“You want to know who your child’s father is, don’t you?” Maria approached Dolores slowly.
Unable to control herself, Dolores took a step backward. At that moment, a woman wearing a peaked cap and a mask entered the room.
By her attire, Dolores could tell she was a woman, but her face remained obscured.
The rusty old iron door slammed shut and locked.
Dolores stood at the back of the room, her hands growing sweaty as the woman entered.
Her heart pounded as she heard the door close.
Although the woman didn’t utter a word, Dolores could sense her hostility and resentment.
Maria turned around and greeted, “There you are.” They seemed to be familiar with each other.
The woman responded with a cold nasal sound.
She stared at Dolores.
In the dim light, Dolores couldn’t discern her expression clearly, but she could see the hatred in her eyes behind the mask.
Panicking, Dolores forced herself to stay calm and asked, “Who are you?”
The woman didn’t answer her question but sneered, “You don’t need to know who I am. What you should know is that everything you have now belongs to me. And…” She paused abruptly, then continued with a chilling smile, “Now that you’re here, I won’t let you off the hook. You sent my mother to jail and forced me to leave City B. You never expected that I would return, did you?”
As soon as she finished speaking, both she and Maria closed in on Dolores.
Dolores looked at the woman in panic and shock. “You’re Annabelle?”
“Huh, so you remember me. You’re not as foolish as I thought.” Annabelle smiled and turned to Maria. “Are you with me?”
Maria curled her lips. “Now that I have her, there’s no way I’ll let her go.”
Dolores stared at the locked door, contemplating an escape. But Annabelle seemed to read her mind. “Don’t bother trying to escape. We planned this carefully to bring you here. You have no chance of getting away.”
“Why are you doing this together?” Dolores intentionally asked to buy herself some time. She reached into her pocket for her phone, only to discover it was missing.
“Don’t you know that the enemy of my enemy is my friend?” Annabelle pinched Dolores’ chin. “I spent four years planning this revenge. If you hadn’t returned to Country Z, I would still be Ms. Flores, my parents’ beloved daughter. But you ruined everything. How could I let you off the hook?”
Dolores shook off her hand. “It was you who ran away with money when Randolph’s company was in trouble. You’re the one to blame, not me…”
Slap!
Annabelle slapped Dolores hard across the face. Dolores attempted to retaliate but was stopped by Maria.
Annabelle narrowed her eyes, staring furiously at Dolores, and sneered, “You’re on the brink of death. How dare you speak back and try to fight?”
“Enough with the theatrics.” Maria couldn’t wait to torment Dolores. Consumed by rage, she thought of Dolores’ happy and prosperous life, Matthew’s affection for her, and her two children. Maria wanted to kill her.
Dolores felt an intense pain.
Maria struck her waist with something, causing a sharp stinging sensation. Dolores was defenseless against the two deranged women.
They attacked her mercilessly, like crazed fishwives. They hit, kicked, pulled her hair, and cursed at her.
Dolores attempted to escape several times, but her efforts were in vain.
Annabelle retrieved a stick from somewhere and struck Dolores’ head. Dolores was engulfed in pain and collapsed to the ground. Before losing consciousness, she heard Maria say, “Stop, don’t kill her.”
“If we don’t kill her, she’ll always be a threat. You can’t guarantee that she won’t reappear in City B or in Matthew’s life.”
“I’m sure she won’t.”
“Your brother loves her so much…”
Dolores fainted, and when she regained consciousness, she found herself in a different room. She overheard the conversation between Sampson and the doctor, learning of Sampson’s intentions.
Finally, she understood everything.
Maria and Annabelle spared her life because Maria knew Sampson had feelings for her. However, they were afraid she would return to City B, so they injected her with a memory-loss drug, ensuring she would live with Sampson in the future.
And then, she would vanish from Matthew’s life forever.
She didn’t know why Annabelle had joined forces with Maria and Sampson, but she knew the three of them had conspired against her.
“Don’t be afraid, Lola. I won’t harm you.” Sampson approached slowly.
Dolores tightly clutched the curtain, using it as a shield to halt Sampson’s advance. “Don’t… don’t come any closer.”
“Lola…” Sampson disregarded Dolores’ words and continued to approach.
Just before Sampson could reach Dolores, she moved slowly and dashed toward the door. She desperately tried to open it, but all her efforts were in vain. Undeterred, she persisted, turning the handle with all her might.
“You can’t open it.”
Sampson walked calmly toward her, his eyes cold. “I can keep you alive, and I can prevent you from escaping. Everything here is under my control. You won’t leave without my permission.”
Dolores clenched her fists involuntarily.
“Lola, you haven’t forgotten, have you?” Sampson stared intently at her face.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Dolores hid her terror, maintaining a calm gaze as she met Sampson’s eyes and exclaimed, “You claim to be my brother and that we’re family, but why are you forcing me to take an injection?”
“You’re ill. I want you to recover as soon as possible.”
“I’m not ill!”
“Fine, you’re not sick. I won’t give you an injection. Come here.” Sampson extended his hand, palm facing upward, revealing the crisscrossed lines on it.
Dolores glanced at his hand. If she refused him, he would realize she hadn’t lost her memory and would force the injection on her.
She couldn’t take the injection. She couldn’t lose her memory.
To calm herself down, she repeatedly clenched and released her fists, then cautiously placed her hand on Sampson’s palm.
Sampson gently held her hand and smiled. “Good girl. You’re my good little sister.”
Dolores felt a wave of disgust but concealed it.
“Are we at home?” she asked in a hushed voice, lowering her gaze.
“No.”
This place was too close to City B. Sooner or later, Matthew might find her here, and they couldn’t stay for long.
When she was taken from the apartment, she had been injured and needed medical treatment. Moreover, Sampson didn’t want her to retain memories of what had transpired before.
Thus, this was a temporary location where she received medical care. Once she recovered and took the injection, he would take her away, never to return.
“Where is our home?” Dolores probed.
“Far away from here.” Sampson doubted if she had truly lost her memory, so he refrained from revealing their future destination.
He held Dolores’ hand tightly and kissed it. “We live far away from here. When you’re better, I’ll take you home.”
Instinctively, Dolores wanted to withdraw her hand, but Sampson tightened his grip and asked, “Lola, don’t you like it when I kiss you?”
Dolores lowered her head, concealing her expression. “You’re my brother. Brothers don’t kiss their sisters.”
Sampson gently stroked her hair. “Silly girl, we’re not siblings. We’re… lovers. I love you, and you… love me. We’re in love. Don’t you remember?”
Dolores shook her head.
Sampson embraced her. “It’s alright. I remember it, and I’ll tell you our… love story later.”