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Chloe clung to that, like it was her last lifeline.
She shoved all the chat screenshots, audio recordings, and transfer records into Ethan’s face.
Chloe felt a surge of relief. She’d been smart enough to keep the receipts.
The more Ethan read, the darker his face got. The contents? They completely blew his mind.
His mom spilled all his secrets, taught Chloe exactly how to hook him, and even how to set me up…
Even the “healing ritual” scam-his mom fed Chloe the whole ancestral punishment story, and Chloe ran with it, using it to completely manipulate him.
Ethan slammed his fist into the desk, and blood instantly erupted!
His “clever” game, his delusion of being in control? A joke. He was nothing but a pawn, dancing on someone else’s strings.
Volcanic rage boiled in his eyes. His face was livid, a terrifying mask.
Chloe broke the heavy silence, her voice trembling.”Mr. Carter, I swear it wasn’t me. Can I please leave now?”
Ethan’s eyes snapped up, colder than a tomb.
Then he cracked a smile. A terrifying, chilling sight.
“You really think so?”
He didn’t waste another breath on Chloe. He simply gestured, and his bodyguards lunged, dragging her out.
Moments later, agonizing screams tore through the air from outside.
Chloe was locked in the sauna, the temperature cranked straight to 175°F. Her skin seared instantly, turning fiery red and bubbling with blisters.
But that was just the beginning. Next, she was forced onto a donor chair, and they drained 1200cc of blood from her.
Just as she was barely clinging to life, a bodyguard drove a car right over her legs, crushing those long legs she was so proud of into pulp.
Chloe screamed desperately, then blacked out from the agony.
“Get a doctor,” Ethan ordered coldly. “Don’t let her die. She’s still useful.”
He intended to personally drag Chloe to apologize to her once he found her.
After he was done with Chloe, Ethan drove to the old mansion.
In the living room, Mrs. Carter Sr. was trimming lilies. She elegantly snipped off a withered flower, muttering, “If it’s old, it should be thrown away.”
She seemed to be in a good mood, even humming a little tune. Then she turned around, only to suddenly meet Ethan’s grim stare.
Mrs. Carter Sr. stumbled back, startled. She quickly collected herself, plastering on a forced smile. “Ethan, you nearly gave me a heart attack! Why didn’t you even say hello?”
Ethan wasn’t in the mood for pleasantries. He cut straight to it.”You hired Chloe to break up Luna and me, didn’t you?”
Mrs. Carter’s heart lurched. She started to protest, but Ethan just slammed the evidence down in front of her, then
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played the recording.
Mrs. Carter’s face drained of color. She stammered, unable to form a single word
“Mom, why?” Ethan’s dark eyes clouded with raw agony. “Why would you destroy my happiness?”
Knowing there was no denying it, Mrs. Carter just let go, all pretense crumbling. “Yes, I did it” she spat. “I couldn stand that bitch, Luna. How could she ever be good enough for you?”
Ethan bit his lip, his voice raw and ragged.”Did you forget? She stayed by your hospital bed for a month, day and night, barely sleeping. When your kidneys failed, Luna didn’t even hesitate-she gave you one of hers! We couldn’t even think about having kids for five years because of what she did for you…”
Mrs. Carter Sr. wrung her hands, then her gaze snapped up, defiant. “I know all that! So what? I still hate her! You used to love me so much, didn’t you, your own mother? But the second she showed up, your whole heart just… went to her. I hate her for stealing you away from me!”
Ethan froze.
He’d always assumed his mother looked down on Luna because of her humble background. But this? This wasn’t just ridiculous, it was… absurd.
“Ethan,” Mrs. Carter Sr. continued, her voice dripping with self-pity, “your dad died so young. It was just us, remember? You and me, against the whole world. You were my whole life. You promised you’d always be with your mom, forever! But the second you got married, your heart just… completely went to that bitch…”
Ethan’s eyes widened, a maelstrom of disbelief and raw grief swirling within them. He felt like he was truly seeing his own mother for the very first time in his life. “So you treated Luna that way… all because you were terrified of losing
me?”
“No… you don’t love me. You just want to control me.”
Ethan squeezed his eyes shut, his lashes trembling violently.
After a long moment, he finally opened them. His gaze was utterly cold, his voice like ice.
“Mom, you need to calm down. This house isn’t good for you. Go to a temple.”
Mrs. Carter Sr.’s eyes widened, disbelief flashing. “You’re going to lock me up again for Luna? Just like six years ago!”
Ethan didn’t answer. He just walked out, leaving his mom’s screams and sobs behind him.
He drove straight to the cemetery, kneeling before Luna’s mother’s grave.
He really regretted it. So much.
If he’d only stuck to his gut from the beginning, if he hadn’t chased thrills… would his mom have ever manipulated him? Would Luna have left him, her heart dead?
A sudden wave of hate washed over him. He hated his mom. Hated Chloe. But most of all, he hated himself.
It was all his fault. Every damn bit of it. He’d lost his beloved Luna.
Ethan clung to Luna’s mother’s grave, sobbing like a lost child.
He could get revenge on Chloe and his mother for all the hell they’d put him through. But the life he’d taken from Luna? How could he ever make that right?
“Mom, just tell me. What am I supposed to do?”
“Mom, do you think Luna will ever forgive me?”
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Clan Maps fre
The cemetery was dead silent, broken only by Ethan’s agonizing sobs.
He knelt in the rain for three days and three nights, until he passed out from a soaring fever
He came to, his secretary standing by the hospital bed.
“Mr. Carter, another minute and you would’ve had pneumonia.”
Ethan tried to speak, but he couldn’t stop coughing, feeling like he was going to cough up a lung He clutched his aching chest, his voice raspy and weak.”Find Luna. Whatever it takes. Spare no expense…”
