“It may seem as though you're curious, way more curious about the reason I called you here,” Cynthia started. “But far bigger than your curiosity, you've also been asking yourself one BIG question for the past three days now!” Ethan didn't want to jump to conclusions. His breath caught as he stared at her. “There is one question you've been wanting to ask me all these days, but you don't know how you're going to ask me. Am I right?” Ethan pretended to have no idea what she was talking about. “I don't think I understand what you are talking about, Cynthia!” “I know the truth, Ethan!” Cynthia said without wasting any time. “I know the truth about what actually happened to my mother!” Ethan's lips parted as his heart began beating faster. He didn't even realize when the words slipped out of his mouth. “You know the truth? About... about what happened to your mother?” “What are you talking about?” “The shooter!” Cynthia replied. Ethan's eyes shifted rapidly. “I know the truth

Cynthia found it extremely difficult to believe what Ethan was telling her.Her father had supposedly set him up to look like the person who had shot her mother.At first, Cynthia thought Ethan was only trying to use her own claim against her. She had previously told the police that her father was the one who shot her mother. She had even gotten her father arrested and gone as far as suing him.She thought Ethan was simply trying to take advantage of that fact to clear his own name. That was why she found his story so difficult to believe.Not until he repeated the same thing again.Her father had wanted to set him up.Cynthia shook her head slowly, as though the words were too heavy for her mind to process.“What... what are you saying? How is that even possible?” she asked.“I saw you with the gun. I saw you when it happened, and I saw my mother lying on the floor. It was obvious that the two of you were having an argument, and maybe one thing led to another and you shot her. Perhap

So many questions came at once, and Ethan didn't even know which one to answer first.At that moment, he realized that he was the one who had screwed up. He had allowed his emotions to get the better of him and had used the scene of his parents' death to speak to Cynthia. Now, Cynthia was suspicious of him.He swallowed hard before nodding at her.He needed another convincing lie, something that would fit into the story he had already started. And Cynthia was sitting there, waiting for him to explain himself.Ethan took a deep breath, but he still didn't say a word.Cynthia shrugged, urging him to answer.“Aren't you going to say a word to me? You don't understand the question I asked, or maybe I should ask you again?”Ethan shook his head.“No, absolutely not. There's no need.”He opened his mouth to speak.“You know, you really can't…”But before he could complete his sentence, Cynthia's phone suddenly started ringing.DONG DONG!DONG DONG!The vibration of the phone cut through his

The father and son were already making their way toward the exit when Rachael's voice suddenly came from behind them. “I will go with you to the hospital.” She had been standing there for quite some time, listening to everything they had been saying without interrupting. Darlington glanced at her but didn't object. Whether Rachael came with them or stayed behind didn't matter to him right now. The only thing occupying his mind was getting to the hospital as quickly as possible and making sure Fiona didn't get the opportunity to speak to the media before he arrived. He simply nodded at Rachael and gestured for her to follow if she wanted to.When they stepped outside, they found Daren already sitting inside the car, waiting for them as though he somehow knew where they were going. He knew exactly where they were headed, but he deliberately pretended otherwise, keeping his expression neutral as Darlington approached the vehicle.“Get the car, Daren. We are heading back to the hospital

Darlington just kept staring at Fiona, his eyes calculating as they moved over her face with such intensity that it almost seemed as though he wanted to devour her.His temper was already rising, but he managed to hide it, concealing his anger behind his tightly clenched fists.He was still trying to recover from the hurried run from the reception to the ward. He had been desperate to stop Fiona from speaking.Darlington couldn't stop himself from imagining what his fate, and that of his reputation, would be if Fiona opened her mouth and told everyone that he was the one who shot her.If the accusation had come from outsiders or other people, it could easily be dismissed as a rumor. It might even be twisted into some kind of romantic speculation. But if the statement came directly from Fiona herself, the victim of the shooting, and she pointed at him as the shooter, it would definitely drag his reputation down.If he hadn't gotten there on time, Fiona would have exposed him and ruined