ログインSerena swayed on her feet. "No… I had no idea…"Just then, Cody, who was supposed to have fainted, appeared at the Larson residence."Mom, Dad, Serena, my stomach really does hurt…"He came in with the help of his assistant, his face pale. But this time, his cries of pain weren't greeted by a show of concern from anyone.Startled, he looked up to find three pairs of frosty eyes staring him down. His heart lurched."Serena? Mom? Dad? What's going on with you guys?"Serena shot forward and gave him a tight slap. "How dare you ask us that? Just what did you do to Hector, Cody?"The slap whipped Cody's head to the side and drew blood from the corner of his lips. His eyes flashed with panic as he slowly turned his head back to the front, but he soon put on his usual look of complete innocence."What are you talking about, Serena? I didn't do anything…""Stop pretending!" Dad roared before grabbing Cody by the collar. "The bodyguards told us everything! You instructed them to push H
Serena glanced at Cody, who lay on the floor with his eyes tightly shut. After a moment of hesitation, she left him behind and followed my parents out.Two cars sped toward the Larson residence. When the three of them arrived, they were greeted by the sight of blood splattered all across the floor.Mom slapped Dad across the face with all her strength. "Didn't you promise me nothing would happen to Hector?"She went completely insane, rushing at Serena and grabbing her by the neck. "You said you sent people to stay with him! Where are they? Answer me! Where are the bodyguards you arranged, huh?"Her hands trembled as she looked at the horrific pool of blood once more.Being in a chokehold turned Serena's face red. It took a lot of effort for her to squeeze out the words, "I… I don't know…"Dad was also staring at that pool of blood, his body swaying. He nearly fell flat on the floor."It's all over…" he mumbled. "It's too late… My son…"Mom finally released Serena and crumpled
At the celebration party, Serena walked around the ballroom with her arm wrapped around Cody's, basking in the flattery of the guests.Suddenly, the large screen behind them went dark."What's going on?""Is it malfunctioning?"A wave of commotion broke out among the guests.For some reason, Cody became a little nervous. The arm he had draped over Serena's shoulder tightened abruptly.The next second, the screen lit up again.In the video that played, Cody stood with his back to the camera as he reached out and pushed Angie down the staircase.Angie screamed as she tumbled down the steps. She cried out "Dad" several times, but received no response. Blood streamed from the back of her head, and after coughing up a few mouthfuls of blood, she stopped moving entirely.It all happened in less than a minute.The ballroom fell into dead silence before an uproar erupted."Was that Cody Judd?""He killed his own daughter?""Hector Judd had been framed this whole time?"The report
The stinging pain that shot up from my limbs seemed to gnaw away at my brain.That phone number had first appeared on my bed after the 20th time my legs had been broken. At the time, I didn't dare take the risk. What if it were a trap? It would result in me losing all chance of ever clearing my name.I couldn't take the risk. It was too much of a gamble.But now, the man on the other end of the line chuckled. "That's the answer I was waiting for. I've already prepared the evidence. Come by Cody's celebration party tomorrow and join me in witnessing the show that'll unfold then."The tight knot in my chest finally loosened. Just as I was about to find somewhere dry to treat my wounds, several shadowy figures surrounded me. They bound my limbs with rope.It was Dad's bodyguards.They dragged me back to the basement of the house and threw me onto the cold, rough floor. As my injuries slammed against the floor, a piercing pain shot through me."Mr. Hector, your father has said Mr. C
Serena looked between Dad, who was fuming mad, and me, who was barely breathing.In the end, she still walked toward me and said, "Your hand… I'll take you to the hospital first to get it treated."The moment she finished speaking, Cody immediately bent over, clutching his stomach, his voice weak and strained as he cried out, "Serena… my stomach hurts.""What? Don't be scared, Cody. I'll take you to the hospital right away!"Serena carefully helped him up without sparing me another glance.In a vicious, hostile voice, Dad instructed his bodyguards, "Deal with this. Don't let a certain monster get another chance to hurt Cody!"With that, he and Mom quickly left, rushing to escort Cody to the hospital. In the blink of an eye, I was the only one left in this chaotic spectacle."See that? Who would ever care about a rapist?" The man from earlier crouched down, his fingernails digging into the wound on the back of my hand. "You did a pretty good job dodging earlier, didn't you? Why a
At some point, Cody had arrived. He pushed through the crowd and suddenly called out, "Dad, don't do that. No matter what, Hector is still your son."Everyone's attention instantly shifted, and my parents rushed over to him at once.Holding his hand, Mom said affectionately, "Didn't we tell you that you didn't need to come over?""Your mom's right," Dad hurriedly chimed in. "Work keeps you busy, so there's no need for you to make the trip. It'll only bring back painful memories for you." Even Serena pressed close to Cody and stood between him and me, as if afraid I might do something to him.My eyes stung. There had been a time in my life when I'd received such tender care as well.When I was 18, before my parents adopted Cody, Dad's enemies had abducted me to take revenge on him. He single-handedly fought those criminals and even fell from the fifth floor in the process.Having sustained multiple compound fractures from the fall, he had to spend an entire year in the hospital.







