Flora’s Guide to a Second Chance at Love and Life

"That's not how I see it, then what is it?" Raul shot up, eyes blazing. "Who else could it be but you! When I first came back from the Smiths to Lone Island to visit you, I barely spent three hours with you before I had to leave in a rush, and then bam, a car accident on the way! Are coincidences like that even real? Bryce, if memory serves, Ryan was always Karter's chosen heir, and you only got the nod after he was out of the picture!"

Raul paused, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "The Reyes family fortune is so vast, it could make someone lose their conscience, even enough to kill their own brother!"

"I didn't!" Karter's eyes were red as he shouted, his voice rough. "Ryan was my brother, my dearest brother. How could I ever hurt him? The Reyes wealth never meant a thing to me. If I could, I'd trade my life for his in a heartbeat! Do you think I've been at peace all these years? Do you?"

"Enough! Stop with the fake tears! I'll never believe a murderer like you!" Raul cut him off, his patience wearing thin, seeing Karter's words as nothing but an act, utterly revolting.

"You'll pay for your sins eventually! And one last warning: if you lay a finger on Flora, I swear, I'll end you!"

With that, Raul stormed out.

Karter watched him leave, hands covering his face, a man past his prime, on the brink of tears. His shaking shoulders painted a picture of heartache and pity.

...

After dinner, Flora and Henrik snuggled on the couch.

She started texting Connor.

Flora: Connor, are you still upset? Please come back, I miss you.

Flora: Come on back, please? I'll say sorry, and you can punish me however you like!

Flora: I'm craving some apple crumble. Ethan said it's delicious. Can you bring some back for me?

Not even a minute passed before Connor replied: I'm not mad... I miss you too, I'll be back soon. Aside from apple crumble, anything else you'd like? Flora chuckled; her Connor was so easy to win over.

Just as she was about to reply, her phone rang. It was Crimson.

Flora picked up, hearing Crimson's hesitant voice. "Flora, darling, I found out what you wanted me to look into... Just brace yourself, alright?"

Flora paused, gripping the phone.

She had asked Crimson to dig into something for her recently.

She tightened her lips. "Just spill it."

"I've sent it to your email. Check it out yourself."

"Alright."

Flora hung up and headed upstairs, her expression slightly off. Henrik noticed. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah," Flora replied with a smile, masking any concern. "Just a bit sleepy after eating, heading to my room."

With that, she quickly went upstairs. The second her door shut, her smile faded completely.

She grabbed her laptop from the bedside table, powered it up, and logged into her email.

She opened the file Crimson sent.

The file was hefty, nearly two hundred megabytes, containing videos, pictures, and some pretty old documents.

As she scrolled through, her hand on the mouse grew icy cold.

Eventually, she couldn't continue any further.NôvelD(ram)a.ôrg owns this content.