He Waited She Wilted (Ottilie and Yorath) novel Chapter 157

Shawn convinced himself that Nyssa had been coerced by Yorath to say those things.

Yorath was a manipulative bastard, always using his extreme privilege to force helpless women to do his bidding.

It was Yorath's oppressive control that had alienated Ottilie from her own family, making her refuse to give them any of her money.

Not wanting to clash with Nyssa directly and ruin his chances, Shawn grabbed his parents and practically sprinted away.

To the thousands watching, this immediate retreat was a glaring admission of guilt.

The extortion rumors shattered on the spot.

The reporters were thrilled to have bagged such an explosive headline and left highly satisfied.

The PR crisis had been handled perfectly.

However, inside the tent, the atmosphere was suffocatingly tense.

Nyssa took delicate sips from a cup of hot water.

"Yorath, things were getting out of hand out there. I was terrified they were going to drag your name and Ms. Sewell's reputation through the mud. I had to claim we were together to shut them down. Once this all blows over and the heat dies down, we can just release a statement saying we amicably split."

Yorath was visibly ill. His face was devoid of color, radiating a coldness that felt like absolute zero.

Jevon stood beside Nyssa, gently draping a heavy waterproof jacket over her shoulders.

"You did the right thing, Nyssa. Ottilie's family is utter trash. Instead of worrying about finding her, they show up here to extort us for cash. It's just..."

Jevon swallowed the uglier words he wanted to say.

Elian, however, didn't hold back. "Garbage family."

Nyssa sighed softly. "Don't say that. We don't get to choose where we come from. It must have been so incredibly hard for Ms. Sewell growing up in an environment like that."

Suddenly, Yorath broke into a violent fit of coughing.

Blood splattered onto his hand.

Nyssa gasped and jumped up from her stool.

Elian was by his side in a flash, pulling out his stethoscope for a rapid examination.

"This could be severe pneumonia, or even worse. Yorath, you absolutely must return to the city for hospitalization."

Right now, both his own blood relatives and his corporate enemies wanted Ottilie dead.

If Ottilie was still alive and they hadn't found her yet, it meant someone was deliberately making sure she stayed lost.

That was why he personally restructured the search grids every single day, forcing different teams to re-trace routes.

He constantly scrambled the squads, broke up established chains of command, and demanded unedited bodycam footage of the searches before approving anyone's hazard pay.

If he left now, even if Ottilie were found alive, the only thing they'd carry out of these mountains would be her corpse.

Jevon was losing his mind.

"Ottilie has been out there for so long, there's no way she..."

Jevon didn't have the heart to say it out loud. He couldn't say that there was a ninety-nine percent chance she was already dead and buried.

Instead, he pivoted. "This might be your last chance to see your mother. You know how much she loves you. You know everything she's sacrificed for you and your brother. If you don't go back and see her, you will live with the regret for the rest of your life."

"Yorath, go back. You didn't make this choice—I forced you to. If you need someone to hate down the line, you can hate me."