His One True Love

Chapter 2---A Million Vanishes

"Wendy Moore?! You again? What are you doing here?"

A cold, middle-aged woman's voice cut through the air. Wendy turned—Autumn Scott, her stepmother, had just walked in.

Upstairs, the couple heard the commotion and looked down.

Brad Howell's eyes flickered with panic. "Wendy… How did you come back?"

Wendy curled her lips into a bitter smile, glaring at him. "This is my house. Why shouldn't I come back?"

Grace Scott, nestled against Brad, sneered, her red lips twisting. "Your house? This villa hasn't been the Moore's since your father jumped to his death ten months ago."

Wendy frowned. "What are you talking about?"

Grace, in a short skirt and stilettos, descended the stairs slowly. "George Moore killed himself, drowning in debt. If it weren't for my mother, this place would've been seized. So no—this house doesn't belong to the Moores. It belongs to the Scotts!"

Jumped… suicide? Impossible!

Wendy lunged forward, grabbing Grace by the collar, her face ashen with rage. "You're lying! My father would never commit suicide! Tell me the truth!"

"Get your hands off me! Let go, you psycho!"

Bang—!

Brad shoved her hard. She crashed to the floor, pain searing through her like shattered bones.

Her eyes blazing red, she glared at them. "You killed my father! Did you two plot to murder him?"

"Enough!" Autumn snapped. "Where were you when he died? Vanished for ten months—now you dare show your face? Your pitiful father was driven to jump by creditors!"

"No! I sent him ten million! He couldn't have been desperate!"

"Ten million? Don't make me laugh. What fantasy is that?"

Wendy's mind reeled. Staring into Autumn's venomous gaze, a horrifying truth dawned.

—Autumn Scott, her father's second wife, her stepmother, had swallowed the ten million she'd sold her dignity and innocence for.

That ten million was meant to save her father.

Trembling with fury, her voice cracked. "You stole it? You killed him, didn't you?! Give him back! Give him back…!"

She scrambled up, snatched a fruit knife from the table, and lunged at Autumn and Grace.

"Ahh! She's insane! Brad—stop her!"

Brad clamped her wrist. The knife slashed her arm, clattered down, and he kicked it away.

Autumn glared. "Grace! Bring her father's ashes. Give them to her."

Wendy stared at the urn, lips trembling…

Her father's ashes… Was he really in there?

Autumn snatched it and hurled it into Wendy's arms. "Cemeteries cost a fortune! Keeping it at home brings bad luck anyway! Take it! And don't ever say you know us!"

Wendy clutched the urn, tears streaming. "Dad… Why did you jump? I didn't get to see you… You promised to wait for me… You promised…"

"Take the ashes and get out! Brad—throw her out!"

Brad yanked her injured arm, shoving her into the rain. He "kindly" tossed a hundred dollars bill at her. "Wendy, it's pouring. Take a cab. Don't come back."

She stared at the note. "Are you treating me like a beggar?"

In her slender fingers, the bill was torn to shreds—and flung into his face. "Brad! Every wrong you and Autumn Scott have done to me—I'll make you pay. A hundred times. A thousand. No matter the cost!"

Brad's brow twitched. He slammed the door—hard.

The force of the slam lashed her ashen face, cold and brutal.

Wendy held the urn, dragging herself through the downpour. In the dark, her shadow stretched—long, lonely…

"Dad, I'm taking you home."

She walked through the storm until, with a splash, she collapsed to her knees in the icy rain. She cradled the urn close, shielding it with her arms. Her face, pale and lifeless, tilted down—but her lips lifted faintly. "Dad… I can't walk anymore. We have no home… But one day, I'll bring you back to our real home…!"

Suddenly, a blinding light cut through the night.

A black, understated yet luxurious limited-edition Maybach braked sharply and stopped.

The driver leaned out, staring at the woman collapsed in front of the car. "Mr. Fields, there's a woman down!"

The man's sharp features were half-shadowed, his expression unreadable. Calmly, he said, "Pick her up. Take her to the hospital."