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00:00I died on a rainy night six months ago.
00:02My husband, N-City's most feared crime boss, thought I was just throwing a tantrum.
00:05He waited for me to come back and apologize.
00:08Is that Claire?
00:09Aren't you gonna get that? It is your wedding anniversary?
00:12That was my last call to him.
00:13Ignore it.
00:14He didn't answer.
00:15He was with his childhood friend Lily, celebrating her birthday.
00:20After I died, my soul was trapped beside Ethan.
00:23I couldn't leave, touch him, or make him hear me.
00:28I watched them load me into the ambulance while he celebrated Lily's birthday.
00:32For the next six months, every holiday, he had a gift ready for her.
00:36One call from Lily, and he'd be there.
00:38Didn't matter if it was reening knives.
00:40And only then, when he couldn't find one watch, did he finally remember me.
00:45Claire, are you done yet? I don't have time for this disappearing act.
00:48Where's the watch I told you to get fixed? Did you hide it?
00:51After all these years, you're still jealous of Lily?
00:53That watch was a gift from Lily, his childhood friend.
00:55After six months, the first thing that made him think of me wasn't his missing wife.
00:59It was Lily's watch.
01:00Answer me! Are you dead?
01:03Yeah, she is.
01:05Congratulations, Ethan. She'll never be jealous of Lily again.
01:08That was my brother, Ryan. He handled my funeral arrangements.
01:12Maybe he was too angry to tell Ethan I was dead.
01:14Ryan? What the hell are you talking about? Put Claire on!
01:18I said Claire's dead. Congratulations. She won't be jealous of Lily anymore.
01:23That's enough. I don't have time for your stories. Tell her to give Lily's watch back.
01:27So that's all you care about? Lily's damn watch?
01:31Ethan, you should burn in hell!
01:33Ethan looked awful.
01:35I figured he was still wondering where I'd hidden that watch.
01:38To him, anything from Lily mattered more than my life.
01:41Ethan just stood there, frozen, for a long time.
01:44I had no idea what he was thinking, and I didn't care.
01:47Then his phone rang.
01:51The second Lily called, Ethan smiled.
01:54I smiled, too.
01:55That's the thing about expecting nothing.
01:57You can't be disappointed.
01:59Lily.
01:59Ethan, have you left yet?
02:01We said we'd go hiking. I'll be at the estate in 20 minutes, okay?
02:04Hmm.
02:04You don't sound like yourself.
02:06Did Claire upset you again?
02:07If this is because of me, I can explain it to her.
02:10This has nothing to do with you.
02:11She always blows things out of proportion.
02:13See? He always clears Lily first.
02:16One soft little apology, and somehow everything becomes my fault.
02:19You've given her enough grace already.
02:20She should know better.
02:22Don't mention her.
02:27Maria.
02:27Sir?
02:28Where's my dark brown tracksuit? I'm going hiking with Lily.
02:30Sir, your clothes are put away by season. Which one do you mean?
02:33If I knew, would I be asking you?
02:34It's in the bottom drawer. Ethan never had patience.
02:36He never wasted time on anything or anyone he thought didn't matter.
02:40Including me.
02:41Mrs. Howard said you don't like anyone handling your personal clothes, so she's always taking care of them herself.
02:47Should I ask her?
02:47For some reason, what Maria said set him off.
02:50Don't mention her.
02:53She'd better stay gone for good.
02:55Of course.
02:56To Ethan, even my death was just another stunt.
02:58He thought I was doing this to make him come after me.
03:03They laughed the whole way.
03:05My death didn't seem to touch him at all.
03:08Halfway up, Lily faked a twisted ankle.
03:11Ethan never questioned it.
03:12He just carried her.
03:14Ethan, am I too heavy?
03:16Not at all.
03:17Of course not. I work out every day.
03:19A woman has to stay in shape.
03:21Otherwise, she's stuck in baggy loungewear all day, letting herself go.
03:25It's such a mess.
03:26She was talking about me.
03:28I used to work out.
03:29I used to take care of myself.
03:30Then I was handling Ethan's family business, going to events with him, taking care of his stomach.
03:34Little by little, there was no time left for me.
03:36But Ethan never noticed any of it.
03:38The second I came up, Ethan's face hardened.
03:40That's enough. Don't mention her.
03:42I'm sorry, Ethan. I just felt bad for you.
03:44Don't be mad, okay? Let's go eat.
03:46He gave in fast, but Lily was still his favorite.
03:51I thought you liked stronger flavors.
03:53Spicy steak, spicy seafood pasta, those used to be your favorites.
03:57Ethan used to handle spicy food.
03:58But when the Howard family was tearing itself apart, he worked around the clock and wrecked his stomach.
04:03After we got together, I made sure he ate every day.
04:06I always checked his stomach medicine.
04:08In the six months I was gone, no one reminded him to eat.
04:11No one packed his medicine.
04:12Of course it kept coming back.
04:17You don't like it? Why are you barely eating?
04:20My stomach's bad. I can't eat spicy food.
04:22I'm sorry, Ethan. That's my fault.
04:24I thought I knew you and I didn't even know about your stomach.
04:26Let me rub it for you.
04:27Don't eat.
04:28Before, whenever Lily looked upset, he'd give in.
04:30I thought this time would be the same.
04:31Ethan!
04:32But this time, he left Lily alone in the restaurant.
04:35Ethan went back to the estate and had Maria make him a rich soup.
04:38After one sip, he froze.
04:41It tastes just like Claire's.
04:45Mrs. Howard taught me.
04:46She said you don't like broccoli or onions, and your medicine should be where you can see it without it
04:51being in the way.
04:52Maria kept talking, but I couldn't listen anymore.
04:54Not because she was lying, because every word reminded me how stupid I was for everything I did for Ethan.
04:59Sir, please bring Mrs. Howard back.
05:01She's the one person in this world who loved you most.
05:03I thought Ethan would shut it down like always, but he said nothing.
05:07I watched him panic and felt like a joke.
05:10Sir?
05:11The one he chose got to be fearless.
05:13All those years I loved him, I was just humiliating myself.
05:16I could already see it.
05:17He'd comfort Lily, and maybe this time, they'd finally be together for real.
05:22But when the elevator stopped, I realized this wasn't Lily's place.
05:27This is my brother Ryan's house.
05:32What are you doing here?
05:33You're not welcome.
05:34I'm here to see Claire.
05:36You really want to see her?
05:37Fine.
05:38Go to hell, and then you can see her.
05:40If I were still alive, I'd be afraid Ryan was pushing Ethan too far.
05:43But now I'm just floating between them, watching this farce, and I can't do a thing.
05:47Ryan, you don't get to judge my marriage to Claire.
05:49Marriage?
05:50You left her home alone to celebrate Lily's birthday?
05:53Claire was sick and burning up, and you stayed with Lily while she got drunk.
05:57Claire swallowed every insult for you, and you called her jealous.
06:01That's your idea of a marriage?
06:02There was nothing between Lily and me.
06:04I heard that for seven years.
06:05His version of nothing just meant he didn't sleep with Lily.
06:07The time, the favoritism, the protection he gave her somehow never counted as betrayal.
06:10So if you didn't sleep with her, it's nothing?
06:12You gave Lily everything and made your own wife live like a widow!
06:16Ethan could silence all of N-City.
06:18Just not now.
06:25I was wrong.
06:27Ryan and I were both stunned.
06:29In all those years, Ethan had never admitted he was wrong.
06:32Even when I hurt myself, he just thought I was putting on a show.
06:35Let me see Claire.
06:36I need to talk to her.
06:39Fine.
06:40You want to see her?
06:41I'll take you.
06:46Don't get too close.
06:48What, you think I'd kidnap N-City's crime boss?
06:51You couldn't.
06:52You're right, I couldn't.
06:53If I had, I would have stopped Claire from marrying you seven years ago.
06:56The silence in the car was suffocating.
06:59Ryan finally broke the silence.
07:02When you had nothing, Claire stayed.
07:04Not Lily.
07:05So what did Claire get from you?
07:06And what did Lily get?
07:07I gave Claire a home.
07:09A home?
07:10You call it that when her husband was always with another woman?
07:13Enough.
07:14I owed Lily.
07:15After my crash, when I was dying, she risked her life to pull me out of that car.
07:23What did you say?
07:27Ryan wasn't the only one shocked.
07:29I was too.
07:31Since when did Lily ever risk her life for Ethan?
07:34Maybe the dead really do forget.
07:36My memories are already fading.
07:37I can barely remember how Ethan and I first met.
07:40That night, some thugs cornered me.
07:46He pulled me into his arms.
07:49Don't be afraid.
07:51Look at me.
07:53His chest was against mine.
07:55His heart beat steady.
07:56In his arms, my face burned.
07:59That was when I fell for him.
08:01Dangerous as he was, he was the only man who ever made me feel safe.
08:05Later, his family turned on itself, and someone tampered with Ethan's car.
08:11When I got there, he was trapped behind the wheel, unconscious.
08:19All I knew was I had to get him out.
08:24Even if it killed me.
08:31I thought Ethan knew I was the one who saved him.
08:33I was covered in injuries from that crash, but he never even asked.
08:38Ethan, you were blind.
08:41Completely blind.
08:42Ryan's car finally stopped at the private cemetery outside the city.
08:46My parents are buried here.
08:47After we got married, Ethan came with me once.
08:50That one time, Lily called, and he left.
08:52I sat by my parents' graves till dark, still telling myself he was just busy.
08:57Where's Claire?
08:58Why'd you bring me here?
08:59I stood beside the headstone and watched Ethan walk closer, step by step, until he saw the photo.
09:03I wasn't missing.
09:04I wasn't punishing him.
09:05It wasn't some game to force him to give in.
09:08He only saw the truth now.
09:09I was really dead.
09:12Ethan knelt at my grave, stripped of everything that made him look like the head of the Howard family.
09:17His fingers dug into the cold mud, like he wanted to rip up the death report.
09:20Or was too afraid to make it real.
09:23No.
09:24Claire can't be dead.
09:26She hated troubling people.
09:27She wouldn't leave like that.
09:29Not that suddenly.
09:31So you do remember that.
09:35Look at it.
09:36Six months ago.
09:37Pile up on a mountain road outside the city.
09:40Claire Bennett.
09:41Dead at the scene.
09:42Ryan Bennett claimed the body.
09:44Why didn't the police notify me?
09:45I'm her husband.
09:46Husband.
09:47Her last call was to you.
09:49You hung up.
09:50Then she called me, barely able to breathe.
09:53She said she was dying and told me not to bother you.
09:56Ryan thought I was still protecting Ethan at the end.
09:58I wasn't.
09:59I was just too tired to let him into the last page of my life.
10:03Her last call.
10:04You were busy running to Lily, remember?
10:07She said one word about not feeling well, and you forgot your own wedding anniversary.
10:10I didn't know it was our anniversary.
10:12She booked dinner.
10:13Bought you a gift.
10:14Even sent your favorite broken watch out to be fixed.
10:17Did you ever give her a chance to tell you?
10:20That watch.
10:21Now you remember?
10:23The first time you ever reached out to her was over that old watch Lily gave you.
10:26That's the joke.
10:28I spent my whole life trying to make him see me.
10:31In the end, Lily's watch was what brought him to my grave.
10:37It's all there.
10:39Go ahead and use every Howard connection you have.
10:41You'll get the same answer.
10:43Claire's dead.
10:44She's never coming back to make you soup, find your clothes, or refill your stomach medicine.
10:53Claire.
10:54He finally said my name.
10:56Too bad headstones don't answer.
10:57Neither do the dead.
10:59You wanted to see her?
11:00Now you have.
11:01There's more she left you.
11:03You gonna look?
11:09That's Claire's phone?
11:10Yeah.
11:11They found it at the crash site.
11:13Screen's cracked, but it still works.
11:15I had that phone for years.
11:17Ethan said it was too old, like the Howard family couldn't afford a new one.
11:21I never let it go.
11:22It held our best years.
11:24And everything ugly that came after.
11:26Passcode your birthday.
11:31I smiled like an idiot that day.
11:33I thought marrying him, then I finally had a home.
11:35Later, I learned some marriages are colder than being alone.
11:39She kept this all this time?
11:40She held on too long.
11:41Old phone.
11:42Old photos.
11:43Old marriage.
11:44Why didn't you give it to me?
11:46You think you deserved it?
11:52Drop the boss act.
11:54When Claire died, your cars, your bodyguards, your family power, none of it could save her.
12:01You thought she just revolved around you.
12:03Jealous of Lily.
12:05Throwing fits.
12:06So look.
12:07See what she actually did for you.
12:09I wanted to stop Ryan.
12:10Not because I was afraid Ethan would feel guilty.
12:13I just didn't want him digging through my love like it was part of my personal effects.
12:17But I was only a ghost.
12:19I couldn't even wipe a raindrop off the screen.
12:25When Ethan opened that note, the cemetery wind turned colder.
12:29The words on that screen were all the love I never dared say to his face.
12:32Keep reading.
12:33Back then, I thought if I was more careful, if I tried harder, one day he'd finally see me.
12:38What a joke.
12:39Men used to being worshipped had never looked down to notice the burned out candle on the offering table.
12:45$150,000?
12:46So you finally saw it?
12:48No.
12:49Lily gave me that money.
12:50She said she sold her car and apartment.
12:51She said it and you just believed her?
12:53Claire saved you with the money her parents died for.
12:56And you gave Lily all the credit.
12:59I'm checking the books.
13:01Yeah, you should.
13:02Check every last detail.
13:03Then remember this.
13:04Every second you're kneeling here, you owe Claire.
13:07There it is.
13:08The truth finally cracked open.
13:10But what came spilling out wasn't my pain.
13:12It was his long overdue punishment.
13:16The $150,000 was only the start.
13:19What drained me wasn't just money.
13:21It was Lily crossing the line again and again, then hiding behind being just a friend.
13:28She sent Claire photos?
13:31More than once.
13:34Claire backed these up.
13:36Every time you said there was nothing going on.
13:39Lily made sure Claire knew you'd drop everything and run to her.
13:43I asked Ethan.
13:44Every time, he said I was overthinking it.
13:47He said if there was really something between him and Lily, I wouldn't be Mrs. Howard.
13:52That's it?
13:53That's it?
13:54She walked out and died on the road.
13:58Claire, I'm sorry.
13:59I waited for those words when I was alive.
14:02By the end, I never wanted to hear them again.
14:05Don't put on a show at her grave.
14:06Go ask Lily where that $150,000 really came from.
14:12By the time Ethan left the cemetery, the rain had stopped.
14:16He didn't go back to the estate or to Lily.
14:19He went to the finance archives at Howard Holdings.
14:21That was where his worst years were buried, and where my stolen name was hidden.
14:27Sir, should we call the finance director?
14:29No.
14:29Pull every emergency deposit from the 2018 freeze.
14:33Back then, he'd just taken over the family, and half of them wanted him gone.
14:37The legitimate accounts were frozen.
14:39$150,000 couldn't save the whole Howard family.
14:43But it covered the cash gap that kept him alive long enough to turn things around.
14:47Sir, why are we pulling old records this late?
14:51Did something happen?
14:53This date in 2018.
14:54$150,000.
14:55I want the source.
14:56Now check Lily for any large outgoing transfers around the same time.
15:00Sir, there was no home sale under Lily Morgan then, and no major asset liquidation either.
15:04The proof was right there.
15:06He couldn't lie to himself anymore.
15:07The woman he called his savior ran when N-City got dangerous.
15:11The woman he treated like a burden handed him her parents' wrongfully death settlement.
15:15Freeze every Howard-funded account under Lily's name.
15:17Take back the apartment.
15:19Revoke her club access.
15:20Find her.
15:21Right now.
15:23Now.
15:25Perfect timing.
15:27She always knew exactly when to reel him in.
15:34Ethan, where are you?
15:35I think I have a fever.
15:37I'm really dizzy.
15:38I didn't want to bother you, but I'm scared.
15:41Whenever Lily used that voice, Ethan used to drop me on the spot.
15:45She never asked for anything outright.
15:47She just sounded helpless and waited for him to reach for her.
15:51Address.
15:52I'm at the apartment.
15:53I made you some soup.
15:55Your stomach acts up if you don't eat.
15:57Will you come?
15:59Wait there.
16:00You really came.
16:01I knew you wouldn't leave me like this.
16:08What's wrong?
16:09Did Ryan say something to you again?
16:12Is Claire still refusing to come back?
16:14You made this?
16:16Yeah.
16:17I know it's not very good, but I wanted to learn.
16:20Claire used to take care of you.
16:22Maybe that wasn't my place.
16:24But now that she's gone, I wanted to do something for you too.
16:29When she said my name, there wasn't a trace of grief in it.
16:33She still thought I was hiding somewhere, waiting for Ethan to come around.
16:41Did you even taste it?
16:43No.
16:43I wanted you to have the first bite.
16:46Taste it.
16:50I'm sorry.
16:51I mixed up the sugar and salt.
16:54I just wanted to take care of you.
16:56Claire's soup was always right.
16:58Perfect temperature, perfect seasoning.
17:00She tasted it first, even if it burned her.
17:05Why do you keep bringing her up?
17:09Because now I know whose name matters.
17:12What's this?
17:142018.
17:15$150,000.
17:16You said you sold your car and your apartment to get me through it.
17:19Why are you asking me that now?
17:21That was years ago.
17:22What day was it transferred?
17:24I don't remember the exact date.
17:26Things were a mess back then.
17:28I was just trying to help you.
17:29The amount was exact to the dollar.
17:32Ethan, are you interrogating me?
17:34Answer me.
17:35Lily always knew how to turn a question into self-pity.
17:38This time, Ethan didn't bite.
17:41I fought my family for you.
17:42I sold everything I could.
17:44And now you're doubting me because of Claire?
17:46Did Ryan put her up to this?
17:48Claire made the transfer.
17:49She used her parents' wrongful death settlement.
17:51Half of it was Ryan's.
17:53I didn't know.
17:54Maybe she helped some.
17:56But that doesn't mean I didn't help you.
17:57Finance checked.
17:58No house sale.
17:59No car sale.
18:00No large transfers.
18:02My family forced me to leave End City.
18:03I didn't mean to abandon you.
18:06I came back and stayed by your side.
18:08Doesn't that count for anything?
18:09You came back after it was over.
18:11I just loved you too much.
18:13I was scared that if you knew what Claire did,
18:15you'd never look at me again.
18:17I wasn't trying to hurt anyone.
18:19I wasn't trying to help her to stay with you.
18:20So sending Claire those pictures on her wedding night was love too?
18:25Answer me.
18:26Did you send those pictures?
18:29I was joking.
18:31I didn't think Claire would take it that hard.
18:32You were married.
18:33What was she scared of?
18:35Losing me.
18:38But you didn't lose her.
18:39She just died.
18:40That's not what I meant.
18:41I didn't know she was really dead.
18:43Now you do.
18:46Revoke Lily Morgan's access to the Howard Estate in the private club.
18:49Take back the apartment.
18:50Freeze the linked accounts.
18:51At 9 o'clock tomorrow, she admits the $150,000 lie in front of the board and the press.
18:56You can't do this to me.
18:57You gave me all of it.
18:59Then I'm taking it back.
19:00Over a dead woman?
19:02Shut up.
19:02Ethan never touched her.
19:04He barely raised his voice.
19:05But in that moment, Lily understood.
19:07Ethan had moved her from under his protection to the other side.
19:13Boss, don't hurt her.
19:14Watch her.
19:18Nobody come closer.
19:19Ethan, you forced this.
19:20If you ruin me, I'll tell the police you held me against my will.
19:23And I know all your family's dirty secrets.
19:25Put the knife down.
19:27You think I'm still the woman who just cries and begs?
19:29You gave me all this, and now you want it back?
19:32Dream on.
19:42You'll regret this.
19:43No one knows the Howard family better than I do.
19:49Let her go.
19:51She'll go to the police.
19:54Ethan was right.
19:55The next morning, Lily didn't show up to confess.
19:58She went to the N-City Police Department instead,
20:00with swollen eyes, scraped wrists, and evidence she'd already prepared.
20:04Miss Morgan, are you sure you want to submit this evidence?
20:07I am.
20:08Ethan Howard falsely imprisoned me.
20:10He threatened to make me confess to something that never happened.
20:13He also used his family's power to control my accounts in my apartment.
20:17This has internal records from Howard's security
20:19and audio of him ordering people to obstruct an investigation.
20:22I was too scared to come forward before.
20:24Of course she was scared.
20:26Not of the crimes.
20:26Of losing what they got her.
20:28Ethan took it all back, and suddenly she remembered justice.
20:32This can be fixed.
20:33Put the false imprisonment on someone else, and we can break the chain of evidence.
20:37If you don't appear in person, we still have room to work with this.
20:41No.
20:43You know what this means?
20:44You're the head of the Howard family.
20:46I know.
20:47You're really throwing yourself away for a dead woman?
20:51This isn't for her.
20:53I'm paying for what I did.
20:55Boss, one word, and I'll take the fall for all of it.
20:57You didn't give Lissy those orders, and you didn't drive Claire to her death.
21:01Stand down.
21:01It was the first time I'd seen Ethan refuse to dump the cost on someone else.
21:05Too bad he learned respect too late.
21:07Respect for the dead is a cruel joke.
21:09Boss, at least let us go with you.
21:13Do it by the book.
21:17Ethan Howard, you're under investigation for false imprisonment,
21:19obstruction of justice, and related crimes.
21:22Come with us.
21:32The Howard family trial wasn't the spectacle people expected.
21:35A lot of evidence got cut away.
21:37In the end, Ethan got three years for false imprisonment,
21:41obstruction of justice, and related crimes.
21:44Defendant Ethan Howard,
21:45you are sentenced to three years in prison, effective immediately.
21:49Lily thought she'd won.
21:50She sent Ethan to prison and kept her victim act intact.
21:54But lies always come back on the people who live by them.
21:59Claire's grave.
22:00Don't bother her.
22:02I just wanted to...
22:03What you want doesn't matter.
22:05When she died, you didn't answer.
22:08When she was buried, you didn't even know.
22:11And prison has nothing to do with her.
22:14Tell her I'm sorry.
22:16Dead people don't need your apology.
22:20Ryan was right.
22:22I didn't need it.
22:23Floating in that courthouse hallway,
22:25Ethan's apology felt far away.
22:27Light as ash that would never touch me.
22:30The second the iron door shut,
22:32I felt the cord around my soul snap.
22:34No pain.
22:35Just lightness.
22:36I was finally free of Ethan.
22:39I was free.
22:41Turns out the greatest mercy after death isn't revenge.
22:44It's finally leaving the person who hurts you.
22:48After I left Ethan,
22:49the first person I went to see was Ryan.
22:51Our parents died young.
22:52He was the only family I had left.
22:54What I couldn't let go of was him.
22:57Didn't sleep again?
22:58I dreamed about her.
23:00Claire?
23:01She was scared of the dark when she was little.
23:02Always made me leave a light on.
23:04When she married into the Howard estate,
23:06I thought she'd never be scared again.
23:07She'd want you to keep going.
23:08I know.
23:09But sometimes I still feel like I didn't protect her.
23:11I hovered by the window,
23:13wanting to tell Ryan he'd done enough.
23:14But the wind passed through the curtains,
23:16and my voice passed right through him.
23:19I was going to wait until I was in a better place.
23:21But after losing Claire,
23:22I learned you don't put off what matters.
23:25Ryan.
23:26I'm not asking you to take anyone's place.
23:28You're you.
23:29But if you want this,
23:31I want a home with you.
23:35For the first time in a long while,
23:37I felt at peace.
23:38Ryan hadn't forgotten me.
23:40But he wasn't trapped by me either.
23:43He'd have a real future.
23:45I could finally let go a little.
23:48And I could feel myself fading more than before.
23:51Maybe real letting go starts when the pain does.
23:55A few months later,
23:56Ryan had a small wedding.
23:58No grand estate.
23:59No cold Howard family spectacle.
24:01Just a lawn,
24:02white roses,
24:03laughter,
24:04and one empty chair.
24:06It was Ryan's favorite photo of me.
24:08Before Ethan.
24:09Before I learned to smile so carefully.
24:11Ryan said he wanted me at his wedding like that.
24:13Ryan Bennett,
24:14do you promise to protect her,
24:15respect her,
24:16and love her
24:16in good times and bad?
24:17I do.
24:18I do too.
24:25Claire,
24:26I got married.
24:27She's wonderful.
24:28You would have liked her.
24:30I'll remember her with you.
24:32You don't have to do that for me.
24:33We just need to keep moving forward.
24:35Together.
24:35That made me want to cry.
24:37But ghosts don't cry.
24:40So I just watched Ryan press the photo to his chest,
24:43then set it back beside the white roses.
24:46She's so little.
24:47Do you want to give her a middle name?
24:50Claire,
24:51is that okay?
24:53Of course.
24:54She'd never know her middle name came from someone who left too soon.
24:56But I knew.
24:57That was enough.
24:57Ryan had a new life to hold on to,
24:59and it was time for me to move on too.
25:00From that day on,
25:01I hardly thought about Ethan.
25:02And when I did,
25:03it felt like some old rainstorm.
25:04But I knew.
25:05That was enough.
25:06Ryan had a new life to hold on to,
25:08and it was time for me to move on too.
25:10From that day on,
25:12I hardly thought about Ethan.
25:13And when I did,
25:14it felt like some old rainstorm.
25:19Time is strange when you're a ghost.
25:21No calendar.
25:22No hunger.
25:23No sleep.
25:24Day and night passed through me.
25:26And I felt more and more like mist about to blow away.
25:30I started forgetting things.
25:32First,
25:33the pain of curling up on the bathroom floor with my stomach.
25:36Then the cold in my fingers when Lily sent those photos.
25:39Later,
25:40I couldn't even remember how many stairs were in the Howard Estate.
25:44Sometimes I'd try to remember my own name.
25:46Claire Bennett.
25:47It was carved on my headstone.
25:49Ethan called it over and over in the rain.
25:51Now it felt like words on fog,
25:53fading in the wind.
25:56Daddy,
25:57is this Aunt Claire?
25:58Yeah.
25:59She was Daddy's most important sister.
26:01Is she happy in heaven?
26:03She is.
26:04Because we're all living well.
26:06I stood behind them,
26:07watching Ryan,
26:08and the last of my worry finally let go.
26:10He didn't need me to worry about him anymore.
26:12I thought I'd just fade away like that.
26:14No pain,
26:16no hate,
26:17no goodbye.
26:18Then the day his three years were up,
26:20the prison gates opened,
26:21and someone I had almost forgotten
26:23walked out.
26:24I watched him standing in the sun,
26:26and for a moment,
26:27I couldn't even remember what he'd once been to me.
26:32Something faint pulled me back to him,
26:35but it wasn't the old bond anymore.
26:37More like an old wound catching the wind.
26:40I could leave,
26:41but I still saw him.
26:46That watch was Lily's gift.
26:48It was also why he called me the first time.
26:50Now he'd fixed it and brought it here.
26:54I don't know what he thought that proved.
26:56Claire,
26:58I'm out.
26:59I spent three years thinking about you.
27:01The soup you made.
27:03The drinks you took from me.
27:05The $150,000.
27:08And all I could see was this.
27:09I took real love for granted,
27:11and thought Lily's attention was the real thing.
27:14His voice was lower now.
27:15The edge was gone.
27:16But to me,
27:17it just sounded strange.
27:19Maybe that's what letting go does.
27:20Even the person you once loved most can mean nothing.
27:24I've looked at this record more times than I can count.
27:28Every time, it reminds me what I owe you.
27:30And I know I can never pay it back.
27:33Ryan said the dead don't need apologies.
27:34He was right,
27:35but I'm still saying it.
27:36I'm sorry.
27:38Not because I expect forgiveness.
27:39Because I finally know what I did was unforgivable.
27:41Three years ago,
27:42maybe I would have been angry.
27:43Maybe I would have wanted him to hurt more.
27:45But now I could barely even remember how to hate him.
27:48And Lily,
27:50she's still out there living just fine.
27:54Claire,
27:55I won't let her keep living off your blood.
27:58After he left the cemetery,
28:00Ethan didn't go home.
28:01He went to a private investigation for
28:03I'd never seen when I was alive.
28:05Three years in prison had taken the edge off him,
28:07but not the need to control everything.
28:09Lily Morgan moved twice in the last three years.
28:11In public,
28:12she keeps calling herself a victim of the Howard family.
28:13She's living off interviews,
28:15social media,
28:16and private club connections.
28:18She's still trading on my name.
28:19She's implied the two of you were seriously involved
28:21and that she knows Howard family secrets.
28:24A lot of people are willing to do her favors.
28:26That's Lily.
28:28She doesn't need to have it.
28:29She just needs people to think she did.
28:34Where's she headed tonight?
28:36A charity gala,
28:37private club in North End City.
28:39Give me the keys.
28:41Mr. Howard,
28:42you just got out.
28:42This isn't the time.
28:44Keys.
28:46Miss Morgan,
28:47how do you feel about the former head of the Howard family
28:48getting out today?
28:50I hope he's changed.
28:52I've tried my best to move past what he did to me.
28:54If I hadn't seen the venom in her
28:56when her lies fell apart,
28:57I might have believed she was just some poor woman
28:59crushed by power.
29:03Claire,
29:04I know you're not coming back,
29:05but somebody still has to pay.
29:07I heard him.
29:09I just didn't care to answer.
29:10The old grudges already felt sealed behind glass.
29:14But that night,
29:15the blood found me again.
29:20I was terrified back then.
29:22Ethan had all the power.
29:23All I could do was protect myself.
29:26You're brave.
29:29I just hope no other woman ever has to go through that.
29:31She played the victim beautifully.
29:33No one knew she'd driven another woman
29:35into sleepless nights.
29:37One suggestive photo at a time.
29:41If I still had it in me to hate him,
29:43maybe this would feel good.
29:45It doesn't.
29:47I'm just tired.
29:49Revenge won't bring me back.
29:51Miss Morgan,
29:52maybe we could get coffee sometime?
29:54I'd like that.
29:59I'm sorry.
30:00I know this isn't what you would have wanted.
30:02A chill ran through me.
30:05I wanted to leave,
30:06but the past held me there.
30:08All I could do was watch him pull out of the shadows.
30:13Who's there?
30:15I remembered then.
30:17I'd been swallowed by headlights just like that.
30:24Ethan!
30:29A soul shouldn't be able to smell blood.
30:34She was dead.
30:36This person who had stolen my years of gratitude with lies
30:39was finally...
30:48Claire.
30:51Claire.
30:52Is that you?
30:53You've been here all along, haven't you?
30:55I flinched back from his bloody hand.
30:57Not because I cared.
30:59Because I was afraid.
31:00I wouldn't let his regret drag me back there.
31:03Don't go.
31:04But all I wanted was to leave.
31:06Far away.
31:10I ran fast.
31:12So fast that N-City's lights blurred behind me
31:14and the wind tore Ethan's voice to pieces.
31:17I didn't know where I was going.
31:19I just knew I had to get away.
31:20From Ethan.
31:22From Lily.
31:23From that life.
31:24Maybe Ethan thought death could still catch me.
31:26He was wrong.
31:28Death doesn't buy forgiveness.
31:30And it doesn't make late love count.
31:34I started forgetting more.
31:35The long table at the estate.
31:37Lily's smile.
31:39Ethan bound over his papers.
31:41In the end, I could barely hold on to the name on my headstone.
31:45So this is what it means to really leave.
31:48You don't take anyone with you.
31:50The pain, the love, the bitterness, the regret.
31:53It all stays behind.
31:57It's a girl.
32:02She's here.
32:03Our little girl is here.
32:05She's beautiful.
32:06At that same moment, I heard a baby cry.
32:09It cut through the dark.
32:13Through the last of me.
32:14Then I forgot who I was.
32:18I was Ethan.
32:20I thought I was dead.
32:22The pain from the crash drained away.
32:24And I felt weightless.
32:27I rose from the wreck.
32:29And the first thing I saw wasn't Lily's body or the crowd.
32:32It was Claire leaving.
32:34Claire!
32:37I'd never seen her run from me that fast.
32:39When she was alive, she always waited.
32:42That night, she wouldn't even look at me.
32:44Claire, don't go.
32:45I know I was wrong.
32:46I know that now.
32:48I lunged after her and crashed into empty light.
32:51Nothing was there.
32:53No voice.
32:54No trace of her.
32:56Nothing.
32:58No.
32:59Don't do this.
33:00Come back.
33:02Curse me if you want.
33:03Just say something.
33:05Then I understood what that felt like.
33:07Watching.
33:07Unable to touch her.
33:08Unable to explain.
33:09That's how Claire spent those years after she died.
33:12While I kept choosing Lily.
33:14Then I heard crying.
33:15Small.
33:16Faint.
33:17But it hit me right in the soul.
33:22I knew it was her the second I saw her.
33:24Not from memory.
33:26From something in my soul.
33:28Claire was back.
33:29She just wasn't mine anymore.
33:33Claire.
33:37It's okay, little one.
33:38You're safe.
33:42My baby.
33:43She's gonna be so loved.
33:45So loved.
33:46Everything Claire never had in her last life.
33:48She had from her first day in this one.
33:53I'm scared I'll hurt her.
33:54You won't.
33:55You love her too much.
33:57I remembered Claire and Ryan had only each other after their parents died.
34:01She gave me her parents' wrongful death settlement and left herself nothing.
34:05And what did I give her?
34:06Cold rooms.
34:08Hung up calls.
34:09A life where Lily always came first.
34:12Welcome to the world, baby.
34:14I wanted to say, Claire, welcome back.
34:16But I had no right.
34:18The first blessing of this life should come from the people who love her, not the man who ruined her
34:22last one.
34:23From that day on, I was trapped beside her new life, just like Claire had been trapped beside mine.
34:27This time, the punishment was mine.
34:32I heard her parents call her by her new name.
34:34But to me, she was still Claire.
34:38Claire, who would never remember me.
34:41Sweetheart, do you want strawberries or blueberries?
34:43Both.
34:45Our little princess wants it all.
34:47She grew up loved.
34:49If she fell, someone picked her up.
34:51If she feared the dark, someone left the light on.
34:55Every birthday, her parents planned a month ahead.
34:58Every time I saw it, it cut a little deeper.
35:05Don't be scared.
35:06I won't come closer.
35:10My teacher said my painting got first place.
35:12I knew you were amazing.
35:15We're celebrating tonight.
35:16What do you want?
35:17Spaghetti and ice cream.
35:19Yeah.
35:20Claire almost never smiled like that in her last life.
35:23She was always watching other people's moods, taking care of other people's stomachs, remembering other people's preferences.
35:29In this life, she can ask for what she wants and be given it, no questions asked.
35:34I used to think making her Mrs. Howard was enough.
35:36I was wrong.
35:37She never wanted a title.
35:39She wanted to know she was loved.
35:41She couldn't see me.
35:43Good.
35:45But every time she looked right through me, I remembered Claire watching me choose Lily after she died.
35:50Turns out you don't need hell for punishment.
35:54When Claire was 12, she did the winter school play in that silver-white dress under the lights.
35:59She looked just like her in the old wedding photo.
36:03Are you cold?
36:05No.
36:06Did you see me up there?
36:07Of course.
36:08Dad didn't even blink.
36:10I saw her too.
36:11Better than anyone.
36:13But there was never a place for me in her world.
36:15I want to go to art school.
36:17I don't want to study business.
36:20Then go to art school.
36:22If you've thought it through, we're with you.
36:24You really don't think that's too risky?
36:27Sweetheart, your life is your own, not our project.
36:30Your life.
36:31That's simple.
36:32And I never said it to her.
36:34I dumped my rules, my family's danger, and Lily's hurt on Claire.
36:38Then blamed her for not understanding.
36:40If I treated you like that then, there's no if.
36:43Words said too late to the air only come back as punishment.
36:47It suddenly got a little cold.
36:49Maybe the window's not shut all the way.
36:51Her life kept moving.
36:53Mine stayed stuck in regret.
36:58At 18, Claire left home for art school.
37:01She stood outside her dorm with two suitcases,
37:04while her parents held on like they couldn't let go.
37:08I'll call every day.
37:10You don't have to.
37:11Go live your life.
37:13But if anyone messes with you, you call Dad first.
37:16She finally had a life of her own.
37:18No crime family.
37:20No husband's childhood friend crossing the line.
37:23No marriage she had to keep shrinking herself to survive.
37:28Noah.
37:29Later I learned he was the man she'd love in this life.
37:31You were up late revising that painting.
37:33Here, drink something hot.
37:35Thanks, Noah.
37:37I hated him on sight.
37:39Not because he'd done anything wrong.
37:41Because he had the chance I'd lost forever.
37:44The light in your painting is really gentle.
37:47Really?
37:48I always worry it's too quiet.
37:50Quiet can be powerful too.
37:52I wanted to tell him to stay away from her.
37:54Then I remembered Claire watching me run to Lily, over and over.
37:58She couldn't stop it.
38:00Neither can I.
38:02It's windy.
38:03Don't catch cold.
38:04That smile cut deep.
38:06For once, she didn't have to earn anyone's tenderness.
38:10Claire and Noah fell in love.
38:12Nothing messy.
38:14Nothing obsessive.
38:14Just something ordinary, healthy, and real.
38:19You're getting soaked.
38:21Then stay a little closer.
38:22The umbrella's big enough.
38:25That umbrella took me back.
38:27Claire once held one over me too.
38:29And I left her standing alone the second Lily called.
38:32Karma's fair.
38:34It makes you watch someone else get the tenderness you threw away.
38:38I'll pick you up for the gallery tomorrow.
38:40You don't have to walk me back every time.
38:42I want to.
38:47I thought I'd lose my mind.
38:49But I couldn't even close my eyes.
38:51Souls don't have eyed lights.
38:53And punishment doesn't let you look away.
39:00You're going to cut yourself.
39:02Then teach me.
39:10I finally knew what Claire went through.
39:13Watching the person you love give someone else all the patience, all the kisses, all the choosing.
39:19Back then, she was my wife.
39:21Now I'm nothing to her.
39:24I'm sorry.
39:25No one heard it.
39:27It was light as dust.
39:29It landed nowhere.
39:32At 26, Claire got married.
39:34In a little chapel by the water.
39:37Sunlight, soft wind, and her walking down the aisle to Noah.
39:42Ready?
39:43I am.
39:45In her last life, Claire and I barely had a wedding.
39:49It was just a family-approved registration.
39:52And on our wedding night, I left her alone and went to Lily.
39:55I promise to respect you, listen to you, and choose you.
39:59Not just today.
40:00Every day.
40:02I do.
40:07Be happy, Claire.
40:09I really did want her happy.
40:11But wanting that and living through it aren't the same.
40:13Watching her take another man's hand, I finally got it.
40:16I didn't lose her the day she left.
40:18I lost her every time I chose Lily.
40:21Mrs. Howard?
40:22No.
40:23My wife now.
40:25You called the wrong last name.
40:27Then I'll say it every day till the whole world knows you're the love of my life.
40:32She didn't remember the name Howard.
40:34To her, it was just some strange word she'd heard wrong.
40:36That's good.
40:37And brutal.
40:40Not long after the wedding, Claire got pregnant.
40:43Outside the exam room, Noah's hands were shaking.
40:46So hard, he almost dropped the report.
40:50How are you more nervous than me?
40:53We're having a baby.
40:55Yeah, we are.
40:57Baby, I'm dad.
40:58The baby can't hear you yet.
41:00Then I'll practice first.
41:04Claire was pregnant with my child once, too.
41:07I was too busy with family business and Lily's moods to even ask if she was scared.
41:12Later, her health and the pressure cost us that baby.
41:16I just stood there in silence.
41:18I'm sorry.
41:22Noah wasn't perfect.
41:23He was clumsy.
41:24He messed up.
41:26You're holding the instructions upside down.
41:29I was testing the difficulty level.
41:31But he asked if Claire was tired, remembered what she liked, and put every checkup on the calendar.
41:36It turns out love doesn't have to be grand.
41:38You just can't treat someone's care like it means nothing.
41:44Is she in a lot of pain?
41:46Can I go in?
41:47Sir, please calm down.
41:49I can't.
41:53I used to think a man crying was weakness.
41:56Now I know better.
41:58Being afraid for someone you love isn't weakness.
42:01It's love.
42:07No!
42:08Let me see her one more time!
42:13There was no time in the dark.
42:16I felt like I was sinking in an icy sea, with Claire's cries still echoing in my ears.
42:21Then I jolted awake.
42:24Ethan?
42:25You're awake?
42:26Doctor!
42:27He's awake!
42:33Claire, the baby.
42:35Mr. Howard, stay calm.
42:36You've been under a long time.
42:37Your body's still adjusting.
42:39How long?
42:4325 years.
42:47You drove into Lily Morgan.
42:49She died at the scene.
42:51You survived, but you've been in a coma ever since.
42:54We never thought you'd wake up.
42:5725 years.
42:58I wasn't dead.
43:00All those years watching Claire come back, grow up, fall in love, get married.
43:04That wasn't freedom.
43:05It was punishment.
43:07You can't move right now.
43:09What year is it?
43:11Is there a young woman here who just had a baby?
43:14Her name is Claire.
43:15No, not Claire.
43:16You need to rest.
43:20Ryan Bennett moved away from End City with his family years ago.
43:24Claire Bennett's grave is still cared for.
43:27As for that young woman, we don't know.
43:30I know she's here.
43:32Before the darkness took me, I was in this hospital.
43:35I heard a baby crying in the delivery room.
43:39She really was reborn.
43:41And without me, she really was happy.
43:45In the months after I woke up, time had hollowed me out.
43:49My muscles were gone.
43:51My hair was white.
43:52I needed an aide just to sit up.
43:55The Howard family had a new boss.
43:57And End City wasn't mine anymore.
43:59You did good today, Mr. Howard.
44:02Take me to the hallway.
44:04The doctor said you still need to rest.
44:06Take me out.
44:09I never thought I'd end up this old.
44:12I used to think power could hold off anything.
44:14It can't even hold off time.
44:18Third floor.
44:19East wing.
44:20You want to go there?
44:21Take me there.
44:27I didn't even know what I was hoping for.
44:29That she'd remember me?
44:30That one look would make her cry?
44:32Ridiculous.
44:33She had a new life.
44:35I was just a shadow from the old one.
44:42It was her.
44:43Not the same face, but the same eyes.
44:46The same softness.
44:49And she still wouldn't stop for me.
44:55You tired?
44:56Let me take her.
44:58You already carried her all the way here.
45:01Let me hold her a little longer.
45:03Then I'll hold your hand.
45:06I sat in a wheelchair, too weak to stand.
45:09Twenty-five years ago, I could make N-City's whole underworld step aside.
45:13Now all I could do was watch her walk past me, holding another man's hand.
45:17Baby, say bye to daddy.
45:20Why bye to daddy?
45:21I'm coming home, too.
45:23Then be good, and I'll give you extra dessert tonight.
45:26Yes, ma'am.
45:29Sir?
45:31For one second, I almost stopped breathing.
45:34I thought some part of her would remember me, but there was nothing in her eyes except
45:38a stranger.
45:42What is it?
45:43That old man keeps staring at me.
45:45It's kind of weird.
45:46Let's go.
45:48Claire?
45:50Sir, you've got the wrong person.
45:52The wrong person.
45:53Four words heavier than any sentence.
45:55She wasn't my Claire.
45:56She was loved.
45:57She was his wife, his child's mother.
45:59She was her own person.
46:05Next time, don't look at some strange old guy that long.
46:07I'll get jealous.
46:08You're jealous of an old man?
46:10If you're looking at someone else, yeah.
46:12Then you're in trouble.
46:13I only get jealous over you, and you're only allowed to get jealous over me.
46:19Their laughter took me back.
46:21Claire used to get jealous over Lily, too.
46:23I called her petty, dramatic, said Lily and I were innocent.
46:28Now I get it.
46:30Only someone who's loved gets to be jealous.
46:32When you're ignored, even your pain gets called a flaw.
46:38Mr. Howard, are you okay?
46:40I'm fine.
46:41I wasn't.
46:42But I finally understood this much.
46:43My pain had no right to disturb her anymore.
46:47Regret came too late.
46:48It didn't get to knock on her new life and ask her to turn back.
46:51After that, I never looked for her again.
46:53When the Howard family asked if I wanted that young woman investigated, I said no.
46:57She owed me nothing.
46:58I had no right to even know her name.
47:06Claire, may you never meet me again in this life.
47:09Maybe this was the last love I could give her.
47:12Not chasing, not begging, not apologizing.
47:15Just fading quietly out of her world.
47:18Some people don't know how deeply they were loved until it's gone.
47:22And by the time he understood, she'd already forgotten him completely.
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