Chapter 4

I didn’t see Nico again over the next few days.

Rumors that he had dumped me spread like wildfire throughout the family, but I paid them no mind. Every day, I was busy coordinating the transfer of my assets with my wealth manager and wrapping up my outstanding cases.

I had set aside my final day for packing. I didn’t have much to take with me, so I expected to finish in less than half a day.

But when I returned to the villa’s study after finishing my work, I found my case files scattered all over the floor, several pages trampled and smeared with dirt.

Lola stood in the middle of the room with her head bowed, sobbing quietly. When she heard me open the door, her sobs briefly subsided, and she lifted her tear-streaked face, looking utterly pitiful.

“Miss Mercer... I’m sorry...”

She was crying so hard that she could barely catch her breath. “I just wanted to look at the figurine... It slipped out of my hand...”

Nico stood beside her, his brows knitted tightly together.

My gaze passed over them and fell on the floor, where shattered pieces of porcelain lay scattered everywhere. One fragment had flipped over, revealing half of a tiny set of scales.

My mind went completely blank.

It was the statuette of Lady Justice, the only keepsake my mother had left me.

I rushed over and dropped to my knees, scrambling to pick up the fragments. But the pieces looked as though someone had crushed them under a heavy object, leaving no hope of putting them back together.

“That figurine was kept in the safe.” Without looking up, I asked in a cold voice, “How did you get it out?”

Lola seemed to tremble at my tone and shrank closer to Nico.

Looking at me, Nico appeared increasingly irritated. “I gave her the combination. Lola was just curious about what was inside and wanted to have a look.”

“It’s just a figurine...”

He stopped mid-sentence when he saw my eyes turning red.

I was always composed and serious. I never let myself show weakness in front of others.

“Claire...” Nico immediately panicked. He pushed Lola aside and started toward me, reaching out as if to pull me into his arms.

But before he could take another step, Lola suddenly clutched her chest and collapsed, her face deathly pale.

“Lola!” Nico caught her at once, his expression changing dramatically.

She lay weakly in his arms, whispering, “Mr. Moretti... my chest hurts so much... I didn’t mean to break Miss Mercer’s things...”

Nico frowned and looked at me. “She has a congenital heart condition. She can’t handle you being so cold to her.”

“Claire, you’d better pray she’s all right.”

He scooped Lola into his arms and strode toward the door, stepping on my scattered papers as he went. When he reached the doorway, he stopped and tossed out one last remark without turning around.

“Once Lola is all right, you’re going to the hospital to apologize to her.”

His hurried footsteps faded down the corridor.

I remained kneeling on the floor, the broken porcelain fragments still clutched in my palm. One of the sharp edges had cut my finger at some point, and blood seeped from the wound, dripping onto the floor alongside my tears.

At least today was the day I was leaving.

I wiped away my tears and began picking up my scattered case files one page at a time, brushing off the dirt before stacking them neatly together. Finally, I wrapped the fragments of Lady Justice in a piece of velvet cloth and placed them in my backpack.

I didn’t pack any clothes or take any of the expensive jewelry Nico had given me. Then I left the villa just as I was.

As I was about to board my flight, my phone vibrated.

I took it out and saw Nico’s name on the screen. The phone kept lighting up as I stood motionless, watching his name flash until the screen finally went dark.

A message appeared a moment later.

[I was a little harsh just now. Don’t be upset. The doctor says Lola is fine and just needs to rest. I’ll be staying with her at the hospital for the next few days.]

A few seconds later, another message came through.

[Wait for me to come back.]

I didn’t reply.

I erased everything on my phone, then deactivated my SIM card and walked toward the boarding gate.

And I never looked back.