The last time she’d been thrown into the river, the water closed over her head, and the agony of suffocation sent Jeannette into a panicked struggle. She clawed her way to Eddy’s feet, clinging to his legs as she wept, her voice trembling. “Eddy, I know I was wrong. Please, I’m sorry! I’ll never dare harbor those thoughts again!”
She sobbed harder, desperation leaking from every word. “Please, for Lara’s sake–she’s your daughter, I gave birth to her for you. Can’t you forgive me?”
Lara, terrified to see her mother bullied, let out a wail and flung herself between them, trying to shield Jeannette. “Daddy, please don’t hurt Mommy…
“Enough. From now on, don’t ever call me Daddy again.” Eddy’s voice was cold as marble. “Take this child to an orphanage. I never want to see her again.”
“Eddy, Lara is your own flesh and blood!” Jeannette cried out in disbelief.
“My own daughter?” His eyes were icy, devoid of warmth. “So what?”
“If it weren’t for my wife’s frail health and her wish for a daughter, do you think I’d have let you keep the child?”
“My wife’s gone now. What use do I have for a daughter?”
Jeannette stared at him, eyes wide with shock. “So everything you did was for her–for your wife?”
“You were only with me because of her? You had a child with me for her sake?” The memory of the feelings she’d once had for Eddy now seemed laughable, cruelly so. “But Lara was born four years ago. I’ve been with you for five years–you even arranged for me to work right under your wife’s nose, just so we could be together every day. You cared so much for Lara. Are you really telling me you never felt a thing for either of us?” Her words were anguished, like knives digging into his chest.
His wife’s recent strange behavior had started the moment Jeannette began working at the villa.
It was all Jeannette’s fault.
Jeannette thought she saw a flicker of doubt cross his face. She collapsed at his feet, clutching at him desperately. “Eddy, your wife isn’t coming back. I’m younger, I’m healthier–let me stay with you. Let me be the one by your side.”
21-51
Eddy looked down at her, his expression lofty, detached, as if gazing at something. pitiful. “My wife will come back. She has to.”
At his signal, the guards stepped forward, pulling Jeannette and Lara apart. Their fingers slipped from each other’s grasp, and both mother and daughter broke down, their cries tearing through the room.
“Daddy, please–Daddy, don’t-!”
“Eddy, I’m begging you, let me go…I know I was wrong!”
Their desperate screams left Eddy untouched, his heart cold and unmoved.
They were the ones who’d distracted him, who’d taken his attention away.
If he’d only spent more time with his wife, he would have noticed something was wrong. She would never have discovered the truth, never have gotten hurt.
Their sins were unforgivable.
As Jeannette and Lara were about to be dragged out the door, Eddy spoke at last.
“Wait.”
They clung to each other, hope flickering in their eyes as they struggled free of the guards‘ grip.
Half an hour later, a livestream shot to the top of the charts, outpacing every other broadcast. Within minutes, the viewership climbed from tens of thousands to millions, then tens of millions, even surpassing a hundred million online.
On screen, Eddy sat on the living room sofa, impeccably dressed in a sharp suit, yet visibly haggard, with emotion threatening to spill from his weary eyes.
At his feet knelt Jeannette, clutching Lara, while Ingrid stood nearby, holding a massive life insurance policy.
Eddy spoke slowly, his voice thick with regret. “Darling, I’m sorry. I didn’t know she provoked you, or that she lied to you. If I’d known, I never would have let them near you, never would have let you get hurt.”
In unison, Ingrid and Jeannette echoed the apology. “We were wrong. We’ll never do it again.”
Eddy pressed on, voice nearly breaking. “I know I’ve committed an unforgivable sin. I can’t ask for your forgiveness, but I promise I’ll change. I won’t let you get hurt ever again.”
I
“You’re upset, and you don’t want to see me. I understand, and I won’t look for you.”
21
“But you’re out there alone Healy and I are both worried sine Healy’s been crying for you all day she’s lost her voice”
“I’m begging you, just call us, please? Let Healy hear your voice. Just let us you’re safe.”
Eddy’s public apology was as good as admitting the rumors of his betrayal that had been dominating the trending searches
His image as a devoted husband shattered instantly, sending shockwaves throughout the internet.
The livestream was shared endlessly, the video spreading everywhere online
Meanwhile, at a research facility far away, Blanche was undergoing a thorough checkup by a team of top medical specialists.
“For a genetic test, we’ll need samples from both parents. We’ll need the father’s blood as well,” the doctor explained.
Blanche’s tone was calm, almost indifferent. “There’s no need for the father’s blood. I have a family history of heart disease–just run the tests on me.”
The doctor drew up a detailed treatment plan.
After returning to her office, Blanche frowned at the sight of an unfinished file labeled ‘elimination protocol. As her fingers touched the keyboard, miles away, in the midst of the Novandria broadcast, a phone using Blanche’s SIM card suddenly
began to ring.
Eddy answered it instantly, and off–camera, a team of investigators activated a signal trace.
With hope in his voice, Eddy spoke into the phone, “Darling, I knew you couldn’t bear to leave me.”
A moment later, a cloud of thick smoke erupted, swallowing the entire livestream in
an instant.
