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Chapter 823:
Vera uncorked a bottle of Dom Pérignon with effortless skill. Golden bubbles rose and slowly subsided. She poured two glasses and lifted her own in a toast.
“To freedom. To 1.2 billion dollars. To that complete bastard finally getting exactly what he deserves p>
June clinked her glass against Vera’s. The crystal rang out with a clear, high note that lingered between them.
“To a new chapter,” June said.
They drained their glasses in one go. The champagne was ice-cold, crisp, and perfect. Vera set down her glass and leaned forward, her jet-black eyes glinting with predatory satisfaction.
“Alright. Tell me everything. Did he cry? Did he beg? Did he look like someone had ripped his intestines out through his nose p>
June cut a small piece of wagyu beef. She chewed slowly and deliberately, letting the silence stretch.
“He coughed up blood,” she said finally.
Vera’s chopsticks froze mid-air, inches from her mouth. “Blood? June. What did you say to him p>
“I told him the truth,” June said, her voice calm and conversational. “I never loved him. I married him only because he had his brother’s face. Every single day of our marriage, I imagined what my life would have been like if Caleb had lived p>
𝘞h𝘢𝘁 e𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺o𝗻e і𝗌 𝗋𝘦a𝖽𝗶𝘯𝗴 𝗈ո.с𝗼𝘮
Vera set down her chopsticks. She reached across the table and took June’s hand, her fingers warm and steady.
“His brother,” she said slowly. “The dead twin. Caleb. He was the one who saved you? In Switzerland p>
June nodded. She set down her fork, and for a split second her composure shattered, revealing something raw and ancient beneath.
“Seven years ago. I was fifteen. My parents had just died. I was in a psychiatric hospital in the Alps, and I decided to end it all.” She spoke to the candlelight, not to Vera. “I climbed over the fence. I found the cliff. And he was there. Caleb. He pulled me back. He talked to me in Morse code through the wall at night. He built me a snowman.” Her voice softened. “He was the first person who ever made me want to live p>
“And Cole p>
“Had the exact same face.” June’s voice turned harsh. “The same DNA. The same bone structure. Nearly the same voice. When I met Cole at that fundraiser, I thought —” She laughed, a bitter edge to the sound. “I thought it was fate. I thought Caleb had found me somehow. That he’d survived, that he’d come back for me p>
She picked up her champagne and drained it in one go. Vera refilled her glass in silence.
“It took me three years to realize they were nothing alike. Caleb was kind. Cole is cruel. Caleb saved my life. Cole almost destroyed it.” She looked up at Vera. “And then I found out Caleb died in that avalanche protecting me. And I had married his replacement, letting that replacement tear me apart p>
Tears welled in Vera’s eyes. She squeezed June’s hand tighter. “You should have told me. You should have told someone. Carrying all this alone p>