Chapter 15
Odessa was taken away from her hospital room.
When the cold handcuffs clicked around her wrists, she hadn’t even fully awakened from the anesthesia.
“Ms. Verrier, you’re suspected of multiple cases of malicious assault and murder. Please come with us.”
“You dare arrest me! I’m Mrs. Everhart! The hostess of Everhart Corporation!”
Her screams echoed through the hospital’s empty corridors. The once-pampered Verrier family heiress was now utterly disheveled.
However, no matter how she struggled and shouted, she was met only with the cold, official indifference of law enforcement.
The Verrier family soon received the news.
But this time, they didn’t bail her out. Instead, they distanced themselves from her as quickly as possible.
A disowned child who had committed murder and thoroughly enraged Magnus had no value to the family-only burden.
In an instant, Odessa fell from the clouds into the mud, becoming the family’s despised criminal.
At Love Dessa Estate, Magnus smashed everything inside.
Looking at the chaotic living room, what came to mind was no longer Odessa’s affected tears, but Sierra.
That woman had never made unreasonable demands of him.
When he came home drunk from business dinners, vomiting and disoriented, she would silently bring warm water, clean him up,
then tiptoe away without complaint.
When he was in a bad mood and would lash out for no reason, throwing documents everywhere, she would wait for him to finish venting, then pick up every piece, organize them by code, and place a cup of coffee beside him.
Before becoming a housewife, Sierra had been a promising career woman:
He missed seeing Sierra as a representative on stage, debating with confidence and eloquence.
Now he realized he had personally destroyed that treasure.
What he hated most now was himself, blinded by lies.
“Find her! Search the entire earth if you have to, but find Sierra!” Magnus instructed his assistant over the phone.
This wasn’t Sierra’s premeditated departure-she had been forced into it. He had pushed her, step by step, onto this path.
In the despair of finding no trace of her, Magnus made a decision that shocked all of New York.
He called a globally broadcast press conference.
“I, Magnus Everhart, stand here today not to clarify any company rumors, but to confess to one person.”
He bowed deeply to the camera.
“I want to offer a long-overdue apology to my wife, Sierra. Because of me, she suffered irreparable harm. I… personally destroyed my family and hurt the person I loved most and our child. I’m sorry to Sierra, to Eli, and especially to the innocent Marion who died tragically. I’m saying all this today hoping only that she might see it. Sierra, if you’re watching, please… give me a chance to atone.”
By the end, this man who had never bowed his head in business was crying before the entire world.
This virtually suicidal press conference exploded across New York and global media.
In California, Sierra calmly turned off the news broadcast.
Magnus’s confession meant nothing to her-just a meaningless performance.
Her heart had died the day she left New York.
“Mommy, look!”
In the distance, Thane was holding Eli up, playing “airplane” on the lawn, both laughing joyfully.
Eli’s clear laughter rang like silver bells, melting into the brilliant sunshine.
Sierra’s lips unconsciously curved upward, her eyes filling with gentle warmth.
Back then, during the chaos when Magnus was dealing with Odessa and the company crisis, Thane’s professional team had entered the Everhart household as child psychologists.
Taking advantage of the guards’ and staff’s distraction, they had quietly spirited Eli away and onto a private jet to California.
The day Eli returned, she had held him and cried her heart out.
Now they had finally settled down-this was the life she wanted: peaceful, warm, without turmoil.
She walked over, took Eli from Thane’s arms, and gently ruffled his soft hair.
“Eli, are you happy here?” she asked softly.
Eli nodded vigorously, his little face flushed. He wrapped his arms around Sierra’s neck and kissed her cheek.
Sierra’s heart warmed, and she found herself asking, “Do you… still miss Daddy?”
Eli’s smile faded slightly. He glanced at Thane, whose eyes were full of tenderness, then looked seriously at Sierra and whispered:
“Mommy, I like Uncle Thane. Can we let Uncle Thane be my daddy?”
Children speak without filters. She hugged Eli tightly, not answering, but her eyes grew warm with tears.
