He Left Me in the Fire Chapter 06
The next morning, Nathan sent people to search for me everywhere.
They discovered that my number had been disconnected and every social–media account erased.
It was as if I had never existed in his life.
No matter how hard he looked, he found nothing.
His panic deepened by the hour.
Vivian wore her usual fragile, innocent expression.
“Where could an orphan like Serena even go?
“She’s so thoughtless. She knows you’d worry about her.
“And she just vanishes without a trace.”
Nathan caught the smug glint in her eyes.
For the first time, he brought up the fire himself.
“Was the electrical fire at Serena’s birthday party really an accident?”
Vivian’s pupils tightened, but hurt spread across her face.
“Nathan, how could you even ask that? How could I possibly want to hurt Serena…”
Her voice choked, and she reached for her usual shield.
“My brother died saving you. I can never thank you enough. How could I hurt anyone?”
Before, Nathan would have immediately apologized and soothed her.
But this time, the video I’d forwarded flashed through his mind.
In a dim corner, Vivian had used a utility knife to slice slowly into the wire’s insulation.
Her intention was clear.
She had meant to start a fire at my birthday party.
Every doubt he’d brushed aside came flooding back.
And ever since she’d appeared, the distance between us had only grown.
“Why have you kept provoking Serena?
“Why did you panic when the nurse tried to draw Serena’s blood?”
Nathan was never stupid.
He had simply believed he owed unconditional protection to Jason’s sister.
In his mind, that meant he had to protect Vivian no matter what.
Now one suspicious detail after another rose before him.
He pulled out his phone and watched the arson video over and over.
e footage was clear, and her movements left no room for misunderstanding.
“This video can’t have been faked.”
He remembered how certain he had been that Vivian would never do such a thing.
Now that certainty seemed both absurd and bitterly ironic.
Nathan’s fingertips went cold.
He jerked his head up and demanded an answer.
“Why did you set the fire?”
Vivian kept shaking her head and denying it.
With every denial, Nathan’s gaze grew colder.
For the first time, he faced his own favoritism and blindness.
For Jason’s sake, he had crossed every boundary.
He had abandoned the woman who had loved him sincerely and stayed by his side for four years.
Nathan remembered how he had dismissed my severe injuries.
The regret was crushing.
Just then, Elaine called, her voice urgent and panicked.
“Nathan, something terrible has happened! The Ashfords say Serena is their real daughter!
“We didn’t know Serena’s real identity, and you were deployed at the time. We never filed your marriage license.”
The news detonated in his mind.
Every drop of blood in Nathan’s body seemed to freeze.
He had never been legally married to me at all.
And all this time, he’d been siding with the woman who had stolen my identity.
Elaine’s voice was thick with regret.
“If we’d known, I would’ve given the heirloom bracelet to Serena!”
It wasn’t just him.
His parents had coddled Vivian and shut me out too.
How much pain must Serena have been in?
He turned stiffly toward Vivian, who was still feigning weakness.
For the first time, she looked like a stranger to him, and he felt only disgust.
Meanwhile, I transferred to a private hospital to continue recovering.
Outside my room, a woman’s voice rang out, warm and urgent.
Where’s my daughter?”
Catherine Ashford rushed into the room, and I stiffened.
Even knowing she was my biological mother, I couldn’t fully accept it.
At St. Agnes Children’s Home, I had been bullied constantly. After I ran away, I was nearly sexually assaulted.
I had silently screamed the same question countless times.
Mom, Dad, why didn’t you come save me?
Before I could react, Catherine hurried to my bedside.
She didn’t dare touch the blisters across my back. Her trembling hand only brushed my cheek.
Her eyes glistened with tears.
“My poor girl. Where have you been all these years?
“Someone told us you were at St. Agnes Children’s Home. But when we arrived, the director said you had already
run away.
“I thought I’d never see you again.”
William Ashford stood behind her, gray at the temples and red–eyed.
I hesitated, but in the end, I didn’t push her away.
Derek brought in the files he had organized, along with the police department’s preliminary findings.
The evidence was conclusive: Vivian had deliberately set the fire and tried to frame me afterward.
I read through everything calmly, without a ripple of emotion.
Catherine snatched the documents from my hands.
“Vivian did all of this?
“She stole your place in this family for years, never appreciated it, and then tried to harm you!
“The Ashford family will cover every cent of the legal fees.
“From now on, the Ashfords have only one daughter: Serena.”
Feeling my parents‘ genuine warmth, I managed a small smile.
But I still couldn’t bring myself to say “Mom.”
Instead, I canceled my ticket south.
That night, Nathan’s own words came back to him.
He had sworn to Vivian on the life of his unborn son.
The doctor had said it was most likely a boy.
The bitter regret cut even deeper.
He pounded his fist against his own head in anguish.
had wagered his own son’s life.
What kind of man does that?
