Master of his heart (Brielle and Max)

It was a dream, so Brielle could only watch herself in a daze as she followed back to the orphanage.

Some records were burned, and she and Mark began to reorganize them. Sure enough, she forgot what had happened there.

Brielle didn't know why she had this dream. Startled awake, she rushed to the bathroom, her stomach churning, feeling the urge to vomit.

The sealed memories started to become clear: the records room, the fire, the girl her age who had pushed her out of harm's way and had perished. The girl said her last name was Fox, and she had a brother named James.

"Cough, cough, cough."

The fragments of memory sent Brielle into a fit of coughing.

Hunched over the sink, she retched. Her mind was filled with the image of charred bodies, the smell of the blaze still detectable in her nostrils.

After throwing up, she washed her face and looked into the mirror to see her eyes grow eerily calm.

The incident was indeed too shocking for a child. She had promised to teach that little girl how to knit gloves the following winter.

Who could have anticipated that that girlwould remain eight years old forever and never grow up?

"Brielle?" Max stood at the bathroom door, noting her pale complexion. He reached out to check her forehead. "You got a fever?"

Brielle shook her head, clutching her stomach. "Just remembered some things. My stomach hurts."

If the girl who died in the fire was the daughter of the Fox family, then who was Brielle?

Why were the paternity tests wrong each time?

Brielle wasn't foolish. One mistake could be an accident, but two? Two paternity tests linking her to the Fox family certainly implied foul play. Who was behind it?

Darkness filled her eyes as she quietly grabbed a toothbrush to start brushing her teeth.

It couldn't be the Rowlands. They had fallen from grace.

The Clements? Andrew was too frazzled by Aubree's situation to focus on her.

The Barnes family? The Barnes had motive, and so did the Dorseys.

Especially Michael, whose disdain for her ran deep. He wished her to acknowledge her connection to the Fox family and leave of her own accord. Or perhaps there was someone else out of these families who wanted to target her?

But why?

Or was her true identity a secret so dark it couldn't be revealed?

It seemed she would have to consult with Mark about the fire.

And the secret of her birth? That was something Max could investigate. After all, wasn't he trying to clear her name from the Fox connection?

Regardless, Brielle couldn't just abandon James. Otherwise, the girl who died all those years ago would surely never rest in peace.

After she finished washing up, she saw Max adjusting his suit. She was about to speak when his phone rang.

It was from the sanatorium. Martha requested to see Brielle.

Max felt a surge of irritation.This belongs © NôvelDra/ma.Org.

Brielle was always sensitive to Max's moods, and she knew something had been off with him since the call the day before. It was as if he was trying to cover something up

She looked down, exhausted from the dream. "I'll go to the sanatorium. Maybe she has something important to say."

Max sighed, taking her hand. "Are you sure you want to go?"

"Yeah."

"Brielle, you're exhausted."

But truthfully, Max was just as tired. Neither had rested properly in a long time.

"I want to go."

Martha had asked for her before, and there was something she wanted to say.

With no other choice, Max drove Brielle to the sanatorium.

On their way, Brielle noticed that Patrick wasn't driving. Max was behind the wheel. Although he seemed calm, his brow was furrowed with deep concern. Brielle's unease grew stronger by the minute. Upon arriving at the sanatorium and donning protective gear, she entered Martha's intensive care unit.

Max stayed outside, massaging his temples. He took the opportunity to continue a call with Patrick.

As soon as Brielle entered, she was met with Martha's disdainful yet triumphant gaze.

Struggling, Martha looked at Brielle with a sense of victory. Only her head could move, and although she was in a pitiful state, she held her neck high as if she were the victor.

"Brielle, haven't you heard the news yet?"

Brielle's heart skipped a beat as she watched her quietly.

Martha smirked, her voice dripping with schadenfreude, "Mark suffered a sudden heart attack on the way back to Beaconsfield and died. Didn't Max tell you?" Brielle felt a chill run through her. Suddenly, it was as if all other sounds were muted.

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"It seems Max didn't want to tell you. He probably wants to prove you had nothing to do with my injury and name from the Fox scandal Mark wouldn't have come back to Beaconsfield if it weren't for this, right? Now you don't have any family left. And that fall I took? It was no accident."

Martha's voice was faint, like a whisper from the devil itself.