Chapter 6
“Is the deceased the perpetrator? Is he responsible for the accident?” Arlette Myers asked, her voice steady as she continued, “Was the car crash an accident or intentional?”
“They’re calling it murder.”
The Myers family was well-known in New York, naturally attracting envy and resentment. Since the incident three years ago, Maximo Myers had become increasingly unpredictable, ruthless, and often violent, creating numerous enemies. It wasn’t surprising that someone would want him dead.
Back when Arlette was forced to have an abortion and sent to prison overnight, she had also harbored thoughts of taking him down with her.
“Has the mastermind been identified?”
No sooner had Arlette spoken than the hospital room door was kicked open with a resounding crash. Maximo stood at the entrance, wrapped in hospital garb, his head bandaged. His typically sharp eyes were bloodshot, wide with fury, anger radiating from him like heat.
“The mastermind? Isn’t it you?” Maximo’s eyes held not only rage but also pain and a silent accusation. Yet he remained resolute.
“Arlette Myers, is it truly your desire for me to die?”
A sense of helpless inevitability washed over Arlette. Once again, she was painted as the villain…
She met his gaze and said softly, “Maximo, I’ve said ‘it wasn’t me’ too many times.”
“Will you believe me this time?”
Maximo’s pupils quivered slightly. He moved closer to the bed, his voice raspy. “Arlette, tell me, who did you send the money I gave you to?”
Arlette’s throat closed up; she couldn’t reveal it was for the organization that helped fake her death.
“Maximo, if you’d investigate, you’d find I got hurt saving you.”
“How could I be the mastermind?”
“It was Winnie who saved me! When I came to, she was helping me.”
Disappointment and anger played openly across Maximo’s face, his body trembling uncontrollably. “I almost believed you, a woman filled with lies! I nearly trusted you were innocent!”
“You can’t even explain where the money went.”
Maximo’s voice was heavy with endless resentment, tinged with a barely audible sob.
“I just compensated you, and you have plans to kill me.”
“You’re hasty to sell off your parents’ estate. Are you that desperate for me to be gone?”
“Arlette Myers, you’re merciless!”
Arlette’s dry lips moved, but no words came out. Perhaps fate was playing a cruel joke.
Maximo’s fist slammed into the wall, reopening the wounds on his arm, blood soaking through the bandages instantly. Though he hated her, he couldn’t wish her dead.
“No one in New York has dared trample on my sincerity like you.”
“Arlette Myers, you truly deserve condemnation!”
Maximo’s face twisted into a terrifying snarl. “The biggest regret of my life is loving you!” Even now, he found himself painfully drawn to her.
Arlette sighed softly. “Maximo, I wish we’d never crossed paths.”
“You shouldn’t ruin other women either.”
“You should be alone for the rest of your life.”
Maximo’s suspicious nature, coupled with a possessive stepsister, meant no one could find happiness by his side.
“Perhaps you could consider marryi—”
“Bam—” Maximo’s fist struck the wall again. His hand hung limply, broken, blood pooling at his fingertips before dripping to the floor. He stared at her, exhaling deeply.
“Arlette Myers, donate a kidney to Winnie, and we’ll be square.”
“Don’t ever show yourself to me again.”
Arlette snapped her head up. “Maximo, I’ve already donated a kidney to you. If I donate another, it’ll kill me.”
Maximo paused, then sneered.
“Claim you donated my kidney too, Arlette Myers, don’t spin tales that are so easily disproved.”