Chapter 473: Wisteria Still Alive?
I had a strange and unsettling nightmare. Ethan and Jake, who had already passed away, appeared before me with lifeless expressions and rigid movements, resembling the undead. A sinister voice, chilling like something from a horror film, echoed from their mouths. “Chloe, why didn’t you help me?”
“Ethan, it wasn’t my fault, I swear it wasn’t!” I tried to run, but as I moved, my body crumbled into pieces. Then, a head materialized—a bespectacled man I’d seen only once—now a disembodied head, floating eerily around me. “Chloe, my death was so tragic—return my life to me!”
“No!” I screamed.
The nightmare ended as I jolted awake, and Carter, who had been dozing beside the bed, instantly turned his gaze to me. “Chloe, it’s okay. Don’t be scared. I’m right here,” he said gently.
It took a moment for me to fully regain my senses, and then I threw myself into Carter’s arms. Cold sweat drenched my back as I clung tightly to him. “Carl, there was…a head.”
He softly ran his hand over my hair. “It’s all right, it’s all taken care of. Captain Tucker has handled everything. Don’t worry.”
“Who was behind it?” I asked, my voice trembling.
“Damian apprehended a guy disguised as a delivery worker,” he explained. “The man admitted someone hired him to drop off the package at our house. I’ve already told property management to handle all deliveries from now on.”
Just the thought of packages terrified me. Each time I closed my eyes, the image of the bloodied head with its gaping wounds flashed before me. “Ugh…”
Shoving Carter aside, I bolted to the bathroom, where I doubled over and vomited violently. All I had eaten earlier was a small bowl of cereal, so only remnants of it came up. The sensation of dry heaving with an empty stomach—desperately trying to vomit but unable to—is unbearable. I sat on the floor, retching repeatedly until I was spitting up bile. Carter knelt beside me, gently patting my back and offering a cup of warm water to rinse my mouth.
My stomach twisted painfully, and tears blurred my vision, leaving me utterly miserable. “Chloe, are you all right?” Whitney stood in the doorway, and a wave of exhaustion washed over me—I didn’t have the energy to engage with her.
After a few moments, I managed to pull myself up and ask, “I’m fine. What are you doing here?”
“Carter brought me over,” she replied.
Carter scooped me up, carrying me back to the bed. Sitting beside me, he held my hand and gently asked, “Do you feel like eating something?”
I knew I must have looked frail and drained. “I don’t want to eat,” I murmured weakly.
“Chloe, you have to eat something—you’ve got a baby in your belly, remember?” Carter carefully wiped the cold sweat from my forehead with a warm towel. “You two have a talk; I’ll go whip up something for you to eat.”
“Alright,” I replied softly.
Worried I might refuse food made by anyone else, he headed to the kitchen himself, determined to prepare something tempting. Whitney handed me a cup of warm water. “Chloe, take a sip first,” she said. “On the way here, I heard we still don’t know if the target is me or the Sanders, so Carter brought me over for safety.”
I grasped the cup of water, my mind in a daze. “When I first heard about that person’s death, I even thought it could be Taylor…”
Before I could finish, Whitney cut me off. “It’s not him.” She must have realized her tone had been too sharp in defending Taylor, so she quickly added, “Actually, he’s not as we thought. He doesn’t harbor such a deep grudge against the Sanders. Yes, he sees their actions as wrong, but that’s all in the past now!”
“But Mr. Carlyn’s obsession is overwhelming. From a young age, he was taught that revenge was his only path. He had no power to stop what was unfolding. Even if my heart had been fine that night, Chloe would still have died.”
Wisteria seems to have an intense, obsessive need for revenge against you. Though Taylor didn’t directly participate, he was fully aware of everything that was going on. When my resistance became stronger, he came up with the idea of using your heart for me.
Once you were reborn, Taylor had no intention of hurting you again. He let you go several times, hoping you’d distance yourself from them. He was exhausted by the hatred that had consumed him, but he couldn’t escape his past. Things had already gone wrong, and all he could do was keep making mistakes. He admitted that he couldn’t go back, which is why he became so fixated on marrying me. Deep down, he knew his future was doomed.
“How could someone like that come after you again? If he wanted to kill you, he would have done it on Rosbel Island.”
I understood all the reasons behind it. I just didn’t expect Whitney to defend him, which confirmed my earlier suspicion.
“You still care about him,” I said plainly.
Whitney paused briefly before speaking. “Chloe, we can’t be together, especially with him gone now. Besides, the death of that individual has no connection to the Carlyns. They wouldn’t take someone’s life just because that person tried to reach out to them.”
“Then who do you believe the murderer is? Someone killing at random and delivering the head to me?”
Whitney shook her head slowly. “It just seems that the gruesome way they killed matches someone from that organization. But Taylor always shielded me and kept me out of their affairs, so I don’t know the details. Once, I accidentally walked into a room and saw someone cutting apart a body. It frightened me so badly I couldn’t sleep for three days, and I still can’t eat meat because of it.”
“Have you ever met this Luther you mentioned?”
“I haven’t seen him in person, but I’m aware he’s intentionally trying to get close to me. Taylor once told me that the more secretive someone is, the more dangerous they can be.”
Whitney grasped my hand tightly. “Chloe, actually, yesterday morning before heading to school, I had this feeling someone was following me. At first, I thought I was imagining things, but that person ended up dead last night, so I must have been right. What I can’t figure out is why someone who seems to be after me would send the head to you.”
“Could it be a warning?”
“Are you referring to the Commander and his wife?”
I nodded in agreement. “While we were on Rosbel Island, there had to be a spy among Mr. Carlyn’s people, feeding her information about everything that happened with the Sanders. The Commander’s secrets are out, and now both the Carlyns and Sanders have set their sights on her. That’s why she made her move against the Carlyns first, using this approach to caution us against acting impulsively.”
“Then, Chloe, has your identity been revealed?”
“Yes, the Commander and his wife have known for a while that I am Chloe. They’re careful and wouldn’t dare to provoke all of Snowville, risking mutual destruction between the Boltons and us. If they were to kill me, the Boltons would undoubtedly retaliate. This was merely a warning. If we keep digging, I’ll end up sharing that person’s fate.”
After hearing my words, Whitney suddenly embraced me. “Chloe…”
I gently patted her head. “Don’t worry, I’m fine. If they truly wanted to harm me, they would have acted by now. This warning shows they’re scared—scared of provoking the Boltons. What concerns me more is your safety, Whitney. What if they suspect you’re connected to the organization and fear you might reveal their secrets? Could they come after you?”
“Maybe Carter thought the same thing,” she replied softly, “which is why he brought me here without delay.”
I suggested, “Don’t go to school for now. Move in with me.”
“Alright, but Chloe…”
Whitney’s expression turned grave. She hesitated, licking her lips before continuing, “Do you think there’s any chance that Wisteria might still be alive?”