Chapter 26

The rescue worker handed Frank the things I had left.

"These were left by Alice."

Frank took them blankly and asked, "What about those men?"

"They've been detained."

"We tortured them to extract a confession that someone paid them to do it."

It was as if he had been hit on the head with a club.

"We drove Alice to her death."

Sarah covered her face and wept bitterly.

Remembering the heart - rending words she had said to me before I left.

"No, no way. Alice won't die. She said I'm her only mate. She would never leave me," .

Frank, who was standing nearby, instantly covered Sarah's face, and tears gushed out like a broken dam.

Memories of the scene in the castle, where he had hurled malicious words at the speaker, came flooding back.

He was filled with such intense remorse that she wished she could turn back time and slap herself hard.

"What have I done... I knew exactly what kind of person Alice was, yet I was bewitched by Jenny and said those hurtful things to her... I'm the one to blame..."

"No! This can't be true! Alice won't die, she won't...".

A letter that had not yet been opened fluttered from Sarah's hands.

On the envelope were the familiar, delicate characters in Alice's handwriting.

At this moment, it swayed gently in the wind.

Frank wiped away her tears and, with trembling hands, picked up the letter.

When she tore open the envelope and unfolded the letter inside, what she saw were the records of all the silent contributions made to this family over the years.

Every line, every single event, was filled with painstaking efforts and love.

From donating a liver for Frank to staying up all night alone to work overtime and using personal connections to help Frank's company through a crisis when it was on the verge of collapse.

Frank's hands trembled more and more violently.

Just then, a message from the assistant's investigation came.

As the years passed, every single act of bullying by Jenny was laid bare, blood - red and horrifying.

To prevent me from returning to the Brown family, Jenny bullied me at school. She beat me up, slandered me for stealing and cheating on exams.

And I returned to the Brown family, she tormented me even more viciously.

As the investigation delved deeper, more heinous truths surfaced.

On my bed, an electrified device had been placed without my knowledge. The moment I lay down, I would be instantly electrocuted, my body ravaged by the electric current, in excruciating pain.

In the coffee I drank daily, Jenny secretly added a slow - acting poison, gradually eroding my body.

And in the accounts of those men who had once violently assaulted me in the private box, there were records of huge sums of money transferred by Jenny.

"I will atone for my sins to Alice sincerely. Before that, I have some scores to settle." No sooner had the words left his mouth than the door burst open. Jenny sashayed in, carrying several bags filled with belly dance costumes and props, humming a lively tune.

Her face was beaming with self - satisfaction, completely oblivious to the solemn and oppressive atmosphere in the room.

The moment she laid eyes on Frank, she cooed in her usual flirtatious way,

"Frank, look! I picked out several amazing belly dance costumes today, and the matching accessories are so exquisite! There's a big belly dance competition next week. I've signed up and I'm sure to win the championship. But for this competition, I need to hire a professional one - on - one coach. It's not cheap. Can you transfer me five hundred million as the competition funds? There's also a belly dance belt that's perfect for my performance. I have to pay the deposit tomorrow."

I have been back in the Brown family for so many years, and all my expenses combined are not even as much as the price of a single piece of Jenny's clothing.

"Sure."

Frank, his eyes blazed with a fury that Jenny had never seen before.

"Jenny," he growled, his voice low and menacing, "you've gone too far. You trapped Alice."

Jenny's eyes widened in shock, and she began to stammer, trying to come up with excuses.

"Frank, I... I don't know what you're talking about.

Sarah's eyes red - rimmed from crying and filled with a cold, hard resolve.

"Jenny, you're no longer welcome here. You've betrayed our trust, and you've shown your true, malicious nature. You've caused so much suffering, and we can't forgive or forget what you've done."

Jenny's face paled, and she began to plead.

"Please, Sarah, Frank. I'm sorry. I'll do anything to make it right. Don't throw me out. I have nowhere else to go."

Frank roughly grabbed her arm.

"Get out! Now! Pack your things and leave this house. If I ever see you again, you'll regret it."

He dragged her towards her room, where she was forced to hastily stuff her belongings into a few bags.

Sarah stood by, watching with a stony expression as Jenny was escorted out of the house. Once Jenny was outside, Frank flung her bags onto the driveway.

"Don't ever come back," .

Jenny was left standing there, alone and abandoned, in the cold.

In the following week, Frank plunged headlong into the abyss of pain.

He locked himself in his dimly lit office every day.

The desk was littered with empty wine bottles, and the pungent stench of alcohol permeated the entire room.

His eyes were glassy, his face gaunt, and he resembled a lost and wandering spirit.

Alcohol became his only solace, a means to numb his broken heart.

He drifted through the days in such a muddled and listless state.

Then, one day, as he had done countless times before, he turned on the television in a drunken stupor.

A charity auction was playing on the screen.

Suddenly, a familiar figure caught his eye.

The way she moved, the mannerisms - it was uncannily like her.

Frank snapped out of his drunken haze in an instant, all traces of alcohol evaporating.

He catapulted off the couch, staggering frantically towards the television.

His hands slapped against the screen as he leaned in, eyes bulging, terrified of missing even the slightest detail.

On the screen, the woman sat in a wheelchair, engaged in an elegant conversation with the person beside her.

Although only her profile was visible, a fierce intuition surged within Frank. It was her.

"Alice, is it truly you?"

He was rendered completely incredulous by what his eyes beheld, and simultaneously.

In an instant, he whirled around, his movements wild and desperate as he began ransacking the office for his phone.

His hands shook so violently that he fumbled clumsily with the device, finally managing to punch in his assistant's number.

Then, in a voice that bordered on a primal scream, he roared, "Get me every single piece of information about this charity auction right this instant! Move! I need to know everything there is to know about that woman in the wheelchair!"

The moment he hung up, his gaze snapped back to the television screen, locking onto it with an intensity that bordered on obsession.

He was petrified that the figure might vanish into thin air at any moment.

His lips moved ceaselessly, chanting her name over and over again.

At this very moment, I was in thundering pack.

By then, I had already undergone a transformation from the depths of despair, emerging reborn as a special agent.

Under the meticulous arrangements of my instructors, I endured harsh physical training and received professional special agent skills training.

My once - injured hands and feet, through day - after - day intense workouts, gradually regained their strength and agility.

Every muscle in my body came alive once more, throbbing with new - found vitality.

I had always thought that I would never lay eyes on Frank again in this lifetime.

Yet, on the very night when the mission concluded, I encountered him. His figure was hunched, and he had aged considerably.

He fidgeted nervously, rubbing his hands together.

"Alice, it's so wonderful that you're still alive," he said.

"During the six months you were away, I often found myself thinking about the way you were when you were first brought back. You held my hand with complete trust and called me 'Frank' so sweetly. At that time, I thought that even if it cost me my life, I would never let anyone harm you."

"But in the end, the one who hurt you the most was me, the sinner."

"I'm sorry. I have owed you this apology for far too long."

I looked at him indifferently.

"Are you done?"

Frank forced a bitter smile.

"I know that the mistakes I've made are unforgivable, and I don't dare to hope for your forgiveness. It's just that I, Frank, don't want to lose you. You're all I have left."

My eyes were filled with sarcasm.

"Can you turn back time so that I wasn't violated? Or can you change the fact that when I was at my most helpless and desperate, you didn't hesitate to cast me back into that living hell?"

"I understand. I will go and atone for my sins properly. I won't appear in front of you anymore. You must take good care of yourself."

Before leaving, he looked at me with great difficulty.

"Alice, Sarah's cancer has recurred. It's very serious. She doesn't have much time left. Her dying wish is to see you one last time and say sorry to you. Can you... "

"No way!" I interrupted him.

"I don't need her apology, and I will never forgive her."

Frank remained silent.

Finally, he nodded dejectedly and turned to leave.

I knew he had his phone on.

And I heard the faint, muffled sobs coming from the phone hidden in his pocket.

A week later, I received the news. Frank had killed Jenny and then taken his own life by swallowing pills.