Chapter 13
Now, facing Damon again, I went straight to the point.
“Where is Ranger buried?”
He stared at my face almost greedily, then gave a bitter laugh.
“You really care about that dog.”
Then, unexpectedly, he changed his tone.
“Serena… the truth is, I never really hated you.”
I couldn’t guess what he was planning, but he continued anyway.
“When you first came to the Locke family, I was happy. You were soft, clean, sweet-smelling… I really liked having a little sister.”
His eyes turned distant, almost nostalgic.
“But then your light became too bright. You crushed me under your shadow. The better you became, the more useless I looked. The old man punished me harder and harder, and resentment grew in me. I didn’t dare take it out on him, so I took it out on you.”
He paused, then said, “The old man once asked me if I liked you. He said if I did, I should stop fighting you before I lost you and regretted it. I swore I would never like you, not even if every other woman in the world died.”
He gave a hollow laugh.
“But when he arranged our marriage, I was happy.”
I looked at him in disgust.
He kept going.
“I thought maybe after we married, we could really be close. But every time you looked at me, there was only hatred. No love. You could show kindness to strangers, but not to me. So I found Yvette on purpose to provoke you. I wanted to make you jealous. I wanted you to fight with me. But you never did. Instead, you looked relieved… like being rid of me was freedom.”
His voice grew darker.
“The day the old man agreed to let you go, I fought with him. We struggled… and I accidentally pushed him down the stairs.”
He reached for my hand.
“You were always my cure, Serena. Come back. I know my heart now. I can send Yvette away. Let’s go back to the beginning.”
I slapped his hand away as if touching something rotten.
Then I took out a wet wipe and slowly cleaned my fingers.
“Where is Ranger?”
“Serena…” he whispered. “Can’t we go back?”
I felt only revulsion.
Then I pulled out my phone and showed him the screen.
The entire conversation had been recorded.
“Whether you killed your grandfather accidentally or not,” I said, “the police can determine that. As for how they investigate, I can also provide the surveillance footage from that day.”
Since returning, I had been collecting evidence against him.
I had uncovered how filthy Locke Group had become under his control—malicious retaliation against business rivals, harm done to others for Yvette’s sake, and now even his grandfather’s death.
I stood up.
“Whether you tell me or not, I’ll find Ranger. But you? You’ll never have the chance to rise again.”
Then I smiled.
“And don’t worry. In prison, your beloved Yvette will be right there beside you.”