Chapter 15
“This is today’s newspaper.”
Scarlett was so shaken that she couldn’t leave the villa until all the kidnappers were apprehended.
She spent the entire day sitting on the bed. Since she couldn’t fall asleep without someone beside her, Scott had to bring his paperwork over and work next to her.
In Scott’s absence, Noah took over. Perhaps because he was the one who saved her, Scarlett no longer showed strong aversion to him.
“They caught them all?”
“Yeah. Unusually, even the military was mobilized. They say everyone’s been captured.”
“No one got away?”
“Not one. They’re all being sent to Christo Island. The place with the worst prison in the world.”
Even so, Scarlett looked anxious. She rubbed her tired eyes, still wrapped in a shawl.
“You want to go back to school, don’t you?”
“No.”
“Liar. You love studying.”
Noah opened the book she had once made him read. But Scarlett shook her head, refusing to sleep any longer.
“How about seeing a therapist?”
“I don’t need it. It’s pointless.”
Scarlett thought therapy was meaningless since she believed she was going to die soon anyway. She was filled with despair about herself.
She felt torn apart by the humiliation of owing her life to Noah, and dizzy with confusion over the true nature of Noah Ashford.
Was the Noah Ashford who killed her the same person as this one? If he was, then why are you acting like you care? What’s real? What part of you is the truth…?
“Let’s go to school tomorrow.”
Noah’s eyes flickered subtly. He stared intently at Scarlett, trying to gauge if she was serious.
“You… can’t. You need more rest.”
“Then I’ll go alone.”
“That’s dangerous. Can you handle it?”
“Why are you pretending to care all of a sudden? I’ve lived like this my whole life.”
“…What about going home?”
“No. How could I show up like this?”
Scarlett flicked her nails irritably. Her expression looked so unstable that Noah instinctively scolded her.
“Scarlett.”
She glared at him with a face full of resentment, then burst out angrily. Like a child throwing a tantrum, she snapped at Noah.
“I’m going to school tomorrow! I’ve already decided, and I’m going to stick to it! Do you think my life should fall apart because of people like that? That would make me look pathetic!”
Panting, Scarlett jumped up and began getting ready to go out, throwing a coat over her dress.
“Where are you going?”
“I’m going out. I can do it.”
“I didn’t mean you can’t. I just think you need more rest.”
“Who are you to tell me what to do?”
Her face was full of confusion. It was as if she herself didn’t know what to do and was frightened by that fact.
Like a cat raising its tail to look bigger, she puffed herself up, desperate not to appear weak.
Though she yelled who are you?, the truth was she was deeply unsettled by the changes she saw in Noah.
She felt like she might go mad from the turmoil. The questions running through her mind were unbearable.
“Calm down, Scarlett.”
Noah stepped closer, but Scarlett held out a hand to keep him away. Every emotion felt too overwhelming for her.
She couldn’t accept being grateful to Noah Ashford, or the way she was beginning to care about him.
The blue eyes that once killed her now shone differently in her dreams—and that alone confused her.
The helplessness of feeling like the most useless person in the world because even leaving the house felt like a struggle…
Scarlett trembled and sank to the floor, burying her face between her knees. In a weak voice, she said,
“No matter what, I’m going to Iodes tomorrow.”
She was desperate and stubborn. Noah began to wonder if insisting on going to Iodes was her way of coping—and he could no longer bring himself to stop her.
“Okay. Let’s go to Iodes tomorrow. You can join a club too. It’s recruitment season right now.”
Scarlett looked up. Noah reached his hand out to her. Her eyes fixed on his hand.
It was the hand that had killed her. The one that had stabbed her five times, soaked in blood. But it was also the hand that saved her.
She remembered the touch of that hand patting her back—remembered how it had once been soaked in her blood.
Her expression crumbled. Her chin trembled, and she bit her lower lip. Then, standing up abruptly, she grabbed her bag.
“Where are you going?”
“To the hospital. If he doesn’t come to me, I’ll go to Mr. Martin myself. I don’t trust that quack here. Telling me to go to a psychiatrist—what kind of nonsense is that?”
“…Okay. Let’s go to the hospital.”
“I’m going alone.”
“It’s dangerous. Let me come with you.”
“No. I’m going alone. Don’t boss me around. Why do you even care?”
“I… I…”
Noah’s blue eyes shook violently. Even as he said it, he doubted he had the right. But it was the truth.
“I’m your brother.”
Scarlett stared at him in disbelief, lips parted.
Noah’s head dropped. Flustered, he rubbed his cheek and mumbled,
“…Sorry. That was a mistake.”
“Then come with me.”
With that, Scarlett began stuffing everything into her bag.
She didn’t know what to think of Noah.
She didn’t like that he called himself her brother—but strangely, it didn’t feel entirely bad either.
What she did know was this: whatever she felt, she wasn’t well enough to go out alone.
She didn’t want to think anymore. Thinking wouldn’t give her any answers right now. For now, she had to focus on getting better.
Once in the carriage, Scarlett pulled a blanket over herself and closed her eyes.
When she slept, nightmares haunted her. When she was awake, anxiety gnawed at her. Shielded from the world by the blanket, she asked quietly,
“Noah… Are you a twin by any chance?”
“No. I’m an only child.”
“I see…”
Then why did you kill me? Why did you kill me so cruelly?
She couldn’t say it out loud. Just putting it into words might summon that nightmare all over again.
So instead, she asked the question she could bear to ask.
“Do you hate me?”
“No. Why would you say that?”
“You do hate me. Don’t you? There’s no way you don’t.”
“I don’t hate you.”
Noah was relieved she was under the blanket. He answered slowly.
“Sometimes it feels like I finally have a sibling. It’s a strange feeling.”
No other White sibling, blood-related or not, had ever truly felt like family to him.
But Scarlett was different. Noah had come to think of her as his real sister now—a pitiful sister he only ever felt sorry toward.
“If you don’t hate me, do you hate our brothers and sisters?”
“Why do you keep asking me things like that?”
“Because you might kill me again.”
“I swear. I’ll never hurt you.”
“No. One day you will want to kill me again.”
Otherwise, how could my death be explained?
In her previous life, Scarlett hadn’t known Noah. But he had slaughtered all the household staff, attacked Isaac, and hunted her.
Even though he now swore he wouldn’t hurt her, she didn’t believe it.
And yet… something told her this Noah and the one from her past life were different people.
So were they not the same at all? Should she treat them as two separate beings? The question tormented her.
As Scarlett sank into silent confusion, the carriage stopped in front of the hospital.
To reassure her, Noah got out first, confirmed everything was safe, and opened the door.
“You wait here. I’ll go in alone.”
“Are you sure?”
“The hospital’s full of people who know who I am. If you come in with me, the rumors would be terrible. You haven’t forgotten who you are, have you?”
“…Alright. I’ll wait.”
Scarlett entered the hospital alone. Walking by herself made her nervous. It felt like someone might appear at any moment to rob her or knock her out and kidnap her.
“You’re okay. You’re okay, Scarlett White.”
St. Bernard General Hospital was the biggest and most prestigious in Wifland.
The cardiology department was on the second floor. After checking in, Scarlett climbed the stairs with her registration slip.
Turning a corner, she spotted a familiar figure on the staircase to the third floor.
Neat pomade and a three-piece suit—unmistakably John. He was speaking with someone.
“I’m here to visit a patient. A friend of mine is staying on the ninth floor.”
“Oh dear, the ninth floor. That must be hard on both them and you, Mr. White.”
The ninth floor was for VIPs. Scarlett was about to greet him but held back, thinking it wasn’t the right moment.
“If we had more donations, we could install an elevator for the patients. But with so many coming from all over the country, there’s no room in the budget. I’m thinking of holding a charity party to raise funds.”
John explained in his characteristic calm voice, then politely excused himself and went up the stairs.
Scarlett, stunned in the hallway, came to her senses and followed.
As a senator, John likely knew about the kidnapping—even if Scott had tried to suppress the news.
The fact that John hadn’t contacted her meant he was probably furious.
Scarlett didn’t want to disappoint him.
If Aaron was like a wealthy uncle and Andrew like a playful friend, John was like a reassuring father figure.
More than her health, she wanted to explain herself and share her thoughts with him.
She hurried up the stairs, breathless, but John had already entered a room.
Pacing the VIP floor on the ninth floor, she eventually decided to wait for him by the stairs.
But when she heard John’s voice from a slightly open hospital room, she froze.
“You must live long and well. Once Mr. Nicholas passes, I’ll be the only one left who knows the truth. The others who notarized Mother’s will are already gone.”
Scarlett knew the lawyer Nicholas Johnson. He was often invited to Thanksgiving dinners with the family.
A stylish gentleman with white beard since his forties, Scarlett used to find his gravelly voice fascinating.
“That’s why I told her to use a younger lawyer… But this is what Mrs. White wanted. For lies to become the truth.”
“Lies becoming truth could threaten us. I’ve always feared that.”
What are they talking about…?
She knew eavesdropping was wrong, but she couldn’t ignore it after hearing mention of her mother’s will.
“Mrs. White was a strong woman. That’s why she believed you, who resembled her so much, would be just as strong. John, I believe in you. You can bear the weight of these lies.”
“Scarlett nearly died. In the face of her life, I wonder what value any of this has.”
“It was the will of both Mr. and Mrs. White. They believed it was worth protecting, even at great cost. Believe in your parents.”
“But their ‘performance’ has left all of us in hell. Mr. Nicholas… If you knew what those living in hell are capable of thinking and doing, you wouldn’t say that.”
John’s voice trembled. So unlike his usual composure, it made Scarlett’s heart drop.
“This is… horrifying. I feel guilty every day. I’m lying to my siblings, and I’ve ruined their lives. Oh God… God will never forgive me. I’m sure of it.”
“John. Calm down. Then do you plan to reveal the truth?”
It wasn’t until Scarlett exhaled her held breath that John finally responded.
“No. I have to bear the truth alone. I know how heavy it is. Meeting you again makes that clearer. Yes… It’s far too late to turn back now. This was never for our sake, so I can’t let them blame Mother. I’ll carry all the guilt myself.”
Scarlett felt her heart pounding in her ears. She gasped for breath.
What does that mean? What on earth…
“If they ever find out that Father’s affair was actually orchestrated by Mother… our family will fall apart.”
Her heart sank.
