He Betrayed Me, He Went to Hell

Chapter 3

Lucian's heart skipped a beat as he opened the message window.

But what he saw was only a photograph of a large sow dressed in my clothes.

He was instantly overcome with anger, while the person on the other end of the line laughed loudly.

"What do you think? I edited this picture myself... pretty impressive, right?"

Lucian gripped his phone tightly in his hand, then finally locked the screen, deciding it was better not to look at it at all.

At that moment, Margot suddenly let out a sharp exclamation.

"Wait... isn't that her? Isn't that Aurelia?"

She opened a video file. The footage showed me traveling and vacationing in Lake Como, Italy with my son Milo.

In the video, I spoke in a bold, arrogant tone.

"Lucian, you need to get rid of that vile woman, Margot, for good. Then you must kneel and bow your head ten times as an apology. Only then will I even think about forgiving you."

This video was immediately met with a flood of angry comments online and quickly became a trending topic.

Shortly after, it was reported and removed from the platform.

Lucian's eyes turned red with rage. He clenched his fists so hard his knuckles turned white, and his voice was sharp and fierce.

"Perfect. Just perfect!" He immediately booked plane tickets to Lake Como, Italy, planning to go there himself and bring me back by force.

But if he had looked closely and paid attention to the details, he would have noticed that the person in the video had stiff, unnatural facial expressions, and there was an extra finger on the right hand... clear signs that the image had been created entirely by AI.

He was a renowned, top-tier detective, he should never have failed to spot such obvious anomalies.

The truth was simply that he had not wanted to look at me properly in a very long time.

Even when it came to a video, he only glanced at it briefly and carelessly.

Margot reached out and held him back.

"Lucian, maybe she is only saying these things to provoke you into going after her. If you rush over there now, won't you be doing exactly what she wants you to do?"

Lucian froze where he stood.

"You are right." He thought for a moment, then a cold, mocking smile spread across his face. "How could I have forgotten? She still has her mother, who is disabled and confined to bed. I want to see if she can keep playing her little games so happily if her mother is gone."

A wave of icy coldness ran through every part of my spirit. I threw myself in front of Lucian, trying desperately to block his path.

"No! You cannot hurt my mother!" My heart felt as if it were tearing apart from the pain, and my voice grew weaker and lower. "That is my own mother you are talking about! Lucian!"

After we graduated from college, I took Lucian home to meet my family.

My mother liked him very much.

After we were married, she even used all the savings she had put aside over her whole life to help us buy our first home.

Then later, she was in a car accident that left one leg permanently broken.

After that, she was diagnosed with cancer.

She endured the illness all the way until it reached its final stage, and only told me the truth when it could no longer be hidden.

Now I was dead, and yet she was still going to suffer harm and trouble because of Lucian.

Lucian could not hear a single word I said.

He walked straight through my transparent, ghostly form as if I were nothing but air.

He stormed into the hospital, his expression fierce and determined.

I had no choice but to float along behind him.

"Which room is the mother of Aurelia staying in? The one with the broken leg?" he demanded.

The nurse frowned slightly, taken aback by his tone.

"You mean Mrs. Esther Ellison? She went into emergency surgery four hours ago, but we could not save her. We have been trying to contact her next of kin this whole time, but no one has answered..."

Lucian stopped dead in his tracks.

He stared hard at the nurse.

"What did you just say?" He let out a sharp, cold laugh, his eyes narrowing with disbelief.

His grip tightened at his side as he stepped forward slightly. "Aurelia really is a fine actress," he said with biting sarcasm. "She will even make up lies about her mother dying in surgery, just to trick people."

He gave a dismissive shake of his head, his tone growing colder. "Her mother only has a broken leg. It is not as if she had some terrible, fatal illness."

A cruel edge slipped into his voice as he let out another short laugh. "How could she possibly be dead?"

The nurse sighed sadly.

"The patient's body is still here in the ward. You may go and see for yourself if you wish," the staff member said calmly, sliding a file across the desk.

She adjusted her glasses and added, "Here is the full record of her treatment and surgery."

Then, after a brief pause, her tone turned businesslike. "Also, Mrs. Ellison's medical bills had not been paid for two months. Since you are here now, could you please settle the outstanding amount?"