CHAPTER 154: A FRIENDSHIP ETCHED IN OUR BONES

Out in the countryside, the night was quiet—too quiet.

A lone figure lurked near the site of the recent car wreck, her steps hesitant, her breathing shaky. It didn’t take long before soft, broken sobs escaped into the cold air.

"Sophia... what am I supposed to do with you, huh?" Harper’s voice trembled as she spoke to the darkness. "I told you. I begged you—be careful. But you never listen. And now you’re gone, and no one can find you."

Her throat tightened. She swallowed hard, fighting the fear clawing at her chest.

"I don’t believe you’re really dead. So stop playing games with me, okay? Come out. Please... just come out."

Tears pooled in her eyes, shimmering beneath the beam of the flashlight clutched in her shaking hand. She searched through the debris, desperate for anything—any sign.

With every few steps, she tied a yellow ribbon to the branches, marking the place where Sophia had vanished.

"If I can’t find you, then what am I supposed to do now? If you disappeared here, then I’ll pray, I’ll beg Heaven itself to bring you back. Why can’t you ever just listen to me? I pulled you back from death once... and now you leave me like this? You expect me to go on alone?"

Harper wiped her face with her sleeve, but the tears kept coming.

"Sophia... if you’re really gone... who’s going to take care of the kids?" Her voice cracked. "If you’re gone, they won’t have a mother."

She sniffed, muttering through clenched teeth, "And if you never come back, then I swear—I’ll seduce Lucas myself. I’ll take your place. I’ll raise those children like they’re my own. I’ll be their mother, I will!"

The moment she said it, she broke again, the dam inside her shattering. She sobbed, shoulders shaking uncontrollably.

"What do you want me to do, Sophia? You stubborn, infuriating woman! If I’d known we’d end up like this, I never would’ve saved you six years ago!" Her voice fell, full of desperate grief. "If you’re gone... what am I supposed to do? How am I supposed to live?"

Harper had no idea that a shadowed figure stood not far behind her. A man watched her silently, then let out a long, defeated sigh before turning away and disappearing into the trees.

After a while, she realized she was out of ribbons. She turned—and froze.

Something glimmered under the moonlight.

Her swollen, tear-stained eyes widened. She hurried toward the sparkle and picked it up. The world stopped. Her hand flew to her mouth as she choked back a scream.

Sophia’s necklace.

The very one Harper had given her.

Her gaze shot around in panic. No one. Nothing but the silent woods.

The necklace was intact—no scorch marks, no shattered links, no sign it had been through an explosion.

If Sophia had died... there was no way this would look untouched.

Which meant—

"She’s alive." Harper’s heart nearly burst. "She’s alive!"

She almost jumped from the ground.

"Sophia! You unbelievable—infuriating woman! Where the hell are you hiding? Come out! You’ve pulled this stunt long enough!"

She walked, calling, searching—but no one answered.

Then she froze again.

Voices.

She immediately turned off her flashlight and crouched low behind the brush.

Andrew.

And Olivia.

What were they doing out here?

"Dad, why are we here this late?" Olivia whispered, confusion in her voice as she scanned the trees.

"You don’t understand," Andrew murmured darkly. "They claim Sophia is dead—but there’s still no proof."

Andrew pulled something from the pocket of his coat—a scrap of fabric, charred and blackened, barely recognizable.

"Dad, do you really think they’ll believe this?" Olivia whispered.

"Of course they will," Andrew replied, his tone calm and confident. "Lucas is obsessed with Sophia now. He’s actually fallen for her. A man like that won’t accept her death unless he sees proof with his own eyes. So I have no choice but to give him the illusion he needs."

A slow smirk curved on Olivia’s red lips. "You’re brilliant, Dad. Besides, Lucas’s marriage certificate is fake. The only person who can legally inherit Sophia’s estate... is you."

Andrew chuckled, pride simmering beneath his words. "Naturally. And your mother was right—I should’ve been ruthless sooner. Back then, Sophia tried to destroy the Morgan family, and I still showed restraint. Now I understand: the only way to avoid being ruined by others... is to be stronger than all of them."

Olivia nodded sharply. "Exactly. If you had realized that earlier, Mom wouldn’t have suffered so much. Sophia is nothing but a vile little snake. The way her mother schemed her way into your life, hurting Mom again and again—Sophia is just paying the price for her mother’s sins."

"That’s enough," Andrew said, lowering his voice. "No one can ever know we did this. Your mother’s contact did good work. And honestly, from that height—anyone would die. Add the explosion... there wouldn’t be a body left."

"Don’t worry, Dad. I won’t tell a soul. Heaven knows, you know, I know, and Mom knows. That’s all."

Olivia glanced around, rubbing her arms. "Let’s go. This place creeps me out. Feels like something is watching."

"Fine. Stay close," Andrew muttered, and the two of them walked into the darkness.

Not far away, behind a thick tree trunk, Harper was shaking so hard she almost dropped her phone. One hand covered her mouth to keep from screaming.

It was them.

It was them. They were the ones who hurt Sophia.

Her fingers trembled as she saved the audio recording and immediately sent a backup to Lucas.

But Lucas... was already fast asleep, unconscious to the world.

Harper waited—she didn’t dare move. Only after she was sure they were gone did she slowly rise to sneak away.

It was them.

They had done this to Sophia.

This car accident wasn’t an accident at all. It was a conspiracy.

They wanted everything Sophia had.

They wanted YL Group.

They wanted her entire legacy.

Harper’s breathing grew unsteady as she turned to leave—until she froze.

Andrew had come back.

Her eyes darted nervously. She scanned the area and quickly slipped over to a shallow ditch, pressing her body against the dirt to stay hidden.

"I thought I saw someone," Andrew murmured.

"Dad, there’s no one here. You’re imagining things. This place is creepy, we should go," Olivia insisted.

They left again.

Harper didn’t move. Not for two whole hours.

Her legs had gone numb. She could barely feel her body.

But she was right to stay—because Andrew had been watching from the shadows, waiting, making sure no one was there. Only after another thirty minutes did he finally leave for good.