Since You Chose Your 'Bro' I Married Your Brother novel Chapter 70

Chapter 6

Chapter 6

The bathroom at Lowell Manor was nearly cavernous in size.

I submerged myself in the warm water until it covered my chin, holding my breath for a long time before surfacing sharply, gasping violently.

Once. Twice. Three times.

Yet the stench of the swamp-mixed with blood and rotting mud-seemed to have seeped into my pores, coiling around the deepest nerves of my sense of smell, impossible to wash away.

Physical filth might be cleansed, but the psychological defilement clung like a disease in the bones, lodged firmly in my chest.

Zander’s mocking face.

Clover’s false tone.

The roar of helicopter blades.

The cold touch of leeches crawling.

The sinister gaze of snakes.

Countless fragmented images assaulted my mind.

“Ha.”

I let out a cold laugh through the rising steam.

Five years.

A full five years.

I’d played the utter fool-the devoted partner content with poverty-thinking time and sincerity could earn me a relationship free of ulterior motives.

And what did I get?

A meticulously planned murder livestream. Complete betrayal.

The purity I’d clung to was, in their eyes, probably just a laughable, inconvenient joke.

I stood from the tub, water droplets sliding down my skin.

In the floor-length mirror, a completely different figure stared back.

No longer the Lyra who had to endure, restrain, compromise,

Still pale from blood loss, but those eyes-sharp as an unsheathed blade.

The aura radiating from me was one of long-held power, of life-and-death authority.

This was the real Lyra Lowell.

Chapter 6

The sole heir to the Lowell empire.

A soft knock sounded at the door.

“Come in.”

I fastened the last cufflink, tone flat.

Maverick entered, now dressed in a sharp gray professional suit, hair impeccable, though faint exhaustion lingered beneath his eyes.

His report was as calm as ever.

“Miss.”

“Vincent Caldwell, Zander’s father, has requested an urgent meeting. He’s been waiting in the side hall for nearly two hours.”

I picked up a Patek Philippe watch, fastening it leisurely around my wrist. The cold metal touched my skin.

“Let him keep waiting.”

My voice held no emotion.

The daughter-in-law who’d once been courteous to the Caldwells was dead.

I had no interest-and no obligation-to entertain a man who’d failed to raise his son properly and only came begging now.

Maverick handed me a brand-new encrypted phone.

“Several people concerned about you called the estate. They’ve been forwarded here.”

I raised an eyebrow, signaling him to continue.

“Young Mr. Ronan Ashford from Ashford Group called with sincere concern, asking if you’re well. He stated the Ashfords can provide any assistance you need.”

Maverick paused, his tone carrying faint sarcasm.

“Also, the owner of Starlight Entertainment personally called, warmly inviting you to tomorrow night’s charity gala they’re hosting-supposedly to help you recover from the shock.”

I scoffed, fingertip sliding across the cold phone screen.

Word traveled fast.

Last night’s swamp incident might’ve been suppressed, but my identity as the Lowell heir was earthquake level news in elite circles.

People who wouldn’t have given “Mrs. Caldwell” a second glance were now scrambling to curry favor with Miss Lowell.

Expressing concern was a façade. Testing the winds and seizing opportunities was the truth.

Human nature at its most opportunistic.

I set down the phone, voice indifferent.

“Decline them all.”

Chapter 6

“No visitors for now.”

My gaze settled on Maverick, softening slightly.

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