Chapter 5
The Myers family villa was halfway up a hill, requiring a trek along a winding path to reach it. As Arlette Myers made her way, she unexpectedly encountered two overturned, wrecked cars. Blood pooled on the ground, with the air thick with the scents of blood, alcohol, and gasoline.
Arlette rushed forward to assess the situation. The driver closest to her was beyond help, but in the driver’s seat of the other vehicle sat Maximo Myers. The windshield was smashed, cutting into his skin, while the seatbelt restrained his bloodied body.
She stared, dumbfounded, at his unrecognizable face. Once the situation hit her, her first impulse was to flee. But then she heard a faint sound from behind.
“Arlette…”
She paused, biting her lip as tears filled her eyes.
“Maximo, you bastard!”
Feeling the heat from the vehicles, Arlette turned back and, with trembling hands, tried to undo his seatbelt. When it wouldn’t release, she cried as she bit at it. Glass and metal shards embedded themselves in her skin, causing searing pain, and her tears dripped onto his wounds.
She heard him moan, unconscious.
Through sobs, she cried out, “I hate you, Maximo. I shouldn’t save you! You should be buried with the child!”
“I hate you!”
A muffled whimper escaped his throat.
Arlette’s voice was raw and broken.
“Maximo, you have to find the truth and live your whole life in the agony of losing a wife and child.”
“You can’t just die like this.”
Finally, the seatbelt latch clicked open, and Arlette braced her hands under his arms, struggling to pull him out. They collapsed onto the scorching asphalt, and despite her injuries, she managed to get to her feet and hoist the unconscious Maximo onto her back.
She painstakingly dragged him away from the vehicles that could explode at any moment.
Just then, Winnie Hughes arrived with Garrett Patterson, having heard the noise. As they surveyed the horrific scene, Winnie’s expression hardened.
“Who gave you the right to touch my brother?”
“He’s mine!”
Winnie grabbed a large piece of metal debris from the ground and hurled it at Arlette’s head.
Arlette had no time to react, feeling only the warm blood trickling past her eyes as her vision blurred. Like a puppet with its strings cut, she collapsed, unable to remain upright. Pain exploded throughout her body, followed by the deafening roar of an explosion. Fiery waves licked at her body.
She watched Winnie lead Maximo away, a powerless smile forming on her lips.
She had barely gathered enough money for her fake death plan. Was she going to die like this?
Earlier that day, Arlette had just completed her discharge paperwork, only to be rushed back to the hospital for emergency care by evening.
When she awoke, only Warren Kennedy, her doctor, was in the room.
He looked at her with evident pity.
“Miss Myers, you haven’t fully recovered from your last near-drowning, and now you’ve suffered severe burns in the explosion. We just performed a skin graft operation on Miss Hughes.”
“A skin graft?” Arlette thought she must have misunderstood. Severely burned as she was, how could she provide skin for Winnie? She remembered Winnie being far from the explosion’s epicenter.
“It’s Mr. Myers’s orders,” the doctor explained.
Arlette wasn’t surprised. His first priority upon awakening was still to torment her. Between her and Winnie, he had never chosen her.
“He’s awake?”
“The explosion was massive, Miss Myers. Even you passing by got caught in it, and the instigator at the crash center didn’t survive. Thankfully, Miss Hughes heroically led Mr. Myers away, preventing further harm.”
“First donating a kidney to him, and now saving his life,” the doctor marveled. “Miss Hughes is truly like a mother to Mr. Myers.”
Arlette gave a bitter laugh.
Winnie never failed to claim all the credit, while casting the blame on her. This car crash couldn’t be pinned on her, could it? She was about to “die.” Soon, she could finally escape this brother-sister duo.
Winnie never failed to claim all the credit, while casting the blame on her. This car crash couldn’t be pinned on her, could it? She was about to “die.” Soon, she could finally escape this brother-sister duo.