Chapter 228

At a hospital, Darleen was a mess of nerves.

She clutched at the nurse's white coat like her life depended on it. "Please, call Eleanor for me! Or Nolan...anyone! I'll repay you, I swear!"

She had to get the truth out before it was too late.

Lainey was a monster. She had swapped the DNA samples, stolen Eleanor's identity, and was after the Benton family's legacy. Her ruined state was all her doing.

The nurse flinched at Darleen's wild grip, her wrist turning red.

This woman had just woken up from a coma. Maybe she wasn't in her right mind?

"Calm down," the nurse murmured, trying to pry herself free. "I'll get the doctor, just wait..."

The door swung open, and before she couId even register who had walked in, two men in black suits grabbed her and shoved her aside.

The door slammed shut behind them with a heavy thud.

Lainey walked up to Darleen, twirling her freshly painted nails like she had all the time in the world.

The moment Darleen saw her face, her heart nearly stopped. Her pupils shrank, and her body trembled violently.

It was Lainey.

This devil had come back to finish her off.

Lainey smirked at the pale, weak woman on the bed.

"Well, well. Who would've guessed you had such a stubborn will to live? Even after rotting away like a vegetable, you still managed to crawl back." Darleen's hands shook as she fumbled for the glass of water on the bedside table.

She raised it with all the courage she could muster. "Stay back!" Her voice cracked.

Lainey actually laughed. To her, this little show of resistance was pathetic.

She didn't even bother with her usual sweet act anymore-the malice in her eyes was raw and bare.

"You know what?" Lainey's voice had that cruel sing-song edge, like she was about to share a juicy secret.

"Eleanor's dead. Burned to ashes in the Benton villa. And the Bentons? They're finished too."

Darleen's thoughts froze, her head ringing as if struck, the words refusing to make sense.

Eleanor...dead?

No. No,that wasn't possible.

She stared at Lainey in horror, her shock pushing aside even her fear. "Was it you? Didyou kill them?"

Lainey let out a laugh, merciless and cruel, the kind that could cut through skin.

Confidence radiated off her, and why wouldn't it?

Soon she would be Nolan's wife, holding power over both the Benton and the Stewart families.

With that kind of future waiting for her, what risk was there in taunting a dying woman?

"So what if it was me?" She sneered. "There's nothing left that can pin it on me anyway. And you know the best part?"

She leaned down, enjoying the fear in Darleen's eyes before twisting the knife further with her words."You won't be around much longer to tell anyone. Soon, you'll be gone too."

Her mocking smile fell away, replaced by a chilling coldness.

Slowly,she slipped a dagger from her handbag, its blade catching the dim light with a cruel gleam. Step by step, she closed in.

Darleen's breath hitched, her body trembling as she tried to shrink back. "NNo...stay away!" But she had only just woken from months of stillness. Her body was weak, fragile, and useless against the storm standing before her.

Lainey didn't hesitate.

She lunged and drove the dagger deep into Darleen's stomach.

A wet,sickening sound filled the room as blood burst out.

Darleen cried out, the glass slipping from her hand and shattering against the floor.

But Lainey wasn't finished. Her fury boiled over, and she stabbed again and again.

If this woman hadn't existed, none of her plans would have gone wrong. Her rage fueled her arm as she stabbed without restraint, convinced Darleen deserved every ounce of pain.

Panting, she grabbed a fistful of Darleen's hair, yanking her head back, and dragged the blade across her pale face.

One cut, then another, until the features were gone, replaced by a mask of blood.

Finally, she stepped back, with a sick grin stretching her lips. Victory had never tasted sweeter.