Chapter 16: The Sister Behind the Betrayal

For several seconds, I couldn't say a word.

Emma.

The same sister I had spent years protecting.

The same sister whose death had supposedly destroyed everyone.

The same sister whose name had been placed in the Sinclair family cemetery while my body was abandoned in the wilderness.

"You're lying," I finally said.

Corbin's voice was painfully quiet.

"I wish I were."

"Then prove it."

There was a long silence.

"Meet me at the old Sinclair library tonight. I'll show you everything."

I ended the call without answering.

Jack had been listening from across the room.

"You don't trust him."

"I don't trust anyone who watched me die once."

Jack nodded.

"Then we won't go unprepared."

That evening, we drove to the Sinclair estate together.

The mansion looked exactly as I remembered it from my previous life.

Tall iron gates.

Perfectly trimmed hedges.

Warm golden lights shining through enormous windows.

For a moment, memories came rushing back.

Corbin standing at the entrance on our wedding day.

His hand around mine.

The way he used to look at me when we were alone.

Then I remembered the end.

The locked study.

His red eyes.

My parents' betrayal.

The needle piercing my arm.

I pushed the memories away.

Corbin was waiting inside the library.

He looked nothing like the confident heir I remembered.

His shoulders were tense, and there were dark circles beneath his eyes.

"You came."

"Show me."

He placed a thick file on the desk.

The first page was a legal agreement signed by Emma.

My hands went cold.

"This was signed six months before her death."

I scanned the document.

Emma had transferred several personal assets into an account controlled by my parents.

But the final clause was what caught my attention.

If Emma died, the funds would be released immediately.

"She knew," I whispered.

"Yes."

Corbin lowered his eyes.

"She knew she was seriously ill, but she also knew her death would trigger a much larger inheritance."

"And she wanted me blamed."

"Yes."

I turned another page.

There were messages between Emma and my mother.

One message made my blood run cold.

Esme will be easier to control once everyone believes she caused my death.

Another message followed.

Corbin will never abandon me if he believes Esme destroyed me.

I closed my eyes.

The truth hurt more than I expected.

Not because I loved Emma.

But because some part of me had always hoped that the sister I remembered had been innocent.

"Why did you let them frame me?" I asked.

Corbin looked at me.

"Because I believed Emma."

"You believed her without questioning anything."

"I was wrong."

His voice cracked.

"By the time I understood what she had done, you were already gone."

I looked at him coldly.

"And then you buried her in your family's cemetery."

"Because I thought her death was my fault."

"You said you loved her."

Corbin's expression twisted with regret.

"I thought I did."

He pushed one final envelope toward me.

"This is why I called you."

Inside was a copy of a security report.

The report stated that Emma had visited the private clinic where my fake psychiatric evaluation had been prepared.

The date was two days before I was taken away.

At the bottom of the report was a signature.

Emma Ellis.

My fingers trembled.

"She arranged the evaluation herself."

"Yes."

"And the sedatives?"

Corbin hesitated.

"Your father ordered them. But Emma gave the doctor the dosage instructions."

The room seemed to spin.

Jack stepped closer and steadied my shoulder.

"That's enough for tonight."

I shook my head.

"No. I need to know everything."

Before Corbin could answer, the library doors suddenly opened.

Emma stood there.

Her face was pale.

Her eyes were fixed on the documents scattered across the desk.

For the first time, she wasn't pretending.

She wasn't crying.

She wasn't playing the fragile younger sister.

She simply stared at me.

"You found out."

I stood slowly.

"How long have you remembered?"

Emma's lips curved into a bitter smile.

"Since the day you chose the aquamarine ring."

My heart tightened.

"Then why did you let me believe you were innocent?"

Her smile disappeared.

"Because I wanted to see whether you'd make the same mistake twice."

Jack's expression hardened.

Emma stepped farther into the room.

"But you didn't."

She looked at the ring on my finger.

"You chose Jack."

Her voice became almost a whisper.

"And that changed everything."