”He’s alive. He’s still in the hospital but awake,” Laurence said flatly. He wondered why he had to add those two extra sentences. She shouldn’t be concerned whether Shawn was alive or not.Still, Shawn’s survival had been a miracle. Laurence had heard countless times that Shawn’s life was in danger, with warnings from doctors that he might not make it. The many illegitimate Zuckman children that Shawn had silenced had probably been out of their minds with excitement, thinking that he wasn’t long for this world. One by one, they came rushing back to the country from overseas, worried that they wouldn’t be able to get their hands on a slice of the Zuckman family fortune pie.Sometimes, when Zoey recalled the stabbing, the memory came back to her in a blur, like she was dreaming. All of a sudden, she returned to reality. She didn’t know why she had admitted it and had no idea why Laurence was being so cold. Then again, her relationship with Shawn had always been a sore spot for him. If
Sarah was detained by the police for the next 14 days. When Zoey next saw her, she looked wan and worried. Sarah seemed unaware that she had crossed the line this time, probably because she had never thought Laurence would treat her this harshly. Or had Laurence changed instead? It never was obvious whenever he changed his attitude.Sarah was going insane. She had never lived through such a hellish experience in her life. She wasn’t the only one in the jail cell either; there were other cellmates. They had hair dyed in various shades and smelled of cigarette smoke. She felt she would suffocate if she had to spend another second with these women. She sobbed, begging for a lawyer. She wanted bail, but her request was denied. It seemed that a certain someone would only be satisfied if she sat through all 14 days of her detainment.When she met Zoey again, Sarah had already dried her tears. She would not let Zoey see her at her lowest. Even now, Sarah still feigned sincerity. “Zoey,
Zoey still found it difficult to handle everyone’s perception of her. She hadn’t even brought herself to meet any of their gazes when Laurence pulled her into his office. It had been a while since she had entered it. The last time she was here, she had a bad argument with him.Zoey peered outside of the window. The seat at the desk across the door was still empty. No one had taken it since she left. The new secretary that Laurence hired was a young man fresh out of university. Other than this, there were no other major personnel changes.Laurence watched as she looked out of the window, not bothering her. His phone kept buzzing in his hand, however—the post that he had made had garnered scores of likes and comments. The last time he posted something was when he had lost a game, and that was about half a year ago. Anyone with a brain could see that he was standing up for his wife. All those horrible comments and rumors online apparently couldn’t break their marriage, which these outsi
Zoey got pulled into Laurence’s embrace, her chin resting against his shoulder. She was lost as she asked with a whisper, “Would it have been better if we met earlier?”Clearly, things had turned out this way because they had met too early. Now, their relationship was a mess.Laurence wordlessly wrapped his arms around her waist tightly. Rarely was he so unsure about anything. After some thought, he answered, “Probably.”Zoey’s heart was numb. After a long while, she said, “We met early enough.”Laurence closed his eyes and didn’t speak. She had a point—they used to go to the same school but never exchanged a word.Zoey struggled. Laurence’s grip was strong, his arms like a vice as they held her in place. She had no idea where a sudden surge of resentment came from as she bit his shoulder. However, Laurence didn’t seem to mind as he wordlessly weathered through the bite.Zoey’s cheeks hurt from biting him. When she finally tasted blood, she withdrew. Still, she was forced to lean
Zoey assumed this was another prank Shawn had thought up because he was bored. It was laughable hearing those three words from him. Frankly, Zoey felt that Shawn was unable to love anyone. Even the way he went about it with Sarah was wrong. In high school, he would use extreme methods to get rid of anything and anyone who displeased Sarah. To that end, he didn’t hesitate to hurt others.Zoey once again cut the call and decided not to pick up any calls from strangers anymore.Laurence didn’t ask her about her two prematurely ended calls. He didn’t like how she was distracted around him. Wordlessly, he took her hand as though doing so would control her. Shawn was oddly calm even as he listened to the beeping tone as the call ended. Just as he expected, he wouldn’t find any answers this way. Perhaps Zoey found it laughable to hear him say that he loved her.Before he passed out from blood loss, all he could see in Zoey’s beautiful eyes was hatred—pure, unclouded hatred. Now that he h
Marilyn didn’t dare believe her ears, but as she regarded his composed expression, he seemed to mean every word. Her voice shook with fury. “I… I did everything for your own good!”Shawn was unmoved by her answer. “Madam Zuckman, I was begging on my knees.”Marilyn swallowed. She hadn’t thought he would remember everything so clearly. He had been stubborn and proud, yet he had kneeled for that useless girl in front of her.“So? Everything you have is because I presented it to you on a platter after removing all obstructions.”“That’s why I’ll return everything the same way.”Shawn knew what his mother valued most—money, status, and power. To her, her son and husband were not at all important. Even when he nearly died, she hadn’t even shed a tear.Shawn was tired of his mother. He didn’t want to bother arguing with her anymore. There was no point. He stood up and announced, “I’ll be giving back the family reins the same way you delivered it into my hands.”Shawn hadn’t been twidd
It had been ages since Zoey had been to Southgrove, and she wasn’t used to the weather; it was always rainy in the summer, and the air was humid.Laurence had booked a taxi before their arrival. Zoey didn’t bother chewing him out because she knew she couldn’t win against him. She regarded Henry and said kindly, “Let’s send you to your friend’s place. The queue will probably be long if you book a taxi now.”Henry glanced at Laurence. “Is that okay?”Zoey also turned back to look at Laurence. “Is it not?”Laurence wasn’t someone to penny-pinch over a taxi fare, but he certainly didn’t feel great when he saw Zoey being so considerate toward Henry. Although he felt displeased, he still couldn’t show it. He raised an eyebrow. “It’s fine. Let’s go.”The MPV stopped outside the arrival hall building, and the three of them got in. Laurence mindlessly tapped his thigh a few times, a small smile on his lips as he politely asked, “Give the driver your address so he can drop you off first.”
”We’re here,” Laurence suddenly announced while Zoey stared at her phone. She quietly switched it off and shoved all thoughts of Shawn away. Let him do whatever he wanted with the Jenners; she didn’t care.Zoey got out of the car. The walls around the prison were so high that she couldn’t see the top. This building had held her uncle for so many years, caging him away from the sun and freedom while the true perpetrator continued to live the high life.Zoey craned her neck and quietly looked ahead at the walls. Time seemed to stretch on as she waited. After an unknown length of time, the steel gate finally opened. A tall but skinny man slowly walked out from the building, dressed in a simple white t-shirt and pants. His clothes were clean. Jason squinted as the sunlight assaulted him. Zoey remained rooted to the spot when suddenly, she lunged at the man and jumped into his arms. Tears streamed down her face as she buried herself in his chest. “Uncle,” she sobbed.Jason’s heart so