Chapter 4

Sebastian's POV

I looked up at her in shock, my entire body trembling uncontrollably.

"What are you trying to do?"

Madeline sighed. Her expression remained almost gentle, but her words were ice-cold.

"This cemetery belongs to my family. If you're determined to hurt Benny, then I'll destroy your mother's grave."

She paused, her eyes fixed on mine.

"Let her stay buried with the word 'mistress' attached to her name. I'll have her grave torn apart and her ashes scattered into the dirt so she can never rest in peace."

I stared at the woman standing before me, feeling as though I were seeing her for the first time.

That cemetery was the place Madeline herself had helped me choose for my mother. She knew my greatest fear wasn't simply losing Mom—it was that even in death, Nathan and Selena would continue to humiliate her and stain her name.

So Madeline had searched every corner of Northale with me, looking for the perfect place for Mom to rest. She'd spent three months inspecting cemeteries before finally choosing a quiet hillside cemetery owned by her family.

I still remembered standing beside my mother's grave after we'd laid her to rest. I was barely holding myself together when Madeline gently took my hand and comforted me.

"Sebastian, trust me. This land belongs to my family. As long as I'm here to protect her, your mother will be able to rest in peace."

Those words had once made me believe that, no matter what happened, there was at least one person who would never let my mother's memory be destroyed. But now, the woman who had once promised to protect my mother's final resting place was the very same woman threatening to tear it apart.

My knees finally gave out. Numb with despair, I dropped to my knees in front of Nathan and slammed my forehead against the floor, forcing the words out through my humiliation. "I really didn't do anything to your child. Please… don't do it."

Madeline stared at my swollen, bleeding forehead. For a moment, whatever words of accusation she had been about to hurl at me died on her lips.

Behind her, I caught the faintest hint of a smile tugging at the corners of Nathan's mouth. Around us, the guests began whispering, their voices growing louder as they watched me grovel.

"That mistress' son must be so desperate to steal another man's wife that he's completely lost his mind. How dare he go after Ms. Brooks' child? He's just like his mother."

"Look at him. Does he really think Ms. Brooks would ever choose him? He's uglier than a dying beggar. If you didn't know better, you'd think he had some kind of disease."

"His mother was nothing but a scheming homewrecker who slept her way into another woman's marriage. And the son is even worse. He'd even sleep with his own sister-in-law."

I knelt there and listened without reacting. I couldn't feel the pain anymore. I simply kept bowing, moving mechanically as I slammed my forehead against the floor and begged them to leave my mother alone.

Only when Nathan had apparently seen enough did he finally reach out and grab Madeline's arm.

"Madeline, I'm sorry. The nanny must have made a mistake. She was being careless."

He lowered his voice as though he'd just been informed of the situation. "Benny was actually in his room taking a nap. She forgot to check on him."

Madeline froze.

For a moment, she stared at Nathan as if she couldn't believe what she'd just heard. Then her gaze shifted to me, still kneeling on the floor with my forehead swollen from the repeated blows. A flicker of panic crossed her face before she quickly forced her expression back under control.

She extended a hand toward me.

"Since this was all just a misunderstanding, you can stop this act now."

Her voice was calm, almost indifferent. "I'll take care of moving your mother's grave."

But while Madeline was looking the other way, Nathan, posing as her husband, had already ordered the cemetery staff to destroy the grave. He turned toward me with a malicious smile and silently mouthed, "Five minutes. The explosives on your mother's grave are going to blow her to pieces."

The blood drained from my face. With the last of my strength, I bolted toward the cemetery like a madman.

Behind me, Madeline's outstretched hand remained frozen in midair until Nathan gently took it, smiling as though nothing had happened.

"Madeline, when this is over, come see Benny with me. The nanny says he's been crying and asking for you."

At the thought of the sweet little boy, Madeline finally looked away from me. Suppressing the unease in her chest, she nodded.

By the time I reached the cemetery, I didn't dare stop for even a second. I dropped to my knees and clawed frantically at the earth beneath the gravestone with my bare hands. My fingernails split and tore off one by one, and my fingers twisted painfully as I dug deeper, blood staining the dirt beneath them red.

Then, without warning, a deafening explosion erupted from the grave in front of me.

The body buried beneath the ground was blown apart in the blast, and the force of the explosion sent me flying through the air like a scrap of torn cloth.

My body, already pushed far beyond its limits, finally gave out. Blood poured from beneath me as exhaustion and dizziness overwhelmed my senses. My eyelids grew unbearably heavy until they finally fell shut.

At that exact moment, the cemetery caretaker, George Finn, frantically called Madeline.

"Ms. Brooks! There was an explosion at the cemetery! Your husband is there!"