The blade was entrenched deep in her abdomen, and bright red blood was seeping along the edge of the dagger, finally dripping onto the ground and staining the white floors a jarring shade of scarlet.
The shock dissipated from her eyes as she stared at the blood. Then, finally, Jacqueline lifted her head to stare at Bethan, a triumphant sneer on her face.
“Bethan,” she muttered, trying to stifle the excruciating pain as she sneered at the woman before her. “You’re dead.”
The reason she had gone to such great lengths to take revenge on Bethan and Brettley was that she had no evidence of them actually killing Fiona. After all, no one had yet to find her corpse, much less any concrete evidence of their involvement in this.
Jacqueline knew that Bethan and Brettley were behind Fiona’s death, but since she had no evidence, this was the only way she could get revenge on them, but at this moment, things had changed…
Although she still did not have any proof of Bethan killing Fiona, one thing was clearBethan attacked her.
Almost everyone who was anyone in Banyan City was gathered here at the wedding, and Bethan stabbed her in front of so many pairs of watchful eyes…
Not even Brettley could save Bethan from this, no matter how powerful he was, unless he could somehow buy out everyone at the scene and prevent them from telling the truth…but this was impossible.
Most of them were Adrian’s debtors and had gathered here to get their money back from Brettley.
Although Brettley had cut ties with Adrian, these people still harbored vengeance over their lost money, and if Brettley were to bribe them, they would surely make outrageous requests that Brettley would never be able to fulfill.
Not only would they ask for their money back, but they would also even go to great lengths to ask for more compensation, and no matter how powerful Brettley’s business was, he would never be able to support so many people.
Therefore, Bethan…would have to go to jail.
At the thought of this, Jacqueline sneered and grabbed hold of Bethan’s hand, which was still curled around the handle of the dagger, and sunk the blade even deeper into her own belly.
As the pain grew even more intense, the smile on her face widened. She stared at Bethan intently and murmured, “You’re dead, Bethan. I’ll let you rot your next ten years in jail.”
Bethan, who had lost almost all sense of rationality at this point, snickered at this. “Well, since I’m going to jail anyway, I might as well kill you so you’ll meet Anne in the afterlife!”
With that, she yanked the dagger out and raised it, getting ready to stab Jacqueline once more.
“Bethan!”
Brettley lunged toward Bethan, grabbing hold of her around the waist, and bending her wrist at an angle that loosened her grip around the dagger. The dagger clattered on the ground, and Brettley wrapped his arms around her. “Don’t fall for her trick! She’s trying to provoke you!”
Bethan did not struggle against his grip and instead lifted her head to meet his head.
“She’s not trying to provoke me. I really want to kill her. I want to avenge Anne’s death!”
“Anne won’t return even if you kill her!”
Brettley was stunned by what Bethan said.
After a while, he reached out his hand to hold Bethan’s hand tightly. “I know you’re having a bad moment now, and I also understand how important Anne is to you, but think about just how many people are watching now, Bethan. You cant…”
‘Take my life, then! At least that way I can be with Anne!”
Bethan exclaimed.
She looked up. Her eyes were filled with anger and guilt.
That look of hers ached Brettley’s heart. He could tell Bethan was serious about what she said. It was not something she blurted out because of impulsiveness.
He paused for a while. Just when he successfully gathered his words to console her,
Jacqueline laughed. ‘Bethan, I thought you were going to take revenge for your friend by killing me?
‘Do it!”
Jacqueline pressured Bethan.
Blood stained Jacqueline’s white wedding gown red color, but the smile on her face was even more arrogant and sinister than before. “What’s wrong? You don’t dare to do it, don’t you? Backing out like a coward? So this is what you meant when you say
Anne is your best friend? What a joke! Your best friend is dead because of you, and here you are! The person responsible for her death is standing here, and you don’t even dare to do anything about it!”
As a matter of fact, Jacqueline knew a thing or two about medicine. Hence, she was aware that Bethan did not cause any injury to her organ when Bethan stabbed her. At this moment, her body was just bleeding but would not result in death.
If Bethan stabbed her once more, it would severe her body. By then, there was no way
Brettley could save Bethan, not even when he was the judge himself!
Her ultimate motive was to send Bethan to jail. She wanted Bethan to pay for killing Fiona!
‘Shut the fuck up!”
Brettley glared at Jacqueline angrily. “Do you really think your sister is innocent? Bethan never thought about hurting or killing her!
Your sister was the one who did it to herself!”
‘You liar!” roared Jacqueline. “My sister is from the Grace family, and she’d never do such things! It was you two! You two killed her!”
She looked at Bethan, who was in Brettley’s arms, and attempted to trigger her again.
‘Come get me, Bethan! Avenge your best friend’s death! What’s wrong? You don’t dare to do it? Being a coward?
“Oh, I know! You’re a selfish, self-centered person. You don’t care about Anne’s life.
Anne was never important to you. The most important person is you!”
Bethan clenched her hands tightly into fists as she rested them at her sides. The memory she had with Anne flashed in her mind. When Anne was smiling; when Annewas carrying Sammie; when Anne consoled her when she could not sleep at night; and when she and Anne watched the night sky together…
Tears started to roll down her eyes. She lifted her head and looked at the smug Jacqueline with teary eyes.
After a while, she struggled vehemently. “Let go of me! I want to kill her!”
“Bethan!”
The more she struggled, the tighter Brettley confined her with his arms. “Don’t listen to her. She’s just trying to play with your mind!”
He reached out and held her hand tightly. “Anne is gone. There’s nothing you can change even if you kill Jacqueline!”
“I’ve failed Anne!”
Bethan shouted.
“You’re going to disappoint her even more if you’re put in jail for killing Jacqueline!”
Brettley grabbed her chin and forced her to look into his eyes. ‘ Anne is dead. Sammie has lost her mother. If you truly think you’ve failed Anne, then you should move on with your life. Find John and Sammie; help Anne take care of her child! What can you solve if you act so recklessly now?”
Brettley’s words shook Bethan to the core. She dazedly looked at the man in front of her. “I…should help Anne take care of Sammie?”
“Yes!”
Brettley grasped her chin and wound his free arm around her slim waist. He solemnly said, “If you think you owe Anne, and if you believe you were the reason why Anne is dead, make it up to her. Since you’re the reason Sammie won’t have a mother in her life anymore, take up the responsibility to be her mother! Look after Sammie so she’ll be able to grow up happily.
“Would you be daring enough to seek forgiveness from Anne when you meet her in the afterlife? Are you sure you don’t want to do anything to atone for your sin before you meet her?”
A glimmer of hope slowly returned to Bethan’s lost eyes. She bit her lip as she could not help her tears from spilling. “You’re right…”
She was the reason Anne was dead. She was the reason Sammie had to grow up without her mother.
She needed to help Anne to give Sammie a complete life. This was not the time for her to perish with Jacqueline!
‘Anne will ask if I’ve helped her take care of Sammie when I see her in the afterlife. How am I going to answer and face her if I act recklessly now?’ she thought.
Finally, she stopped struggling.
This did not go unnoticed by Jacqueline, and the cynicism in her eyes hardened. ‘Brettley is even harder to deal with than I imagined! Without him, I would’ve agitated Bethan and made her hurt me one more time!’
She bit her lip and gave Bethan a cold look. “Are you sure you want to listen to him? He tried so hard, yet he still failed to rescue Anne. He even kept you in the dark when Anne was kidnapped. He’s a selfish person. Just because he wants to keep you by his side, he purposely stopped you from avenging your best friend’s death!”
As she was talking, she bent down to pick up the dagger from the floor and strode over to Bethan while enduring the pain from the stab wound. She attempted to put the dagger back into Bethan’s hand.
“Come on, Bethan. Didn’t you say Anne is your best friend? Don’t you even dare to avenge her death? Don’t listen to him about taking care of her kid! John can take care of his own daughter!
“Besides. If Brettley cares about you, he’d help you to take care of Anne’s kid after you avenge Anne’s death. Anne’s kid isn’t the reason why you should not avenge her death!”
She glared at Bethan, the look in her eyes becoming more unhinged. “Come on! Kill me!
“Kill me now, Bethan! Avenge your friend! Don’t tell me you can’t do it now! Anne died for nothing because you’re a coward! She lost her life because of you, and you don’t even dare to avenge her death!”
Bethan raised her head and looked at Jacqueline’s demented stare. Her brows squeezed together. Everything Jacqueline said was like a knife stabbing into her heart.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.