Chapter 46
Each syllable from Alexander's lips felt like shards of glass tearing through Evelyn's raw wounds. The agony was so profound it rendered her entire body numb.
"Ha..." Evelyn's bitter laugh echoed hollowly.
She finally understood the depths of his cruelty - he'd erased every trace of their child's existence.
He'd willingly crushed their baby's bones to dust for that venomous serpent, Victoria.
Evelyn believed her heart had turned to stone. She thought she'd become incapable of feeling pain.
Yet one encounter with that man made every scar ignite with fresh torment.
"Alexander, I never imagined Evelyn would come after me the moment she left prison," Victoria whimpered, pressing against his chest. "I'm terrified she'll harm our baby again. She already murdered our first child. I can't endure that nightmare twice."
Her words dripped with false innocence, expertly stoking the flames of Alexander's rage.
Just as intended, his dark eyes burned with malice as they locked onto Evelyn. "Three years wasn't enough for you? If you're craving another prison sentence, just say so. But if I catch you near Victoria again..."
His violent shove sent Evelyn crashing to the floor, her body wracked with pain. His protective stance over Victoria spoke volumes - his devotion had only intensified.
Memories of those thousand torturous nights in prison made Evelyn's pulse race. She couldn't return to that hell.
Clenching her fists until her nails drew blood, Evelyn felt something shift inside her. The love in her eyes transformed into something darker.
She despised this.
She loathed every wicked scheme Victoria concocted. She abhorred Alexander's heartless brutality. Most of all, she hated how he enabled Victoria's atrocities again and again.
Why should her precious Amelia pay for Victoria's sins?
Victoria was the one who deserved death!
"Darling, we should go," Victoria cooed, entwining her fingers with Alexander's. "Today's our sweet Ethan's second birthday. We mustn't keep your parents waiting."
The knife twisted deeper in Evelyn's heart.
How cruelly ironic.
Today would have been Amelia's second birthday too - the daughter they'd mercilessly slaughtered.
Watching their retreating figures, Evelyn felt needles piercing her eyes.
What kind of monster had she loved all these years?
Those youthful promises had become poisonous illusions. It was time to wake from this nightmare.
Later, Evelyn erected a small memorial beside her grandfather Henry's grave for her lost child.
When Olivia learned what happened, she grabbed a kitchen knife, ready to confront Alexander and Victoria. Evelyn stopped her with a trembling hand.
Who was Alexander Blackwood? In all of Willowbrook, who dared challenge the most powerful man in the city?