Semua Bab The Rest Is Light: Bab 1 - Bab 8

The agony of the iron rod through my chest still lingered, and each breath felt like it tore me apart from the inside.Just then, Rebecca Smith's voice, sweet and pleading, filled the room."Dad, I have someone else in my heart. Marrying him–I just can't do it."In my previous life, I had fallen for her Oscar-worthy act and stepped in to take her place without a second thought. In this life, though, I refused to fall for it. I simply watched her perform, my lips pressed firmly in a tight line.The room tensed up for a beat.Dad–Nash Smith–knitted his brows, his mind obviously racing through the odds.I braced myself for a repeat of the past, but then Calvin Porter's icy voice cut through the quiet.He moved closer, his eyes briefly softening as they passed over Rebecca, then turned icy again when they landed on me."Mr. Smith, I didn't come here to talk about weddings."Rebecca let out a relieved breath.I blinked in surprise. Was it possible Calvin had a second chance at lif

Rebecca shot me a venomous look before staggering out of my room.I set the porcelain doll down on the table, my fingers trembling uncontrollably....In the dead of night.I was yanked from my bed with brute force and slammed onto the freezing floor.My knees and elbows screamed with pain.I looked up to find my father's furious eyes on me, his words a torrent of anger."How vicious you are despite being so young, Joanna. You know your sister's allergic to acrylic; she can't even touch it."How could you leave that dirty thing in our home?! Were you trying to off her?!"He was holding my porcelain doll."No, Dad," I pleaded, crawling toward him, pain forgotten in my desperation."It's not the doll. I swear it doesn't have any acrylic, it really doesn't!"Please, just give it back to me, please? It's the only thing I have left from my mom!"I tried to grab it, but he shoved me back hard, and I tumbled to the floor once more."No excuses!" Nash's fury was boiling over as h

Elliot scooped me up with surprising gentleness and settled me into the back seat of his car.It took a moment for me to gather enough strength to barely crack open my eyes."Can I use your phone?" I asked, my voice barely a whisper.He raised an eyebrow, clearly not expecting that, but he did not ask questions. He unlocked his phone and handed it over.I quickly accessed my cloud account, my face a blank mask as I hit the send button.The information I had was explosive, and within moments, it was lighting up the inboxes of every major media outlet and influencer in Cascade City–including Nash, Rebecca, and Calvin's personal emails.Meanwhile, Rebecca was walking into her house, obliviously smiling with a shiny new necklace around her neck.Nash was waiting for her, his expression dark as a storm cloud."Dad, you're back early today..."She noticed the dangerous glint in his eyes, and her smile stiffened. Trying to keep the mood light, she sat down next to him and tried to be

"It's all lies, a setup by Joanna and that Reynolds guy."They're trying to pin this on me. They must have switched the samples!" Rebecca pointed at Elliott with venom in her eyes. "He's behind this. He did it!"Elliott finally looked up, a smirk playing on his lips."Me, mess with things? As if you're on my level."Behind him, his stoic bodyguard whipped out a tablet and tapped the screen.A crisp surveillance video popped up on the lounge's screen.There was Calvin, all sneaky-like, switching the samples with Rebecca and Joanna's names on them.When the video stopped, the room went dead quiet."Jo, hear me out, I just got mixed up, okay? Think about the good times we've had..." Calvin pleaded."The good times?"Right then, the door flew open, and in marched the staff, uniforms and all.The head cop, a middle-aged guy with a serious vibe, said, "Ms. Smith, you're under suspicion for a whole list of nasty stuff: planning a kidnapping, hurting people on purpose, and even hiri