Let Me Go, Mr. Howard Chapter 26

The notification of the message being sent successfully popped up as Scarlett bit her lip hard enough to taste blood.

Within seconds, Sebastian's reply arrived, equally brief but carrying an icy warning: [Scarlett, behave yourself.]

Scarlett stared at those few words and suddenly burst out laughing, her shoulders shaking uncontrollably. Tears fell onto the screen, blurring the harsh text as she laughed.

He was right—she should behave herself and stop clinging to those delusional fantasies. He was about to get engaged to Edith. What was she still hoping for?

She should have faced reality long ago. There was no point in testing Sebastian anymore, no reason to invite more humiliation. Sebastian had no heart, and certainly no special feelings for her.

She took a deep breath, wiped away her tears, glanced at her phone screen one last time, and then turned it off. 

Outside, the moonlight had been covered by clouds, leaving the attic pitch-black—just like her heart.

---

After a dreamless night, Scarlett returned from work the next day, dragging her tired feet. As she approached her attic door, she stopped abruptly.

The door was ajar, with obvious signs of being forced open—wood splinters scattered across the floor. Her heart tightened as she rushed forward and pushed the door open.

The sight before her nearly froze the blood in her veins. The hidden compartment in the corner had been pried open. The loose floorboard had been tossed aside, revealing the dark hole beneath.

Her old wooden box lay thrown on the floor, its lock broken, its contents scattered everywhere. Inside had been her mother's belongings, which she had always kept so carefully.

Now her mother's youthful photos were torn to pieces. Most heartbreaking of all was the crescent-shaped gemstone necklace—the stone shattered into several pieces, its red cord mangled beyond recognition.

It was the last keepsake her mother had left her, something she'd cherished since childhood.

Edith stood at the doorway with her hands on her hips, wearing newly purchased studded high heels. The heel was grinding into one of Scarlett's mother's photos, blurring her smile.

She looked at Scarlett's pale face with an undisguised smirk. "Just taking out the trash that's been wasting space. You thought I wouldn't find it just because you hid it so well?"

"What gives you the right to touch my things?" Scarlett's voice trembled, not from fear but from rage pushed to its limit.

She crouched down, her fingers shaking badly as she tried to gather the fragments. The sharp edges of the broken gemstone cut her fingertips, drops of blood falling onto the shards, a vivid red.

"What gives me the right?" Edith scoffed, stepping forward to deliberately crush more photos under her heels.

"Who told you to defy me again and again? Couldn't you just obediently get married and leave? Mom and I went to so much trouble—first Mr. Campbell, then Mr. Gomez."

"Now both of them have ended up in the hospital. Quite the talent you have, Scarlett."

"I'm Miss Seymour, and the future lady of the Howard family! Your mother was nothing but trash, and while you might treasure her things, to me they're less than garbage!"

"I'll tear them up or throw them away as I please. What can you do about it?"

"Don't you dare insult my mother!" Scarlett jerked her head up, her eyes bloodshot.

"I'll insult her all I want. What are you going to do about it?" Edith crossed her arms, her smile growing more arrogant.

"When your mother was selling herself at that club, did she ever imagine this day would come? The belongings of a whore, kept so preciously?"

"Let me tell you, Scarlett, as long as I'm around, you'll never have a good day in the Seymour Villa!"

Her words were like poisoned whips, striking Scarlett's most vulnerable spots.

Looking at the mess on the floor, at Edith's smug face, at her mother's photos crushed underfoot, something finally snapped inside Scarlett.

She suddenly stood up, her gaze falling on a wooden rod in the corner used to prop open the window. 

Almost instinctively, she lunged for it, grabbed the rod, and swung it toward Edith, her eyes blazing red.

"You deserve to die!"

Her voice was hoarse, filled with reckless fury. All the humiliation, anger, and despair that had built up over the years exploded in that moment.

She couldn't think of anything else—she just wanted Edith, who had oppressed her for so long, to pay.

Terrified by Scarlett's transformation, Edith screamed and stumbled backward. Her ankle twisted in her high heels, and she fell clumsily to the floor.

"Murder! Help! Mom! Dad!"

Her screams pierced through the attic, and soon hurried footsteps echoed on the stairs. Brianna and David rushed in, freezing at the scene before them.

"Scarlett, have you lost your mind?" Brianna reacted first, shrieking as she grabbed Scarlett's arm. "You dare attack my daughter?"

David stepped forward and snatched the wooden rod from Scarlett's hand, tossing it aside. He looked at the fragments scattered on the floor, then at Scarlett's reddened eyes, his brow furrowed tightly.

Edith seized the opportunity to crawl to her feet and throw herself into Brianna's arms, sobbing dramatically. "Dad! Mom! Look at her! She's gone crazy!"

"Just because I touched her mother's junk, she tried to kill me! I'm so scared!"

As she cried, she secretly picked up the gemstone fragments that had fallen near her feet, clutching them in her fist while shooting Scarlett a triumphant look.

"Enough!" David's voice carried authority. His gaze fell on the scattered photos, one showing a young woman holding a baby with a gentle smile—Scarlett's mother.

His eyes darkened, as if remembering something, and he said to Edith in a complex tone, "Edith, those were Scarlett's mother's belongings. You shouldn't have touched them."

"Dad!" Edith looked up in shock, unable to believe her ears. "You're taking her side? I'm your daughter!"

Brianna was also stunned, then a flash of venom appeared in her eyes. She knew it—David still had feelings for that woman!

"Dad, look what she did to me!" Edith pointed to the scrapes on her arm, crying even harder. "And you're saying I shouldn't have touched her things?"

David ignored her and looked at Scarlett, his tone severe. "Scarlett, this behavior is unacceptable! How could you resort to violence?"

"I want my necklace back." Scarlett's voice was eerily calm as her eyes fixed on Edith's clenched fist. "Give me back my mother's gemstone."

"Why should I?" Edith immediately hid her fist behind her back. "It's just junk that should have been thrown out long ago!"

"Edith!" David snapped. "Hand it over."

Reluctantly, Edith opened her hand and passed over the broken gemstone pieces, muttering, "It's just worthless trash anyway."

David took the fragments, held them in his hand, then looked at Scarlett, his expression darkening: "Regardless, you dared to attack Edith—this is completely out of line."

"Someone, take her to the isolation room so she can reflect on her actions!"