Jane laughed despite the hospital’s “No Loud Noise” signs. “Just thinking about that little brat getting cut into pieces makes me so happy. He used to tell me to get lost every time he saw me. Who did he think he was? A joke, that’s what. You know, once they’re done with him, his broken body and organs will be worthless. Maybe they’ll turn him into fertiliser or dog food. Pretty fitting, don’t you think?”
Jane wasn’t concerned that Victoria had collapsed on the floor. Seeing her like this made Jane believe she had already won.
She crouched next to Victoria. “Your son suffered so much when he was alive, and now, in death, he’s going to be ripped apart. What a little warrior, right? I’ll record the whole thing and send it to you. I’m even thinking about learning how to do an autopsy myself. Just for fun.”
A nurse suddenly rushed over and interrupted. “Miss Perez, we did everything we could, but your father’s heart stopped. He’s gone.”
Victoria’s body shook as she felt blood rise up her throat. She couldn’t keep it in, and it spilt out the corner of her mouth.
Jane’s laughter became even louder as she watched Victoria break down.
After a lengthy pause, Victoria responded.
“Take me to see Jayden. I’ll divorce him. I’m sure that’s what you want more than anything: to see us divorced. If he’s not Wyatt’s father anymore, he won’t have the right to decide what happens to his body.”
Victoria spoke as blood poured from her mouth and soaked the front of her clothing.
Jane looked at her in shock, as if she had seen a ghost. She expected Victoria to lash out, perhaps even fight her.
Victoria saw straight through her. “I’m not going to cause a scene here. I’ll change my clothes, and then you can take me to Jayden.”
At Villa Fluvia, Jane led Victoria to the second floor and opened the door. “Jayden, Victoria insisted on seeing you. I had no choice but to bring her here.”
Victoria entered the study, closed the door behind her, and locked it.
Jane sighed: “What? Afraid Jayden won’t want to see you and might take off? Guess you know your place.”
Victoria looked at Jayden, who was seated at his desk. Nobody could have imagined the cruel heart that lay beneath his charming face. Was there hatred? Revenge?
Her eyes were cold, as Jayden’s had been when he first sought vengeance.
“You say my father killed your mother. How did she die?”
Jayden stood up with his fists clenched. “She died in prison.”
“And that was my father’s doing?”
“Yes! It was him!”
“What was she convicted of? How long was her sentence? And why did she die in prison?”
Jayden took a deep breath as he watched her approach, step by step. There were no traces of the grief she had displayed the day before. Her eyes were dry and lifeless, as if the light had disappeared.
Jayden closed his eyes tightly, remaining silent for a long time before speaking. “Your father framed her for embezzlement and bribery. She got three years. In the third year, she was murdered in prison.”
Victoria responded with a nod: “So my father probably framed her and was afraid she’d reveal the truth once she got out of prison? So he killed her to silence her?”
Jayden was taken aback by Victoria’s cold indifference and the ease with which she accepted it.
“Victoria!”
Victoria nodded again, saying, “Jayden, you’ve probably heard the saying, and you understand it well. ‘The child pays for the sins of the parents.”
Jayden’s face darkened as Victoria continued, “When I was 13, I was kidnapped. The kidnappers demanded a fortune from my father. He almost went bankrupt to pay for my release. But once they had the money, they attempted to assault me and plotted to kill me. You saved me. I’ve owed you that my entire life. Even after we got married and you treated me horribly, I thought I deserved it because I owed you.
“You wanted to exact revenge on my father, and you used me as a weapon. You made me love you even though you hated me, and every time you hurt me, it felt like you were hurting him. That’s how a child pays for the sins of their parents, and through my suffering, you felt like you were avenging your mother.”
“Let us end this today. I will divorce you. Just give me my son back!”
Victoria was uncharacteristically calm, far too composed for someone negotiating something so serious.
Jayden smirked slightly. “Didn’t you once say you’d never divorce me, not in this lifetime?”
Victoria shook her head, “I want your name removed from Wyatt’s birth certificate as his father.” You claim you are not his father, so let’s make that official. I will not fight it. You never deserved to be his father. You have no right to determine what happens to his body.
Her tone, which had begun steadily, began to waver, with each sentence coming out weaker as she struggled to breathe.
The mention of Wyatt reminded her of the horrible things Jane had said, and she couldn’t let Jane mistreat her son’s body in death.
Jayden’s grin spread. “You want a divorce just to save that worthless little brat’s body?””
Victoria’s lungs felt on fire, as if she couldn’t get any air, and her brain was starving for oxygen. She forced a mocking smile, “What’s the matter? Have you truly fallen for your enemy’s daughter? Or are you simply too attached to our twisted love-hate relationship to go through with a divorce?”
Jayden scoffed, “There’s still a lot of debt left unpaid.” Do you really believe you can trade a divorce for your son’s body? “What a joke.”
“I have not forgotten my responsibility for my father’s sins. I’ll pay it all back,” Victoria said, her gaze drawn to the Swiss army knife on Jayden’s desk, which she had noticed as soon as she entered the room.
She grabbed the knife, opened it quickly, and turned to stab Jane four times in one motion.
Jayden’s face twisted in shock: “Victoria, stop!”
Jane hadn’t even realised what was happening when blood began to flow from her, filling the room with the metallic odour of iron.
