Chapter 695


    "No, Everett! That was myst shot. Do you want me to die?!"


    She clutched at Everett''s shirt cor with a manic desperation, biting down hard and pounding at


    him with her fists.


    Everett didn''t flinch, not so much as a furrow in his brow, as he let her vent her fury.


    Gradually, Dorothy''s strength ebbed away.


    "Everett, my mom didn''t do anything wrong. Why was she the one to get killed. It should have been


    me. Why didn''t your mom just finish the job and take me out too. Everett, since you could erase the


    video, can you just erase me too? I''m so tired, I''m really just so tired."


    Tears brimmed and spilled over, streaking down her cheeks.


    Everett lifted a hand, gently wiping them away.


    But the tears wouldn''t stop, so he kept wiping them one by one, as if this simple act could make her


    stop crying.


    "Dorothy, have you ever actually trusted me? You had your mind made up, didn''t you? Ready to


    stand against me the moment you got the evidence, to raise your banner in defiance and cast me


    as your enemy."


    Everett couldn''t understand.


    Why could he never earn Dorothy''s trust.


    "I—"


    "Dorothy," Everett interrupted softly, "How many days left of your appointment with my dad?"


    "Three days."


    "Okay." He let out a sigh, stepping back to put some distance between them, "After thesest three


    days, I''ll let you go."


    Everett had epted it.


    He couldn''t hold on, or maybe he never really had a grip to begin with.


    "But the video..."


    "Byte 7 only recovered a fragment, and I bet he made demands in exchange for the full thing, right?


    In three days, I''ll give you the whole video." Everett''sshes lowered, concealing all his emotions,


    "Including Heather''s confession."


    Dorothy stared at him in shock.


    "You said you destroyed it?"


    "My mom is no fool. The video Byte 7 recovered has a self-destruct code andes with a virus


    that infects the restorer''sputer. Heather and my mom set it up that way on purpose, so there''s


    no way it would survive until you got it to court."


    By then, Dorothy would be aughing stock.


    Every shred of evidence would vanish in an instant, leaving her with nothing to present in court.


    Everett had copied the video earlier and then deeply destroyed it, wiping out the tracing code as


    well, which meant the virus-infectedputer belonging to Langston also went dark, and Byte 7''s


    wasn''t spared either.


    Dorothy never dreamed it would be like this.


    But why didn''t Everett just say so from the start?


    He was deliberately testing her.


    He wanted to know how she would handle this situation, and he wanted to see where she would


    ce him once the dust settled.


    Contentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDra/ma.O(r)g!


    "You said Abigail and Langston wanted me to y with them, right? I should go."


    Everett''s voice was hoarse as he spoke, then turned to leave.


    Dorothy reached out instinctively to grab his robe, but the silky fabric slipped right through her


    fingers.


    Everett''s silhouette was still tall and imposing, yet tinged with a profound loneliness.


    Dorothy''s phone continued to ring. It must be Byte 7, because hisputer, just like Langston''s,


    had crashedpletely.


    It was absurd, really. She had allowed herself to be swayed by the words of Byte 7, a person she


    hardly knew, to confront Everett.


    Everett had every right to be heartbroken.