Chapter 3

"Landon, I'm giving you one last chance." Jenny's tone was dripping with threat as she cast a cold glance at me. "Hand it over now, or you know the consequences."

The consequences she meant were no more than a divorce.

Whenever she was unhappy, she'd toss the word around, knowing it would bring me to my knees as I begged her to stay. She reveled in that power.

I'd always been the one to back down in our arguments, but now… I wasn't going to concede again.

Suddenly, I felt as if an insurmountable mountain stood between us. It was one I no longer wanted to cross.

I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and replied quietly, "Jenny, I'll say it one last time. Cynthia is dead. She never took any USB drives."

However, Jenny didn't believe me. "Fine." She sneered. "If you won't give it up, I'll find it myself."

She began tearing through Cynthia's room, leaving her belongings in utter disarray.

After she failed to find what she was looking for in the room, her gaze soon fell upon a small ceramic doll on the desk.

"What's this?" she asked, frowning.

My heart pounded, and I stumbled forward in panic. "Don't touch that! That's something Cynthia left for me!"

But Claude was faster. He picked up the doll, inspecting it with a knowing glint in his eye before snapping his fingers as if he'd figured it all out. "Jenny, look—it's hollow. If Landon's so protective of this thing, the USB drive must be hidden inside."

Without hesitation, Jenny smashed the doll to the floor.

"No!" I screamed, my voice hoarse with rage as I watched the doll shatter, pieces scattering across the ground.

Ignoring the possibility of the shards cutting my hands, I tried to piece them back together despite my trembling hands.

It was a figurine of two children nestled close together that Cynthia had made herself. I could still remember how proud Cynthia was when she showed it to me.

"Lanny, look! Doesn't it look like us when we were kids?"

It was her favorite piece, one she'd hold and play with every time she came home. But now it lay in pieces, shattered. No matter how hard I tried to put it back together… my sister was never coming back.

Jenny then lifted her foot, her sharp heel pressing hard on the back of my hand. The shards dug into my skin. In an instant, blood stained the broken fragments. The pain was intense, but I let it deepen, almost as if I wanted to feel it like a form of self-punishment.

Cynthia's death must have been a thousand times worse than this.

At this moment, I finally saw my seven-year relationship for how it really was.

My voice was hoarse and icy as I asked, "What proof do you have to accuse Cynthia of taking the USB drive?"

Jenny scowled, her voice laced with irritation. "Claude saw it yesterday. Do you think he'd lie?"

Yesterday? How ironic. I was curious how my sister, who'd already been cremated, could've possibly taken his USB drive.

"So, you trust your lover, but not me?" I asked. I had to fight the tremor in my voice.

Jenny shot me a fierce glare. She proceeded to utter words cold enough to freeze my blood.

"Of course, I trust Claude!"

I'd already guessed the answer, yet her cold indifference still left me feeling utterly heartbroken.

I wanted to argue, but in the end, I didn't say anything. What was the point? She wouldn't believe me anyway. It would only add to the frustration.

As I looked at the two of them, all I felt was bitter irony.

Jenny crossed her arms and let out a heavy sigh. Then, she softened her tone as if she were about to compromise. "Landon, I don't want to lose my temper with you. Just tell me. What will it take for you to give the USB drive back to Claude?"

Suddenly, as if a thought occurred to her, she raised her brows. "Oh, right, you mentioned before that you wanted Cynthia to work at Starlight Corporation, didn't you? Fine, I'll make arrangements for it. Is that good enough? Can you hand over the USB now?"

I could only chuckle bitterly. I had indeed asked her once to put in a word for Cynthia. And what did Jenny say back then? She said she'd never help because she despised people who used connections.

But here she was, breaking her so-called principles again and again for Claude.

When Claude started his business, Jenny went out of her way to help him by providing every resource she could, such as helping him find a location, bringing in investors, and introducing him to clients.

Jenny clutched her phone and gave instructions to her assistant on the other end of the line. "Arrange for Cynthia Lambert to join Starlight Corporation."

There was a long silence before a cautious voice replied, "Ms. Gardner… Ms. Lambert passed away. She had a sudden heart attack that night… the same night you and Mr. Husk were hosting the investors."