Substitute Wife For The Blind CEO

Chapter 180 - 180: I'll Change

The abandoned warehouse loomed around Ivy like a ghost of her own making—cold, echoing, and full of shadows. It was the same place she'd come to once, weeks ago, for a secret meeting with that man her mother had recommended. Back then, it had felt like a place of possibility.

Now it was a tomb and a hideout for her.

She sat on the dusty floor, her back pressed to the cracked concrete wall, her knees drawn to her chest. Just a few feet from her, the blood-slick knife—the one that had ended her mother's life—lay in the dirt, catching the faint light spilling through a broken window.

Her eyes locked onto it and the memory of what had happened struck like lightning—sharp and searing.

The weight of the knife in her hand. Her mother's voice—pleading, furious, trying to reason with her. The scuffle. The slippery handle. The sickening sound as the blade sliced through flesh. The way her mother's eyes had widened in disbelief… the gasp that barely escaped her lips… the slow collapse to the cold kitchen floor.

Ivy's body jerked, a shudder rolling through her as she buried her face in her hands, tears rushing down her cheeks like a broken dam.

"No," she whispered. "No, no, no, no…"

She rocked slightly, her breath hitching, tears spilling even faster now. "I didn't mean for this to happen. I didn't mean it. It was a mistake… It was all a mistake… I didn't kill her," she kept whispering out loud.

But even as she spoke, the image of her mother's face—pale, shocked, fading—was etched behind her eyes, pulsing like a haunting film loop she couldn't shut off.

She clawed at her hair, her sobs turning guttural. "Stop it! Stop it, stop it, STOP!" she screamed into the emptiness, as if her voice alone could drown the torment of what she'd done.

But no matter how loudly she screamed, the silence only grew heavier, reminding her she was alone.

Her gaze darted back to the knife again. No matter how hard she tried not to think of what had happened, the more the thought flooded her head.

wanted this. This shouldn't be her reality. What had happened wasn't what she'd hoped for when she picked up

No! She couldn't be dead. That cut couldn't have killed

must've saved her. She called for help. The ambulance came. They would've gotten there fast. She's not dead. She can't be," she kept

screen as she searched frantically. Her chest rose and fell rapidly as she opened the news app wanting to see if there was any news of

be alive. If she could live, Ivy swore she'd forget everything about Ruby

about her humiliation and just do what her mom had said. All she hoped for was for her mom to

see if there was anything on the incidence. And then—her eyes

I'll stop all this. I'll become a better daughter and stop causing her

slowly

CONFIRMED DEAD FOLLOWING STABBING INCIDENT AT QUINN ESTATE. DAUGHTER IVY

meaning to, her fingers dropped the phone. It hit the ground with a

a few seconds

it sounded different this time—flat. Hollow. She quickly glanced through the whole article wanting to confirm. Not wanting to believe just one, she went though every other post in connection to the incidence

was confirmed dead on

this time they came with rage. She curled her hands into fists and beat the floor beside her, screaming into the void. "She wasn't supposed to die! I didn't

ragged bursts, her face streaked with sweat and tears. "If she'd just let me do what I wanted… like she always

at her palms, shaking. Her voice cracked under the weight of grief and bitterness. "Now I have to go to prison… for a murder I didn't plan. For an accident. For mistakenly killing my own mother! The only one that supported her through everything. What sort of a joke

her breathing

expression changed. Changed from grief to

jaw clenched.

she whispered. "I won't be caught. I'm not going to rot in a cell while Ruby gets to live happily. No. No. There was no point

For a second, she just stared. Then she reached for it and gripped the handle tightly, her knuckles