He Let Our Daughter Die, I Became A Tycoon's Bride

Once Bethany ended the call, Neal approached with a deferential bow. "I have carried out Mr. Harding's orders and secured a burial site for your daughter at Slenale's finest cemetery."

Bethany pulled the little urn closer to her chest. Her throat felt raw as she murmured, "I want her laid to rest in Leacrest."

Since she had already made up her mind to become Trevor's wife, she expected Leacrest to be her home eventually. She could not bear the thought of leaving Charlotte buried somewhere so distant.

Neal gave a small nod. "Understood. I'll arrange everything."

His gaze settled on her again before he asked, "Before we leave for Leacrest, would you like to go and collect some of your daughter's belongings?"

Bethany pressed the urn against herself and gave a quiet nod.

Not long afterward, Bethany emerged from the house she had once shared with Brian. A suitcase rolled behind her while she still held Charlotte's ashes. At that exact moment, Brian's car came to a stop outside the house.

Brian climbed out, rounded the vehicle, and opened the passenger door. He carefully helped Lexie onto her feet. "Slowly."

"Bethany?" Lexie had barely stepped onto the driveway when she noticed the suitcase beside Bethany. "Are you leaving?"

Her eyes widened in apparent disbelief. The surprise on her face soon crumbled into unmistakable distress.

She caught her lower lip between her teeth before turning toward Brian, tears gathering in her eyes. "Brian, I told you... You really don't need to worry about me this much. This is all my fault..."

She lowered her gaze and wiped the corners of her eyes. "I never should have come to you just because I was feeling awful during my period. Because of me, Bethany lied about Charlotte dying. And now she's leaving right when you're bringing me home."

For a fleeting moment, Brian felt a pang of remorse when he saw Bethany standing there with her luggage. He wondered if he had been too harsh.

Then Lexie's words wiped that feeling away. Bethany had to be putting on an act. Charlotte had always been the center of her life. If anything had truly happened to the girl, how could Bethany return to pack a suitcase? And how convenient that she had chosen to make her dramatic exit precisely when he was arriving with Lexie.

A vicious smile slowly curled across Brian's mouth. "Bethany."

His gaze hardened with disdain. "You refused to give up acting back then, remember? You were determined to pursue that career until Charlotte came along and made you settle down. What happened now? Did you suddenly get the itch to perform again? You're even putting on a show right in front of me this time. Have you become addicted to playing these little roles?"

The mockery on his face struck Bethany harder than any insult could have.

This was the man she had once been willing to sacrifice everything for. She had fought tooth and nail to marry him, even going against her father's final request.

Lexie had been part of his life for only two years, yet he spoiled her without hesitation and accepted every story she told him as truth.

Meanwhile, she had spent so many years standing beside him. She had cared for him day after day, given birth to his daughter, and surrendered all the money his father had left her so he could expand his company. In return, this was what remained of everything she had sacrificed.

"Brian." Bethany slowly raised her eyes. Her lips were parched, and her voice came out rough and broken. "I never lied to you. Charlotte is really dead."

She had already forced herself to accept the unbearable truth, but speaking it aloud reopened the wound. Her voice shook beneath the weight of her grief.

However, Brian saw none of it. To him, every tremor in her voice was simply another carefully rehearsed part of her act.

His brow furrowed, fury burning through his stare. "That's enough, Bethany! How many times are you going to do this? Charlotte is a human being, not some weapon you can use whenever you're jealous."

"Bethany..." Lexie quickly inserted herself into the conversation, her lips trembling as her eyes filled with tears. "If you don't like Brian taking care of me, you can just tell me. Why do you have to keep saying Charlotte is dead? You can't use something so cruel to control him simply because he cares about his family and loves Charlotte. He's already exhausted from working himself to the bone for you..."

A trace of tenderness appeared in Brian's expression. Lexie was always considerate of him. She worried about his exhaustion and understood how hard he worked. Bethany had never been like that. All she seemed capable of was jealousy and resentment, never once stopping to think about how drained he was.

"Forget it. Maybe I should go," Lexie sobbed. "Bethany, please stop saying such awful things about Charlotte because of me. I'm only anemic. It'll only make me feel terrible."

"This has nothing to do with you!" Brian took Lexie's hand, his expression turning cold as he stared at Bethany. "She's the one who can't control her jealousy."

Bethany's gaze dropped to their intertwined fingers. She shut her eyes. There was nothing left to explain. No matter what she said, neither of them would believe her.

Without another word, she turned around and headed toward the road, pulling her suitcase along behind her.

"Bethany!" Lexie hurried after her and seized the suitcase handle from behind.

"Let go." Bethany's voice was frigid as she turned a warning stare on her.

"No!" Lexie stepped into her way, tears shimmering in her eyes. "Please don't leave. And don't argue with Brian anymore, alright? Can't you understand him a little? He works so hard every day."

Then her attention fell upon the pink jar Bethany had been guarding against her chest.

Something calculating flashed through her eyes. Before Bethany could react, she suddenly reached out and tried to seize it.

Bethany recoiled instantly, anger flashing across her face. "Don't touch that!"

Lexie turned toward Brian and cried, "Brian, look at the jar she's protecting. It must mean so much to her. Help me take it from her! If we use it to calm her down, maybe she'll finally stop threatening to leave."

Brian had already lost whatever patience he had left for Bethany. Yet watching Lexie desperately try to repair their relationship stirred something inside him.

He stepped forward and said coldly, "Give it to Lexie."

He seized one side of the jar and forcefully pulled against Bethany's grip.

"Don't touch me!" Bethany screamed.

Her resistance meant little against his superior strength. Her legs were still recovering from the injuries she had suffered in the accident, leaving her unable to fight him properly.

With one hard tug, Brian ripped the jar from her arms and handed it to Lexie. "Here."

Lexie accepted it, unable to conceal the smug satisfaction spreading across her face. She glanced at Bethany. "What exactly is inside this jar that you're so desperate to protect?"

She lifted the lid. The instant she saw what was inside, her expression contorted. "Ugh! That's disgusting!"

"No!" Bethany's cry erupted from deep within her chest. But there was nothing she could do.

The jar slipped from Lexie's grasp and slammed onto the pavement.

A cloud of pale gray dust burst from inside, then scattered across the ground as the evening breeze swept through it.

Bethany's strength deserted her. She dropped heavily onto her knees, staring at the remains scattered across the pavement.

"Charlotte... Charlotte..."

Her hands shook violently as she bent down and desperately gathered at the ashes, now mingled with dirt and tiny pieces of gravel. She scooped up what she could, but the fragile powder still sifted between her trembling fingers.

Her face crumpled as she raised her tear-filled eyes toward Brian. The words came out strangled, almost impossible to hear. "Brian, those are your daughter's ashes."