Unreturned When the Fog Cleared Chapter 15

Unreturned When the Fog Cleared Chapter 15: A Late Awakening

Sylvia Chevalier froze, her face instantly turning deathly pale. Still, she tried to argue, “Julian, you… you’ve got it all wrong! I was just worried because Yara wasn’t waking up. I didn’t mean anything else!” 1

Julian Rhodes looked at her pretentious act and was filled with disgust.

He took a step forward, his voice as cold as ice. “Got it wrong? I saw and heard everything you just said and did, loud and clear.”

He stared into her eyes and asked, word by word, “I’ll ask you one more time. How exactly did Yara fall down the stairs?”

Sylvia Chevalier trembled more violently, but she clenched her jaw and refused to crack. “She slipped and fell on her own! It had nothing to do with me!”

Julian Rhodes sneered, his eyes filled with disappointment and ruthlessness. “It doesn’t matter if you won’t talk. If I want to find the truth, I will. And right now, I don’t have time to waste on you.”

He took out his phone and called his assistant. “Bring two people to the hospital. Take Sylvia Chevalier back to the villa and put her under watch. Without my permission, she is not to set foot outside the villa or contact anyone.”

After he hung up, Sylvia Chevalier lunged to grab Julian Rhodes’s arm, but he flung her away in disgust.

“Julian! You can’t do this to me! I’ve been so good to you! I’ve taken care of you and Yara for so long!”

Julian Rhodes looked at her, his eyes devoid of any warmth.

“Take care? Is your so–called ‘care‘ getting Yara kidnapped? Trying to

remove her oxygen tube while she’s unconscious? Sylvia Chevalier, I will make you pay for everything you owe Yara and Thera Sutherland, bit by bit. Until Yara wakes up, you’d best stay put and not try any more tricks.”

He paused, his voice filled with warning. “If anything happens to Yara, or if you dare to contact the outside world, I will make you understand the meaning of a fate worse than death.”

The moment he finished speaking, his assistant arrived with two bodyguards.

Sylvia Chevalier’s voice filled with desperate pleading. “I admit I said horrible things! But I never really meant to hurt Yara! I just wasn’t thinking straight. Please forgive me! I promise I’ll take good care of Yara from now

on!”

The bodyguards seized her and began dragging her away. She screamed at the top of her lungs, “Julian Rhodes! You can’t be so cruel!”

Her cries echoed down the empty corridor, met only by an even more

ruthless command from Julian Rhodes: “Watch her. Don’t let her cause

any more trouble.”

The door to the hospital room slammed shut, finally cutting off Sylvia Chevalier’s wails.

Only then did Julian Rhodes slowly turn to look at the pale Yara Rhodes on the hospital bed, the ice in his eyes gradually melting into self–reproach.

He took a deep breath, suppressing the roiling emotions within him, and ordered his assistant in a low voice, “Go to the bar now. Get all the surveillance footage from when the incident with Yara happened.”

The assistant nodded immediately. “Yes, President Rhodes. I’ll take care of it now.” He turned to go.

“Wait.”

An image of the day Thera Sutherland fell into the water suddenly flashed through Julian Rhodes’s mind.

Thera Sutherland, her face pale, had accused Sylvia Chevalier and Yara of causing it.

But not only had he refused to believe her, he’d thrown her into a tub of ice–cold water, forcing her to apologize again and again.

Remembering that scene now, in light of what Sylvia Chevalier had done, a chill shot up from the soles of his feet.

“Also, pull the surveillance footage from the residential complex from the day Thera Sutherland fell into the water,” Julian Rhodes said, his voice trembling slightly.

The assistant froze for a second before quickly recovering. “Understood.”

Half an hour later, he received the surveillance footage from his assistant.

The footage from the bar clearly showed Sylvia Chevalier pushing Yara Rhodes down the stairs.

She even stood in place for a moment, confirming Yara Rhodes was motionless before calling for an ambulance.

But the footage from the day Thera Sutherland fell in the water was what truly twisted Julian Rhodes’s heart into a knot.

In the video, Sylvia Chevalier stumbled towards Yara. Thera Sutherland reached out to steady Yara, only to be pushed into the water by her.

The two of them, Sylvia and Yara, stood on the bank, laughing brazenly, before turning and walking away, completely ignoring Thera Sutherland’s struggles in the water.

It was only when a security guard passed by that she was rescued.

Julian Rhodes stared at the screen, at the image of Thera Sutherland thrashing helplessly in the water. His heart felt as if it were being squeezed by an iron fist, the pain so intense he could barely breathe.

He finally understood. Everything Thera Sutherland had told him was

true.

She had endured not only the terror of falling into the water but also his blind cruelty and distrust.

“Thera… I’m sorry…”

he whispered, his voice hoarse, his fingertips turning white from the force of his grip. “I was wrong…”

‘If only I had been more patient and listened to Thera’s explanation. If only I had seen Sylvia’s true colors sooner!‘

“Thera wouldn’t have left feeling so wronged, and Yara wouldn’t have ended up in this state.

This belated realization settled on his heart like a giant boulder, making each breath feel heavy.