The Abandoned Wife's Second Chance (Scarlett and Jasper) novel Chapter 176

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Chapter 176

(Scarlett’s POV)

The sirens grow louder, closer. Morgan’s head whips toward the sound, her composure finally cracking.

“No,” she hisses. “No, this isn’t how it ends.”

Her men shift nervously, exchanging glances. One of them–the one who shot James–backs toward the

exit. “We need to go. Now.”

“We’re not going anywhere!” Morgan spins on him, the gun shaking in her hand. “Not until they’re all dead.

Not until-”

The warehouse doors explode inward.

Dorian bursts through first, flanked by at least a dozen men in tactical gear. They move like a trained unit, spreading out and taking position with military precision.

“Scarlett!” Dorian’s voice echoes through the space.

Morgan fires wildly in his direction. The shot goes wide, sparking off a metal beam.

“Get down!” Jasper tackles me sideways, pulling Virginia with us. We crash behind a concrete bunker, the impact knocking the air from my lungs.

Gunfire erupts. The sound is deafening in the enclosed space, bullets ricocheting off metal and concrete. I press my hands over my ears, but it doesn’t help.

Virginia’s curled into a ball beside me, her whole body convulsing with silent sobs. She’s staring at her hands–James’s blood still coating her fingers, dark and sticky.

Jasper’s pressed against my other side, his hand finding mine and gripping tight. His pulse hammers against my palm, fast and erratic.

“Stay down,” he says, his voice barely audible over the chaos. “Don’t move until-”

Another volley of shots cuts him off. Something hits the bunker above our heads, sending chunks of concrete raining down on us.

Virginia flinches with each impact, her breathing coming in short, panicked gasps. She’s shaking so hard

her teeth are chattering.

I’ve never seen her like this. Even at her worst–even during her most dramatic panic attacks–there was always something calculated about it. Controlled.

But this is real terror. Raw and unfiltered.

Without thinking, I reach for her, wrapping my arm around her trembling shoulders.

She stiffens at first, her eyes going wide when she realizes it’s me touching her. For a second, I think she’ll

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pull away. That even now, even after everything, she’ll reject any comfort from me.

Then she crumbles.

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A sob tears from her throat, and she turns into me, burying her face against my shoulder. Her whole body shakes with the force of her crying.

“He’s dead,” she chokes out. “Papa’s dead and it’s my fault. Everything is my fault.”

“Shh.” I hold her tighter, one hand smoothing over her hair. “It’s not your fault. None of this is your fault.”

“I helped her.” Virginia’s words are muffled against my hijab. “I did everything she asked. I drive a wedge between you and our parents. Sabotaged your marriage. Almost got you and Lily killed. I-”

“You were lied to.” The words surprise me as much as they seem to surprise her. “Morgan manipulated

you, Virginia. She used your pain against you.”

“But I should’ve known. I should’ve seen-”

Another explosion of gunfire. Closer this time.

asper pulls us both down lower, his body half–covering ours. “Stop talking. Just stay still.”

Virginia’s still crying, but quieter now. Her fingers clutch at my shirt like a lifeline.

I look down at her–at this woman who’s caused me so much pain, so much heartbreak–and all I feel is exhausted. Exhausted and sad and somehow, impossibly, sorry for her.

She lost so much. Her childhood, her innocence, her sense of self. Morgan twisted her into something she

was never meant to be.

And now she’s lost James too. The father she just found. Gone before she could even tell him she was sorry. Before she could be his daughter for real.

“We’ll be fine,” I hear myself say. The words feel hollow, but I say them anyway because she needs to hear them. Because maybe if I say them enough times, they’ll become true. “We’ll be fine, Virginia. I promise.”

She looks up at me, her face blotchy and swollen from crying. “How can you say that? After everything I

did to you, how can you-”

“Because you’re my sister.” I say almost instinctively, then truly meaning them as they sink in. “You’re my

sister, and sisters look out for each other.”

Fresh tears spill down her cheeks. “I don’t deserve-”

“None of us deserve anything.” I wipe at her face with my free hand, smearing blood and tears across her

skin. “But we’re all we’ve got right now. So we stick together. Okay?”

She nods, clinging to me tighter.

Jasper’s watching us with something like wonder in his eyes. Despite everything–the blood, the chaos, the man dying just feet away–he looks almost hopeful.

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Chapter 176

“That’s my girl,” he murmurs, pressing a kiss to my temple.

The gunfire slows, then stops. In the ringing silence that follows, I hear Morgan screaming.

“You can’t do this! This is my revenge! Mine!”

“Ma’am, put the gun down.” Dorian’s voice is calm, authoritative. “It’s over.”

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“It’s not over!” Something crashes–glass shattering. “I’m not finished! They have to pay! All of them!”

“The only person who’s going to pay is you.” Dorian again. “For k********g, for murder. Put the gun down

and maybe you walk away from this alive.”

“I don’t want to walk away alive!” Morgan’s voice cracks. “Don’t you understand? I have nothing left! They

took everything from me!”

“No one took anything from you,” Dorian says. “Yes, James Stone had a hand in your father’s downfall. But

he didn’t force your father to make those choices. His end isn’t his fault. He made his own choices,

Morgan, just as you did. And this is where they led you.”

Silence.

Then Morgan laughs–high and manic and utterly broken.

“You’re right,” she says. “These are my choices. So let me make one more.”

“Don’t-”

A single gunshot rings out.

Then nothing.

Virginia gasps against my shoulder. Jasper’s hand tightens around mine until my bones grind together.

“Stay here,” Jasper says, already starting to rise. “Both of you stay-”

“No.” I grab his arm, yanking him back down. “You’re not leaving us.”

“Scarlett-”

“I said no.” My voice comes out harder than I intend. “We stay together. All three of us.”

He stares at me for a long moment, then nods slowly. “Okay. Together.”

Footsteps approach–heavy boots on concrete. I tense, ready to run or fight or do whatever it takes.

Then Dorian’s face appears over the edge of the bunker.

“It’s okay,” he says gently. “It’s over. Morgan’s gone.”

“Gone?” Virginia’s voice is small, childlike. “What do you mean gone?”

Dorian’s expression darkens. “She shot herself. I’m sorry.”

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