She Was the Treasure All Along novel Chapter 724

She was completely lost in her own world, her gaze drifting as a vacant, almost euphoric smile touched her lips.

But the smile shattered just as quickly. Her suspended hand began to tremble violently. Her eyes tracked from the hollow sockets of the skull down to the brittle, fragile arm bones, and finally rested on the faded, ruined fragments of clothing.

A violent shudder ripped through her body. She snatched her hand back, wrapping her arms around herself. The delusion evaporated, instantly replaced by a crushing, agonizing clarity.

"It's so cold in here. Are you cold, my sweet girl? Mommy brought you clothes. I brought them." She frantically patted down the pockets of her gray outfit, finding nothing but empty air.

She froze, staring at her empty hands, then looked back at the remains that would never feel warmth again.

An excruciating gasp tore from the very depths of her lungs.

Tears flooded Zelie's face. It wasn't a loud wail, but a silent, torrential downpour that soaked her collar in seconds. Her mouth fell open in a silent scream, only ragged, jagged gasps escaping her throat as her body shook like a leaf in a hurricane.

She collapsed against the edge of the freezing steel table, pressing her forehead against the metal, her shoulders heaving violently.

"It's my baby... the one lying here is my..." she repeated in a shattered whisper. Then, she turned her bloodshot, tear-soaked eyes toward Loyce. The memory of that horrific night came rushing back. "They swapped my baby! They took my baby away! I never should have left her. I shouldn't have left! Mommy was wrong! I'm so sorry..."

Zelie violently pounded her own chest, suffocating under the weight of her grief.

Loyce stopped breathing.

It was a tragedy that could never be undone. Back then, Zelie couldn't bear to let a little girl die, so she risked everything to flee Yavon County with her. She had naively believed that no matter how much her husband Yarden despised having a daughter, he would never actually harm his own flesh and blood.

She had drastically underestimated the absolute depravity of a man poisoned by greed and a pathological obsession with having a son.

To save another child, Zelie had unknowingly sent her own daughter to the grave, leaving her buried in the dirt to suffer through years of freezing winters alone.

Loyce slowly stepped forward and crouched down beside her.

"Zelie." She reached out to comfort her, but Zelie flinched violently, yanking her hand away as if she had been burned. Loyce's hand hung frozen in midair.

Leaving Zelie alone to say her final goodbyes, Loyce and Morris stepped out into the hallway.

Seeing his sister look so utterly hollow, Morris couldn't hold back anymore. He pulled her into a tight embrace. "I know it sounds incredibly dark, but I'm just grateful it was you who survived."

Faced with such a brutal reality, human nature was inherently selfish.

Loyce leaned against his chest, letting out a soft, weary sigh. The tension drained from her shoulders as she finally laid her genuine feelings bare. "Morris, I realize now it was wrong to project my craving for a mother onto her. She literally lost her child because she saved me, and I arrogantly thought I could take her daughter's place. I thought we could just heal each other. But it's not fair to her. Every time she looks at my face, all she's going to see is how her own child died."

"You have us. You have Grandpa. And you have Lucian," Morris said, stroking her hair.

Deep down, Morris was furious at Zelie. Her screaming 'why wasn't it you who died' was an unspeakably cruel blow to his sister. But considering she had sacrificed her own child to save Loyce's life, he had absolutely no right to judge her. All he could feel was a heavy, complicated gratitude.

"Yeah. That's more than enough." Loyce lifted her head. The pain was still there, but she quickly boxed her emotions away. "I'll handle the arrangements."

She would pack away all the emotional attachment she had projected onto Zelie. Moving forward, she would simply provide her with absolute financial security and ensure she lived out the rest of her days in peace.