Ethan smiled in resignation. "My dear boy, you should call me Dad."Zack's eyes widened in surprise. "Can I really? What if Mom finds out…""Don't worry. Your mother asked me to pick you up. She's preparing a feast for us on the island."Alicia tugged at his sleeve. "Dad.""Good girl."Tears welled up in Ethan's eyes. Complicated emotions bubbled up within him as he looked at his children, who didn't grow up by his side.He crouched down and picked Willow up. This was the daughter he felt most pained for. "We'll be together as a family from now on. We'll never be apart anymore.""That's great!" Zack exclaimed as he skipped around. He was very cheerful and lively. He even introduced his school to Ethan like a little chatterbox.Ethan listened to him patiently and would provide him with feedback occasionally. "Dad, I heard you were good with guns. When will you show me?""I'll take you to the shooting range when we're back in Aldenvine. I'll teach you whatever you wanna
Ethan put Willow down. "Is she not in the kitchen?"Olivia had been preparing for the feast since the night before. The children had differing taste buds. It would take some time to prepare different dishes."She's not there."Alicia came from upstairs. "She isn't up there either."Willow peered through the window to look at the yard. Olivia wasn't there, either. She gestured with her hands. Ethan thought it was weird. He went to check the kitchen. The oven's timer was up. It was beeping repeatedly. He opened the oven to take the cake out. There was still an unbaked cake and some fruit and cream on the side. Olivia needed the whole day to finish cooking. It was obvious that she stopped halfway. This was the family's reunion. She wouldn't just give up for no reason. He took his phone out to give Olivia a call. Her phone rang, but it was on the kitchen table. Her phone was in the house, but she was gone. Willow picked up a potato by the door. It was only half peeled.
Louis was one of the people who helped to cure Olivia. Back when she cut all ties and ran off, she was on the brink of death. It was then that Colin brought her to Louis. Louis was one of the best doctors in the world. He wasn't just a medical researcher. He was a medical genius who pushed boundaries. He was a Mad Doctor. The only thing he cared about was the results, not the process.The reason Louis helped Olivia wasn't because of how sad her life was. It was because she was his test subject.There was only one way Colin could have cured her, which was by giving her an abortion before the treatment. Louis was different. He was interested from the start. A treatment that didn't affect the baby in the womb. Olivia was the first subject ever to have such conditions. Louis agreed to offer treatment right away. It was rare to get such a good test subject.It was his suggestion to turn Olivia into an herb-imbued person. The treatment also altered the baby in her womb.It
Compared to her reunion with Louis, Olivia was more curious about how he found her.She used an alias when they met. He only cared about his research and didn't care about it even though he knew she was using a fake identity. If he wanted to, he would've found her long ago. He wouldn't have taken so long to find her.There could only be one reason. She had just revealed her true identity not long ago, and he came knocking on her door.Her original plan was to attract the person who tried to kill her years before to come out of hiding again. That way, she could get closer to finding out who the mastermind was.She didn't expect Louis to show up at her door before the assassins. Someone had exposed her true identity to Louis. That would mean the person who wanted her dead would be related to the Poison Hive!Olivia joined the Poison Hive because she wanted to find this person. But Louis scared her into hiding in the village. She had no choice but to drop that plan.Louis se
In Olivia's eyes, Louis was just a purely insane researcher. He didn't care for much else. That was why she was very straightforward with her questions. "Who? No one told me.""Then how did you find me?""Someone sent me an anonymous email. They told me that you were Elise, so I came over."Olivia clenched her fists. It was as she thought! She knew the mastermind plotting her death wouldn't let her go so easily. She didn't expect the person to get Louis involved. That would mean that the person knew about Louis' plan, and she was Louis' test subject. The person wanted to kill her with Louis' hand.Olivia had seen too many of Louis' articles and notes about his transformation experiments. If the chances of surviving the process of becoming an herb-imbued person were one in ten thousand, the cyborg treatment would be countless times more risky.No one would risk their life on a procedure without any prior success. Besides, Olivia wasn't interested in such a crazy idea.In
This vision had been in Louis' head for decades. Olivia didn't think she would be able to change his mind so easily. The truth was that everyone had their own dreams and their ways of life. She wasn't a judge. So, she didn't have the right to decide if other people were making the right decisions.Besides, she was the one who betrayed Louis' trust and ran out on him first. She didn't dare to anger him because he was too big of a threat.She could only go along with him and improvise. Louis was still very hopeful of her future. So, she could only soften her attitude. "I know you mean well, Mr. Rivera. But your vision isn't so easy to realize.""Of course, I know that. Refining this cyborg technology would take decades. Creating a new world order would take hundreds of years. "I don't have that long to live, but you're different. You've already herb-imbued. You've succeeded! You can realize my dream. "If I were to die, you have to continue my experiments. You need a lot of t
Louis was an unfeeling man with lots of rules. Other than his assistant, almost no one could roam freely in his lab. So, Olivia guessed that the man was the herb-imbued person who underwent his procedure. That silhouette was very familiar to her. It was a person who had helped her in the past. She had not met him in years. He turned around, and a frail but handsome face appeared before Olivia.Avery also didn't expect to meet Olivia again under these circumstances. He was sad for quite some time when he received news that Olivia was dead. He had only recently heard that Olivia was still alive, but he hadn't expected to meet her again so soon."Why are you here, Olivia?""It's been a long time, Mr. Fordham."Olivia could guess why he was there. He had a kidney condition. She was prepared to give him her kidney eight years ago.Back then, Ethan stopped the surgery. She had heard news about him over the years. Ethan said Avery had completed the kidney transplant. Something
Avery told Olivia all he had been through all these years. Back then, his kidney condition was already very serious, but he was unable to find a suitable donor. He was on the brink of death a few times. Then, he chanced upon a suitable kidney and had the transplant. But it didn't last. His body started to reject the kidney. His life hadn't been easy. He had been hanging by a thread and had no option but to seek out Louis. His relationship with Louis was purely transactional. He wasn't like Olivia, who was Louis' student. "Mr. Fordham, can I take your pulse real quick?""Sure, go ahead."Avery looked at Olivia's steadfast gaze. She was no longer the sickly young woman of the past. She had already grown into a magnificent person.She must be very skilled to earn Louis' approval. He thought about how desperate she was back then. She told him she didn't have a future anymore and wanted to give him her kidney.Avery asked her before what she wanted to do if she survived.
Warren's pale face showed a hint of pleading. "Olivia, we've gotten to know each other better in the past two years. Have you ever loved me?"Hatred was evident in Olivia's cold eyes. "Never. I pray for your death every single second of my life.""I knew it." He smiled at that embittering answer. Karma had always been there. Another sound of a gunshot surprised the birds. A pool of blood splashed over the flowers. Warren stared at the picture on the gravestone. "Mona, I've returned everything that I owe you…"Olivia's gaze alternated between the two bodies. Her heart ached as she began crying. "It's finally over, Mona. Please rest in peace."She had been waiting for this day to come for too long. When the revenge was finally over, she felt hollow on the inside. …Yarrows reached their peak of beauty during the season, dancing along the wind. Willow was chasing after Zack, her bells ringing briskly. He teased, "You can't catch me!"After weaving a garland, Alicia bec
Warren was so blinded by love that he didn't realize that Olivia had spent the last two years setting this up.The moment he saw Olivia nestling in Ethan's arms, he knew that his identity had been exposed since the beginning.It was time to end all of this.Although the Fordham family had won the fight, they sustained heavy casualties. Brandon and Deborah, together with Jacqueline, had hurt and killed countless people. Quinn became a sacrifice, never waking up again despite her young age. Olivia placed a bouquet before Quinn's gravestone. "Rest in peace, Quinn. I'll take good care of the family. Don't worry."The breeze carried a leave before it landed on Olivia's shoulder, as though trying to respond to Olivia.Douglas reunited with the family, and Natalie was finally buried in peace. It was a private funeral, but Mason paid a visit. Mason and Douglas looked at each other. They were both important to Natalie, and they finally met each other after her death. With reddene
"Avery, what happened?" Olivia inquired.She had no clue what was happening and didn't dare to go anywhere close to Louis. The only person who she got close to was Avery."Stay away, Olivia! It's too dangerous!" Avery yelled worriedly. Louis shifted his gaze to Olivia. "My experiment is going to be successful soon. That's Natalie's descendant. She has Natalie's genes in her…"Olivia's eyes widened as she finally realized why Louis had been taking special care of her. Back then, she simply assumed that it was due to her health and talent, but it turned out that he had known her identity all along!The purpose of the human modification project was to resurrect Natalie! The thought of it gave her goosebumps.To think that he had made so many preparations just to resurrect Natalie…Even Olivia was deceived. She took the human modification project at face value; she didn't think much about it! "Let Natalie go, Louis. She's been gone for years. She could be watching us from up
Olivia arrived on the island. She noticed the change in the atmosphere this time around.It was the same old scenery, but the robots that once filled the island to the brim were gone. She expected to encounter some inspection robots upon arrival, but there weren't any.Ships were docking in lines by the seashore, and most of them belonged to private foreigner organizations and mercenaries. People were coming to the island!What happened?Was Louis in danger?Although Louis wished to transform her into a cyborg, she hoped he could live regardless. No matter what field it was, no one would come before an outstanding scientist like him. It would be a huge loss to lose him.Olivia grew worried. "Calm down, Liv. A lot of people came to the island, but I don't think it's a big issue for now," Ethan reminded her.He bet that the ships were loaded with ammunition. Still, the buildings on the island were intact, and nothing seemed to be destroyed. She disagreed, "No, there should
Mason and David had a long discussion by themselves. No one knew what they talked about.But it didn't matter because it was just an extra member joining the Fordham family anyway. That was it.On the other hand, Tatiana was a little worried. If the whole Fordham family were to be added to the family registry, would her children inherit less from the Heath family?Humans were born selfish. When the event actually came to pass, everyone would be thinking about their own benefit. However, the result of the discussion between David and Mason surprised everyone.Even though David wasn't acknowledged as one of the Fordhams, he wasn't planning to change his surname to Heath.He saw himself as a Fordham because his mother married Douglas.Nevertheless, he didn't mind his family being relatives with the Fordham family.Mason was a little disappointed, but he still respected David's decision because he knew how well Douglas treated David's family.Mason asked the Fordham family to sta
Olivia and the others returned to the Fordham family. Everything was going back on track under Avery's management. Sean's leg was recovering well. He could walk like a normal person, and he didn't have to pretend to be a cripple anymore. Troy would need more time to heal, but he was making progress.David clearly seemed better than he was before Olivia left. Everyone could still hardly believe that Jacqueline almost killed everyone in the family all by herself. When Olivia returned, David asked with concern, "Olivia, Avery said that you were cursed. How are you feeling right now?""Don't worry, Dad. I'm all better now. But we think that Jacqueline's dead in the sea," she assured.He hugged her. "It's alright. Your safety is all I hope for."It broke her heart to see how time had chipped away at his physique. It hadn't actually been that long since the family was in trouble. "Any news about Mom's whereabouts?" asked Olivia. "Avery found something, but he's still trying to
Alan brushed it over, but it was enough to leave Wendell in shock. Wendell imagined what kind of life Wayne had led before this. Growing up in a slum where all kinds of people lived… People like them had never really owned anything anyway, so they wouldn't feel the pain of loss…Ever since his wife passed away, Wendell didn't really care much about Alexander's upbringing. Wendell was merely generous when it came to spending money on Alexander. But once he reunited with his son, he realized how much it could hurt to be a parent. If that marriage arrangement was Wayne's wish, Wendell was hell-bent on making it happen.…Olivia was watching the sunset painting colors to the horizon by the seashore. Although Jacqueline was dead, Olivia didn't feel happy, not even one bit. So what if the mastermind was dead? The Fordham family was still in disarray, and no one knew where Shana was.Olivia sighed softly. "You're too young to be sighing like that." Wayne suddenly appeared next
Wendell felt helpless. He was seriously down on luck.Instead of his son, he thought that he had found himself a bossy superior. It was a heartfelt reunion after 30 years of separation, and yet the first thing Wayne talked about was an announcement about his marriage rather than expressing words of concern for his family. If it were any ordinary woman, Wendell wouldn't have minded it. But the person he insisted on marrying was none other than Olivia! She was a divorced woman with four kids!On top of that, Olivia's ex-husband was Wendell's nephew! The divorced couple was somewhat entangled with each other too.Ethan and Wayne were both dear to him. What should he do? Wendell was at his wit's end. Ignoring Wendell's dilemma, Wayne handed him a cigarette. But Wendell refused, "I quit it."Wayne lit a cigarette and squatted on the ground. Instead of a ruler of a land, he appeared more like a construction worker. Wendell massaged his forehead at that. How had his son grown
Wendell had been frail all his life. He never imagined that his biological son would have been missing for so many years. What surprised him more was that Wayne had grown up well despite hardships. Still, there seemed to be something off about this son of his.They were father and son who had been separated for years. Now that the truth was revealed, shouldn't they be hugging each other in tears of joy? Why did Wayne show no joy in reuniting with his father but seemed interested in his identity as the son of the Procter family—or more precisely, the marriage arrangement between the Procter family and the Fordham family?""Son, things are a bit complicated right now. We need to take our time to discuss this thoroughly—""Am I not your son?" Wayne's restless temperament was exactly the same as his mother's. There was no chance of dissuading him. There was only one thing in his head. He felt fortunate that he had run a background check on the ties between both families. Otherwise