hapter 7
Evelyn slowly lifted her head, her voice trembling. “This whole thing… you orchestrated it, didn’t you?”
“So what if I did?” Sophie sneered. “If you’d just stepped aside like a good girl, I wouldn’t have had to use my own methods.”
“Honestly, I didn’t expect that after I almost died, all he’d give you was a few light lashes and one night in confinement. Compared to what I went through, that’s nothing. So I figured I’d turn up the heat myself.”
With that, Sophie somehow unleashed a swarm of rats into the room.
“Ahh!” Evelyn’s worst fear was rats. The sight of those dark, squeaking creatures surging toward her made her blood run cold. She panicked, her screams shattering the silence of the night.
“Sophie Monroe! Aren’t you afraid Graham will find out?” Evelyn cried, stumbling back, terror twisting her voice.
Sophie’s smug laughter drifted from beyond the door. “Go ahead, tattle all you want. Let’s see who he believes–you or me.”
Evelyn’s heart turned to ice.
How certain was Sophie of Graham’s love to be this brazen?
That night, surrounded by vermin and crushed by fear, Evelyn nearly lost her mind.
When they finally released her, her face was ghostly pale, her eyes vacant, her body swaying with
every step.
Graham looked her over, frowning, a faint trace of concern hidden in his voice. “It was just one night in confinement. I told them to go easy with the whip, and they treated your wounds right after. How did you end up like this?”
Evelyn lifted her gaze to meet his, her voice hoarse and raw. “Last night… Sophie let a bunch of rats into my cell-”
“Enough!” Graham’s face darkened as he cut her off, his eyes flashing with irritation.
“Even now, you’re trying to blame Sophie? She had a fever last night–I was with her the entire time. She never left her room. Evelyn, you never fail to disappoint me.”
Evelyn stared at him, then let out a bitter laugh, tears streaming down her cheeks, the motion tearing at her wounds.
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What more could she say? She had lost, utterly and completely.
She didn’t argue further, just staggered away, barely holding herself upright.
Graham watched her faltering figure, a flicker of pity crossing his face. He waved to his aide. “Frank, take her to the hospital for another check–up.
Evelyn spent several more days recovering in the hospital. Graham stayed with Sophie the entire time, never visiting her once. He only sent supplements and a silent nurse to tend to her needs.
Evelyn made no complaints, no scenes. Her silence was unsettling.
On the day she was discharged, it was Memorial Day.
Graham appeared for once, saying he would accompany her to pay respects at her mother’s grave.
When Sophie heard, she spoke softly, almost tenderly. “I’ve been meaning to visit your mother’s grave myself to pay my respects and apologize. Let’s go together.”
“No, thanks,” Evelyn said flatly, cutting her off.
Graham shot her a disapproving look, his gaze carrying a sharp warning.
A stabbing pain spread through Evelyn’s chest, and she fell into numb silence once more.
At the cemetery, a staff member approached with an apologetic look.
“General Sterling, Ms. Hart, you’ve come at the right time. The recent heavy rains caused a
landslide, and your mother’s grave was affected. We need to relocate it soon. What do you
think…?”
Graham immediately stepped aside to handle the arrangements.
The staff carefully unearthed her mother’s urn. Evelyn’s eyes reddened as she took it gently, clutching it to her chest as if it were the last piece of her mother she had left.
Once the relocation process was complete, Evelyn held the urn, ready to leave.
Sophie suddenly stepped forward, her voice dripping with false kindness. “Evelyn, sweetie, you’re young, not very strong. Carrying that heavy urn down a mountain path isn’t safe. Let me help you.”
“No, I’ve got it,” Evelyn said quickly, backing away with suspicion.
“Don’t be shy, I’ll…” Sophie reached for the urn, ignoring Evelyn’s protests.
“What are you doing? Let go!” Evelyn clung desperately to her mother’s urn, panic rising as she
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backed away.
In the struggle, a vicious glint flashed in Sophie’s eyes. With a sudden yank, she wrenched the urn from Evelyn’s grasp.
“No-!”
Evelyn’s cry came too late. She couldn’t hold on.
The heavy urn slipped from Sophie’s hands and crashed to the ground. The lid popped open, white ashes spilling out.
A light rain began to fall, cold droplets washing the ashes into the mud, erasing them before
Evelyn’s eyes.
