?Chapter 2354:
“You know precisely what crimes you’vemitted,” Eric replied with arctic coldness, refusing to engage in her maniptive games. “A was acting under your orders.”
His usation confirmed that he had indeed pierced through her web of deception.
Shock shed through Linda’s eyes like lightning, but the reactionsted barely a heartbeat. Then, as though a heavy weight suspended above her head had finally fallen, she experienced an odd sense of relief. It hurt, but at least the torment of perpetual dread had ended. She had never harbored illusions about concealing her sins indefinitely. From the very beginning, she had understood that truth possesses an inevitable way of surfacing.
“Linda!” Eric’s voice dripped with revulsion as he regarded her, his stare as frigid as if he were examining something utterly repulsive. “First, you orchestrated Elissa’s murder. Now you’ve set your malevolent sights on Hadley! You’re devoid of conscience and humanity!”
“Is that your verdict?” Linda’s eyes widened a fraction, a spasm of anguish flickering across her features. How could such words fail to wound her? The man towering before her had treasured her for more than a decade, consistently elevating her needs above everything else in his world. It was exactly this history that caused her gaze to ze with bitter resentment as she studied his condemning face.
“So, what fate do you have nned for me?” Linda drew in a steadying breath, her voice regaining itsposure. “What’s your next move? Will you deliver me to the police and allow justice to run its course?”
“Should I not?” Eric’s fury erupted like a volcano, his voice climbing to dangerous heights.
Eric’s words struck Linda like a physical blow, shattering her carefully maintainedposure. Her voice escted with explosive agitation. “You dare lecture me about moral obligations now? Eric! Without my intervention, you would have died long ago!”
A harshugh broke free from Eric’s throat, soft yet dripping with contempt. Once, that deration had served as her ultimate weapon. Whenever she wielded those words, he would have surrendered anything—including his very existence. But now those same words rang hollow and pathetically desperate. “Linda, is that all you have left to say?” he inquired with a derisive curl of his lips.
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“And what if it is? It remains an undeniable truth!” Linda shot back, her voice cutting through the air like a de.
“Yes, it’s the truth.” Eric nodded with deceptive calm before his voice plunged into a menacing whisper that carried more force than any shout. “But allow me to rify something crucial. Whether I choose to honor that debt remains entirely my decision. If I acknowledge it, you hold the title of my savior. If I reject it, you be absolutely nothing.”
The cial finality embedded in his words sent an involuntary tremor racing down Linda’s spine.
“Yes, I understand now.” Linda recoiled slightly, her head moving in reluctant acknowledgment. “You no longer regard me as your savior.” She stood alone now, with no one left to lean on but herself.
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