Chapter 4

I ran over. My eyes nearly burst in fury. Watching that made me feel on the verge of collapsing.

Adrian glanced down from the building and sneered. "You really made it look convincing. Even the fake body inside looks pretty real."

The coffin had already shattered, and the corpse inside had fallen out.

Since it was still clothed, only the pale face and tightly shut eyes were faintly visible.

Thankfully, the weather was cold. Without cremation, the body wouldn''t decay so quickly.

I shoved past the bodyguards without caring about anything else and ran downstairs.

The only thought in my mind was hoping my mother was okay.

She had always been afraid of pain. She wouldn''t be able to bear falling from such a high place.

Ignoring the strange looks from those around me, I hugged the corpse and gently smoothed out her disheveled hair.

I kept murmuring, "Mom… Mom, I''m sorry…"

Adrian followed closely behind. Before he even reached me, his brows were already furrowed.

"Camilla, I think you''ve lost your mind. Why are you doing something this humiliating in front of everyone? Do you really think my patience has no limits?"

Suddenly, he caught a clear look at the face of the person in my arms. His footsteps faltered.

His face turned pale, and he instinctively stepped back. When he spoke again, his voice trembled.

"N-No way. Your mom is really dead? H-How could this person look exactly like her?"

I glared at him with pure hatred. "How could I joke about something like this?

"Adrian, remember this—you''re the one who killed her. I will never forgive you."

Adrian''s legs went weak, and he nearly collapsed.

The bodyguard behind him quickly held him up.

"Mr. Lawson, don''t believe this liar," said the bodyguard.

"That day, after you left, I saw that woman get up and leave the island on her own. She wasn''t dead at all. Right now, she''s probably hiding somewhere, watching the show. Don''t let this fake corpse fool you!"

I looked up in disbelief, unable to comprehend why the bodyguard would tell such a blatant lie.

I had never even seen this person before, let alone on that day.

Adrian, who was already on the brink of breaking down, froze. "What? Are you telling the truth?"

The bodyguard nodded firmly. "I swear it. Not a single word is a lie."

Adrian let out a bitter laugh. He wiped his tears away with his sleeve and pushed himself up from the ground.

Humiliated and furious, he said, "Well, Camilla, you really had me wrapped around your little finger."

With that, he immediately ordered them, "Throw this corpse into the garbage dump and bring a pack of stray dogs! Make sure they haven''t eaten for at least three days!"

The bodyguards swarmed forward and ripped the body from my grasp.

No matter how hard I fought with everything I had, I couldn''t match their strength.

I could only watch helplessly as they tossed the corpse beside a filthy, foul-smelling garbage bin like a piece of trash.

A vehicle pulled up, and a cage full of wild stray dogs was unloaded.

The moment the door opened, they lunged forward and tore into the flesh in a frenzy.

The once-intact body was instantly shredded beyond recognition. There was nothing left but blood and mangled remains.

My mind went blank, and my blood surged violently to my head.

Struggling, I shouted, "Adrian! Why the hell are you doing this to me? If you hate me, then take it out on me! Why do you have to humiliate my mom like this? I already broke up with you! We have nothing to do with each other anymore! Why won''t you just let me go?"

By the time I finished speaking, I was sobbing uncontrollably.

Tears blurred my vision, and I didn''t dare to look toward the pack of wild dogs, afraid that I wouldn''t be able to hold it in and would throw up.

Adrian casually found a clean spot and sat down.

He crossed one leg over the other and spoke indifferently. "Let you go? The news of our wedding has already been announced. Everyone knows that the eldest son of the Lawson family is going to marry a woman from a poor background. Now, even the people on the street corner are gossiping about it over tea.

"How could I possibly let you go? If we cancel the wedding now, won''t there be even more rumors? Where would that leave my parents'' dignity?"

As he spoke, he glanced at me with a look of disappointment.

"Cammy, you weren''t like this before. You always put me first. Even when we got into that car accident, you didn''t hesitate to shield me and broke two of your ribs. When our boat capsized, you gave me the last life jacket. Why have you become so unreasonable now?"