LOGINSutton Group's stock price fell, and many people began condemning Claire Sutton.But Claire had no attention left for any of it.Her whole heart was being tormented by guilt.She went to Lily Warren's parents to apologize. She knelt before them.Lily's parents beat her until her scalp bled, then drove her out of their home.She spent every day in tears, wanting only to make amends.At a press conference, Claire publicly revealed her father's crime and transferred all of her personal assets to Lily's parents.Then she came to the hospital and begged the doctors to save me.But the doctor said helplessly that I was already in multiple organ failure. On top of that, the memory extraction had caused irreversible damage. I would not last another hour.The next second, Claire completely broke down. She dropped to her knees in front of me."Rachel… I'm sorry. I'm so sorry!"I didn't know anything! I misunderstood you! I was so stupid!"We were friends for so many years, and I doub
Arthur Sutton, Claire Sutton's father, was kneeling in front of Lily Warren, crying as he begged for her forgiveness."Lily, I'm sorry. Please forgive me."That night, I… I lost my mind for a moment. I was drunk. I didn't mean to…"Please don't tell anyone. Please…"Lily trembled all over. Her face was deathly pale, and tears kept streaming down her cheeks.She clamped her hands over her ears and ran away screaming.And that was the truth I had tried so desperately to hide.That day, I had been hiding under a tree, and my mind went completely blank.The cruel truth cut into my heart like a knife.I stood there, lost and helpless. I wanted to run after Lily, but I was afraid that if she saw me, it would only hurt her more.Now, in the memory, I ran after her, calling her name again and again.But memories cannot be changed.Lily could not hear me.I wanted to tell her, Lily, please don't do anything foolish.Lily, you won't lose us.Lily, please come back.For ten years,
The confident billionaire, the woman who had built a fortune, vanished. What remained was a broken girl."How could this happen?"Dad died the day after Lily. He fell from the cliff. It was an accident."Why would he hurt Lily? He knew she was my friend!"Margaret shut her eyes."His death was not an accident."Her tears fell steadily."He killed himself because of what he did."The square erupted again.Margaret dropped to her knees in front of Lily's parents."Mr. Warren, Ellen, I am sorry. Our family owes you a debt we can never repay."That day, Arthur had been drinking with friends. On the way home, he ran into Lily. She was going to Rachel's house. They walked together. I do not know what possessed him. He did something unforgivable."Margaret could barely continue."Afterward, he was terrified. He wanted to apologize to Lily, to ask her forgiveness. But after he spoke to her at school, Lily jumped into the river."Margaret bent forward and struck her forehead again
She opened her mouth, but no explanation came.Then she shoved them away and rushed to me. Her fingers fisted in my collar."Rachel, say something!"Veins stood out on her forehead. She looked seconds away from breaking apart."Tell them the attacker was not my father."My father was a good man. He was honorable. He could not have done that."But I could not answer.Claire spun toward the technicians and demanded to know whether the memory was wrong.They told her, firmly, that the extraction could not fabricate memories.Claire swayed.Then she ripped the equipment away from me and shook my shoulders."Open your eyes! Rachel, stop pretending to die!"Tell me the truth!"Tell me you are trying to hurt me because of what I did!"Just as she was about to collapse completely, a woman's voice cut through the square."Claire!"Margaret Sutton pushed through the crowd, tears running down her face."Rachel did not lie."Those memories are real."Claire went still."Mom...
"Rachel Vale, what are you trying to say?"Do you think showing me my father's funeral will wound me enough to make me stop?"It will not. My father was the best man in this county. He was a beloved teacher. His students respected him. What were your parents? A thief and a woman everyone called crazy. And you? You are a selfish, vicious bitch."She hurled every cruel word she could think of.I sat there, silent.Something in my chest ached.Tears slid down my face without sound.Then the screen changed again.Someone in the crowd screamed."Wait. That jacket..."Isn't that what the attacker was wearing?"One glance nearly made Claire collapse.On the screen, Claire's mother, Margaret Sutton, was taking out the clothes Arthur had worn before he died.Claire saw her father's jacket and immediately began to cry."Mom," the younger Claire whispered, "Dad's jacket is torn."Margaret turned away with tears in her eyes.Claire pressed her face to the stained fabric."I always
"Look!" someone shouted. "That's the scene of the crime!"The truth is coming out!"The crowd surged toward the screen.Claire froze, eyes locked on the image.The woods were black and violent under the storm. My younger self held an umbrella with both hands, her voice trembling."Who's there?"No one answered.Only rain hammered the umbrella.Thunder cracked. A shadow flashed between the trees.I fell backward, terrified, and the figure vanished into the dark.Claire's pupils shrank."His face," she demanded. "Where is his face?"Why is it only his back?"The technicians scrambled to sharpen the image. They zoomed in, adjusted the frequency, rebuilt the angle.Nothing changed.The screen showed only a rain-soaked back disappearing into the trees."Ms. Sutton," the technician said, sweating. "It looks like Rachel never saw his face. The system can only extract what she actually saw."Claire went rigid."No."I don't believe that. Lily's note said Rachel knew who he w







