Divorce Me Before Death Takes Me, CEO

Scarlett’s POV

I sat in the basement’s dim light, holding my daughter’s hands. “Rachel, mommy doesn’t have a choice,‘ I whispered, squeezing her fingers gently. “Your sister’s worried Blake might find out everything.”

“Just for a little while, okay? When your sister leaves in a week, I’ll move you back upstairs to the third floor.”

Tears welled up as I studied what remained of my vibrant daughter. Her once lively eyes now vacant, her spirit trapped in an unresponsive body.

“Rachel, why couldn’t you just…” My voice cracked. “Why did you have to fight with your sister?”

“If it weren’t for your sister and her father, that man would have killed us both long ago. Your sister just wants a perfect relationship. Why couldn’t you let her have that?”

I leaned closer. “That friend of yours. She already suffered all those years in that little town. What’s a little more suffering if it means your sister gets Blake? What’s so wrong with that?”

Tears fell onto the white sheets. “Rachel, if you see your mistake, please wake up. Wake up and forget everything. We could

be a happy family again.”

My shoulders shook. “Why did you have to clash with your sister?”

As I wiped tears away, I felt the slightest movement against my palm. Rachel’s eyes shifted slightly toward me. Then, with what seemed like tremendous effort, she slowly pulled her hand from mine.

–

I gasped, hope and fear colliding in my chest. Any reaction from Rachel was rare but this felt like rejection.

The basement door opened. Light spilled down the stairs as the housekeeper called out, “Ma’am, Mr. Parker is here with

Miss Sinclair.”

I froze. “He brought her here? Why?”

I quickly stood, smoothing my dress and wiping away tears. I needed to get upstairs immediately.

Audrey’s POV

I stepped out of Blake’s car and looked up at Twilight Mansion. Something about the building tugged at my memory. An odd familiarity I couldn’t place made me frown as I studied the detailed facade and ornate windows.

before. Why does it feel like I’ve seen this

the

said, following my gaze. “You don’t see many of these in modern New

adjusted his cuffs. “Scarlett Rose

My mind raced to place why this building stirred such strong feelings. The tall

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through architectural magazines, with Rachel pointing out specific detalls

there, I was pulled back to a conversation from four years

long shadows across the empty parking lot where Rachel and I had stopped. She sat on the roof of her car, an open beer in

asked my mom if she could buy me that villa in the suburbs,” Rachel said, taking

the hood, looking up at

hardening. “That I didn’t understand her problems, that all I ever do is ask

also said my sister and dad were getting fed up with me always asking for

the sunset, “what else can I do to make her remember I exist? Asking for money is the only time she notices me. All she cares about is her husband and their daughter. In that house, I was

outsider.”

climbed up to sit beside her,

he’d treat me like his own daughter. That the whole family

her head bitterly. “But I’ve never fit in. They’re all just fake–nice to my face. I was just

shouting: “I’ll earn it myself! Me and my good friend Audrey Sinclair will start a jewelry company together, and I’ll buy my own damn

me to my feet beside her, mimicking her pose. “And I’ll earn it myself too! I’ll start a

big dreams, silhouetted

but so much has

mansion with new understanding. This must be the kind

earn enough to help my friend realize her dream. But then I’d become entangled in my marriage to Blake, always

ll our

that in just a few short years, that exhausting marriage would leave me with terminal cancer and less than

needed to find Laurel, to get Rachel’s contact

deep breath, my determination renewed as I faced

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wooden doors opened. Mrs. Scarlett Rose emerged, flanked

what brings you back?” she asked warmly. “Laurel is resting