Chapter 5
Ethan walked in right after. He looked down at the unsent statement on her laptop screen, his usually carefree face icy cold. “Madison, do you really have to go this far?”
Madison’s face paled. Before she could speak, Ethan had already given a cold order.
“Smash it.”
The bodyguards immediately started destroying everything. A club came down directly on Madison’s laptop, shattering it instantly.
“No!”
Madison’s expression changed drastically. She struggled to get up and stop them but was held down firmly. She could only stare at Ethan in fury. “Ethan! What are you doing?!”
Ethan didn’t answer, just watched coldly as the bodyguards smashed Madison’s computer, phone, hard drives, every electronic device capable of storing data.
Then he crouched down, took out a tissue, and carefully wiped the tear stains from Madison’s face. He spoke calmly, “Madison, I’ve already cleared out your cloud storage. The actors from Mother have been paid off. From today on, there’s no way you can prove Mother was your work.”
Madison’s pupils dilated in disbelief. Her heart felt like it was bleeding, but she forced herself to hold back tears, speaking each word clearly, “All for Chloe?”
Ethan’s hand paused slightly. Finally, he said in a low voice, “She’s not well. She can’t handle the stress. I’m sorry.”
After saying that, he led his men away.
Madison was left kneeling alone in the wreckage of what had been her digital life, fingers scrambling through sharp plastic shards and torn circuitry as she desperately tried to resurrect the shattered laptop. It was useless.
Tears finally fell, drop by drop. That computer held not only her painstaking work from the past few years but also precious video records of her mother from her childhood that she had worked hard to find. But now, the computer was destroyed, the cloud storage emptied. Everything was gone…
Madison frantically tapped on the computer. The broken screen finally flickered, revealing a photo of her and Ethan together.
She froze, suddenly remembering, It was the short video montage she had edited of them recently. It documented all the sweet moments from their year together. She had planned to give it to Ethan as a birthday gift. But now…
Chapter 5
15.15%
Madison’s last tear fell. Then, without hesitation, she snapped the broken screen in half with her
hands!
It was over.
Ethan.
Everything between us… is over.
***
Graduation was imminent. The advertising department was preparing a stage play for the graduation ceremony. They decided on a modern adaptation of Snow White. Chloe, as the campus belle, was the undisputed choice for Snow White.
Unexpectedly, they threw the black witch’s costume at Madison. Her classmates laughed mockingly. “Madison, we’ve thought about it, and you’re perfect for the Evil Queen.”
“After all, the essence of the Evil Queen is her jealousy of Snow White. You’re so jealous of Chloe because of Ethan, so you’ll be playing yourself, right?”
Madison remained unmoved by their taunts. She simply threw the costume back and said flatly, “I’m going back to Southport tomorrow. I can’t participate in the graduation show.”
Madison was telling the truth. The next day, she packed her things and prepared to leave. Before departing, after some hesitation, she sent Ethan a text message.
[I’m going to the airport, heading back to Southport. Goodbye for good.]
The car soon arrived at the airport. But as soon as she got out, Madison remembered, the pen her mother had given her was still in her lock.
She’d forgotten to take it. Frustrated with her own carelessness, she turned back toward the curb and raised a hand to call the driver, but a heavy cloth was pressed over her mouth and nose from behind, the world tilting sharply before it went black.
