Chapter 6
In the predawn glow, an eerie silence enveloped Donovan Manor.
I hovered above the rose bushes where my ashes were scattered, sensing the surging energy within my spectral form.
For three days, I’d barely used my psychic power, and it charged up like a battery, awaiting today’s eruption.
Today was Lilith and Jerry’s wedding day.
Even though Lilith was on the verge of a breakdown, even though the doctors urged postponement, Dylan still insisted the wedding must go on as scheduled.
I witnessed firsthand what he said to Lilith last night. “You must hold on, Lilith. This wedding is crucial for the merger between Donovan Group and Cooper Enterprise. If you mess it up today, don’t even think about setting foot in this house again.”
This was the Donovans’s love-conditional, revocable, and clearly priced.
Drugged on sedatives and anti-anxiety meds, Lilith nodded mechanically, like an exquisite puppet on strings.
The manor slowly came to life as the wedding planning team arrived at dawn, bustling around the garden to begin the elaborate decorations.
I floated into Lilith’s room, where the maids and the makeup artist were helping her get ready. Her face was as pale as a sheet, with dark circles like bruises under her eyes.
“Miss, please lift your head,” the makeup artist murmured, carefully applying concealer to hide the traces.
Lilith did as they asked, her eyes vacant. As the makeup artist turned to fetch a brush, Lilith suddenly muttered to thin air, her voice low and bitter, “Are you satisfied now?”
I knew she was talking to me.
I made the powder compact on her vanity table quiver slightly.
Lilith’s
eyes
widened, and her breath got heavier, but the drugs kept her panic at bay.
All she could do was clutch desperately at her dress until her knuckles turned white.
“I knew you’d show up today,” she rasped, her voice hoarse with tension. “You’re here to ruin my wedding, aren’t you?”
To answer her, I made the curtains sway, even though there wasn’t a hint of wind.
“Miss Lilith Donovan?” The makeup artist glanced back, puzzled. “Who are you talking to?”
Lilith forced a strained smile. “Nothing, I’m just… rehearsing my vows.”
She had always been a master at lies. But today, the truth would tear every one of her lies to shreds.
As time wore on, guests began arriving in steady streams.
The garden was transformed into an ethereal wonderland with white blooms, crystal ornaments, silk drapes… Every detail exuded opulence and refined taste.
The guests, dressed to the nines with champagne in hand, laughed and chatted. They had no idea the drama was about to unfold.
Drifting to the backstage cottage behind the wedding venue, I found Bob and Gloria completing their final preparations.
A projector was already set up, aimed at the main ceremony area and connected to a laptop.
“Everything’s ready-the medical report, the recording, and the hospital records,” Bob whispered. “The moment we play them, everyone will know the truth.”
Gloria nodded and added, “I’ve called the police. Once the evidence goes public, they’ll arrest Lilith and Mary on murder charges.”
I made the papers on the table rise and fall as my way of thanking them. Bob smiled at the empty air and replied, “No need for thanks, Miss Emily Donovan. This justice is long overdue for you.”
At the stroke of noon, the wedding ceremony officially began.
Lilith walked slowly down the petal-strewn aisle, on Dylan’s arm.
She was breathtakingly beautiful-her white wedding gown sparkling in the sunlight, her exquisite makeup concealing every trace of exhaustion.
But I could see it-beneath that flawless foundation, her skin was slick with cold sweat from sheer terror.
Jerry stood beneath the floral arch, impeccably dressed in his tailored suit, as handsome as ever.
He watched the approaching bride with a polite smile, but his eyes remained cold.
This brought back memories of our childhood. He used to smile at me just like that—polite yet distant.
The officiant began reciting the wedding vows, and the guests fell silent. I drifted over to the projector, holding my breath, waiting for the perfect moment to reveal the truth.
The officiant’s voice rang out solemnly. “If anyone objects to this union, speak now or forever hold your peace.”
I knew it was time for my show.
With every ounce of my psychic power focused, I activated the projector.
A blinding beam of light shot toward the stage, clearly projecting the medical report: [Unusual heavy metal traces detected… Suspected long-term deliberate poisoning…”
Chapter 6
“What’s going on?” Dylan barked, his face dark with fury. “Shut it down.”
$5 vouchers
The staff scrambled to find the power button, but the projector wouldn’t respond, no matter what they did.
The screen then switched to the medical records, clearly revealing Lilith’s true identity-Dylan’s illegitimate daughter. I, on the other hand, was the true heiress, deliberately swapped at birth.
A collective gasp erupted from the guests. Lilith’s face turned deathly pale, her body teetering like a leaf in the wind.
Lilith screamed, her voice cracking with panic, “This isn’t true. It’s all fake. Dad, tell them it’s not real.”
But Dylan froze, his face draining of color. He recognized the irrefutable truth in those documents.
Then, the recording started playing. Lilith’s drug-induced sleep-talking echoed clearly through the garden.
“Medicine in the milk… Every day… Mom said it has to be this way… Antidote in the white bottle… Emily will take everything away… She has to disappear…”
Letting out a scream, Mary desperately lunged at the sound system, trying to stop the recording. But her efforts were in vain. It continued to play, and Lilith admitted to the poisoning and murder in chilling detail.
The scene erupted into utter chaos. Guests jumped to their feet-some horrified, others thrilled. They whipped out their phones to capture the shocking scene. Reporters acted like they’d struck gold, their camera flashes popping nonstop.
“This is a setup,” Dylan bellowed, trying to regain control, but his voice was drowned out by the uproar.
With a final surge of my psychic power, I shortly showed myself in front of them. With a figure in white, blood-streaked lips, and a deathly pale face, I appeared beneath the floral arch, standing right between Lilith and-Jerry.
“Ahhh!!” Lilith’s bloodcurdling scream tore through the air. “Ghost! She’s a ghost!”
She staggered backward, her stiletto snagging on the train of her wedding gown, and she crashed heavily to the ground.
Her meticulously styled updo came undone, and her makeup, smeared by tears, left her looking like a clown.
Jerry was the first to react. He recoiled a few steps, swiftly pulled off his engagement ring, and flung it to the ground with a clatter.
“This engagement is off,” he declared, his voice trembling with shock. “I won’t marry a murderer.”
That was the final straw, shattering the last shred of Lilith’s sanity. She scrambled to her feet and lunged at Jerry in a fit of hysteria.
“You can’t. You’re mine, Jerry. You’ll always be mine,” she shrieked, her nails clawing at Jerry’s face.
Jerry dodged her touch, sending Lilith stumbling toward the champagne tower. Crystal flutes shattered across the floor as she collapsed to her knees amidst the shards, her wedding gown drenched in champagne.
Laughing and sobbing hysterically, she looked like a woman gone mad.
“It’s all Emily’s fault,” Lilith shrieked at thin air, her voice raw with hysteria. “She deserved it. She never should have come back. That was my home, my parents, and my Jerry.”
Mary lunged forward, intending to shield Lilith but was stopped by two uniformed police officers.
“Mary and Lilith, you are under arrest on suspicion of the murder of Emily,” an officer declared. “You have the right to remain silent…”
Dylan stood like a statue, motionless. When the police handcuffed Lilith, he finally moved-but not to save his daughter. Instead, he turned on his heel and walked away.
“Dad,” Lilith shrieked in despair, “Save me! You can’t just walk away. I’m your daughter.”
Without turning his head, Dylan said coldly, “A murderer can’t be my daughter.”
How ironic. Dylan’s love for Lilith over the past twenty-three years evaporated in an instant. For the first time, Lilith finally tasted the bitterness of being dumped.
The doctors injected the hysterical Lilith with a sedative. She went limp and was carried into the ambulance like a lifeless doll.
Mary was also escorted away by police officers. The guests erupted in shocked murmurs, while reporters swarmed the scene, all eager to break the story of this explosive scandal.
As I floated above the chaos, I thought I’d feel exhilarated. Instead, my soul was eerily calm.
The vengeance I’d craved brought no real fulfillment, only unexpected peace.
Surrounded by reporters, Jerry put on a righteous front and declared, “I was completely kept in the dark. My heart goes out to Miss Emily Donovan for everything she’s suffered.”
His act was so flawless that I might have actually believed him, had I not witnessed his betrayal firsthand.
Declan stood in the corner, his face drained of color. Reporters swarmed around him, firing off questions about whether he knew Emily had been poisoned.
“I-I didn’t know,” he stammered, his voice barely above a whisper. “If I had known, I would have stopped it…”
What a liar.
While he might not have been involved in the murder, his indifference and prejudice were just as deadly.
Now, he was tasting the bitter fruit of the Donovan family’s disgrace.
Bob and Gloria stood by, watching as the police gathered evidence. They had accomplished what I couldn’t have done alone-bringing the truth to light and seeing justice served.
I could feel my soul growing translucent, and my power was draining away. It was time to fade.
My vengeance was complete. Now, I could let go of all the hatred.
I took one last look at the garden scattered with my ashes, this grand house that was never truly home, and at my so-called “family”-connected by blood, yet strangers at heart.
Then, I turned and drifted away.
As I drifted farther away, I heard a familiar voice softly calling my name.
I looked back and saw Bob standing at the edge of the garden.
He gazed in my direction, tears glistening in his eyes.
“Rest in peace, Miss Emily Donovan,” he whispered gently. “You’re free now.”
Yes, I was finally free from hatred, obsession, and longing for those who never loved me.
My soul ascended, growing lighter and more luminous with each moment.
Below, the chaos, screams, and sobs faded into the distance.
At the very end, I didn’t see the Donovans’s breakdown-I saw my twenty-three-year-old self standing at the restaurant entrance, facing those unexpected “parents,” her eyes alight with impossible hope.
If I could turn back time, I’d tell that girl, “Don’t go with them. You deserve better love-a real, unconditional love.”
But it was alright now. It was finally over.
My soul scattered into myriad specks of light, carried by the wind into the boundless sky.
At long last, I returned home.
