Semua Bab UGLY SCARS: Bab 61 - Bab 70

VICTORIA POV. I woke up with my skull pounding like someone was hammering nails inside it.“Ugh. My head.”A groan escaped my lips as I forced my eyes open. The curtains were parted, sunlight slicing through the room. I blinked—and that’s when I saw him—Jake.He was beside me on the bed, shirtless, one arm tossed carelessly over the pillow. Peaceful. Asleep. What the hell happened last night?I sat up too fast, and pain stabbed right behind my eyes. Then it came rushing back—everything from yesterday. The hotel. The alcohol. The shouting between mom and dad. The truth—Grace Langston isn’t my mother.I wrapped my arms around myself as the weight of it crushed down on me again. It wasn’t a dream. The woman who raised me, the one I cried to, the one I fought for—she wasn’t even my mother. And if not her, then who? Who the hell was I?My chest tightened. I couldn’t breathe. I looked over at Jake again. He looked so calm… so unaware of the storm ripping me apart from the inside. I didn’t

VICTORIA POV. “Victoria! Can you hear me?” Jake’s voice broke through the ringing in my ears. His hands were on me, shaking me, desperate. “Victoria…”I could hear him. But for a moment, everything had stopped. The floor beneath me didn’t feel real. My body didn’t feel real. Because after what I’d just heard, there was no more denying it—my mother had been murdered.“Victoria, please…” Jake’s voice cracked, raw with panic. “Say something. Please.”My lips trembled. I finally looked at him. “Jake…” My tears blurred his face.He pulled me into him immediately, crushing me against his chest. “God. Victoria… you scared me for a second there.” He kissed my forehead, holding me tighter. “Everything’s gonna be fine, okay? I’m in this with you.”“No, Jake…” My voice broke.“What?” His eyes searched mine.“Thank you. But you’ve done enough.” I forced the words out, even though they tore me apart. “I need to handle this myself now.”I could still feel the tears burning inside me, but they refu

VIVIAN POV. I’m glad I got there on time. God, if I hadn’t, it would’ve been a disaster. A total mess.See, I’ve got my little toys—secret cameras hidden all over that mansion. And when I caught Victoria on one of them, sneaking around like a rat, digging through mother’s things, I knew immediately something was up. She wasn’t just snooping—she was hunting.I didn’t even think twice. I bolted from the hotel, heels clicking. I jumped in my car, and sped straight for the house. My chest was pounding, but not from fear—excitement. I knew I’d catch her. But when I got there, the bitch already had the video. I could tell by the way her hands trembled and her face cracked open with tears. She looked like her whole world had just collapsed.I shadowed her quietly, each of her sobs making me grin wider. She reached the front door, fumbling with the handle, desperate to run. That’s when I finally struck. One swift, hard swing—the wooden bat in my hand cracked against her skull.She dropped i

VIVIAN POV. It had been two whole weeks. Two weeks of waiting, hiding, sharpening the edges of my plan. Tonight was the night.I hadn’t stepped foot in my mansion since Victoria’s capture. Instead, I’d been holed up in some hotel suite with blackout curtains and room service that barely scratched my nerves. I turned off my phone days ago—my parents endless calls were nothing but noise.They’d understand soon enough. Once everything was finished, I’d go back home, spin a pretty little lie or two, and they’d forgive me.Jake claimed he’d deleted the video. Cute. I told him to bring his phone anyway. I wanted to see the share logs with my own eyes. The second I was sure there were no more copies, I’d put a bullet in him and finish Victoria. Clean. Final. Mike and his men were babysitting Victoria for me—keeping her breathing—for now. When I finally flicked my phone back on, it buzzed in my hand. For the first time all day, a smile tugged at my lips when I saw the name—Michael.Finally.

MR. LANGSTON POV. I couldn’t face her. Cowards like me hide behind ink, so I wrote what my lips could never confess to her face—my confession, my goodbye.————-My dear child, Victoria.I was a foolish father—a coward. I should have done better. I should have protected you. I thought staying away from you was protecting you from a father like me, but I lied. All I did was open you up to more harm.Please, forgive me. I have wronged you deeply. I failed as both a husband and a father. I failed you, and I failed your mother.Your mother was a good woman. I’m so sorry you didn’t get to know her. Gabriella—she was as beautiful as you, soft, kind, precious. I met her in college, and we fell in love. She held me up when my parents died. She was the reason the Langston empire didn’t crumble when it nearly did. That’s why I married her. She deserved the world.But her best friend, Grace… God help me, I was weak. I thought I loved them both. Now I know it wasn’t love. It was lust. A forbidden