In The End, All Ties Are Severed

“My apologies, Mr. Fender. This filthy thief is an eyesore! We will get her out of here right away!”

The man stepped forward and grabbed a fistful of Yvonne’s hair without warning. He then yanked her head back forcefully.

“You thief! You stole from us, and you’re trying to run? You must’ve had a death wish!”

A sharp cry tore from Yvonne’s throat. It felt like her scalp was being ripped apart.

She stumbled to the pavement, and her arm scraped across the concrete, leaving a deep, bloody gash.

“Let go of me! That’s my money!”

“Yeah, right! A beggar like you? Where would you get that kind of cash?”

Yvonne was still trying to resist, but the man suddenly grabbed the back of her neck and shoved it down hard.

Something inside her snapped. She stopped moving, and uncontrollable tremors racked through her body. All color drained from her face.

This was the same move they did at the psychiatric hospital right before the electroshocks. Her body reacted with a reflex carved by fear.

Seeing her go limp, the man muttered a curse and began dragging her away. Just the thought of going back to the psychiatric hospital made tears slide down from the corners of her eyes.

Her gaze was blank like a corpse.

“That is enough. What kind of circus do you think this is, making a scene in front of Fender’s Corporation?”

The cold voice sliced through the chaos. Jason’s icy stare landed on the stunned man. Then he pulled out a card and flicked it toward him effortlessly.

“Take the money and leave. Do not disgrace yourselves at my company again.”

The man immediately let go of Yvonne and bowed as he scrambled to pick up the card. He ran off without another word.

A hand clamped around Yvonne’s wrist and yanked her into the building. A sharp pain flared in her chest, her head spun, and the next thing she knew, she was shoved hard against a wall. Jason pressed closely against her, radiating an oppressive aura.

“Yvonne. After all these years, this is what you have become? A stray mutt with nowhere to go?”

Her heart clenched so sharply she could not breathe. Jason’s words came out slow and deliberate, laced with venom. “This is what you call karma.”

Jason’s stare was full of hatred, driving Yvonne to blurt out the truth.

But she knew she could not say it.

She had promised Hannah Fender. She promised to stay silent so that Hannah could leave this world with dignity.

Five years ago, Yvonne and Hannah had been kidnapped. To protect Yvonne, Hannah was dragged away and violated by the kidnappers. When Yvonne saw her again, Hannah’s legs were shattered and her face was destroyed beyond recognition.

Yvonne had set a fire and carried Hannah on her back. Just as they were about to break free, Hannah gripped Yvonne’s wrist as tears streaked over her ruined face.

“Yvonne… go. Live well... I want my husband and my brother to always remember me as clean... untouched.”

She shoved Yvonne out the door and walked straight into the flames.

Hannah had to remain clean. And Jason, their golden boy, had to stay untarnished as well. Yvonne had seen the darkest corners of that hellhole. She could no longer be Mrs. Fender.

It was enough for just her to carry the filth.

So when Jason held her with bloodshot eyes and begged, over and over, “Yvonne… where’s Hannah? Why did she not make it out?”, she had smiled as tears poured down her face.

“She died. The kidnappers said only one of us could live. I wanted to live. So, of course, she had to die.”

She would never forget the look in Jason’s eyes. The rage and devastation collided like a storm.

Hannah’s husband slapped her across the face with all his strength, while Jason gripped her shoulders like he wanted to crush her bones.

“Yvonne, tell me the truth! Tell me all of this is a lie!”

But she had given him nothing. Not a word.

The Fender family had asked her to end herself.

After locking himself away in his room for three days, Jason finally handed her a one-way ticket overseas.

Every word he said was laced with venom. “Never appear in front of me again.”

He had asked one of his rich friends to escort her out of the country.

But what he did not know was that this friend of his decided to “teach her a lesson” for him and secretly locked Yvonne up in a psychiatric hospital.

For five whole years.