Three days later, at 7 pm inside a suburban detention center, Chandler finally saw Tessa, who was being held in custody.Besides Chandler, Osborn was also in the interrogation room.Tessa was confined in a trial cell behind iron bars, sitting on a metal chair with handcuffs and ankle shackles. She kept her head lowered and her hair hung loose. She wore an orange prison uniform over her shirt.On the second day of being held there, Tessa confessed to all the crimes she'd committed. She even revealed the location where the corpses of her assailants back then had been disposed of. However, those bodies were unlikely to be retrieved because they were all cut up and dumped in the mountains. Wild animals would have devoured those dismembered remains by then.Her willingness to cooperate and confess astonished Osborn. She also confessed how she and Jack meticulously planned Erin's kidnapping with the clear objective of obtaining her unborn child. However, Tessa deliberately didn't disclos
Jack was just like Tessa, wearing handcuffs and shackles around his ankles. His face showed a sense of relief as if the dust had settled.He looked at the woman he deeply loved and smiled. "Tessa, I'm here with you. I won't let you walk this path alone. I promised you that I would stay with you until the end."Tessa's face turned pale, and she asked in astonishment, "Did you surrender yourself to the police?"Jack shook his head gently. Seeing that, Tessa sneered inwardly while thinking, "So, he was also caught—""I was afraid that surrendering myself would lessen my sentencing, so the first thing I did after getting back in the city was to kill a taxi driver. That way, I would be sentenced to death just like you." As Tessa's accomplice, he always felt that his own sins weren't equally grave as hers. This kind of twisted and obsessive love shocked the police officers present greatly.However, a warm smile appeared on Tessa's face. "I knew it. I knew that you truly loved me. But
Quentin's body stiffened. He looked toward the door, and his trembling lips gave away the fact that he was a little emotional at that moment.The father and son stared at each other in silence for more than ten seconds.The bedroom suddenly became eerily quiet. Quentin was obviously not used to such sincere warmth from his son. Feigning nonchalance, he pretended to clear his throat and said, "It's been many years since I've heard you call me 'Dad,' Chandler."His words didn't contain excessive reproach; rather, they conveyed a sense of melancholy and helplessness.Chandler had already walked up to him by then. Taking a glance at his son's peaceful sleeping face, he instantly felt that the world was filled with tenderness and beauty."Have you found out where Erin is?" Quentin turned around and took two steps forward to gently place Asa back in his crib.Chandler's gaze suddenly turned cold as he replied calmly, "Let's talk in the study."Quentin gave him a glance and walked out.
A week later, in a ward on the private island called the Garden of Eden, a woman had been sitting by the window for a full three hours.Ever since Erin was rescued by Paulo, she had never left the island. Due to her severe burns, her ward was isolated from ultraviolet rays. But today, the weather on the island was rainy, and even though it was only 10 am, the sky was dark as if it were nighttime.Erin sat motionless in a wheelchair as if time itself had stopped.To her, there was only a dead silence, devoid of sadness or joy. It was as if she lived in a different dimension, in a world confined to her own little box.In this world, she had family and friends, but she had built walls to isolate them.In her heart, there were three rooms. The first room held her son, whom she dared not easily think about as she would miss him too much. The second room held all the memories between her and Chandler; they were memories she dared not recall. The third room held her past self—the old Eri
For three consecutive days, Erin hid in her hospital room and avoided seeing anyone. Whenever nurses came in to deliver her meals, Erin responded with two words coldly, "Go away."Due to Paulo's repeated emphasis to all medical staff that they should not force Erin into anything she disliked, they gave her full freedom. Therefore, when Erin refused to see anyone or eat anything, even the medical staff, including the psychologists, were at a loss.Paulo was aware of this, but he couldn't understand why. After he'd gone out of his way to tell her all those good news, Erin not only didn't continue to face her treatment positively but even refused to accept the most basic necessities.On the first day when Erin refused to eat, Paulo told the medical staff not to worry too much, saying that she was just throwing a tantrum and that she would eat when she was really hungry. But after three days, Erin showed no intention of letting up.In the end, Paulo couldn't let her have her way any lo
Seeing Erin burst out in profanity, Paulo burst into laughter in response. "Oh, so you know how to swear too? I thought you were just waiting to starve yourself to death—"Erin didn't pay attention to what Paulo said, she was still in a state of immense confusion. In the next moment, she let out a torrent of complaints in the form of questions at the absurdity of the situation. "Has my dad lost his mind? How could he marry Tracy? How old is he? And on top of that, he's still having children? Does he even know that Tracy was the shameless bitch who ruined his daughter's marriage?"After firing off all those questions consecutively, she looked at Paulo with doubt in her eyes.Paulo stood up and chuckled lightly. "Don't look at me like that. I'm not your dad! How would I know what he's thinking? It's better for you to focus on your own treatment. When you go back, you can ask him about it face to face.""What does this woman want? What is her ultimate goal?" Erin couldn't understand w
Paulo's words dealt a hard blow to Erin.Instead of living beautifully in her prime years, she had to hide from her family and friends in order to undergo treatments for her severe burns. She would have to endure a long and arduous healing process that would be physically and mentally taxing.Although the two culprits, Tessa and Jack, had ultimately met the bad end that they rightly deserved, Erin couldn't let go of the profound and deep hatred she felt toward them yet."Erin, I can honestly tell you that even if you go to another hospital, they'll tell you that you'll need an even longer time to recover," Paulo informed in a calm tone that carried a sense of unchallengeable authority.Looking at him, Erin said, "Paulo, thank you for being willing to help me. I believe in the medical technology here. Besides, your secretary briefly told me about the Garden of Eden and what kind of place this is. An ordinary person like me is fortunate enough to be able to stay here for treatment."
Three months quickly flew by. Just as Paulo had predicted, Erin's emotions would fluctuate unpredictably from time to time.The treatments weren't painless and devoid of any sensation when they were administered. Sometimes, it even became unbearable for her. While she could endure the physical pain by gritting her teeth and toughing it out, the torment and devastation they dealt to her mental state were fatal.On the previous night, Paulo accompanied Erin to watch the movie "Fox." The movie she'd acted in had been released for a little over a month. In order to further treat her psychologically, Paulo deliberately watched the only movie she'd acted in with her.The movie's sharp realism was far more impactful than a past photograph that was merely flat and immobile. Paulo wanted Erin to face her past self and come to terms with the fact that the face she saw in the movie now was her appearance in the past. Erin had come to the Garden of Eden for three months, and she had yet to see