Chapter 8
The events unfolded faster than expected.
Chloe Valentine's case was a foregone conclusion.
The high-definition restaurant surveillance captured everything.
My medical report clearly documented the injuries.
Bank records showed a million-dollar transfer.
Two security guards testified in court.
The evidence chain was airtight.
She didn't even get a chance to defend herself.
The judge sentenced her to three years in prison.
It's said she was hysterical in court.
She kept screaming Caleb Beniere's name.
She insisted he would come to save her.
But she didn't know.
By then, Caleb was already in deep trouble.
After I kicked him out of the mansion, he was penniless.
His so-called friends vanished instantly.
He went to see his father.
His father refused to see him.
He tried to return to the company.
Security guards barred him at the entrance.
He was like a stray dog with nowhere to go.
Later, he somehow got Madeline Laurent's number.
He frantically called her phone.
He begged Madeline to arrange a meeting with me.
Madeline told me about it.
I asked her to relay a message.
"If you want to see me, kneel at my mother's grave for three days."
My mother died of sorrow because of them.
This was his debt to pay.
I didn't think he could do it.
A spoiled brat like him, how could he humble himself?
But to my surprise, he actually went.
Madeline sent someone to check.
He knelt upright at the grave.
Without eating or drinking.
Without sleeping or resting.
On the third day, a sudden downpour came.
He knelt in the rain, soaked to the bone.
Fever made him sway unsteadily.
But he still didn't leave.
Madeline called me.
"If he keeps kneeling like this, he might die."
I stood by the floor-to-ceiling window.
The rain pattered outside.
The coffee in my hand was still warm.
"He won't die."
I replied indifferently.
Why should I feel pity?
The pain he caused me was far greater.
This was just the beginning.
On the evening of the third day, he finally collapsed.
The security guards called an ambulance when they found him.
The first thing he did after waking up in the hospital was to look for me.
I answered the call.
His voice was hoarse and fragile.
"Sis... I've knelt... Can you forgive me?"
I chuckled softly.
"Caleb Beniere, you've got it wrong."
"I didn't make you kneel for an apology."
"I wanted you to remember who you are."
"I wanted you to remember where everything you had came from."
"Now, do you remember?"
Dead silence on the other end.
I could imagine his pale face.
"I didn't want your life."
My voice was calm and steady.
"I've rented an apartment for you in the suburbs."
"I've transferred two hundred thousand to your card."
"It's enough to live on for a while."
"From now on, whether you live or die has nothing to do with the Blanc family."
"Don't come looking for me again."
I hung up immediately.
Blocked the number.
The world was finally completely quiet.