Chapter 8
The house staff saw the blood and panicked.
After hesitating, they called the police.
Draven was taken away in handcuffs, while Maris was rushed to the hospital for emergency treatment.
By the time I heard the news, everything had already exploded online.
My story spread everywhere. People sympathized with me, and some even sent flowers for Ell… and for my parents.
Draven’s competitors seized the moment and pushed the story further.
Within days, Aurelia Aesthetic Institute was drowning in scandals.
Investors pulled out, the cash flow snapped, and before long, it shut down for good.
Maris survived after three days and three nights in surgery.
But she lost the baby, along with any chance of ever having one again.
The scars covering her body and face drove her to the edge. She tried to take her own life more than once, and each
time, she was stopped.
The verdict finally came down.
Maris Hale was convicted of attempted murder, aggravated assault, and hit-and-run. Twenty years.
In court, she screamed hysterically, cursing Draven across the room, but he didn’t respond. He just sat there, silent.
Draven Kessler was charged with aggravated assault, obstruction of justice, and aiding and abetting..
Twelve years.
Before they put him into the police car, he broke free and ran toward me, dropping to his knees.
He was crying.
Really crying.
“Liora… I’m sorry. I failed you. I failed Eli. I destroyed our family. This is all my fault.”
He kept repeating it, over and over, begging for forgiveness.
“Please… just once. I know I was wrong.”
“Your face… let me fix it. Let me do one last thing for you. No one will interfere this time. Please… let me make it right.”
I looked down at him.
Felt nothing.
Chapter 8
88.89%
“Draven Kessler, I don’t need your apology. And I don’t need your help.”
“You’re not the only one who can fix my face. As for you… take your skills to prison.”
“I will never forgive you. Not in this lifetime.”
“And neither will Eli.”
I turned and walked away without looking back.
Behind me, he was still shouting, still begging, falling apart piece by piece.
But I heard something else.
Soft. Familiar.
Mommy, keep going. Don’t look back..
After they were sentenced, a surgeon reached out to me.
Alaric Boone,
“Ms. Vance, I can perform reconstructive surgery for you. I can restore your face.”
I had already given up.
I thought I would live like this forever.
But then he said, “I think your son… and your parents… would want to see you as you were.”
That was enough.
For the third time, I lay on an operating table, but this time, it didn’t feel cold.
Alaric and his team stayed by my side.
“Ms. Vance, when you wake up, everything will be different. You’re going to be okay.”
“Okay.”
I closed my eyes, holding back tears.
When I woke up, the surgery was over.
The damage had been severe, and recovery would take time.
Alaric stayed by my side, watching, checking, steady and patient.
For the first time in a long while, I wasn’t alone.
