Noelle seemed to be followed by someone.Her job was to stay at home and paint, so she didn't have many opportunities to go out, but once or twice a week, she would go out to buy some groceries.Normally, her outings were at random times, so it wasn't likely anyone would be following her.And because of that, whenever she turned around, she didn't notice anything unusual, so she didn't really pay attention to it.Until one day, when she was heading to the supermarket, a motorcycle suddenly sped toward her.The motorcycle had a clear intention, and it was heading straight for her. Noelle was startled and took several steps back, just as someone else happened to be walking by.The motorcycle zipped past her and drove off into the distance.The howling wind seemed to still echo in Noelle's ears, and her whole body froze as she was too scared to move.What stood out most to her was the look in the man's eyes when he had glanced at her. It was as if he was going to tear her life apa
Before he could finish speaking, Noelle suddenly kicked his crotch.She was hard with that kick. Besides, that was every man's most vulnerable spot. William quickly let her go, and he started cursing, "Fuck! How dare you fucking attack me? I'll fucking kill you!"With that, he jumped her again. This time, he left no mercy as he straightaway tried to strangle Noelle."Bitch! You fucking ingrate! I'll kill you today!"He was still berating while applying more force on his hand, which hindered Noelle's breathing. Soon, her face turned red, and she started to scratch William's arms as an attempt to break free. However, she could only injure him at most."I know you've always been ashamed of me, thinking I'm not as capable as your biological father, right? But how good can your rich father be to you? He won't even acknowledge you, and now, he even wants you to die and give his wife your life!"William's words made Noelle's already fading consciousness suddenly snap back into clarity.
"I'm your father! Let go of me quickly! I'm going to the hospital! I'm going to die!" William bellowed. He still wanted to struggle, but Noelle stabbed the scissors deeper into his neck."You are lying. I don't believe it.""It's true! I didn't lie to you, Luna! They originally wanted me to tie you up and orchestrate a car accident for you," William told her the plan."They said that you were unwilling to perform a transplant on your mother, but you signed the body donation form, so as long as you died unexpectedly, she would get a transplant opportunity!"I was a little selfish. I just thought that you were going to die anyway, so I could at least get my pleasure…"Before William could finish speaking, Noelle suddenly stepped on the wound on his abdomen. Blood quickly gushed out from the wound, and the bone-chilling pain made William scream endlessly.What scared him the most was how Noelle was staring at him. Her hands were shaking due to fear, yet the coldness in her eyes wa
Noelle slowly rose to her feet. However, she didn't rush to leave. Instead, her gaze lingered on the wound on William's abdomen before slowly drifting downward.William sensed that something was wrong. But before he could do anything, Noelle suddenly lifted her foot and stomped down hard on his family jewel."It's best if this thing rots away!" said Noelle vehemently.That was the last thing William heard before the searing pain overtook him, plunging him into unconsciousness.Noelle didn't spare him another glance. When she stepped out, she collided head-on with someone."What the hell, you—" scolded Helen Myrtle, the woman next door.She had been spying on Noelle for a month and had noticed that Noelle's "boyfriend" hadn't shown up during that time. Naturally, she felt no fear toward Noelle—who had clearly been dumped.Just as Helen was about to lash out at Noelle, she noticed the bloodstains on Noelle's clothes, her disheveled hair, and the hollow look in her eyes."Holy shi
Hendrix could hardly believe it when he first heard Dan say that Noelle had been arrested. In fact, he even thought it was absurd.In his memory, Noelle had always been far more rational than most people. Moreover, the very idea of her being involved in a stabbing incident seemed utterly ridiculous.But there was no denying it when he got into the car and read the detailed news article on his tablet. As soon as he saw the victim's name, William Kaplan, he no longer felt the slightest bit surprised at Noelle's surprise.The police had learned from the surveillance footage that it was William who had followed Noelle, and he was carrying another weapon that the authorities had found on the scene.Later, they discovered signs of strangulation on Noelle's neck. When she turned herself in, both her clothes and hair were a mess. All the evidence pointed to her acting in self-defense.Even so, with William now unconscious from excessive blood loss, a part of the responsibility still reste
However, before Sandra's lips could even touch Hendrix's, the latter shoved her away. He used so much force that she stumbled back several steps before finally steadying herself.She looked up at him. "Rix…""It seems you really have a poor memory." Hendrix gazed at her coldly. "I'll give you one more chance. Are you going to tell me or not?"Sandra sat down on the floor and looked up at him without a trace of fear in her eyes.Hendrix suddenly laughed. "Fine. Have it your way."With that, he turned to leave.As soon as his back was turned to her, Sandra suddenly said, "It was my father who planned all of it."Her words made Hendrix stop in his tracks. Slowly, he turned around.Sandra looked at him with red-rimmed eyes. "He did it because my mother's condition is really bad, but Noelle refused to go through with the kidney donation. So, my father had no choice but to do it."Hendrix didn't reply, but his expression darkened instantly. He couldn't help but clench his hands into
"In any case, you should think about your adoptive mother, who's still in the hospital."That was the last thing Hendrix said to Noelle before leaving.Noelle couldn't help but feel that he had misunderstood something. Perhaps it was because she appeared too calm, and he thought she had already resigned herself to the worst possible outcome. Did he even think she might consider ending her life?If that was what he thought, then he was truly overthinking. What Noelle simply wanted was peace and quiet. And if she did end her life, it would only mean that Craig got what he wanted. After all, wasn't it his ultimate plan for her to be gone?The mere thought of the vile, horrifying things they had done to Noelle made her tremble uncontrollably. She had never imagined that the people so desperate to see her dead would one day turn out to be her own biological parents.Sitting on the bed, Noelle closed her eyes tightly. They were dry now, utterly parched. There wasn't a single tear left t
At that moment, amid the vast city, Hendrix suddenly really wanted to see Noelle. As he gripped the steering wheel and slowly pulled the car over to the side of the road, his phone suddenly rang.It was the hospital calling to inform him that William had woken up.…At the hospital, Craig stood over Matilda's bed, gazing at her ever-paler, frailer face. And with each passing moment, his own expression grew darker.To make matters worse, things were still far from settled with William. He'd heard that Hendrix had already gotten involved, and he couldn't understand why Hendrix would choose to meddle now. But there was nothing he could do to intervene.After all, his dealings with William were far from clean, and if he interfered, it would only expose his own involvement. Fortunately, he hadn't left any evidence behind. With only William's and Noelle's accusations, there was no way to prove anything.As Craig was thinking about this, Noelle's lawyer suddenly contacted him, saying th
"Why?" Noelle asked."What do you mean why?" Hendrix's voice carried an edge of irritation. "How would I know he's not a good person?"Noelle shook his head. "What I mean is, if he's not a good person, why was I going to marry him in the first place? And he mentioned I lived in Stormridge before. Were we divorced then?"Now that the questions had started, she might as well get everything out in the open.The moment she finished speaking, Hendrix's expression darkened further.Noelle wasn't in a rush. She simply waited, watching him expectantly."Yes," Hendrix finally answered her. "You almost did marry him. But then he betrayed you, so you broke it off.""Betrayed?""Yes. To secure an investment, he slept with his ex-wife. And that ex-wife ended up dead overseas because of him. You even suspected he was involved. Because the moment she died, Dylan inherited her money. His company was saved overnight. And you don't remember this, but his ex-wife—""Hold up." Hendrix had said to
Dylan went on, "Later, we got together. We were going to get married. But then Hendrix used underhanded tactics to target my company, and you chose to go back to him because you didn't want to drag me down."And I don't think he even loves you. The only reason he's so obsessed with keeping you is because he can't stand losing. It's just possessiveness. He—"Dylan never got to finish. Someone slammed into him from behind, shoving him hard enough that he staggered back several steps before crashing to the floor.But he barely registered the pain. Slowly, he lifted his head.Hendrix stood shielding Noelle, his expression thunderous.Instead of responding with anger, Dylan laughed softly. "There's no need to get so worked up, Mr. Freeman. I was just so happy to see Noelle that I might have let something slip out of excitement. Or are you feeling guilty about something?"Hendrix didn't dignify that with a response. He didn't even spare Dylan another glance. Instead, he just grabbed No
Dylan had imagined a thousand ways Noelle might respond to him, but he had never expected her to ask, "Who are you?"He stood frozen in place, momentarily questioning whether he had misheard her. Or had he mistaken someone else for her?"I should know you, right?" Before he could react, Noelle spoke again, "But I'm sorry, I can't remember who you are."She couldn't remember? Dylan almost laughed. And then he did.What was this? Was she trying to tell him that she no longer had any feelings for him? That now, she had even forgotten who he was?His jaw clenched, his gaze locking onto her.Noelle sensed his anger. Realizing she might have misspoken, she quickly explained, "I'm sorry. I was injured before, so I forgot some things. If I said something wrong, please forgive me."At that, Dylan loosened his fists. Then, he looked at her in disbelief. "What did you just say?""I said I forgot some things, so—"Noelle wasn't even sure if she should know him. But the way Dylan was looki
"How is it that Hendrix could find Noelle, but you idiots still couldn't dig up a single clue after months? Useless! Every last one of you!" Dylan's voice burned with fury. He barely held back from erupting completely.He knew it. He freaking knew it!The way Hendrix had looked at him last night—that gaze had been telling him everything. Not only was he back, but he had brought Noelle with him.So what now? What the hell was all Dylan's effort for? After everything he had done, was he still supposed to slink away in defeat? Meanwhile, they got to live happily ever after? Why the hell should things turn out like that?"Where is she now?" Dylan asked.The question stunned the person on the other end. "W-What did you say?""I asked you—where is Noelle right now?""S-She's on her way to the hospital?""The hospital?""Yeah, we're tailing their car. It looks like she's going to see her adoptive mother at the hospital."Dylan stopped listening. He hung up and stormed forward. He fo
Meanwhile, on the other side of the city, Dylan hadn't slept a wink.He didn't even step foot into his bedroom. Instead, he'd spent the entire night in his study, staring at streams of data on his computer.He had expected Hendrix to make a move. After all, how could he possibly do nothing now that he was back?And yet, there was nothing. Or was it that Dylan couldn't see it yet?No. That wasn't right. A sudden thought struck Dylan—Hendrix had told everyone that he had been on a vacation.And earlier today, Dylan had seen for himself that aside from the injury on Hendrix's arm, there wasn't a single mark on him. Which meant Hendrix had been conscious this entire time. But if he had been conscious, why had he taken no precautions against Dylan's moves?Unless this was all a trap. A hole was dug in advance, just waiting for Dylan to step right in.A cold sweat broke across his back at the thought of that. He immediately began tearing through the files, cross-referencing data with
"You go ahead and sleep. I'll take a shower first," Hendrix said."Okay," Noelle replied, turning away immediately.Though she had accepted her identity, she was still clearly uncomfortable being close to Hendrix. The tips of her ears burned red as she faced the other direction.Hendrix was about to tease her when his phone rang. The name on the screen wiped the smile from his face.After glancing at Noelle, he stepped out to answer."We just got word—the Swift family has pulled their funds together," the person on the other end reported. "Seems they've heard you're back and decided to pause their plans."Amity Group was too massive to target. It would take months to fully dismantle it.Dylan had gotten this far as he did not because Hendrix's absence left the company in chaos but also because of the Swift family's backing. Now that Hendrix had returned, they knew things wouldn't be so simple.And without a swift victory, prolonged financial strain would become a problem—even f
"Rosie's fine. I already calmed her down," Hendrix replied.But Noelle didn't relax at his words. She continued to peek worriedly into Rosie's room."Don't worry. She's already asleep," Hendrix assured her, putting his arm around her shoulders. "You've had a long day too. Go get some sleep."Noelle didn't say anything, but the disappointment in her downcast eyes was unmistakable. "There's an event at her kindergarten this Friday," Hendrix suddenly said. "You should go."Her head snapped up in surprise."You were the one who always attended before. And if you go, Rosie will definitely be happy."After a brief hesitation, Noelle nodded."Come on. Let's get some sleep."As Hendrix led her to bed, Noelle suddenly asked him, "Can you tell me about my past?"The question caught Hendrix off guard. "What?""Anything that happened in the past," Noelle said. "About Rosie or anything from before her."Hendrix went quiet. His mind raced through their shared history. Then, he realized
Hendrix had rushed back because Rosie was crying—loudly and heartbreakingly so. Since the day he first met her, this was the first time he had ever seen her cry like this.Earlier, Rosie had been overjoyed to see Noelle, clinging to her and refusing to let go.But now, Noelle stood beside her, completely at a loss.Hendrix took one look and immediately knew what was going on. He crouched in front of Rosie. "Don't cry."Rosie glanced at him, only to wail even harder.Hendrix frowned and turned to Noelle. "Did you say something to her?""Not much." Noelle twisted the hem of her shirt. "She mentioned her birthday is coming up, and I said I forgot."Of course. Hendrix wasn't surprised. He grabbed a tissue, wiped Rosie's tears, and picked her up.Noelle moved to follow, but Hendrix quickly turned his head around and said, "Go back to your room first. I'll come find you later."Noelle stopped in her tracks, her eyes lingering on them until Hendrix shut Rosie's bedroom door behind hi
The banquet continued.Once the crowd confirmed the man before them was indeed Hendrix, they swarmed him with questions and concern."Where have you been all this time?""Why was there no news of you at all?""I knew those reporters were unreliable! But it's such a relief you're safe.""What are your plans now, Mr. Freeman?"In reality, Amity Group's current situation wasn't optimistic. But some people were simply born with a presence—no matter what circumstances they were in or what challenges they faced, they remained composed. And in doing so, they inspired confidence in everyone around them.Dylan stood there, watching him coldly. Then, something occurred to him. He turned away and dialed a number."When did Hendrix return? And did he come back alone?"If Hendrix was back, what about Noelle? Something about Hendrix's demeanor felt off to Dylan. Before his disappearance, Hendrix had been outright hostile toward him. Yet tonight, he'd greeted him willingly, and he hadn't men