Chapter 4

Shelby stood in the middle of the room, surveying the chaos around her with a look of satisfaction.

She turned around and spotted Georgina, a flash of surprise crossing her face. "Georgina, what brings you here?

"Oh, I bet you're mad at me for getting rid of the memorial tablet?

"I can pay you for it. How about two hundred bucks? That's fair, right?"

As she talked, she whipped out her phone and tapped away. "Go check. I've already transferred you the money."

Smack!

Georgina stepped forward and slapped Shelby right across the face.

Shelby grabbed her cheek, staring at Georgina in shock. "How dare you hit me?"

Georgina rolled her eyes. "It's not the first time. Of course I dare."

Georgina pulled out a gun, cocked it, and aimed straight at Shelby. "And this time, I'm going further than just a slap."

Just then, a cold voice cut through the tension from the doorway. "Georgina, what the hell do you think you're doing?"

Georgina whipped around. Zachary was standing in the doorway, a storm brewing in his eyes, his glare as dark and dangerous as ever.

"Shelby!" He rushed over and pulled Shelby into his arms.

His fingers traced softly along Shelby's cheek, his eyes darkening as he asked, "Did Georgina hit you? What happened?"

Shelby leaned into his embrace, tears welling up as she poured out the whole story.

The more she talked, the darker Zachary's expression grew.

"Georgina, I did this for you, you know. Sometimes we have to let the past go and look ahead," Shelby said.

"God spoke to me. As long as I give my child peace, Mikey will be reborn as my baby. Isn't that the best for both of us?" Shelby added.

Georgina had reached her limit; she couldn't stand hearing another word.

Bang! A bullet whizzed past Shelby's cheek, slamming into the wall behind her.

"You think a homewrecker like you deserves to be the mother of my child?" Georgina snapped.

Zachary shielded Shelby behind him, his expression icy. "Georgina, are you really going this far for the memorial tablet?"

"Really, Zachary? To you it's just a memorial tablet?" Georgina shot back, her voice shaking. "Do you even remember Mikey?

"Do you remember the day you chose this room? You promised—Mikey was your firstborn, that you'd never forget him. You said that as long as you lived, you'd look after the memorial tablet."

She leveled the gun at Zachary's forehead. "Well, the memorial tablet is destroyed. Does that mean you can die too?"

In the next moment, a squad of bodyguards stormed into the room.

Each one raised their gun, all of them trained on Georgina.

Georgina scanned the room—bodyguards now encircled her, completely cutting her off from Zachary.

She was all on her own, outnumbered and hopelessly outmatched. No way she could stand against them.

Zachary held Shelby close, his handsome face turning cold as ice. "Shelby, why won't you ever just listen?

"You've blown this way out of proportion. You're making things really tough for me here. Just give it a rest, okay?"

Georgina gave a chilling laugh.

Backing down wasn't in her DNA.

She leveled her gun at Zachary, finger tightening on the trigger.

But a figure darted in front of her—then came a sickening snap of bones breaking.

When she snapped out of it, she was already slammed to the ground by the bodyguards, both her shoulders wrenched out of place. She couldn't hold a gun now. Hell, she couldn't even grip a knife.

Georgina glared up at Zachary, her eyes full of fury. "You happy now? You've wrecked my hands."

Zachary froze for a second.

Georgina's eyes were red from tears, and she was shaking all over. Somehow she felt unfamiliar to him at that moment.

Zachary's expression softened. He instructed the bodyguards, "Take her home. Get the best doctor to check her out."

Just as the bodyguards hauled Georgina up, Shelby spotted a drawer where the memorial tablet was placed.

When she saw a white urn sitting inside, her eyes turned icy and ruthless.

Shelby grabbed the urn and smashed it straight onto the ground.

With a loud crash, the urn shattered, blasting ashes all over the place.

Before Georgina could even react, Shelby had already dropped to her knees, frantically gathering up the broken pieces.

Her voice shook as she apologized to Mr. Kane, "I'm so sorry. Georgina really scared me today. My hands were shaking so badly. I couldn't help it."

Her panicked, humble, and aggrieved expression made Zachary frown.

He bent down, gently helping Shelby to her feet. "It's okay. You didn't mean it. Don't cry."

"Zachary, those are Mikey's ashes!" Georgina cried out.

When she lost Mikey, he was already eight months old.

Georgina had clung to Mikey the whole night, sobbing. She made sure Mikey had his own funeral.

His ashes have rested in this room ever since.

"I didn't forget, Georgina. Of course I remember—that's Mikey's ashes," Zachary replied.

"You know exactly how much blood is on your hands. Honestly, it's probably a mercy that Mikey never made it into this world," he added.