novelnext Chapter 18: She Won't Come Back
Chapter 18: She Won't Come Back
It wasn't until Mrs. Foster rushed in, ordering the bodyguards to disperse the crowd, that Ethan finally let go.
Emily, as if seeing a savior, crawled desperately toward Mrs. Foster, leaving a trail of blood behind her. Ignoring the pain, she begged hoarsely, "Mom, please, save me!"
"Shut up!" Mrs. Foster's face darkened.
In just one short hour, the internet had erupted into chaos. The Foster Group's reputation had collapsed entirely. Social media was flooded with outrage, and the company's phone lines were overwhelmed with calls. Partners demanded compensation, investors pulled out, all because of the woman now cowering at her feet.
"You dare ask me to save you?" Mrs. Foster spat. "If you hadn't pushed Sophia into the water, none of this would have happened! You've turned the Foster family upside down with your malice. A child born from someone as vile as you would be nothing but poison!"
Emily froze, tears glistening in her widened eyes.
Mrs. Foster turned to Ethan, her expression icy. "I won't interfere with the child. This matter is yours to handle."
Emily's heart turned to ash.
Without hesitation, Ethan summoned the bodyguards. They dragged Emily away despite her screams and struggles, straight to the hospital's operating room.
Cold terror wrapped around her like vines, pinning her to the table. As the anesthesia took effect, Emily let out a broken sob.
"Ethan Foster! I hate you!" she shrieked. "You never deserved love!"
Her curses left Ethan's face utterly devoid of warmth.
"Make sure," he ordered coldly, "that the child is completely gone."
Soon, her cries faded into silence.
Ethan stood in the hallway, his mind drowning in the memory of Sophia's despairing gaze. His legs gave out, and he slumped against the wall.
When the procedure ended, Emily sat on the hospital bed, her mind fractured. She curled into herself, laughing and weeping in turns.
Ethan entered the room and demanded, "What did you say to Sophia before you pushed her in?"
Emily's gaze sharpened suddenly, and a twisted smile curled her lips.
"I asked her," she whispered, voice dripping with venom, "if she wanted to see who truly mattered most to you."
Her laughter was shrill, unhinged. "It was me, Ethan! Me! You chose me without hesitation. Sophia must have been in agony, oh, how she must have suffered!"
Ethan's vision burned red.
The image of Sophia's shattered expression, her final, resolute departure, it choked him. His chest heaved, tears spilling as he glared at Emily with raw hatred.
"You deserve to die."
Emily didn't care anymore. "Maybe I do," she sneered. "But what about you, Ethan? Do you think you're innocent?"
"Even without me, without Emily, you would have betrayed her with someone else. Over and over. Your heart was never loyal."
"You're the one who hurt Sophia. You're the reason she left!"
Her laughter grew wilder. "She was smarter than both of us. She faked her death to escape you. Now you'll spend the rest of your life in torment, while she moves on, free of you forever!"
"Who knows?" Emily taunted. "Maybe she's already found a man who'll love her faithfully for the rest of her life."
Ethan's pupils dilated. He lunged, hands closing around Emily's throat. "Shut up!" he roared. "Sophia would never replace me! She loved me, she hated me because I failed her! If I just apologize, she'll come back!"
Emily, gasping for air, felt something like relief.
With her last breath, she choked out, "She... won't... come back."
Ethan flung her aside and stormed out, but her words echoed in his skull.
She won't come back.
She won't come back.
His Sophia, the woman he loved beyond reason, would never return.
At the stairwell, Ethan clutched his head as agony seared through him. Then,
His foot slipped.
A sharp cry. A heavy thud.
"Someone fell down the stairs!"
"Call for help, now!"