Paralyzed by His Lies

Chapter 5

Hearing the news, Alexander's body went rigid. His eyes locked onto his assistant, his voice dangerously low.

"Say that again." His grip tightened on the assistant's arm, his tall frame trembling.

The assistant stammered, looking like he might faint. "Lucy… she jumped into the river. The police… they found her things by the water."

For a moment, Alexander couldn't breathe. His hands dropped from the assistant, the world spinning around him.

"No. No way. She, she couldn't… Lucy wouldn't do that." His voice cracked as he tried to process it.

"She's tough. She's a fighter. She always hated people who did this," he muttered, shaking his head. "Suicide was the one thing she couldn't stand."

Sophia raised an eyebrow, skepticism dripping from her voice. "So the police didn't find her body? Just her stuff?"

The assistant gulped. "Not yet, Mr. Quinn."

"Tch." Sophia clicked her tongue in annoyance. "Typical. Faking a suicide for attention? These girls today, they'll do anything for drama."

"Mr. Quinn, it must be because you canceled her cards yesterday," the assistant suggested carefully. "She's probably just throwing a tantrum."

Sophia's words snapped something in Alexander. His grief vanished in an instant, replaced by fury.

He stood up abruptly, his wheelchair rolling back slightly.

"99 punishments weren't enough, huh? I should've known she wouldn't learn," he spat, his eyes hardening. "She's manipulative. Always has been."

He turned sharply to the housekeeper.

"Don't breathe a word about my legs being fine. Let her think I'm still broken. I'll show her. I'll show all of them."

For the next several days, Alexander waited.

One day.

Two days.

Three.

His anger kept simmering, but the worry, the desperate, gnawing worry, never left his face. Even Sophia stayed on edge, careful not to provoke him.

Then, a week later, his assistant handed him a USB drive.

With trembling hands, Alexander plugged it into his computer.

The footage was clear. Lucy. Wearing the same clothes from that day. Carefully setting her things aside.

Then, without a second thought, she climbed over the railing and jumped.

The screen cut to black.

The body was retrieved from the river.

And that was when the truth sank in. Lucy was really gone.

In the morgue, Alexander couldn't let go. He held onto me like he was trying to bring me back to life, his face drenched in despair.

No one could move him. Not even Sophia.

It wasn't until Mr. Quinn Sr. came to physically separate him from the body that Alexander finally let go.

And still, he didn't stop.

He arranged a lavish funeral, spared no expense. He made sure the world knew how much he cared.

But the next day, his legs completely failed him.

The doctor said it was psychological. Only he could decide to heal.

Meanwhile, across the world, I found solace in a quiet moment with a familiar face.

"Auntie, thank you," I whispered as I wrapped my arms around her.

She didn't ask what had happened. She didn't need to. She simply held me and said, "I'm just glad you're safe."

That one sentence shattered me.

For a second, I wondered, if I'd left with her five years ago, would I have avoided all of this? Would I have dodged the pain, the betrayals, and the games Alexander played?

But now, living abroad, I could almost forget it all. Almost.

But when I passed people on the street, I still caught myself looking away. Their stares made me shrink, made my skin crawl.

I stopped going out. Spent my days holed up at home. But, oddly enough, I found myself returning to the one thing I'd always neglected, my studies.

Maybe there was a chance for me to rebuild, after all.

One evening, my cousin Jason walked in with a new friend.

"Eric, meet my cousin. Isn't she adorable?" he grinned, his eyes lighting up with pride.

I forced a smile, looking up from my book. But this time, something inside me didn't look away.