It was an appalling spectacle. Ethan rolled Leia's sleeve up only to see scars fully mark her arm.Unable to believe what he was seeing, he rolled up her other sleeve as well.To his surprise, there were not only one or two scars from cuts. There were burn marks too. The scars look like a squirming worm. It pained him to see them covering her arms. "What happened?"Leia quickly withdrew her arms from him. Frantically, she said, "It's none of your business. As I said, I'll leave if you don't kill me. After that, my life and death don't concern you anymore."As soon as she finished, she turned and ran away without looking back.Ethan couldn't stop her.Shock overwhelmed him as he wondered what kind of life she had been through all this while.…With a gloomy expression, Olivia didn't utter a word in the room. She kept staring at her fingers in a daze. She didn't know what she was looking at either.Avery said softly, "Have you finished your business? We shouldn't stay here for
Avery let out a bitter smile. "Logically speaking, it is easy to find a donor from the large world population. But it's hard to look for a donor through the normal procedures."Olivia understood what she meant immediately. Peace's Embrace and Toxic Hive split ways because of the difference in management ideology.Only a minority of people were willing to donate their organs. That was why a lot of lowly people got involved in human trafficking in the black market.A righteous person like Avery would never want to receive an organ through illegal means."Mr. Avery, would you like to have a crossmatch test with me before you leave?""Olivia, what do you mean?"She smiled. "As you said, I do think that we're somehow destined to meet each other. My kidney might be compatible with yours. If it's a match, can I strike a deal with you?"Avery frowned. "Olivia, what are you trying to do? You can just tell me. I'll help you out if it's something within my jurisdiction.""We can talk abou
Ethan clearly wasn't buying it. If Olivia wanted to come to the hospital, why would she cause a commotion by leaving the house in the middle of the night?However, he couldn't treat her the way he always did. Leia's matter was fettering him with guilt.He walked next to her, looking at her gently. "Why did you come here in the middle of the night and shake the bodyguards off? What if you encountered danger? Didn't I say that it's still dangerous out there? You should have the bodyguards follow you around wherever you go."Olivia wouldn't mention Avery's matter no matter what.Ethan didn't dare to question further because he didn't want to upset her. She answered, "I couldn't sleep, so I came here."He caressed his thumb while testing the waters. "I heard that you took Avery's car. Are you close with him?""No. It's because we share the same surname and I saved him once. He needed to come to the hospital, so he picked me up while he was on the way." She glossed over her relation
Ethan clearly sensed Olivia's aloof attitude. Had it been before, he would've forcefully taken her home.However, he couldn't bring himself to give her the cold shoulder now after what had happened—let alone say hurtful words.Guilt was devouring him."Liv, I know that many things have happened, and you're upset about them. Don't worry, I'll save your father as soon as possible. He'll be fine."Olivia, who was facing her back at him, coldly responded, "What's the use of that? If we can't find the mastermind, Dad might be harmed once more even after we save him. You promised to give me an answer to everything. When are you going to do that?"He would've been able to answer that question with confidence in the past, but not now.How could he tell Olivia that the culprit was his very own sister?That was his biological sister, whom he had wrapped up in cotton wool since childhood. Ethan had searched for Leia for a long time. It was a tough journey before they reunited.He would give Ol
Ethan had his speculations all along, but he was able to confirm Leia's true identity now.Now that he had comprehended the whole story, Olivia should know the truth as the victim.He answered without opening his eyes, "I can't say anything for now. Leia must've gone through something during the past years."Brent gazed at him deeply before letting out a soft sigh. "Mr. Miller, I know that I shouldn't say some things, but there are only betrayals and misunderstandings between you and Mrs. Miller."I know that you care a lot about Ms. Miller, and we can't deny the fact that Ms. Miller has suffered a lot out there. But this shouldn't be a reason to hurt Mrs. Miller. The Millers owe her."Ethan suddenly opened his eyes, meeting Brent's gaze through the rearview mirror. "Say, should I kill Leia so that she can pay the price with her life? Even if Leia's dead, it won't change the past."Brent parted his lips, but he didn't say anything in the end.He knew that it was already too late to mak
Amused by Chris' expression, Helen smirked. "Have you never thought that I could've staged my death?""Why?" He was hurt to hear that. "Why did you stage your death? Where have you been these years? What does it have to do with Toxic Hive?"She softly chuckled at the righteous man. "You're as easy to fool as always. You haven't improved despite so many years.""What do you mean?"She slowly rose from her seat and caressed his cheek. "Chris, oh, Chris. Do you know how long I have waited for this day?"The more Helen spoke, the more confused Chris became. He could not understand how that gentle woman turned into this kind of person."I don't get what you're talking about. Say, were you the one who orchestrated Marina's car accident? Why did you do that to her? She's your biological daughter!""Biological daughter?" She burst into laughter. "Chris, we do have a child, but the child died long ago."Chris' eyes widened as he clearly wasn't aware of that. "What did you say?"She giggled. "Yo
"You don't love me, but I don't blame you for that. I kept assuming that time would help you get over it, and that you would fall in love with me someday."I didn't mind the cold treatment you gave me. I thought that you would love the child because we were a family. So, I wanted to take good care of her and see her grow up."But when I saw her slowly lose her vitality, I resented you to the bone for being heartless. How could you be that cruel? You'd rather give that bitch all of your love instead of giving a smidgen of it to us. So, I swore that I was going to make you regret it for the rest of your life."Her eyes turned ferocious as she continued, "Later, I found out that Chloe was pregnant. I lost my child, so how could she have a family and a child that loved her? Which was why I set everything up. I stole her baby right after she gave birth."Chris muttered, "That baby was … Marina!""That's right. Don't you love that bitch so much?" Helen's face was contorted with madness
Helen blurted out the cruel truth, which was a huge blow to Chris. Coldness seeped into every part of his body.He didn't have the time to accept reality as rage inflated in him. He was on the verge of losing himself."Must you take it that far?" His eyes were red, and his voice was icy."It's still not enough, of course. I prepared you a second gift, and it's a huge one. You should enjoy it," announced Helen like a witch. "Do you know how many years I waited for this day to come? I was in hell every day you and Chloe were living a peaceful life. You should experience the pain yourself."Then, she kicked Chris' waist and broke free from his grasp easily.By the time he stood up while hugging his stomach, she was standing three steps away from him."Chris, I'm no longer the foolish woman who'd keep waiting for you to look at me anymore." She appeared sophisticated in that beige dress, but her eyes spoke of madness."I'm going to see your family ruined! Your wife and daughter are
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