Duke soon came in from outside. His complexion was cold, and his eyes fell indifferently on Mabel‘s
face. Mabel guiltily avoided his eyes. Her lips trembled as she said, “I, I‘m not feeling very well. I‘ll go
upstairs first.”
“You don‘t want to know where Earl is?”
This one sentence from Duke was all it took to stop Mabel in her tracks.
In a soft voice, he said, “George, take your siblings upstairs to play.”
George understood that the adults wanted to talk, so he obediently took his siblings upstairs, hand–in–
hand. Mabel clutched her chest and slowly asked, “Duke, what did you do to your brother...?”
“It‘s not what I did to him, it‘s that he chose the path of no return,” Duke said in a low voice,“ He‘s dead.
I personally sent him to hell.”
“What…?”
?
Mabel‘s eyes suddenly went wide, and her whole body collapsed onto the sofa.
Duke did not sympathize with her. He continued on, “If I had sent him to court, even a lifetime of
sentences would not be enough. Killing him with a bullet is really letting him off easy.”
“How could you do this?! How could you! He‘s your brother!” Mabel cried mournfully, “Since the day he
was born, his life had been full of suffering. He never got to enjoy a day of happiness and peace. He
deserved to live! He would have seen the light if he had lived—”
?
“He could have sought his own light, but he shouldn‘t have coveted the light that belongs to me.”
Duke‘s voice was even more unsympathetic than before. “Whatever the Winters family owed him had
already been paid in full when he turned fifteen. He could have had a completely different life, but he
chose to sink into darkness. It was his fate for things to come to this point.”
Mabel lay on the sofa and cried her heart out. Adina thought of the difference between this moment
and that time when Dukę had disappeared two months ago... Mabel had cried then as well, but not like
this. Between these two sons, Mabel would always pick the one she thought she owed more.
‘But didn‘t she also owe a debt to Duke, in that case?‘
“Father died because of him, that‘s why I didn‘t bury him in the family cemetery.” Duke pursed his lips,
and then said, “If you want to visit him, I‘ll have someone take you there.”
“You‘re too cruel! How can you be so cruel...”
Mabel rose from the sofa, rushed unsteadily at Duke, and beat his chest hard. She cried as she
hammered his chest, and her cries were filled with anger and an accusatory tone...
Adina pursed her lips and coldly said, “Mrs. Winters, Earl died in Sea City by our hands. From now on,
whenever you see me and Duke, you‘d only be reminded of the pain of losing a son. So
Adina paused for a moment before she continued, “Mrs. Winters, why don‘t you go back to Ascrialia?
That way, your heart can be at peace.” Mabel was dazed and wide–eyed at this, while her tears
continued to fall.
She smiled as she cried. “Adina, it‘s all because of you. Without you, Earl would never have returned to
Sea City... Without you, my sons would never have been so rebellious... You witch! Give me back my
son!”
She rushed over and gripped Adina by the collar.
Adina frowned coldly
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