Bryce shoved his hands into his pockets, first giving Jason a wry smile before his tone turned icy.


    “She’s gone, cremated.”


    As the words left Bryce’s mouth, Jason’s expression darkened instantly. Seeing the shift in Jason’s


    demeanor, Bryce couldn’t help but snicker. “You’ve got Holly and Serene, so what are you doing


    sniffing around Estre for?”


    Jason took two steps forward, his gaze on Bryce as frosty as midwinter. “Bryce, cut the crap. It’s not


    your ce to stick your nose in my business.”


    “Yeah, sure.” Bryce retorted sarcastically. “Not my ce, is it? Then don’te asking about your wife


    like she’s mine or something.”


    That was thest straw for Jason. He grabbed Bryce by the shirt and shoved him hard against the wall.


    Bryce’s back mmed against the wall, but he wasn’t backing down. He grabbed Jason’s cor in


    retaliation.


    Remembering that Jason was, after all, his cousin, Bryce swallowed his rage and pushed him away.


    Brushing off his cor, which Jason had wrinkled, Bryce opened a nearby cab and pulled out two


    divorce papers, handing them to Jason. “Estre wants you to sign these.”


    “She’s already squared things away with the city clerk. If you can’t make it, just sign your name and


    anyone can get the divorce certificate for you. Jason, let Estre go, and give yourself some peace,


    man.”


    The divorce papers that Bryce handed to Jason sparked his anger. He grabbed Bryce’s shirt again and


    mmed him against the wall. That moment, Jason didn’t need to ask; he knew Bryce must have had a


    hand in it.


    With his back hitting the wall once more, Bryce threw a punch at Jason’s face, then grabbing Jason’s


    cor. Bryce hissed, “Jason, for years I’ve respected you as my cousin, always giving you some leeway


    and respect. Did you really think I was afraid of you, and couldn’t take you in a fight?” After saying his


    piece, Bryce shoved Jason back hard, sending him crashing into the dining table.


    Jason couldn’t stand being pushed around. He swung back at Bryce with a punch. “Bryce, I’ve warned


    you. Stay the hell away from Estre.”


    The boys’ scuffle turned into a full-on brawl right there in Estre’s house. In the end, neither came out


    on top, both sporting injuries. The living and dining rooms were a mess, with everything smashable


    shattered, debris littering the floor.


    Breathing heavily and picking himself up, Bryce wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and


    red at Jason. “Jason, do you think everyone is a fool, that your actions outside are seamless, and no


    one can find out?”


    08:35


    Grabbing his coat from the floor, Jason shot back a cold look. “What have I done?”


    Bryceughed derisively at his ignorance. “The day Holly fell ill, you stayed with her all day and night in


    the hospital, didn’t you? You were at her café’s opening, right? And the day Nelson International


    secured the Silverbrook project, you met her, too.”


    “Everything I know, Estre knows. She just thinks it’s beneath her to squabble with you.


    do you Plus, if it hadn’t been for those fortune-tellers saying she was destined for you, think she would


    give a damn about you?”


    Listing out the times Jason met with Holly, Bryce watched the color drain from Jason’s face. With a


    sneer, Bryce added, “If you really want to know where Estre is, check the Sandalwood Oasis’


    security footage. And just so you know, even if you don’t sign those divorce papers, there’s no chance


    for


    there’s no chance for you and Estre.”


    Without waiting for a reply, Bryce turned and left Estre’s house first.


    а


    Bang! The door mmed shut behind him, and Jason gave the dining table à furious kick before


    steadying himself with a hand to his forehead. Momentster, he too left Waterfall


    Acres.


    Gripping the steering wheel, Jason was seething over Bryce’s words. He went to see Holly because of


    the fire years ago. She had evidence from that time.


    “Mr. Jason, have you been in a fight?” Marie asked in shock as Jason returned home looking like he’d


    been through a war.


    Jason brushed past Marie without a word and headed upstairs. Once in his study, he booted up his


    computer and began scouring the security footage.


    25


    Estre had rarely been back to Sandalwood Oasis, except for Christmas Eve, so Jason pulled up the


    footage from the 24th.


    He saw Bryce apanying Estre home and watched as she lingered in the doorwa reluctant to see


    him leave. At that, Jason grew suspicious. Bryce seemed overly concerned about Estre, as if his life


    revolved around her, and everything he did was intertwined with her existence. With a cold chuckle,


    Jason realized he had underestimated Bryce.


    Scrolling through the footage, Jason saw Estre in the yard, startled by a stray cat, falling hard to the


    ground and screaming helplessly with no one to hear her. Her phone was out of reach, and she


    couldn’t get up to retrieve it.


    Jason’s breath hitched. Even though the surveince footage wasn’t very high-definition, he still felt


    Estre’s fear and sadness.


    She sat motionless on the ground for so long, and Jason’s heart clenched. Estre was not one to


    make a fuss. He knew her for 23 years, and she never yed the damsel in distress. Even when Bryce


    had helped her climb a wall and she dislocated her arm, she didn’t cry.


    08:35


    In just a short while, he saw Brycee in. Bryce’s eyes went straight to Estre, lying still on the


    ground, lookingpletely petrified. Without a moment’s hesitation, Bryce rushed over, scooped her


    up in his arms, and left Sandalwood Oasis as if pursued by demons.


    Even though there was no trace on the ground where Estre had been, Jason’s mind raced with a


    concern. Maybe Estre was pregnant. That could exin why after the fall she didn’t dare to move a


    muscle, why she, who seldom shed a tear, was crying that day.


    Staring intently at the surveince feed, Jason felt a lump form in his throat, his eyes rimming with red.


    Swallowing hard, he leaned against the desk, gathering himself before turning off the monitors and


    heading out the door.


    When he pulled up in front of a row of townhouses in another part of Ravenwood, he was met by Dr.


    Lee. The doctor, wrapped in a thick robe, hurried out, a look of concern etched on his face. “Jason,


    what brings you here at this hour?” he asked.


    Cutting straight to the chase, Jason asked, “Dr. Lee, when you examined Estrest time, was she


    already pregnant?”N?velDrama.Org content.