Meanwhile, Betty was at Marietta's house, appraising the story Caroline had written. She had no idea of the dramatic events that had unfolded while she had been away. Although Betty was a professional, she couldn't help but become immersed in the story as a reader. She was desperate to read more after she had finished. "This is a fantastic story, but I keep sensing your style in her writing. Did you give Carrie writing lessons?" said Betty.She had already finished the story, but she couldn't bear to put the manuscript down. "I had the same thought when I first read the manuscript," said Marietta."You've read this before?" "Yup. Caroline wrote this some time ago. If my guess is correct, then she must have rewritten the story after losing her memory," said Marietta.Betty's eyes bulged as she said, "But it's exactly the same?""Yes. I think the story must be rooted deeply in her heart," said Marietta with a sigh.Betty sighed too. "She obviously has a real passion for writ
He had only been compromised this time because there hadn't been enough men protecting him. However, the enemy probably hadn't killed him because they knew his identity. Caroline's tears streamed down her cheeks as she said, "I'm sorry I dragged you into this mess."Kirk couldn't stop himself from wiping her tears away. He said gently, "How is this any of your fault?""You wouldn't have been hurt if they hadn't used you as bait to lure me out."The enemy had only wanted to lure her into the open. Mr. Y wouldn't have been hurt if it hadn't been for her.Kirk smiled and said, "How do you know for sure that you're the target instead of me? I was born and bred here. It's normal for me to have some enemies."Caroline shook her head and said, "You don't have to make me feel better. The enemy was targeting me, or he wouldn't have called me."Kirk's expression changed instantly, and he narrowed his eyes. "Someone called you?" he asked.Caroline nodded, and Kirk's expression softened.
Kirk said coldly, "It's not the right time yet.""How is it not the right time? Sir, are you worried about the forces behind him?" said Anthony anxiously. While SY Group had the Shadowers, Finn also had an organization called the Wolves. Finn was a person with no restrictions, so the Wolves consisted of all sorts of members. Even so, Anthony wasn't afraid. Since the moment he had sworn loyalty to Kirk, he had put his life in Kirk's hands. He wouldn't mind dying for Kirk. He said, "Sir, you don't have to worry about that at all. I would sacrifice my life and all the other Shadowers if that is what it takes.""It would be a meaningless sacrifice." Kirk's tone grew icier. "Besides, what will happen to Caroline if all of you come to protect me?"Kirk's last sentence made Anthony and Ethan exchange a glance. After a moment, Anthony couldn't fight the urge to say, "Sir, since it's not the right time to go against Finn, then should we allocate half the Shadower force back to your
Caroline had woken up when Anthony and Ethan had come in. She had heard parts of their conversation, but she wasn't sure of the details.After putting everything together, she was sure that Mr. Y had ordered his men to protect her. If it hadn't been for her, he wouldn't have been in danger the previous night. She had been the enemy's real target. Kirk thought Caroline's expression seemed normal, so he guessed that she hadn't overheard anything regarding his identity. He immediately felt relieved and said, "You must have misheard.""I did not," said Caroline, lowering her head. "I nearly got scared to death last night. I couldn't believe that I would be rescued so quickly, but I understand now. There were people protecting me from the shadows."Kirk sighed softly. Sometimes, he wished that she wasn't so smart."Tell them that they don't have to protect me," said Caroline as she looked up at him with a serious gaze. "I won't be able to forgive myself if something bad happens
Betty only found out about what had happened to Caroline when she got home. She wanted to visit Caroline at the hospital, but once she heard that Caroline was okay, she listened to Sean's advice and waited until the next morning.When she arrived at the hospital the next day, she saw Kirk watching over Caroline lovingly. She smiled and whispered to Gwen, "Sean's right. This is a great opportunity for Kirk and Carrie to spend time alone. We would have disturbed them if we had come last night."Gwen smiled, but she said nothing. "Why aren't you two going inside?" asked Sean.Sean had come back with some water, only to find his mother and his girlfriend peeping in through the window in the door. He had decided that he could refer to Gwen as his girlfriend for now since she didn't seem to have any objections to the title. His loud voice made Kirk and Caroline realize that they had visitors. They quickly looked away from each other, and Caroline blushed. On the other hand, Kirk
Earlier, Sean had seen the words "International Short Story Association" on the flyer. The organizer wasn't a profit-seeking group, but professionals who were searching for short story writers. Their aim was to bring short stories back to the public eye. It was true that they made use of Mareitta's fame to hold the contest, but the organizers weren't nobodies. Perhaps Betty didn't want Caroline to feel pressured. Caroline said, "Then … I guess I'll take part in the contest?" She looked at Kirk while she spoke and only broke into a smile when he nodded slightly. "The deadline is the 15th of next month. I still have more than 20 days left. I'm sure I'll be able to finish writing a good story by then," said Caroline. Everyone smiled when they saw the sparkle in Caroline's eyes. Gwen, who had known Caroline the longest, was especially happy to see her looking so driven and empowered again.…Only when sunlight shone on Marietta's face did she realize that she had been sitting
Yvonne gazed at Marietta aggrievedly and said, "Mom, what's the matter? You look as if you've seen a ghost. Did something happen?"Then, she suddenly remembered all the things she had done behind Marietta's back, and her heartbeat quickened. Marietta waved a hand and said, "I'm fine. I'm just tired because I stayed up all night." Yvonne didn't seem bothered and said, "I'll let you get some rest."As she watched Yvonne leave, Marietta's suspicions arose again. She couldn't help but think that if Caroline were here instead, she wouldn't have left Marietta so coldly after knowing that she had stayed up all night. Caroline would have gotten her a glass of warm water and asked her if anything was wrong. The email Marietta had received last night had disrupted her reality mercilessly.It made her notice things that she hadn't noticed before. For example, Yvonne had never taken the initiative to get closer to her, although it had been so long since she had taken Yvonne under her
"It's not that she's untouchable, but the person behind her is formidable," Avery answered while gripping the armrest tightly. "As long as we separate her from that person, she'll be nothing more than a moldable lump of clay at the mercy of others.""Who's the person behind her then?" Yvonne asked nervously.After all, this individual had repeatedly saved Caroline from a deadly fate. Yvonne knew they must be influential. She couldn't help but wonder if it was the Yates family.However, Caroline was only linked with the Yates family because Sean was pursuing Gwen, who was Caroline's best friend."You don't need to know that," Avery replied, her tone firm and stern. She added, "Do you know that Caroline is planning to participate in a short story competition? And are you aware that Marietta is one of the judges?"Yvonne had never cared about what Marietta was doing. So, of course, she had no idea about the short story competition. "I want you to join the competition."Yvonne
Soon, Kirk and Caroline met up with Thomas. When he saw the two of them, his eyes turned bloodshot from the rage boiling within him. "You won!" He spat with so much force that it seemed like he had used up all his strength for it. "Things didn't have to come to this," Kirk said calmly as he sat down beside Thomas. Thomas snorted derisively. "Oh really? If you hadn't chosen to marry Caroline at such short notice, do you think Eddy would have died? You two were the cause of the tragedy!" Caroline didn't feel like talking anymore after seeing how foolishly adamant Thomas was. She gave Kirk a look, and he hummed in acknowledgment. When he turned to face Thomas again, his eyes were frosty "I'm here to tell you something," he said.Thomas let out a bark of scornful laughter. "Why? What else do you have to tell me, huh? Are you going to tell me that you have a child now?" "It's not about me and Caroline's child. It's about yours," Kirk stated plainly as he stared at Thomas
"Yes, it's true! Why would I lie to you about something so important?" Betty said. "This is wonderful! Marietta's wish has finally come true." Caroline turned to look at Marietta, who had just stopped by the door. Marietta was so shocked by the results that she was too stunned to speak. All she did was stare at Caroline in silence. Caroline opened her lips to speak, but no words came out of her mouth. She and Marietta stood facing each other, tears streaming down their cheeks. The next second, the two of them rushed toward each other and hugged each other as tightly as they could. The words that were at the tip of their tongues turned into tears at this significant moment. The others felt touched as they witnessed the mother-daughter duo's reunion. After some time, Betty broke the silence. "What are you waiting for? Hurry up and call her 'Mom'!"Caroline had once used that word to address Marietta, but she hadn't known that Marietta was her biological mother back then.
Blushing, Caroline nodded. However, Kirk couldn't lift his head due to his injuries. So, Caroline took the initiative to bend over so that she was closer to him. Their lips touched. Yet before Caroline could get that warm, fuzzy feeling she always had when they kissed, she heard Gwen's voice. "Oh? Did we come at the wrong time?" Gwen grinned.It gave Caroline such a shock that she almost fell to the ground. Cheryl reacted quickly and gave Caroline an arm to hold on to for support. Steadying herself, Caroline stared daggers at Gwen, who giggled and placed the supplements she had brought on a table. Sean and Kirk started discussing what had happened that day, while Caroline led Gwen and Cheryl out of the ward. "Are you two back together?" Gwen asked. There was a sparkle in her eyes, which said enough about how eager she was to gossip. When Caroline nodded, Gwen patted her back gleefully and said, "Great! We all know how much Kirk loves you, even though he kept his ident
As Caroline mentally prepared to face death, there was a sudden, loud commotion. The noise was followed by gusts of wind that were so strong that no one could pry their eyes open to see what was going on. Still, Caroline could make out the silhouette of a helicopter above her. She had no idea what had happened next, though. …When she woke up, she was already lying on a bed in a ward. Beside her were Betty and Marietta, their eyes red and puffy from crying. When they noticed that Caroline was awake, the two of them shot up from their chairs."Carrie? You're finally awake!" Still groggy, Caroline forced herself to hum in response. After getting up, she grabbed Betty's hand and said, "Where's Kirk?" "He's fine," said Betty while wiping the tears off her cheeks. "He's in another ward, but he hasn't woken up yet." "Can I see him?" Caroline asked, tearing up. Betty nodded and asked Sean to push Caroline's wheelchair to the ward next door. Caroline couldn't hold back her
Kirk and Caroline hadn't even caught their breaths yet when they sensed a more intense attack coming their way. It didn't seem like these people were human. They seemed like monsters, bringing destruction wherever they went. Caroline watched the situation outside in concern. "Why hasn't Nightshade come back yet? Did he lie to us?" she asked. Kirk gritted his teeth and replied, "No, he wouldn't. They're all people from the dark web, and they're all honorable. Since he promised to bring the top two assassins, he'll definitely come back."As he spoke, he pushed her into a car. "But before that, you have to leave first," he insisted.Caroline noticed that his words were only directed at her. She grabbed his hand tightly. "What do you mean by that?"What did he mean she had to leave first?He replied, "Finn has sent over all his trump cards. If you don't leave, I have no doubt that he'll come here too. So, you need to leave now!" Caroline grabbed his hand. "We haven't gone to Ci
When she saw his reaction, Caroline couldn't help but smile. "What I mean is, let's head to City Hall to re-register our marriage certificate. The information we used to register our marriage before was all fake. "Can we update it with the real information now?"Kirk brightened up. "No problem."She looked at him and smiled again. However, it disappeared as quickly as it appeared. "Oh, I forgot about Thomas. Do you think he'll send someone to ambush us when we go to City Hall?"Kirk fell silent. He didn't want to change the plans, but he still said, "Then, let's wait for Nightshade to find the assassins—"Before he could finish his sentence, gunshots rang out from downstairs. His face dropped, and he rushed to the window, where he saw two groups of people engaged in a gunfight. One of the groups was Thomas' men."What's going on?" Caroline asked as she got up from bed."Thomas must have found out that Nightshade left, so he took the chance to ambush us."Kirk led her to a
"If you make up with Kirk, I'll help you find them both."Caroline and Kirk were stunned to hear Nightshade's condition. Kirk had never expected Nightshade to say such a thing. Caroline was also in disbelief. She felt somewhat reluctant to agree to it."You don't agree?" Nightshade asked when Caroline remained silent. "Alright then, if you disagree, I won't look for them. Besides, Thomas is already planning to go all out against you. "When the time comes, I can escape. But what about you two?"Caroline looked at Kirk. "Thomas plans to go all out against us? You're not lying to me?"Kirk met her eyes and gulped. "No."She pondered for a moment, then looked at Nightshade again. "Do you really have a way to help us find the two assassins?""Of course.""Okay." Caroline lowered her head. "As long as you can help us find those two assassins, I'll agree to your condition."On the other side of the room, Betty and Marietta exclaimed excitedly when they heard her words. "Carrie, do
When Betty noticed how confused everyone looked, she said, "Oh, dear. Did you all forget?"Back then, when Marietta did the DNA test with that girl from the Hackett family—no, the fake Ms. Hackett—Caroline was the one who went to the restaurant with her."She continued, "Didn't we look through the footage from that day? Then, we called in the people who were at the restaurant that day to do another DNA test."Although they had unfortunately been unable to find Marietta's daughter, Betty still considered it a great effort. "We had thought that we had tested everyone. But there was someone who we didn't test!" Betty's eyes lit up as she looked at Caroline. Marietta immediately understood what she meant. She looked at Caroline with excitement, but she didn't dare to get her hopes up. "Caroline…"Caroline also looked at Marietta excitedly. "I… Aunt Mary… this… Is it possible?"Betty replied, "Why wouldn't it be possible? We tested so many people back then, and you were the only
Sarah was about to tell Caroline, but Dan stopped her."Don't tell her. Let her live in pain without ever knowing who her real parents are. Besides, do you really think she will get us the best lawyer?"Caroline wasn't upset that they hadn't taken the bait. Instead, a small smile appeared on her face. "You still have some sanity left."Upon realizing her trick, Sarah shouted angrily, "You liar!"However, she was taken away before she could shout more. Caroline watched as Sarah and Dan disappeared in the police cars. The feigned strength on her face finally disappeared. She might never find her parents in this life. But she didn't regret it. She tilted her head and glanced at Kirk, Cheryl, and Jack beside her. She had no regrets anymore.Even though she couldn't get her parents back, she was content that she had so many friends."Let's head back." Caroline's voice was weary. She needed a good rest, but there was still a tough battle waiting for her. The news about Caroline n