Right after he spoke, he picked up the pointed blade and ran it across the two ropes.
Gwynne and I at once started to swing.
Staring at the deep valley below, my face went very pale.
“Gwynne, you really are out of your mind! Aren’t you scared you might really fall?”
Gwynne let out a cold, small laugh. “They choose me.”
Down below, when Ezekiel and the others noticed the ropes moving, their faces all showed fear.
With wet eyes, Gwynne looked toward them and acted as she spoke in a soft, sad way, “Ezekiel, brothers, don’t help me, I'll be okay. Older sister only had me tied up because she wanted to see how much she mattered in your hearts. I'm okay. Pick older sister.”
With only that line, Gwynne pushed all blame for the kidnapping onto me.
She purposely turned her puffed face toward Ezekiel and the others, hinting that she was the one hurt.
Ezekiel at once felt a deep ache in his heart that showed on his face. My son and my brothers also stared at me with hurt in their eyes.
The kidnapper acted like he had been caught and hit Gwynne hard, yelling, “What nonsense are you saying?! I have nothing linked to Mrs. Windsleigh! You should make your pick fast, or I'll cut the ropes!”
Ezekiel looked at me with let-down eyes. “Heather, I never expected you to do a thing like this. I do not pick you. You can get down by yourself.”
“Ezekiel, Gwynne is the true one at fault. She paid the kidnappers. The reason I hit her was that she told me that before...” I tried to speak.
But before I could finish, Ezekiel cut me off right away.
“Stop! You say you hit Gwynne, right? I pick Gwynne. For Heather, do whatever you want with her. I will not give a single cent.”
He spoke this to the kidnapper, his face showing a cold lack of care.
“If Heather dies, then let her death be the cost for what she did!”
My son and my brothers stared at me with even more anger.
“If you want to die, then die by yourself. Why drag Aunt Gwynne with you? Anyway, if you have cancer, you will not live long. You'd better die early and reincarnate early.”
I stared at my son in shock, not thinking he would say something so harsh.
Seeing his pulled-tight face, old moments rushed back to me.
How he rested in my arms when he was small, how he turned red with joy while cheering for my birthday.
Each memory broke apart, replaced by the person standing in front of me now.
My brothers stared at Gwynne’s wounds with deep hurt, anger showing in their eyes.
“Heather, from the day you were found and brought home, you began fighting with Gwynne. She already left the Windsleigh family and gave Ezekiel to you. You still were not happy. Even when dying, you want to take her down with you!”
I stood and heard all their blame, and something in my heart stopped for good.
When he saw how I looked, Ezekiel paused for a short moment, as if he wanted to step closer.
Right then, the kidnapper cut the rope holding Gwynne and let her down.
Gwynne fell to the ground, crying in a helpless way, her cared-for face looking soft and sad.
Ezekiel could think of nothing else at that moment.
They all ran to gather around Gwynne, completely ignoring whether I lived or died.
The kidnapper looked at me and smiled mockingly.
Right at the right time, Gwynne passed out. They grew scared and quickly carried her to the hospital, and not one person turned back to me.
Only I stayed hanging above the cliff.
The sky turned dimmer, and the mountain wind turned stronger, making the rope swing hard.
All I could do was watch the rope slowly wear against the cliff, knowing it would not last long.
Just as I got ready to shut my eyes and accept dying, a pair of strong hands pulled me upward.
A known voice spoke close to my ear, “Heather, I’m sorry, I'm late.”
Hearing this, I finally couldn’t stop my tears.
After I got saved, I didn’t pick to go to the hospital first, but walked back toward the villa.
Before leaving, I needed to give Ezekiel and the others three big gifts.
The first gift, I set the cancer report on the coffee table in the villa, making sure they would see it as soon as they came back.
The second gift, I put it in Ezekiel’s study, the note saying the house would be sold, telling them to move out in one week.
The third gift, I told the company to pull back its funds in one week, and at the same time, send Ezekiel the audio of the truth Gwynne told earlier.
I wanted them to hurt, to fall into hell!
After I finished all of it, I grabbed my suitcase and left the villa, not turning around even once.
......
By the time Ezekiel and the others came back to the villa with Gwynne, it was already the next day.
Thinking about what happened yesterday, Ezekiel’s look still had not gotten better.
He stared at the messy coffee table near him, feeling even more annoyed.
Right when he was about to loudly blame Heather, he suddenly noticed a white document.
He coldly laughed. Heather even left the cancer report behind. Did she still think he would go soft?
With that thought, Ezekiel picked it up carelessly.
But after only one look, his eyes went wide in shock.
The name written on the cancer report was his name!
