Chapter 95 Unveiling the Betrayal

Chapter 95 Unveiling the Betrayal
Ethan stood frozen in the middle of the hall, which suddenly felt far too vast. Emily's final words, I hate you, still hung in the air, seemingly choking the oxygen right out of his lungs.

Outside, the sharp night air stung the skin as the heavy mansion doors shut with a resounding thud.

"Emily, why does it have to be like this?" Ethan murmured under his breath.

Out there, River carefully placed the sleeping Louei into the backseat with the utmost gentleness.

"You little rascal, so you really are my nephew," River whispered, moved by the realization.

Emily quickly climbed into the back, pulling Louei into a tight embrace.

"Dry your tears, Emily," River said flatly as he closed the car door.

"You should be happy, River. We're finally back together after all this time. But wait ..." Emily turned sharply, her swollen eyes flashing with suspicion. "What were you doing at Ethan's house?"

River gripped the steering wheel. "I work for him."

"What?!" Emily shrieked, her voice shrill. "You work for Ethan? How is that even possible?"

"I stole a shipment of weapons he was supposed to sell to a client, and I got caught," River answered shortly.

Emily gasped, her breath hitching. "You’re insane! You know he’s a monster, River! What if he had killed you back then?"

"I know. And I almost did die at his hands," River replied quietly, staring straight ahead as he started the car and drove into the darkness.

Emily scoffed, a bitter laugh escaping her throat. "You have no idea, River! You don't know how he locked me up, dragged me to that cursed club, and threw me away from the world for the last six years! He destroyed my life!"

"That's impossible, Emily!" River’s voice rose, though he quickly lowered it to avoid waking Louei. "You’re dead wrong."

"Impossible? Why are you suddenly defending that demon?!"

River slammed on the brakes, turning to Emily with a gaze that could shatter anyone's defenses. "Because Ethan isn't the one behind your suffering. He’s the only man who fought the hardest against the idea of your death, Emily. For six years, he’s lived in hell just trying to find you."

Emily was stunned. "What ... what do you mean?"

River took a deep breath, trying to steady the turmoil in his chest. The car began to move slowly again, cutting through a night that now felt much heavier for Emily.

"Six years ago, Ethan was told you died falling into that ravine," River said in a low voice, raspy with bitter memories. "He went mad. He destroyed everyone involved, but he never stopped looking for you because he couldn't believe you were just gone. If he wanted to imprison you, he wouldn't have let himself waste away in guilt every single day."

Emily gripped her seatbelt. Her head was spinning. "Then who? Who took me there? Who paid those people to make sure I could never come back?"

River glanced at her through the rearview mirror. "Someone played a very clean game behind the scenes. Someone who wanted the two of you to destroy each other. Someone who knew exactly that Ethan’s greatest weakness is you, Emily."

Silence filled the cabin for a moment before River asked probingly, "Do you suspect someone? During your time in that place, did anyone come by... or maybe someone from your past who seems a little too 'clean' in all of this?"

Emily went silent. She stared blankly at the streetlights flickering past the window. Her memories drifted back to the time at the club the voices behind the door, and a faint but familiar scent of masculine cologne she had smelled the day she was kidnapped.

Slowly, Emily nodded.

"I ... I have one name in my head," Emily whispered hesitantly. Her voice trembled. "But it’s impossible. He was the person Ethan trusted most before all of this happened. Even saying his name feels like a betrayal."

River tightened his grip on the wheel. "In Ethan’s world, betrayal usually comes from those closest to him, Emily. Who is it?"

Emily turned to River, her eyes filled with uncertainty and fear. "If I’m wrong, I’ll destroy the only piece of my life I have left. But if I’m right ... then all this time, I’ve been trusting a monster far more cruel than Ethan."

"Is it ... Rudolf?" River asked coldly, as if the name had been sitting on the tip of his tongue for a long time.

Emily’s eyes widened, and her breath caught in her throat. She turned to River with stiff movements. "You ...? How could you think that?"

River didn't take his eyes off the road, but his jaw tightened. "Yeah, I’ve suspected him for a while. Rudolf is too clean in this mess, as if he had a much more sophisticated plan prepared."

Emily remained frozen, unable to believe that the suspicion she had buried deep in her heart was being voiced by her brother.

"That man hides too many secrets," River continued, his voice now as hard as stone. "Including his secret affair with Julia and the deal he made with the Limson family. They didn't just want Ethan’s downfall, Emily. They wanted you as a tool to control Ethan completely."

Emily leaned back into her seat, feeling weak as if all the bones in her body had been removed. "If that’s true," she said, her voice shaking, "... then for six years, I’ve hated the wrong person, while I cried in the arms of the person who actually sold me out?"

"That was their plan," River replied sharply. "To make you see Ethan as the monster, so you’d never notice the real devil standing right next to you."

Emily burst into tears instantly. Her shoulders shook violently, as if the entire weight of the last six years had come crashing down on her all at once.

"River ... why does my fate have to be this cruel? Why are the people I love the very daggers that stab me?"

River glanced at her with pity, but his voice remained firm. "That’s fate, Emily. It’s bitter and unpredictable. But listen to me, if you go back to Ethan’s side, you and Louei will be safe. Ethan has the power to build a wall around you that no one can penetrate."

"No!" Emily cut him off quickly, wiping her tears away harshly. "If I go back to him now, I’ll just be a prisoner again. I’ll never be able to move freely to find evidence of Rudolf’s crimes and Aunt Helena’s as well."

River hit the brakes a little harder than usual, causing the car to jerk. He turned fully toward Emily, his eyes narrowing in suspicion.

"Aunt Helena?" River repeated, his voice rising an octave. "What does that woman have to do with a scumbag like Rudolf?"