Chapter 5

After what felt like an eternity, a pair of leather shoes stopped in front of her. Iris looked up. Ethan stood before her, frowning at her. "Why are you digging through trash in the middle of the night instead of sleeping?" "Violet threw away my mom and Cal's keepsakes." Iris stood up, shaking all over. "Why did you let her move into my place, Ethan? Why did you let her touch my belongings?" Ethan froze for a second before drawing his brows together. "They're dead. Those things would only hold you down. Honestly, good riddance." Good riddance? Looking at him, Iris suddenly felt as if she no longer recognized the man in front of her. "Those were the last things my family left me in this world, Ethan," she reiterated. Violet came downstairs as well, hiding behind Ethan timidly. "Iris seems really upset, Ethy… I didn't do it on purpose. I just thought those things felt gloomy…" "It's fine." Ethan patted her hand before returning his attention to Iris. "That's enough. Vee is your junior. Why can't she stay over at your place for a few days? Can't you be a little more generous?" Iris had been generous for six years. She was so generous that she almost lost her life. She was so generous that she lost her loved ones and couldn't even protect her family's keepsakes. As soon as his words fell, a hard slap landed on Ethan's face, leaving him frozen in place. "Ethan Cooper!" Iris shouted hoarsely. "This is my house! Yet, you let another woman move in and throw away my belongings, and now you're asking me to be generous?" With that, she laughed until tears cascaded down her cheeks. Violet wept. "This is all my fault… Iris, don't blame Ethy. This is on me…" Then, she crouched down to rummage through the trash. However, she was cut by a shard of glass, and her sobs grew louder. "Vee!" Ethan immediately panicked. Ignoring the pain on his cheek, he hurriedly wiped her blood away with his expensive clothes. Multiple emotions swirled through his eyes when he looked at Iris again. "Look at what you've become, Iris. I can't believe you're causing a scene in the middle of the night over some junk. Vee meant well. She just wanted to help you tidy up your place, and now she's hurt because of you!" Ethan helped Violet up, his tone softening. "Come on, let's get you to a hospital to get your wound treated. This place is filthy. What if it gets infected?" He failed to notice that Iris' hands were also scraped and bloody. The keepsakes were never recovered. Violet's move was a done deal. Iris didn't argue with them anymore. She hastily contacted a realtor and put the apartment her mother had left her up for sale. Because the things that held her memories were no longer there, it would only hurt more to stay in that house. More importantly, she was leaving—she was leaving this place for good and leaving Ethan behind. After leaving the real estate agency, her phone vibrated. Iris had received an email from Robert. The background check was progressing smoothly. Everything was clear. Iris had ten days left. After returning to the FBI field office, she started preparing her resignation. It required her direct supervisor's signature—Ethan's. While she was wondering how to bypass him, Violet sought her out. "Can I have a word with you?" Violet stopped her at the end of the hallway. The wind was strong on the rooftop. Violet dropped all pretenses and cut to the chase. She asked arrogantly, "What will it take for you to disappear for good, Iris? Open your eyes. Ethy never cared about you. If he did, he wouldn't keep sending you into deadly situations." Iris wore a poker face as she calmly pulled out the resignation letter she had prepared a while ago and handed it to her. "I'll leave. I only have one condition. Have him sign this." Violet accepted it warily. Realizing it was a resignation letter, she raised her brows and couldn't hide the smile curling at her lips. "Deal," she said before tucking the document away. Ten minutes later, she showed up at Iris' office again. Violet sauntered in and casually dropped the resignation letter onto Iris' desk. "I told him I wanted a place of my own, and he agreed to buy me a house without a second thought. Your resignation letter was clipped right on top of my purchase contract, and he signed it without looking at what was underneath." Iris felt as if an invisible hand had gripped her heart, and a sharp pain immediately spread through her chest. Even though her heart was already numb, hearing how easily he signed away her career as an attachment to Violet's house purchase still sent a chill down her spine. Ethan trusted Violet unconditionally and indulged her without question. Iris lowered her gaze, hiding the last trace of emotion in her eyes. Then, she quietly put away the resignation letter with his signature on it. In the days that followed, she made herself invisible. Violet, on the other hand, seemed busy with something and was unusually quiet. … After finalizing the sale paperwork at the agency, Iris returned to her apartment. As soon as she opened the door, a strange odor hit her. Violet was sitting on the rug with a pile of clay tools spread out in front of her in the living room. Humming, she shaped a dog tag. Iris walked past her and was about to enter her bedroom when Violet called out, "Oh, Iris, you're back! I'm making an ID tag for my dog. A fortune teller told me that if you mix a child's ashes into the clay, it can keep my dog safe." A child's ashes. Iris' blood ran cold in a heartbeat. She bolted into the study, where she had kept Helen's memorial tablet and Caelum's urn. The tablet was gone, and so was the urn. "Did you touch my belongings in my study?" Iris demanded hoarsely as she spun on her heel. "Oh, are you talking about that wooden tablet?" Violet batted her lashes. "I put it in my dog's bed. My dog is teething and likes to chew on things. As for that little box…"