Daniel Kingsley had said he’d wanted to kidnap Niamh Rivers as well, but she’d left with another man.
Later, when they finally managed to get through to Niamh’s phone, it was Julian Neville who answered. Naturally, Jonathan Thomas assumed that after the divorce, Niamh had gone straight to Julian.
But the truth was never as simple as he imagined.
“Wait… Was Niamh kidnapped too?”
Jonathan’s eyes widened in shock, muttering to himself. Julian just let out a cold, dismissive laugh.
“What difference does it make if she was kidnapped? It’s not like you’d have gone to save her anyway… Back then, wasn’t Marina Thornton the only one you saw?”
Jonathan’s glare shot straight at Julian, anger twisting his features.
But Julian only seemed more convinced that he’d hit a nerve.
“Come on, Jonathan. Don’t act like you were clueless back then, like you’re some kind of victim in all this. Every single time Niamh and Marina were in trouble together, you always picked Marina. Now what? Realize Marina was never good enough for you, so you regret it?”
As Julian’s words landed, it was as if a bolt of lightning struck Jonathan right in the
skull.
He squeezed his eyes shut, rain streaming down his pale face.
So that’s what Julian thought of him. That’s what Niamh thought too.
It felt like someone had carved out a chunk of his chest, the ache so raw and brutal he could barely breathe.
He hadn’t always chosen Marina.
Every time he’d stepped in to help Marina, it was because she was his Rina–his first love.
He’d never intended to marry her, but for the sake of their past, he wanted to give her dignity, a decent ending.
And Niamh…
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19:49
Chapter 517
The pain was suffocating, dragging him down like he was sinking into quicksand, struggling in vain to claw his way out.
Suddenly, his phone rang, snapping him back to reality.
Julian was already gone, swallowed by the storm.
It was impossible to take a call in the torrential downpour, so Jonathan hurried back to his car, soaked and shivering. He hadn’t felt this lost, this pathetic, in a long time.
“… Hello?” he answered, barely masking the tremor in his voice.
On the other end, Prescott immediately picked up on the tension.
“Mr. Thomas, are you alright?”
“I don’t need your sympathy,” Jonathan snapped.
He knew Prescott meant well, but right now it was all he could do not to take his anger out on someone else.
Prescott seemed to sense it and cut straight to the chase. “Mr. Thomas, the matter you asked me to look into–I have some developments.”
Night fell.
The hospital.
The rain hadn’t let up.
Inside her hospital room, Marina cowered under thick blankets, trembling. She’d never believed in karma before, but now, every crash of thunder outside sounded
like God himself had come to strike her down.
The rain against the windows was deafening, yet somehow it only made the room. feel impossibly silent by contrast.
That’s why, when the door opened, the sound was so loud and abrupt it made her jerk upright, heart hammering.
A tall figure stood in the doorway, shrouded in darkness, dressed in a black suit–almost like a specter come to collect her soul.
Once, the sight of this man had made her heart race with longing. Now, she was paralyzed by terror.
“…Jonathan…” she stammered, her voice shaking.
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19:49
Chapter 617
Jonathan strode in, each step radiating cold fury.
“Let me explain… That video, it wasn’t me, I swear… It was Al–it was faked, the whole thing-”
Her words came out in choked gasps, growing weaker and more frantic with every syllable.
Then she saw Jonathan smile.
Of all the things he could have done, that smile was the worst.
“Still spinning lies even at the end, Marina? You really think I’m that easy to fool?”
He yanked her upright, his hand clamping tightly around her throat.
“Jonathan-” she gasped, eyes wide with panic.
“You can’t… do this… to me…”
“I can. And I will.”
Jonathan’s handsome face twisted into a chilling grin.
He’d never bothered to have Marina investigated. She was his first love, the one who’d stayed with him through his darkest hours. He’d trusted her. Wanted to trust her.
And this was where it led him.
“You dare lie to me–play me for a fool? You should’ve known there’d be a price to pay…”
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