Sarah pondered Melvin's words. What did he mean by "second time"? Was the first time marrying James?But she remembered her cousin hadn't strongly objected to that marriage initially. He only tried getting to know James after seeing her determination.So who was he really talking about?Melvin had taken the wine bottle, leaving just a little in her glass. She lifted it and downed it like he had.Back in her room, slightly tipsy, she checked her phone. Opening her chat with Zachary, she saw how brief their conversations had become over just three days - a few lines, with today's messages still unanswered."Are you there?""At work.""Miss me?"Every message spoke of longing, but met silence. She wondered if she'd somehow offended him.Sarah felt like she was reliving the past. These unanswered messages reminded her of her marriage - was history repeating itself?She'd only seen Zachary on the news these past days.Watching him looking tired on the financial news channel, she un
She was certain they were being followed.Her palms were sweaty with nerves. Mia finally noticed something was wrong. "Sarah, what is it?""Nothing," Sarah said softly. She couldn't let Mia be in danger - Zachary had entrusted Mia to her care.As they walked, she tried calling Zachary repeatedly, but only got busy signals. What was he doing?At the airport arrival hall, Zachary frowned as he declined the call. He wanted to answer, but he'd spotted her coming out.She wheeled her suitcase, fully disguised in sunglasses and mask. When she was about ten yards away, she took a call. After listening briefly, she smiled with satisfaction. "Continue."She hung up casually, handed her luggage to Zachary, and removed her sunglasses, revealing expressive eyes."Zachary, I knew you'd come for me." She moved to embrace him, but he stepped back.Pretending not to notice, she straightened up. "Still so cold? Aren't you happy to see me?"Zachary finally softened slightly. "It's not that. I'm
"Of course, and your grandfather misses you even more," Mr. Reynolds nodded toward Mr. Wilson.Vivian glanced at both elderly men, smiling. "I'm not leaving again. I've been gone too long - I miss everyone. Did you miss me, Zachary?"Zachary nodded absently, his mind on the missed calls.Vivian beamed. "Uncle William, I'll visit often. Don't get tired of me!""Never!" Mr. Reynolds laughed.At Adam University's gate, Melvin's face darkened. Half an hour after dismissal, Sarah wasn't answering his calls.He thought she was just trying to annoy him.But after waiting longer, something felt wrong. Even if she wanted to irritate him, this wasn't her style.He questioned the security guard, who called the counseling office - no answer. Growing worried, Melvin rushed to her office. It was empty, her things gone, including her bag.She'd clearly left after work. Then it hit him - had she snuck off to see Zachary? He clenched his fists. Why now, of all times? Vivian had just returned.
Mrs. Garnett looked at James with displeasure. "Is something wrong?"He'd been distracted since that call - must be something serious.Charlotte watched him too. He'd mentioned Sarah's name, which now triggered an instant reaction in her."Sarah's missing," James said.Remembering Melvin's words, he instinctively looked at Charlotte. "Do you know where she is?""James! What are you implying? How would I know where she is?" Charlotte's face hardened.James smiled apologetically. "After what Lucy did, I'm worried she might try something similar."Charlotte glared at him, but catching her mother's eye, she calmed herself. "James, I'm upset because you immediately suspected me. You know me better than that. I've been with you all day, never left your side. Besides, everyone knows the Sanders family disapproves of Zachary. Maybe Sarah just went to see him."Despite her explanation, James felt something wasn't right. If Sarah were with Zachary, Melvin wouldn't have called him. He dec
James stormed out of the Garnetts' mansion, Charlotte's voice fading behind him. “James, wait!"Behind the wheel of his Mercedes, he gripped the steering wheel until his knuckles turned white. The more he tried to push thoughts of Sarah away, the more they consumed him. Something wasn't right - he could feel it in his gut.He tried Melvin again. Still busy. Sarah's phone went straight to voicemail for the tenth time.What if Charlotte was wrong? Sure, Sarah might have gone to see Zachary. But this silence, this complete disappearance - it felt deliberate. Planned.In darkness, Sarah couldn't tell where they were being held. Her wrists were bound tight, a gag in her mouth, every muscle screaming in pain.Through the walls, she heard men's voices. "Boss, this woman's too pretty. The guys are getting restless.""Cut it out! We're here for the money, nothing else. The pay's good - anyone who can't follow orders can leave now."Who were these people?Who ordered the kidnapping?Who w
The men burst out laughing. "Funny. Let her go crazy - as long as she doesn't die, who cares?"Sarah froze. Of course - these weren't normal people. They were criminals.She changed tactics. "Listen. She's Zachary Reynolds' sister, and I'm from the Sanders family. If it's money you want, we can pay more than whoever hired you - several times more. If it's not about money, you should still let us go. Whatever your boss can do, Zachary can do better. And what your boss can't do? Zachary might try anyway."She was trying to turn them, but it wasn't working.They stuck to their plan. She scanned the room, looking for escape routes."You think we're common thugs who'll switch sides for more cash?" the leader sneered. "The underworld has rules. If we let targets buy us off, who'd trust us with future jobs?"Sarah changed approach. "If bribes won't work, what about threats? Aren't you afraid?"Her eyes flashed like a hawk's. "Afraid of what?" they challenged."Her brother and mine are
"Got a death wish?" "Mouthy bitch, threatening us! If the boss hadn't ordered us to behave, you wouldn't be standing here talking. We'd show you what's what!"They laughed, their eyes full of malice.Sarah hugged herself, trying to hide her fear.She worried her words might provoke them further, but now she was certain - whoever was behind this maintained tight control.Not Lucy or Charlotte then. They'd just want to destroy her.But who else?At Sanders Corp, Melvin had called in every favor trying to find Sarah, with no success.Knowing Vivian was back, he had his suspicions.Zachary's phone was off. Furious, Melvin slammed his desk. He'd already contacted Traffic Control to review city cameras, focusing on suspicious vehicles around the university."Anything yet?" he demanded anxiously.His team scrutinized every frame until..."Sir, we found something!"Melvin straightened. His secretary pointed to a van. "This one's suspicious. It waited in the alley all morning, hidd
Sarah watched Mia anxiously. If she couldn't control her, these thugs might do anything.She grabbed Mia's hands despite the scratches covering her arms and hands. She couldn't back down now. She held on tight.Though using all her strength, Sarah was no match for Mia's size, especially now that panic had multiplied her strength."Listen to me! Mia, I'm here. Can you see me? I'm with you. Don't be scared, okay?" Sarah struggled to keep hold.She whispered this in Mia's ear several times. Finally, on the third try, Mia's screams stopped. She began to calm down."Sarah?" she whispered timidly.Sarah nodded firmly. "I'm here. You're safe with me."Tears rolled down Mia's cheeks. She looked at Sarah with terror and whispered, "Sarah, they'll kill you. They're going to kill you.""They're devils..." Mia's voice faded as she covered her mouth, biting her knuckles.The men watched Mia with dangerous, unsettling expressions.Sarah slowly guided Mia to the corner, shielding her from t
At the front desk, Sarah watched seven or eight people standing in line, all holding identical discount vouchers. This was likely a company team-building activity.She listened to their chatty discussions, which included some crude language as they made no effort to hide their rough backgrounds."This place is so luxurious! The company really splurged to send us somewhere this fancy. I've never stayed in such a nice hotel in my life.""Me neither, but let's not forget why we're actually here and pretend we're just on vacation!""Oh, come on, who's going to forget?"Sarah's ears perked up. These people's conversation seemed suspicious, almost as if they wanted others to notice them.After about fifteen minutes, when everyone ahead had finally checked in, Sarah presented her VIP custom invitation and completed her member registration. She lay on the spacious bed in a room with floor-to-ceiling windows that offered views of the beach and ocean.It was noon, and sunlight spilled onto
"Mr. Sanders, I believe I was very clear in my email. With the current uncertain situation, cooperating with me is the most rational choice," Zachary said seriously.Melvin burst out laughing. "I might have believed you if you'd said this a few years ago, but times have changed. Zachary, do you remember what you promised me before? Have you kept any of those promises? Neither three years ago nor now have you delivered."When Melvin mentioned three years ago, Zachary's eyes filled with gravity and shame. No one understood better than they did what had happened—that horrific scene was too painful to even think about.He moved his lips. "People can't always live in the past."Even he couldn't believe his own words.Melvin said with self-mockery, "Listen to yourself. How absurd that sounds. People indeed can't live in the past forever, but Sarah has been trapped in that darkness for three years. Do you dare to face it? To uncover it?"After being wounded, a bleeding injury slowly form
Vivian exhaled deeply and said anxiously, "Grandfather, what happened last time upset Zachary, and he won't see me now. But I'll handle it properly."Old Mr. Wilson gave Vivian a meaningful look. "Good. I certainly trust your abilities."After seeing Old Mr. Wilson into his car, Vivian returned to her office and made a mysterious phone call, giving some instructions.After hanging up, her face broke into a satisfied smile, as if she was already enjoying the sweet taste of victory.At the Sanders Group."Smack." Sarah hit Melvin hard on the head.Melvin winced in pain. "Are you doing this on purpose? Taking personal revenge? I haven't even bothered you lately."Sarah shrugged, looking innocent. "Didn't you say your right eyelid keeps twitching? The left means money coming, the right means trouble. I'm just using an old folk remedy to ward off the bad luck."Melvin couldn't help rolling his eyes. "I don't know if the bad luck is gone, but I almost got a concussion from your 'remed
"Don't any of you have something to say?" Old Mr. Wilson sat in the chairman's exclusive seat, leaning back with an expressionless face as he surveyed the room.Some shareholders had come just out of respect for Old Mr. Wilson. They exchanged glances for a moment before Mr. Jefferson finally broke the silence, "What if we lower our prices or add more package deals?"As soon as he finished speaking, several members of the company's management team eagerly agreed. "Mr. Jefferson makes a good point."Old Mr. Wilson twirled the dragon-headed cane in his right hand, his expression revealing neither approval nor disapproval.Vivian, who had remained silent since the start of the meeting, finally spoke up, "I don't think that's appropriate."She looked at everyone present, her tone serious, "First, the Sanders Group's revenue has already exceeded the projected line by over a billion. If we lower our prices, even if we attract more customers, the overall result will be the same."By this
Vivian never expected that despite her orders to keep the detained shipment a secret, the board of directors would somehow catch wind of it.As soon as the meeting began, the middle-aged man sitting in the first seat on the right frowned and questioned her, "Ms. Wilson, are you hiding something from us?"Mr. Jefferson had the largest shareholding in the Wilson Group after Vivian and her grandfather. Compared to others, his words carried more authority.Naturally, Vivian had to show him some respect, given that she was the younger generation."Mr. Jefferson, by seniority, I should call you Uncle. You've watched me grow up. Do you think I would hide anything from you?" Vivian decided to play dumb first. She was certain these people had only heard rumors and hadn't yet gathered evidence.This was indeed the case. Mr. Jefferson narrowed his eyes, his expression unchanged, speaking in a tone that was half-joking, half-threatening, "Ms. Wilson, please don't say that. When it comes to bus
Charlotte ignored her, still peering behind the caretaker.The caretaker patted her chest and smiled as she approached. "Are you looking for Mr. Chancer? He went back to work. He asked me to take care of you. I thought you might wake up soon, so I went out to buy some nutritious soup for you.""You're saying he left? He left before I even woke up?" Charlotte struggled to open her dry lips, her voice raspier than ever before.Hearing this, the caretaker quickly set down the thermos and handed her the cup of tea from the table. "Please drink some water to soothe your throat, but don't drink too much. You've just given birth, so try to stay in bed and rest as much as possible."Charlotte found the water being offered to her ironically bitter.She had endured excruciating pain to give birth to James's child, yet he couldn't even spare a simple "thank you" for her efforts. Was this the marriage she had schemed so hard to get?Did she regret it? If someone asked, she might answer yes, b
"Answer me. Do you most hope it's heads or tails?" Sarah's voice carried an undeniable authority.The woman finally spoke. "Tails."Before Sarah's hand moved, the woman hurriedly corrected herself, "No, no, no—heads."Her indecisiveness reminded Sarah of her former self. Choosing between reason and emotion was often the hardest decision. It had once taken her several days to make up her mind.Sarah opened her palm. The woman's eyes widened, staring as if trying to burn a hole through Sarah's hand. But quickly, she discovered that Sarah's palm was completely empty. There was no coin at all.No heads or tails—there wasn't even a coin to begin with.Seeing the woman's confused expression, Sarah smiled and said, "In the moment I opened my hand, your heart already had the answer. I can't tell you how to solve your problem, nor can I make the decision for you. But you should know that you only have one life, while love can be found more than once. The fact that you're troubled by this s
This single subtle gesture revealed her inner feelings. Without needing to look further, Sarah immediately understood. Through the monitor, she could see that the photograph was a selfie of a man.Beyond heartbreak, she couldn't think of any other explanation.The emotion release room had been open for nearly a week. During this time, she had observed many clients. Those who came to release their emotions fell into several categories: heartbreak, work conflicts, friendship issues, personal disputes, or being stuck at a crossroads in life, unable to make the right choice.They came here to vent their emotions, and often only after destroying everything could they finally see what they truly wanted in their hearts.This was Sarah's original purpose in creating the emotion release room. But more importantly, this wasn't just a simple place to vent emotions—it offered clients more valuable services, such as guidance from top psychological counselors to help them quickly resolve their tr
"Enough. I've heard too many words like these. It's all for my own good, it's all to protect me—using these noble-sounding excuses to make me believe him, to understand him. Well then, why don't you who want me to believe him try to convince him to believe in me? Are you all underestimating me, or overestimating Vivian? I don't want to hear this kind of talk anymore. Everything he suffered today was his own choice."In this moment, Sarah's coldness fully erupted. She was no longer indifferent or dismissive, because she simply couldn't ignore the pain in her heart.Mia hadn't expected Sarah to say such things today. She held Sarah's hand sympathetically. "Sarah, I'm sorry. It's because I wasn't thinking. I shouldn't have said those things that upset you."When emotions reach their breaking point, they tend to explode, but often calm down shortly after the outburst.Sarah had regained her composure. She shook her head with a bitter smile. "This isn't your fault. Since the doctor is he