Buried In Lies, Burned by the One I Loved

After the investigation, the police confirmed that the fire had been set on purpose.

Lorenzo’s mistress, the one he kept outside his marriage, wanted to replace me and become Mrs. Clark. She had gone to the hospital to confront Grandma Ursula while pregnant. The confrontation upset Grandma so much that she had a heart attack and died on the spot.

Afraid of being exposed, the mistress set the hospital on fire and fled.

I was the “mistress” mentioned in the news.

Only Grandma Ursula’s ashes were recovered from the scene. With me missing, Lorenzo became convinced I was behind everything.

Tabitha secretly took what she believed were my ashes and had them made into a ring, which she wore to her engagement with Lorenzo.

He was overjoyed when he received it.

Back then, he believed I had killed Grandma Ursula. Grief consumed him. That ring, Tabitha claimed she handcrafted, brought him comfort.

“Tabitha, I’m so lucky to have you.”

He kissed the ring solemnly and promised her he would take care of her forever while also swearing he would find me and grind my bones to dust to avenge his grandmother.

What he didn’t know was that the woman he hated most was now literally on his finger.

“Lorenzo, where did you go?” Tabitha asked with a soft whine, half-complaining and half-flirting.

Nova, the dog, ran up to Lorenzo, excitedly licking his hand, or more accurately, the ring on his hand.

Lorenzo gently patted its head and said, “Yana, that poisonous woman, still hasn’t turned up. Her mother even claimed she’s dead, just to protect her.”

He paused and pulled his hand back to stop Nova from licking. “Nova really seems to like this ring.”

The smile on Tabitha’s face stiffened. Her fingers tightened slightly before she forced a reply, “Of course he does. I gave it to you.”

“Lorenzo, if Yana really is dead—”

Before she could finish, Lorenzo cut her off sharply.

“She can’t be dead! A woman like her should live and pay for what she’s done. How could she die so easily?!”

There was a flicker of nervousness in his voice. Even he couldn’t tell whether he was angry that I might’ve died too easily or afraid that I truly had.

He didn’t notice how pale Tabitha had become. Just as he was about to speak again, his phone rang.

“President Clark, there’s news about Miss Yana Collins.”

That one sentence stunned not only Lorenzo but Tabitha, too.

I had been declared dead for almost five years; how could there suddenly be any news?

Without saying much, Lorenzo replied, “On my way,” and hung up. He turned to Tabitha.

“Once I bring her back, I’ll make her pay for what happened to Grandma.”

He rubbed the ring on his finger again, a habit he picked up after the fire, something he always did when tense.

Tabitha forced another smile, but before she could speak, Lorenzo had already rushed off to the café the assistant mentioned.

“President Clark, this is Dr. Aquino,” the assistant said, making the introduction.

Lorenzo nodded. He recognized the man; it was Grandma Ursula’s attending doctor, one of the few who had survived the fire.

“Where is Yana? Tell her to come see me.”

Dr. Aquino didn’t respond. Instead, he handed Lorenzo a small box.

“President Clark, I managed to save this from the old lady’s hospital room.”

A strange sense of unease rose in Lorenzo’s chest as he took the box and opened it. Inside were just two things: a pregnancy report and a diamond bracelet.

His heart skipped a beat. That bracelet was the one Grandma Ursula had prepared for her future grandchild. Why was it here?

Lorenzo took a deep breath, eyes lowering to the report and froze.

The report showed that Yana had been three months pregnant. And the date matched the months just before the fire.