Sevlene’s POV
I clutched my throbbing forehead, struggling to explain myself.
“I didn’t do it. She staged the whole thing just to frame me—because she wants to take you away from me!”
At that, Charlee burst into louder sobs.
“Mrs. McEnroe, you can hate me if you want, but you can’t insult me like that. My family was destroyed by a mistress—I would never do something so vile!”
Cortey’s gaze turned sharp and filled with disgust as it landed on me.
“Only a lunatic would use her own body as a weapon. Sevlene, you’re not just malicious. You twist the truth and push the blame onto others. You… You’ve disappointed me more than I can say.”
Without giving me another chance to speak, he yanked me to my feet and shoved me into the basement.
“All these years, I gave you too much love. It made you arrogant and reckless. Stay here and reflect. You won’t come out until you admit your mistake.”
With that, he carried Charlee away in his arms, ignoring my desperate pounding on the door. No matter how I begged, he remained unmoved.
The basement was damp and suffocatingly dark. My body, already sensitive to cold and damp air, instantly broke out in unbearable itching.
My throat felt as though someone had sprinkled itching powder inside it—burning, raw, and torturous.
I clawed at my skin until it bled, but nothing eased the agony.
Finally, I collapsed against the door, tears streaming endlessly down my face.
“Let me out… please…”
Days passed, and Cortey never came back. He left me to rot in that basement… to endure the torment alone.
It wasn’t until the cooling-off period for our divorce had ended that the door creaked open. Edna stood there, her face twisted with a cold smile as she looked down at my nearly lifeless body sprawled on the floor.
“If you’d listened to me in the beginning, you wouldn’t have ended up like this.”
Her lips curled. “While you were suffering here, my son was taking Charlee everywhere, sweet and inseparable, like two lovers in the flush of romance. He never once thought of you.”
My heart was already numb. Nothing about Cortey could stir my emotions anymore.
Finding me unresponsive, Edna sneered in disappointment. She ordered someone to drag me out of the basement, and then she tossed a divorce certificate at my feet.
“Go. I’ve already arranged everything for you.”
I picked up the document woodenly, nodded without a word, then gathered my mother’s urn and bracelet before getting into the car Edna had prepared.
Cortey’s POV
Meanwhile, Cortey had just stepped off the plane. Five days earlier, in an attempt to make up for the harm I had caused Charlee, he had taken her to Paris for a vacation.
Now that their trip was over, he rushed home. He needed to let me out of the basement quickly.
After all, he knew about my allergy to cold, damp air—if left there too long, I would relapse.
He hadn’t meant for me to suffer more than a little.
Besides, he had already found a new blood donor for my mother. Tonight, the transfusion could finally be arranged.
Anxiously, he hurried into the villa, heading straight for the basement.
“Sevlene,” he called, his tone almost reassuring, “Charlee’s too timid and afraid of pain, so I’ve found someone else to donate blood. Tonight, we can help your mom.”
But when he flung the basement door open, the space was empty. I was gone.
His brows furrowed in confusion. He turned to check the security footage, only to come face to face with his mother.
She stood there, a faint and mocking smile tugging at her lips.
“Looking for Sevlene?”
Cortey’s chest tightened at her words. “Mom, was it you who let her out? Where is she now? I need to take her to see her mother.”
His mother scoffed, her voice dripping with scorn.
“Oh, honey, your heart has strayed so far that you didn’t even notice her mother passed away a month ago. Unfortunately for you, Sevlene’s already gone. She only left this behind.”
With that, Edna tossed a divorce agreement into his arms.
