more than a sordid scandal.
Everett's eyes were scarlet, nothing left but fury and shame.
He glared at Celeste with utter contempt and snapped, "Shut up. Don't you dare bring up your mom again.
"She's just a slut. She's nothing without a man!"
The next morning, Rowena's screams rang out in the villa.
Everett heard the sound and rushed over. He saw her holding up a pair of high heels.
There were several silver needles jabbed into the soles.
Rowena exclaimed, "Everett, I almost got my foot pierced putting these on just now."
She pointed at Celeste, who was hiding in the corner, and said, "I saw her hanging around my shoe cabinet yesterday, acting all suspicious."
Celeste shook her head desperately, pleading, "No, it wasn't me. I didn't."
Rowena played the victim, crying her eyes out. "It must be you. Even at your age, you're already causing trouble. No wonder, you're Liora's daughter through and through."
Everett's eyes darkened as he snapped, "Be honest, was this you?"
"It was really not me. My mommy always said I'm a good girl," Celeste whimpered, shrinking back.
Everett yanked her arm hard and yelled, "How dare you lie?
"So this is what Liora taught you? Playing these cheap tricks? You are the same as your bitch mom!"
I watched this, my heart twisting in agony.
Celeste wouldn't even step on an ant. How could she do such a thing?
Rowena lowered her head, hiding a smug grin, but she put on a show of concern as she said, "Everett, you really need to teach a lesson to this kid.
"Maybe Liora is just jealous of me being by your side all these years, so she's sending this kid to bully me."
Everett locked Celeste in the basement and ordered coldly, "Stay here and reflect on your behavior."