The elevator door opened when it reached the third-floor basement, taking the chilling breeze in.Ethan removed his coat to drape it over Olivia's shoulders. The temperature was colder than it was up there.It was her first visit to such a place, which seemed different from the movies.The corridor was brightly lit, but the excessive illuminance over the wall made the place appear rather desolate.An older man was standing by the door to the mortuary. He was waiting for Olivia under his superior's orders."Mr. Miller, Mrs. Miller, the body is cosmetically prepared, but it is a dead body, after all. So, it's not a pleasing sight."Please be mentally prepared for it.""Open the door." Her voice was hoarse.As soon as the door was open, she saw a white sheet covering a body.Ethan explained, "I took some measures, so the case hasn't gone public yet. Her family doesn't know about it for now."Olivia strode toward the body. She had lost her consciousness for three days straight.Thus, every
Negative emotions were piling on Olivia. Ethan knew that she was too weak for an emotional rollercoaster right now.But he was more worried that something might happen from her bottling her emotions.Thus, he'd rather she let it all out.Olivia cried for a long time until her voice turned hoarse, and there were no more tears to cry.Her eyes were empty, and her legs were numb from the kneeling.She sobbed in Ethan's arms, and he didn't utter a word. He kept patting her back gently.Only when he noticed that she had slowly collected herself did he help her get up.Forming strength from anguish, she figured he was right—she should live.If she died, everything would go according to the mastermind's plan. She should live to pass on the grief of staying alive to that mastermind.Olivia wiped the last tear off. When she looked at Mona's body, her gaze turned more determined than before.She yanked the white sheet downward a little to reveal Mona's hand.The bracelet Mona treasure
The night had fallen when Olivia regained consciousness. She heard cries coming from the corridor.Fighting through the grogginess, she opened her eyes. She didn't move.She stared at the ceiling with hollow eyes instead.Everything felt like a dream. The haze in her mind rendered it surreal.Ethan gazed at her with bloodshot eyes. His voice was very hoarse. "Liv, you're awake."From his haggard face alone, it was easy for Olivia to tell that he had been looking after her for days and nights consecutively without sleep.She had received IV drips for the past few days. She didn't eat anything. He would press damp cotton buds on her lips whenever they were chapped.Olivia almost couldn't part her lips when she regained consciousness. She spoke with her eyes instead."What do you want? Are you thirsty or hungry? Tell me.""I'm thirsty ..."Feeling elated that she finally made a request, he rose from his seat.However, his sudden action incurred a pang of dizziness because he hadn't reste
Olivia had no choice but to accept reality. It had happened, and regretting it would do nothing.A lot of sacrifices were made in exchange for her life. From now onward, she wouldn't be living only for herself."You don't have to worry about me doing foolish things. Go home, get a shower, and have a good rest. Don't worry, I won't run away anymore."Ethan was surprised to hear her say that. It was as if she had become a completely different person after waking up.Previously, she was a white magnolia; she always stood with her back straight with sophisticated grace, but she was harmless.Now, she was a rose that came with thorns. Cold yet enticing, she could give anyone who came close to her pricks all over their body."Liv, I'm not tired …" Ethan wasn't sure about her current condition, so he wanted to stay by her side. He would decide after that.Olivia didn't say anything more about it. She cast her gaze at the closed door. "I heard someone crying. Who was it?""Mona's parents. They
It was a heart-wrenching sight to behold. How could Megan Tate bring herself to put up a fight with Olivia?Megan was aware that Olivia had lost her mother a long time ago, not to mention that Jeff was in a coma. Her marriage life was unhappy, too.A kind-hearted person like Megan didn't know how to react to Olivia kneeling before her."Ms. Fordham, you're weak, and the floor is cold. You should get up." Megan was old enough to tell that Olivia had preterm labor from her flat belly.Olivia wasn't the only person hurting. Cyril hopped over with the help of a crutch. "Mrs. Gurney, Mona protected Mrs. Miller on her will. It had nothing to do with Mrs. Miller. "It was my fault for not being able to protect Mona. I shall bear the responsibility for it."Cyril paid Allen Gurney a visit at the hospital before. Despite having only one encounter, Cyril left Megan a deep impression. She could tell that he was a decent man with one look."Your leg …"A group of built men came out of
Olivia looked in that direction to see a tall young man limping over. He resembled Mona.Despite the same features they shared, Mona was a bright woman, while he seemed cold and glum.Noticing her gaze, he nodded at her. "I'm sorry about my mother's ruckus, Ms. Fordham. She didn't know the score."Brent had told him everything, so he knew the whole story. He kept Megan in the dark because he didn't want to upset her. He didn't expect her to come all the way here.He seemed tired as the corner of his eyes were red. His legs had yet to recover, hence the limp.Before Olivia pulled herself back from her musing, the young man abruptly bowed before her.He hung his head low, repenting like a sinner. "I know the whole story. It's all my fault. I held Mona back and hurt you indirectly. This wouldn't have happened if I dodged it."Olivia said and motioned Brent to help him up."Your leg is in bad shape. Don't hurt yourself. The opponent had everything planned. Even if it wasn't you,
Ethan washed up and got changed before rushing to the hospital.He asked before entering the room. "How is she doing?"Kelvin quickly responded, "It's weird. Mrs. Miller didn't throw a tantrum and even asked to have an extra meal.""Did she say anything?""She asked about the other men's condition and how many enemies we captured. She also asked if Warren was one of them. She seemed calm the whole time.""What did you answer?""I told her the truth, that Warren escaped. The other people were under strict interrogations. She didn't say anything after that. She said that she was tired and needed some rest."Kelvin scratched his head before continuing, "Mr. Miller, what's up with Mrs. Miller? The way she's acting right now kinda scares me. She's too calm about it, so calm that it sends chills down my spine.""It looks like she didn't lie to me." Initially, Ethan was worried that Olivia was trying to distract him to commit suicide. Fortunately, she had figured it out.He entered
"Liv, I'm not trying to side with whoever. But this is not the Toxic Hive's way of doing things. "If Leia really wants you dead, it's highly possible that she will find a way to drug you. Would she have chosen this method?"As you know, the head of Toxic Hive is Helen. After Mr. Carlton passed away, she brought the Toxic Hive out of Aldenvine, including Leia. It has been months since they left." Ethan held Olivia's hand.With a gentle expression, he said, "The person who bought off The Black Ravens is not only rich, but he knows the way to contact them. "He's decisive and simple with his way of doing things. He's ruthless. Liv, did you think about who you have offended?"She shook her head. "You know my past very well. I got married and was pregnant before I graduated from university. Who could I possibly offend?"Not to mention that it's a powerful fellow that can spend 100 million dollars so easily to put a bounty on my head."He frowned. "I suspect that it has something to
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