Even After Death

Chapter 26

Olivia was dumbfounded. His words struck a chord within her.

Ethan was the best example of it. He used to dote on her endlessly, but now he was extremely cruel to her. She couldn’t say he had changed. Instead, he was just showing her a different side of him.

Since Ethan was like that, Jeff could be too.

Olivia countered weakly, “Well, no matter what happened, he wouldn’t… kill someone.”

Ethan’s finger gently brushed Olivia’s cheek. He spoke gently as if he was still her lover, but his eyes were devoid of any tenderness.

“Liv, you’re so naïve. Did you also think that I would never leave you?”

His words cut Olivia’s heart like a knife. It was true that she had thought that he would never change until she saw him holding Marina at the airport. That was when reality slapped her in the face.

Ethan continued, “You’ve always wanted to know the truth. Today is your lucky day. Jeff didn’t want to keep that child, and he didn’t want to give Leia a home. The first three months are the best time for an abortion. On that fateful day, they had another argument. He accidentally killed Leia, but he soon threw her body into the sea.”

Ethan’s tight grip on her chin began to hurt.

“She was my only sister, whom I loved and cherished since I was a child. If she hadn’t been abducted by human traffickers, she wouldn’t have ended up like this. Do you know how tragic her death was? If it wasn’t for the DNA we left behind in the database, I wouldn’t even be able to see her body, let alone the child forming in her womb. How old was she? Why did she have to suffer like this?”

Olivia broke free from his grip. She was afraid that Ethan, who seemed to be unraveling, would kill her along with himself.

Ethan was still lost in his thoughts. “For countless times over the years, I have imagined reuniting with her. But never had I imagined that we would meet again under such circumstances. Liv, have you seen what a body looks like when it’s soaked in seawater for half a month?”

Despite the hollow look in his eyes, they were filled with sorrow. Olivia had heard from Eugenia how much he had doted on his sister. He had never given up on searching for her over the years.

Olivia could understand how he felt when he was reunited with his sister at the morgue. He had someone he cared about, and

she also had someone she needed to protect.

“Since you discovered her when she was already a corpse, how can you conclude that my father was the one who killed her?”

Ethan’s gaze suddenly changed, shifting from sorrow to aggression.

“If there is no conclusive evidence, do you think I would let go of the person who could have possibly harmed my sister? After Leia’s funeral, I had someone secretly investigate. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have known about the many secrets my dearest father -in–law had been hiding.”

“What secrets?”

“Do you know how many women your father, whom you see as a proper gentleman, has had over the past ten years? Oh, I know. You will say that it’s normal for a single man in his prime to have needs.”

Ethan was right; Olivia did think that. Ethan’s next statement shocked her, making her jaw drop.

“All the women your father dated are around your age, or even younger than you. While most men prefer young women, no one is as cruel as your father. He put many women through abortions, some more than once.

“The most miserable ones among them are now unable to conceive as they had gone through dilatation and curettage too

many times, and some were infected with gynecological diseases for aborting at such a young age. The most unlucky ones among them ended up with mental health issues and committed suicide.”