Chapter 204 - 203: Victor Quinn and Mrs. Fletcher Want to Kill Me

Chapter 204: Chapter 203: Victor Quinn and Mrs. Fletcher Want to Kill Me

"I’m sorry..." I said after a long silence. "Whether you believe me or not, I never wanted to hurt Julian Fletcher..."

I looked up at Mrs. Fletcher. "You know Sebastian Lancaster’s condition. He has self-harming and suicidal tendencies when he loses control. I can’t leave him, and I won’t divorce him."

"Besides..." I took a deep breath, looked at Mrs. Fletcher, and said what I had been holding back for so long. "Do you really believe that an abuser... ever truly regrets tormenting their victim?"

Mrs. Fletcher froze for a moment, then frowned at me. "What do you mean?"

"To Cecilia Caldwell, Julian Fletcher was the abuser, and you... were the bystander. You should have stopped him, but you pretended not to see. That makes you an accomplice..." My voice trembled.

"You couldn’t have been unaware of what Julian Fletcher did to Cecilia Caldwell, could you? A sexual act forced on her without her consent... what do you call that?"

Mrs. Fletcher’s expression soured. "Don’t you dare speculate about Cecilia in that tone. She loved Julian. Their relationship was mutual."

My fingers tightened into a fist. I managed a small, bitter smile. "Don’t use ’love’ to justify abuse. Cecilia Caldwell might have loved him, but that doesn’t mean she was willing to be possessed, violated, humiliated, and tormented by him..."

"Shortly after Cecilia got pregnant, she used a pregnancy test. She was scared, so she threw it in the trash. Later, she worried the maid would find it and went back to get it, but it was already gone..." I said quietly, looking at Mrs. Fletcher. "You’re the one who took it, weren’t you?"

Mrs. Fletcher froze again, staring at me in astonishment, as if she couldn’t believe I knew such a specific detail.

’There’s no way Cecilia would have told someone about this, word for word, right?’

She eyed me with suspicion, saying nothing.

"You knew Cecilia was pregnant, yet you still did nothing to stop Julian Fletcher’s abuse. So, for him to be where he is today—full of regret, even suicidal—you bear the full, undeniable responsibility for that. Therefore... Julian’s suicide is on you, not me."

’It’s ridiculous. Why... do they always try to run away from the truth?’

"I believe that even if Cecilia Caldwell were still alive, she would never forgive Julian Fletcher... The harm he caused is a fact. If his self-harm and self-torture could just erase everything, then it would mean Cecilia deserved all the pain she suffered."

My voice shaking, I pushed the card back toward her. "I’m sorry. I’m not Cecilia Caldwell. I can’t help you. You’ll have to find another way."

I stood up, ready to leave.

Mrs. Fletcher leaned back in her chair and took a deep breath. "You could have just refused me at the Lancaster residence. Why did you agree to come?"

I didn’t answer. ’It was probably because she took care of me all those years.’

’After all, she was the one who took me in when I was at my lowest.’

"It’s not too late to change your mind. Otherwise..." Mrs. Fletcher was threatening me.

I said nothing and walked out.

"Hand the evidence over to the police." As I was getting into the elevator, I heard Mrs. Fletcher on the phone.

The look in her eyes was deep and complex. It seemed like she pitied me, but it was more like... she was looking at a dead woman walking.

On the way home from the restaurant, I bought some takoyaki from a street vendor.

I’m not sure why... but I had a feeling Asher would like it.

My eyes started to burn. I didn’t know why I was crying, but I couldn’t stop the tears...

’Julian Fletcher... I never thought he would try to kill himself, nor did I ever think of forgiving him.’

’What’s the point of him doing all this now?’

"Cecilia... stop trying to trap me with this engagement. Ask yourself, do you even want to marry me?"

Julian used to ask me after he’d been drinking if I truly wanted to marry him.

"Cecilia, you’re disgusting..."

"Your affection is so cheap."

"Why don’t you just die..."

"Cecilia, you’re mine. Got it?"

Julian’s constant abuse was like a brand seared into my skin. He was a contradiction, wanting to possess me while simultaneously pushing me away out of distrust.

"Silvia Lynch." As I was walking down the alley toward home, someone called my name.

I glanced back. It was Chadwick Finch.

His face was panicked. "Run!" he said urgently.

I frowned, confused.

Chadwick Finch ran over nervously. "The police are onto us."

He grabbed me, trying to pull me away, and the takoyaki in my hand scattered all over the ground.

"What do you mean...?" I asked Chadwick.

"Did you forget? ’The boss’ was helping us find adoptive families for those kids. The smartest one, wasn’t he adopted by that guy, Ezra Finch?" Chadwick suddenly stopped and grinned at me. "That Ezra Finch... he’s a human trafficker."

I froze on the spot.

Before I could even process what he’d said, I heard police sirens.

Chadwick’s face changed, and he grabbed me again, a look of terror on his face. "Silvia, run! We have to run!"

Even without my memories, I could see it clearly. This Chadwick Finch... he was framing me.

"Class President... there’s no grudge between us. Why are you doing this to me?" I looked at Chadwick in confusion. Of all the people from the orphanage back then, he had always seemed the kindest and most normal.

But it turns out you really can’t judge a book by its cover.

’Everyone from that orphanage... they were all villains.’

Chadwick sneered and whispered in my ear, "It’s every man for himself."

I stared at Chadwick coldly. ’What is he planning to do?’

’Is he trying to frame me and send me to prison?’

"Someone wants you to disappear, and they need a plausible reason. For example... fleeing to escape justice." Chadwick smiled, then suddenly clamped a cloth over my nose and mouth.

A pungent smell filled my nostrils. I was powerless to resist and passed out.

’I think I know what Chadwick is trying to do.’

’He wants to make me ’disappear,’ but not before pinning a crime on me.’

The police were investigating the personal connections of the dismemberment case victim, and I had interacted with the second victim. That would make me a focus of the investigation.

Mrs. Fletcher would hand her so-called evidence to the police. The police would summon me for questioning, only to find I’ve vanished. No one would ever suspect I’d been kidnapped.

Everyone would just assume I fled to escape justice.

’They’ve prepared the perfect excuse for me.’

...

"Since she refuses to cooperate, let’s replace her." In a daze, I heard Mrs. Fletcher’s voice.

"Everything was going fine, and then she suddenly went off-script." That was Victor Quinn’s voice.

He seemed to be complaining that I was no longer under their control.

"I’ve already briefed Erin Whittaker. Since Silvia Lynch was so successful at pretending to be Cecilia Caldwell, Erin... will be just as flawless. All we need to do now... is let Silvia’s body be discovered by the public. Then the excuse that Cecilia has been ’reborn’ in Erin’s body will be plausible," Victor Quinn said in a low voice.

"Will anyone actually believe that?" Mrs. Fletcher was clearly skeptical.

"We don’t need everyone to believe it. It’s enough if Sebastian Lancaster and your son believe it, isn’t it? You said you just wanted your son to live, and I’m doing exactly what you asked." Victor Quinn sounded annoyed. "I’ve already planted psychological suggestions in both your son and Sebastian. All we need is a catalyst."

’Victor Quinn has already manipulated Sebastian Lancaster and Julian Fletcher.’

’They’ll gradually come to believe that Erin Whittaker is ’Cecilia.’’

’And I... have to die.’

"Hmph, wasn’t this all your design?" Mrs. Fletcher said through gritted teeth. "After killing those two, are the Fletcher and Lancaster families next on your list?"

"I haven’t touched the Fletcher or Lancaster families. We’re in the same boat. Don’t let someone drive a wedge between us," Victor Quinn said lightly. "It’s obvious someone is deliberately trying to sow discord."

Mrs. Fletcher fell silent.

"Do it. Make it clean," Victor Quinn said grimly before he and Mrs. Fletcher left.

Panic surged through me and I struggled with all my might, but I couldn’t wake up.

’They’re going to kill me.’

’Asher...’

I don’t know why, but I thought of Asher. ’Would he come and save me...?’