The Light I Buried for You Was My Biggest Mistake Chapter 08
As the helicopter lifted off, I looked down.Â
Derek was on his knees, Sophie’s arm still lockedÂ
around his neck. The two bodyguards were fumbling to pry her fingers loose.Â
His face had turned purple. His mouth opened andÂ
closed, like he was shouting something.Â
The wind was too loud. I couldn’t hear him.Â
I didn’t care anymore.Â
Ethan sat across from me, wiping the blood from my face.Â
His movements were gentle, but his brow stayed furrowed.Â
He looked at me, my battered face, my torn clothes, and pressed his lips into a thin line.Â
He was silent for a long time. Finally, he said just one thing. “Let’s go home.”Â
The Aegis helicopter touched down on theÂ
hospital roof.Â
By the next morning, Derek and Sophie were allÂ
over the internet. Clips from the livestream hadÂ
been saved and shared millions of times.Â
Then Aegis Group released a single sentence:Â
[Aegis Group is immediately terminating allÂ
partnerships with Foster Holdings and will recallÂ
all invested capital.]Â
The effect was instantaneous. Banks called inÂ
loans. Partners fled. Suppliers protested outsideÂ
the Foster Holdings building.Â
The stock price collapsed, erasing billions in valueÂ
within an hour.Â
I watched it all from my hospital bed, my faceÂ
blank.Â
Ethan sat beside me, peeling an apple. He cut itÂ
into small pieces and placed them on a plate.Â
“Eat.”Â
I ate a piece. “What are you doing about Derek?”Â
Ethan wiped his hands. “False imprisonment,Â
felony assault, distributing private images. He’llÂ
serve time. Sophie too, as an accomplice.”Â
“And Foster Holdings?”Â
“Aegis is taking over.”Â
I was quiet for a moment. Then I nodded.Â
Ethan looked at me. “Do you feel bad for him?”Â
“No.”Â
I meant it. The man I’d felt bad for was alreadyÂ
dead.Â
On the third day, Derek’s lawyer showed up. “Mrs.Â
Foster, Derek wants to make a deal.”Â
I leaned back against the pillows without lookingÂ
at him.Â
“What is there to talk about?”Â
“A letter of leniency from you, and he’ll walk awayÂ
with nothing. All assets, all shares, everything toÂ
you. He just wants to stay out of prison.”Â
I laughed, wincing as the movement pulled at theÂ
stitches on my lip. “He wants to give me my ownÂ
money to buy his freedom?”Â
The lawyer hesitated. “Mrs. Foster, he wasÂ
manipulated…”Â
“Leave.” My voice was quiet but final.Â
The lawyer wanted to say more, but Ethan walkedÂ
- in.Â
He didn’t speak. He just looked at the lawyer.Â
That was enough. The lawyer packed up his things and left.Â
Before walking out, he couldn’t quite let it go. He turned back one more time. “Mrs. Foster, Derek says he knows he was wrong.”Â
I stared at the ceiling and said nothing.

