Chapter 68 Cold–hearted Persuasion
1/8
Bertha pointed at Aurora and said to the officer, “Officer, she’s trying to kill someone! You need to arrest her right now!”
If they could throw Aurora back in jail and get rid of her before Camille regained the ability to speak, then no one would ever be able to threaten her again.
A flash of malice and satisfaction crossed Bertha’s eyes as she imagined the sight of Aurora being dragged away by the police.
Isabella glared at Aurora, her eyes filled with venom. She could barely contain her hatred.
How dare Aurora try to stab Bertha?
It seemed that the other inmates had been too lenient with Aurora during her time in prison.
Once she was back behind bars, Isabella swore she wouldn’t survive it again.
“Officer, I can testify,” Isabella continued, her voice cold and authoritative. “Not only did she try to strangle a patient, but she also stabbed someone. Please, arrest her quickly. Her actions. are terrifying. She’s making the hospital unsafe, and it’s severely affecting the patients‘ treatment.”
asion
2/8 The officer reached for his handcuffs, ready to take Aurora into custody.
But Celeste, grimacing in pain, slowly climbed to her feet. “Don’t you dare touch my daughter.”
Her eyes were filled with determination, her voice fierce.
Five years ago, she had failed Aurora once.
She couldn’t let the same thing happen again.
Barnett stepped in as well. “My sister didn’t try to kill anyone,” he said, his voice tired but unwavering.
Seeing that both Celeste and Barnett were siding with Aurora, Bertha’s rage simmered, but she quickly masked it with feigned concern. “You were both injured by Aurora. She’s dangerous. If we don’t put her in prison now, she’ll kill us all once she’s awake.”
Barnett’s patience snapped. “Shut up! I told you, she didn’t do anything. Officer, please leave. This is a family matter, and we don’t need to waste any more of your time.”
Aurora was in no condition to withstand another prison.
sentence.
Camille herself had declared that she wasn’t the cause of Camille’s condition, meaning Aurora had unjustly suffered for five years.
Chapter 68 Cold–hearted Persuasion
The punishment that should never have been hers had been forced upon her, leaving her broken.
A broken leg, a ruined kidney–her body was no longer the
same.
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She had been a brilliant student once, but all of that was lost in
prison.
Seeing the skeletal Aurora in Hubery’s arms, Barnett could barely breathe from the weight of his grief. His sister had
suffered so much.
“Barnett…” Bertha began, but Barnett shot her a look that at Barnett shot her a look that
silenced her.
The officer, not wanting to get further involved in family affairs, simply made sure Celeste and Barnett’s injuries were tended to before leaving.
Once the police were gone
the tension in the room seemed to
dissipate, but fatigue hit them like a wave.
Celeste, weak from blood loss, collapsed with a soft thud into the pool of blood beneath her.
Barnett’s face went ashen, his legs trembling, and he nearly collapsed himself.
Bertha and Isabella exchanged a glance, disappointment written in both their eyes, but they quickly regained composure and
Chapter 68 Cold–hearted Persuasion
rushed to have Celeste and Barnett taken away for treatment.
When they left, the room fell into an eerie silence.
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Hubery, his heart pounding with anxiety, looked at the unconscious Aurora and instinctively tried to pick her up to take her to safely.
But before he could, Daisy, acting like a fierce protector, shoved him away with a force that nearly knocked him off balance. Her eyes blazed with fury as she yelled, “Don’t think you can make up for sending Aurora to prison all those years ago just because you saved her now. The Elvador family, you, and Adolph Sherwood are all the same! Monsters!”
Hubery staggered back, shaken to his core by Daisy’s words, like they were daggers piercing his heart.
He opened his mouth to speak, but the words felt hollow, unable to make any difference.
His mind spiraled back to the image of Camille, denying. that Aurora had harmed her, a scene that struck him like a hammer. The guilt in his chest twisted painfully, leaving him light–headed.
Pain was written all over his face, and his body trembled slightly.
Years ago, he had simply believed that Bertha was innocent, pure, and incapable of hurting her good friend Camille.
Chapter 68 Cold–hearted Persuasion
He was sure Bertha had been framed.
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Aurora, on the other hand, was stronger than Bertha. She had always been the one to endure the most hardship, the one who never complained. As Bertha’s “sister“, what was five years in prison compared to her life ahead? She would be just twenty–three when she was released, the perfect age to start over and do anything she wanted.
He had never considered that his decision would lead to Aurora being bullied, left physically scarred, and her life forever altered.
Now, with the truth laid bare before him, all he could feel was regret. He had no idea how to make up for what he had done.
Hubery watched helplessly as Daisy crouched down and gently lifted Aurora, her careful movements as if she were cradling the most precious treasure in the world.
With Beatrice and Ashley helping her, they slowly left Camille’s room, leaving Hubery standing there, frozen in place, his mind lost in turmoil.
The sun filtered weakly through the windows, but it failed to warm him.
It felt as if his soul had been ripped from his body, leaving only an empty shell that trembled in the suffocating atmosphere of guilt.
“Aurora…” Hubery whispered, his voice a hoarse murmur. Tears welled up in his eyes, a weakness he’d never shown before.
Chapter 68 Cold–hearted Persuasion
6/8
Aurora woke to find the world outside had turned dark.
The room was dim, lit only by the faint glow from the hallway, the shadows casting strange shapes on the floor.
For a long time, she lay there, staring blankly at the ceiling, her eyes vacant. Time seemed to stretch endlessly. Eventually, she slowly slid the covers off her battered body and dragged herself out of bed, her movements stiff and slow as though she were an old, worn–out doll.
She staggered toward the door, barely making a sound as she crept down the hospital hallway, her steps unsteady and her body fragile.
The yellowish lights overhead flickered weakly, casting long shadows that followed her every move.
Her lonely, emaciated figure drifted through the halls like a lost ghost.
She wandered aimlessly, not knowing where she was going or for how long, until she found herself standing on a pedestrian bridge.
She stopped, staring down at the dark water below, watching it flow quietly beneath the night sky.
For what seemed like an eternity, she stood there, frozen in
Chapter 68 Cold–hearted Persuasion
place. Finally, she lifted her leg, preparing to climb over the railing and end the torment of her life.
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A deep, calm voice suddenly interrupted the silence. “Planning to end it all?”
Aurora paused, her body tensing at the familiar tone of the voice. But at that moment, she couldn’t care less about who it was. She was beyond caring. Without turning around, she continued moving toward the railing, her mind set on its grim. task.
The voice came again, steady and indifferent. “If you’re going to kill yourself, can you at least do it somewhere less public?”
Aurora froze again, surprised. “Why does it matter?” she thought. Her life had already crumbled, and yet the man’s voice persisted.
Then he said something that made her pause for the third time. “Cuz I’ll seem cold if I don’t stop you, but if I interfere, I’ll only mess with your fate. It doesn’t do good to me either way.”
Aurora turned, finally meeting his eyes. She blinked in recognition.
This was the man who had offered her a cigarette in the stairwell.
He held a cigarette in his fingers, the smoke curling into the night air, adding to the haze around him. His sharp features were partially obscured by the mist, but there was no mistaking
Chapter 68 Cold–hearted Persuasion
the quiet elegance in his every movement.
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He flicked the ash from his cigarette, the small gesture radiating. a quiet, aristocratic grace.
“Want one?” Julian asked, raising an eyebrow in her direction, his voice carrying a strange, detached amusement.
