Chapter 583:

The pool water was like ice. It was late autumn. Prolonged exposure would invite hypothermia’s deadly embrace, and before long, it would claim her life entirely. Even survival would guarantee severe illness and lasting damage.

But that wasn’t the worst part. As she floated there, shivering, her lips turning blue, something else happened. Blood. Red bloomed in the water around her, dark and shocking.

In that moment, bewilderment consumed him entirely. Why was there blood?

No visible wounds marred her skin; no bullets had found their mark.

Perhaps the ice had torn her flesh with razor-sharp edges?

Her expression mirrored his confusion—until sudden understanding dawned across her features, and she seemed to grasp a terrible truth he could not yet fathom.

All at once, chaos shattered the silence.

“Millie!” called out someone in distress.

Brandon strode in at that very moment. Egbert’s assistant followed closely behind, the newly printed contract in hand.

Without a second thought, Brandon plunged straight into the cold depths of the pool. With quick hands, he pulled Millie from the freezing water. Crimson swirled through the pool, her blood staining Brandon as he struggled to hold her steady.

Everyone in the room stood frozen. The shock and fear were plain on every face.

Upstairs, the calm of Serenity Villa’s bedroom offered a sharp contrast. Egbert looked at Brandon and said, “You want to know what went down after you left? Now you know.”

A row of empty bottles hinted at how much Egbert had been drinking, and there was a glazed look in his eyes.

Raising his head, Egbert fixed his gaze on Brandon, who seemed close to breaking down, his eyes rimmed with red.

𝕋𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕤𝕖𝕣𝕚𝕖𝕤 𝕓𝕖𝕝𝕠𝕟𝕘𝕤 𝕥𝕠 𝗀⍺𝖑𝗇𝓞ⱱ𝖾𝗅𝗌⋅ⅽ𝗈𝗆

A bitter laugh escaped Egbert.

“Believe me, it’s not a complicated story,” Egbert said, furrowing his brow. The sunlight pouring through the window set his eyes aglow with a strange, red light.

“She put her trust in you, loved you more than you know, and risked everything for your sake. Does any of that mean anything to you?” Egbert asked. The wind lifted his hair as he continued, “After you saved her from the water that day, the first thing she did was remind me to sign the contract. She truly cared about you.”

A sudden crash shattered the air.

The next instant, Brandon launched himself from the bed, grabbed Egbert by the collar, and drove him hard into the white wall.

Glasses and bottles went tumbling, red wine pooling across the floor like spilled blood.

That dark stain brought back the memory of Millie’s endless bleeding. Echoes of her laughter and the sound of her broken sobs lingered in their thoughts.

Brandon’s face twisted with pain, and tears threatened to spill from his eyes.

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