Dumped My Cheating Ex. Now I'm Sleeping Next to a Billionaire CEO novel Chapter 1374

Beneath the table, James's hand violently tightened around hers. His palm was warm and dry, but his grip was so forceful it sent a spike of pain through Emmy's fingers.

"Alastair," James spoke, his voice dropping an octave as he met the elder's gaze. "I apologize. I haven't told my wife the truth yet. Even though Penny was her bodyguard, in her heart, she considered the girl a genuine friend. So, please, if you would be so kind as to take us... to see Penny one last time."

Emmy's heart plummeted like a stone, plunging straight into a bottomless abyss. What truth? A sickening sense of absolute dread washed over her, turning her hands and feet to ice.

Alastair looked between the two of them and released a heavy sigh. "I suppose. Since you have come all this way, it is only right that you see her." He stood up, resting his hands behind his back, his tone grim. "It is clear you both value loyalty and affection. If she was highly regarded by Mrs. Nelson, our Murphy family will naturally oblige. Let us go."

With that, Alastair turned and began walking toward the rear exit. James pulled Emmy up and led her closely behind. Emmy followed in a complete daze, her mind entirely blank. They navigated through a labyrinth of winding corridors until they exited through the back door, revealing a narrow path that snaked up the mountain behind the estate. The stone steps curled upward, flanked by dense, foreboding pine and cypress trees, casting a somber, chilling atmosphere over the trail.

Emmy walked for over half an hour. With every upward step, the terror twisting in her stomach grew more suffocating. She remained utterly silent the entire way, biting her lower lip so hard it nearly bled. She didn't dare ask. She didn't dare speak. She refused to even entertain the horrifying possibility creeping into her mind. As long as she didn't ask, as long as she didn't see it with her own two eyes, the nightmare couldn't be real. Penny was so skilled, so brilliant in combat, there was absolutely no way she could be... No. It had to be impossible.

However, reality always proves to be ruthlessly cruel. Alastair finally stopped in front of a mound of freshly turned yellow soil. It was undeniably a new grave. The dirt was fresh, and no weeds had even begun to sprout around the edges. There was no proper tombstone, just a simple wooden marker staked into the earth.

Alastair turned around, gesturing toward the mound of dirt, his voice weathered but steady. "Penny... rests peacefully here."

Tears instantly erupted from Emmy's eyes, violently spilling over her cheeks like shattered pearls. "No..." Her knees buckled beneath her, completely devoid of strength, and she crumpled toward the frozen ground.

Emmy collapsed into the snow, dropping to her knees as massive tears hammered into the freezing earth. "I am so sorry... I am so sorry... It is all my fault. If only I hadn't agreed to dive with Mercedes... If only I had chosen a different spot... Why did you have to die? You were so strong, you were supposed to live a long, beautiful life!" The agonizing, drilling guilt consumed her, forcing her to clutch her chest as she gasped for breath, entirely unable to breathe through the suffocating pain.

Witnessing the heartbreaking scene, Alastair let out a long sigh and turned his back, unable to watch any longer. James stood beside Emmy, his sharply angled face fraught with heavy sorrow. He dropped to one knee, wrapping his arms tightly around her trembling, broken frame. "This is not your fault. Protecting you was Penny's duty, and her chosen mission. As a bodyguard, she fulfilled her purpose to the absolute bitter end. This was the path she chose."

Emmy shook her head wildly, soaking James's coat with her tears. "No... It wasn't supposed to be like this. She could have protected someone else, or if I hadn't gone to that awful place, she would still be alive. I killed her... I took her to Fiji, but I couldn't bring her back..."

James's voice hardened into steel. "The ones who killed her are the mercenaries who ambushed you in those waters, and the mastermind orchestrating it all from the shadows. Emmy, our job isn't to kneel here drowning in guilt. Our job is to avenge her."