Chapter 7

Lindsey found herself lying on a bed in the villa when she woke up once more.

A shrill scream came from the living room. She struggled to get out of bed and opened a crack in the door. She saw Jacob sitting expressionlessly on the couch with the group of beggars kneeling before him.

There were wounds all over their body, and they were trembling in fear. They mumbled their pleas through bloodied mouths, "Please let us go!"

However, Jacob gave his verdict like a decisive judge. He ordered his bodyguards to break their arms and had their tongues cut out to keep them silent.

"She's not someone you're allowed to touch!" he declared.

Then, Jacob gave his bodyguards a signal before they dragged the beggars out.

This scene felt surreal to Lindsey, as if everything that had recently happened was nothing but a nightmare. But the searing pain nearly made her lose her balance. The injuries on her back had reopened, and she couldn't help but inhale sharply from the pain.

Jacob heard the sound and came into her room. His expression was unexpectedly gentle, but his words were still heartless and cruel.

"Stephie accidentally leaked those videos to the public. I've already had them deleted. Since you hadn't suffered any harm, just let it go and don't find fault with her."

He threw a waiver letter at Lindsey and ordered, "Sign this letter of waiver immediately and swear that you'll never use this matter against Stephie. I'll write off the 2.08 million you owe, and I'll also have the doctors give your mother the best care possible."

As if worried that she might misunderstand, Jacob added, "Don't overthink it. The one I love will always be Stephie. But owing to the fact that we were together for five years, you won't have to worry about food or clothing all your life."

Jacob exuded a sense of superiority while he said all this. He looked just like that day at the bar when she asked Richard for money.

Did he think of her as a beggar on the street? Someone who should be eternally grateful for any crumbs he threw her way?

Maybe she used to be like that back then. She could endure anything for her mother. But now, she had no weaknesses left.

Seeing that Lindsey wasn't responding, Jacob left the waiver letter behind before getting up to leave. "Send it to my office after you sign it."

Lindsey's heart was completely numb as she tore the letter to shreds with a mocking smile. After that, she called the police without hesitation and made a report against Stephanie's crimes.

At the stroke of midnight, Lindsey glanced at a calendar hanging on the wall and a grandfather clock in the corner. In ten more hours, she would be gone from this place forever.

Lindsey packed her luggage and took a hot shower. Before she left, she made one last stop at the cemetery. She buried the urn deep into the soil, paid her respects, and kneeled before Jenny's tombstone.

The emotions she had kept suppressed for so long flooded into her body, and her voice choked up with sobs. "Mom, I'm going to chase my real freedom now. I'm sure you'll be happy for me too if you can see me now, right?"

A firefly landed on her fingertip and fluttered its wings gently. The faint glow from its body lit up the photo on Jenny's tombstone. Her smile was as elegant and poised as ever, her eyes overflowing with warmth and gentleness.

Stephanie lay down by the grave and quietly gazed at her mother's face. It felt like the old times when Jenny used to comfort her softly. "Lindy, you're all grown up now. Why are you still crying like a child?"

…

Lindsey slept peacefully that night.

By the time she woke, sunlight had streamed into the room and spilled across the floor. Her future had finally arrived.

At that moment, her phone buzzed briefly. She received a wedding invitation from Stephanie and a text from the police station. "Ms. Johnson, your case has been accepted and is now under formal investigation."

A rare smile appeared on Lindsey's face. She deleted the digital wedding invitation quietly and blocked all channels of communication from Stephanie and Jacob.

Half an hour later, Lindsey boarded her flight. Her tensed nerves finally began to unwind once the plane soared above the clouds.

"I hope I never see you again, Jacob," she muttered. "From now on, I'm free to soar across the vast skies."