After They Lost Me Novel by Cristina. B _ Novel




After They Lost Me Chapter 01

And some love is only understood after it is lost forever.

Chapter 1

Ten years ago, I leaked company secrets, driving my parents to jump to their deaths.
I also let my two older brothers—who had loved and protected me since childhood—take the fall for my crime. They were each sentenced to ten years in prison.
Every year, I mailed a videotape to the prison.
In the first year, I stood inside a lavish villa, mocking their misery, telling them plainly that I had leaked the secrets on purpose.
In the second year, I stood before our parents’ graves and laughed, saying they deserved what happened—that they were cowards.
In the third year, I held up two plane tickets and told them I had exiled their wives to overseas slums, where they lived in misery, barely surviving.
When their ten-year sentences were finally coming to an end, the videotapes stopped.
Three days before their release, a prison guard suddenly said to Gregory Dewitt, “Once you’re out, behave yourselves.
“And be good to your little sister. That girl thinks about you every year.”
Gregory’s lips twisted slightly, eyes darkening. “She came every year?”
“Yeah… well, not exactly. She…”
Before the guard could finish, his phone rang, and he hurried off. “Never mind. Just focus on starting over.”
***
The prison guard pushed open the cell door, documents in hand.
“Prisoners 1103 and 1104. You’ll be released in three days. Come sign the papers.”
Gregory and Reginald Dewitt stepped forward, their buzz cuts stark. There was no trace left of the refined heirs they once were—only the dullness and restraint carved into them by ten years behind bars.
Watching them sign, the guard sighed softly.
“You’ve behaved well. Live properly once you’re out. Your family’s still waiting for you.”
Gregory, my big brother, paused while signing, ink blotting the paper.
His lips curled into a bitter, mocking smile.
“Family…”
He let out a cold sneer.
Reginald, my second brother, closed his eyes, forcing the bitterness down.
The corners of his eyes were faintly red.
The guard had worked here for ten years. He had seen them transform from defiant and arrogant to worn down by fellow inmates.
He couldn’t help feeling a pang of sympathy.
“By the way, you have a younger sister, right? She…”
“Don’t mention her.”
Gregory cut in coldly, voice raspy. “She’s not a sister. She’s our enemy.”
The prison guard, Russell Tompkins, looked surprised, but he said nothing more.
And right then, “their enemy,” me, was floating beside them.
Seeing the undisguised hatred in their eyes, loneliness washed over me.
This was the tenth year since my death, and also the tenth year I had stayed by their side, accompanying them through prison.
Even though it hurt, I never regretted it.
As long as they could live well.
During break time, Reginald looked at Gregory.
“After we get out, do we go after the Sheridan family first? Or look for our wives? Or…” He paused, voice dry. “Find Abigail, and ask why she betrayed us.”
Gregory stayed silent.
Only his tightly clenched fists revealed the rage simmering beneath the surface.
“We’ll do it all. As for Abigail—Reggie, remember, she’s not a Dewitt, and she’s not our sister!”
I stiffened, my heart aching all the same.
Even after all these years, facing their hatred, I still couldn’t stay completely unmoved.
Gregory pulled several videotapes from beneath his pillow, hatred flickering in his eyes, tangled with pain he never spoke of.
“We’ve watched these countless times. Reggie, don’t forget what Abigail did to us.”
Reginald’s eyes darkened.
He still remembered their early days in prison—shouting their innocence into the void, unheard, unanswered.
Until the first videotape arrived.
Back then, they thought it might be out of my longing or love.
They never expected it to be my confession—admitting I had leaked the secrets, admitting I had driven our parents to their deaths.
Reginald rolled up his sleeve, revealing his wrist.
It was covered in dense scars, which were marks from his agonized struggles back then.
“I remember. Every bit of it…”
I crouched beside them, fingers trembling.
I wanted to touch those scars, but my hand just passed through his body, leaving no trace.
“I’m sorry…” I whispered softly, eyes reddening.
“But I don’t regret it.”
Three days later, they were released and rented an apartment together.
By coincidence, the neighbor next door was the same prison guard Russell, who had delivered the videotapes.
“Good, you look well.” Russell patted their shoulders. “Come to me if you run into trouble.”
Then he seemed to recall something.
“Oh, your sister left a videotape with me.”
He handed it over while saying, “She asked me to give it to you in a month. But since you’re out now, it doesn’t feel right keeping it.”
Gregory lowered his gaze, looked at the tape quietly for two seconds, and didn’t take it.
Reginald pressed his lips together, his expression complex.
“Just toss it, Russ. Thank you for everything over the years. But we don’t want anything from Abigail.”
Russell sighed softly, “Alright. But are you sure you won’t watch it? There’s a sticky note on it.”
He paused shortly. “It read: The Truth.”

READ FULL NOVEL HERE