Chapter 416
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Julius screamed Chloe’s name over and over, his hands shaking as he grabbed her shoulders. “Chloe! Chloe, look at me!”
But Chloe didn’t move. Didn’t blink. Didn’t breathe.
Jace stood there with the smoking gun still in his hand, his face eerily blank. Empty. Like something inside him had finally burned itself
out.
Then slowly, his arm lowered. The moment it did, Mom surged to her feet and slapped him hard across the face.
The sound echoed.
“What have you done?” she screamed, striking his chest with her fists repeatedly. “What have you done, Jace?! You shot my daughter!
That’s my baby!”
Jace exhaled heavily, like a man who had just finished a long, exhausting task. “Your daughter is upstairs, Flora,” he said quietly, pointing upward. “And your daughter is right there.” His finger shifted to me.
I froze.
“Savannah and Alyssa are your daughters too,” he continued, voice steady. “Not just this devil spawn.”
The gun slipped from his fingers and hit the floor with a dull clatter.
“I’m going to check on Emily and Alyssa.”
He paused beside Paula’s body, staring down at her with something that looked dangerously close to grief. “I’m sorry I failed you. I hope you can forgive me.” He turned away and headed up the stairs.
His footsteps faded.
Julius was still beside Chloe, sobbing uncontrollably. Mom wailed. I stood there, paralyzed, just listening to it.
The silence.
No breathing. No movement. No sound from Chloe at all. And even after all she’d done, something inside my chest cracked open.
I slowly stepped forward, my legs trembling beneath me. My eyes never left Chloe’s body as I crossed the room.
“Sav, no,” Roman said urgently, grabbing my arm.
I shook him off.
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9:00 Wed, Dec 31
Chapter 416
I didn’t even feel my body anymore. It was like I was floating. Like something else was guiding me toward her. The gun still lay on the
floor nearby.
I dropped to my knees beside Chloe. A tear slipped down my cheek.
“I’ll call an ambulance,” Roman said sharply.
Her skin looked pale. Too pale. Her body was too stiff beneath Julius’s hands. Her eyes were open, glassy, staring at nothing.
I reached for her hand.
But before I could touch her, Julius slapped my hand away violently.
“Don’t you dare touch her,” he hissed, eyes wild with hatred. “This is all your fault.”
I recoiled. “Me?” My voice cracked. “This is my fault?”
“Yes!” he screamed.
“Julius, stop!” Mom cried. “Stop it! If anyone’s to blame,” she sobbed, “it’s you! You did this! You know what you did!”
Julius laughed bitterly. “Your lover murdered our daughter, and I’m to blame for it?”
“Yes!” Mom screamed back. “Because he’s your brother! Because you wronged him! You know exactly what you did!”
“Enough!” Roman shouted. “All of you, enough!”
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