LOGINSeeing that Mandy hadn’t spoken for a long time, Sarah continued.“What I don’t understand is this. How did he find out? Aside from you and me, no one else should have known that you were the one who opened the computer. You could have denied it completely.”Mandy let out a bitter smile.“It wasn’t that simple. He told me there were cameras in the study. And also…”She hesitated, then explained what Julian had said about fingerprints.Sarah’s expression darkened with every word.“I wiped everything down after that night. You should trust me. There wouldn’t be any fingerprints left.”She paused, then added firmly,“As for this so-called surveillance, I don’t believe there were cameras in the study. Especially not ones directly connected to the H-Country headquarters.”Her gaze sharpened.“Before that, answer me this. Did you have any sexual interaction with him in the study?”Mandy’s face flushed. She couldn’t deny it. She nodded, then hurried to explain.“He forced me.”She swa
Melvin’s face darkened instantly.Sarah had never told him any of this. Not then, and certainly not now—at least, never the full, ugly truth.Zachary offered no defense. He couldn't. The facts were a weight he had to carry.A faint, knowing smile played on Old Mr. Wilson’s lips before he signaled for Anthony to wheel him away, leaving the tension to simmer in his wake.---Melvin and Zachary walked out of the venue in a heavy, suffocated silence. The driver was still a few minutes away.“I’m sorry,” Zachary said at last, the words sounding hollow even to him.No matter how many amends he tried to make, the past remained an unbridgeable chasm. Only now did he truly grasp that the wound in Sarah’s heart hadn't just been caused by the kidnapping. The rot had started at the very beginning, the moment something sincere was poisoned by his own cold calculations. It was a jagged bone lodged in the throat—impossible to swallow, and impossible to spit out.Melvin’s expression remained g
“Zachary,” Old Mr. Wilson said slowly, “there are things from long ago that you wouldn’t understand. The grudges of the older generation have nothing to do with you. Whether I tell you or not is entirely my choice.”He smiled faintly, as if amused by Zachary’s impatience.“If you are truly curious, then wait until your grandfather wakes up and ask him yourself. That special medication you mentioned, wasn’t it already shipped in from overseas? Zachary, even while I was unconscious, there were still things I knew.”The implication was unmistakable.Melvin had no patience for family diplomacy. He let out a cold laugh.“The Wilson Group really is impressive. Barely holding on for all those years. And the moment you wake up, you start selling off your entire private collection just to claw back a chance at survival. The Reynolds Group never even needed an opportunity like that.”Old Mr. Wilson’s gaze turned sharp.“Boy, this isn’t your place to speak.”“Mr. Wilson,” Melvin replied even
Then where was Henry’s body?“Melvin,” Sarah said seriously, “if Dr. Xavier really killed Henry, the body would almost certainly be hidden at his workplace.”Melvin understood immediately.“I’ll have people start investigating his work unit right away.”He was about to hang up when another thought struck him.“By the way, Mindy is attending a charity performance the day after tomorrow. That might be an opening.”“I understand,” Sarah replied.---Early the next morning, the television news played continuously in the background.“Reports confirm that a 16th century porcelain piece, believed to be a rare heirloom, appeared at an underground auction last night. Its ink detailing has been attributed to a master painter. The final bid reached six hundred million…”“Following the porcelain sale, a number of rare paintings and calligraphy pieces surfaced, all from the same mysterious collector. Together, the lots fetched a staggering total of three billion…”“After regaining consciou
Across the hospital bed, he noticed how Sarah’s gaze lingered on Mia, softer than it had been all night.“I’m leaving,” Sarah mouthed silently.She turned and walked away. Halfway down the corridor, an impulse struck her. She wanted to call Zachary.So she did.The call was answered almost immediately. She spoke without stopping.“Zachary, you can stop worrying. Mia is going to be okay.”That seemed to be the only reason for the call. After a brief pause, she added quietly,“We all will be.”Then she hung up.Zachary stared at his phone, confused and unsettled. He was debating whether to go look for her when another call came in. It was from an informant he had placed inside the hospital.---In a small apartment across town, Dr. Xavier did not dare take a single day off.He was terrified that if he disappeared, someone would go near the cold storage room. If that happened, everything would be over.Even though he was certain he had cleaned up every trace over the past few d
Under the soft amber glow of the lamp, Lucas held Mia’s arm beneath the running water.As if sensing Sarah’s approach, he turned his head just a fraction, offering a sharp, silent look that told her not to utter a word. Sarah choked back a gasp, the sound dying in her throat. The bloody gashes marring Mia’s skin were visceral and raw. It was hard to believe that Mia, who had always been so sensitive to pain, could have done this to herself, or that she could sit there now in haunting silence, letting Lucas tend to her without a single flinch.Sarah leaned against the doorframe, watching.The warm water chased away the crimson stains until the skin was clean, almost as if nothing had happened—provided one could ignore the jagged furrows left behind.Lucas led Mia back to the bed. Sarah stepped further into the shadows, concealing her presence, yet she had a clear view of the raw emotion etched onto Lucas’s face. He retrieved the antiseptic and cotton swabs, dabbing the wounds with a




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