Chapter 8
Shane stood frozen at the entrance of the blood donation room. The nurse’s panicked cry hit him like a thunderbolt. He rushed inside, and his gaze locked onto Valerie’s pale face.
That once–radiant face was now void of color, and she looked as lifeless as a cold statue.
The nerdle was still in her arm, but the blood had stopped flowing. The monitor displayed a glaring flatline.
“Valerie… is dead?” Shane muttered as if struggling to comprehend what lay before him.
He wasn’t fond of Valerie. In fact, he harbored a deep resentment for her. But at this moment, an inexplicable mix of emotions swelled within him.
Shane knew about her betrayal. He believed she was nothing more than a fickle, disloyal woman. But over the years, he had seen it all–the love, the resentment, and the struggle Fabian could never shake off. No one understood it better than he did.
And now, just like that, Valerie was gone. How would Fabian react if he found out?
Shane’s mind reeled, but instinct took over. He turned sharply to the nurse. “Save her! Now! Bring her back, no matter what!”
The nurse shook her head and said seriously, “She has no pulse. She was already battling cancer, and after losing this much blood, there’s no saving her.” “Cancer?”
Shane was stunned. He had never heard that Valerie was sick. She had only been out of prison for a short time. How could she have cancer?
Before he could process this, hurried footsteps echoed down the hall.
Fabian strode toward him with a frown. Exhaustion laced his voice as he said, “Sasha is out of surgery, thanks to that donor. Make sure she’s compensated well” Shane’s heart sank at once. He glanced at Valerie’s lifeless body, then back at Fabian. His throat tightened.
“Fabian’s gaze swept across the room, but he didn’t seem to notice the figure on the bed. Impatiently, he asked, “What? Is there a problem?
Shane clenched his jaw but, in the end, kept the truth to himself.
He turned back to the bed, reached for the white sheet, and pulled it over Valerie’s face. Then, he turned to Fabian and said, “Mr. Porter, the donor… is dead.” Fabian’s steps faltered for a moment. His brows knitted together in slight surprise, but he quickly regained his
“Dead? Then make sure her family is taken care of. Give them extra money,” he said calmly.
Shane nodded, but his chest felt unbearably heavy.
Fabian’s reaction was so cold because he thought it was just a nameless stranger who had died.
But… that was Valerie, the woman he had once loved and had spent years hating.
“Mr. Porter-”
Shane started, but Fabian had already turned to leave.
“Sasha is waiting for me. Come find me when you’re done with this,” he said without a second glance. Shane stood still in the end, he chose to stay silent and watch Fabian’s figure disappear down the hallway.
Then, he looked down at Valerie’s shrouded body. His emotions twisted into something unrecognizable.
composure.
He knew that Valerie’s death meant that nothing would stand in the way of Fabian and Sasha’s wedding. But Shane also knew that Fabian’s feelings for Valerie were far more complicated than he let on
“Valerik.” Shane murmured. An unfamiliar heaviness settled on in his chest. “Don’t blame me. Mr. Porter is about to start a new life with Ms. Donaldson. Whether alive or dead, you had to leave his world for good.”
He took a deep breath and stepped out of the blood donation room.
There was no time to hesitate. He had to handle Valerie’s remains before Fabian learned the truth.
Pulling out his phone, he dialed the funeral home and instructed them to prepare for cremation.
But just as he was about to hang up, a nurse approached him hesitantly.
“Sir, there’s something you should know,” she said softly, “Before Ms. Hartman passed, she gave me a number. She said she had booked a sky burial two weeks ago and asked us
to make sure it was carried out.”
Shane froze at those words.
A sky burial? Had Valerie known all along that she was going to die?
