Chapter 3

When I opened my eyes again, the first thing that came into view was a stark, blinding white ceiling.

My chest tightened as a familiar sense of unease washed over me. This was the mental asylum where I had undergone treatment for four years!

Ian sat beside my bed, looking at me with gentle eyes. "I'm sorry, Helena; you need to stay here for a while. I absolutely can't let you hurt Gemma."

In an instant, I realized that he had chosen Gemma over me once again. Despair engulfed me, and I almost snapped. "Ian Beaumont, you're harboring a murderer! How can you look our late daughter in the eyes?"

He pursed his lips, indifferent to my distress. Like a madwoman, I grabbed the fruit knife on the nightstand and lunged at him.

Ian didn't stop me. If anything, he allowed the knife to sink into him. "Does this make you feel better, Helena?"

Dark red blood blossomed across his chest. The nurses rushed into the room and hurriedly bandaged his wound. "Hurry up and restrain her! The patient's completely lost it. If anything happens to Mr. Beaumont, we're all finished!

"Soleil died because you didn't pick her up on time. How could you shift the blame onto someone else? That's incredibly selfish of you!"

The nurses who came in to dress his wound chimed in one after another, the contempt in their eyes piercing me like needles.

"That's enough!" Ian scowled. His cold gaze swept through the nurses. "Helena can do whatever she pleases. None of you have the right to butt in. Get the hell out!"

I, however, shoved him away. "Stop pretending to defend me! Since you're so determined to protect Gemma, I'll call the cops. I'll avenge Soleil with my own hands!"

I pushed myself out of bed and bolted for the door. However, the next second, a sharp pain exploded at the back of my head, and I blacked out.

…

By the time I came to with a splitting headache, my limbs were tied down, binding me firmly to the hospital bed.

Gemma was sitting beside me, though I had no idea when she had arrived. Noticing me open my eyes, she smiled sweetly and tapped my face with a booklet.

"You're awake, Helena! Goodness, you gave all of us a mini heart attack earlier. Let me read your diagnostic report out loud for you."

After reading out the contents of the booklet, she watched with satisfaction as the color slowly drained from my face.

"Did you hear that? You've been diagnosed with a severe psychiatric disorder. You're now officially a lunatic driven insane by Soleil's death.

"Without clearance, you'll probably have to stay here for the rest of your life. This is all because Ian is too soft-hearted. I merely shed a tear, and he immediately promised to take care of everything for me."

Gemma's boastful words exploded in my mind like a thunderclap.

"Ian?"

He had actually forged a medical record out of thin air and personally imprisoned me in a mental asylum just to protect Gemma?

I almost coughed up a mouthful of blood. "Why? Why on earth did you kill my daughter and ruin everything I have?" I rasped.

"I ruined everything you have?" Gemma guffawed before yanking a fistful of my hair. "You and that little brat are the ones who ruined my life! Ian and I are childhood sweethearts. We promised we wouldn't date anyone else and that we'd become official when we turned 20!

"Yet, why is it that after you showed up, he refuses to marry anyone but you? Why does that little brat look so much like Ian?"

Her grip tightened, and my face flushed crimson in agony as I retched. However, the more pain I was in, the more thrilled she became.

Her shrill voice burrowed into my eardrums from every direction. "So, I loathed you two. I couldn't stand the sight of you two looking so disgustingly happy!

"I deliberately chose that day to confess my feelings to Ian and demand that he divorce you, but he had the nerve to turn me down; he even said he had to hurry home and celebrate that little brat's birthday.

"You, on the other hand, didn't pick her up on time, so you probably didn't know that Soleil had secretly slipped out through the back gate of the school, did you? She even smiled at me, expecting me to take her home."

Gemma cackled. "Unfortunately, my car was out of control. In no time, she ran out of strength and fell into the ditch. Slowly, she stopped breathing, covered in filth and stench.

"It was truly a tragic death. Your daughter was sobbing and begging her mommy to save her right up until she died. Helena, oh, Helena, it's all your fault for stealing Ian from me. You're the one who killed your daughter!"