From Left Behind to Living Lavish

Chapter 8

At that moment, all I could do was laugh.

I took off the ring and tossed it into the trash can.

"Sorry, this ten-dollar piece of junk should've been thrown away a long time ago."

I smiled even brighter. "Now, can we go?"

Getting that divorce certificate felt like a thousand-pound weight had been lifted off my shoulders.

I didn't realize it then, but what I had once thought was deep love in my youth had slowly turned into a burden. Misunderstanding after misunderstanding had chipped away at it, leaving nothing but endless torment.

Now that I was free, I didn't want to carry the guilt for things I hadn't done anymore. I needed to explain one last time.

With the USB drive in my bag, I spoke calmly.

"Carter, I had nothing to do with your father's death. Do you believe me?"

He lowered his gaze and stayed silent for a long time.

I smiled. His silence was answer enough.

Without hesitation, I pulled out the USB drive and placed it in his hand.

"If you find out you hated the wrong person and tormented the wrong person, what will you do?"

"Carter, I'm actually looking forward to seeing that."

Fear doesn't vanish, it just shifts.

With that, I turned and walked away, a smile on my face.

Marcus was waiting for me.

I later heard that, after returning home that day, Carter went into a blind rage. He stormed over to Amy's house, attacking her and leaving her severely injured.

When I got the news, Marcus had just finished taking me to see a therapist.

Standing in the sunlight, I felt a sense of relief wash over me.

Marcus ruffled my hair affectionately and joked, "Looks like I'm more effective than the therapist."

When we got home, Carter was standing at the door.

Covered in blood, his hair a mess, he looked almost as disheveled as I had during my homeless days.

As soon as he saw me, he dropped to his knees with a loud thud.

Marcus stepped in front of me protectively, clearly startled.

"Lindsey, I was wrong. I'm sorry. I'm a bastard! You can yell at me, hit me, whatever you want, I'm so sorry!"

He was crying uncontrollably, tears and snot streaming down his face.

All I felt was disgust.

The boy I once admired was now completely erased from my heart.

I glanced at him indifferently, then turned to Marcus. "Call the police. I'm scared."

"Alright."

Within minutes, the police arrived.

Even as they took him away, Carter kept begging for forgiveness, repeating "I'm sorry."

But what difference did it make?

A broken mirror can never be put back together.

The damage was done, and I was ready to heal, to move forward.

In my future, there would be no place for Carter.

A month later, Amy was discharged from the hospital, fully recovered.

That's when I handed over the backup USB drive to the police.

The drive contained the recording of our conversation on the balcony that day.

Amy would never have guessed that there was a hidden camera on the balcony.

Back then, a stray cat had taken to wandering into the house, looking for food.

Carter hated cats, so I secretly set up a small shelter for it on the balcony.

During those dark times, that stray cat was my only source of joy.

To see it more often, I even installed a surveillance camera.

But Carter eventually found out about the cat.

He flew into a rage and killed it right in front of me.

I held its tiny lifeless body and cried for what felt like hours.

But Carter just looked at me with disdain. "Lindsey, you're just as disgusting as that cat."

The cat was gone, but the camera remained.

That day, I lured Amy to the balcony and captured evidence of her crimes.

Maybe, in some way, that little stray cat had helped me after all.

With the footage and the comparison of the handwriting from the forged suicide note, Amy's case was wrapped up quickly.

She was convicted of attempted murder and sentenced to life in prison with a suspended death sentence.

Not long after, Carter, who was already serving time for attempted murder, received the news.

The Hall family had gone bankrupt.