CHAPTER 178: CHAPTER 178: RIVER DYED RED WITH BLOOD

"Four years ago, I went to interview at the Sinclair Group. I had already passed the initial interview, but just the day before the final interview, someone told me that Sinclair Group wasn’t suitable for me.

At that time, that person in charge told me to try some startup companies, and even specially recommended Sunfield Tech to me. Initially, I thought I had met a kind-hearted person, but now I realize it was all your trap!"

Mia Chapelle grabbed Holly Crowe’s hair and pulled it forcefully to the side, causing her head to hit the car frame. Her forehead immediately swelled up, the pain making her vision go black.

"You saw my photo and noticed that I slightly resembled Holly, so you deliberately sent me to Zion Pence’s company!

If it weren’t for you, would I have been foolish enough to seduce Zion Pence? You just wanted to use this method to make Holly give up on Zion Pence, and then take advantage of the situation!"

"Blake Sinclair, you have such a cruel heart!"

Mia’s voice grew increasingly agitated. "I originally had a stable job and a boyfriend who loved me, but because of your scheming, I lost everything!

Daniel Alden doesn’t want me anymore, my child is gone, and now Zion Pence doesn’t love me either. You caused all this! Why don’t you just die!"

Blake Sinclair’s eyes were bloodshot, and his voice was hoarse. "It’s me! It’s all my fault! Let Holly go; whatever hatred or grudge you have, take it out on me! I’ll trade my life for hers."

"Trade your life?"

Mia smirked coldly and suddenly pulled out a dagger from beneath the seat, its blade glinting.

The blade pressed against Holly’s face, its cold touch making Holly’s entire body shiver.

"Do you think your life is worth that much? I don’t care. I want to watch your most beloved woman disappear before your eyes, bit by bit! I also want you to feel the heartache of losing everything!"

The moment the knife pressed against her, Holly’s body stiffened, because if Mia applied even a bit of force, a gash would open on her face.

At this moment, Mia had completely lost her mind, unable to heed anyone’s words, capable of anything.

"No!"

Blake Sinclair rushed forward two steps, trying to stop Mia, but the policeman nearby immediately held him back.

"Don’t move! Don’t come closer!"

Mia’s other empty hand grabbed Holly’s chin, red nails nearly piercing her skin.

Her fingertips gently traced Holly’s face, eyes filled with destructive madness and jealousy. "This face, so beautiful! No wonder everyone loves you; even Blake Sinclair is willing to scheme to such an extent for you."

Holly, having been hit earlier, was dizzy, mouth whimpering unconsciously, trying to struggle.

"This knife I bought from the butcher. Why don’t we test how sharp it really is?"

Mia lightly tapped Holly’s face with the back of the knife.

Blake Sinclair watched Mia’s movements, unable to bear it any longer, stepped forward. "Mia, if you want revenge, take it out on me! Don’t... don’t harm her."

"Let her go? Dream on!"

Mia waved the hand holding the dagger, and a bloody mark immediately appeared on Holly’s face.

"No!"

"Don’t move!"

Mia halted him, the hand slightly exerted force, the blade pressed another bloody mark onto Holly’s face.

"If you dare take another step forward, I’ll scar her face! Blake Sinclair, isn’t her face what you care about most? I want to see if you’ll still love her when she becomes a monster!"

The surrounding policemen held their breath, searching everywhere for rescue opportunities.

Blake Sinclair paused his steps, looking at the bloodstains on Holly’s face, tears finally unable to hold back, streaming down.

"Mia, don’t hurt her. Whatever you want me to do, I’ll agree to it."

"Whatever?"

Mia’s lips curved into a malicious smile. "Alright, then kneel down. Kneel for me, and I’ll consider letting her go."

"Mmm! Mm-mm!" Holly’s vision blurred with tears, struggling desperately, shaking her head.

But Mia’s hand gripping her hair tightened, the dagger edged closer to her face. "Blake Sinclair, I’m counting three, if you don’t kneel, your Mrs. Sinclair will never be able to show her face again!"

"Three, two..."

"I’ll kneel!"

Blake Sinclair interrupted her, looking at Holly’s tears and pleas, his heart felt like it was being tortured!

Under everyone’s gaze, he slowly sank to his knees, bit by bit going lower.

The knee symbolizing the Sinclair Family’s dignity and spine, lowered towards the van, gradually sinking...

Holly looked at him, her vision blurred with tears, her heart aching like it was cut by a knife.

Mia watched Blake Sinclair’s humiliating appearance, laughing loudly.

However, just as Blake Sinclair’s knee was about to touch the ground, a police car nearby suddenly started up and rushed towards the van.

Mia’s expression changed, she shoved Holly onto the passenger seat, and hit the gas pedal hard.

"Let’s all die together! Let’s all die together!" She laughed hysterically.

The van sped forward, rushing towards a nearby billboard and street lamp.

Holly was shoved against the passenger seat, a sharp pain radiated from her head, and blurry images swam before her eyes.

These scenes flashed by so quickly she couldn’t grasp them, yet each one pierced her heart with pain.

She struggled to stop Mia Chapelle, but Mia had her foot on the gas, the car speeding up.

"Bang!"

The van crashed into the streetlamp, the body of the vehicle shaking violently, glass shards flying everywhere.

The streetlamp was hit and leaned over, the billboard above it swaying precariously, ready to fall at any moment.

"No! Holly!"

At that moment, Holly Crowe seemed to hear an engine’s roar approaching.

Blake Sinclair’s black Maybach was charging towards them.

She wanted to scream, but her mouth was sealed with tape, rendering her voiceless.

"Bam!"

The black Maybach collided with the van’s center, forcefully pushing it several meters away from beneath the billboard.

And just then, the tilted billboard finally gave way.

"Crash!"

The billboard fell from above, slamming heavily onto the roof and hood of the black Maybach.

In an instant, the world seemed to fall silent.

Holly Crowe, dizzy and in pain from the successive impacts, felt blood trickling down her forehead.

She struggled to prop herself up and, through the shattered window, saw that the black Maybach was crushed underneath the streetlamp and billboard.

The car’s body was severely deformed, the roof dented, all the glass shattered.

"Mm, Blake mm, boo hoo, Sinclair!"

Holly Crowe struggled, wanting to get out of the car.

But Mia Chapelle suddenly woke up.

Her forehead was cracked, blood flowing down her cheek, her eyes scattered, driven only by a primal urge to destroy.

She looked at the Maybach trapped outside and laughed maniacally, then started the already mangled van again.

The van let out one last engine roar and headed toward the riverbank.

The vehicle broke through the riverbank’s guardrail, plunging headfirst into the river.

"Holly, look how beautiful this place is. Let’s end it here."

"Boom!"

"Snap!"

At the moment the van plunged into the river, the first firework bloomed in the night sky in the direction of Orbital Park.

Magnificent, dazzling fireworks, so much like the sunset that had just turned red, lit up half the sky, illuminating the rippling waves on the river surface.

"Holly!!!"

"Mia!!!"

The two voices echoed across the river, bearing endless sorrow and despair.

The icy river water surged from all directions, instantly filling the vehicle, submerging Holly Crowe’s body.

The familiar, hopeless sensation of suffocation descended again.

Her consciousness gradually faded, and she seemed to hear Blake Sinclair’s voice.

She struggled to open her eyes and saw a blurry figure swimming toward her.

His face was scarred, with a sea of red trailing behind him, soaked in blood.

Yet his eyes remained gentle, just like the little boy in the wheelchair from her memories.

"The ’Sinclair’ in my name is not the ’Yarrow’ in ’swallow’! It means a banquet at the end of the journey, a farewell feast at the pavilion!"

"Holly Crowe, you drooled on my homework again while sleeping, can’t you sleep on the bed next time?"

"Didn’t you go play with that pretty boy Aiden Jenson? Why are you looking for a cripple like me?"

"Holly, this is my gift to you; my mom gave it to me. I’ll come find you when school starts, and then I’ll teach you how to write my name, okay?"

The voice from her memory overlapped with the figure in front of her, bringing Holly Crowe to tears once more.

She reached out, wanting to grasp Blake Sinclair, but just then, another powerful impact came.

In the last moment before sinking into darkness, she seemed to hear that adolescent, clear yet awkward voice again.

It traveled across time and echoed in her ear once more:

"Stop crying, alright? I’ll go pick strawberries with you if it’ll make you happy?"

The river water completely engulfed her.