Chapter 817

The elderly woman trembled as she handed over a yellowed note. "That child lost his parents young. I'm not sure if there's still space in the cemetery, but you can go check."

"Thank you." Bianca Langley accepted the paper, her fingers shaking slightly.

Evelyn Carter noticed her distress and waited until they were outside before asking softly, "What's wrong?"

Bianca carefully folded the note, her voice hoarse. "No wonder he insisted on having the wedding here first... I always thought his parents were buried in Seaport..."

Adrian Valentine's parents, it turned out, rested eternally in Hudson City.

Evelyn's chest tightened. "Are you going back?"

They both knew what returning to Hudson City meant now. Adrian's ashes. Vincent Croix's predatory gaze. Bianca's fragile mental state.

Bianca closed her eyes briefly. "I have to."

Seaport was supposed to be home, yet now it felt chillingly unfamiliar. This foreign land where she'd met Adrian held her most vivid memories instead.

"I'm coming with you," Evelyn stated firmly.

On the way back to the hotel, Bianca spoke of Vincent with icy detachment. "He probably sees himself as some tragic romantic hero now, waiting for me to play my part in his melodrama."

Before she could finish, a black sedan screeched to a halt in front of them.

Vincent flung the door open and grabbed Bianca's wrist. "Had enough of this charade?"

Bianca wrenched free. "Get lost."

"I'm taking you home." He reached for her again.

Evelyn stepped between them. "Mr. Croix, her home isn't here." Her finger hovered over her phone's emergency call button.

Vincent's gaze turned venomous. "You think I killed him?" He turned to Bianca. "After all these years, you'd rather believe a dead man than me?"

"He's not dead." Bianca enunciated each word. "He was my fiancé."

Vincent's eyes darkened. "What about our daughter? You want her to grow up without a father?"

"Better than having a murderer for one." Bianca's laugh was bitter.

"You're lying!" Vincent tightened his grip on her wrist.

Evelyn immediately pulled out her phone. "Let her go! Or I'm calling the police!"

"Go ahead!" Vincent sneered. "I just want to talk. Is that illegal?"

Suddenly his tone softened. "Bianca, let's start over. Pretend we just met today—"

Bianca yanked her hand free. "If we'd just met today, I wouldn't even glance your way."

"What did you say?" Vincent's face darkened.

"Exactly what you heard." Bianca rubbed her reddened wrist. "I despise you as a person. Money has nothing to do with it."

As she turned to leave, Vincent suddenly embraced her from behind. "Don't go! I was wrong!"

"Release her!" Evelyn had already connected to emergency services.

Bianca stomped hard on Vincent's foot, breaking free when he yelped in pain. "Vincent, you disgust me."

Sirens wailed in the distance. Vincent finally released her with a sinister smile. "You think this is over?"

A police car pulled up nearby. Bianca walked away without looking back, pulling Evelyn along. Vincent's shout followed them: "You'll regret this!"

Evelyn squeezed her hand. "It's okay now."

Bianca watched the flashing police lights recede into the distance and whispered, "This is only the beginning."

Two people who once loved each other now wielded words like sharpest blades.

Every sentence struck precisely at the other's most vulnerable spot.

"You'd actually say that to me..." Vincent Croix's mask of composure cracked for the first time.

He'd always acted with arrogant confidence. Believed that once obstacles were removed, Bianca Langley would inevitably return. But the finality in her eyes now sent panic coursing through him.

"Why shouldn't I say it?" Bianca's laugh held no warmth. "You get to play the victim while I'm forbidden from exposing your true nature? Loving you was the greatest mistake of my life."

The words plunged into Vincent's heart like a dagger.

His face drained of color. Lips trembled, yet no rebuttal came.

Bianca watched his unraveling with disdain. "Can't keep up the act anymore?"

Evelyn Carter discreetly pressed the emergency call button.

She'd considered contacting Alexander Hamilton, but Bianca's fragile state couldn't withstand more turmoil.

"I'm not acting." Vincent forced the words through clenched teeth.

Despite meticulous preparations, he'd failed to secure any leverage against Bianca. His incompetent subordinates had grown even more hesitant after Alexander's return.

Bianca wrenched her wrist free. "You're hurting me."

Only then did Vincent notice the bruise forming on her pale skin. His hand instinctively reached to soothe it, but she recoiled as if touched by something vile.

"Dr. Carter, let's go." Bianca turned toward the exit.

Just as Evelyn began to relax, Vincent blocked their path. "What must I do to make you believe me?"

He clung to the delusion that repetition could transform lies into truth. Hadn't he, a penniless nobody, once successfully charmed the Langley heiress?

Bianca refused him even a glance.

The dismissal ignited Vincent's fury. His handsome features twisted with barely contained rage. "Without the Langleys, I wouldn't have this life. But don't forget what state your family's company was in! Without me, Langley Enterprises would have collapsed!"

"You never wanted to run the business. Even if not me, your parents would've found someone else. Were they any more sincere than I?"

The absurdity nearly made Bianca laugh.

She closed exhausted eyes. "Finally speaking your truth. To you, our marriage was just a transaction?"

Vincent jolted to awareness. "That's not what I meant—I just—" Frantic explanations tumbled out. "I fell for you long ago. I simply refused to admit it."

The more he struggled to conceal his true thoughts, the more they spilled out during arguments.

But his belated sincerity held no value now.

Bianca tightened her grip on the small porcelain figurine in her pocket, as if drawing strength from Adrian Valentine's memory. "Sincerity that comes too late is cheaper than weeds."

Before Vincent could respond, she delivered the final blow. "Don't disturb me until I've settled my husband's affairs."

"Husband? You never married him!" Vincent's shout bordered on hysterical. In his mind, the title of Bianca's husband belonged solely to him.

Bianca studied her reflection in the phone screen, barely recognizing the woman staring back. "Is this...me?"

Evelyn's heart ached with helpless sympathy. "You'll look better after some rest."

"My face may heal. But what about my heart?" Bianca gave a bitter laugh, tugging at tangled hair strands. The more she pulled, the worse the knots became—until several strands tore free in her frantic grip.

Evelyn rushed to stop her. "Don't do this!"

"I'm fine." Bianca's monotone reply contrasted with the blood now backing up into her IV line.

With practiced motions, Evelyn adjusted the drip rate until crimson retreated into veins.

"Sorry for causing trouble." Bianca's voice emerged raw and unrecognizable.

"Don't say that." Evelyn gently squeezed her hand.

A knock interrupted them.

Assuming Alexander had returned, they were surprised when a deliveryman entered. "Order for Miss Bianca Langley?"

Evelyn eyed the insulated food container with confusion. "Who sent this?"

The deliveryman scratched his head. "The order lists Miss Langley's number."

Evelyn grew more perplexed. If Alexander had sent it, why not use her name? And during Bianca's unconsciousness, he couldn't have known she'd wake.

The deliveryman hurried out of the hospital room before Evelyn could say another word.

She glanced down at the order details, confirming the contact number belonged to Bianca Langley. A name flashed through her mind, but she bit it back, not wanting to upset Bianca further.

The oversized thermal container sat awkwardly by the bed.

After a brief hesitation, Evelyn lifted the lid. Inside were neatly arranged boxes of delicate side dishes, a sealed soup tureen, and—most strikingly—a bouquet of deep red roses, their petals still glistening with freshness.

There was no way Alexander had sent this.

Roses were an odd choice for a hospital visit to begin with, let alone nineteen flawless crimson ones.

Evelyn took a deep breath and reached for the container, ready to remove it entirely.

"How many?" Bianca's weak voice cut through the silence.

"Nineteen."

A bitter laugh escaped Bianca's lips, her fingers trembling uncontrollably. "Only Vincent Croix would pull such a ridiculous stunt. Does he really think replaying the past will make me break down like I used to?"

Her eyes burned with icy hatred, flickering with something darker.

Evelyn kept her voice gentle. "I'll get rid of them."

"Don't." Bianca shut her eyes, exhaustion weighing her down. "Knowing him, throwing them out once will just make him send ten more. No point causing a scene for the hospital staff."

Her words faded, whether from the sedatives finally taking effect or sheer emotional exhaustion, Evelyn couldn’t tell.

By the time Alexander returned with dinner and the recovered data from Adrian’s phone, Bianca was already asleep.

Evelyn pressed a finger to her lips in warning.

His gaze landed on the thermal container, and without a word, they stepped into the hallway.

"It’s Vincent," Evelyn murmured. "The food is from a restaurant, and the flowers were probably ordered through the delivery service. I can’t decide if that’s thoughtful or lazy."

Alexander frowned. "How many roses?"

"Nineteen." She tilted her head. "Does that number mean something?"

"Nineteen roses symbolize a marriage proposal." His expression darkened. "But at a time like this..."

Evelyn changed the subject. "Did you recover Adrian’s data?"

"How is she holding up?"

"Not well." Evelyn sighed. "She’s forcing herself to stay strong, but Adrian’s death has shattered her."

After a pause, Alexander said quietly, "Most of the content on his phone relates to Bianca—including wedding plans. I’m worried seeing it will only hurt her more."

As they hesitated, a frail voice spoke behind them.

"Give it to me."

Bianca stood there, her face ghostly pale.

"I have to handle this," she whispered, her voice thin but unshakable. "Adrian told me his parents passed away long ago. His relatives raised him. They deserve to know."

Evelyn understood. The sedatives should have kept her asleep much longer. Waking this soon meant the pain had already burrowed too deep.

Alexander handed her the memory card and the shattered phone. Between the cracks on the screen, faint traces of dried blood were still visible.

Bianca cradled the device as if it were Adrian’s hand. When she removed the phone case, a Polaroid photo fluttered to the ground.

Her fingers trembled as she picked it up.

"This was..." Her breath hitched. "The day he said he wanted to take my picture. The next morning, he bought this instant camera. He said it was simple—no settings to adjust."

The photo showed them beneath the red maple tree where they’d first met. The young photographer was mid-stride, running toward the camera, his smile as bright as the morning sun.