The Ring That Sank, The Love That Drowned Chapter 09

The Ring That Sank, The Love That Drowned Chapter 09

The day Vivian went live, she set up a camera in 

front of her hospital bed. 

She wore no makeup, and her lips were unnaturally 

pale. 

“I admit I made mistakes, but Natalie Sinclair isn’t 

nearly as innocent as everyone thinks. She’s been 

working with Reid Calloway behind the scenes 

because she wants to destroy Vaughn Group and 

destroy me.” 

She sobbed until she could barely catch her 

breath. 

“I just fell in love with the wrong man. I never 

should have fallen in love with Spencer.” 

The viewer count shot up. 

Ten minutes later, Spencer appeared in the 

doorway. 

He had no idea the livestream was still running. 

To play up the victim act, Vivian had set up two cameras, one of them in the corner of the hospital 

room. 

She had forgotten to shut that one off. 

Spencer stood by the door holding a document. 

“Why did you lie to me about the fellowship?” 

Vivian’s expression changed. 

The live chat went silent. 

Spencer tossed the document onto her bed. 

“Natalie didn’t take your spot. Your mother wasn’t 

critically ill either. You withdrew because you had 

secretly signed with a gallery overseas and 

thought the fellowship had too many restrictions. 

Then the gallery backed out, and you came home 

and told me Natalie had ruined your future.” 

Vivian lunged for the equipment to end the 

livestream. 

But Reid’s team had already captured and 

archived the feed. 

She fumbled with the controls, her voice turning 

shrill. 

“Yes, I lied to you. So what? Spencer Vaughn, can 

you really say you had no idea?” 

The color drained from Spencer’s face. 

Vivian laughed through her tears. 

“You found the emails. You saw the proof Natalie gave you. But every time I cried, you stopped 

looking. You liked that I needed you. You hated 

how clear–eyed Natalie was whenever she stood in 

front of you.” 

The hospital room went dead silent. 

The livestream chat erupted. 

Spencer stared at her, his voice so hoarse it barely 

sounded like him. 

“I had doubts.” 

Vivian’s laugh turned vicious. 

“Exactly. You just kept assuming Natalie would 

never leave.” 

Then, as if something inside her had snapped, she let everything spill out. 

“It was the same with the lake. You heard what we 

were planning. All you said was not to get anyone 

killed. And now you’re pretending you’re some 

devoted lover?” 

Spencer stood there as though the words had 

gone straight through him. 

I could never have said those things to him. 

Coming from me, he would have dismissed them 

as resentment. 

It took Vivian saying them for him to finally 

understand. 

The livestream was abruptly cut off. 

But it was already too late. 

Vaughn Group shares plunged again. 

Every brand Vivian endorsed dropped her, and her 

studio came under investigation. 

The Vaughn matriarch called me herself. 

There was no longer any condescension in her 

voice. 

“Natalie, letting this get any bigger helps no one. 

Come back, and there will still be a place for you in 

this family as Spencer’s wife. I’ll make Vivian 

return the brooch.” 

I was sitting in my lawyer’s office with the 

agreement terminating my engagement in front of 

1. me. 

“Mrs. Vaughn, I wouldn’t touch any of it now.” 

Her breathing sharpened. 

“Natalie Sinclair, don’t forget that you don’t get to 

come and go from this family whenever it suits 

you.” 

I signed my name. 

“Then I won’t be coming back.” 

At that exact moment, Spencer opened the door. 

His eyes were bloodshot, and the emerald brooch 

was in his hand. 

The moment he saw me signing, he stopped. 

“Natalie.” 

I handed the agreement to my lawyer. 

“Send it to Vaughn Group.” 

Spencer’s voice was raw. 

“Can you please not sign it?” 

I looked at him. 

“It’s too late.” 

He stepped closer, almost begging. 

“Yell at me. Hit me if you want. Just don’t be this 

quiet.” 

I smiled faintly. 

“Spencer, after something hurts long enough, 

there comes a point when you go quiet.” 

The last trace of hope in his eyes disappeared. 

When the lake finally thawed, Spencer had 

someone retrieve the diamond ring from the 

bottom. 

They brought up something else with it. 

It was a rusted key. 

There was a name engraved on it. 

The name was Natalie Sinclair. 

Spencer took the key to the crystal box that had been prepared for the proposal gala all those 

years ago. 

It wouldn’t open the box. 

The emcee was brought in and hemmed and hawed for a long time before finally telling the 

truth. 

“Mr. Vaughn, the box was never locked. The key was only a prop. Ms. Hale said Ms. Sinclair wanted to marry you so badly that she ought to suffer a little, so she’d understand that becoming Mrs. Vaughn was something she had to earn.” 

Spencer stood by the lake for a long time after hearing that.