Chapter 220
Only a cold warning came through the phone.
"Watch your mouth. Don't say anything you shouldn't. Otherwise, I won't mind shutting you up for good."
The call ended abruptly.
The driver held his phone, his back soaked in cold sweat.
...
The night grew deeper.
Ethan stood before the floor-to-ceiling window, a statue frozen in place.
The sunset had completely vanished.
Darkness swallowed the sky.
Shadows spread silently from the corners.
The glass reflected the man's tall, straight silhouette.
He suddenly picked up his phone and dialed a number.
The other party answered quickly.
Ethan's voice was low. "Having fun, Sebastian?"
There was a pause on the other end. "Ethan, what nonsense are you spouting now?"
The corner of his mouth lifted slightly. "Has Lee Waters contacted you?"
Lee Waters. The driver's name.
Silence fell on the other end of the line.
Ethan continued. "Then he should have told you. The person is still alive."
Sebastian said nothing.
"What a pity. Lee Waters was too afraid of prison to finish the job. So it doesn't count as me hiring a hitman. All your scheming was for nothing."
Sebastian's eyes turned cold. "...When did you figure it out?"
"Heh. We've been brothers for so many years. You know me. What made you think I wouldn't know you?"
Victoria Roscente had clearly cut off Deborah Melville and her son's funds and kicked them out of the hotel.
Yet they were still living comfortably.
They moved to a five-star hotel.
They came to the company every day to lie in wait.
Without someone backing them, how could they have lasted this long?
Sebastian let out a light laugh. "I underestimated you."
"Why?" Ethan's veins bulged. He spoke each word clearly. "Why set me up like this?"
After all their years as brothers, he actually wanted to send him to prison!
If Lee Waters had actually killed someone, Ethan would definitely have been arrested.
To reduce his sentence, he would naturally have named the mastermind.
Incitement to murder.
Two lives.
With the media fanning the flames.
What a catchy headline: "Heir Apparent Treats Human Life as Dirt."
It would easily ignite public outrage.
Public opinion would ultimately influence the trial, leading to a heavier sentence.
With this combination of blows, even if Ethan had sky-reaching abilities, he wouldn't have escaped.
"Sebastian, you're ruthless."
"Heh... Didn't you calculate it all perfectly?"
He had calculated that Lee Waters wouldn't dare to kill.
He had also calculated that Sebastian was pulling the strings behind the scenes.
Ethan gritted his teeth. "I considered you a brother. Why? Because of Sophia Sullivan?"
"Hahaha... Brother?" Sebastian suddenly laughed wildly. "I'd rather have never fucking met you!"
Ethan sneered, hitting the nail on the head. "Yes, we were brothers. So Sophia Sullivan could never accept you."
Sebastian's laughter stopped abruptly.
"You thought sending me away would change that? In Sophia's heart, you're just her ex-boyfriend's brother. Even a rabbit doesn't eat the grass near its own burrow. Besides, she's so strong-willed."
"Shut up!"
"What? Touched a nerve? Hahaha... Sebastian, you have today coming! You deserve it!"
With Sebastian's caution, the setup shouldn't have been so sloppy.
When he first noticed something was wrong, Ethan hadn't suspected him at all.
There were too many loopholes.
The flaws were too obvious.
Sebastian was so smart. How could he?
But Ethan had forgotten.
Even the calmest person can make mistakes.
Even the most rational person can panic.
"I never thought you'd scheme against me to this extent for Sophia Sullivan."
He never imagined that Sophia Sullivan held such importance in his heart.
Important enough for him to take such a huge risk.
"Scheme?" Sebastian chuckled lightly. "Not really. I just went with the flow. Made things convenient for them."
As Ethan had said, the plan was full of holes.
If he had designed it himself, even if it didn't kill Ethan, it would have skinned him alive.
"If you can't even avoid a trap like this, then you wouldn't be wronged eating prison food."
A deal with no loss. Why not do it?
If it succeeded, it would send him directly to prison.
Or lock him firmly with Isabella Langley.
If it failed, it would still cause him trouble.
"Despicable!" Ethan ground his teeth. "For a woman, you'd fucking set me up like this?"
Sebastian sighed softly. "She's not just any woman..."
She was Sophia Sullivan!
Ethan sneered. "Stop playing the devoted lover in front of me."
But Sebastian said, "You simply don't understand..."
"Oh, really?" Ethan scoffed. "Don't understand your selfishness? Or your scheming?"
"Sebastian, don't make yourself out to be so noble. If you really liked her, why did you just watch all those six years we were together?"
He watched as Sophia Sullivan suffered all kinds of grievances.
He watched her heart break with sadness and despair.
"Don't talk about how you don't poach on your friend's territory. Someone like you has no heart. How could you be bound by morality? Let me tell you the answer—you did it on purpose!"
Ethan had never been so clear-headed. "You intentionally watched me hurt and torment her. Only then would she leave me. And only then would you have a chance."
"You coldly watched her struggle in pain. Transform in despair. Finally become the woman who captivated your heart. What is that if not selfish?"
If you love someone, you can't bear to see them get hurt.
But what did Sebastian do?
He was like a cold spectator.
He allowed, even facilitated, all of it.
"Your chance was built on her pain. You didn't stop it. You condoned my harm towards her. How are you any different from me?"
"Adding this scheme using Deborah Melville and her son... Sebastian, what do you think Sophia Sullivan would think if she saw your true face?"
The breathing on the other end hitched.
These past days, Ethan had never felt so exhilarated. "She's simple and pure. She hates scheming. She detests cunning. And you just happen to be that type of person."
"Admit it. Sophia Sullivan will never love you. She could only ever like someone like Alexander Laurent. A clean, upright man."
He used to be like that too.
But now, neither of them were worthy!
"Bullshit! You're out of the game, don't drag me down with you! In this lifetime, whether Sophia Sullivan ends up with me or not is one thing. But she definitely won't get back together with you. You can be completely sure of that!"
This was the first time Ethan had seen Sebastian lose his composure.
He was panicking.
And Ethan laughed.
So he wasn't the only one who liked to deceive himself.
Since neither was willing to let go, then...
Let the deception continue.
Let the mistake go all the way.
Ethan spoke. "Don't worry, I won't tell her..."
Not only that, he would actively keep it secret.
Because—
Losing when hope is greatest is the most despairing.
Isn't it?