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“It’s okay.I’ve got something special planned for her and Nathan.”
He caught on.“For their engagement?”
I nodded,eyes glinting with satisfaction.
I’d been unsure when to strike,but Claire handed me the perfect moment.
On their engagement day,Alex picked me up early,citing safety.
I’d hired a makeup artist—not to look beautiful,but pitiful.
Alex was startled by my gaunt,tragic appearance.
At the hotel,Claire pounced,taunting,“Some people are worse than strays dogs,yet here you are at our engagement…”
I smiled,the makeup making my expression look almost creepy.
Guests started whispering and pointing at me.
Claire seated me near the restrooms.
But I didn’t sit down.
I waited for their vows.
At the right moment,I hit play on my phone.
Claire’s face appeared on the venue’s screen.
Drunk,she’d confessed to friends,“Blame Emma’s bad luck.I didn’t mean to frame her,but she was with Nathan…”
“My hand was already failing before surgery—it was all those pills and their side effects. Emma was just a convenient scapegoat. Why should she keep her career when I lost mine?”
“She only had anything because of Nathan.Without him,she’s nothing.”
Claire’s face paled.She screamed,“Turn it off!”
Too late.I’d already leaked it online at the same time.
Since losing my hands,I’d burned with hatred for them.
Those humiliating days at the club were all part of my plan to lull them into a false sense of security.
After Claire’s video,Nathan’s came up.
At the club,I’d overheard him talking about his tax evasion schemes.
Unable to investigate myself,I tipped off his rivals.
Police stormed in and took the couple away for questioning.
Their engagement became their disgrace.
With high-profile guests present,the investigation moved fast.
Shockingly,Claire’s“pills”were banned,addictive drugs.
She was imprisoned.
Nathan,predictably,pinned his crimes on a fall guy,escaping.
I wasn’t satisfied,planning my next move.
Then opportunity presented itself.
After the scandal,I visited Ethan,wearing prosthetics to spare him worry.
As I was about to enter his room in my wheelchair,I saw Nathan.
He had the gall to say,“Emma,I avenged you.Claire’s dead in prison.Let’s start over.”
“I know I hurt you,but I’ll make it right.Come back to me.”
I focused on Claire’s death,not his plea.
She’d just been locked up.
I triggered my recorder.“Avenge me?I saw the news—Claire just got arrested.Don’t lie to me.”
My softer tone made him eager.“She’s dead.I arranged it.I don’t forgive liars.Come back,or you’ll be the next.”
I smirked.“Dead?Prove it.”
Provoked,he called his contact,confirming Claire’s death and even detailing how it was done.
As he pressuring me,Alex showed up.
Since the engagement,we’d grown closer—more than friends,not yet lovers.
The timing wasn’t right.
Seeing Alex,Nathan fled,likely fearing another beating without his bodyguards.
I took Alex to see Ethan.
As we left,Ethan asked,“Alex said I should ask when he can be my brother - in - law.”
My face burned.
I mumbled,“Maybe next time.”
I wondered if Alex,hiding outside,heard.
Days later,Nathan’s entire empire collapsed.
I’d sent his murder-for-hire evidence to his enemies.
He was arrested.
Claire’s parents,learning of her death,copied Nathan,hiring a hit.
Nathan met a gruesome end—stabbed 18 times, with his hands and feet cut off, his eyes left wide open in horror.
Six months later,my translation company was thriving.
Even without hands,I had my voice.
Knowledge never betrayed me.
I couldn’t save lives directly,but I translated complex medical texts,sharing medicine’s wonders.
My earnings were enough to support me and Ethan.
On Alex’s birthday,I took him to see Ethan.
Ethan called him“brother-in-law.”
I didn’t stop him,and Alex even encouraged Ethan to keep saying it.
Outside,Alex looked at me,expectant,waiting for me to say something.
“Happy birthday,boyfriend.”
