Jessamine thought she might be able to obtain clues about Malcolm from Colin since he had known Elizabeth for the longest. He might know something about the mystery man.Both Jessamine and Colin made the trip to the parking lot with different motives.When they were about to reach the parking lot, Jessamine cautiously prodded, "Did Mom have any relatives when you first met her?"Colin cleared his throat. "She wasn't born in the north. She didn't have any family or relatives here."Of course, Jessamine knew Elizabeth wasn't from the north. Having lived with Elizabeth from a young age, she still retained memories of her mom from childhood.Elizabeth Patton was a woman of grace who'd change into her favorite dress and retouch her makeup even for something as simple as taking out the trash. She was huge in making every day a special occasion. One could tell that she came from an esteemed family from her elegance. Even the stress of life did not dull her light.Jessamine clearly rem
While speaking, they arrived in front of Colin's car. He hesitated to get the photo album because Jessamine had not verbally agreed to divorce Thaddeus.She noticed his hesitation and said, "Hand over Mom's photo album first."Colin placed his hands on his waist and stubbornly stood still. "Promise me you'll divorce Thaddeus first. I need to look after you now that your mom is no longer around. I can't let you ruin your life. Let's get the divorce over with tomorrow. How does that sound? Trust me. I will find a better husband for you."Jessamine stared blankly at her dad, who coaxed her to divorce Thaddeus. She was disgusted by his insincerity. He sounded like a loving father who cared about his daughter, but he only showered her with care to help Amy snatch Thaddeus from her.How ironic the situation was!Her birth father and her husband had both chosen Amy unconditionally. At this point, she was numb to the betrayal and sense of abandonment.She had tried to convince herself to
Colin's acting was immaculate. He sounded like a father who truly worried about his daughter's marriage and wanted the best for her. For a moment, Jessamine nearly believed that he had her back.She checked the time; half an hour had passed. Worried that Thomas might panic when he woke up and couldn't find her, she caved in. Colin probably would only hand the photo album over if he received a firm answer from her."I promise! Give me the photo album now. I don't have time for chitchat," Jessamine said exasperatedly.Hearing that, he immediately grinned. His eyes squinted in a way that reminded her of Amy, which disgusted her.Colin opened the car door and grabbed the photo album. Before handing it to Jessamine, he extracted a photo of Elizabeth in her younger years and put it back in his car."Take good care of it! Remember to file for divorce tomorrow. Margaret would have thrown the album out if I had not hidden it in my car. You have me to thank," Colin said smugly.Jessamine h
Thaddeus reflexively reached for a cigarette in his pocket but found nothing. Although he had felt Jessamine's aloofness, he never expected her to start looking for her next date. Was she so urgent that she would go on blind dates? She even started chatting with that guy on WhatsApp.Did Jessamine forget that she was legally still Mrs. Holt? Thaddeus fumed as he thought about how she dared to openly text her blind date right in his face."Are you that desperate for a man?" he asked.She was puzzled by his passive-aggressiveness. However, given his crazy possessiveness, he must have been furious to see the text. Being at the hospital was the only reason he kept his temper in check. She worried that he might teach her a hard lesson if they were somewhere else.Oddly, his anger made her feel cathartic. Why did she have to listen to him on anything?"Yeah, I'm desperate for a man," she retorted. Then, she tapped on the chat with Brad and texted him in front of Thaddeus, replying, "Sur
"You've put on some weight," commented Thaddeus. He had clearly noticed her belly fat and enlarged breasts.Panting loudly, Jessamine hadn't recovered from the shock. She did not have the energy to process his remark. All she wanted was to put on her clothes and leave.Unfortunately, she remained tied up like helpless prey.Suddenly, she received an incoming call. The two of them turned to look at her phone.Thaddeus answered the call when he saw it was from Thomas. He put the call on speaker mode. "Grandpa, Jessie is with me."Thomas was irked when he heard Thaddeus' voice. He hadn't forgiven his bratty grandson. With an irritated tone, he snapped, "Give her phone back to her. Why would you pick up her calls?"Thaddeus' eyelids twitched. "Just speak. She can hear you."In response to that, Jessamine said, "Grandpa." She tried to sound normal, but Thomas heard her emotional tone."Jessie, what happened? Are you crying? Tell me what happened. I'll teach that little brat a less
"I can't believe our family has a cursed bastard like you!" Thomas barked. Joe hurried over to calm him down, urging, "Mr. Thomas, the doctor has said not to be upset. You should let the youngsters handle their issues."Jessamine felt her heart skip a beat when she saw Thomas angry. He had just recovered slightly and couldn't afford to get rattled at this moment. She laughed, took Thaddeus' hand, and feigned a relaxed expression. "Grandpa, we were just fooling around. I wouldn't have noticed that he had pinched my hand if you hadn't pointed it out."As she spoke, she looked at Thaddeus pointedly. "You have to be gentle next time, got it?"Thaddeus was forced into agreeing with her, saying, "Yeah, I got it." Then, he affectionately brushed her hair behind her ears.The two put on the guise of a loving couple with their shoddy acting skills. However, they were unaware that Thomas had already heard the conversations about their divorce. "Fine. Just leave," Thomas said with resig
Thaddeus asked, "Officer, if everything is fine, are you going to compensate me for the time I lost? As you can see, I'm very busy."The police officer stuttered at his words. This was the first time he had encountered someone he had arrested who asked such a question. "We'll deal with it after you're proven innocent."Although the officer tried to sound tough, he didn't sound threatening in the slightest. Thaddeus turned around and said to the nosy executives, "The meeting is adjourned!" After that, he took the lead and walked to the elevator.He arrived at the police station in a police car and was interrogated for the first time in his life.The police obtained surveillance footage of the hospital parking lot. In the video, Thaddeus was pulling a beautiful woman and shoving her into the car. They couldn't see what had happened in the car since the windows were tinted. Ten minutes later, Thaddeus and Jessamine came out of the car and adjusted their clothes.The officer pause
When Jessamine was brought to the interrogation room, she saw Thaddeus sitting there proudly. He had always been at the top of the food chain, so he never feared anything.The police officer asked her to sit across from Thadedus. "You can tell us what happened in the car. If it's true, we'll seek justice for you!"Jessamine glanced at Thaddeus from the corner of her eye. In reality, nothing substantial happened in the car. If she insisted that Thaddeus had sexually assaulted her, the police wouldn't be able to conclude anything.After all, since they couldn't see anything on the surveillance tapes, she didn't have any proof. Moreover, given Thaddeus' methods, no one could do anything to him.Jessamine was worried that once the news reached Thomas, it would undoubtedly have a huge impact on him. After weighing her options for a while, she said, "I'm sorry, officers. We're getting a divorce. We fought in the afternoon, but nothing actually happened."The older police officer scoffed
Thaddeus was dumbfounded. Why hadn't he considered using blood types to eliminate the possibility first?"My dad has type O blood."Jessamine's stroked his Adam's apple softly and deliberately. "My mom has type B blood, and I have type AB blood. Do you think it's possible that we could be long-lost siblings?"Thaddeus thought for some time and couldn't help but burst out in hearty laughter. It was impossible for someone with type B blood and someone with type O blood to have a child with AB type blood. What was he worrying about?At that moment, he couldn't believe how foolish he'd been. Biology was his best subject in school, yet he didn't think about this until Jessamine reminded him. His biology teacher would be furious if they knew."Why didn't you say so earlier, Jessie?" He regretted not talking to her about it sooner and ended up suffering in prolonged silence by himself.After Jessamine got bored touching his Adam's apple, she started playing with his rough chin. "I just
Jessamine lay still for a long time, aware that Thaddeus was also awake, battling insomnia just like her.This visit to Zenville to solve one mystery ended up bringing her an even bigger one.The gathering took place years ago in the restaurant owned by Benji's family. She had even asked Benji about it. The surveillance footage from over 20 years ago wouldn't be around now, and even the staff had changed several times. The restaurant's manager from back then had left the job many years ago.It wasn't easy to uncover the truth from back then unless they found the people who were directly involved. The closer they got to the truth, the more pressure she felt.By investigating this matter now, she was essentially peeling back the layers that had been hiding a much deeper issue. As she confronted the dark side of human nature, the ultimate victim ended up being her beloved mother.If Jessamine didn't look into this matter, she felt like she would be letting Elizabeth down. She wanted
Thaddeus frowned immensely at his request. "Don't be ridiculous!""I'm serious. You could help me rent one too. You know, the kind that charges by the day. I'll fool my dad first. We'll deal with everything else once he gets better," Benji said.Thaddeus cursed inwardly, "Dude, don't drag me into this, especially with my wife watching. It sounds like you're implying I have ways to get or rent women."Thaddeus glanced back at Jessamine and said, "I don't know about this. You should ask someone else. If you're at your wits end, go ask one of the assistants in your company to help you out."Benji seemed to come to a realization. He said, "It's getting late. You all should go back and rest. There are doctors here. I'll stay and keep watch."Jessamine asked, "Can you handle this on your own, Mr. Moore?""Sure, thank you… all of you," Benji replied.After saying a few more words of comfort, Jessamine and Thaddeus went downstairs to the car. Thaddeus' phone started ringing again."Mr.
Maya also knelt by the bed and started crying."Dad, don't speak for now. Please be okay."Benji zoned out. Seeing Carmen and Maya crying, his mind was in a mess. He realized that he couldn't continue to live aimlessly—his family needed him now."A girlfriend, a girlfriend..." he mumbled, not even sure of what he was saying.The doctor hurried to the room upon hearing the call, checked on Jonathan again, and then sent the family away."The patient needs rest and should avoid additional emotional stress. You all can wait outside for now. There's no need for everyone to be here, one would be enough. The room can be stuffy if there's too many people here, too."They then left the room. Benji was holding the X-ray images of Jonathan's brain, but he couldn't make any sense of it. He felt completely lost.Shane quietly slipped away from the crowd after watching from afar. He went to an empty hallway and called his father. "Dad, are you free to analyze some X-ray images? It's for a fri
Benji had always lived a smooth and pleasant life. It hit him hard after hearing what the doctor said, leaving him in a state of shock and bewilderment."Mom, hasn't Dad always been in good health? How did he suddenly..."Carmen's eyes were red and swollen from crying."He mentioned feeling dizzy a few times recently and said he'd go for a check-up but actually never did. Plus, he's been swamped with work lately and hasn't got any time. Today, he suddenly fainted at the office. His assistant called an ambulance right away and brought him to the hospital. By the time I got the call, he was already being examined inside."Benji's face turned pale. With Jonathan down, the burden of supporting his family fell on him. He had been free from responsibility for the past 20 years, and now, suddenly having to shoulder this heavy load, he felt completely lost.His father had been asking him to get familiar with the company's operations a long time ago. However, he was too lazy to bother abou
Benji never had any grand ambitions. From the day he was born, people always told him that he didn't need to worry about anything since most problems in this world could be solved with money, and his family had plenty of it. He just wanted to drift through life."I don't need to surpass him. As long as I can cover my daily expenses and not have to ask him for money, that's enough," Benji replied.As they were talking, Shane had prepared a table full of dishes. He set out four sets of plates and cutleries before calling everyone over to eat. "It's time to eat."The four of them hadn't seen each other in a long time, so they had to have a drink.Jessamine looked at the beautifully prepared dishes on the table and couldn't help but offer a compliment. "Shane, your cooking skills have gotten so good."Shane opened a bottle of red wine and poured some for everyone. "What can I do? There's a glutton at home."Benji was not happy with Shane's comment. What did he mean by saying there wa
"It's great that you came by today, Jessie. I'll pay you back the money. Friends who are willing to lend money these days are rare, so I want to thank you again," Benji said.He hadn't repaid the money he borrowed last time yet. Coincidentally, he received some money today, so he decided to settle the debt in person. With that, he picked up his phone to make the transfer.Jessamine's phone chimed, indicating that a payment had been received. The amount was a bit more than what she had lent out."Mr. Moore, I'm not here to ask you to settle your debt. You can keep it for now. I won't need the money for the time being," Jessamine said."If one borrows and returns promptly, borrowing again won't be difficult. You're much easier to talk to than Thaddeus. Despite knowing him for so many years, borrowing money from him is such a hassle. You saw it last time yourself. That scoundrel's attitude was terrible!" Benji complained.At this point in the conversation, Thaddeus happened to arrive
Thaddeus tightened his grip on Jessamine's slender waist. "What am I going to do with you, Jessie?"He thought to himself that if things really were just that coincidental, he would rather play the fool and pretend to know nothing at all. He just couldn't leave her.Jessamine asked softly, "How about you ask your dad?"Thaddeus paused for a moment and took out his phone to call Corey. He couldn't calm his mind at all.After a few seconds of hearing the dial tone, the call was answered."Dad," Thaddeus said.On the other end of the phone, Corey was about to go to sleep. He had been adjusting his routine lately, aiming to go to bed early and wake up early."What’s up?" Corey asked."Do you remember the gathering over 20 years ago with Mr. Hardy, Jacob Langston, Leon Lincoln, Paxton Loomis, and a few others?"After that, Thaddeus added, "That night, a beautiful woman came over. She drank some alcohol and was drugged."There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the ph
On the other side, Jessamine and Thaddeus got into the car.Jessamine and Beatrice were quite familiar with each other. However, it was Jessamine's first time meeting Sabastian. Surprisingly, she had a pretty good impression of him."Do the Hardy and Holt families have business dealings with each other?"Thaddeus drove as he answered her question, "We don't have much interaction. We would occasionally invest in small projects and conduct some charity work in Zenville together."Mr. Hardy is an upright and trustworthy person. He has a good relationship with Grandpa. Hayden would often come to my house with him when I was young."Jessamine paused for a moment and asked, "Does he have a wife?""Hayden's mother passed away from an amniotic fluid embolism during childbirth. Since then, Mr. Hardy has remained single and never remarried."Jessamine was deeply moved. In this era, who would remain loyal for a lifetime to their deceased wives? Most men like Sabastian, who had both power a