Four Empty Coffins, One Terminal Diagnosis Chapter 02
Adrian followed me inside.
My parents and my brother looked up when I walked in. Their faces shifted straight into panic mode.
My mother, Evelyn, twisted her fingers together. Her voice came out weak. “Vivienne, the truth is… we didn’t die in the attack. We were hurt—they took us to a safe house. We couldn’t get word to you for a while.”
My father, Gideon, saw how calm I was and tested the waters. “You probably already know—Adrian didn’t die either. He and Serena got married. They have a child.”
I stayed silent.
They thought I was processing.
Truth was, I just didn’t have the energy left to say anything.
Damian ran out of patience. He stood up from the sofa and looked down at me.
“Vivinne, don’t blame Serena. Her parents died for this family. We owe her a debt. So back off Adrian. Let her have him. Tell me your type, and I’ll set you up with someone later.”
Later.
There’s no later for me.
When I still didn’t speak, Damian took my silence as agreement. He pushed harder.
“Serena and Adrian have been on the run with their kid for years. That’s no life for a child. Let them move back in.”
I thought about the diagnosis folded up in my pocket. I let out a cold laugh. “Fine.”
I’m dying anyway. Let them do whatever the hell they want.
…
That night, Adrian and Serena moved into the Vale estate with their daughter.
Damian ran around ordering servants to haul their things inside. He wanted Lena set up in the east-wing master suite—the one my mother had designed for me, with windows facing the rose garden.
“Move Vivienne’s stuff into a guest room,” Damian told the housekeeper without even glancing up. “Lena needs the best room.”
I found out later what they’d done. My old photo albums. The wedding dress I’d had custom-made. The box filled with my baby’s keepsakes. All of it got tossed into storage by the staff.
Late that night, I passed the hallway and heard Lena playing in her room. I pushed the door open. She was crouched on the floor, clutching something in her hands.
A black box. Inside was a necklace—the one I’d bought for my unborn child. If my baby had lived, they would’ve worn it on their baptism day. Engraved on the inner rim were the words: [Vale, forever loved.]
After my miscarriage three years ago, that necklace was the only thing I had left.
Now it lay smashed on the floor. Shattered beyond repair.
Lena was holding one of the broken pieces. She stared up at me, eyes wide and timid. “Did I do something bad?”
My fingers were trembling as I knelt to gather the fragments.
Before I could say a word, Damian’s voice exploded behind me. “It’s just a damn necklace! You’re really gonna make a scene over that?”
He stormed in, scooped Lena into his arms, and snapped at me. “She’s a little kid. How old are you? Acting like this over nothing?”
He walked out with her.
I stayed on the floor, picking up every shattered piece one by one. Then a violent coughing fit hit me. I clamped my hand over my mouth. When it stopped, my palm was covered in blood.
Serena appeared in the doorway. She saw the blood on my hand. Her expression didn’t flicker. “Vivienne, are you okay?”
Then she crouched down, pretending to help me gather the pieces.
As she picked one up, she deliberately dragged her finger across a razor-sharp edge.
“Ah—”
She screamed.
Adrian was there in seconds.
“Vivienne!” His voice was pure fury. “I’m the one who betrayed you. I’m the one at fault. If you’ve got a problem, take it up with me. Don’t take it out on Serena!”
He gathered her into his arms, his face twisted with concern, and carried her off to get bandaged.
Evelyn and Gideon rushed in.
“I knew it,” Evelyn spat, glaring at me. “You were way too damn agreeable today. I knew it—you were just waiting to pull some crap like this.”
Gideon said, “We screwed up, lying to you three years ago. But going after Serena? That crosses a line.”
Damian came charging back from the other end of the hallway.
“Vivienne! Who stayed with you when you were falling apart? Serena! She begged you to keep living. She looked after you for three years! How can you be this ungrateful?”
It felt like someone had dumped a bucket of ice water over my head. Cold seeped all the way through to the bone, straight into despair.
This place stopped being my home a long time ago.
I packed my bags and headed for the door.
Damian stood in the doorway. The second he saw the suitcase in my hand, his expression shifted. “Where do you think you’re going?”
Adrian’s voice cut in cold. “Nobody walks away from this family unless I say so.”
