Chapter 368 If I Lie, I'm a Puppy
When Clifton heard Finnley mention the orphanage, his heart skipped a beat.
He was about to ask more questions when Finnley, who had been lying on the bed, suddenly opened his eyes.
Finnley sat up abruptly from the bed, his delicate face completely pale.
He was gasping for breath, and the feeling of helplessness he'd experienced while seeing those images came flooding back.
"Mr. White, are you alright?"
Looking at Finnley's bloodless face and sweat-covered forehead, Clifton thought something had gone wrong with his hypnosis.
Hearing his voice, Finnley slowly came back to his senses and looked up at him.
"I'm fine. What just happened?"
Clifton shook his head with a serious expression. "I'm not entirely sure. Maybe you're very resistant to those memories?"
Finnley frowned and asked again, "Didn't you say you'd help me recover my previous memories? Then why was the second half all about recalling the implanted memories?"
"Well... there was probably some memory confusion during the hypnosis process, but at least you're okay."
He had said before that using this method to recover memories came with certain risks.
Finnley nodded and said nothing more. "Let's go out. Don't keep them waiting."
His heart felt empty now, as if something had carved out a piece of it.
He desperately wanted to see Sophia, to hold her in his arms.
Only then would his heart feel settled.
"Alright. Can you get out of bed? Or should I have them come in?" Clifton looked at Finnley with concern.
Finnley braced his hands on the bed and forced himself up. "I'm fine. Let's go out together."
Clifton tried to help him, but Finnley avoided his touch and slowly walked toward the door by himself.
Sophia and Preston had been standing outside the door waiting. When they saw how terrible Finnley looked, they immediately panicked.
"What happened? Didn't the treatment go well?"
"Finnley, are you okay?"
Sophia quickly stepped forward and supported his other arm, her eyes full of worry.
"I'm fine. I'm good."
Finnley forced a faint smile, then stretched out his arm and pulled her tightly into his embrace.
Breathing in the familiar fragrance from her body, Finnley's anxious heart finally relaxed a bit.
Sophia frowned and gently patted his back. "Why is the treatment process so painful? If it's too much, we can just stop."
She couldn't bear to see him suffer like this.
Hearing this, Finnley chuckled softly and slowly released her.
When he looked down, he met a pair of reddened eyes filled with tears.
"I just had a bad dream. I'm really fine."
He gently wiped the tears from the corner of her eyes with his fingertips, his movements extremely tender, with a hint of a smile in his eyes.
"This hypnosis session wasn't completely without progress. Mr. Bryant has already remembered a few childhood moments. That's a good sign," Clifton added.
Preston couldn't help but tear up. He grabbed Finnley's hand and nodded excitedly.
"Good, good! All our efforts haven't been in vain."
"Grandpa, I'm sorry for worrying you," Finnley said, gripping Preston's hand back.
He didn't have memories of the time before he lived at the White Manor, so even though he'd already considered them family in his heart, there had always been something missing emotionally.
But just now, he remembered some things from his childhood.
This made him even more certain that he was Benjamin.
Seeing Preston again, he felt an even stronger sense of closeness.
"As long as you know. From now on, cause less trouble. At my age, I can't handle another shock like this."
"Okay, I won't do this again."
Preston waved his hand dismissively and walked toward the stairs with his cane.
"Clifton, I'll see you out. You've worked hard today too."
Clifton's gaze lingered on Finnley and Sophia for a moment, and he immediately understood Preston's intention.
He quickly picked up his toolbox and followed.
After Preston and Clifton left, only Sophia and Finnley remained in the room.
They faced each other. Sophia's eyes were red, with crystal tears hanging at the corners, making her look especially pitiful.
Finnley pulled her into his arms, one hand around her slender, soft waist. He slowly bent down and kissed the corner of her eye.
"Silly girl, why are you crying? Your husband is perfectly fine."
"I just feel a little sorry for you."
Sophia knew that Finnley had been avoiding his memories, which meant the memories those people had forcibly implanted were very painful.
To completely cure Finnley, he would have to face those memories directly.
This must be very painful for him.
Hearing Sophia's words, Finnley's body stiffened, surprised by her perceptiveness.
He took Sophia's hand and led her back to the room, closing the door behind them.
"Now that I know those previous memories were fake, I don't care about them as much anymore."
Before meeting Sophia, those memories had indeed been painful and unbearable for him.
But now that he'd found his salvation, all that so-called pain wasn't so important anymore.
"You're lying. I've looked up information about this. Memories that have been altered through hypnosis can seem almost real, making people feel like they actually experienced them."
"I'm not lying. Cross my heart."
Finnley bent down, pressing his forehead against hers, gently rubbing his nose against hers.
Actually, before today, he had always felt those memories were too real.
But just now, when he was put to sleep through hypnosis, he carefully observed two childhood memories from an outsider's perspective.
What's fake is fake—there are always some flaws.
Although Elijah had been undercover at the White Manor for over ten years, he still didn't understand him well enough.
Deep in his bones, he had his own pride. He wouldn't deliberately lie to get adopted.
If someone bullied him, he would never curl up and choose to endure it.
He would... fight back without hesitation.
Even if he was covered in wounds, as long as he had one last breath, he would return every punch.
He'd been too close to see clearly at first and hadn't doubted the authenticity of these memories.
But when looking at it from an outsider's perspective, the flaws were easy to spot.
The memories they'd woven for him were almost perfect, but they'd ultimately miscalculated the fighting spirit in his bones.
Sophia was in his arms, her brow tightly furrowed, her heart still hanging anxiously.
Then she heard Finnley's low voice, tinged with amusement.
"Want to know what those forcibly implanted memories were like?"
"Yes."
Sophia nodded, looking at him seriously.
She wanted to know everything about Finnley, even if those memories were fake.
"Alright, I'll tell you." Finnley took Sophia's wrist and walked toward the sofa.
They nestled together on the sofa, Finnley's arm wrapped tightly around Sophia's shoulder as he began to recall the past.