Chapter 15
A terrifying, staggering suspicion shot through Andrew’s mind, spreading like poison and overriding every other thought he had. His heart pounded wildly, and his blood seemed to flow in
reverse.
However, despite the storm raging inside him, he maintained a calm exterior. There was still insufficient evidence. He needed something irrefutable.
Stone Group’s collaboration with Emily’s studio carried on.
During a meeting that delved deeper into the product concepts, Emily proposed a completely new design approach. She wanted to integrate the simple yet evocative style of classical design into modern tech products, forming a type of aesthetic that soothed the stress of high–ranking business professionals.
Her explanation was clear and insightful, her logic sound, and her understanding of user psychology struck Andrew with both a sense of affinity and awe.
It was as if she had articulated a thought he had long vaguely recognized deep inside himself but never had the chance to express.
He watched her standing by the projector, confidently introducing her design sketches. Her intelligence and inspired ideas seemed to form a halo around her, one so dazzling that he couldn’t tear his eyes away from her.
In that moment, an inexpressible feeling of admiration–and a wave of burning jealousy – surged within him.
Andrew was jealous of the other men on the project team who could interact with her normally and whom she treated with great professionalism. He was jealous that they could see this brilliant side of her.
He, on the other hand, would always be shut out of her world.
Lucy, who’d snuck to the company to have lunch with Andrew, chanced upon this scene when she looked through the glass window of the conference room.
When she saw the mix of emotions in Andrew’s eyes as he stared intently at Emily, she instantly felt threatened. Filled with rage and the fear of losing everything, she lost all reason.
Lucy decided to make an extreme gamble. She forged a “final letter” and faked an attempt to take her own life. Using the most drastic of methods, she tried to force Andrew into marrying her right away, binding him to her for good.
She had timed everything meticulously. After setting up the scene in her apartment, she sent him a farewell text, swallowed a large dose of vitamins she’d disguised as sleeping pills, and lay in
bed, waiting.
Andrew’s heart clenched when he received her message. Despite his suspicion about the car
Chapter 15
20
accident, there was still a life at stake right now, so he rushed over at once.
He kicked the door open and found Lucy unconscious on the bed, empty pill bottles and a note scattered beside her. He immediately moved closer to check on her.
However, upon closer inspection, he spotted several things that gave the act away.
Lucy’s breathing was steady, and her complexion was completely normal. There was no sign of her having overdosed on anything. Furthermore, the handwriting on her so–called final letter looked hasty and rushed.
His face darkened. Just as he was about to fly off the handle, his phone buzzed. Peter had sent him the full results of the investigation, including a slightly blurry but extremely important dashcam footage.
The air seemed to freeze around Andrew as he pressed to play the recording with a trembling finger.
The shaky footage was accompanied by the sound of screeching brakes and cars slamming against each other. He watched as his car crumpled upon impact.
Soon after that, another car came to an abrupt stop, and a slender figure stumbled out even before the car completely stopped moving. She dashed straight to the driver’s seat of his car.
It was Emily!
Even though the recording didn’t capture her voice, he felt as though he could hear her heart- wrenching cries.
Andrew watched as she used every ounce of her strength to open his mangled car door. He saw as her hands became instantly covered with the blood bleeding out of him.
She pressed desperately on his wound, the blood soaking into her plain–colored dress and staining her pale, despairing face.
As she applied pressure to his wound, she kept screaming to those around her for help. He could read her lips as she also screamed at him, “Andrew! Andrew! Hang in there!”
Despite how terrified she looked, she’d remained determined. There was a kind of desperation about her as she fought against the fervent despair of the situation.
Toward the end, another car finally pulled to a stop in the corner.
Lucy descended from the car and stood a great distance away, covering her mouth as she stared in shock and fear. She dared not come any closer.
It wasn’t until the wail of the approaching ambulance that she finally reacted. She hurried forward to push aside the nearly spent Emily, acting like she was the one who’d been helping
Andrew.
Meanwhile, Emily, the one who’d truly saved his life, collapsed on the side as a result of her fear and exhaustion. She was almost completely ignored by everyone, including the dashcam.
Andrew slammed his fist onto the expensive mahogany bedside table. His knuckles swelled up and started bleeding at once, but he didn’t seem to feel the pain at all.
He felt as though an invisible force had clenched around his heart before tearing it into pieces.
