The Day Our Promise Breaks

At Wesley's words, Charles reacted instantly.

He shot to his feet, eyes wide with fury, and lunged at Charles with clenched fists.

"Charles, how dare you curse my daughter!"

But Charles caught Wesley's fist mid-air, twisted his arm behind his back, and slammed him down onto the polished meeting table.

He said nothing—just shoved the doctor's death certificate in front of Wesley's face.

Wesley's struggles froze as his eyes landed on the name.

His pupils contracted violently, lips trembling, eyes quickly filling with tears.

Charles let go.

With shaking hands, Wesley snatched up the death certificate.

Name: Sandy.

Cause of death: Multiple organ failure due to infection.

No.

No, it couldn't be!

Sandy had just visited him yesterday, calling him "Dad" over and over.

Even though he knew she only called him "Dad" because she wanted his help with Dahlia, he'd felt an irrepressible joy every time she said it—a surge of happiness that made his heart soar.

He would have given her his life.

And now, Charles was standing here telling him that the daughter who was so full

of life just yesterday had suddenly died from multiple organ failure.

He couldn't believe it.

Wesley tore the death certificate in two and hurled the pieces to the floor.

His eyes blazed as he stared at Charles. "Charles, it's all fake, isn't it? You forged the certificate. Sandy isn't dead-you hid her somewhere. You're just trying to trick me."

"I know exactly what you're after. You want me to testify against Dahlia, don't you? That's why you're pretending Sandy died because of her, so I'll hand over the evidence you want. Isn't that right?"

Wesley's look said he was sure he'd seen through Charles's game.

After all, Charles had come to him just yesterday, using Sandy as a bargaining chip.

He knew Sandy was Wesley's weakness.

And now, seeing that Wesley had refused to betray Dahlia, Charles had come today with the news that Sandy was dead-and that Dahlia had killed her- hoping to turn Wesley's pain into hatred and get what he wanted.

Wesley stared hard, searching Charles's face for any sign of guilt, any evidence of a lie.

But he found nothing.

Panic twisted in Wesley's chest.

Deep down, he was terrified.

Terrified that Charles was telling the truth.noveldrama

That Sandy really was dead.

He clung to his own version of reality, desperate to believe this was all a cruel trick that his daughter was still alive somewhere.

His only child-gone.

How could he accept that?

His legs were shaking so badly he could hardly stand. If he hadn't been bracing himself against the table, he'd have collapsed on the spot. He was barely holding it together.

Charles watched him with a calm, almost cold detachment, unmoved by Wesley's disbelief.

Without a word, he reached for the tablet he'd brought, unlocked it, and tapped to open a video file before sliding it across the table.

Wesley's eyes flickered in fear—he already knew what the video might be.

His hands recoiled instinctively, as if he could ward off the truth by staying away. But he couldn't look away.

That video, waiting for him to press play, was like Pandora's box-he knew opening it would mean facing the thing he dreaded most.

But this was his daughter. The girl he'd do anything to protect. His only child.

He didn't hesitate long. With trembling hands, Wesley pulled the tablet closer and pressed play.

There were two clips.

The first was from a security camera outside Charles's house the night before.

The image on the screen nearly broke Wesley.

His hands tightened around the tablet, his eyes filling with anguish.

He saw Sandy, her face ghostly pale, her breathing shallow and weak. She clung to Dahlia's shirt, her

expression twisted with pain.

"Mom... I feel so awful... Please, can

we go to the hospital..."

But Dahlia didn't answer. She just glared down at Sandy with cold fury, her voice

low and threatening.

"Keep begging, Sandy. If you can't make your father forgive you, you might as well be dead!"

The second video was at the hospital.

Sandy lay on a stark white bed, her face drained of life, completely still.

The doctor was pronouncing her dead.

Time and cause of death-identical to the certificate Charles had shown him.

Sandy was gone.

His daughter was really gone.

"Sandy!"

Grief crashed over him, so overwhelming he could barely breathe.

Tears blurred his vision.

But the nightmare wasn't over. The next moment on the video sent another stab of agony through him.

Dahlia, instead of mourning, rushed to the bedside like a madwoman.

She seized Sandy by the collar and yanked her upright.

She slapped her across the face, shouting, "Wake up! Who said you could die? You haven't gotten your father's forgiveness yet-how dare you die now!"

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"Wake up! You're not allowed to die, do you hear me?!"

When Sandy didn't respond, Dahlia shook her even harder, wild with panic- completely unhinged.

She knew that once Sandy was gone, her own life was over, too.

Unable to accept reality, Dahlia spiraled into madness.

The doctor rushed in, yanking Daḥlia

away and shoving her aside. His voice was raw with anger. "What's wrong with you? You killed your own daughter, and now you treat her like this? Are you even human?

The video ended there.

Wesley collapsed to the floor, tablet in hand, sobbing uncontrollably.

"Sandy!"

Now, as he thought of Dahlia, all he wanted was to see her pay for what she'd

done to his daughter.