The old woman bent down, gently caressing her son’s face.

"I’m so tired of taking care of him for so many years."

The man couldn’t be saved. Yvonne Sutton stopped what she was doing.

"His father passed away when he was very young. I raised him all by myself, selling fruit to get by. My son was such a good, thoughtful boy. He started helping me at my stall when he was just a little boy, selling fruit with me. He’d say, ’Mom, when I grow up and get a job, you won’t have to work so hard at the stall anymore.’ He studied hard, got good grades, and his dream was to get into Veridia University. He could have done it. His teachers told me more than once that he’d definitely make it. But... but he never made it to the day of his college entrance exams."

Yvonne Sutton listened quietly. She knew there had to be a reason this woman had suddenly appeared in her life.

"It was a month before the college entrance exams. When I rushed to the hospital, I saw my son lying on the hospital bed, covered in blood. He was already unconscious, and the doctors were desperately trying to save him."

"Later, the police came. They said my son had committed a crime—that he had sexually assaulted a middle-school girl, but her older brother caught him and beat him into this state."

The old woman pounded her chest. "How could that be possible? My son was so thoughtful, how could he do something like that! I didn’t believe it. I went to the police station and saw the girl. She had bleached-blonde hair, piercings in her ears, nose, and lip, and she was wearing a miniskirt. You could tell just by looking at her she wasn’t a decent girl. When I questioned her, she had this indifferent look on her face and said, ’It’s not like I dress this way to seduce him.’"

As she spoke, the old woman looked at Yvonne Sutton.

"You’ve changed so much, I almost didn’t recognize you."

Yvonne Sutton was taken aback. "What do you mean by that?"

The old woman didn’t answer, continuing, "I also saw her brother—the boy who beat my son into a vegetative state. He was only a middle schooler himself, but he was so vicious. He hasn’t changed much, though. I recognized him the moment I saw him."

"My son never woke up, but the boy who attacked him wasn’t severely punished. He was released very quickly. I couldn’t accept it. I appealed again and again, but his family was very wealthy, and eventually, they gave me a sum of money. I thought I could use that money to save my son, but the money ran out, and my son still didn’t wake up."

"I hate this world for its unfairness. I hate the girl who falsely accused my son, and I hate the boy who beat him. But afterward, I could never find them again. Until someone found me and gave me their address. So I moved here with my son."

"It turns out that boy wasn’t her brother. Now, he’s her partner. They’re living a good life, and they’ve clearly forgotten all about what happened. They didn’t even recognize me or my son when we showed up right in front of them."

"Aren’t they just despicable?"

Realization dawned on Yvonne, and she immediately became guarded. Just then, the old woman turned, closed the door, and picked up a fruit knife from a nearby table.

Yvonne quickly retreated two steps, watching the old woman warily.

"The boy you mentioned, the one who hurt your son... is my husband?" Yvonne asked with a frown.

The old woman narrowed her eyes. "Are you still going to play dumb?"

"How am I playing dumb?"

The old woman stood up, knife in hand, and took two steps toward Yvonne.

"Fine, don’t admit it. But you told a lie that ruined my son. If Heaven won’t punish you, then I will! And as for that man... once you’re dead, he’ll live the rest of his life in misery. That will be the best punishment for him!"

As the old woman advanced on her, Yvonne surprisingly grew calm. She methodically pieced together the woman’s story, connected it with what she knew of Wyatt Shaw’s situation, and quickly spotted the problem.

"I’m not her!" Yvonne shouted.

The old woman was taken aback. "What?"

Yvonne took a deep breath. "I’m not the girl your son assaulted. My husband and I have only known each other for six months."

The old woman shook her head. "But the person who told me... they clearly said..."

"The person who gave you the address, it was Vincent Reed, wasn’t it?"

"You know?"

Yvonne took a steadying breath. She deliberately took a step closer to the old woman and leaned down, letting the woman look closely at her.

"It’s not that I’ve changed so much that you don’t recognize me. It’s that I’m not that girl at all."

The old woman stared at Yvonne’s face. It really was a different person. She began to panic. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

"Then, that girl... she..."

"She died in a car accident."

’That girl must be Hannah Abbott.’

"No, that’s impossible. I’ve been looking for her, I’ve been looking..."

The old woman descended into a panic, and Yvonne seized the opportunity to call the police.

Fearing the old woman might snap, Yvonne first fled the apartment. She waited for the police to arrive before leading them back to the unit.

She told the police everything she knew, then turned and saw Vincent Reed in the crowd. She was utterly furious. She strode up to him and shoved him hard.

"Vincent Reed! Look what you’ve done! What did I ever do to you that you would scheme so deliberately to hurt me!"

Vincent Reed apparently hadn’t expected the old woman to drown her own son. He was shocked and flustered. "I just... I just wanted you to know what kind of person Wyatt Shaw is! To know about his past."

"By what right? What gives you the right to interfere in our lives!"

"He’s deceived you!"

"So what? What’s it to you?"

"I... Of course I can’t let him deceive you! I... I’m the one who truly loves you!"

Yvonne looked at Vincent Reed, utterly disgusted.

Just then, the police carried out the old woman’s son’s body, followed by the old woman herself. She still looked dazed, muttering endlessly, "It wasn’t her, it wasn’t her."

Back at the villa, Yvonne couldn’t settle her nerves for a long, long time.

’Wyatt Shaw and Hannah Abbott... what exactly had they been through together?’

’She only knew a tiny fraction of the story, but it already felt so unbelievable, so dramatic, so momentous. Experiencing just one of those events would make for an extraordinary life, yet they had gone through so much.’

’Jean Bell had said Wyatt Shaw could forget Hannah Abbott, but a Wyatt Shaw who had forgotten Hannah Abbott wouldn’t be Wyatt Shaw anymore.’

’But if he wasn’t Wyatt Shaw, who was he?’

’In that moment, she was overcome with curiosity. She wanted to peer into his past. It was like Pandora’s box—she knew she shouldn’t open it, yet she couldn’t contain the impulse!’

Yvonne sat on the sofa for a long time. By the time she snapped out of it, the sky had grown dark, and Wyatt Shaw still hadn’t returned.

She suddenly felt a deep unease. Just as she was about to call him, the doorbell rang.

Yvonne went outside and was surprised to see David Sutton standing at the gate.

Puzzled, she went to open the gate and saw the frantic look on his face.

"Come with me, now!"

Yvonne was baffled. "Where?"

"To find Wyatt Shaw! He’s lost his mind. I’m afraid something terrible is about to happen!"

Before Yvonne could even react, David Sutton had pulled her out the gate.

He was driving a van. Yvonne got in, waiting impatiently for an explanation.

"Weren’t you captured by Quincy Hughes’s men before? They filmed a video of you... that kind of video, right?"

"A video?"

"Yeah. And Quincy Hughes, for God knows what reason, sent the video to Wyatt Shaw. The moment Wyatt saw it, he completely lost it. He grabbed a weapon and went straight for Quincy Hughes. Chad Miller and I couldn’t stop him. I told Chad to follow him while I came to get you."

"Don’t think I’m kidding. When Wyatt loses it, he’s capable of anything. He will actually kill Quincy Hughes!"