Chapter 10%
“She’s a monster! Can you even imagine how desperate Sophie must have felt when she was pushed off that balcony?”
The crowd erupted again, their voices filled with shock and fury. There was no more speculation–everyone had seen the truth with their own eyes.
Wilma stood there, frozen, completely blindsided. She had convinced herself that the secret had died with Sophie, that no one besides Harris would ever know what really happened. She thought they had covered everything up.”
But now, with the truth had been laid bare.
Her legs gave out, and she dropped to her knees, her breath coming in short, panicked gasps. Grabbing onto Harris’s sleeve like a lifeline, she pleaded, “Harris, you have to help me! Do something! I can’t go to jail, I won’t go to jail! Just find a way to fix this!“}]
Her voice cracked as she clung to the only thing she had left–her belief that money could solve everything. But this time, Harris didn’t even look at her.”
“Do you really think money is going to save you now?” His voice was cold, laced with bitter exhaustion. “I’ve already done everything for you and Yulian. I gave up my own daughter for you! But I’m done. No one’s coming to save you this time.”
As soon as the police turned their attention to him, Harris’s entire demeanor shifted. He wiped his face, took a deep breath, and quickly stepped forward, trying to paint himself as an innocent man caught up in someone else’s crime.“]
“You’ve seen the footage! She pushed my daughter! I–I was in shock, I didn’t see it clearly at the time! I really thought Sophie jumped! If I had known the truth, I swear I would have stopped it!” His voice wavered just enough to sound convincing, and he even forced out a few tears, trying to sell the performance.“>
Wilma’s hands clenched into fists as she stared at him in disbelief. Her whole body shook, her breath coming in ragged gasps before a wild, humorless laugh escaped her lips. “What did you just say?“>
Harris ignored her, keeping up the act. “This has nothing to do with me! It was her! It was all her fault!”
That was the last straw. Wilma let out a choked, hysterical laugh, yanking at her own hair as her body trembled with fury.”
“Are you kidding me?! You’re really trying to pin this all on me?!” She pointed a shaking finger at him, eyes wild. “You were the one who came up with the plan! You poisoned your own daughter just to make things easier for me and Yulian! And you know what? I kept everything! Every bit of proof of what you did, I have it all!”
She turned to the police, fumbling in her bag. “I’ll give it to you! Right now! I’ll hand over everything!”
For the first time, Harris looked shaken. His entire body stiffened, his face draining of color as he realized just how quickly things were unraveling. He had to stop her.”
Without thinking, he lunged.”
His hands wrapped around Wilma’s throat, squeezing Already on the last page going to ruin me, then you might as well die!“?
er breath. “You’re not taking me down with you! If you’re
Wilma gasped, her nails clawing at his wrists as her vision blurred. The room exploded into chaos, but before anyone could react, a flash of silver, a sharp gasp, the unmistakable sound of a knife sinking into flesh came.
Harris froze, his grip loosening as his eyes slowly dropped to his chest. A fruit knife was buried deep in his heart, his own blood quickly soaking through his shirt.
He turned his head, stunned, to see Yulian standing there, his hands still gripping the handle, his entire body trembling.
“You ruined everything,” Yulian choked out, his voice shaking with rage. “Both of you. I never cared about the stupid competition, I just wanted to live a normal life. But now, everything’s gone because of you!“}]
A few days ago, he had been on top of the world. Everything had been perfect. Now, in the span of mere moments, his entire life had come crashing down around him, leaving nothing but the unbearable weight of betrayal and devastation.
The knife slipped from Yulian’s fingers, clattering against the bloodstained floor, but the madness in his eyes didn’t fade.}]
His breath came in sharp, ragged bursts as he turned on the crowd, his grip tightening around the handle of another blade.
Screams tore through the air as he lashed out blindly. Fans who had once cheered for him now scrambled to get away, shoving and tripping over each other in sheer panic.
But not everyone was lucky, some weren’t fast enough. A few crumpled to the ground, their pained cries swallowed by the chaos.
Then, a single gunshot echoed through the space.
Yulian’s body stiffened, his whole frame locking up as if time had frozen. Slowly, he glanced down, staring at the growing stain of blood seeping through his shirt. His breath hitched, his hands trembled, and his legs buckled beneath him.D
He collapsed. Even as the light in his eyes faded, his lips moved, voice barely a whisper. “I… I never wanted the win… I just wanted to live…”
And then, silence.
***
Three days later, I stood in front of my daughter’s grave.}
The sky hung heavy with gray clouds, the kind that threatened rain but never followed through. I knelt down, setting a bouquet of fresh flowers at the base of the stone, my fingers ghosting over the carved letters of her name.
I didn’t say a word. Didn’t cry. Didn’t linger. I just took one last look, let out a slow breath, then turned and walked away.
(The End)
