"The one who brought me breakfast when we were children, that was him. Every time I was upset, he was always the first to appear, and it wasn't coincidence. Even marrying you was nothing more than making sure you didn't get in the way of my path to Julian Frost."
She laughed out loud, the sound thin and piercing against the cemetery silence.
"Sister, your whole existence is a joke."
I listened to every word she said and slowly closed my eyes.
There was no collapse. No anguish. Not the kind she had been expecting.
The satisfaction on her face stiffened, degree by degree, as though she'd lost her audience and her pleasure along with it. Irritation replaced triumph. She started to raise her hand, but her gaze caught movement in the distance: Julian Moretti, walking toward us across the gravel path. Something calculated flickered through her eyes.
Her hand stopped mid-motion.
The next second, she threw herself backward.
It happened too fast. I didn't even have time to react before she was already crying out, tumbling down the stone steps.
I stood frozen, and looked down without thinking.
Sure enough, Julian's expression changed instantly. He lost control, rushing toward her.
"Chloe!"