The Illegitimate Flame: Bride of Ashes-Chapter 134- The Fall of the Family

"Janet, take a good look at this woman now. Remember how she treated you back then? Whatever you do to her today—it’s justified!" Charles grabbed Janet’s chin, turning her face toward Anila, who stared at them in utter disbelief. His voice was low and laced with venom.

"What? Can’t you understand what I’m saying?" Charles’s handsome features darkened. Anila’s legs gave out. With a loud thud, she dropped to her knees, directly across from Janet.

Janet gasped, pain piercing her chest. She had never imagined the proud and image-obsessed Anila would one day fall to her knees like this—in front of so many people, no less!

"Boss, please... let Elvira go. It was all me—everything that happened back then. She’s innocent!" Anila’s voice trembled, her pride shattered. It was no use hiding the truth anymore. She had underestimated Charles’s reach. With his power, dealing with her—or even destroying the entire Louis family—would be child’s play.

"Mother... how could you do something like this?" Ternence, who had been silent until now, finally spoke. His voice was low, as if each word weighed heavily on his soul. He couldn’t believe that the elegant, noble woman he had looked up to his whole life had once used such vile means to destroy another woman.

"It was really you? You... killed Cornelia?" Harold’s voice shook with disbelief. His entire world crumbled in that instant. For ten years, he had believed that fire was a tragic accident. Never had he suspected that the person who murdered the woman he loved most had been right by his side all along.

Cornelia had been kind, radiant—how could he have failed to see her worth sooner? Even now, he could recall the carefree joy she brought him, something he had never found in Anila. With her, there had only been obligation... and submission.

In that moment, as the words escaped his lips, Anila knew—something between her and Harold had irreversibly broken. Though he’d stayed in this house all these years, his heart had long died with Cornelia.

"Was I wrong? All I did was protect my family, my man! Cornelia deserved to die!" Anila roared, refusing to admit any guilt. She had always been proud, unwilling to see anyone take Harold’s attention away—not even a woman like Cornelia.

If she could go back ten years, she would still do it again. The only regret she had... was not burning that little bastard Janet to death along with her.

But now—Harold’s cold gaze, Charles’s threatening eyes, and even Ternence’s unfamiliar stare—they all told her the same thing: everything she had done, everything she had sacrificed... was for nothing. In the end, she was the one who had lost.

"Boss, please, I beg you... let Elvira go!" Anila’s face twisted with pain and helplessness. Hatred still burned in her eyes, but her tone had lost all defiance. If someone had to pay the price for what happened ten years ago, let it be her. Not her daughter. Not her Elvira, who lay in bed now, writhing in pain.

She was a mother, after all. Everything she did—every cruel act—was for her child.

But she had forgotten... Cornelia had been a mother too. And even in death, she had protected her daughter with her life.

"You’re begging the wrong person," Charles said coldly, towering over her. "You should be pleading with Janet."

Anila’s face twisted even more. To bow to Charles was humiliating—but to bow to Janet? That girl? That was unbearable.

But that’s exactly what Charles wanted—to see her truly surrender.

"Charles..." Janet whispered, shrinking slightly into his arms. The hatred in Anila’s eyes mirrored Elvira’s. Why did they both look at her like that? Janet didn’t know what to do. She should be happy, right? This was justice—for her mother.

But somehow... it didn’t feel like enough.

"Janet," Charles leaned in, his voice low and tender against her ear. His sharp gaze softened the moment it landed on her pale face. "Tell me—what do you want to do with her?"

"I... I haven’t decided yet." Janet whispered. She didn’t know whether she could ever bring herself to use the same cruelty Anila had once shown them.

She was too kind... too human.

And no matter what Anila paid with now—even her life—her mother... would never come back.

"It’s fine. We have all the time in the world," Charles said calmly, understanding her hesitation. If Janet couldn’t do it herself... then he’d gladly do it for her. novelbuddy-cσ๓

"You have one day," he declared coldly, his voice like ice. "Get out of this building. By tomorrow, I don’t want to see a single person with the surname Louis anywhere near here!"

Without sparing even a glance at the woman still kneeling in disgrace, Charles turned and gently wrapped his arms around Janet, leading her away with care—as if nothing else mattered.

"Janet, Janet! For the sake of raising you all these years, please... spare Elvira! She’s still your sister!" Anila cried out, crawling forward on her knees in desperation. She hadn’t even reached Janet before Charles turned and kicked her away with open disgust.

"You should’ve thought about this outcome ten years ago," Charles said with a scoff, not even pausing as Anila’s screams echoed behind him, begging and pleading in vain.

"You... You actually did this to them?!" Harold’s entire body trembled with fury. He couldn’t believe it. While Cornelia was surrounded by flames—dying—he had been standing beside the very woman who caused it. A woman who had shared his life for decades.

"Haha! What? Feeling guilty now?" Anila’s laughter was shrill and haunting. "Too late. She’s dead. She’s never coming back!"

"You bitch!" Harold lost control. Without hesitation, he stepped forward and slapped Anila across the face, hard. It was the first time he had ever laid a hand on her—and it was for a dead woman. For Cornelia.

Only now did he regret everything.

"How blind was I... to fall for you, to hurt them!" he cried, tears streaming down his weathered face. The guilt, the shame—it tore him apart. He couldn’t even forgive himself, let alone expect Janet to do so.

This was his punishment.

He deserved to lose everything—his wife, his children, his home.

"You hit me? For that whore?!" Anila shrieked, cradling her cheek. Her eyes burned with madness as she lunged at him. The two began to struggle, clawing and shouting like wild beasts.

Ternence stood there, watching coldly as his parents devolved into chaos. His expression was unreadable, but the look in his eyes grew darker... colder.

Suddenly, a secretary burst through the door, panic written all over her face. "M-Mr. August! There’s trouble! Reporters just flooded the lobby. They say the young lady—Elvira—has been caught in a scandal. Photos of her taking drugs and engaging in compensated dating have already gone viral! The press is swarming the building!"

Ternence paused. Not a flicker of shock crossed his face. Instead, he let out a long, quiet breath—calm, composed, and colder than ever.

This family...

Was finally falling apart for good.

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