Chapter 7

“This is slander. I’ll sue every last one of you!”

“Otto and I grew up together. It’s nothing like the internet says. She’s the one who came

between us. She’s the homewrecker!”

Maria was back in Harbor City.

But even with her standing right in front of him, Otto felt nothing.

He only wanted to find Ann.

The reporters smelled blood and turned on Maria instantly.

“Miss Maria, is it true you hired hitmen to kill your own sister?”

“Are you aware that Miss Henson was shot during a car accident? And can you confirm the

reports that you’re actually Mr. Swanson’s illegitimate daughter?”

The color drained from Maria’s face. Dread coiled in her chest.

Impossible…..

“You’re making things up! None of that has anything to do with me!”

Sirens cut through the noise.

Two officers walked straight to her.

“Miss Maria Henson, based on our investigation, you are currently suspected of attempted

Maria stumbled back a step, her legs giving out, her lips trembling.

“You can’t arrest me. I didn’t do anything!”

She grabbed Otto’s hand, eyes brimming with tears.

“Otto, I didn’t do anything. You have to help me!”

Otto’s gaze landed on her, cold and razor-sharp.

“You sent people to hurt her. Didn’t you?”

He wrenched his hand free and roared.

“Didn’t I tell you never to touch her? Who the hell told you to lay a hand on her?!”

Maria sobbed and begged, pathetic and desperate.

“Otto, I just wanted to teach her a lesson. I never meant to kill her.”

“After all this time, you still couldn’t let her go. I just wanted to be the only one in your heart.

What’s so wrong about that?!”

Otto’s hand cracked across her face. Her eyes went wide with disbelief.

“Maria, the worst thing you ever did was hurt her. My lawyer will be in touch. We’re getting a

divorce.”

Something inside Maria snapped. She screamed like a woman unhinged.

“You think divorcing me changes anything, Otto? She’s done with you!”

“A man like you who wants it all and gives nothing back? She will never love you again!”

Another slap.

Otto’s voice was pure fury.

“Shut your mouth! If you hadn’t lied about being pregnant, I never would have married you!”

“The only person I have ever loved is her. You threw yourself at me!”

Maria threw her head back and laughed, wild and mocking.

A knife appeared in her hand from nowhere. She drove it into his chest. Blood bloomed

across his white shirt.

Then Maria held out her wrists and let the officers cuff her.

“Otto Sanchez, a man like you deserves to die. If I can’t have you, I’ll destroy you. Ha Haha! ”

Otto’s vision blurred. He stared at the raving woman in front of him and could not understand.

How had the Maria he once loved become this?

He had loved her brightness, her warmth, her fearless energy. In the end, she was nothing but

rot underneath.

He laughed.

He finally understood. The light he’d carried in his heart all along had always been Ann. It had

never changed.

The police car and the ambulance pulled away in opposite directions, and just like that, their

paths diverged for good.