Chapter 178

Chapter 178

Trent let out a slow sigh and pulled the stunned Abigail into his arms.

"Serenity felt like Bianca had betrayed her, and on top of that, the Powell family noticed something was off and started pressuring her. She couldn't handle it all at once, so she killed Bianca."

As he said this, a look of quiet sorrow crossed his face.

His original plan had only been to clear Abigail's name. He never expected things to end with both of them destroying each other.

After being arrested, Serenity confessed to everything without hesitation.

As a family member who had attacked her own relative, she was taken into custody as well.

Bianca was dead, and her parents immediately stopped caring about her. Instead, they turned around and started fawning over Abigail, afraid there would be no one to look after them in the future.

They didn't bother with Bianca's remains at all. In the end, it was Abigail who asked Trent to help with the burial arrangements.

The photo on the headstone was the one where Bianca smiled the brightest — the corners of her mouth turned up, her eyes curved into two little crescents. Abigail stood there staring at it for a long time without saying a word.

She placed the chrysanthemums in front of the stone and felt her throat tighten as she straightened up.

"Don't let anyone use you like that in your next life."

The wind blew past, and the flower petals trembled. Behind her, Trent stood three steps back holding Paxton's hand, not rushing her.

Abigail stood there a little longer, then suddenly found herself wanting to laugh.

She and Bianca had been tangled up with each other for so long, and in the end, she was the one still standing here.

All the scheming, the hatred, the resentment — it was all buried under this mound of dirt now.

"Let's go."

She turned and walked away without looking back.

The three of them got in the car and headed straight to the airport.

"Mom, are you really going to come to the beach with me?"

Paxton was wiggling around in her arms, his face lit up with excitement. Abigail smiled and nodded.

"I'm on vacation for a while, so I have plenty of time to go to the beach with you guys."

The situation had been resolved, and the police department's announcement had cleared Abigail's name.

But thinking about everything that had gone on at the hospital, she wasn't ready to go back to work just yet.

It was only after the police announcement that Abigail found out Raymond and Ryder had set her up.

She couldn't wrap her head around it — how could people in a place meant to save lives sink so low?

But some things just can't be figured out no matter how hard you try.

The hospital's suspension notice hadn't been lifted yet anyway, so Abigail took the chance to use up all her saved vacation days at the same time.

She had originally planned to take Paxton to the beach herself, but the moment Trent heard about it, he wrapped up his work and insisted on coming along.

Abigail agreed, so what was supposed to be a mother-son trip turned into a family vacation for three.

Not that she minded.

"Mom, is that the ocean?"

Paxton pressed his face toward the window on the plane, staring at the glittering horizon in the distance, eyes wide with excitement.

"Yes, that's the ocean."

Abigail nodded, and the two of them chatted away happily.

Trent sat beside them watching, the corners of his mouth curling up.

He loved this feeling — warm and simple and real.

If he got the chance, he wanted to take Paxton and Abigail to more places, see more of the world together.

But before that, he still had to get through his backlog of work.

The moment Trent's phone turned on after landing, a flood of messages from his assistant came pouring in.

He glanced at Paxton and Abigail walking ahead, then quietly slipped his phone back into his pocket as if he'd seen nothing at all.

His assistant stared at Trent's reply — just a few words — and didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

[Wait till I'm back. I'll give you a raise.]

For an employee, a raise was enough to keep going a little longer.

The assistant thought to himself, 'A better life with a raise is just within reach. I'll push myself to the limit for now, and I'll hand in my resignation the second I save enough money.'

Trent had no idea what his assistant was thinking, nor that he would one day lose his most capable employee.

He simply spotted Abigail — now changed into fresh clothes and holding Paxton's hand as they walked toward the beach — and strode after them.

Abigail noticed two people playing nearby and thought they looked familiar. She called out tentatively, "Selena? Flora?"

The two turned around. Sure enough, it was them.

"Abigail, what are you doing here?"

"Mrs. Smith!"

They greeted her warmly and quickly gathered together.

"I'm here on vacation. You two as well?"

"Yeah," Selena nodded, then looked down at Paxton, who was staring up at them with wide, curious eyes. "Abigail, is this your son?"

Abigail nodded and cheerfully introduced them to each other.

"Then let's all go play together."

At Selena's invitation, Abigail turned to let Trent know — and noticed there was already another man standing beside him.

It was Kevin.

He smiled at Abigail. She smiled back, a simple acknowledgment.

"I'm going to walk around with Paxton over there," she told Trent, then caught up with Selena and Flora.

Behind them, Kevin's smile faded. He gave Trent a cool sideways look.

"I honestly have no idea what Abigail sees in you. You couldn't even manage something as simple as protecting her."

Trent shot back without missing a beat.

"Maybe she just likes my face."

He raised an eyebrow, his tone dripping with sarcasm. "Unlike you — she doesn't like anything about you."

Kevin was genuinely irritated, but he just rolled his eyes.

"Whatever. I've said what I came to say. If you can't protect Abigail, don't blame me for taking her from you."

Trent didn't take the warning seriously.

"Don't worry. I value her more than anyone ever could. I'll protect her with my life."

Kevin gave him a long, searching look, then turned to watch the group laughing and playing in the distance.

"I hope so."

Silence fell between the two men. After a long pause, Trent's voice came quietly through the sound of the wind.

"Thank you for stepping in to help this time."

Trent had launched his own investigation right away, but when it came to certain underground networks, he didn't have Kevin's reach.

Clearing Abigail's name — Kevin had played a significant role in that. He just didn't want Abigail to know, so Trent had taken all the credit.

"I just didn't want her carrying that kind of weight," Kevin said simply, unbothered by the thanks.

He had helped Trent only because he wanted to help Abigail.

But looking at things now, this was fine too.

As long as she was happy.

Trent's gaze followed Abigail wherever she went, and the smile on his face grew softer.

There was still so much time ahead.

(The End)