Chapter 7

Elena POV

I instinctively stopped and hid in the shadows by the wall.

"Mr. Cross, we recovered the hotel restroom security footage."

Marcus's voice was low, but in the empty stairwell it was crystal clear.

"Miss White was the one who threw the acid on Mrs. Cross's hand. Also..."

Marcus hesitated, seeming to choose his words carefully.

"I rechecked the medical records from three years ago. Miss White's olfactory nerve atrophy is due to a hereditary genetic defect. It wasn't caused by falling down the stairs at all. Mrs. Cross... she really was wrongly accused."

I froze in place. Even my breathing stopped.

I gripped the corner of the wall so tightly my nails bent backward, but I couldn't feel the pain.

Through the crack in the door, I caught the scent of cigarette smoke.

Damien leaned against the stairwell wall, a cigarette between his fingers, the ember glowing and fading.

Half his face was hidden in shadow. I couldn't see his expression.

After a long silence, he exhaled a stream of smoke. His voice was cold, mechanical.

"So what?"

Those words stabbed into my heart like a knife.

"But Mrs. Cross's hands are destroyed. She'll never be able to create perfumes again. And she just miscarried. The doctor says she can never have children..."

There was a hint of sympathy in Marcus's voice.

"She brought it on herself."

Damien threw his cigarette on the ground and crushed it viciously with the toe of his expensive leather shoe.

"If she hadn't used her father's favor to force me into marriage and ruin all my plans, would she be in this situation today? Lily White is just an excuse."

He looked up, his eyes utterly merciless.

"I wanted her to know that forcing someone to give her something that doesn't belong to her comes with a price. Elena Rivers only deserves to rot in the gutter."

The stairwell door swung open. Damien strode away.

Marcus sighed and followed.

I leaned against the cold wall and slowly slid to the floor.

So that was it.

He knew everything.

He knew I didn't push Lily. He knew Lily's sense of smell wasn't my fault. He knew Lily staged the whole bathroom scene.

He just didn't care.

He simply hated me for marrying him.

Ten years of secret love. Three years of marriage. Countless days and nights of humble devotion. I'd even sacrificed a child and my own hands.

In his eyes, I'd brought it all on myself.

I covered my face. I didn't make a sound, but tears flooded from between my fingers like a bursting dam.

I was a complete and utter joke.

I once thought that if I tried hard enough, I could eventually warm his cold heart.

But I forgot, you cannot warm a stone. It will only freeze you to death.

I don't know how long I sat on the floor.

Then my phone suddenly vibrated in my pocket.

I numbly pulled out my phone. The screen displayed "City Central Hospital ICU."

That was the hospital where Jamie was.

I frantically pressed the answer button, my fingers trembling.

"Miss Rivers, you need to come here immediately. Your brother is in heart failure. He needs emergency bypass surgery right now. But Cross Corporation just froze your brother's medical account. Without payment for the surgery, we can't operate."

My mind exploded.

"I'm coming right now. Please save him. I swear I will get the money."

I hung up and ran downstairs.

I wasn't even wearing shoes. My feet were cut by broken glass in the hallway, leaving a trail of bloody footprints.