Carter watched the raging waves and the overturned boat, his face dark and tense.
Back on shore, he ignored Audrey’s questions, his face stormy as he went straight to the Thompson residence.
That evening, he told the housekeeper to hang white mourning banners around the villa.
Surrounded by my and Aaron’s belongings, he felt a deep ache within. Though our presence filled every corner, neither could be reached.
Recalling last night's laughter as the family gathered on the sofa, his throat tightened.
He sat there through the night and early the next morning, he personally went upstairs to retrieve my and Aaron’s clothes and told the housekeeper to send them to the funeral home for preparations.
The phone rang. The moment he pressed the answer button, Audrey’s angry voice came through the line.
“Sevi’s condition is getting worse! When will there be a new heart?”
“Hello! Carter! Say something!”
Before she could finish her rant, Carter hung up with a blank expression.
Without Aaron, even if he searched heaven and earth, he couldn't find a heart donor in three days.
Yesterday at sea, he had thought about shooting Aaron. But even though the boy wasn't his own flesh and blood, he hesitated for a long time before the final shot, unable to pull the trigger.
I woke from a nightmare and found myself in an unfamiliar bedroom. Dylan sat by the bed and gently touched my forehead.
"Are you alright? Don't worry, we saved Aaron according to plan.”
Warmth flooded my heart and tears filled my eyes. “Thank you! It’s all because of your plan..."
He shook his head, a smug smile tugging at his lips.
“Carter actually believed you were dead. He's at the funeral home arranging your burial right now!”
At the mention of Carter's name, anger surged inside me and I clenched my fists tightly.
"That’s not enough! Do me one more favor! I want Carter to know just how foolish he is!”
Dylan nodded cheerfully, then flashed a cunning grin. “You said earlier that if I saved you and your son, you'd agree to marry me early. Does that still stand?”
My heart trembled as I lowered my eyes in hesitation. He reached out to ruffle my hair, chuckling.
“Just kidding. Don't mind me.”
After that, he brought me back to the Thompson Family villa.
The entire Thompson Residence, including the servants, had gone to the funeral home, leaving only two maids guarding the gate.
Seeing me return from the dead, the two maids were frightened. Dylan casually handed them a check, dismissing them easily.
I immediately went upstairs to pack my things. When I finished, I looked around the room, my gaze settling on the wedding photo of Carter and me.
Resentment and hatred welled up inside me and I tore the photo down. Dylan, always quick-witted, handed me a knife.
With a cold smile, I took the knife and slashed the wedding photo, severing the two figures clinging tightly together.
We had barely left with our luggage half an hour earlier when Carter came back, clutching the empty urn.
Seeing the gatekeepers gone, he had grown suspicious.
Only after entering the living room had he realized something was wrong. “What's going on? Where are the goldfish Abigail and Aaron cherished most?”
Finding the first floor empty, he had set the urn down and gone upstairs.
As he approached the bedroom, he spotted the slashed wedding photo tossed carelessly on the floor.
All the clothes and shoes in the wardrobe were gone. On the dressing table, a gleaming diamond ring lay pressed beneath a divorce agreement.
His face darkened, shouting like a madman, “Where the hell are the nannies? Has someone been here? Butler, check the surveillance immediately!”
The butler hurried to the surveillance room, retrieved the recent footage and stammered nervously, “Mr. Thompson, your wife just came by earlier.”
Carter watched the video on his phone, his eyes bloodshot.
In the footage, I walked through the Thompson Family gate, my chin held high as I linked arms with Dylan.
Dylan even helped me pack my things. Watching this, Carter's temples throbbed violently as he slammed his fist into a cabinet.
“You bitch! How dare you deceive me?!”
He called my number three times, but I didn’t answer.
Enraged, he had thrown his phone to the floor, grinding his teeth until they creaked.
“Send people to find her! Locate Abigail immediately!”
While Carter had searched the world in a frenzy, I had already been lying on the sofa at the Richardson Family estate, holding Aaron in my arms.
Leaving the Thompson Residence had felt completely freeing. I had finally drawn a clear line with Carter.
