Chapter 3 Heartbreak

Silvia took a deep breath and with a sudden motion, she ripped the white sheet off Hyera's body.

As her eyes landed on that pale, lifeless face-devoid of any color-her fear was replaced by a strange thrill.

The corners of her lips curled into a wicked grin.

That cold, eerie smile matched Kehlani's perfectly. The resemblance was chilling.

From behind her came Kehlani's impatient voice, sharp and cutting:

"Well? Is she really dead?"

Silvia didn't turn around. She swallowed hard, her throat tight, then slowly reached out a hand to touch Hyera's forehead.

There was still the faintest trace of warmth.

Startled, Silvia flinched-then, without missing a beat, her eyes darkened.

She grabbed a pillow from the adjacent bed and spun around.

Without hesitation, she slammed it down over Hyera's nose and mouth, pressing down with terrifying force.

Her expression twisted into something monstrous-something no one who knew her would recognize.

"Let's see if you're really dead," she hissed, her voice low and venomous. "Or just playing dead. Either way, you're not walking out of this room alive, Hyera."

From beside the bed, Hyera's soul froze.

She looked up at Silvia with wide, tear-filled eyes, disbelief and horror flooding her.

Silvia... was trying to kill her. Again.

Her face crumpled, overwhelmed by disbelief.

'This is my sister?'

The one she had respected and loved?

The one who used to promise they'd grow up together, protect each other?

Her lips quivered. Her voice came out soft and broken.

"Silvia... why? Why are you doing this to me? I'm your sister, aren't I? Silvia... please..."

It felt like her whole world had collapsed.

The betrayal crushed her.

Her chest burned.

Her soul trembled.

She leaned her head against the pillow, unable to fight anymore.

Tears streamed silently down her cheeks, soaking the pillow beneath her. Her eyes were red, her heart completely shattered.

Behind them, Kehlani stood silently with her arms crossed, a sinister smile playing on her lips. She said nothing-only watched.

She wasn't going to let Hyera live another day.

Whether the girl was faking her death or not, it made no difference.

She had to die.

Watching Silvia smother her without hesitation, Kehlani let out a cold, satisfied laugh.

"She's dead. Finally dead. Ha... ha!"

Suddenly, a chill spread through Hyera's entire body.

It was bone-deep, terrifying.

She shivered uncontrollably.

She couldn't believe it-Kehlani, the woman who had once been kinder than her own mother, was happy to see her die.

She turned her head, staring at that face twisted into a grin.

Frozen in place, she could only watch.

"Please..." she choked out, her voice cracking. "I'm begging you... I don't want to die... I haven't even lived yet... I haven't gotten married... there's so much I haven't done..."

Her voice turned desperate.

"If you save me... I'll give you anything you want-anything! Even the 20% shares I hold... they're yours! Just please... let me live..."

She pleaded with everything she had. But no one responded.

Not a word.

Only silence.

Her tears poured freely now, endless and hopeless.

"Hans," Kehlani cooed, casually walking over to the man sitting in stunned silence.

She slipped her arm through his and sat beside him, her voice dripping with false sweetness.

"Now that Hyera's dead... that 20% stake of hers? That's all yours."

A smirk tugged at her lips. "Congratulations. Should we go celebrate?"

Twenty percent of the shares?

Celebrate?

Hyera's soul screamed as the world around her turned pitch-black.

"No. Absolutely not."

Hans's voice cut through the room like a blade.

"Don't forget-she was still my biological daughter. By now, the news must've already leaked that the heiress of the Sherwood Group, Hyera Sherwood, has died. If we go out and celebrate so publicly and get caught by the press, what do you think that'll look like? What will people say about me, Hans Sterling? How would I hold my place in society after that?"

His eyes were razor-sharp, locked on Kehlani. The way he looked at her-cold, cutting-felt like he was stabbing her with a thousand knives.

But Kehlani didn't flinch. She ignored him completely, turned to her daughter, and gave Silvia's thigh a quick pat as her face bloomed into a sickly sweet smile.

"Silvia, you did well this time," she praised, her voice like poisoned honey. "That little tramp Hyera is finally dead. From now on, no one will ever be able to compete with you again. Everything-everything-is yours."

"I've always said it-Hyera never had what it took to compare to me. She was nothing but a parasite. Honestly, she should've died a long time ago."

Silvia picked up a glass of water from the table, tipped her head back, and downed it in one gulp. She let out a cold laugh, her eyes filled with twisted satisfaction.

From where she hovered, unseen, Hyera finally pieced everything together.

She was really dead. Killed in a car accident.

And now... maybe she was just a wandering ghost-alone and forgotten.

'Why? Why would they do this to me? I trusted you... I loved you...'

"You were all I had," Hyera whispered through clenched teeth, even though no one could hear her. "Besides my dad, you were my only family. A stepmother, a sister... Why did you betray me like this? Why show me the truth now-when it's already too late?"

She balled her hands into tight fists, her slender fingers curling with rage and despair. Her bones seemed to stand out beneath her skin.

She stared at the mother and daughter in front of her and screamed with everything she had, though the room remained silent.

No one heard her cries.

No one ever would.

Was it regret she felt?

Was it hatred?

No-more than anything, it was heartbreak.

Kehlani, the woman she once looked up to more than her own mother... the one who'd always treated her with more warmth than even her father... had been the one to stab her in the back.

Hyera lay motionless on the bed, replaying everything-every moment, every smile, every lie.