Love That Never Fades Chapter 1

The day Jimmy Slade fully seized control of the Slade family, Portside burned with fireworks all night. Everyone speculated he was finally going to marry me. But I waited from dusk till dawn.

What I got instead was the news of Thorne Group's assets being frozen, accusations of my own alleged misdeeds about to land me in prison. I got Jimmy Slade’s hard-won triumph, and the announcement of his engagement to the novel’s heroine.

The system’s cold voice chimed: “Congratulations, Host. Mission successfully completed. Would you like to depart this world?”

I nodded without hesitation.

Later, when Jimmy learned I had died, he panicked. Didn’t he want me ruined and dead? Why was he crying?

* * *

“Host, detaching from the body will take three days. Please wait quietly.” The system’s voice continued, and I watched a video on my tablet, completely unfazed.

Just then, the doorbell of Thorne Manor rang, as I expected it would. The maid rushed over. “Miss Thorne, it’s the police.”

“Let them in.” I set down the tablet.

Last night, when everyone thought I would become the mistress of the Slade family, news broke that Thorne Group was involved in illicit activities. Right below it, pinned at number two, was a trending topic about me, Iris Thorne, organizing illegal operations and selling prohibited products.

The accuser: Jimmy Slade.

Public opinion swiftly turned. Everyone praised Jimmy Slade for his righteousness. He smoothly ascended to the position of Slade family patriarch. He also smoothly canceled his engagement to me and announced his wedding date with his childhood sweetheart, Charlotte Summers.

“Miss Thorne.” I recognized the lead officer, a man named Officer Wells. He was famously stubborn, unwilling to wrongly accuse the innocent, and equally unwilling to let the guilty escape. He looked at me with an unreadable emotion in his eyes.

“Hello, Officer Wells.” I smiled and greeted him, then extended my wrists, waiting for him to cuff me. He hesitated, not moving. It wasn’t until the young female officer beside him prompted him, “Wells, this isn’t the time for personal feelings.”

Oh? Personal feelings?

The system’s voice came: “Just pulled a clip. After the accusations against you came out, even with evidence, Wells refused to believe it. He insisted on investigating the truth to clear your name.”

Hearing that, I couldn’t help but laugh aloud. Officer Wells and the young officer both looked at me. The young officer indignantly said, “Beauty doesn’t automatically mean a kind heart. Wells, I will report your behavior to the Chief.”

In the end, it was the young officer who put the handcuffs on me. They were cold and metallic, a first for me. I was about to walk out.

Officer Wells raised a hand to stop me. “Did Miss Thorne do all those good deeds just to cover her tracks?” I met his questioning gaze. I knew what he was about to say next. He was going to say, “I don’t believe it.”

But whether he believed it or not didn’t matter.