As Ella hung up the phone, a small frown crept onto her face. Something felt off, but she forced herself to appear unfazed. “Alright, I'll head back to the office now,” she told herself, steadying her resolve. She quickly called Mr. Kane, hoping he could pick up her two children, but luck wasn't on her side. Mr. Kane was downstairs, deeply engrossed in a heated chess match, and his phone was left behind. Instead, it was Mrs. Kane who answered. Hearing Ella's request, she nearly burst with excitement. “Oh, absolutely! You just focus on your work; I’ll handle the kids,” Mrs. Kane said with a quiver in her voice. “Don’t worry about a thing. You can count on me!” Since the paternity test drama, Mrs. Kane had felt a mix of guilt and longing for her daughter and grandchildren. Despite her attempts to make up for her past suspicions by visiting often and cooking up a storm on weekends, there was still this unspoken distance between her and Ella. But now, for Ella to finally trust he
Ella stared at the man in front of her, her jaw nearly dropping. Leo is the son of the wealthiest man in the city? The Henry Quinn she’s known for ages? How is that possible?! She blinked, half-expecting someone to jump out with a hidden camera and shout, “Gotcha!” But, Lucas didn’t look like he was in on some joke. He looked serious. Real serious. After the shock wore off a bit, Ella shook her head. This had to be a mistake. There’s no way her humble, down-to-earth Leo could be part of that family. “Mr. Lucas,” she said, trying to keep her voice steady, “There are tons of people out there with the same name, right? I mean, Leo Quinn isn’t exactly unique.” Lucas raised an eyebrow, clearly unimpressed. “Sure, but how many people have the same name, the same face, and... the same everything else?” With that, he reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a stack of photos, placing them right in front of her. Ella hesitated, glancing at the photos like they might explode
"Poison." Lucas's words hung in the air as Ella stared at him, wide-eyed and speechless, for a solid two seconds. She then whipped around, pressing a hand to her mouth, panic spreading through her face. Lucas quickly reached out and stopped her, his expression dark and severe. "Did you really think I meant poison?" Ella shot him a look as if to say, Of course, I believed you! After all, he was capable of murder and arson. Seeing that she was still trying to force the supposed "poison" out of her mouth, Lucas sighed and finally admitted, "Fine, it’s just chlorophenol amine maleate." Ella froze. She knew chlorophenol amine maleate—it was a common allergy medication. But that meant he’d specifically prepared it… for her. Which also meant he’d somehow known she had an allergy. Specifically to osmanthus. Which meant… Oh. Oh no. She pieced it all together with a dawning sense of horror: Lucas must have used the osmanthus tea as a test. A test to confirm her identity. And now
"Mr. Montgomery, we’ve arrived at the hospital," the driver announced gently. Lucas blinked, snapping out of his thoughts. He glanced down at the woman resting limply in his arms, her face pale and peaceful in sleep. His heart twisted, but he ignored it, taking off his coat and carefully wrapping it around her, keeping her warm. Just as he stepped out, Zane, rushed forward with an umbrella, his brow furrowing in concern. "Mr. Lucas, it’s cold out. Maybe you should keep the coat. I can give her mine." Lucas gave him a look that could freeze lava. Without a word, he swept past Zane, clutching her close to his chest as he strode toward the hospital doors, leaving Zane to trail behind, holding the umbrella. --- Half an hour later, they waited in a quiet corner of the emergency room. Finally, a young man in a white coat stepped out, clipboard in hand. Dr. Aaron, a childhood friend of Lucas and a top doctor, sighed as he looked over the test results. "Well, Lucas," Aaron said, push
"Wait, didn't you just say she’d freak out if she saw me?" Lucas's voice had an edge of disbelief. "Yeah," Aaron replied, unfazed. "She’d panic if she saw you conscious. But guess what? She’s not conscious right now, is she?" Lucas was quiet, unsure what to do next. “So...what exactly am I supposed to do?” Aaron gave him a patient look, as though explaining a simple math problem to a child. “Simple. Pour water near her ear to mimic the sound of rain. Drip a little cold water on her skin. And, from time to time, whisper to her that you’re here to help.” Lucas arched an eyebrow, skeptical. “Seriously? That’s gonna work?” “Who’s the doctor here, you or me?” Aaron shot back. Taking a resigned breath, Lucas muttered something under his breath before finally walking into the emergency room. --- In the depths of her unconscious mind, Ella found herself reliving a nightmare she thought she'd left far behind. She was back six years ago, trapped in a raging fire. Smoke stung her eyes,
“It’s fine. What’s going on that’s so urgent?” Leo asked, his voice still rough from being jolted awake in the middle of the night. He flicked on the bedside lamp, throwing soft light into the room, and started pulling on his clothes. Years as a surgeon had trained him to expect chaos at odd hours, but he still preferred a warning. “Did something happen?” Kaia didn't beat around the bush and said directly, "My mother was taken away by Lucas Montgomery." Leo paused in his movements, his expression changing. "You mean Lucas took your mother away? When did this happen?" “After work last night. She told us she had to work late, but she didn’t come home. Just now, my sister called her phone, and Lucas answered. He said Mom is sick and he’s with her at the hospital.” That was all Leo needed to hear. He yanked on his second sock, grabbed his jacket, and was out of bed in an instant. “Which hospital?” Kai was stunned for a moment. She hadn't mentioned it. But just because she didn't
Lucas paced down the hospital hallway, flicking a cigarette to life. The brief hit of nicotine helped, but it was just a distraction. After a few drags, he stubbed it out, taking a deep breath. Ella hated the smell of smoke, and somehow, even now, he still cared. She’d told him once, early on in their marriage, that the smell bothered her. Since then, he’d done his best to quit, even during the most high-pressure times at work. But he’d picked up the habit again after she “left.” Those nights of sleeplessness, combined with long, grueling work hours, had driven him back to it, as if the smoke could somehow ease the emptiness she left behind. Now, as he headed back to the ward, a strange feeling crept over him. He was almost at the door when he heard voices inside. “Are you hungry?” came a familiar voice. “I brought you some oatmeal porridge. Drink it, and then I’ll take you home.” Lucas's eyes narrowed. That’s Leo Quinn. How did Leo find her? Besides himself, only Kai a
As Ella walked down the hallway, she paused suddenly, something sparking in her memory. She spun around to face Leo. "Oh, hey, Leo, I just remembered something weird." Leo looked up, surprised by her sudden halt. "What's up?" "Do you know Lucas? I just heard him call you 'Mr. Quinn.' But… didn't you say you were an only child?" Leo's eyes narrowed slightly. He always knew Ella was sharp, but he hadn't expected her to catch such a small detail, especially with everything going on. For a second, Leo considered dodging the question, but he realized it was probably time to be honest with her. After all, if Lucas had figured out who he was, then it was only a matter of time before Ella found out, too. "Ella," he began, his voice low and sincere. "I've actually wanted to tell you this for a while… but I never quite knew how." She cocked her head to the side, her curious gaze glued to him. "Tell me what?" He exhaled slowly. "I only found out about it six years ago." Ella's eyebrow
Kai's face turned slightly pale."Not only." He clenched the mouse in his hand, and his voice forced to be calm: "We were discovered."Leo was taken aback for a moment: "It was discovered? What do you mean?"Kai took a deep breath: "My mother’s phone is not turned off, but controlled. The other party traced us back through my locator. The garbled characters on the screen should be a message from them."Leo’s pupils shrank uncontrollably.Ella's mobile phone is not turned off, but controlled? Isn’t her current situation more dangerous than she imagined?No, I don’t care about that much.Finding Ella is the most important thing.Thinking of this, he asked Kai again: "Then what do they want to say?"Kai shook his head while typing on the keyboard quickly: "I don’t know, the one they sent is a code, and it needs to be run through the program before it can be displayed."Leo took a deep breath and suppressed the anxiety in his heart."Okay, then try to run it first. Uncle, go make a call a
"Good morning, Dr. Leo." "Are you here to see Miss Lila again?" "Dr. Leo, you seem to be in a good mood. Is something good happening lately?" Leo didn't respond to their questions, only smiling gently and nodding in acknowledgment. It wasn't until the doctors and nurses had passed by that he couldn't help but turn and head toward the restroom to check himself in the mirror. After so many years, he had grown accustomed to wearing a mask of warmth and kindness. As for his true emotions, he had almost forgotten what they felt like. But now even passing doctors and nurses could sense his joy... Was it really that obvious? Leo couldn't help but shake his head and smile, washing his hands before turning to leave the restroom. However, just as he reached the door of Ella's hospital room, a nurse rushed out in a panic and collided with him. Seeing the nurse's panicked expression, Leo immediately had a bad feeling. "What happened?" The nurse, recognizing Leo, couldn't hi
Kai choked for a moment. That wasn’t really what he meant.But facing the watery big eyes of his little sister, he naturally couldn’t say anything that would hurt her, so he asked her back, "Do you want to go to the junior class?"Kaia lowered her head and hesitated for only two seconds before shaking her head. "I don’t want to.""Oh? Why not?" Kai asked."Because if I go to the junior class, I have to live in the school and can't eat the food made by my grandparents every day, nor can I buy small cakes," Kaia replied.Well, this reason was in line with the little girl’s character.Kai rubbed her head and said, "That’s right, Kaia can go if you want to, but you don’t want to go to the junior class."Kaia nodded, but soon raised her head again. "What about brother? Does he really want to go?"Facing the bright eyes of his little sister, Kai knew that she couldn’t bear to be separated from her brother, but he still told the truth. "Brother really wants to go."The light in Kaia’s eyes d
One million US dollars Kai said he wasn’t tempted, but the truth was, his mother worked so hard and even put her life at risk for just a few hundred thousand dollars a year.Now, all he had to do was hack into the Quinm Group, and he could get one million US dollars. Kai was confident he could do it!After all, it had been two days, and several experts from different alliances had already confirmed the authenticity of the reward post. This meant they had successfully hacked into the Quinm Group and received the one million US dollar reward.But Kai still kept his promise to his mother.However, he couldn’t help but be curious about who would have such a huge grudge against the Quinn Group. So, he tried to track down the person behind the post.But he never expected to encounter a real expert this time. The person not only easily detected and prevented his intrusion but also effortlessly cracked the fake IP addresses and puzzles he had set up and found his real IP address directly!
Ella didn't respond to Mrs. Kane's words.Her gaze stayed fixed on the doorway until the shadow disappeared from under the crack, and she let out a sigh of relief.But her mood soon grew heavier.She had guessed correctly—Leo hadn't left directly; he'd been eavesdropping at the doorway.But why? After losing her memory, all she could remember was hiding Philip’s secret from him.Why had he been so careful, eavesdropping on her, watching her? Was he trying to get something from her, or was he trying to prevent her from contacting someone?Ella lowered her head, feeling both sad and confused.Mrs. Kane seemed happy after getting Ella’s response and began to look at the calendar, not caring whether Ella was interested or not.On the balcony, Kaia was wearing headphones, watching videos on her phone, and didn’t hear the conversation inside. But Kai heard every word of the conversation clearly.He lowered his eyes, hiding his complicated thoughts.After a moment, he touched Kaia's head an
"Mom..."Ella couldn't stand the enthusiasm of Mrs. Kane, so she had to stop her and said, "Let Dr. Leo have a drink of water first.""Yes, yes, have some water first."As Mrs. Kane got up to pour water, Kaia was quicker and had already poured a glass and handed it to Leo, saying, "Uncle Leo, have some water."Leo looked at the little girl's face, which was almost a replica of Kai's, and felt all his exhaustion disappear in an instant, leaving only a gentle warmth that was almost overflowing."Thank you, little darling."The little girl blushed at the endearment and handed the glass to Leo before shyly hiding behind Mrs. Kane.Mrs. Kane found it amusing and was about to say something, but then remembered that Lila didn't like to talk about Leo in front of the two children. So she swallowed her words and asked Leo to sit down for dinner.After dinner, Leo had planned to stay at the hospital. But Mrs. Kane said, "Leo dear, you have worked hard for Lila these past few days, but this can
Leo nodded and lowered his eyes. "Acute heart failure. The delay on the road was too long, and it was almost dead when it was delivered."Ella was taken aback for a moment. "So... the operation failed?"Leo nodded silently.It was the first time for Ella to see Leo like this.Obviously, his complexion didn’t look much different from usual, but if you looked closely, you would find that those eyes that were always warm were a little darker than usual. Leo had been in the heart surgery department for almost ten years. She was afraid he couldn’t even remember the surgeries he’d had. Yet, he was still so sad because of a failed surgery. Was he dissatisfied with his abilities? Or was it respect and reverence for life?Ella looked at Leo like this and then thought of her doubts about him these days, and unconsciously began to waver again.How could Leo, who was so dedicated to his job and respected life..."Cough cough."The sudden coughing sound from the bathroom interrupted Ella’s tho
Time was running out. Ella directly told Philip her thoughts after reading the email Samuel Griffith left her and the investigations of the past few days."Although you have lost your memory, you read yesterday's email, and you should know almost everything about the Blake family fire case six years ago. The trial of this case six years ago was very rough. This time it seems to be more detailed. But in fact, there are still many procedurally unreasonable places.""The most obvious thing is that this case is obviously derived from the bombing case. According to common sense, you are the only one who wakes up among the two survivors of the bombing case. Therefore, the superiors should send someone to interrogate you based on emotion and reason.""Even if you lose your memory, they should at least check your details and the intersection with the other two dead people.""But actually, has anyone from the police contacted you these days? So far, there should be no one other than me.""No."
Ella hesitated for a moment before confessing, "Officer Philip, there’s something I need to tell you."Philip was taken aback. "What is it?""I have amnesia," Ella said. "I’ve forgotten everything that’s happened in the past few years since I turned twenty-one. That’s why I asked you for that email earlier. I remember Samuel, but I don’t remember what I said to him when we were in contact because I deleted those emails myself."Philip was silent for a while, seemingly digesting what she had just said."So, you don’t remember the Blake family fire six years ago or the recent explosion case?" he asked.Ella pursed her lips. "I don’t remember anything. My knowledge of these events is limited to what people around me have told me and what I’ve read in the news and newspapers."Philip rubbed his forehead, feeling a headache coming on.He had thought that contacting Ella would help solve many of the questions he had, but things had only become more complicated. After a moment of thought, h