Chapter 12

On the ninth day after Natalie's death, Jayden finally broke down. He cried—loud, desperate sobs that echoed with anguish and regret. But it was too late. His sister, his most beloved family member, was gone for good. The Carter residence was still steeped in grief. Even though the rain had stopped, the suffocating atmosphere hadn't lifted one bit. Every housekeeper moved with exaggerated caution, worried they might upset Jayden. Clara stood in front of Natalie's bedroom, biting her lip as she looked at the Carter family's butler, Charles Carrington. "Does Jay still refuse to see anyone?" Charles gave her a troubled nod. Ever since Jayden accepted that Natalie was truly gone, he'd locked himself in her room and refused to come out. He didn't want to see anyone, not even Clara, whom he used to dote on so much. Clara had no choice but to ask Charles to take good care of Jayden before turning and walking away. But the moment she rounded the corner where no one could see her, the concern on her face twisted into something darker. "Natalie, you're dead, so why the hell are you still haunting them? Why are you turning them into this… because of you?" she seethed. Clara had worked so hard to earn Jayden and Logan's love. She finally had them, and yet, before she even got to enjoy it, Natalie had taken it all back. How could she possibly accept that? Her nails dug deep into her palms, drawing little beads of blood. What was she supposed to do now? Her eyes locked on a wilted flower outside the window, and slowly, an idea began to form in her mind. She hastily pulled out her phone and made a call. "You still have all that dirt I gave you on Natalie, right? Post it. All of it! I don't care if she's dead—I want her name dragged through the mud. I want her to be insulted even after she's gone!" Her voice grew more venomous with each word. There was a sick gleam in her eyes. Clara didn't care anymore. So what if Natalie was dead? Dead or alive, she had no right to keep stealing what Clara had fought so hard for. This wasn't a new trick. In the past, whenever Natalie drew too much attention from Jayden or Logan, Clara would leak some ugly rumor about her online. It always worked. The guys would get upset with Natalie, and their attention would shift back to her. It was foolproof. "Natalie—alive or dead—you will never beat me." The thought made Clara so excited that she didn't even notice the chilling gaze locked on her from the shadows. Not long after his fallout with Jayden, Logan had returned. However, he wasn't there to take his anger out on Jayden; he was there with something far more explosive than a punch. His family's butler, Edwin Hawke, stood before Jayden and Logan, his voice shaking slightly as he spoke. Edwin explained that on the night of the Carter family's banquet, he'd planned to leave early to return to the Hall residence because he had something to take care of. But when he passed the stairs, he'd overheard a shocking secret. Edwin then took out his phone and handed it to the two men. In the video, Clara was standing in front of Natalie, saying something frantically. As the camera zoomed in, her voice became painfully clear. "I've envied you ever since we were kids. You never had to work for anything—it all just fell into your lap. I couldn't stand it; I was so jealous, I made it my mission to take everything you cared about, bit by bit. "I thought that if I could just drive you away, it would all become mine. But then I realized I was wrong. As long as you were alive, everything I stole would eventually go back to you. "The only way to truly make it mine was for you to die. I thought about so many ways to kill you, but in the end, having you die in an explosion on a cruise ship seemed perfect. That way, we wouldn't even need to buy a grave for you. It's so much more convenient!" With that, the room fell into complete silence. Logan turned to the shell-shocked Jayden and continued, "I knew you wouldn't believe me, so I brought proof." He threw a thick stack of documents and photos onto the table in front of Jayden, all of which contained evidence of Clara framing Natalie. The truth was finally out. The one who'd pushed Natalie to her death wasn't some faceless stranger and it wasn't an accident of fate. It was Clara. It was unthinkable that Clara—the one they'd always seen as fragile and innocent—was the one responsible for Natalie's death. The Clara who'd always been kind, who never held grudges against Natalie. The Clara they believed needed their protection. The Clara they both thought only had them in her corner.