Chapter 110
"I thought I was part of the Sharp family. I thought I was your brother." David's voice cracked, every word dripping with pain. "But what am I really? Just a toy you wanted as a kid. You got bored playing alone, so your mother brought me back like a well-trained dog."
He pointed at the photos, his voice suddenly rising. "And now, she murdered my biological parents! She wiped out everyone around me—didn't leave a single one alive!"
Lucas sat frozen on the couch. Looking at David's disfigured face, at the despair and hatred in his eyes, he felt like a knife had been driven through his chest. He wanted to deny it, to argue, but the evidence in the photos, the schedules his assistant confirmed—everything pointed to one brutal truth.
He looked at David, something lodged in his throat, unable to make a sound.
David turned his face away, refusing to look at him anymore.
He walked to the window and pushed it open. The icy night wind rushed in.
He didn't speak again, just stood with his back to Lucas like a weathered statue.
Lucas stood and walked over to stand behind David.
Twenty years of brotherhood, now reduced to manipulation and betrayal. What right did he have to even touch him?
Outside the window, the night was pitch black. David slowly turned around, walked to the coffee table, and picked up the photos one by one.
His fingertips traced his parents' blurred faces. His chest felt hollow.
He stood, carefully gathering the photos and tucking them into his inner pocket.
……
Juliana was waiting for Lucas in the living room.
When she saw him come in, pale as a ghost, she didn't ask anything. She just walked over and gently patted his back.
"He told me everything." Lucas spread out the photos David had shown him on the coffee table.
Juliana looked at the two bodies lying in the mud, and the blurred images of several dead subordinates.
She picked up one photo, then looked up at Lucas.
"The killer was Ashley, wasn't it." Her voice was soft but certain.
Lucas closed his eyes briefly.
He couldn't deny it. The evidence was irrefutable.
Juliana didn't say more. She knew Lucas needed time to process all of this. All she could do was be there for him.
……
David left the Sharp family villa.
He walked aimlessly, his mind replaying the scene of his parents lying in pools of blood, his once-loyal subordinates now cold corpses.
His life had become a complete tragedy.
He came to the ocean.
David walked step by step toward the water.
He was tired. So incredibly tired.
He closed his eyes and let the waves crash against his body. He opened his mouth. Salty seawater flooded in, bringing the sensation of drowning.
Just when he thought it was all about to end, a hand suddenly grabbed his clothes.
David was pulled by this unexpected force. He opened his eyes.
A girl was desperately pulling at him. Her face was pale from the seawater, her lips purple, but she stubbornly refused to let go.
"Don't... don't die..."
He tried to break free, but the girl wrapped her arms tightly around his waist. She was so small, swaying in the waves, like she could be swept away at any moment.
"Let go."
The girl didn't listen. She used all her strength to pull him toward shore. David felt her body trembling. He couldn't break free, and he couldn't bear to drag her down with him.
He let the girl lead him, step by step toward the beach.
Once on shore, the girl's body went limp. She collapsed on the sand.
"Hey..." David crouched down and shook her.
No response.
David picked her up and ran. He carried her to the nearest hospital.
In the emergency room, doctors and nurses swarmed around the girl.
David stood outside, water still dripping from his hair. A strange, inexplicable emotion stirred in his chest.
He sat down on a bench in the corridor, his body exhausted beyond measure.
He noticed the girl's small backpack on the floor.
The zipper wasn't fully closed, and a few papers had spilled out. David hadn't meant to pry, but the words on those papers made him freeze.
A black and white photo showed two middle-aged people with kind smiles. Below it read: "To My Late Parents."
Another paper was a hospital test report with the name "Chloe Jane," followed by a string of medical terms and the words "malignant tumor."
David looked at these papers, his fingertips going cold. Chloe. Her parents had died too. And she was seriously ill herself.
This girl who'd fought so hard to save his life—her despair was probably no less than his own.
He opened his eyes and looked toward the emergency room.
David stood and walked to the door. Through the glass window, he watched Chloe lying on the hospital bed.
He'd wanted to die, but this girl had used every ounce of her strength to pull him back to the living world. And she herself was teetering on the edge of death.
He gripped her bag tightly.
Maybe he still had one thing he could do.
Stay with this girl until she recovered. Then... he could think about his own choices.
David sat outside the emergency room in his cold, wet clothes.
But this time, the chill didn't penetrate to his core. Looking at that closed door, for the first time, he felt a tiny spark—a reason to keep living.
……
David's words, the things in those photos—none of it was made up.
All those years, David had taken countless hits for him, and Lucas had never questioned what it cost him.
Now that the truth was out, he felt like his chest had been ripped open, raw and bleeding.
"I owe David so much."
Juliana walked over to him, her fingers lightly touching his tense shoulder. "Now's not the time for guilt. What you need to do is make amends. Take responsibility."
Lucas turned around. "I want to give you a proper status. Give the kids a complete family."
He looked into Juliana's eyes, his tone serious. "Let's get married. Soon."
Juliana paused. She knew what he meant, but she also understood the complications. "Your mother... her health still hasn't fully recovered."
Lucas shook his head, tightening his grip on her hand. "I won't let her interfere with our lives anymore. She's done so many terrible things—I'll take responsibility for the consequences. The boundaries that need to be set, I'll set them. Juliana, trust me."
Juliana squeezed his hand back, feeling the strength in his palm. She knew Lucas was serious this time. He was no longer the son blinded by his mother, but ready to become a real husband and father.
"Okay," she said softly.
They decided to get their marriage license the next day.
……
As they were about to leave the next morning, they'd just walked into the living room when they saw Ashley sitting on the couch, her face pale.
Ashley's gaze fell on their joined hands, disgust flashing in her eyes.
"Lucas, you're still holding that woman's hand. Are you trying to kill me?"
Lucas stepped forward, shielding Juliana behind him. "Mom, Juliana and I are getting married."