Chapter 45: The Victim Was None Other Than Sean

Chapter 45: The Victim Was None Other Than Sean
The older generation has a penchant for hiding their most cherished belongings under the bed, and Jessica Lee and Julian King, a couple who could be considered "old souls," were no exception.
From beneath the bed, they retrieved an iron box. Jessica Lee's hands trembled as she found an envelope that had yellowed with age and exuded an air of historical significance. She pulled out the paper inside, which boldly displayed today's date and the name of the university, with a sentence at the bottom: Don't doubt it, the person standing before you is me.
Upon reading this, both Julian King and Jessica Lee looked up at Sophia with astonishment. Sophia smiled and confirmed, "Yes, it's me."
"How is this possible?" Julian King, who had dedicated his life to the study of physical sciences, found it hard to believe in the reality of time travel.
Sophia couldn't explain it, but she had indeed traveled back in time through a photograph. However, this was not the time to delve into such matters. Sophia was eager to know what had happened to William after her departure and whether Sean had been cleared of suspicion.
"Let's have some coffee first," Julian King suggested, handing her a cup of freshly brewed coffee. The somber expressions on the couple's faces made Sophia anxious. Could it be that Sean had actually been imprisoned?
Without keeping her in suspense, Julian King said directly, "Sean was rescued; he didn't go to jail."
Sophia let out a sigh of relief, the weight in her heart finally lifting. She continued her inquiries, "Where did Sean go afterward? Did he change his name?"
"He didn't change his name," Julian King replied, staring into his coffee cup, a sense of negativity enveloping him.
Perplexed, Sophia asked, "If he didn't change his name, then how come you couldn't find him?"
"He's dead..." Julian King looked at her, his eyes filled with indescribable sorrow and heaviness.
Sophia was shocked. "He's dead? How? How did he die?"
"He was... 'killed'," Julian King spoke with evident reluctance, as if holding back something.
Sophia's fists clenched in anger, her voice demanding, "Who! Who killed him?"
"William," Julian King finally uttered the name, his lips pressed tightly together.
Sophia was stunned. William killed Sean? That was impossible. No, it couldn't be true!
"After you left, many things happened," Jessica Lee said, her eyes glistening with tears. Her temples had turned gray, and wrinkles had silently crept onto her face, etching the marks of time.
But in Sophia's eyes, Jessica Lee remained the shy, innocent, and sensible young girl from the past.
Sophia felt this deeply, and Jessica Lee and Julian King even more so. After 48 years, Sophia reappeared before them, still the same as ever.
Especially for Sophia, who had just met their younger selves yesterday; the feeling was indescribable.
After seeing Sophia, the memories from that time suddenly became clear for Jessica Lee, and she remembered every detail of that moment...
William moved away not long after Sophia left. Jessica Lee and Julian King could hardly see him outside of school. During that period, William focused on one thing: rescuing Sean.
The case had caused quite a stir, but unfortunately, Thomas had connections, and the outcome was to attribute Jesseni's death to an accidental death, with Thomas only required to pay a hefty compensation fee.
Though substantial, for Thomas, it was a mere trifle. William didn't want the case to end so easily, but Jesseni's family had already accepted the money, leaving William helpless.
After this incident, Thomas despised William, but since William couldn't afford to offend him, he turned his anger towards all Asian students.
At that time, almost everyone who had been bullied by Thomas sought William's protection. It was because of William that Jessica Lee, Julian King, and the others were able to finish school safely.
But Sean didn't have such good fortune...
Speaking of Sean's death, it was related to "Logan."
William had been worried about Sean's safety and wanted to send him abroad. But Sean argued that since he grew up in the United States, he would be alone abroad, preferring to stay where at least he had William as a brother.
Given Sean's insistence, William didn't press the matter, thinking that if Sean could work at Logan's company, with accommodations and meals arranged, he wouldn't have to worry about Thomas's threats.
Logan had agreed readily, promising to take care of Sean. William, naively believing that Logan would honor his word, focused on his studies for the following months.
One day, news spread through the school that Thomas had deliberately run someone over, crushing the victim's limbs and allegedly pulping their internal organs.
The victim was none other than Sean.
It was only later that William learned Logan had not taken Sean into his company but had left him to his fate, leading to Sean being bullied mercilessly over those months.
At first, the abuse was just physical, but it escalated. Until one night, after drinking with his friends, Thomas, in search of a thrill, and those inhumane brutes, pressed Sean under a tire and repeatedly ran over him...
Sean didn't die immediately, but he was riddled with tubes, paralyzed in a hospital bed, suffering a fate worse than death.
Jessica Lee and Julian King had visited him, and the sight was more than most could bear; they broke down in tears at the sight of him.
Sean had even begged them to remove his oxygen tube, pleading for relief from his unbearable agony.
But Julian King and the others couldn't bring themselves to do it, and seeing Sean suffer tormented them as well.
In the end, it was William who took the step...
Sean passed away with a smile on his face, thanking William until his last breath.
Sophia, hearing all this, was already shaking with rage, tears streaming down her face. The thought of what Sean had endured was unbearable.
She couldn't imagine the torment William must have felt, having to end Sean's life, a pain beyond ordinary comprehension.
To watch Sean die before his eyes, to see his breaths slow and finally cease, to feel his body grow cold and lifeless.
That kind of pain was indescribable, a heartache so severe it was as if it were being cut with a knife.
The world had not been kind to William, even cruel.
Just when he had accepted something beautiful, it was deliberately shattered before his eyes in a bloody display.
William later discovered that Logan had never really opposed Thomas, and in fact, they had collaborated.
Perhaps in the eyes of businessmen, the death of one person, especially a "poor" one, meant nothing.
It was then that Henry stepped forward.
Henry offered to help William take down Thomas, but only if William would help him in return.
So, William and Henry formed a temporary alliance.
In the end, it was William's own capabilities that sent Thomas to prison and bankrupted his family, avenging Jesseni and Sean...
"I see," Sophia murmured, now understanding the full story, but realizing it wasn't quite the end...
No, this wasn't the final outcome!
Sophia suddenly remembered the most critical question had yet to be answered.
"What happened next? William, what else happened to him? Since you know so much, you must know why William disappeared at sea back then, right?"
Sophia was desperate to learn the truth, and it was crucial!