"Besides, I can visit Father and Mother, too."Joshua could not help sighing when he heard this. "The last time we saw your parents, we thought they'd recover much quicker…"Luna, too, could not help letting out a sigh of disappointment upon hearing this.She, too, thought that Charles and Rosalyn would be able to recover soon, and even Dr. Liddell had told her the same thing.However…The night before, Luna heard from Dr. Liddell that something had happened to hinder Charles and Rosalyn's progress.There was a nurse who liked playing the news station on the radio whenever she looked after them.For some reason, that day, the local radio station started playing news about Merchant City, and Charles and Rosalyn both found out about Jim's sudden change in temperament and the subsequent conflict that happened between him and Luna.Rosalyn's condition began to deteriorate, and Charles' lucid intervals grew less and less frequent…All of their previous signs of getting better had d
Luna immediately furrowed her brows upon hearing this.She quickly strode down the stairs and stomped over to Malcolm. "What did you just say? Do you know where our daughter is?"Seeing that Luna was interested in knowing the whereabouts of her and Joshua’s daughter after all, Malcolm bit his lip and let out a silent sigh of relief.Thank God he had planned ahead and instructed Hunter to switch out Joshua and Luna's daughter with another baby beforehand.Otherwise, he would not have any leverage to get Joshua and Luna to help him in his current predicament.As soon as he thought of this, Malcolm crawled over to Luna, still on his knees, and grabbed hold of her ankle. "I know where your daughter is!"He sniffed and continued with a desperate pleading in his voice, "Your daughter was switched out by Hunter and Heather when she was born…and the baby they switched her out with was me and Heather's daughter, Riley!"With that, he reached into his pocket and took out a DNA report.Lu
Malcolm closed his eyes and lamented with a helpless tone, "After Heather died, I wanted to bring Riley back to you guys and try to get my hands on some cash so I can go away to someplace no one knows me…"However, Quentin found out about her true identity from God knows where, and he set fire to me and Heather's house, forcing Riley and me to return to the Quinn family…"They kept Riley with them and locked me up in a basement in total darkness. Whenever I ask them when they'd set me free, they would say that they will only release me if I die or go insane someday, or…"Malcolm gulped and lowered his head. "Or when one day Riley loses her value to them."The reason they locked me up was that they were afraid I'd find you guys and tell you of Riley's true identity…"Luna narrowed her eyes slightly when she heard this. She lifted her head to stare coldly at Malcolm. "Just like how you ruined my looks and forced me to do plastic surgery so you could use me, right?"Both Quentin and
"Star?" Malcolm lifted his head to stare at Joshua in puzzlement. "I don't recall anyone in the family…going by that name at all."All members of the Quinn family were serious people, so why would they even pick such a quirky name?Even if it were a nickname of sorts, it would not be something that sounded so childish.Joshua narrowed his eyes. "Please think harder."He was almost certain that the person who had employed Todd to do such cruel things was one of the Quinns.That morning, he and Lucas had already read through all the information about the Quinn family they could get their hands on.Initially, the Quinn family had been a small, humble family who could not seem to expand their business for many years due to considerable overlap with the Landry and Lynch families, who monopolized the market at that time.However…something changed 20 years ago.Lucy Hamilton's death and Colin Landry's accident drove the Landry and Lynch families into a conflict that had ceased to stop
"Nellie told me that recently a strange teacher at her kindergarten has been collecting her hair…and this said teacher was fired after being discovered."Joshua snickered and added, "Do you happen to know who this person is, Master Quinn?"The color drained from Malcolm's face upon hearing this.He stammered for a few moments, unable to think of a response to this.He did not expect that Joshua's daughter would be as observant as he was.He could not believe that she would notice someone collecting her hair from the kindergarten and even told Joshua about this!As soon as he thought of this, Malcolm bit his lip and let out an awkward chuckle. "What are you talking about, Mr. Lynch? I'm based here in Merchant City, so how could I know who this teacher in Banyan City was…""Well, that better be the case." Joshua's expression darkened as he continued, "Otherwise, if I discover that you had faked this DNA report on your own, not only will I kick you out of this city, but I'll even t
Malcolm widened his eyes in shock upon hearing this.His entire body froze as though he had been struck by lightning as he stared at Luna dazedly. For a split second, he stopped struggling against Sean's grip.A few moments later, Malcolm furrowed his brows and finally found his voice. "I didn't! Luna, I never intended to take you and Joshua's daughter away at all! It was all Heather…"Heather and Hunter had planned this on their own, and I… I only found out about this after that…"Luna could not help curling her lips into a sneer as she stared at Malcolm's pale face. "Malcolm, you keep accusing me of being ungrateful and cruel, but what are you doing now?"Even until this point, you're still lying to my face!"Luna's expression darkened as she continued, "Do you still think I'm as naïve as I used to think and will still believe every word that comes out of your mouth?"She narrowed her eyes and snapped through gritted teeth, "You claim that Heather and Hunter had planned this o
After all, the church was a place of holiness and purity, and it would never welcome someone with so much blood on his hands as Quentin.As long as Quentin was unable to enter, Malcolm would be safe!Besides, no matter how powerful Quentin was, he still could not possibly barge into Samuel's church to capture him!As soon as he thought of this, Malcolm quickly turned toward Joshua's retreating figure and thanked him profusely."Alright, alright, that's enough. Get out!" Sean, who had just been hired a few minutes prior to this debacle, tried to kick Malcolm out of the house like a responsible guard.After coming out of the house, Malcolm glanced at him, frowning. "Can you get a car to send me out of town?"He could not possibly risk calling a taxi for fear of being caught by Quentin on his way out of the city.It would be best if one of Joshua's men were willing to drive him, and even if he had to hide in the trunk of the car, he would be willing to do so.Sean could not help f
Inside the bedroom at Joshua's house, Luna was slumped on the bed with her head tucked underneath the blanket, hugging her knees to her chest as she sobbed silently.Everything that Malcolm had said upset her greatly.She could not overcome the guilt she felt over all this.Everything that was happening to Bonnie and Jim was all her fault!If she had realized that something was off about Heather giving birth on the same day she had and that something was wrong with the child of hers, everything would be different!Previously, at the hospital, Gwen had pointed out to her that Heather going into labor on the same day as Luna seemed a little unusual.However, at that time, Luna thought that Heather had chosen to give birth on the same day she had just to irk her and try to steal the spotlight.After all, if one were to give birth before the other, there was no telling if Charles would favor one child over the other.However, if they were born on the same day, things would be diffe
At that, he looked at Gwen. "Actually…"Steven found himself unable to finish his sentence. After a long while, he shook his head and smiled. "Forget about it.""Steven…" Gwen looked at him, and her tears fell.Her heart was not made of stone. How could she not know Steven's feelings toward her?She was silent for a long while. In the end, she stood up and slowly walked over to Steven with arms opened wide. "Give me a hug."Steven hesitated for a while, but he still stood up.They hugged."Gwen." Steven hugged her thin figure. "I have to meet you earlier in the next life so I can compete fairly with my brother."Gwen nodded with tears streaming down her face. "Okay."They thus hugged once more. Minutes later…"He's gone," said Stefan.Tears kept falling.They hugged for a while longer before pulling apart. Gwen looked at Stefan with her tear-stricken face. He had tears on his face as well.She bit her lips and reached out to wipe his tears. "A—Are these tears…yours or his?
The next day, Rachel flew from Merchant City to Sharnwick City to diagnose Anne's condition. Theo tagged along as well because he had another identity, Rachel's boyfriend."According to the report, Anne's condition is slowly recuperating." Rachel was relieved after assessing the report. "Although she is very weak, she is going to get better with lots of rest."There is nothing wrong with her vocal cords too. It could be a psychological thing that makes her lose her voice. A knot in her heart that causes it." She looked at Luna, then at John. "Considering all factors, I think that knot is Luna."Rachel continued, "John, I know Luna is the root cause of all these bad things. Being away from Luna, Joshua, and other people is going to guarantee a safer life for you and your family. But have you thought about it from Anne's point of view? Other than you and Sammie, she has her own life and her circle of friends. Never has she blamed Luna for what happened, yet you forced her to leave Lun
It was almost a miracle for Anne to willingly leave the house just to visit him!Robyn, meanwhile, sobbed at the sight.The nurse who accompanied Anne to the ward was puzzled. What was going on with these people?She snuck her phone out of her pocket and took a photo of this surreptitiously. Then, she sent it into the nurse's group chat with the caption, [What a strange family I met today.]The nurses in the group chat began gossiping about this. One of them tagged a fellow nurse named Daisy and said, [Hey, isn't this the guy who saved the old man you're looking after? What a hero!]Daisy was, at this moment, walking into Andy's room to help him change his wound dressing. She saw the message but was not able to type on her keyboard to respond, so she recorded a voice message instead. "Yes, that's the man. What's wrong with his family? What are you guys talking about?"As soon as she finished her sentence, she lifted her head and finally realized that Andy was not there.Instead,
Anne stared at John for a long time before forcibly smiling and told him in sign language, "Robyn didn't return after so long, so I got worried and came by to check on her.""Daddy, Aunt Robyn, are you two hugging?" Sammie asked, blinking innocently as she raised her head in curiosity.John and Robyn turned pale at this.It was understandable for such a young child like Sammie to misinterpret them as hugging, but what would Anne think of this?John leaped off the bed and staggered toward Anne. "Anne, it's just a misunderstanding…"However, he was still so weak that his legs could not hold up the full weight of his body at all, and he almost crumpled to the ground.Quick-witted Robyn managed to catch him before he could fall, but this gesture appeared once again rather intimate to both Anne and Sammie. Sammie furrowed her brow and asked rather indignantly, "Are you hugging again? Daddy, how can you hug Aunt Robyn like this when you've never even hugged Mommy and me like this befor
When the nurse pushed Anne to John's ward, she overheard John and Robyn fighting from the door. The fight was about how John was anxious to return home because he was worried about Anne and Sammie.However, as someone who used to work as a nurse, Robyn knew John should not leave the hospital after being shot by a gun. At least, he needed to stay in the hospital and be observed for 24 hours to make sure that he was fine before leaving the hospital. If an infection happened, John's body would crash easily and he would become weak just like Anne.In the ward, John frowned and talked with a serious tone, "I'm really fine. Get me my clothes so I can go upstairs to thank Miss Andie and go back home immediately. If Anne knows that I'm hurt, she is going to worry. She will easily be suspicious since you haven't gone back home for a long time. What if she worries about me and brings Sammie to the hospital to look for me? Can you bear yourself even just thinking about it? She's weak and Sammie
Sammie's soft and cute babyish voice melted Stefan's heart immediately. It had been quite some time since he actually put a smile on his face. "Hi, there. What's your name and how old are you?"Sammie tilted her head to look at Stefan's handsome face and smiled sweetly, "I'm Samantha but everyone calls me Sammie."Then she did not forget to introduce Anne to Stefan too. "This is my Mommy. Her name is Anne."At this point, Stefan had given all of his attention to Sammie and did not notice Sammie mentioned that her mother's name was Anne. He pinched Sammie's cheek and said, "Your Mommy is not feeling well. You have to be a good girl and take care of her, do you understand?"Sammie nodded seriously and said, "I will.""Alright, sir. I will bring them to where they want to go," the nurse saw Anne signing to her anxiously. She smiled and said, "Don't worry. I will take good care of them."The promise from the nurse gave an assurance to Stefan that they would be well taken off. He smil
This was the first time Anne brought Sammie out. Ever since she escaped from death, she became a different person—a recluse and was afraid of the sun. This situation became even worse after she became mute.The last time she left the house was two weeks ago when she had to go for surgery.However, she worried about John. In the morning, Robyn told her John was hurt and needed to stay in the hospital to rest. However, she had a hard time believing what Robyn said.After spending so many years together with John, Anne reckoned she was the one who knew John the most. If it was a minor injury, John would never want to stay in the hospital. He cared too much about her and Sammie, so he never dared to let her worry about him. Therefore, it just did not sound reasonable if John would stay in the hospital because of a small injury.Furthermore, Robyn had not returned home since the morning, which was nearly three hours since she left the house. After much consideration, she decided to call
Tara fell silent upon hearing this. She bit her lip nervously and shot Gwen a tentative glance. "I didn't mean to offend you, Gwen…" "I know." Gwen let out an exhale and interrupted Tara before she could finish, "I know you meant no harm, but I can't deny that this is something I'm still having trouble wrapping my head around. In the future, neither of you—even you, Luna—should bring this up again." Her love life was such a mess that not even she could unravel the ties, much less expect other people to understand. Tara pursed her lips and did not reply. Luna stared at Gwen in silence for a while before finally saying, "But you have to face this eventually, Gwennie. After all that you've been through with Luke, all of us hope for nothing but the best for the two of you. Even if you avoid it now, you'll have to face the truth eventually. Otherwise, are you planning on spending the rest of your life in this complicated relationship with Luke? Can you bear the thought of not being
Stefan was mildly amused by the look on her face. He extended his arms out in a gesture of defeat and said, "I never intended on ratting you out to Joshua. You three spoke about these secrets in my presence." With that, he shot Andy a rather helpless look. "Don't you agree, sir?" Andy was surprised to be called out all of a sudden. "Of course!" Although Gwen and Luke had been together for a long time, Luke had never much cared for maintaining good relations with his future father-in-law. He always thought his relationship with Gwen did not concern anyone else outside of the two of them. Combined with the fact that Andy had done some hurtful things to Gwen in the past, Luke grew even more disdainful of his future father-in-law. Because of this, he had never given Andy as much as a second glance throughout their relationship and rarely ever addressed him directly like this. The truth was, Stefan had already called out to Andy once before, during their rescue mission the day befor