บททั้งหมดของ HE LEFT ME FOR MY STEPSISTER, I MOVED ON TO THE NEXT: บทที่ 521 - บทที่ 530

Chapter 521Andrew looked at me through his tears."I know."Then he whispered, "I wish I had."Behind us, something moved. I turned.It was Beatrice. She had been standing near the police officers. Her face had changed.The confidence she had carried throughout the evening was gone. Her eyes moved between Andrew, me, Noah's photograph and the police.Everything she had built was collapsing around her. Her secret was exposed. Her accomplice was breaking. Her enemy was holding the child she had believed was dead. And she had nowhere left to run.Andrew turned toward her."Beatrice."She stared at him."Don't."Andrew frowned."You destroyed everything."Beatrice's eyes widened."You are going to blame me now?""You killed my brother.""You helped me!" Her voice echoed through the hall.Andrew flinched."I know.""Then stop pretending you're innocent!""I never said I was."Beatrice laughed bitterly, "You think crying now changes anything?"Andrew looked at her."No." His voice was stra

Chapter 523Nathan heard me.He gently squeezed my shoulder.I looked down at Athena. She was sleeping peacefully, completely unaware of the tragedy surrounding her.A small smile touched my lips through my tears, "At least you got one thing you wanted, Dad," I whispered. "Your family is together again."The words had barely left my mouth when the large doors at the entrance opened.At first, I didn't pay attention.There were still police officers moving around the room, guests being escorted away from the immediate area, and medical personnel attending to those who had been injured in the chaos.Then I heard a woman's voice."Mom?"I froze.Something about that voice made me turn.A woman stood at the entrance. She was breathing heavily, as though she had rushed inside without stopping to understand what was happening. Her eyes moved across the room, taking in the police officers, the frightened guests, the overturned chairs, and finally the bodies.Her face changed.I recognized he

Chapter 525Her lips trembled."Then what do I do?"I looked at her."You stay."Cass stared at me.I continued softly, "You don't have to walk away because of what your mother did. You don't have to carry her sins on your back."Her eyes filled with tears again, "I don't know if I belong here."I glanced around at Nathan, Mom, Ava, Liam and the rest of our family.Then I looked back at her, "You do."Cass covered her mouth.I felt my own tears returning, "When we were younger, we lived under the same roof," I said. "But we never really got to be sisters."Cass's face crumpled."Because of her.""Because of everything around us." I said.I looked down at Athena, "Maybe we lost those years." Then I looked back at Cass, "But we still have the years ahead of us."Cass stared at me as if she was afraid to believe me."Elena...""I mean it."She began crying."I don't deserve your kindness.""Maybe you don't think you do." I reached out my free hand, "But I'm choosing to give it to you."C

Chapter 527Five years later……………………………..Sometimes I still found it difficult to believe that five entire years had passed since the night everything changed.Five years since Athena disappeared. Five years since I had stood in that hospital with an emptiness inside me that I thought would consume me. Five years since I had believed I might never hold my daughter again.And five years since the night that changed everything all over again—the night my father's voice filled the gala hall, the night Beatrice and Andrew's secrets were exposed, and the night Ava and Liam walked through those doors carrying the child I had spent weeks believing was gone forever.There were memories I could remember clearly enough to feel the fear in my bones.The abandoned factory. The collapsing walls. Nathan searching through the rubble with an injured leg. The shawl they found without Athena. The one month of uncertainty.The moment Ava placed that locket in my hands. The moment I saw my daughter's nam

Chapter 529Before he could say anything else, a loud shout came from downstairs."Mommy!"I laughed."That's my cue."Nathan chuckled.We left the room together. By the time we reached the dining area, Mom was already there, arranging breakfast plates across the table.She looked toward the garden doors with an expression of complete exhaustion."I have one question," she said.I smiled."What?""How can four children make the noise of twenty?"Nathan laughed beside me. Mom immediately pointed at him."Don't laugh. You are partly responsible."Nathan placed a hand against his chest."Me?""Yes, you.""What did I do?"Mom shook her head."You taught Athena how to sneak cookies from the kitchen."Nathan looked at me."That information was supposed to remain confidential."I burst out laughing.Mom folded her arms."And you wonder why she thinks she can do anything she wants."Nathan smiled innocently."I have no idea what you're talking about.""Of course you don't."Before the convers