Chapter 5

Izabella cleaned the blood thoroughly, leaving no trace. At dawn, she went alone to the cemetery.

She knelt before her mother's grave, wiped the stone clean, and spoke softly.

"I'm leaving tomorrow. I've booked a hospice in Coastal Bay. The doctor said the miscarriage damaged me badly. I probably won't last a month."

Her fingers traced the photo on the stone. Her voice stayed gentle. "Mom, I'll join you soon. When you see me, please don't blame me for failing you."

After a few more quiet words, Izabella gathered her things to leave. Then a group of workers arrived with heavy tools and began smashing the grave without warning.

Izabella rushed forward. "What are you doing? This is illegal! I'm calling the police!"

"Izabella!" Margaret's voice cut in. She approached carrying a small box. "Sorry, I liked the spot for your mom. Great location. Perfect for burying my little dog. I already bought it through lawyers. All legal. Calling the police won't help."

Izabella's eyes widened in fury. "Margaret, aren't you afraid of karma for something so heartless?"

"Karma?" Margaret laughed as if she heard a joke. "Like your mom getting thrown out and dying sick? Or ending up like you? Who's really getting punished here?"

She glanced at the crew. "Hurry up and dig. Stay away from this lunatic!"

"No!" Izabella fought desperately to stop them. Several men held her back. She could only watch as they opened her mother's grave and scattered the ashes across the ground.

Once Margaret buried her dog's remains, she passed Izabella with a light laugh. "You know what? Carson personally approved everything-from buying the plot to paying for it!"

Izabella whipped her head around. She watched Margaret leave with a triumphant smile.

Izabella dropped to the earth and clawed at the scattered ashes, trying to gather them. Just as she collected a small pile, a gust of wind swept through and scattered them completely.

All strength drained from her body. She collapsed onto the ground and threw her head back in wild laughter.

It didn't matter anymore. Nothing mattered.

She was leaving anyway.

Izabella arrived at the Coastal Bay hospice. She had booked the bed under a false identity, so no one could trace her.

She spent the final stretch of her life in unexpected peace.

The bed next to hers belonged to a ten-year-old girl, bright and innocent despite her congenital leukemia. Doctors said without a matching bone marrow transplant soon, she had only months left.

The girl's parents had died years earlier in an accident. Her grandmother raised her but could afford neither the surgery nor the connections to find a donor.

The child shared her favorite snacks with Izabella. Every night before sleep, she read aloud from her storybook, eyes sparkling as she called out "Izzy."

Memories of her own childhood flooded back.

In secret, Izabella underwent marrow testing. By some mercy, she matched.

In her final days, Izabella made a bold choice.

She wrote a statement volunteering her bone marrow. She handed it to the doctor along with all her savings, instructing him to say an anonymous donor funded the girl's surgery after her death. He must never reveal her name.

Izabella passed away one afternoon. The television played the news in the background.

A gossip segment interrupted the broadcast. It showed live coverage of the Gilbert heir marrying the daughter of an obscure small businessman. The wedding was extravagant, attended by the elite.

Izabella watched Carson on screen in a crisp white suit, noble and handsome. Beside him, Margaret wore a custom couture gown, her face radiant with uncontainable joy.

The venue overflowed with fresh roses flown in from overseas, creating a scene of perfect romance.

This had once been the wedding Izabella dreamed of. "I love roses most. If our wedding were filled with them, it would be perfect!"

Back then, deep in love, Carson pinched her nose and promised indulgently. "Anything you want."

The happy memory swirled around her like a vortex. Izabella closed her eyes peacefully.

At last, she could rest forever in the past.