Celeste Brightwell was dragged and thrown into a vast cold storage room by two men.
At this time, there wasn't a single good piece of flesh left on her body; she seemed as if she had rolled down from a knife mountain in hell.
The woman lay on the chilly floor, her eyes vacant and spiritless. Only the rise and fall of her chest proved that she was still alive, and the blood spilling out of her solidified into ice due to the freezing temperature.
A bloody tear slid from the corner of Celeste Brightwell's eyes. Shepherd muttered the names of Sinclair Ethan and Sinclair Evan in her mouth, filled with endless remorse.
Half an hour ago, she had witnessed her beloved Lucas Sterling and her best friend Lila Montgomery shoving her son, Sinclair Evan, into a factory mixer.
Her limbs had been broken long ago, and all she could do was to shout hopelessly, but they had remained unmoved.
"Mum, don't cry," Sinclair Evan uttered these words before his petite figure was instantly dyed in red. Despair drove Celeste Brightwell to the edge of sanity.
The doors of the cold storage room opened and Lucas Sterling and Lila Montgomery walked in intimately.
"Why is it so cold here?" Lila Montgomery shivered.
Lucas Sterling, with an expression that showed he knew this would happen, draped a prepared blanket over her. "I knew you would feel cold."
Lila Montgomery forced a fake smile, thinking that he was so unworthy. Once this bothersome woman was dealt with, Sinclair Ethan would be mine.
Thinking of this, an uncontrollable smile surfaced on Lila Montgomery's face as she walked towards Celeste Brightwell.
"Little Chen, you've always disliked this child, didn't you? I helped you out by getting rid of him, shouldn't you be thanking me?"
Celeste Brightwell's eyes were filled with bloodshot veins. Shepherd wanted to bite each piece of flesh off of her body, but her body wasn't moving. Shepherd could feel her life draining away.
Lila Montgomery looked at the woman lying helplessly on the ground like an ant. Shepherd half-squatted in front of her, her voice lowered.
"Rest assured, after you die, I will take good care of Sinclair Ethan. Even if he has nothing now, he has me."
Celeste Brightwell looked at her smiling face and suddenly realized after all these years, he hadn’t seen her affection for Sinclair Ethan.
"You're dreaming," the girl said weakly.
"Sterling, can you fetch my coat from the control room?" The woman's voice was pretentious, but Lucas Sterling was fond of it.
"Of course, darling," he gave the woman a quick peck on the lips and left the cold storage room reluctantly.
"Brightwell, I'm not afraid to tell you this, considering you won’t live much longer. I had to accept your condescending charity all these years. Although I deeply love Sinclair Ethan, his eyes only see you and your child,” lamented Lila Montgomery as she delivered a fierce kick to Celeste Brightwell's stomach.
"But thanks to your extraordinary ability in messing up, you led the Sinclair Corporation to bankruptcy, forcing him to be cast out as the family sin and me knowing where he lives now. Once you die, I would blame the death of Sinclair Evan on you. After all, this isn't your first time putting your child in danger. He will certainly believe my words."
Lila Montgomery started to daydream. Once Sinclair Ethan discovers that his son's death was caused by Celeste Brightwell, he would hate her to the core. When she offers him comfort during his plight, they could live happily ever after.
Celeste Brightwell looked at the woman in front of her and managed a bitter smile.
For Lucas Sterling, she stole numerous important projects from the Sinclair Corporation. After escaping from Julian for the last time, she thought that he would take her away and live a blissful life. However, she was deceived into drinking a sleeping potion and had been tortured day and night.
As a result of the stolen projects, the Sinclair Corporation lost billions in stocks within a few days. On the other hand, Lucas Sterling seized the opportunity and merged with the Sinclair Corporation, becoming the biggest winner.
Because of this incident, Sinclair Ethan was expelled from the family. Sinclair Evan, who was left alone in Julian, missed his parents so much that he snuck out when the servants weren’t watching.
The boy didn’t know where his father was, so he went to find Lila Montgomery and ask about his mother's whereabouts because she was always with Lila Montgomery.
"I'm sorry, Chloe Evan. Mommy is here with you now," Celeste Brightwell lay on the ground and closed her eyes with despair.
At this moment, Lucas Sterling was putting on his coat to leave when his opening of the door was sent flying, crashing into the wall with a swift kick.
"Where are Stardust and Little Evan?" Sinclair Callum hoisted up Lucas Sterling, who was as small as a chick, his entire body exuding a pressing aura as if he were about to crush someone.
Lucas Sterling, faced with a man who appeared like a demonic entity, and his twenty-so followers behind him, trembled as he pointed outside the door.
"Master Sinclair," Noah Shepherd sat paralyzed on the ground in front of a factory mixer, terror and fear evident in his eyes.
Upon hearing the sound, Sinclair Callum followed Noah Shepherd's gaze. There, lay a pair of bloodstained shoes.
The man holding Lucas Sterling by the collar couldn't help but loosen his grip. He involuntarily moved closer to the mixer, his eyes bloodshot, his aura of sheer ferocity causing the people behind him to break out in a cold sweat.
Noah Shepherd, looking at the man standing in front of the machine with a pale face, had his words of comfort stuck in his throat.
Suddenly, a gust of wind rushed past him. When he looked up, Sinclair Callum was already confronted Lucas Sterling.
"Where is Stardust?" Sinclair Callum's angry voice echoed through the factory, startling a few crows roosting on the roof who flew away in fright.
Inside the cold storage, Lila Montgomery, planning to take a knife to end her life, was startled by the sudden voice and shivered uncontrollably.
"How is Sinclair Callum here," she thought to flee, but her legs refused to obey.
Celeste Stardust pulled up a bitter smile at the corner of his mouth. Why, even at the brink of death, did he still hear him angrily yelling his name?
Footsteps were echoing in all directions. Celeste Stardust felt himself being lifted by the upper body, surrounded by a warm breath.
"Stardust, I'm here, no one dares to hurt you again."
Holding the tormented, barely alive girl in his arms, the man's eyes were filled with desperation and helplessness.
Celeste Brightwell felt warm droplets falling onto her face. Shepherd slowly lifted her heavy eyelids, the man's well-defined face came into view.
"I'm sorry, it's my fault," Before she could finish her sentence, the man seized her blood red lips with a kiss.
After a long while, Sinclair Callum withdrew his lips. He gazed tenderly at the girl, “Brightwell, if there is an afterlife, can you love me and Chloe Evan a little more?”
"Do you still want me?" Celeste Brightwell's voice choked, tears streaking down her blood-stained cheeks.
The man wiped the tears from the corner of her eyes, and turned to face Lucas Sterling and Lila Montgomery, who were kneeling on the ground, bound.
"Throw them into another mixer, for the dogs. Everyone out," came Sinclair Callum's cold order.
Upon hearing the command, his men ignored the desperately struggling and shouting pair, and dragged them out, screams echoing from outside.
Sinclair Callum laid the girl on the ground and turned around to lock the cold storage door.
"Master Sinclair, what are you doing? Open the door immediately!” Noah Shepherd thought his master was bidding farewell to his lady, but seeing the tightly closed door, he was dumbfounded.
Celeste Brightwell wanted to say something, but her body had reached its limit.
Ignoring the outside hustle, Sinclair Callum lay on the ground, cradling the girl in his arms.
"Brightwell, Chloe Evan is afraid of the dark, let's go find him together."
Tears fell like rain from Celeste Brightwell's face as she heard the man's words. Shepherd wanted to speak but her eyelids were growing heavier and heavier.
Feeling the girl's breath fading away, Sinclair Callum took a dagger lying nearby and plunged it into his own heart.
"Brightwell, wait for me, don't let me lose you."
