Chapter 10: The Trap Behind the Fall

I barely slept that night.

Zane's warning kept replaying in my mind. Someone had altered the hospital report, and someone had erased part of the security footage.

If my fall had not been an accident, then who had wanted me gone?

The next morning, Zane entered the dining room with a folder in his hand.

"You need to see this."

I put down my coffee and opened the folder.

Inside were photographs of the hospital hallway, copies of security logs, and several unfamiliar names.

My eyes stopped on one name.

Ivy.

"She was there?" I whispered.

Zane nodded. "Not physically. But one of her phones connected to the hospital network that night."

My heart sank.

"Do you think she arranged my fall?"

"I do not have enough evidence to say that," Zane replied calmly. "But someone connected to Caspian's circle was monitoring you."

I closed my eyes.

I had thought my marriage was the only thing I needed to escape.

Now it seemed there was something much darker behind it.

My phone suddenly rang.

It was Marco.

I hesitated before answering.

"Mrs. Solis," he said urgently. "You need to come back to Caspian."

I almost laughed.

"Why? Did his memory suddenly return?"

Marco went silent.

"No. But he has been asking about you constantly."

"That is not my problem anymore."

"Lorelai, please listen. Caspian is furious. He thinks you are with Zane."

"I am."

Silence.

Then Marco whispered, "You should be careful."

The call ended.

Zane had heard every word.

"He is coming," he said.

"Let him."

I stood up, my voice steadier than it had been in weeks.

"I spent twenty years protecting Caspian's pride. I am done protecting him."

That afternoon, a convoy of black cars stopped outside Zane's estate.

Security rushed toward the gates.

Through the window, I saw Caspian step out of the first car.

He looked furious.

For a moment, seeing him brought back every memory I had tried to bury.

The boy who climbed onto my balcony.

The man who proposed to me.

My husband.

Then I remembered the key hitting the trash.

The memory hardened my heart.

Zane stepped beside me.

"You do not have to see him."

"No." I shook my head. "I want to."

We walked into the main hall together.

The doors opened.

Caspian's eyes immediately locked onto me.

Then they moved to Zane's hand around mine.

His expression darkened.

"Lorelai," he said coldly. "Come home."

I stared at him.

"Home?"

He took a step forward.

"You are my wife."

I gave him a bitter smile.

"Funny. I thought you forgot me."

Caspian's jaw tightened.

"That was different."

"No, Caspian. It was exactly who you really are."

His face changed.

Behind him, Marco looked away uneasily.

Caspian's voice dropped. "You are making a mistake."

Zane stepped forward.

"She has already made her decision."

Caspian glared at him.

"This is between my wife and me."

"Then you should have treated her like your wife."

The hall fell silent.

I looked between the two men.

For the first time, I realized something had changed.

I was no longer the woman begging Caspian to remember our love.

I was the woman standing beside the man who had protected me when Caspian chose to hurt me.

Caspian turned toward me one last time.

"Lorelai, you will regret this."

I met his eyes without fear.

"The only thing I regret is wasting twenty years believing you were someone you never were."