A Love to Die For (Nathaly) novel Chapter 12

Chapter 12

The cruise ship’s movie theater was shrouded in complete darkness.

Clayton the cat was in the projection room, staring at the phone screen after the call had ended, twisting his neck irri- tably.

“That bitch, she really is fucking lucky, actually managed to get into Elijah’s bed. Fuck!”

He squinted his eyes, shivered suddenly, and rubbed his nose hard in a neurotic manner.

Then he pulled a small bag of white powder out of his pocket.

With the skill of a seasoned thief, he poured it onto the table beside him and bent down to snort a line.

The intense rush made him throw his head back abruptly, his body stiffening for a long moment before he finally came down from the soul-shattering pleasure.

“Fuck! That’s the stuff!”

Clayton leaned against the wall, drooling with ecstasy, looking both disgusting and lecherous.

He savored the feeling for quite a while, until a gnawing hunger overtook him. Only then did he slowly get up, rub- bing his stomach as he prepared to sneak out for something to eat.

“That so-called Mr. Tuckett, isn’t he about to become my brother-in-law? When the time comes, I’ll make him kneel and lick my feet!” Clayton cursed as he pulled open the door.

The next second, a cold gun barrel was pressed against his forehead.

In the darkness, Elijah’s hoarse and chilling voice rang out.

“Let’s guess-how many seconds can a person live after a bullet goes through their head?”

Clayton froze in terror, raising his hands and begging for mercy with practiced skill.

“Mr. Tuckett, maybe there’s been a misunderstanding? I’m Nikki’s brother, remember? We even went to the same

school as kids-”

Bang-

After the gunshot, Clayton’s right ear fell off.

“Ahhh-”

Clayton collapsed to the ground, clutching his head and rolling in agony, his face smeared with blood, urine and feces bursting out beneath him.

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06:59

A foul stench instantly filled the air.

Elijah didn’t even blink, taking a handkerchief from his bodyguard to cover his mouth and nose.

“I want the truth before dawn.”

Clayton was dragged away screaming, leaving a trail of bright red blood behind.

After finishing all this, Elijah left the room and turned toward the elevator.

Outside the transparent elevator walls, the surface of the sea glimmered pale white. Sunrise was drawing near.

But Elijah’s heart ached more and more.

He knew that when he reached the top-floor suite, he would face the belongings of his beloved-things he never dared to confront again in this life.

When the elevator doors opened, his assistant was waiting at the suite entrance, looking anxious and uneasy.

Elijah approached with a blank expression, but the assistant stopped him, voice trembling with warning.

“Mr. Tuckett… Mrs. Tuckett seems to have committed suicide. She… your email just received a scheduled video mes- sage, and in it, Mrs. Tuckett left you a message.”

Elijah suddenly turned his head to look at him.

The assistant handed over the tablet, his hand shaking as he pressed play.

“…Elijah, if you’re watching this video, it means I’m already dead. Don’t get upset, no one forced me-I chose to jump into the sea myself. So, I want to ask you not to take it out on anyone else on the ship, including the bodyguards who were supposed to watch me. I tricked them into leaving ahead of time. Honestly, I don’t have much to say to you. All this time, I’ve been counting down the days until I could leave you. I loved you for a long time in the past, but now, I’ve lost my mother, witnessed you cheating with the person I hate most, and completely lost the right to be a mother -all thanks to you. Your selfishness and arrogance are what killed me. That’s right, I know everything you’ve done behind my back. So, I choose to leave you forever. Goodbye-no, never again.”

In the video, Nathaly’s tone was light, her expression vivid and lively.

But every word she spoke was like a blade, stabbing Elijah’s heart and leaving it bleeding.

The hopeful look on his face instantly turned deathly pale. He lowered his eyes, staring at the finished video, his gaze full of disbelief.

“Nathy… she

4 did she find out?!”

Before the assistant could

answer, he rushed into the room, desperate to find more clues.

With just one was rooted to the spot by the termination of pregnancy report Nathaly had left on the coffee

glance, b table.

Boom-

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06:59

A bolt of lightning suddenly split the sky outside the window.

And at last, Elijah realized just how terribly wrong he had been. He crawled and stumbled to the coffee table, clutch- ing the two torn marriage certificates.

He wailed in utter despair, overwhelmed by grief.