Chapter 23
Northon tapped the stereo, a faint hum filling the car, and asked with feigned lightness,
“So now that Diana Schuyler’s finally cornered and won’t be able to escape, what are you planning to do when they actually sentence her to death?”
Vivian turned to the window, her gaze drifting outside.
“I’ll probably go to a small coastal town. I made plans with my parents… we were supposed to go to the beach once the weather cooled down. But they didn’t live to see it, so I guess this is the only way left for me to take them to see the sea.”
She smiled faintly. “What about you?”
Northon was quiet for a moment.
“I don’t know.”
“My sister died when I was ten. It’s been over a decade-I can’t even remember what she looked like anymore, let alone
what her dreams were.”
“These past ten years, I’ve done nothing but study, start a business, work like hell to earn money… all just to stay alive
long enough to make sure she got justice. If Diana Schuyler really gets the death penalty, I’m not sure what I’m even living
for after that.”
Northon Shea-he was the younger brother of that intern Diana forced alcohol on, the one who died because of it.
He and his sister had depended on each other. After she passed, he survived on scraps and handouts, eventually clawing
his way to the top of the business world.
Maybe it was the bitterness of retracing every jagged step of that road that left him choking on his words.
Vivian gently laid her hand over his, hoping to pass on even the smallest fragment of strength.
“She will be sentenced to death. And you will find something to hope for.”
“Life is precious. We have to live well-for the ones who didn’t get the chance.”
Back when Vivian had left Charles Foster, the grief and rage nearly consumed her. She had almost lost the will to live.
There were countless nights when the same nightmare haunted her.
She would find herself atop a skyscraper that seemed to spear straight into the clouds.
Then she’d see her parents-shoved off the edge by a snarling Diana Schuyler,
They dangled from the ledge, knuckles white, screaming her name until their voices broke,
“Vivian-Vivian, help us!”
“Dad! Mom! Wait for me-
She would drop to her knees, reaching out with all her strength, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t catch them. She could only watch them fall.
She would crawl to Diana’s feet, begging desperately,
“Please, save my parents… I’ve already divorced Charles. Why won’t you just let us go?”
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Diana’s blood-red lips would curl into a sinister smile.
“Divorce isn’t your pardon, Vivian. You and Charles were a mistake from the start. Your parents died because you fell in love with him. So now… go die too!”
The sensation of falling in that dream always felt terrifyingly real.
Just as her body was about to hit the ground and shatter into pieces, Vivian would wake up screaming-drenched in cold sweat, heart hammering, the rest of the night swallowed by regret and tears.
During her darkest days, it was her godmother who held her hand.
She would gently stroke Vivian’s face-so like her mother’s-and speak softly of the past.
“Your mom worked for our family for over a decade. She was my best friend. When we moved to New York, I offered her a seven-figure salary to come with us. She insisted on staying-said she could never leave you behind.”
“You were only a teen when we left. I never imagined you’d grow up like this… If only your mom had come to New York with me, maybe none of this would’ve happened. Maybe… just maybe… she’d still be alive today…”
Just thinking about how kind her mother had been-and how tragic her end-brought tears pouring down Vivian’s face
again.
“It’s my fault… I trusted the wrong person. And Mom… she paid for my mistake with her life…”
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