The assistant swallowed hard before continuing, “And Miss Victoria talked about getting back at you, Miss Jane, and Nora nearly every day.”
His face paled as he finished, knowing that it was likely the end of his job.
Jayden’s expression darkened with each word he spoke. By the end, his expression was so grim that it could freeze water.
Jayden cast a deadly glance at him. “Get out.”
The assistant almost bolted out the door.
“Wait.” Jayden’s low voice stopped him in his tracks.
The assistant slowly turned back and noticed Jayden’s gaze fixed on the report in his hand.
He hurried back to the desk, placing the file down with a shaky smile. “Mr. Lewis, I swear, I don’t know anything.”
Jayden did not acknowledge him, instead focussing on the stack of photos inside the report.
In one, Victoria was seen smiling at a man in the prison yard.
In another, a man handed her food, and she smiled as she took it.
The final image showed a man draping his coat over Victoria’s shoulders in the moonlight, with Victoria smiling intimately and almost suggestively at him.
Jayden knocked the photos off the desk, reopening his freshly bandaged wound and smearing the papers below with blood.
His pupils contracted as he read about Victoria’s revenge plan in the report.
How could she dare?
But why did she plan to kill Nora, and why didn’t the child’s DNA match his?
‘In Villa Fluvia’s study, a large computer screen showed video footage that was played in segments.
On the screen, an old wooden cabin stood quietly by the lake, with a willow tree beside it. The long branches swayed in the wind, making a soft rustling sound. On that late autumn afternoon, the sound was strangely relaxing.
Jayden had no idea how long he had been watching when a young woman appeared on the screen. He sat up straight, his gaze fixed on her.
She moved closer and closer, until her face was clear.
It was not her.
Jayden exhaled deeply and leaned back in his chair, pressing his fingers firmly against his temples.
This was more exhausting than completing a billion-dollar transaction.
The cabin remained eerily still, as if time had passed without leaving a trace.
Jayden stared at the screen, but his thoughts started to wander.
“Look at Victoria!” A young boy’s voice echoed in his mind.
He removed his hands from the girl’s eyes, pride radiating from his face; his energy was so warm that it felt like it could illuminate the entire world.
Victoria’s stiff posture relaxed, and the cabin in front of her no longer appeared scary.
“Come on, let me show you a magic trick!”A young Jayden took her hand and led her to the small cabin.
Victoria had been smiling at him the entire time, but when she saw the little cabin transform into a pink castle, she let go of his hand and ran inside, full of excitement. “Wow!” How did you know I would enjoy this?”
“I prepared it for you, and of course you enjoy it!” Jayden had said, running his hand through her soft hair, his eyes brimming with tenderness. “From now on, all you’ll remember is this castle I built for you. “No more nightmares.”
However, the nightmares persisted.
Jayden blinked and opened his eyes again, his body tensed in the chair.
It was Victoria.
In the video, she was holding a little girl in her arms and wearing a pink dress that Jayden recognised right away.
It was his daughter, Nora.
Nora fell asleep on Victoria’s shoulder.
Even from a distance, Jayden could see Nora’s unnatural flush.
What did Victoria do to her?
Jayden clenched his fists on the table, his knuckles cracking audibly; if Victoria were in front of him, he would undoubtedly strangle her with his own hands.
Victoria looked directly into the camera and locked eyes with him.
She said something, smiled, and continued walking towards the cabin.
Jayden’s eyes darkened as he recognised the words on her lips: “Mr.” Lewis, I am taking her with me.”
Crash.
Jayden slammed his hands on the table, his bloodshot eyes fixed on the screen. He tugged on his collar, gasping for air, his breathing becoming heavier by the second.
“Victoria, you are asking for death!”
Victoria couldn’t hear him, so she calmly opened the cabin door and carried Nora inside.
Suddenly, the screen filled with static.
Jayden kicked the table, causing the computer to wobble but remain upright. The image of the cabin reappeared.
As time passed, thick smoke poured from the cabin, rising into the sky, and the wooden house burned down. No one escaped.
Jayden grabbed the computer and threw it on the floor, his bloodshot eyes staring at the shattered device as if it were Victoria herself. “You think dying makes it all even? Dream on!”
His voice was hoarse and venomous, with each word dragging out as if it ripped at his flesh and bone.
Jayden suddenly buried his face in his hands and collapsed to the floor.
Sharp cries echoed throughout the corridor.
“Jayden, Jayden…”
