The Wife He Left to Burn

Start Reading

In my past life, Ethan rushed out of the burning car wreck with Lena in his arms. He left me, his wife, to burn into charred remains.

As my soul left my body, a voice spoke.

You harbor deep resentment. You are granted thirty days of life, after which you will completely disappear. Do you accept?

I answered, "Yes."

I woke in excruciating pain as Ethan's gentle voice came beside me.

"Sophia, my mother made me promise to take care of Lena before she died. I only see her as a sister."

I let out a cold laugh. If he really saw her as a sister, how could he have slept with her?

His hand covered my chest, right where I had taken a bullet for him eight years ago.

In the past, this would have moved me to tears.

But now, I only felt nauseous, though I still obediently embraced him.

"Ethan, I understand."

I lowered my eyes and smiled, but my gaze was cold as ice.

This time, I wouldn't go crazy. I would just quietly watch them walk toward their destruction.

Sophia's POV

I woke to the searing pain of being burned alive.

In that car accident from my past life, I was trapped in the twisted driver's seat. I watched Ethan carry Lena out of the inferno without a second thought.

I was left to burn into charred remains.

The moment my soul left my body, I heard a cold voice echo in the void.

"Deep resentment detected. You are granted thirty days of life. After thirty days, you will completely disappear from this world. Do you accept?"

I answered firmly in the flames. "Yes!"

When I opened my eyes again, blinding white light filled my vision.

Beside me, Ethan's gentle voice reached my ears.

"Sophia, before my mother died, she said she had wronged Lena's parents and made me promise to take care of her."

"Lena is innocent. I'll look after her for three years on behalf of my mother."

"After three years, I'll take you to Switzerland to remove that bullet fragment from your chest. I'll be with you forever."

As he spoke, his warm palm gently covered my chest.

It was where I had blocked a bullet for him eight years ago.

If I had heard this confession in my past life, I would have been so moved that I'd throw myself into his arms and nod in agreement.

But now, looking at Ethan's affectionate expression, I only felt intense nausea churning in my stomach.

But I didn't push him away.

I obediently lowered my eyes, forced out a tear, and even reached out to embrace him, my voice trembling. "Ethan, I understand. Your mother would understand too."

Hearing my words, Ethan's tense body instantly relaxed. He rested his chin on top of my head and let out a long, satisfied sigh.

"Sophia, you're always so kind. You're wonderful."

He didn't know that in the corner he couldn't see, I was coldly staring at my left wrist resting on his back.

A faint red line had appeared there, and at the end of the line, a row of blood-red letters floated that only I could see.

"Time until death: 30 days"

"I won't be home tonight. Lena just got back, and she's afraid of the dark. She needs someone with her."

Ethan tucked the blanket around me and placed a light kiss on my forehead. "Get some rest. Remember to take your medicine."

The door closed.

The expression on my face vanished instantly.

I threw off the covers and walked barefoot to the floor-to-ceiling window.

Downstairs, Ethan walked toward a black Bentley.

The passenger door opened, and a woman wrapped in a beige coat impatiently threw herself into his arms, standing on her toes to kiss his lips passionately.

Lena.

The future superstar who would become famous nationwide next month.

Watching the intimate couple under the streetlights, I turned away expressionlessly and quickly walked to the desk, pulling open the bottom drawer and prying open the hidden compartment with a knife.

Inside lay an old manila envelope and a hospital document that had slipped from Ethan's suit pocket.

These were the secrets I hadn't discovered until my death in my past life.

I pulled out the letter. On it was written Ethan's mother's desperate curse: "I will not allow Lena to marry my son! Even in death, I forbid it!"

And the hospital document was an ultrasound report.

Twelve weeks pregnant.

I gripped the ultrasound report tightly, my fingertips pale white, my heart feeling like it was being pierced by countless needles.

Ethan said he had only agreed to care for Lena a month ago at his mother's deathbed.

But three months ago, they already had a child together!

What dying wish, what three years of care. All lies!

He was just using his recently deceased mother as an excuse to keep his mistress, pregnant with his illegitimate child, right under my nose.

All the rage and desolation churned violently in my chest, but in the end, I didn't shed a single tear.

I calmly put the letter and ultrasound report back in the hidden compartment.

In my past life, I had confronted him like a madwoman with this evidence, only to face Ethan's anger and punishment.

In this life, I wouldn't ask a single question.

Until the day I died, I would leave these things for him as the heaviest gift of his life.

Sophia's POV

Over the next few days, Ethan was almost never home at night.

But he would call via video every day at the same time, carefully reminding me to eat and take my medicine, acting like the most considerate husband in the world.

"Sophia, I have an important client tonight and need to work late. Get some rest early."

On the screen, Ethan loosened his tie. Behind him was the hallway of the Monarch Private Club.

I watched the unnatural guilt in his eyes and nodded obediently. "Okay. Don't drink too much. Your stomach is delicate and needs careful care."

After hanging up, I glanced at the heavy rain outside.

Ethan had severe stomach problems. Every time he drank too much, he would have stomach spasms.

In the past, whenever he went drinking with clients, I would deliver medicine to him even in a snowstorm.

I grabbed the medicine and left.

This would perhaps be the last time I delivered anything to him.

After all, if I was going to act, I had to act until the end.

When I reached the top-floor private room at the Monarch Club, I was about to push the door open when laughter from inside made me freeze.

"Ethan, you're so ruthless. How can you even make up such lies?"

That was the voice of Ethan's friend, Marcus.

Inside the warm room, the words Ethan spoke made me, standing outside the door, feel cold all over.

"If I don't make up lies, would Sophia, with her stubborn personality, believe me? She took a bullet for me back then. My safety and my family's gratitude matter most to her in this life. Only by using my dead mother as an excuse will she not go crazy."

"But Lena's baby is already three months along. Can you really keep it from her?"

"What's there to fear?" Ethan leisurely swirled his wine glass, his tone full of arrogant control. "The bullet fragment in Sophia's chest has been there for eight years. The doctor said she could have an episode at any time. Even if I don't say anything, her broken body won't last much longer."

"Besides, once Lena gives birth, I'll just say I found a surrogate abroad. As long as I tell Sophia I still love her, she can't live without me, and she'll eventually accept the child as her own."

Inside the room, exclamations erupted as friends praised Ethan's clever plan, keeping both wife and child by his side.

Outside the door, I stood frozen in place, my mind completely blank.

Even though I already knew the secret of the ultrasound report, hearing Ethan use my devotion as leverage to manipulate me still tore my heart apart.

He not only wanted to humiliate me with lies. He was even hoping the bullet fragment in my chest would kill me!

In his plan, my compliance and death were both stepping stones to pave the way for his mistress and illegitimate child!

A sharp pain shot through my chest.

It was the rusted bullet fragment warning me from within my flesh and blood.

I clutched my chest tightly, my face pale with pain, cold sweat instantly soaking my back.

I didn't push the door open to make a scene. I didn't confront him.

I just quietly looked at the medicine in my hand and tossed it into the nearby trash can like garbage.

A dull thud.

Along with my eight years of love, thrown away together.

I turned and walked into the rainy night.

I didn't go home. Instead, I went straight to Central Hospital.

In the emergency room, the doctor looked at my chest X-ray with furrowed brows. "Ms. Blackwood, this bullet fragment has moved to the edge of your aorta! Have you been under some kind of stress lately? If you don't have surgery, you won't live past a month!"

"I won't have the surgery." I calmly got dressed. "Just give me some painkillers."

The doctor looked at me in shock. "You're waiting to die!"

I smiled faintly and didn't answer.

Yes, I was waiting to die.

Because with the thirty-day countdown, no one could rewrite my fate.

I looked down at my left wrist, where the red line flickered faintly. "Time until death: 26 days"

Sophia's POV

Ethan didn't come home until noon the next day, reeking of perfume.

He was clearly in an excellent mood. As soon as he entered, he handed me an exquisite jewelry box.

"Sophia, this is for you."

I opened the box to find an expensive pink diamond necklace inside.

In my past life, I had been so moved when I received this necklace that my eyes reddened, thinking it showed his favoritism toward me.

But later I learned that Lena had her eye on a blue diamond necklace from the same collection. To please Lena, Ethan bought the entire series of gemstone jewelry and gave me the pink diamond necklace Lena didn't like as compensation.

"Do you like it?" Ethan gently stroked my hair. "Next week is Sterling Group's fifth anniversary gala. I want you to wear it and accompany me as Mrs. Sterling."

I closed the lid, my lips curving into a docile smile. "Okay, whatever you say."

Ethan paused, a flash of guilt crossing his eyes as he tentatively spoke. "Sophia, there's one more thing... Lena just entered the entertainment industry. For this anniversary gala, I want her to attend as a special guest."

He stared intently at my eyes, as if afraid I would lose my temper.

"You're the hostess. At the event, I want you to personally introduce her to those directors and producers. Consider it helping me take care of her."

He wanted me to personally go on stage and elevate his mistress into New York's elite circles.

Was there any crueler humiliation in this world?

In my past life, I had cried and begged him all night in the study over this matter, only to receive his cold response: "When did you become so vicious?"

In the end, I was still forced to attend, becoming a laughingstock throughout New York.

And at this moment, looking at Ethan's hypocritical eyes, I found it absurd.

I didn't cry. I didn't even hesitate. I nodded quite naturally.

"Sure." My voice was soft. "Of course I'll take good care of her."

Ethan let out a huge sigh of relief, joy bursting from his eyes.

He pulled me into his arms and kissed my cheek excitedly.

"Sophia, I knew you were the kindest! Don't worry, once I fulfill my mother's wish, I'll love only you forever!"

I let him hold me, my gaze moving past his shoulder to coldly rest on our wedding photo on the wall.

Kind?

It was because I was going to die soon, Ethan.

How could someone about to die concern themselves with such trivial matters?

On the day of the gala.

I wore a tasteful, elegant dress and entered the venue on Ethan's arm.

Before long, Lena appeared at the venue in an extremely ostentatious white gown.

Her gaze swept past the crowd and landed provocatively on me.

"Sophia." Lena approached, deliberately glancing at my flat abdomen. "Thank you for all your hard work today. Ethan said you've been in poor health and haven't been able to conceive. I feel terrible making you work so hard."

The socialites around us instantly showed mocking expressions.

This was clearly a deliberate jab at my pain regarding children.

Ethan's face changed slightly. He instinctively looked at me, trying to catch anger or grievance on my face.

Because as long as I got angry, he could take Lena's side.

But he saw nothing.

Not only was I not angry, I picked up a glass of warm water from a passing server's tray and personally handed it to Lena.

"You're too kind, Ms. Cooper. Drink more warm water and don't overexert yourself."

Lena's face stiffened, panic flashing in her eyes.

But I didn't look at her again. I turned to Ethan with a smile so gentle it was flawless.

"Ethan, Mr. Harrison is over there. Let me take Lena over to introduce her."

I took Lena's hand and led her into the core of the banquet.

Halfway through the event, I excused myself to use the restroom and walked alone to the venue's terrace.

The night wind made my chest ache faintly.

I took out my phone and sent a message to Owen.

"Owen, I've signed the transfer contract for The Late Hours Bookstore. Please help me process the transfer tomorrow."

The only thing in this world I couldn't take with me or let go of was this bookstore.

Now, I needed to erase this final trace.

I glanced at the night sky. The red line on my left wrist glowed faintly in the darkness.

"Time until death: 22 days"

I turned to head back to the venue but heard Lena's lowered voice from around the corner.

"Ethan, when will Sophia finally die? Didn't the doctor say she wouldn't live long? My belly will be showing in two more months. Do you want our child to be born a bastard?"

Then came Ethan's gentle yet cruel reassurance.

"Lena, just wait a little longer. She behaved so well today. How can I bring up divorce now? Don't worry. The future heir of Sterling Group can only be our child."

I stood quietly in the shadows, listening to them plan their future after my death.

The corners of my mouth slowly curved into an eerie arc.

What's the rush?

There were still 22 days left.

In 22 days, I would give them the most grand banquet of all.

Sophia's POV

The day after the anniversary gala, I was at the bookstore organizing the last batch of old books to donate when the door was suddenly pushed open.

My best friend Emma rushed in breathlessly, her eyes red-rimmed, grabbing my wrist. "Sophia, something happened!"

At last night's gala, Emma had witnessed Ethan and Lena's disgusting behavior and was furious. Today, while recording a show at the TV station, she happened to run into Lena, and the two had a confrontation.

Emma slapped Lena across the face in public and called her a homewrecker.

"I just can't stand her behavior! Why should you be bullied by that bitch!" Emma trembled as she cried.

My heart tightened, but before I could speak, the harsh sound of braking came from outside.

Ethan arrived with several bodyguards, his face dark with fury as he strode into the bookstore.

His usual gentle mask was completely torn away. The look he gave Emma was as cold as if he were looking at a dead person.

"Take her away." Ethan coldly ordered. "Since Ms. Hayes can't control her hands, she doesn't need to stay in New York anymore."

"Ethan, what are you doing!" I rushed to stand in front of Emma.

Ethan looked at me, his tone severe. "Sophia, she slapped Lena in front of so many people today! Lena is a public figure, and more importantly, she's the person my mother asked me to care for before she died. She's suffered such a great injustice. This can't just end like this!"

"Not only will she be blacklisted online, I'm sending her to prison!"

All the blood in my body seemed to freeze at that moment.

In my past life, Emma had been driven to bankruptcy by Ethan for standing up for me against Lena, and eventually swallowed twenty sleeping pills and committed suicide.

That scene was a wound in my heart that would bleed forever.

I could endure Ethan's cold violence toward me, but I absolutely couldn't let Emma be harmed again!

I clenched my fists tightly, my nails nearly digging into my flesh.

Looking at this husband who was willing to push my best friend to the brink of destruction for another woman, I swallowed the bloody taste rising in my throat.

I lowered my head, my voice hoarse to the extreme. "Ethan, I'm begging you, don't hurt her."

Ethan frowned. "Sophia, don't be unreasonable."

"I'll apologize for her." I closed my eyes, my knees bending slightly. "I'll go apologize to Lena. Is that okay?"

Ethan froze. He looked at my humble posture, reluctance crossing his face, but he quickly suppressed it.

"Fine," Ethan looked at me. "Go to Lena's set this afternoon and apologize to her. Then I won't pursue this matter."

After Ethan left, Emma held me and sobbed. "Sophia, why are you apologizing! What did you do wrong!"

I didn't cry.

I calmly took out my phone and transferred all five million dollars remaining in my account to Emma.

"Emma, take this money and leave immediately. Never come back."

"Sophia..."

"Go!" I pushed her away forcefully. "I can't protect you for long. You can only honor me by living well!"

Because the protection of the dead has an expiration date.

Sophia's POV

That afternoon, I went to the set where Lena was filming as promised.

It had just rained, and the second-story set construction was somewhat shaky.

I stood below, watching Lena sit in her rest chair.

"Sophia, you really didn't need to come apologize in person." Lena stroked her belly, her smile full of boasting. "Ethan is just so worried about me and the baby. He doesn't want us to suffer any harm."

My face showed no emotion. I just quietly watched her. "I'm not here to discuss that with you. Ethan said as long as I apologize to you, he'll let Emma go. I keep my word."

I bent slightly toward her, my tone flat. "I'm sorry, Ms. Cooper. Emma shouldn't have hit you. It's my fault. I should have explained things to her earlier."

Lena probably hadn't expected me to apologize so readily. She paused before speaking coquettishly. "Well, since you've apologized, what can I say? But my face still hurts. I don't know if I can be on camera."

I stared at her expressionlessly, about to speak.

Suddenly, the sound of metal breaking came from overhead!

People around let out cries of alarm and frantically ran toward the exits.

"Look out!"

Someone shouted, and a row of heavy steel frames used to secure the lighting, loosened from their screws, came crashing down toward where Lena and I were standing!

Amid the screams, I instinctively stepped back, but from the corner of my eye, I saw Ethan had just entered the set.

He moved quickly, running toward us. I thought he was coming to save me.

"Ethan! Save me! My baby!" Lena screamed, pretending to twist her ankle and falling to the ground.

The steel frames were originally falling between us.

If Ethan pulled me, both Lena and I could escape.

But in that instant.

Ethan's body didn't think at all. He rushed over, scooped up Lena from the ground, and threw himself outward!

And as he lunged for Lena, he knocked into a prop box beside him, which directly blocked my only escape route!

I looked desperately at the box before me, the sound of steel frames colliding reaching my ears.

CRASH!

A huge impact. Dust flew everywhere.

The steel frame, weighing over a hundred pounds, slammed down on my chest and back.

The moment I was crushed under the steel frame, I didn't feel pain. I just felt something in my chest completely shatter.

Eight years ago, in a shootout.

Ethan was being hunted by enemies. When that bullet shot toward him, I didn't hesitate to throw myself in front of him, using my chest to block the fatal strike.

That bullet fragment stopped just half a centimeter from my heart, causing me years of chronic pain.

But because I loved him, I willingly got hurt for him.

But I never imagined that eight years later, today.

In the swirling dust, I coughed up blood in great mouthfuls.

I struggled to open my eyes and through the gaps in the steel frame, I saw Ethan and Lena, safe and sound, a few meters away.

Ethan was anxiously cupping Lena's face, asking repeatedly. "Lena, is our baby hurt? Don't be afraid, I'm here."

Even though Lena only had a minor scrape, his eyes reddened with distress.

But Ethan didn't see me, lying to the side, dying.

In the same dangerous moment, years ago I went to die for him.

Now, for another woman, he personally pushed me into mortal danger.

Watching their intimate scene, a drop of warm liquid finally slid from the corner of my eye.

It was the last tear I would shed for this absurd, laughable eight-year love.

Then, in a wave of excruciating pain, I fell completely into darkness.

Sophia's POV

The next time I regained consciousness, I was lying in the hospital's intensive care unit.

Every bone in my body felt like it had been crushed by a truck. Even breathing sent sharp pain through my chest.

"Mr. Sterling," outside the room, the doctor's voice carried anger, "Ms. Blackwood was struck by a heavy object, causing the bullet fragment from eight years ago to completely shift. The fragment has now pierced through the pericardium and is pressing against her aorta!"

Ethan's voice trembled with shock. "Then do surgery to remove it! I don't care how much it costs. Use the best treatment!"

"It can't be removed." The doctor coldly interrupted him. "It's too deep. In her current physical condition, the moment we open her chest for surgery, she'll hemorrhage and die immediately. With conservative treatment, she has at most half a month left."

"She's essentially someone who could die at any moment now!"

Silence fell outside the door.

I lay in the hospital bed, staring vacantly at the ceiling.

On my wrist, the red line had turned so red it seemed about to drip blood.

"Time until death: 18 days"

What a coincidence. Even the death sentence from the doctor matched the system's countdown.

I don't know how much time passed before the hospital room door was pushed open.

Ethan walked in with red eyes, his steps somewhat unsteady.

He approached the bed, looking at my pale face covered with tubes, his lips trembling violently as he tried to hold my hand. "Sophia..."

I didn't dodge.

I lay there like a senseless rag doll, letting him grip my hand.

"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry!" Ethan suddenly broke down and buried his face in my palm. "I didn't see you there! Lena is pregnant. All I could think about was my mother's dying wish to protect this child. It was just an instinctive reaction... I didn't mean to leave you behind!"

Listening to his excuse full of lies, my heart didn't waver even slightly.

In my past life, I might have forgiven him for such an excuse.

But now I knew. What dying wish, what caring for a benefactor. All lies.

He abandoned me in a moment of danger simply because he no longer loved me.

Seeing me remain silent, Ethan panicked.

He looked up, his eyes full of pleading. "Sophia, hit me, yell at me, anything. Just don't stay silent! I swear I'll find the best doctors in the world. I will cure you!"

"Okay."

In the silent hospital room, I suddenly spoke.

My voice was extremely hoarse from the injury, but my tone was calm.

"Ethan, I don't blame you. Lena is pregnant. It's right that you saved her. If it were me, I would have told you to save the child first too."

Ethan froze completely.

He thought I would question him frantically, cry and accuse him of his heartlessness.

But I didn't.

Not only did I not blame him, I was even making excuses for him.

Wasn't this exactly the result Ethan wanted most?

But for some reason, looking at my expressionless face, Ethan began to panic.

"Sophia, you really... don't blame me?" He tested carefully.

"I don't blame you." I even managed an extremely weak smile. "Go be with her. She must have been terrified today."

Ethan hesitated, but was ultimately pulled back to reality by his assistant's low call from outside the door.

"Mr. Sterling, Ms. Cooper is crying about stomach pain and won't cooperate with the examination..."

Ethan glanced at me. "Sophia, I'll just check on Lena and come right back to stay with you. Rest well."

The door closed.

The smile on my face vanished instantly.

I struggled to lift my left hand, looking at the pulsing blood-red countdown.

After these 18 days passed, after I disappeared from this hopeless marriage.

Then he would know what he abandoned today.

Sophia's POV

In the hospital room, the smell of disinfectant soaked into my bones every day.

I had become skeletal, my once-fitted hospital gown hanging loosely on my frame. Even breathing required an oxygen mask.

Every heartbeat caused the bullet fragment in my chest to scrape against tissue, bringing excruciating pain.

The countdown had reached its final 3 days.

That afternoon, Ethan came to the hospital room.

Looking at my pale face, his eyes flickered evasively, but he still put on that affectionate expression.

"Sophia, the day after tomorrow... I'm having a wedding ceremony with Lena."

I looked at him quietly, saying nothing.

Ethan urgently gripped my emaciated hand and explained.

"Don't misunderstand! It's not a real marriage, just to comfort her! Recently, many people online have been calling her a homewrecker. She's emotionally devastated. The doctor said if this continues, the baby won't survive. I'm only doing this to fulfill my mother's dying promise. It's just something I came up with!"

"Once the baby is safely born, I'll find some excuse to send her away. In my heart, there's only ever been you."

He made infidelity sound so dignified.

Looking at this man before me, I wanted to cut open his chest and see what his heart was made of.

But I only blinked, my voice as light as the wind. "Okay."

Seeing me agree so readily, joy flashed in Ethan's eyes, but then his gaze moved to my left hand.

There, I wore an extremely expensive gold bracelet.

In my past life, even though Ethan's mother disliked me, she had given me this bracelet before her death.

"Sophia," Ethan's tone was tentative, "the wedding the day after tomorrow will have many media present. Could you... lend her the bracelet to wear for one day?"

"Just one day! As soon as the wedding is over, I'll return it to you immediately!"

I suddenly let out a low laugh.

The laugh made my chest shake, coughing up a large mouthful of blood-streaked phlegm.

Ethan panicked and quickly grabbed tissues to wipe. "Sophia, don't get upset! If you don't want to, forget it..."

"I'm willing."

I pushed away his hand and without hesitation removed the bracelet and threw it at him.

"Take it."

Ethan held the bracelet still warm from my body, his entire being freezing.

He looked at me in shock.

My gaze was too calm.

Not a trace of attachment, as if discarding filthy garbage.

Enormous panic gripped Ethan's heart. He suddenly grabbed my hand. "Sophia, wait for me. As soon as this wedding is over, I'll come back to stay with you!"

I closed my eyes and stopped looking at him.

On my left wrist, the red line emitted a piercing red glow.

"Time until death: 3 days"

The day before the wedding was also the last day before my impending death.

I pulled out the IV needle from the back of my hand and signed the form to refuse treatment.

Amid the doctor's sighs, I wrapped myself in an oversized coat and left the hospital alone. I returned to the villa, the home that was supposed to be our wedding house, the place where I had once poured all my love.

I pushed open the door. The familiar scent rushed toward me.

In my past life, I had constantly hoped Ethan would come home to see me just once.

"Mrs. Sterling?" The housekeeper looked startled seeing my weakened state. "Why did you leave the hospital? Mr. Sterling, he's getting married tomorrow..."

"Call everyone in the house here." My voice was hoarse but carried a cold hardness.

Soon, the servants and security guards stood in the living room.

I sat on the sofa, pointing at the furniture throughout the house.

"My things, if any of you want them, take them directly."

None of the servants dared move.

I let out a cold laugh and pulled out a lighter from under the table, flicking it open with a "click."

"If you don't take them, I'll burn everything."

In less than two hours, they had emptied the villa.

Anything they couldn't carry or didn't want, I threw into the incinerator.

I personally took down the massive wedding photo from the wall, along with the sketch Ethan had drawn of me years ago, the thick stack of love letters he'd sent, and even the wedding dress I'd treasured for many years. One by one, I threw them all into the roaring flames.

The firelight reflected on my bloodless face.

Watching these things turn to ash in the flames, the stone that had weighed on my heart for two lifetimes finally shattered completely.

From now on, there would be no trace left in this world that I had ever loved Ethan Sterling.

After handling everything, I returned to the empty study.

I took out a black courier envelope.

I put Ethan's mother's real letter inside.

I put Lena's ultrasound report inside.

I also put in dozens of hotel check-in records between Lena and producer Nathan Rivers.

Finally, I threw in a USB drive containing the recording of what Ethan said in that private room.

I sealed the envelope, attached a courier label, and wrote down the address of the hotel where Ethan was holding his wedding tomorrow.

I dialed the courier service, my voice as calm as if I was ordering takeout.

"Tomorrow at exactly noon, make sure to deliver this personally into Ethan Sterling's hands."

Everything was ready.

I pushed open the villa's floor-to-ceiling windows. Facing the biting cold wind, I looked at my left wrist.

The red line had burned down to its end.

"Time until death: final 12 hours"