"You haven't recovered from your cold yet?" Thaddeus asked tentatively, walking over to her. But when he saw her bandaged hands, he became gloomy. "What happened to your hands?"Jessamine didn't want to talk to him. His first love was the reason for everything she had suffered. If he hadn't been flaky and given Amy this much leeway, Amy wouldn't have committed such vile actions every time.Shane stepped forward and shielded Jessamine behind him. He stared Thaddeus down and said, "You've got a lot of nerve to ask that. You should ask your dear mistress about her oh-so-valiant deeds."Thaddeus frowned. He had put Amy on house arrest. Shane was making baseless accusations."I wasn't asking you. Get out here, Jessamine!" Thaddeus yelled at Jessamine, showing an air of superiority.Jessamine was silent and walked out from behind Shane. "Thaddeus, let's finalize our divorce. You must have a way to get past the grace period. I can't take this anymore. I beg of you!" she said weakly, begg
"Cut the crap and take good care of those hands. I want to see you give Thirsty Ted hell," Shane said.Jessamine chuckled and said, "I don't need my hands for that!"She hadn't slept all night, so her mind was groggy. Everyone had their limits, and she had reached hers. She was afraid that something would happen to her babies. "Shane, I want to take a nap."Shane nodded and said, "Go ahead. I'll get out of your hair. If you need anything, don't hesitate to call me. This lady will be here with you. Remember not to get your wounds wet."After giving her a string of instructions, he finally left, and the ward fell silent. Jessamine had a lot on her mind, but she forced herself to rest. She still had a battle ahead of her.Meanwhile, Thaddeus walked out of Thomas' ward and went to the nurse's station near Jessamine's ward. "Who's the attending doctor for the patient in room 1206?" he asked. The nurse was stunned. It was rare to meet a handsome visitor like him, so she couldn't hel
After Jessamine gave her orders, the four men acted separately as two teams.Meanwhile, Margaret was getting a facial in a beauty salon. Noticing the lights in the room had gone dim, she asked the beautician, "Are you sure you can work in the dark like this? You'd better not use the wrong products on my face."However, she didn't get a reply to her question. Instead, someone put a black sack over her head."Come with us, old hag," a cold male voice rang out in the salon. Margaret was so scared that her legs turned to jelly. "W-Who the hell are you people?"Before she could ask any more questions, they forced a sock into her mouth. She whimpered as they carried her to a car at the back door. The thugs didn't even let her wear any shoes. Margaret was so frightened that she was about to wet herself.She didn't know who kidnapped her or where she was being taken. With her head covered, her mouth gagged, and her hands tied, all she could do was whimper.Her fear was overwhelming h
The man's words gave Margaret a reminder. She said, "I have money if you want it. My husband runs a company. He can give you money in exchange for me. So, please don't hurt me."The man said with a smile, "Are you sure he'll be willing to spend a large amount of money for an old hag who's near death? One of the best things that can occur in life is your spouse dying in middle age. He might as well use that money on a younger woman instead."Margaret immediately fell into despair. She didn't have much faith in Colin. That selfish bastard only cared about himself. In this case, he might not even exchange all the wealth he had accumulated to save her, his middle-aged wife.…Meanwhile, Amy was causing trouble as usual. Upon discovering that Clara hadn't told Thaddeus about her sneaking out the day before, Amy convinced Clara to go for a walk together. She felt stifled being indoors.Amy wasn't sick at all, but she was being looked after as if she had a serious heart condition. All he
When Thaddeus arrived at the scene, Clara had already called the security guards over. The fire department had also arrived.This artificial lake was concave, with shallow edges and deeper waters the further they went. Since they hadn't found Amy after a long time, she most likely had sunk to the bottom of the lake. Therefore, they needed to drain the lake. Everyone began to work in haste.Clara looked at Thaddeus as if he was her savior. "I'm sorry, Mr. Holt. I-I didn't take good care of her. Ms. Quilton said she was bored staying in the house and wanted to come out for some fresh air. "I thought nothing would happen in the neighborhood, so I followed her out. When I went upstairs to get some snacks, Ms. Quilton was gone."Clara burst into tears from fear. She had messed up when caring for the Holt family's future successor. She felt as if everything was about to fall apart. She had never made such a huge mistake in her years of working for the Holt family.Thaddeus remain
"You'll find out when it gets dark," Grim said. "Oh, I wonder if you're afraid of ghosts. I'll take you to meet some later."Amy looked horrified when she heard his words. "What the hell are you talking about? There's no such thing as ghosts."She had been afraid of the dark since she was a child, so she dared not watch thriller movies, let alone supernatural films. Right now, she was worried that these men might bring her and Magaret into a haunted house.Then, the sun began to set, dyeing the sky red. Soon, the sky turned dark.A man put out his cigarette, threw it on the ground, and stomped on it. He asked, "It's almost time, guys. Should we get ready now?""Let's do this."Amy and Margaret were petrified. Since the men had kidnapped them and waited until night to take action, they were definitely up to no good. Were they going to kill them after taking advantage of them?Margaret was so terrified that she couldn't walk at all. She had even wet herself.However, Amy was some
Margaret felt sorry for her precious daughter and wanted to hug her, but her limbs were bound. She couldn't move at all and could only remain on her knees. "Don't be afraid, Amy," she said. "I'm here with you. I'm always on your side."Amy cried even harder. "Mom. Mom, I see a light in the distance. Are we about to die now?"Margaret glanced at it and said comfortingly, "No, Amy. Don't look at it."…The leader chuckled, "Let's go, guys. We shouldn't stop them from atoning their sins."After that, the four men passed through the densely packed graves toward the exit of the cemetery. They heard the pitiful cries of the two women behind them, along with a few hoots of the owls from time to time. The noises sounded scary in the empty suburbs. Even the four men felt chills run down their spines.Grim cursed, "Fuck! I wouldn't have dared to do this job if that lady hadn't paid me so much. This is so fucking scary."The four men couldn't help but quicken their pace.Meanwhile, a
For Margaret, all those cries sounded like they belonged to Elizabeth. Elizabeth had come to seek revenge!Margaret was scared out of her wits. "Don't come here! Stay away! You're the one who didn't drive properly. You can't blame me for that. Get away!" she rambled.Amy hurriedly shouted, "Stop talking, Mom! She's coming!"Then, Margaret fainted in fear in front of Elizabeth's grave."Mom! Mom, wake up! Don't leave me alone!" Amy trembled, sweating all over. Since Margaret had fainted, the ghost was probably after her now.She mustered the courage to look in the direction of the wails, but there was only darkness in the distance.…Thaddeus had already led the team to drain the artificial lake in the neighborhood. When they didn't find anything in the lake, he was relieved.He was sure that Amy had tricked Clara so she could run away. Clara believed she had fallen into the water, making everyone think so as well.Now, Thaddeus composed himself and thought about things. Amy wa
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