Shattered Vows: Call Me Auntie Now novel Chapter 270

"The ranger said that when Vivienne and the others brought him to the lake, he saw another girl lying flat on the ice."

"To keep you from sinking to the bottom of the freezing lake, she was holding onto your unconscious body with a death grip. Her wrist was sliced open by the jagged ice, bleeding profusely onto the frozen surface, but she refused to let go."

"It was only after he stepped in to help that they managed to drag you out."

"The girl had lost a severe amount of blood. Combined with the prolonged exposure to the freezing temperatures, she was already slipping into unconsciousness."

"But a blizzard hit the mountain that day, bringing an immediate risk of an avalanche. Vivienne, Yasmine, and her brother pulled rank and took the very first ambulance down the mountain with you."

"That girl was left behind to wait for the second ambulance."

Dante felt as if a giant hand had reached into his chest and crushed his heart.

"So... that girl was..."

Silas went quiet for a moment before replying grimly, "Mr. Hayes, I think you already know."

"The person who truly saved your life was Quinn."

"I even tracked down the hospital she was admitted to and pulled her medical files."

"She lost so much blood and suffered such extreme hypothermia that she nearly died."

"That's the exact reason she developed chronic asthma—the prolonged freezing temperatures permanently damaged her lungs."

When the call ended, Dante stood entirely paralyzed.

His fingers turned ice-cold.

His mind was a chaotic mess of manic realization and absolute, suffocating terror.

This was the truth.

The frigid night wind howled through the trees of Silverpine Mountain, sounding like the screams of the dead.

Standing by the edge of Silverpine Lake, Dante hauled Vivienne up by her collar, his face mere inches from hers as he roared.

"Why did you abandon her on the ice? Do you have any idea how much pain she was in? How freezing it was? Why are you all so utterly evil?!"

He despised Vivienne. He hated her for deceiving him, for weaponizing his gratitude for seven years!

But more than that, he felt an agonizing, visceral pain for what Quinn had endured.

Vivienne stared at his terrifying face. If he really threw her into the lake...

The water was incredibly deep and freezing. Even a strong swimmer would cramp instantly, and she couldn't swim at all!

In the pitch-black night, if she went into that water, there was only one outcome: death.

The thought ripped a piercing scream from her throat.

Trembling uncontrollably, she spat out the truth of that day.

"It wasn't me! It was Yasmine and her brother!"

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