She Was the Treasure All Along novel Chapter 714

Just as Alicia was putting on an Oscar-worthy performance of grief for the police and rescue workers, a hoarse, raspy voice sounded from behind her.

"Mom."

That single syllable made Alicia's wailing screech to a halt. She turned her head mechanically.

Supported by Morris, Sybil stood on the solid ground, covered in cuts and bruises. She stared at her mother with hollow, dead eyes. The bottomless resentment and despair in her gaze made Alicia shudder.

"Y-You..."

Sybil pushed Morris's hands away. Step by agonizing step, she stumbled forward until she stood directly in front of her mother.

Perhaps it was her wretched appearance, or the overwhelming aura of hatred radiating from her, but the surrounding crowd unconsciously took a step back, all eyes fixed on the battered young woman.

"Are you disappointed that I'm alive?" Sybil asked.

In front of the police, paramedics, and surviving guests, the blood drained from Alicia's face. She forced a smile that looked worse than a grimace and reached out to take Sybil's hand. "Sybil! What nonsense are you talking about? How could I be disappointed? I was worried sick! Seeing you safe... I'm just so happy!"

She tried to use her exaggerated performance to cover her guilt, but the subtle tremor in her voice gave her away. The look she shot Sybil was a blatant, undisguised threat.

But what she didn't realize was that her obedient daughter was never going to listen to her again.

Sybil violently slapped her mother's hand away. The sudden movement pulled at her injuries, making her wince, but she didn't care.

The onlookers exchanged confused glances.

"Happy?" Sybil's voice wasn't loud, but the sheer mockery in her tone made everyone draw a sharp breath. "I thought you'd be disappointed I didn't fall to my death with Horace. You saw it, didn't you? You saw me screaming for help, and you ran."

Whispers immediately broke out in the crowd.

Alicia was genuinely unnerved by the emptiness in her daughter's eyes. An ominous dread gnawed at her stomach. "Of course I love you. I'm the only person in this world who truly loves you."

"Then why did you force me to marry Horace? Didn't you know he's a sadistic abuser?" Sybil suddenly yanked up her sleeve, exposing a canvas of brutal whip marks covering her arm. She let out a tragic, broken laugh. She used to be so arrogant, so obsessed with her pride. Because Loyce was so capable, Sybil had hated her to the core.

But now, stripped of all her illusions, she realized that aside from her own toxic jealousy, her entire tragic existence stemmed from being treated like a show dog by her mother.

"Mom, Horace is older than you. I could have called him Grandpa. Why did you force me to marry him?" Sybil swayed as she stepped closer, tears finally spilling from her vacant eyes. "I did everything you asked! I practiced the piano until my fingers bled! I worked myself to the bone for this family! I obediently married into wealth to pave the way for you, setting that as my ultimate life goal! But why? I did everything right, and at the final moment, you didn't love me. You wanted me dead!"

Sybil's tear-stained accusation dropped like a bomb, sending shockwaves through the stunned crowd.

"What?! Horace Fremont was a sadistic abuser?"

"Oh my god! Look at those scars—old ones layered over new ones! Didn't they just get married? The news said it was a romance based on free will! It was just a transaction?"