chapter 134
Robert's POV:
The sterile smell of disinfectant had become my constant companion these past weeks, seeping into my clothes, my hair, my very soul.
I stood outside Rebecca's private room at St. Mary's Hospital, watching through the narrow window as lawyers shuffled papers around her bed.
She'd just finished signing the will.
The lawyers filed out, avoiding my eyes with practiced discretion. One cleared his throat. "Mrs. Sterling requests a moment alone with you, Mr. Sterling."
My hand trembled slightly as I reached for the door handle. Years of marriage, and it still felt like approaching a judge for sentencing.
Rebecca lay propped against pristine white pillows, a shadow of the formidable woman who'd once commanded boardrooms with a single raised eyebrow. The illness had carved away at her like water against stone, leaving behind sharp angles where soft curves used to be.
Her eyes, though—those calculating green eyes remained unchanged.
"Robert." Her voice came out as a rasp. "Come closer."
I moved to the bedside chair, maintaining a careful distance. Close enough to hear her labored breathing, far enough to avoid the reach of those manicured nails.
"Do you still love me, Robert?" The question hung in the recycled hospital air like a blade waiting to drop.
I studied her face—the hollow cheeks, the paper-thin skin stretched over prominent bones. Once, she'd been beautiful in the way poisonous flowers are beautiful. Now, she looked like what she'd always been underneath: something toxic, dying from its own venom.
A bitter smile tugged at my lips. "I never loved you, Rebecca."
Her pupils contracted to pinpricks, a flush of color staining her pallid cheeks.
"How dare you—" She struggled to sit up, monitors beeping in protest. "If you didn't love me, why did you marry me? Why did you play the devoted husband all these years, catering to my every whim?"
"You want the truth?" I leaned back in the uncomfortable chair, feeling strangely liberated by her weakness.
No more pretenses. No more games. "I married you because you threatened Scarlett and Elena. Two innocent lives held hostage by your family's money and connections. What choice did I have?"
The monitors' beeping accelerated with her heart rate. "That's a lie! Scarlett was nothing but a—"
"A wonderful woman who made the mistake of loving me." I cut her off, my voice steady despite the old pain her name still evoked. "And as for playing the devoted husband? Every smile, every anniversary gift, every public display of affection—it was all to keep you satisfied. To keep Elena safe from your vindictiveness."
Rebecca's breathing became erratic, tears and laughter mixing in a disturbing symphony. "She didn't love you! Scarlett had an affair. I'm the one who truly loves you."
My chest tightened at the memory.
"We were a happy family! A beautiful, normal family until you destroyed everything!" The words erupted from somewhere deep.
"Yes, we had problems. But we loved each other. We were working through it, growing together. "
"But you killed her." The words came out flat, emotionless. "You lured her out with some fabricated emergency, and you orchestrated that car accident with surgical precision. "
"You can't prove—"
"I don't need to prove it. We both know what you did." I met her gaze steadily. "You orchestrated everything with sickening precision. First, you set me up—that night at the Sterling charity gala when you drugged my drink and staged those compromising photos. Then you claimed to be pregnant, using that lie to destroy my marriage from within."
My voice grew colder with each word. "After you murdered Scarlett, you held Elena's safety over my head like a sword. 'Such a shame when children have accidents at school.' 'Little girls can disappear so easily.' Every threat, every implied danger—I remember them all."
I leaned forward, letting years of suppressed hatred color my words. "And you still dare to speak of love? You, who turned my daughter's life into a bargaining chip? Someone like you doesn't deserve love, Rebecca. You're incapable of it. All you understand is possession, control, and cruelty."
Rebecca's face contorted, shifting from shock to pure, unhinged fury.
Her carefully maintained composure shattered like glass. "How dare you—HOW DARE YOU!" She tried to lunge forward but the IVs and monitors held her back. "Everything I did was for you! For us! I saved you from that pathetic little—"
"You saved no one!" I stood abruptly, the chair scraping against the floor. "If it weren't for Elena, I would have followed Scarlett that very night she died. The only thing that kept me breathing was knowing my daughter needed protection from you."
I moved toward the door, then paused, looking back at her withered form.
"But now you're finally dying. Elena won't be under threat anymore. She has Sebastian to protect her, a real family that loves her."
A strange peace settled over me. "And I... I can finally go to Scarlett. To beg for her forgiveness for all the years I failed to save her, failed to protect what we had."
Rebecca's face contorted with rage, her frail body shaking. "Then why... why have you been here every single day, never leaving my side even when—"
Her words cut off abruptly, eyes widening with a terrible realization.
The monitors beside her bed began beeping faster. "My illness... the kidney failure that came out of nowhere..." Her voice dropped to a horrified whisper. "What did you do to me, Robert?"
I remained silent, neither confirming nor denying. There was no point now.
"The company," I said instead, my tone businesslike. "The one you asked me to manage temporarily while you were hospitalized? I've liquidated everything. The real estate holdings, the investment portfolio, the subsidiary companies—all sold."
"You couldn't have—the board would never—"
"The board members you trusted were surprisingly easy to convince once they saw the forensic accounting reports I'd been preparing. Years give a man time to document many interesting transactions."
I adjusted my cufflinks, a gesture as automatic as breathing. "The proceeds have been divided between various children's charities and Elena's trust fund. The Sterling empire you were so proud of no longer exists."
Rebecca's face turned purple with fury, spittle flying from her cracked lips. "You'll burn in hell for this, Robert! You think you'll find peace? You'll die alone and miserable, haunted by what you've done! God will—"
"God?" I laughed, the sound hollow in the sterile room. "If God cared about justice, Scarlett would still be alive."
The heart monitor beside her bed erupted into chaos—wild, erratic spikes racing across the screen. Rebecca clutched at her chest, her mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. No words came, only strangled gasps.
Then, as suddenly as it began, the frantic beeping transformed into a single, continuous tone.
Flat line.
I stood slowly, straightening my jacket. Without a backward glance, I walked out of the room.