Chapter 7
I thought I would fade away.
When the truth finally came to light, when the Donovan family crumbled apart, my soul should have found peace and faded away.
But when I opened my eyes, I found myself still floating above, watching the wedding below descend into utter chaos.
I was still here. Why?
Lilith was sedated and escorted away; Mary was handcuffed by the police, while Dylan fled in panic through a mob of reporters.
Jerry had long since vanished-no doubt scrambling to distance himself from the scandal.
Reporters frantically snapped photos as guests buzzed with shocked whispers. The highly anticipated wedding had become the biggest scandal of the century.
I should feel satisfied and even triumphant. But deep in my soul, there remained an unresolved attachment.
I drifted toward Donovan Manor, gliding through hallways and rooms I knew by heart. The servants huddled in whispers, buzzing about the earth-shattering scandal that had just unfolded.
No one
noticed the faint breeze-the only trace of my existence.
In the study, Dylan was frantically dialing one number after another, desperately trying to salvage his company’s plummeting stock price.
But one call after another brought nothing but bad news-partners pulling out, emergency board meetings, and the stock price in free fall….
“That bastard.” He smashed his phone against the wall and roared at the empty room, “Even in death, you’re still ruining everything I’ve built.”
He was talking about me. Even now, in his eyes, I was the root cause that ruined his perfect life-not the daughter whose death he caused by abandonment.
I set the pen rolling across the desk and scrawled on the notepad: [You brought this on yourself.]
Dylan’s face drained of color when he saw the words out of nowhere. Staggering backward in panic, he knocked over an antique vase.
He flailed his arms wildly in the empty air and shouted, “Get out. You’ve already won. What else do you
want?”
I couldn’t hold back my laugh. This once high-and-mighty, cold-hearted man was now raving like a madman at an invisible soul.
I drifted out of the study, leaving him to face his impending breakdown alone.
Donovan Group would collapse in three days, with Dylan facing prison for financial fraud and corporate
crimes.
He deserved it.
I drifted into Lilith’s room, where several maids were busy packing up her belongings, their faces alight with barely contained gossipy excitement.
“I heard Miss Lilith Donovan was sent to the psychiatric hospital,” one of the maids whispered.
“Serves her right. Who in their right mind would poison their own sister?” another replied.
“Shh! Keep it down. If Mr. Donovan hears us, he’ll blow his top,” the first maid said.
They had no idea that soon, Dylan wouldn’t even have the privilege of losing his temper.
My gaze
fell upon Lilith’s dressing table, where Lilith once kept the poison vial used against me.
The drawer now stood wide open, its contents confiscated by the police as evidence.
Her wardrobe doors stood wide open, the once-luxurious gowns inside now carelessly strewn across the floor like discarded rags.
This was the room I’d always longed for-spacious, bright, and filled with exquisite things.
When I first returned to the house, they stuck me in a cramped, north-facing guest room-the only window looked straight out at the garage.
Lilith, however, had the finest suite on the entire third floor.
Now, all of it had turned to dust.
I drifted out of the room and down the hallway when I suddenly heard muffled, suppressed sobs.
Following the sound, I found Declan curled up in the gym corner, sobbing like a lost child.
My once-arrogant elder brother now sat there in a rumpled suit, his hair a mess, bearing no trace of his former polished elite demeanor.
His phone screen lit up with a cascade of termination notices from sponsors, partners, and exclusive club memberships. In an instant, his entire social network collapsed.
“Why?” Declan whispered into the void, his voice breaking. “Why did it all come to this?”
I made the lights flicker abruptly. Declan’s head jerked up, his panicked eyes darting around the room.
“E-Emily?” he stammered, his voice quivering. “Is it you?”
I stayed silent. My so-called brother never showed me an ounce of warmth. Now, his fear meant nothing to
Chapter 7
“I’m sorry,” he sobbed, tears streaming down his face. “I should’ve… treated you better…”
His apology came too late.
An apology couldn’t bring me alive, nor undo all those painful days and nights.
I drifted out of the gym, leaving Declan to wallow in his well-deserved remorse.
bb vouepers
He would soon lose his house, luxury cars, and all his privileges, reduced to an ordinary office worker to experience the hand-to-mouth life I once endured.
It was fair.
As night fell, the manor slipped into silence.
I drifted to the rose bushes where my ashes were scattered. Bathed in moonlight, the white roses shimmered with a silvery glow, looking beautiful yet sorrowful.
“Miss Emily Donovan,” a familiar voice rang out.
I turned around at the sound.
Bob stood by the rose bushes with a white candle in his hand. He lit the candle and gently placed it on the ground.
“I know you can hear me,” he whispered. “After all that’s happened today, justice has finally been served.”
I guided a single rose petal to drift down into his palm. Bob smiled and closed his fingers gently around it.
“Lilith and Mary are facing prosecution. The police have found more evidence. Jerry’s family has called off the engagement, and Jerry… well, he’s even more spineless than I expected.” Bob shook his head and added, “As for Dylan, his business empire is about to collapse.”
I made the surrounding roses sway gently as silent thanks to him.
If it weren’t for Bob, my revenge would never have been this perfect.
“I don’t know where souls go.” Bob gazed up at the starry sky. “But wherever you may be, please remember at least one person remembers you and mourns for you.”
His words sent a gentle ripple of warmth through the depths of my soul.
At last, in this world, there was someone who would genuinely mourn for me and light a candle for me.
Bob reached into his pocket and pulled out a photo-it was taken when I graduated from college.
In the photo, I stood in my graduation gown, my shy smile brimming with hope.
That was before I ever met the Donovans, when my life was still full of endless possibilities.
“I’ll keep this in my clinic,” he said. “It’ll remind me to always fight for truth and justice.”
The candle flickered its last as Bob cast a final glance at the rose bushes before turning away. I watched his figure, my heart brimming with quiet gratitude.
Time soon passed, the sun rising and the moon setting.
I drifted through this world, both familiar and strange, watching the Donovans’s complete downfall, seeing Lilith lose her mind day by day in the asylum, and Jerry hastily marry a woman he didn’t love just to salvage his reputation…
The intoxicating satisfaction of vengeance slowly faded, giving way to unexpected serenity.
I was no longer bound by hatred. Instead, my soul felt lighter and freer than ever.
One day, I found myself drifting much farther than before.
I drifted across the city until I came upon a small hospital.
In the oncology ward, a skinny girl was battling stomach cancer alone.
I recognized her-the new waitress from the restaurant where I used to work. Like me, she’d grown up in the slums.
Now, she lay in the hospital bed, barely clinging to life with no means to afford treatment.
I drifted to her bedside and gently caressed her forehead.
The girl opened her eyes and looked around in confusion.
“Who?” she whispered weakly.
Focusing all my psychic power, I gently slid the water glass onto her bedside table. The girl’s eyes flew wide open in astonishment.
The next morning, Bob unexpectedly turned up at her hospital room doorway.
He had just “happened to” come across a news story about the impoverished girl and decided to offer her free
treatment.
The girl was saved, and it was my doing.
Bit by bit, I came to realize my existence held a newfound meaning.
I could no longer live for myself, but I could still help others who suffered as I once did.
I could help the forsaken, the forgotten, and those fighting against all odds.
I could guide lost children home, nudge important documents to those in need, and whisper hope into the dreams of the despairing…
Each gentle intervention made my soul glow brighter, drawing me nearer to the divine.
One night a year later, I drifted back to the rose garden.
True to his promise, Bob arrived and once again lit a white candle. But this time, he wasn’t alone.
Trailing behind him was the girl who had once battled stomach cancer. She was now radiant with health and cradling an armful of white roses.
“This is Miss Emily Donovan,” Bob said softly to the girl. “She saved your life.”
The girl solemnly placed the roses on the ground. “Thank you, Emily. I’m now working at Dr. Smith’s charity foundation to help others who’ve suffered like us.”
I made every white rose bloom in unison, their sweet fragrance permeating the night air.
The girl’s face lit up with delight, while tears glistened in Bob’s eyes.
At that moment, I finally understood why my soul still lingered in this world.
It was not for revenge, nor for hatred, but for love. The pure, selfless love I never received in life, yet I could now give it to others.
My soul began to glow and grow ever brighter and warmer with each passing moment.
Bob and the girl gazed upward at the miraculous sight, their faces bathed in the gentle radiance.
“Goodbye, Emily,” Bob murmured softly. “May you find eternal peace.”
The girl waved and said softly, “Goodbye, Emily. I’ll always remember you.”
My soul transformed into a myriad of luminous rose petals, carried by the night wind and scattering across the sky.
Each petal bore a memory, an emotion, and a dream unfulfilled.
The last petal came to rest in Bob’s palm, bearing a single dewdrop that sparkled with crystalline purity, as
clear as a tear.
Finally, I found liberation.
[The End]
