At the moment, Kathryn studied Anne for a few minutes and realized how quiet Anne was.Her heart sank as she recognized that this was the way Anne was isolating herself from the world, as that would only mean that Anthony would continue to lock her in this apartment.In the afternoon, Anne went for a nap and woke up to find that her refrigerator had been stuffed with groceries.She concluded that someone had delivered the grocery when she was sleeping in the room, but she did not know who delivered it.There were only a limited number of people who had access to the apartment, as far as she recalled, there had been four apart from her, Anthony, Kathryn, Bianca and Oliver.She closed the refrigerator door expressionlessly, before walking over to the balcony. She stood by the fences and glanced to the side at the apartment her father bought for her.Tears welled in her eyes as sorrow overwhelmed her.'It's a good thing that I accepted it,' she thought, 'if I turned him down at the
Bianca was still speaking, when Anthony reached for a phone that belonged to Anne. He unlocked it and faced the screen at Bianca. "Did you send this?"Tension in the air rose as Bianca felt consumed by fear. She stared at the photo on the screen speechlessly.It was a photo she took of herself when she was waiting in front of the Archduke Group.'Why does Anthony have Anne's phone? I thought that he had chased her out of the Royal Mansion,' she thought."You...is this why you let me into the car?" Bianca asked, "Anthony, I was the one who sent the photo. Who is she to stay by your side? I am the only one who actually love you. Anthony, are you really going to waste your time on a woman who doesn't even care about you?"Anthony leaned back on the black leather seat, his eyes filled with rage as he glared at Bianca.Bianca crouched and placed her hand on Anthony's thigh, before continuing sincerely with tears in her eyes. "Anthony, let me stay by your side. I don't need you to care
Reminded of the time when both Anthony and Anne went missing, Bianca recalled a place.She switched into a new car to head back and retrieve the keys, before heading to the apartment in mind.The guard stopped her at the gate, but she immediately said that she was Anne's visitor. The guard found Anne's name in the tenant list and allowed Bianca to enter the building.Bianca went into the elevator and slowed down when she walked past Anthony's apartment.Anne overheard footsteps outside the door and walked over, thinking that she might have imagined it at first. After all, there were only two apartments on each floor and on this floor, one belonged to Julie and the other was hers.Anne stood from the couch after sitting there for most of the day and went over to the balcony, feeling like a bird without its wings, unable to escape to the sky even when it was right before her eyes."Anne Vallois!"Anne froze and turned around to find Bianca standing on the balcony of her apartment
Bianca sliced the knife over the couch and took video of it.Once the couch was cut open, she felt unsatisfied and headed to the living room.Anne turned back to the living room and ran for the door, but could not open it no matter how hard she tried. She ran back to the balcony and screamed, "Bianca! What are you doing?! Stop! Bianca!"Bianca did not respond despite Anne's shouts and the only sound Anne could hear was of things breaking.The shattered pieces of what Bianca broke on the balcony drove Anne mad as she tried to picture the state of her apartment.'How can she do this?' Anne thought."Why are you shouting? You are so loud. I can hear you. I was busy. See? Just look at what I've done." Bianca started playing the video on her phone and reached her hand out, concerned that Anne might not be able to see anything.Though there was a distance between them, Anne still saw everything.She saw a knife cutting into the couch. Her leather couch and lounging sofa had all been
By the time Kathryn arrived at the apartment, she spotted Anne on the couch and hurried over. Once she confirmed that Anne was still breathing, she sighed a breath of relief.The next instant, she noticed the wounds on Anne's fingers and saw that three out of the three nails had broken. Kathryn reached to check the wounds and Anne jolted, before opening her eyes to stare at Kathryn expressionlessly."What happened to your fingers?" Kathryn asked.Anne sat up blankly. "You don't have to come over every day. My face is fine now."Kathryn began to worry that it was not Anne's face that was the issue at the moment.The injury on Anne's hand reminded Kathryn of the time Anne cut herself with a knife. "Are you hurting yourself again?"Anne glanced at her own fingers and mumbled, "Yeah. It's all red. Isn't it pretty?""Anne, you could have resolved this another way!" Kathryn scowled, not wishing to see Anne in such a state, not all mental issues could be contained, after all."How sho
The sky turned dark. The neon signs in the dark seemed like the warning sign for the monsters lurking in the dark and Anne's blood ran cold at the sight.After Kathryn had left, she remained seated on the couch without moving at all, trying to figure out what Kathryn might say to Anthony. No matter how hard she thought about it, the only possibility was that Kathryn had gone to tell Anthony about her fingers.Would Anthony free her when he was told that she was injured, when he himself had physically hurt her before?When she heard the door opening, Anne jolted and kept her eyes trained on the living room.She could not see the door, but as soon as the door opened, she sensed the change in the atmosphere as tension rose. Anne gripped onto the edge of the couch tightly, neglecting the wounds on her fingers as pain was the only thing that helped to maintain her sanity.The sound of leather shoes stepping across the floor sounded like a demon had crawled out of hell.Anne widened he
After he was almost done feeding Anne, Anthony put the bowl and spoon on the tray.Anne did not say whether she was full or not. It was as if Anthony would decide how much she would eat. Next, Anthony picked up the napkin next to him and wiped Anne's mouth gently. However, she did not feel any warmth from being treated like this by the devil, only a hair-raising chill.Anne did not even dare to think of refusing him at all."Just stay here obediently and stop angering me. It won't do you any good." Anthony's hoarse voice was threatening. Anne's long lashes trembled slightly. After Anthony wiped Anne's mouth and said that, he took the tray with one hand and left. Anne only raised her head when she heard the door closing, and she looked at the door with tears in her eyes. She sat helplessly on the bed, and the room was full of despair...Kathryn brought dinner over. She entered the room and saw Anne lying lifeless on the bed, and she felt incredibly guilty when she notice
Anne had kept her eyes open the entire time, staring beyond the curtain.She only fell asleep when she could no longer stay awake. Then, not long after she fell asleep, the sky lit up slightly.So, when Anne woke up, Anthony was no longer around, as if he had never been there. However, Anthony came to sleep with her again at night and left the next morning.It was like this for two days.What was he trying to do? It made Anne uneasy. During the day, Kathryn brought Anne food, checked her wounds, and perhaps even checked her mental state.Kathryn even persuaded Anne to compromise. However, Anne just listened with a blank face. Maybe it was because she had lost her fighting spirit after being locked up for a long time, but she seemed even quieter than before.Anne stayed alone during the day, not watching TV, not thinking about things, just in a daze.At night, she listened to her body clock and slept. Anthony appeared in the middle of the night and hugged her, but he ne
At first, Corentin was stunned. Then, he said, "Who have I killed? Ash, you've misunderstood. I've changed now. It's true. Hurry up and come down. The ravioli is getting cold.""Don't come over! I'll jump if you get any closer!" Ashlynn shouted hysterically."Alright, alright. I won't go over!" Corentin did not dare to take another step further. "Ash, I'm telling the truth. I didn't kill anybody. Come down, and I'll explain to you. It's all a misunderstanding.""Actually, I've felt it was strange since the beginning. It's just that Anne's reassurance dispelled my suspicion about you." Tears filled Ashlynn's eyes, but they did not stream down her face. She looked at Corentin and said, "But I know everything now. I don't have evidence, but you are Salvatore Yeager. At first, I thought you would change for the sake of the child. In the end… In the end, you didn't even spare the child's grandparents. Salvatore, are you even human? Why would a monster like you exist?""Ash, come down, a
After Ashlynn was discharged from the hospital, she called Anne when she was alone in the room."Anne, are you alright? I heard you were taken by Tommy and were later saved by Anthony.""Mmhmm. I'm fine. I've gotten home safely.""That's wonderful," said Ashlynn.Anne could tell that Ashlynn was not feeling alright, so she asked, "What's the matter? Are you not in a good mood?""I've found out about my parent's passing," said Ashlynn.Anne was stunned. She found out? "I'm sorry, Ashlynn. I've kept it hidden from you.""It's fine. I know you're being considerate to me and the child." Ashlynn took a pause before asking again, "Was Tommy killed by you guys?""No. He fled the cruise ship back then. When we found him, he was already killed by somebody. His body was pulled up from the sea.""Corentin was there as well, wasn't he?""That's right. Did he tell you that?"Ashlynn's eyes looked emotionless. "Have you guys ever suspected Corentin?"Anne immediately got so nervous tha
Corentin hugged Ashlynn. "I heard that Tommy's dead, so your parents' murders have been avenged. Now, they can only rest in peace. Calm down."Ashlynn collapsed in his arms as she cried. Then, she started to feel waves of throbbing pain in her belly, and her face turned pale.Corentin noticed something was not right with her, so he hurriedly roared at the driver, "Go to the hospital now!""Hurry up!" Jeremy urged. He held Ashlynn's hand and realized that it was freezing. "Ashlynn, you have to be alright. You still have me! Hang in there, Ashlynn!"Ashlynn looked at him with tears in her eyes. She was extremely saddened. She could not understand why things would end up like that. Did she not deserve to have parents?When Ashlynn woke up, she was already at the hospital.She subconsciously touched her belly, but Corentin grabbed her hand. "You're showing signs of miscarriage, so you need to recuperate."Ashlynn scanned around the room and asked, "Where's Jeremy?""He's outside. H
"I know…" Jeremy looked up and saw Ashlynn standing at the entrance. He was so shocked, and he immediately stood up. "Why…are you here?"Ashlynn stood there dazed. She looked at Jeremy, then the person who spoke earlier. "What do you guys mean when you talk about my parents' soul resting in peace?""Nothing. We were talking about someone else."Ashlynn could tell from their faces that they were clearly panicking. She was not deaf. She heard what they said clearly.Her face turned pale, and she immediately searched for her phone. She did not have it on her, so she rushed to the car."Ashlynn!" Jeremy ran after her and stopped her. "What are you doing?""I'm going to call Mom and Dad.""They are traveling. Don't disturb them."Ashlynn looked at him. "Jeremy, tell me honestly, why aren't Mom and Dad coming home? Don't lie! I have always felt it was strange. Why haven't they come home when I'm already so far along? Something is wrong, isn't it? Did something…really happen to them?"
Corentin came forward and asked, "Anne, are you alright?"Anne nodded."You don't look too well. What happened?""Tommy's dead," said Anthony."Have you found the cure?" asked Corentin.Anne shook her head."Unfortunately, the infected people would have to endure it a little longer."Anne suddenly thought of something, and she immediately pushed Anthony away. "Don't touch me."Only then, Corentin noticed a small patch of ulcer below Anne's cheek. "Anne, did Tommy drug you?"Anthony frowned. "I don't mind.""I do. Both of us would not be able to have contact with the children, and they will worry." Anne rejected his touch.Anthony had been touching her the whole time. It was unclear if he had been infected. Anne was very worried."It wouldn't make a difference now. If anything, I would have already been infected just now," said Anthony.Anne still refused to listen. "That's not necessary. Just don't touch me. We still don't know where the cure is, and Tommy died so suddenly
Just as Tommy finished his sentence, he heard a commotion behind him.Ivan was fighting with the assassin, and every strike he delivered was fatal. If Ivan were not skilled in combat, the professional assassin could have killed him in just a few moves.Tommy realized something was up, so he immediately wanted to grab Anne.While Anne retreated, she was pulled into a person's arms."Let me go!" She thought it was a man she did not know, so she hated to be touched like that."Anne."Anne was stunned. She looked up and felt happy to see a familiar face. "Anthony?""It's me."Tommy was infuriated as he watched the two of them looking lovingly at each other, Tommy became infuriated."As expected, Anne, you did leave a trace for Anthony." Tommy's expression darkened."You're the one who took me too lightly," said Anne.It was because she had always wanted to run away from Anthony in the past that he had the wrong impression, was it not? "So what? You want to kill me? With just t
Anne was drugged at that moment, and there were surveillance cameras all over the cruise ship. She saw a surveillance camera over her head when she was returning to the room. Therefore, it was impossible for her to sneak around in the middle of the night if she wanted to.Tommy had long been guarding against her.However, Anne still left Anthony some clues before she left him. She believed Anthony would find her very soon, but she never expected that he would do it so quickly.At daybreak, she seemed to have heard the rumbling of a helicopter above her. Then, the door swung open. Before Anne could make sense of the situation, she was picked up. "How did you get the message out?" Tommy said. He even searched Anne's body after that."Ah! Are you crazy? I don't have a phone!""Don't think Anthony can take you away just because he's here. If I'm going to hell, I'm dragging you along with me! Let's go!""You…" Anne had no strength, so she was dragged out of the room by him.He thre
Anne ignored him.If she were not afraid that Tommy would pull some tricks behind her back, she would have slept with her back facing him."Do you remember running to my home and sleeping on my bed when Anthony bullied you as a child?"I don't.""I know you do. I truly wanted to help you back then," said Tommy.Anne knew he was speaking the truth, so she did not refute him. She stared at the ceiling and said, "I think the past Tommy died a long time ago."Tommy's expression was mixed, and he asked, "Are we not able to go back anymore?""Instead of asking me this now, you should've gone to hell after you killed the people I cared about. No matter how unhappy your childhood was, you can't hurt others for your own pleasure." At that moment, Anne did not pity Tommy at all."Look at you on your high horse. Has Anthony not killed anybody before? Has Corentin not killed anybody before? Why did you forgive them for killing people but not me? Just because the victims were your friends?
Seeing that she did not move at all, Tommy said, "It won't be good for you if you don't eat."Anne thought that he made sense. If she did not eat, she would go hungry and would have no strength later. How could she fight with Tommy then? It was because she refused to eat and only drank water while hiding in her room that Tommy drugged her.After a while, she seemed to have figured it out.She picked up the fork and started eating the fish.Tommy saw her eating and asked, "How was it?""Could it be that you're the one who made it?" Anne looked up and shot a glance at him lazily."That's correct. I am the one who made it."Anne thought, 'Is this something worthy to be praised?'"It must be tough for you to do such a thing on top of everything else.""If you're worried that it's tough for me, why don't you make it with me?""I don't know how to cook.""How great. You just have to enjoy being served." Tommy clicked his tongue, but he was looking at Anne with a doting gaze.Anne