Two for the Price of One

The smile on Howard's face abruptly vanished the moment Sue mentioned me."Why bring her up? If she needed money, she could've just said so instead of staging a kidnapping stunt to extort me. And to drag you into this mess—unbelievable! She owes that principal dancer role to you! Stay at my place for now. I'll make sure she and Xander apologize to you and take good care of you." He wrapped Sue into a protective embrace, his voice turning gentle. "Don't worry. I won't let you suffer in vain. I'll make sure Marlena and Xander pay for everything!"With that, Howard took Sue home to confront us.Upon finding that the house was empty, he complained, "Not only do they pull this nonsense, but now they don't even have the guts to come home!"Just then, the shrill ring of his phone cut through his grumbling."Howard, I saw the news about a murder at the resort. The clothes they showed looked just like what Marlena was wearing when she left… She hasn't contacted me in three days. Do you t

Frank's anger grew, and Sue, standing nearby, caught the shift in tone. With a pale face, she asked, "Marlena couldn't really be in trouble, could she? If you want, I can go with you to confirm."Howard hesitated and mumbled something vague, then tried to laugh it off with Frank. "Dad, stop letting Marlena fool you into putting on a show. How could she possibly—"Frank, no longer wanting to waste time, snapped, "You'd better get to the police station right now!"After hanging up, Howard sat motionless, his fingers tapping nervously on the table. I knew it was a habit he had when he was deep in thought.Sue leaned against Howard and hugged him tightly. "Why don't we go together? I don't think Marlena's dead. She must've just gotten hurt while acting. Mr. and Mrs. Jenne have always liked Marlena. Maybe they're just trying to help you two get closer by speaking up for her."Sue's words seemed to comfort Howard a little. He gently stroked her shoulder. "You make a good point. Marlen

Frank couldn't hold back his fury. He clutched his chest and roared, "The murderers who killed your wife and brother haven't even been found, and here you are protecting this vile woman! If I'd known you'd turn out to be such a disgrace, I would've killed you with my own hands back then!"Seeing that Frank was about to faint, Melissa Mund, Howard's mother, arrived with the police, quickly calming him down and urging him to rest.However, as Howard stubbornly held onto Sue and tried to leave, Melissa broke down into tears."Son, why can't you see Sue's true nature even now… After we found out you were dating Sue, and Xander developed severe depression, your father and I secretly had someone follow her. We were so strongly against your relationship because we saw with our own eyes how she hurt Xander!"Melissa, unable to keep the secret any longer, revealed what she had kept hidden for years."She pretended to be gentle and kind in front of you, but behind your back, she slipped raz

Howard sobbed and laughed, clutching the drawing as if he had found a priceless treasure.Suddenly, something shiny caught his attention. As he scrambled toward the bookshelf, he retrieved a USB drive from the bottom.There was a video of the love story I had shared with Howard since the beginning.The video started with our first meeting.Five years ago, as I rolled around on the bed, my voice muffled in the blanket was filled with joy. "I met a beautiful boy in the garden today! When his brother came to pick him up, I think I heard the sound of flowers blooming. I think... I fell in love at first sight."The four-hour-long video captured every single date we had.Every movie we watched, every drawing I made with Xander, and all the gifts Howard had carefully prepared for us, were all saved in this video.However, as I watched the videos, my face became increasingly fatigued.Later on, the woman in the video was often seen crying helplessly."I encountered a pervert outside