Sarah accepted the completed assessment, taking out a red pen to mark it carefully.Soon, she placed another test in front of Zachary, speaking softly, "Answer one question of mine for each math problem you solve."She picked up a timer.Though confused, Zachary nodded hesitantly.Sarah watched him bend over the paper seriously. The test contained standard calculus problems - not particularly difficult, but requiring careful attention to avoid mistakes."Did you have a girlfriend three years ago?" she asked.Zachary's pen trembled - he hadn't expected such a... direct question.After a moment's thought, he replied, "Yes."Sarah watched him complete the first problem, pressed the timer, and recorded the time.As Zachary started the second problem, Sarah spoke again. "Tell me, was your girlfriend Vivian?""No!" he answered firmly."Then did you know me?" she asked next.Zachary wrote the next line and said, "I'm done."He slowly put down his pen, unwilling to continue after
Mrs. Chancer pointed at Sarah's face angrily. "You b*tch! You're doing this on purpose. You know Charlotte is also a victim - it was all Vivian's doing! Why not prosecute her? Are you just picking on the weak?"Sarah scoffed, "Don't you know Vivian was the one who released the evidence against Charlotte? She's really the mastermind, isn't she? You're here confronting me but not her - who's really picking on the weak?""You-!" Mrs. Chancer’s face turned pale with anger. Sarah maintained her composure, looking at her coldly. "Please leave. You're not welcome here."As Mrs. Chancer left, she threatened, "We'll see about this!"In the psychiatric hospital, Lucy had just finished breakfast. After so many days there, she'd started to adjust. She'd lost all hope after her mother's repeated attempts to make her take the blame.She'd even begun to fear visitors, not wanting to hear more cold words from people she once trusted.Yet an hour later, she saw her mother again.She was sitting
Lucy sighed. She couldn't believe her mother would say this. Mrs. Chancer saw her determination, but Charlotte was carrying the Chancer family's heir - if she was sentenced, that child would be born with a stigma.Suddenly, Mrs. Chancer knelt before Lucy.I’ll do it!" Lucy said through gritted teeth.She thought she could give up everything for personal gain, but seeing her mother kneel down, she couldn't control herself.After the winter light festival, Sarah felt a strange ache in her heart that she'd never experienced before.She didn't know how to handle her relationship with Zachary. The coldness she'd maintained before seemed to have transformed after the festival into something caught between distance and warmth.She was driving across the city bridge connecting East Coast to Pine Mist Island. The bridge had been neglected for years since the island was abandoned.The bridge took about 10 minutes to cross. She hadn't even left Pine Mist Island when she noticed something
Sarah drove forward desperately with the two black cars in close pursuit.Her phone kept ringing, but she didn't dare move to answer it in her current situation. The tires made horrifying sounds as they scraped against the road.Dust kicked up behind them as the pursuing cars seemed bent on a suicide mission, repeatedly trying to ram her. She knew it must be Zachary calling, surely panicked after hearing her earlier words.But with the relentless pursuit behind her, she couldn't let her guard down for even a moment.She had underestimated their determination. At one turn, her mind started to blur and consciousness began to fade. She bit down hard, forcing herself to stay alert.The mountain road was narrow and steep - one slip meant certain death from the fall. With no streetlights in the darkness, it was even more treacherous. The cars behind kept flashing their high beams, making her eyes hurt.In that split second of distraction, one of the cars rammed her hard. The violent im
Sarah called out weakly, "Zachary!"The Cayenne's windows were shattered, its door deeply dented.The airbags had deployed, pinning Zachary inside."Zachary! Wake up!"After countless calls, Zachary finally opened his eyes and tried to move.Moving in the airbag-filled cabin wasn't easy, and he felt intense pain in his thigh.His voice was hoarse, ”Sasa, I'm okay. Are you?"In that moment, Sarah forgot everything else, her eyes welling up as she looked at him. "I'm fine. How can you get out?""Did you call for help?" Zachary asked.Sarah took out her phone but found no signal. She couldn't make an emergency call."No signal." Her phone had been intermittent on the bridge too.Of the cars chasing her, one had gone over the cliff and the other was flipped. Both must have had signal jammers installed.Sarah looked at Zachary - his upper body was compressed by the airbags, his lower half completely trapped underneath."Get out quickly," Sarah's voice trembled.Zachary forced
She remained silent, her eyes revealing no emotion.Zachary gave a bitter smile. "Go. I know you don't want to help me. Just leave. Be careful of Vivian after you get out - I suspect she's behind this. Sasa, she's far more dangerous than you imagine."This was his final warning, yet Sarah still didn't speak.His heart felt like it had been stabbed twice. The moon still hung in the sky, drifting westward.In the darkness, Sarah suddenly looked up, her eyes brimming with tears that now streamed down her face."Zachary, never say things like that again.""Which things?" Zachary asked.Sarah smiled through her tears: "Telling me to leave you.""Hah, how could I possibly leave you!"Sarah found a metal rod in her car's trunk, wedged it against the door, and forced it open with all her strength.She finally saw Zachary's leg clearly - trapped and covered in bloody marks."Zachary!" she cried out.Zachary smiled wryly. "I wasn't lying. My leg needs proper rescue. I have to rely on
"Ah, you're awake?" Zachary coughed twice. "Where's Sarah?"Steven kept typing without looking up. "Don't worry, Miss Sanders only had minor injuries, no need for hospitalization."Zachary took a breath. "Did you tell Grandfather?"He remembered seeing his grandfather's missed calls before passing out, but his phone had died.Steven nodded repeatedly. "I've told everyone. I told Mr. Reynolds you only had minor injuries, so he wouldn't worry.""Did Sarah go home? When did she leave?" Zachary's expression was complex.Steven's face twitched slightly. "Miss Sanders stayed with you for a long time, only left an hour ago."Zachary felt concerned. Sarah had rescued him and supported him for so long - her endurance had been far greater than his.Joy flickered across his face. "So she still cares about me."Steven sighed. "I really don't understand you two. If you're truly this devoted, why did you treat Miss Sanders that way when Vivian returned?"Zachary gave a self-mocking smile.
"She was running out of time. Her grandfather had given her one month to resolve the Zachary situation - he needed them to get engaged to complete their plans.Sarah's presence by Zachary's side was unexpected.Before returning home, she had never considered Sarah a threat, thinking she was just someone who kept Zachary company while she was away.But now things had progressed to this point, she couldn't tell if Sarah was just a distraction for Zachary or someone he truly loved.She only knew that to fulfill her grandfather's wishes, Sarah had to be eliminated.Once she disappeared, Zachary would naturally return to her side.She composed herself as Mr. Wilson entered."When things go wrong, you just throw tantrums. Have you forgotten everything I taught you? You failed again?” Mr. Wilson's expression was grave.Vivian nodded painfully - she had finally caught an opportunity."Is that girl so hard to deal with? How did she even manage to escape?" Mr. Wilson said admiringly.H
At the front desk, Sarah watched seven or eight people standing in line, all holding identical discount vouchers. This was likely a company team-building activity.She listened to their chatty discussions, which included some crude language as they made no effort to hide their rough backgrounds."This place is so luxurious! The company really splurged to send us somewhere this fancy. I've never stayed in such a nice hotel in my life.""Me neither, but let's not forget why we're actually here and pretend we're just on vacation!""Oh, come on, who's going to forget?"Sarah's ears perked up. These people's conversation seemed suspicious, almost as if they wanted others to notice them.After about fifteen minutes, when everyone ahead had finally checked in, Sarah presented her VIP custom invitation and completed her member registration. She lay on the spacious bed in a room with floor-to-ceiling windows that offered views of the beach and ocean.It was noon, and sunlight spilled onto
"Mr. Sanders, I believe I was very clear in my email. With the current uncertain situation, cooperating with me is the most rational choice," Zachary said seriously.Melvin burst out laughing. "I might have believed you if you'd said this a few years ago, but times have changed. Zachary, do you remember what you promised me before? Have you kept any of those promises? Neither three years ago nor now have you delivered."When Melvin mentioned three years ago, Zachary's eyes filled with gravity and shame. No one understood better than they did what had happened—that horrific scene was too painful to even think about.He moved his lips. "People can't always live in the past."Even he couldn't believe his own words.Melvin said with self-mockery, "Listen to yourself. How absurd that sounds. People indeed can't live in the past forever, but Sarah has been trapped in that darkness for three years. Do you dare to face it? To uncover it?"After being wounded, a bleeding injury slowly form
Vivian exhaled deeply and said anxiously, "Grandfather, what happened last time upset Zachary, and he won't see me now. But I'll handle it properly."Old Mr. Wilson gave Vivian a meaningful look. "Good. I certainly trust your abilities."After seeing Old Mr. Wilson into his car, Vivian returned to her office and made a mysterious phone call, giving some instructions.After hanging up, her face broke into a satisfied smile, as if she was already enjoying the sweet taste of victory.At the Sanders Group."Smack." Sarah hit Melvin hard on the head.Melvin winced in pain. "Are you doing this on purpose? Taking personal revenge? I haven't even bothered you lately."Sarah shrugged, looking innocent. "Didn't you say your right eyelid keeps twitching? The left means money coming, the right means trouble. I'm just using an old folk remedy to ward off the bad luck."Melvin couldn't help rolling his eyes. "I don't know if the bad luck is gone, but I almost got a concussion from your 'remed
"Don't any of you have something to say?" Old Mr. Wilson sat in the chairman's exclusive seat, leaning back with an expressionless face as he surveyed the room.Some shareholders had come just out of respect for Old Mr. Wilson. They exchanged glances for a moment before Mr. Jefferson finally broke the silence, "What if we lower our prices or add more package deals?"As soon as he finished speaking, several members of the company's management team eagerly agreed. "Mr. Jefferson makes a good point."Old Mr. Wilson twirled the dragon-headed cane in his right hand, his expression revealing neither approval nor disapproval.Vivian, who had remained silent since the start of the meeting, finally spoke up, "I don't think that's appropriate."She looked at everyone present, her tone serious, "First, the Sanders Group's revenue has already exceeded the projected line by over a billion. If we lower our prices, even if we attract more customers, the overall result will be the same."By this
Vivian never expected that despite her orders to keep the detained shipment a secret, the board of directors would somehow catch wind of it.As soon as the meeting began, the middle-aged man sitting in the first seat on the right frowned and questioned her, "Ms. Wilson, are you hiding something from us?"Mr. Jefferson had the largest shareholding in the Wilson Group after Vivian and her grandfather. Compared to others, his words carried more authority.Naturally, Vivian had to show him some respect, given that she was the younger generation."Mr. Jefferson, by seniority, I should call you Uncle. You've watched me grow up. Do you think I would hide anything from you?" Vivian decided to play dumb first. She was certain these people had only heard rumors and hadn't yet gathered evidence.This was indeed the case. Mr. Jefferson narrowed his eyes, his expression unchanged, speaking in a tone that was half-joking, half-threatening, "Ms. Wilson, please don't say that. When it comes to bus
Charlotte ignored her, still peering behind the caretaker.The caretaker patted her chest and smiled as she approached. "Are you looking for Mr. Chancer? He went back to work. He asked me to take care of you. I thought you might wake up soon, so I went out to buy some nutritious soup for you.""You're saying he left? He left before I even woke up?" Charlotte struggled to open her dry lips, her voice raspier than ever before.Hearing this, the caretaker quickly set down the thermos and handed her the cup of tea from the table. "Please drink some water to soothe your throat, but don't drink too much. You've just given birth, so try to stay in bed and rest as much as possible."Charlotte found the water being offered to her ironically bitter.She had endured excruciating pain to give birth to James's child, yet he couldn't even spare a simple "thank you" for her efforts. Was this the marriage she had schemed so hard to get?Did she regret it? If someone asked, she might answer yes, b
"Answer me. Do you most hope it's heads or tails?" Sarah's voice carried an undeniable authority.The woman finally spoke. "Tails."Before Sarah's hand moved, the woman hurriedly corrected herself, "No, no, no—heads."Her indecisiveness reminded Sarah of her former self. Choosing between reason and emotion was often the hardest decision. It had once taken her several days to make up her mind.Sarah opened her palm. The woman's eyes widened, staring as if trying to burn a hole through Sarah's hand. But quickly, she discovered that Sarah's palm was completely empty. There was no coin at all.No heads or tails—there wasn't even a coin to begin with.Seeing the woman's confused expression, Sarah smiled and said, "In the moment I opened my hand, your heart already had the answer. I can't tell you how to solve your problem, nor can I make the decision for you. But you should know that you only have one life, while love can be found more than once. The fact that you're troubled by this s
This single subtle gesture revealed her inner feelings. Without needing to look further, Sarah immediately understood. Through the monitor, she could see that the photograph was a selfie of a man.Beyond heartbreak, she couldn't think of any other explanation.The emotion release room had been open for nearly a week. During this time, she had observed many clients. Those who came to release their emotions fell into several categories: heartbreak, work conflicts, friendship issues, personal disputes, or being stuck at a crossroads in life, unable to make the right choice.They came here to vent their emotions, and often only after destroying everything could they finally see what they truly wanted in their hearts.This was Sarah's original purpose in creating the emotion release room. But more importantly, this wasn't just a simple place to vent emotions—it offered clients more valuable services, such as guidance from top psychological counselors to help them quickly resolve their tr
"Enough. I've heard too many words like these. It's all for my own good, it's all to protect me—using these noble-sounding excuses to make me believe him, to understand him. Well then, why don't you who want me to believe him try to convince him to believe in me? Are you all underestimating me, or overestimating Vivian? I don't want to hear this kind of talk anymore. Everything he suffered today was his own choice."In this moment, Sarah's coldness fully erupted. She was no longer indifferent or dismissive, because she simply couldn't ignore the pain in her heart.Mia hadn't expected Sarah to say such things today. She held Sarah's hand sympathetically. "Sarah, I'm sorry. It's because I wasn't thinking. I shouldn't have said those things that upset you."When emotions reach their breaking point, they tend to explode, but often calm down shortly after the outburst.Sarah had regained her composure. She shook her head with a bitter smile. "This isn't your fault. Since the doctor is he