Chapter 5

Summer's POV

After Christian left, I lay on the hospital bed.

I thought I would just wait for his plan to unfold and slip away quietly.

But the next morning, the burner phone on my bedside table buzzed.

An unknown number had sent me a video.

I tapped it open.

In the video, a massive excavator was smashing into a red-brick estate. The walls crumbled into dust. That was my father's life's work, his personal archive and memorial.

In the bottom right corner of the frame, a woman's hand, wearing a diamond bracelet, was wrapped around Ethan's arm. It was Chloe.

Then, a text message popped up:

How tragic. The home you cherished so much is gone.

My brain short-circuited.

I didn't care about the IV drip in my hand. I yanked it out violently, tearing the skin.

Blood splattered onto my hospital gown.

I didn't even put on shoes. I ran out of the hospital barefoot.

By the time I stumbled onto the gravel driveway of the estate, the archive was mostly rubble. Only a single red-brick archway remained, standing lonely amidst the ruins.

I tried to charge past the gates like a madwoman, but two security guards tackled me, pinning me into the sharp gravel.

"Let me go!"

The jagged stones sliced into my knees, blood quickly soaking through my gown.

Ethan stood a few feet away, dressed in a flawless black suit, holding a black umbrella.

Chloe clung to his arm, giggling behind her hand.

Pinned under the guards, I forced my head up, glaring at him with wild, bloodshot eyes.

"Ethan! Tell them to stop! That is my father's only legacy! He didn't plagiarize anything! He was framed!"

Ethan walked over slowly, stopping just out of reach.

His leather shoes were splattered with mud. He frowned slightly, then knelt down, gently peeling my bleeding fingers off his trousers.

"Summer, the ground is dirty. Get up, okay?"

He brushed the dust off my shoulders, his voice soft, but his eyes were completely dead.

I fell to my knees in the rubble, slamming my forehead against the sharp stones.

"I'm begging you! Ethan, please!"

I threw away every ounce of my dignity, pounding my head against the ground. "Make them stop! His brushes are in there, his photos... please..."

My forehead split open, blood and dirt smearing across my face.

Ethan stood over me, holding his umbrella, looking at my bloody face with a flash of disgust.

"Summer, stop this. You look like a lunatic."

His voice was still gentle, but it was devoid of any human warmth. "Your father is dead. What's the point of keeping this trash?"

Chloe sneered from the side. "Exactly, Summer. Even if you keep it, you can't protect it."

My nails dug into the dirt until they bled.

Seeing the excavator crane rise again, I broke down completely. I crawled to Ethan's feet, grabbing his ankles, sobbing hysterically.

"I'll sign the papers! I'll give up everything! It all belongs to Chloe! Just... don't let them demolish the rest... please..."

Ethan looked down at me, a look of smug satisfaction finally washing over his face.

He bent down, using his handkerchief to wipe the blood from my forehead. "See? If you had been this good from the start, we wouldn't be here. Sign this, and I'll leave the archway standing."

He shoved a waiver of inheritance and a pen into my bloodied hand.

My hand shook uncontrollably.

The blood dripping from my broken nail dragged a thick, red streak across the signature line.

I thought that by dragging myself through the dirt, I could save the last piece of my father.

I handed the paper back, trembling.

Ethan took the document, verified the signature, and tossed it to his secretary.

"Good girl," he murmured, his voice dripping with mock affection.

But a second later, he stood up, turned his back on the archway, and said to the foreman, "This structure is a safety hazard. Level it."

My pupils shrunk to pinpricks. A primal scream ripped from my throat: "Ethan."

CRASH!

The heavy iron wrecking ball smashed into the red-brick archway, turning my father's final legacy into a pile of generic dust.

Ethan wrapped his arm around Chloe, turned on his heel, and got into the waiting black town car.

The car roared to life, splashing mud all over my hospital gown as it sped away.

I collapsed into the muddy gravel, staring at the debris. My eyes were bloodshot, devoid of tears.

I crawled forward, inch by inch, using my blood-slicked right hand to clutch a single broken red brick.

I pressed my face against the cold stone, imagining it was my father's warm hand.

I remembered him holding my hand, teaching me how to draw.

I remembered the last words he said to me before he jumped: I'm sorry, Summer.

Now, everything was gone.

Clutching the brick, the tears finally spilled over.

I lay in the ruins, and then, I began to laugh hysterically.

"Ethan... you really are a monster!"