Chapter 4

Brandon still made me move to the guest room.

The housekeeper carelessly stuffed my belongings into a suitcase.

The guest room rarely saw sunlight, and the air was thick with a musty smell.

"What, reluctant to leave?"

Scarlett leaned against the doorframe.

She wore a silk robe, the neckline plunged low, and a suggestive red mark adorned her collarbone.

I turned to leave.

"What's the rush?"

She blocked my path, lowering her voice.

"Alice, guess what Brandon told me last night?"

I didn't answer, just looked at her.

"He said once you sign the share transfer agreement, you'll have an 'accident' and fall down the stairs."

My fingers clenched fiercely.

"You think I'll believe that?"

"Believe it or not, it's up to you."

She chuckled, her eyes sparkling with triumph.

"But do you know why your surgery was scheduled at St. Mary's Hospital?"

"Because Brandon has controlling shares there. They can write your medical records however they want."

She turned, smiling sweetly at me.

"The car accident three years ago? I personally arranged it. Brandon knew all about it, he even helped me delete the dash cam footage."

"You're lying!"

I heard my voice tremble.

"Whether I'm lying or not, you know the truth deep down."

She walked back to me, her eyes filled with pity.

"Alice, the man you loved for ten years, from beginning to end, only loved your money and the shares your parents left you."

"His pursuit, his marriage, his tenderness – it was all an act."

I staggered backward.

A sharp pain shot through my hippocampus.

Fragmented images flooded my mind uncontrollably.

The necklace Brandon gave me on our anniversary, with a miniature listening device hidden in its pendant.

The "vitamins" he gently coaxed me to take, which were actually drugs slowly damaging my nerves.

...

"Remembered now?"

Scarlett's voice pulled me back to reality.

"Too bad, remembering won't help. In everyone's eyes now, you're just a lunatic. Who would believe anything you say?"

The sound of a car engine drifted up from downstairs.

Brandon was back.

Scarlett immediately put on a fragile expression. She quickly walked to the top of the stairs, then suddenly "slipped."

"Ah!"

With a shriek, she tumbled down the stairs.

"Scarlett!"

Brandon rushed through the door, his eyes bloodshot at the sight.

He ran over, scooped up Scarlett, and looked up at me, glaring.

"It wasn't me. She fell by herself."

"Enough!"

Brandon roared, taking the stairs in a few strides and grabbing my throat.

"Alice, I really regret not letting you die on the operating table!"

He gritted his teeth, his fingers tightening.

From behind, Scarlett's wail pierced the air.

He hastily let me go and rushed her to the hospital.

Watching his anxious departure, my heart was suddenly devoid of any love.

I walked back to the bedroom and locked the door.

Then, from the bottom of my closet, I pulled out a metal box.

I had hidden it before my surgery.

Inside was an old phone, a bank card, and a photo.

The photo was of me and the boy under the sycamore tree.

On the back was a small line of text:

"Alice, if you ever get lost, remember to come home — Liam!"

Seeing the name, I trembled all over.

I remembered everything.

He was the only one who reached out to me when Brandon abandoned me.

I turned on the old phone; the battery was on its last bar.

There was only one number in the contacts.

My trembling fingers pressed the dial button.

The waiting tone rang three times, then connected.

"Hello?"

I covered my mouth, afraid I would cry out.

"Liam, come get me."

Silence on the other end for two seconds.

Then, an urgent voice.

"Send me your location. Wait for me!"