Malcolm's entire body was frozen in shock as though he had been struck by lightning when faced with Joshua's cold gaze.His mind was racing with thoughts of how to escape this room.A split second later, he smiled meekly at Joshua and said, "M—Mr. Lynch, how can I possibly dare to use your children like this?"They told me they weren't happy with you and Luna…so I risked my life to sneak here to check on them. After all, Nigel, Neil, and Nellie had lived with me for six years, so of course I'd care about them."How can I not come to check on them after they told me that they weren't happy with their situation?"He began taking small steps backward as he continued, "The reason I came here was to talk to them about cutting you and Luna some slack. They're children, after all, so they wouldn't understand the situation you and Luna are in, but I know that you and Luna care about them just as much as you care about Riley and the lost child."After all, there is no such thing as favori
At this moment, Jim reached out to grab hold of his collar once more, lifted him off the ground, and punched him again.Whoomph! Whoomph! Whoomph!He did not stop after the first blow.Every time Malcolm crumpled onto the ground, Jim would pick him up again by his collar and repeat the same.After almost 20 blows, Malcolm's face was now covered in red and purple bruises.He was in so much pain that he could not bear to move and instead slumped on the ground limply, trying to escape from Jim to no avail."You… Please stop… Please stop hitting me! I…I can tell you who wanted me to kill Bonnie! I'll tell you as long as you stop hitting me!"Finally, Malcolm got on his knees and stooped so low that his forehead touched the ground. "I'll tell you anything you want! I was just following orders, so please don't hit me. Please don't hit me…"As the heir to Quinn Group, Malcolm had never been subjected to this kind of treatment before.This was much too painful to bear!Jim stood moti
Malcolm's words made Joshua perk up a little. "Are you sure the person who instructed you to do this is right among us?""I'm positive!" Malcolm nodded feverishly. "It's true! Otherwise, how would I have known…what time Jim would be leaving the hospital yesterday?"It's… It's because that woman was working with me from the inside, and that's how I was able to sneak into the hospital as soon as Jim left with his son."That woman…told me that she'd help me create the perfect opportunity for me to carry out my task. Think about it: how would I have known when you'd leave if someone hadn't been helping me?"Jim furrowed his eyebrows upon hearing this. He glanced dubiously at Malcolm, then at Joshua. "Does this mean that there's someone working with him?"Joshua curled his lips into a smile. "Of course there is."He turned to glance impassively at Malcolm. "However, this information you've given isn't sufficient for me to release you."He shifted into a more comfortable position in h
Jim channeled all the strength in his body into this punch, and after falling onto the ground, Malcolm could not even make a sound, much less move any part of his body.He felt as though all his internal organs had shifted from this blow, and he wanted nothing more than to pick himself back up again.He could not. No matter how hard he tried, he could not.Despair and hopelessness enveloped his entire being.However, Jim did not seem to think this was enough. Instead, he grabbed hold of Malcolm's collar and punched him again.Malcolm slumped limply on the ground like a fish out of water."Anything else you wanted to say?" Joshua shifted into a more comfortable position in his chair and stared down at Malcolm from his towering height. "You should know that you're no longer Malcolm Quinn."Malcolm Quinn has been kicked out of Merchant City and is no longer welcomed into this city. Your new identity is Lucifer Howard, a driver and laborer working for Thomas Howard."If you die rig
Jim froze, unable to believe his ears.He instinctively inched closer to Joshua and whispered, "Are you saying that…Malcolm kept some of the poison with which he was instructed to kill Bonnie and even stashed it somewhere?"Joshua nodded, staring out in the direction in front of him.He persistently prodded and provoked Malcolm so he would finally relent and hand over the poison.Joshua had mentioned that he did not need Malcolm to expose the identity of the mastermind. That was because both he and Jim were capable of finding out who this person was eventually.Not only that, but he even had a suspicion as to who it was already.Nonetheless, it was not enough to find this person.As Malcolm said, this person had minimal contact with him, and even if they managed to find who it was, it would be hard to pin it on her because she had plenty of reasons and evidence that would help her evade responsibility.Because of this, Joshua had to find even more evidence to prove her crime.
Just as Malcolm contemplated the options he had, Lucas and his men dug out a small chest from beneath the tree.Jim immediately lunged forward to open the chest.There was a small box engraved with the letter M, in a plastic wrapper inside the chest.Jim opened the box, frowning, and discovered a small pill wrapped in aluminum foil."She had given me only one of these pills, but…I told her I had lost it so that she'd give me another one," Malcolm explained timidly. "Initially, I had planned to use this to escape…"He lifted his head to stare at Joshua. "You mean what you said, right, Mr. Lynch? You told me that as long as I handed over the pill…you'd let me go.""He promised that he'd let you go, but I never did." Jim tucked the box into his pocket, stomped back toward Malcolm, and landed another punch on his already swollen face."That's enough." Joshua furrowed his brow, reached out to stop Jim, and said impassively, "We have to stick to our word."He shot Malcolm a contemptu
Jim fell silent upon hearing this.He knew that Joshua was right. To find the person who tried to kill Bonnie, they had to do more than find the poison used.They would have to obey Joshua's plan and make it evident that they had sought out Malcolm, then release him as though nothing had happened.That way, the mastermind behind all this would become flustered and eventually find a way to get rid of Malcolm to prevent herself from being exposed.With this, they could use Malcolm as bait to lure the person into the light.At the thought of this, Jim scoffed and glared at Malcolm. "You got lucky this time!"Then, he turned and stomped away.After Jim left, Joshua glanced impassively at Malcolm, then ordered Lucas, "Get the news out there about Malcolm's interrogation and make it clear that we released him, even though he didn't offer us any useful information."Lucas nodded obediently. "Yes, Sir."Joshua turned to smile at Malcolm. "Good luck."With that, he left.Staring at J
All of them had perfect reasons to suspect Kate.After all, Bonnie had known Joshua and Jim for a long time, and never once had their suspicions been proven wrong.Therefore, when Kate sobbed to her about being wrongfully blamed for attempted murder, there was nothing Bonnie could do except console her.She could not find it in herself to believe Kate, nor could she forgive her.At the thought of this, Bonnie rubbed her brows in frustration and said, "Ms. Miller, I just woke up from a coma, and I'm still very tired now. I'm sure that a beautiful girl like you will surely have an equally kind and pure heart, so I'm certain you'll find a way to prove yourself innocent."I'm sorry but…I'm too exhausted now."Kate's eyebrows furrowed at this, and a glimmer of malice flashed through her eyes when she sensed Bonnie's refusal to get involved in this.She had been here for about half an hour, and apart from thanking her, Bonnie had not offered her anything useful at all, much less helpe
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