Chapter 9：He Never Loved Flora
749words
Before I died, I'd asked her to bury me here, with my photo on the tombstone.
After all, I'd paid a million dollars for this plot.
Soon, Dane's car pulled up. His voice was hoarse, his eyes bloodshot and wild.
"Why did you bring me here? Where's Sophia?"
Emily pointed at my photo on the tombstone, her face grim.
"Sophia? She's dead. Lying right there."
At these words, Flora—who had been hurrying toward them—froze, the corners of her mouth twitching upward.
"Stop fucking around! What kind of sick game is this?"
His roar echoed across the cemetery.
Dane's hands clenched into fists, veins bulging at his temples, his face contorted with rage.
His Alpha power surged outward, crushing the air around them.
"Tell Sophia to come out right now! She's trying to manipulate me!"
The Alpha had always been controlled, dominant, even ruthless when necessary.
But now, he was coming apart at the seams.
I floated above them, watching with strange detachment.
"What's this? The mighty Alpha actually afraid of something?" Emily mocked. "Sophia told you she was dying, didn't she?"
"But you never believed her."
Dane's imposing frame swayed as if each of Emily's words were physical blows.
Sophia was dead. Truly dead.
Pain and remorse crashed over him like a tidal wave.
Emily stalked toward Flora. "She's the one who killed Sophia. She poisoned her food, triggering the dormant wolfsbane from when Sophia saved your worthless life. It gave her just seven days to live."
"And you, Alpha, were her accomplice. You ignored Sophia's cries for help."
Emily turned toward Mike, who stood scowling nearby.
"As for him—her own brother—he delivered the final emotional blow."
Emily's eyes glistened with unshed tears.
"All of you have Sophia's blood on your hands!"
The sky darkened ominously as storm clouds rolled in from the east.
Flora shook her head frantically. "Brother, don't listen to this bitch! I didn't do anything!"
The words had barely left her mouth when Dane's hand closed around her throat.
"DID YOU DO IT?"
Mike stepped between them as Flora cowered behind him. "Don't listen to her! This is probably all part of Sophia's plan!"
"SHUT UP!" A harsh voice cut through the chaos.
My parents stormed toward them, flanked by a contingent of guards.
Their eyes were red-rimmed from crying.
My heart ached at the sight.
What I'd feared most was causing them pain.
"Mom?" Mike stared in shock. Without warning, my mother slapped him hard across the face.
"Sophia was your sister! Not only did you fail to protect her, you defended the bitch who killed her!"
As she finished, a maid stepped forward and knelt.
"On the night of the prayer ceremony, I saw with my own eyes—Lady Flora threw herself down the stairs. Sophia never touched her."
Flora's face contorted with panic. "You're lying!"
Dane, who had been frozen in shock, collapsed to his knees. He crawled toward my tombstone.
"I was wrong, Sophia. I was so wrong. Please come back."
"Please..."
After all these years, this was the first time the Alpha had shed tears for me.
Only after I was dead.
How fucking ironic.
He rose and seized Flora by the throat, dragging her to my tombstone.
"From this day forward," he declared, "Flora will kneel before Sophia's grave for five hours daily to atone for her sins."
"Every pain that Sophia endured, Flora will experience—including wolfsbane poisoning."
Flora screamed, begging Mike to intervene.
"He can't help you anymore." My father's voice cut like steel. "I'm stripping Mike of his company shares and his right to inherit the Beta leadership."
"Mike, you've disappointed us beyond redemption."
Emily watched with grim satisfaction before turning to Dane. "And what about you?"
Dane looked utterly broken, tears streaming down his face, his voice hollow with despair.
He suddenly remembered how fragile Sophia had looked that day in the hospital, clutching his sleeve.
Tears of blood streaked down his face. "I'll die with Sophia."
"That would be too easy," Emily spat, her eyes blazing with hatred. "I want you to resign as Alpha and spend the rest of your miserable life praying for Sophia's soul."
Dane stared at my smiling photo on the tombstone.
He suddenly remembered my parting words.
"No one is irreplaceable."
In truth, he was the one who couldn't let go.
From the first moment he saw me at school, Dane had already known—
He never truly loved Flora.
