(From Ashes to Hope) Chapter 18
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That night, John sat alone at home, consumed by loneliness and regret.
He lingered at Lily’s bedroom door for a long time, the door a portal to
memories,
Then, he reached out and opened the door. The room no longer held Lily’s
familiar scent, only his deep longing, his yearning for his daughter and the past
he couldn’t let go of.
He stood at the doorway for a long time, as if conversing with Lily’s spirit,
then returned to the living room.
The divorce agreement he had stomped on earlier was now placed on the
coffee table.
He picked it up with trembling fingers and was surprised to find that the
clause about custody had been crossed out. His heart sank.
He clutched his head in his hands, the pain threatening to swallow him
whole.
4
He lit one cigarette after another, the smoke swirling like the turmoil in his
heart. He sat on the sofa like this until dawn.
As the morning sunlight streamed in, he rushed to the agreed location with
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the police.
The moment Raina appeared, the police swarmed and arrested her.
Raina was still dressed impeccably, her exquisite attire betraying no sign of a
fugitive on the run, as if she didn’t care about the consequences of her actions.
“What right do you have to arrest me? Let go of me, I’ll sue you!” she shouted
angrily as she was apprehended.
John emerged from the shadows, his eyes, once filled with love for Raina,
now held only coldness and hatred, the resoluteness of a man betrayed.
Raina seemed to lose all strength, her resistance crumbling instantly, her
eyes filled with panic, like a trapped animal.
She shook her head repeatedly, desperately trying to grasp at a lifeline,
attempting to explain to John, but the police had no patience for her pleas,
shoving her into the police car.
From her phone, the police found the original hospital records, a stark
contrast to the edited photo, irrefutable evidence of her deceit.
Raina sat in the interrogation room, her tearful eyes flickering with a
glimmer of hope as she looked at John.
She started by reminiscing about their happy times together, trying to soften
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John’s heart with past affection.
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But John only felt disgusted. The once beautiful memories were now tainted
in his mind.
He thought that at this point, Raina would finally come to her senses,
acknowledge her mistakes, and show remorse for her actions.
But he was wrong, terribly wrong. Raina was still lost in her own delusions.
When her emotional appeal failed, Raina’s composure crumbled completely,
like a collapsing building.
She screamed at John, her voice filled with resentment and unwillingness.
“We were the ones meant to be together!” Her words were an accusation
against the injustice of fate.
“If it weren’t for Amelia’s mother, if she hadn’t died saving your mother,” she
blamed everything on that accident, the accident that had changed everyone’s
destiny.
“Making such an unreasonable request on her deathbed, we would have
been married by now.”
“Now all obstacles are gone!”
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“Can’t we just be together again?”
“I can bear you children, both sons and daughters.”
“We can be even happier!”
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Her words were filled with obsession and madness.“Didn’t you say you didn‘
t love Amelia? Now’s our chance!”
Seeing his former lover so lost and delusional, John’s disappointment
deepened, a wave of despair washing over him.
As John was about to leave the police station, Raina, as if possessed by a
demon, started to curse him hysterically.
“John, you heartless bastard! How could you do this to me?!” she screamed,
her voice sharp enough to pierce eardrums, each word venomous, spat out
through gritted teeth.
past,
but
John frowned, glaring at her with disgust.“I wronged you in the
haven’t I compensated you enough in the past few years? Otherwise, how would
you have a million dollars to hire someone to frame my daughter?”
But Raina ignored John’s response, her curses growing louder, her spittle
flying. “It’s all your fault, it’s all your damn mother’s fault! I wish the kidnappers
had killed her instead of just kidnapping her!”
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Her face was twisted with madness, her sanity consumed by hatred.
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John froze, his footsteps halting abruptly. He turned around, his eyes blazing
with fury: “What did you say? You venomous woma
Raina, consumed by rage, continued to rant, oblivious to the horror of her
words. “That’s right! If your mother had died instead of that maid, there wouldn’t
have been any obstacles preventing us from being together, and I could have
married you smoothly!”
Her eyes gleamed with insanity, as if this had been her “perfect plan” all
along.
John stared at her in disbelief, his voice trembling. “You’re terrifying
kind of heart could harbor such evil, selfish thoughts? I was blind, I misjudged
you, I actually had hope for you.”
John was immersed in his own pain and regret, dismissing Raina’s words as
the ravings of a madwoman caught in her own lies.
However, the police officer standing nearby had witnessed everything.
With his hawk–like observation skills, he immediately caught the crucial
information in Raina’s rant.
He frowned, his gaze deepening.
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His mind caced, replaying past cases, details and clues colliding in his
thoughts.
A seed of suspicion had been planted in his heart.
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He felt that there was a hidden connection, a connection that might be the
key to solving a certain mystery.
John left the police station silently, his heart heavy with complex emotions.
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