"What?! Your father's awake? Really? Cedric has woken up? That's great!" Vivienne's expression froze for a moment before a look of ecstatic joy spread across her face.However, this only intensified Tristan's despair. When he had been comatose and nearly died previously, his mother hadn't shown this level of happiness upon his awakening.Lost in her ecstasy, Vivienne failed to notice Tristan's changing expression. She removed the needle from the back of her hand and struggled to rise from the bed. "I need to see Cedric. I'm the only one who should be with him.""Mom, that's enough!" Tristan's slender frame blocked her path, his usually composed face now tinged with anger."Have you not done enough? Haven't you lost enough? Why are you still this stubborn? Mom, I'll wait for you to get out of prison. Then we can leave this place and start a new life, okay?" His once innocent eyes were filled with sadness. He looked up and pleaded, "I don't want a father anymore. I just want my mothe

Tristan's small face bore an unusually calm expression, so serene that the subsequent sound of his voice felt unnervingly tranquil. "Mom, I preferred being Ricky over being Tristan. I was so happy as Ricky, but as Tristan, I just feel sadness."Vivienne appeared as though she had been hit with a sudden shock, her anger and frenzy quenched as if by a deluge of icy water. Her eyes reddened instantly. "It's Mommy's fault. Mommy has faced hardships in life, and I don't want you to experience the same. I may have used you, but I truly love you."How could she not love the child she had carried to full term, enduring all the struggles of pregnancy and childbirth?"I know, so please don't do anything bad again." Tristan's tears streaked down his calm yet tense face.The guard, who had gotten his wound treated, stood behind him, watching Vivienne, who had hurt him. He gnashed his teeth hatefully but could only act professionally, "Vivienne Kerrigan, please return to your ward immediately."

Five days later.The sky was gloomy, and the cold wind blew repeatedly, but it could not disperse the large dark clouds looming overhead.Evander supported Cedric, dressed in a black suit with a small white flower pinned to his blazer.Tristan was also dressed in black, his slender body standing straight as he calmly gazed at the photo on the tombstone, not shedding a single tear.His mother had left him with a birthday he would never forget: Making him an abandoned child."Mr. Carlson, we can leave now," Evander said with a sigh.Even though Vivienne had brought it upon herself, her sudden absence still brought a sense of sorrow.Cedric nodded, turned to look at Tristan, reached out, and took his tiny hand. "Let's go home already.""Home?" Tristan looked a little confused."Yes, home. From now on, wherever I am, it'll be your home too," Cedric reassured.After five years of being father and son, even though they were not biologically related, they had formed a bond. Moreover

The news of Vivienne's suicide went from dominating headlines to gradually losing its heat in just under two weeks. She was already gone, and people could not be bothered to waste their time and energy talking about a dead person endlessly.Sophie lowered her gaze to the business report in her hands, everything seemingly back to normal.However, it made Jeanna frown involuntarily. Even though Vivienne was dead, the aftermath lingered. Witnessing someone die in front of her was a dreadful experience, worse than being plotted against, and she knew it too well.Jeanna tried to bring up a different subject. "Linda, it's been a while since the company had a team-building event. As the CEO's secretary, you can't neglect the welfare of the company's employees just to please the CEO."Linda caught her gaze and turned to Sophie. "Ms. Luxford, we actually had planned a team-building event for the employees at the end of last month, but..."With Cedric and Sophie involved in the previous inc

The Bentley swiftly arrived at the school.As soon as they got out of the car, Sophie saw Mrs. Carrie's car, which she used to pick up Cherry, parked near the entrance. Cherry had also noticed her and ran toward her with her arms outstretched.Cherry's head nestled in her arms, but quickly lifted up, her eyes flickering with worry and urgency. "Mommy, they said Tristan is missing. I want to help find him.""Okay, let's search together." Sophie felt relieved seeing that Cherry had not distanced herself from Tristan because of Vivienne's incident but still cared about him. She reached out and rubbed the top of her head before turning to the nervous teacher nearby. "Miss, where have you searched?""Mr. Carlson, Mrs. Carlson, as soon as we got the news, we searched the classrooms and playground, but there was no sign of Tristan. Our school covers a large area, so there are still many places we haven't checked," the teacher replied."No matter how large the area is, Tristan must be fou