Dorothy and the group didn’t buy plane tickets. Instead, Credence used his insane wealth to charter a private jet for them to fly straight to Monticello.
Ten hours later, Dorothy and the others arrived at a warm city in the south of Monticello from Talco City, where the north wind whistled past.
When she got off the plane, Dorothy felt dizzy. Credence held her in his arms as he gently guided her forward.
When she turned around, he saw Yezoo’s kind smile, as well as Ysabelle’s cold, fake smile. Dorothy suddenly felt uneasey. She lowered her head, pulled back her hair that was hanging from her ear, and asked Credence, “If we really expose her true intentions, do you… do you think that my father… wouldn’t be able to accept it?”
After getting along with each other for the past few weeks, Dorothy could tell that Yezoo really loved Ysabelle wholeheartedly. He didn’t detest her for having worked in nightclubs before this.
She concluded that Yezoo was very attracted to Ysabelle.
If Yezoo didn’t love Ysabelle, he wouldn’t have married her, much less pressure Gordan so greatly as to bring both Ysabelle and Jeremy into their family.
On the other hand, Ysabelle did a good job of hiding her past. She had erased so much evidence. So much that she was able to blind Yezoo and get away with her plans.
It was hard for Dorothy to express her feelings towards such a scheming mother.
Credence didn’t want her to worry so much. He stared at her fair face, and his long legs continued walking forward through a gust of wind. “The plan has been set. When it is carried out, I will make some adjustments so as to minimize the hurt that your father will feel.”
“If possible, it would be best for you to find an excuse to delay your father for as long as you can. If he doesn’t hear it personally, then he wouldn’t be greatly affected by it.”
“Alright, I will think of a way to separate my father from her in a way that won’t make him suspicious.”
When Dorothy thought of how kind Yezoo was towards her, she sighed heavily.
Jeremy dragged her legs lazily. He was at the end of the line. He cursed silently as he saw Credence and Dorothy hugging each other.
The only reason he was willing to come to Monticello was because of Yezoo. Apart from that, there was also the matter of killing Jeremias in person so that he could take his position as the next drug lord in Jenciga.
As an illegitimate child, his fate was to live in the shadows. He must never dream about sunshine and warmth in his life, not even the human embodiment of sunshine, Germaine.
Besides, his life was a rotten one. His parents didn’t love him. It didn’t matter if he lived or died!
As for Juelz, he was thoroughly heartbroken. He couldn’t stand to watch Credence and his crazy displays of love towards Dorothy. So, he didn’t go with them. Instead, he booked a ticket by himself and flew solo.
At the airport terminal, Marvin, who had long arrived, drove an extended Hummer SUV. It was particularly dazzling under the golden sunshine.
Unfortunately, everyone had their own ulterior motives. They weren’t in the mood to appreciate such beautiful scenery.
As everyone walked towards the car, Credence carried Dorothy into the vehicle.
After everyone got into the car, Marvin started the engine. They drove along the road that was near the airport, passed through the empty suburbs, and rushed towards their destination.
Jeremias had long gotten the specific address of the hospital in secret.
They had already set out the bait. The next thing to do was to wait for Jeremias to take it.
So long as he wanted to take revenge and wash away his shame, he would definitely take the bait.
Two hours later, the Hummer slowly came to a stop in front of a grand nursing home.
Dorothy stared at the huge courtyard. The coffee brown and white colors blended well together, and gave it a unique look. It was fascinating and beautiful.
The entire place was surrounded by tall trees and winding trails. From a distance, they could hear the sound of flowing water. There were deep pools and waterfalls nearby, which were very suitable for killing someone and then disposing of their bodies.
Wait, no, it was a great place for a romantic date.
Aside from Jeremy, everyone else rested for a while before tucking into a casual dinner. After that, they went to the top floor of the sanatorium, where Sheldon was resting.
This floor originally had four rooms, however, all of them had been opened up. It looked exceptionally large, and all kinds of advanced instruments were placed in it.
When they reached the door, Credence pushed it open and entered. At that moment, Ysabelle suddenly cried out in pain. She turned around and glanced at Yezoo, who was sitting in his wheelchair. With a distorted look in her face, she said, “I must have eaten something wrong, I have to go to the bathroom. You guys can go ahead. If I still don’t feel beter, I’ll head back to the guest room to rest.”
Yezoo didn’t know what was on her mind. He asked with some concern if she needed him to accompany her. After Ysabelle rejected him, he didn’t insist on it. Instead, he said in a worried manner, “Alright, since you’re not feeling well, then you should get some rest. I’ll talk to Sheldon about the wedding.”
Dorothy had been watching Ysabelle’s movements this entire time. When she saw her turn around and leave, she smiled proudly. She raised her head and looked at Credence. They didn’t say anything.
The two of them had the same thought. Ysabelle didn’t want to go inside to meet Sheldon because she felt guilty. She was afraid that they would see through her plans. Later at night, she would definitely sneak inside and get to Sheldon alone.
Credence gave her the signal and said, “Don’t worry. Everything is going according to plan.”
After that, he pushed the door open, and went in. The lights inside were very bright.
Sheldon may have fallen into a vegetative state, but he still looked the same as he did ten years ago. He still looked as mature and handsome as ever, as if he were Credence’s older brother.
Dorothy looked at Sheldon, and then looked back at Credence. She couldn’t help but smile.
Credence understood what she meant and shook his head helplessly. All of his attention was on his father.
Seeing so many people swarm in, Sheldon first looked at Dorothy and Credence with a smile. However, when he saw Yezoo, his eyes lit up and he laughed loudly, “Yezoo, it has been more than ten years. How have you been? I didn’t think that I would be able to see you again. Hope you haven’t forgotten about that chess game we played eleven years ago. We haven’t finished that game yet.”
“We weren’t able to see who won eleven years ago. Now, we’ll finally decide who the winner is.” Yezoo pushed his wheelchair and took a closer look at his friend from so many years ago with a smile. “However, the reason I came here from Talco City isn’t to play chess with you. I am here to discuss about the marriage between your son Credence and my daughter Dorothy.”
“You can rest assured that I won’t mistreat her. All the wealth in the world wouldn’t be enough! Over the years, I feel so guilty, I owe her so much.”
Sheldon had already heard about this from Credence some time ago, so he wasn’t surprised. All he did was look at Dorothy and smile. “Dorothy is a good woman. When I saw her at Caleb’s house, I knew that I had to let Credence marry her. I didn’t expect the world to be so small, and that she was actually your daughter. It seems that us old folks are so closely connected by fate that not even life can pull us apart.”
However, he didn’t mention a single word about Yezoo’s wife, Ysabelle.
The elders were taking their sweet time talking, while Dorothy and Credence accompanied each other and joined in the conversation from time to time. The whole room felt happy and harmonious. When they had finally worked out most of the details, it was already 11:30p. m.
Yezoo reluctantly took his leave and agreed to continue talking to Sheldon the next day. As soon as he walked out of the door, he was stopped by Dorothy. “Dad, I have a small favor to ask about the wedding. Are you feeling sleepy now? If not, I want to talk to you about it now.”
“I’m still suffering from jet lag, so I don’t think I can fall asleep just yet.” Yezoo nodded happily and followed Dorothy to a cozy room.
The moment the door closed, Dorothy made an “OK” gesture to Credence, who was standing in the corridor.
In the dead of night, Dorothy was still with Yezoo. They were discussing the details of the wedding. On the other side of the corridor, Credence was in the security room, as he watched Ysabelle sneakily enter Sheldon’s ward. His long and narrow eyes were cold and sharp.
He didn’t expect this woman to disregard her relationship with Dorothy and himself to go against his father.
Jeremy puffed out some smoke from his cigarette. He suppressed his sinister look with a frown, and sneered, “This woman only looks out for her own interests. She does not have any f*cking feelings for her children.”
Marvin shook his head and sighed, “I’ve seen lots of schemes between wealthy families when I was with the Jules family, but this is the first time I’ve ever seen such a vicious woman. She is even more vicious than Melanie. How horrible!”
Credence stared at the screen. He didn’t speak, but his brain was racing with thoughts. He was trying his best to think of a way to minimize the shock that Yezoo would have.
…
Inside the room, Sheldon picked up a chess piece and looked at the chess board that was under the light. He noticed that Ysabelle was standing in front of him with a grim look on her face. He didn’t seem surprised, as he said coldly, “What are you doing here? If you don’t want Yezoo to despise you, if you don’t want Dorothy to know what kind of a filthy woman her mother is, then you should get out of my sight!”
“Get out? Where to? Since I’m already here, I’m not leaving!”
Ysabelle whipped out the pistol from within her leather bag. She then slowly raised her hand and pointed it at Sheldon’s head as she sneered coldly, “Sheldon, why did you have to survive that fall? Wouldn’t it be nice if you were still in a coma? You just had to wake up.”
“Since you’re awake, then you should just count yourself unlucky! If you tell Yezoo anything about me, then I will be kicked out of the Sherman family. I would lose everything.”
“Sheldon, only when you’ve died will I be able to live a comfortable and happy life. My reason for coming here to see you today is to kill you!”
Ysabelle gritted her teeth. It took her great strength to say that. She hated the handsome middle-aged man in front of her so much.
“After you’ve killed me, Jeremias will clean up your mess for you. He’ll make sure that they won’t find any evidence of you killing me, right?”
Sheldon finally placed down the chess piece and stared at Ysabelle’s ugly face. He shook his head and sighed, “For the sake of Yezoo and Dorothy, it would be best for the two of us to forget about our past. We don’t want to expose the scandal that happened to you back then. After all, you are Dorothy’s mother! But you were so greedy and foolish. Even if I wanted to let you go, the heavens wouldn’t allow it.”
When he thought about how he was plotted against by such a vulgar woman, a feeling of great regret flashed through Sheldon’s eyes. However, his gaze was sharper than a knife. “In truth, that night, after you were sent to my room by Jeremias, I didn’t even look at you. However, I had too much to drink that night, and I must have mistaken you for Yverlyn and did those things to you. But that was just one night, I couldn’t have made you pregnant. That was because Yverlyn almost died on the operating table due to hemorrhages from a failed delivery. In order to prevent her from getting pregnant and to suffer such pain again, I secretly had myself castrated. This is also why Yverlyn and I have never been able to conceive another child despite loving each other so much.”
“Then, you brought a child to me and said that he was my own son. I thought it was ridiculous! But I kept Yverlyn in the dark and never told her about the surgery, nor would I ever tell her about such an irrelevant woman like you. I didn’t expect you to go so far. You thought that I was silent because I felt guilty. You called Yverlyn out behind my back and ruined our relationship. You even indirectly killed Yverlyn…”
When his deceased wife was mentioned, Sheldon suddenly felt as though countless knives had stabbed his heart. Stab after stab, it hurt so much that it felt like his heart was about to be crushed.
He raised his head. His eyes were black like a wolf’s. It looked like he wanted to swallow the woman in front of him alive. “I was planning to kill you, but Yezoo came to me one day and told me that he loved you and wanted to marry you even with the burden you bore! Ysabelle, you knew that Yezoo was my best friend, so you schemed your way into marrying him. Eventually, he fell in love with you. Seeing how sincere Yezoo was, I didn’t plan to kill you in the end, I spared your life. Soon after, I investigated your son. How interesting, that boy was actually a product of you and Jeremias.”
“Jeremias and Yezoo look somewhat alike, but for whatever reason, Jeremias found a driver who looks like him. The lights in the bar were dim. Back then, you mistook the driver as Yezoo. After that absurd night, you got pregnant with that poor child.”
“No, that’s impossible!” Ysabelle took in a deep breath and roared, “Sheldon, you are talking nonsense. How could Jeremy be the child of an inferior driver?”
Sheldon’s cold gaze slowly landed on Ysabelle. He spoke with a cold voice, “You’re just a pawn that Jeremias used to deal with Yezoo and me. Why couldn’t the child you gave birth to be the son of a simple driver?”
“No, that’s impossible. Sheldon, you slander me. None of you stinking noble men are of any good. All of you should just go to hell!”
Ysabelle was on the verge of going mad. She clenched the pistol in her hand and aimed it at Sheldon’s head. Just as she was about to pull the trigger, Yezoo roared angrily from behind her. “Ysabelle, not only did you lie to me, you’re so shameless. Jeremy is the child of you and Jeremias’ chauffeur. You f*cking told me that you were forced to do this. You were helpless and had no choice. I took it seriously. I pitied you, and I sincerely loved you. How could you f*cking treat me like this?”
Dorothy followed Yezoo from behind. When she heard Yezoo’s angry shouting and how harshly he was criticizing Ysabelle, she couldn’t help but clench her fists. She felt that their entire plan was foiled.
She was having such a good conversation with him, but all of a sudden, he seemed to have sensed something wrong. He pushed the wheelchair out and took the elevator to the top floor. After that, he happened to overhear the one conversation that he shouldn’t have.
Ysabelle panicked. She turned around to look at the furious Yezoo, and she said with a little grievance in her eyes, “Yezoo, I didn’t. Listen to me…”
“Shut up! Just shut up now! I believe Sheldon, he would never lie to me.” Yezoo pushed his wheelchair towards Ysabelle with a gloomy look on his face. His eyes were dead inside, and he looked heartbroken. “Once Dorothy’s wedding is over, you will leave the Sherman family and never come back. This, this is the last bit of mercy I will give you.”
He loved this woman, but it didn’t mean that he would fall in love with this sl*t of a woman who was full of lies, greed, and malice.
“No! Yezoo, you can’t do this to me. Please, I was wrong. I’m begging you. I was bad before. But now, I really love you, I love you and only you! Yezoo…”
With a pale look on her face, Ysabelle knelt in front of Yezoo and cried. However, soon after that, Jeremy came in and dragged Ysabelle to the corridor and threw her heavily on the ground. She was in immense pain.
Jeremy lowered his head and looked at her for a few seconds. He picked up his long black whip that he usually used and walked towards her with a cold smile. “Old fool, your conversation with Sheldon just now was very interesting. Do you feel wronged by the wave of nostalgia you felt? You fooled me for over thirty years, you hid me in the dark, unable to ever seek salvation. Now, its time to get even with you.”
By the time he finished talking, the long whip in his hand moved like a cruel snake in the shadows. It was aimed at Ysabelle’s body and he attacked her without mercy.
Ysabelle begged for mercy. Unfortunately, everyone turned a deaf ear to her, they pretended not to have heard anything.
At the same time, when the alarm of the sanatorium went off, Credence and Marvin split off into two groups. They killed over 30 special agents that Jeremias brought in with one fell swoop. Only less than ten agents were left. They surrounded Jeremias and protected him. Everyone was so shocked that their legs were trembling.
Jeremias was so angry that he cursed incessantly. He stared at Yezoo, who was sitting on his wheelchair in the corridor, and Sheldon, who was standing beside him. He placed his pistol under his nose and rubbed it violently as he said, “F*ck, I’ve fallen for your trap! I was so desperate to get revenge for Yverlyn that I fell into your trap! Ysabelle, that d*mn b*tch, how dare you fool me! Yezoo, just you wait, I’ll kill you first, after that, I will chop Ysabelle into pieces. And Sheldon, that motherf*cker, he accidentally killed Yverlyn for the sake of such a b*tch… F*ck, I’ve loved her ever since I was young, yet you killed her with just a push! B*tch, f*ckers, all of you, go to hell, I want all of you to go to hell!”
The special agents protecting him died from Credence and Marvin’s assaults. One bullet was enough to kill each of them. However, Jeremias was so angry, his eyes turned red. He simply threw away his empty gun and took out a grenade. He frantically threw it towards them.
“Dad, be careful.”
Dorothy was dragged into the ward by Credence when she saw the scene. Her whole body turned stiff, and her body trembled.
When the bomb was less than half a meter away from Yezoo and Sheldon, an evil shadow burst out from the other side of the corridor. He leaped ahead towards the grenade and then changed his direction towards the empty courtyard where Jeremias was.
Bang!
Dorothy watched and heard the loud explosion. She could only watch helplessly as Jeremy hugged Jeremias. He faced the bomb head-on with his body. Blood exploded out of him in all directions like a wet firework.
Dorothy cried, “Jeremy, brother…”
She screamed and called him brother. She trembled and fell into Credence’s embrace. She shed silent tears.
He wasn’t as cruel or heartless as everyone claimed him to be. He had risked his life to save everyone.
Jeremias was blown into pieces and nothing was left. Jeremy was thrown onto a parasol tree in the yard. Hearing Dorothy shout his name, he raised his head to look at her. He looked at her as if he was looking at someone he missed. His face turned pale with a trace of malice that only belonged to him. “Why are you crying? I belong in the darkness, people like me can never see the light. I’m not a human nor a ghost. I don’t care about this d*mned life of mine! It’s… it’s just a pity that I can’t give Germaine a happy life. What a pity, I should have slept with her earlier!”
Motherf*cker, being Sheldon’s illegitimate son was so much better than being the son of a mere driver!
He had spent his entire life doing nothing meaningful. In the end, his life was nothing more than a joke.
Now that he knew the truth, it was time for him to move on!
Jeremy’s voice still had that unique tone of laziness and indifference to it, as though he didn’t have enough sleep, or like he hadn’t woken up from his dreams.
Gradually, his voice grew weaker. In the end, he took his last breath from his bloody throat and gradually closed his thin eyelids.
“No! Brother, wake up… Please, come back. I’ll let you scold me and beat me up! If you just leave like this, what is Germaine going to do? What’s going to happen to the child in her womb?”
Dorothy pounded Credence’s chest, and her heart hurt. It hurt so much that it felt like it was being torn apart. Tears streamed down her face.
Among everyone present, only Credence and Marvin were still alert. They looked at the evil man who was lying in a pool of blood, and Marvin felt conflicted. “Credence, I really didn’t expect to see the day where this cruel man actually saved us.”
Credence said, “Yeah, I didn’t expect that either.”
As soon as Credence stopped sighing, he and Marvin personally took Jeremy, who was dying, to an emergency hospital that was closest to the sanatorium.
After two months of crucial life-and-death moments, Jeremy almost lost his life several times. He was literally walking the fine line between life and death, but couldn’t reach either one.
In the end, not even the doctors could do anything. In their last desperate attempt, they used their latest super drug to stimulate his brain. The drugs were still on a trial basis, and no one really knew how it would turn out.
However, in order to save Jeremy’s life, Dorothy and Yezoo, who acted as his family members, signed the agreement.
It was a sunny morning. At about 10:30 a. m., Jeremy suddenly opened his eyes and woke up without warning. But he had lost his memories, and his evil and lazy eyes were drenched in darkness. He couldn’t see anything at all.
Outside the ward, Dorothy was overwhelmed with joy when she heard the doctor announce the good news. Tears flowed down her cheeks. “That’s great. He’s still alive. That’s great. Nothing else matters anymore.”
She had secretly hid this from Germaine for the past two months. With Germaine’s stubborn personality, there was no telling what she would do.
A week later, Dorothy, Credence, and Marvin returned to Talco City by plane with Jeremy, who had lost his memories.
Sheldon’s body hadn’t fully recovered, so he chose to stay in the nursing home to continue receiving treatment.
Yezoo hated Ysabelle so much that he didn’t take her back to Talco City. Instead, he sent her to a psychiatric hospital in Monticello. He wanted her to stay in a psychiatric hospital for the rest of her life to bear the consequences that she should have.
With Sheldon’s enthusiastic invitation, Yezoo took the opportunity to stay in Monticello. The two good friends played chess and went fishing together. Sometimes, they would travel the world together. They were the best of friends.
Juelz’s flight failed not long after it took off. He was forced to land at a temporary airport in the neighboring city of Talco City, and his plans were delayed for ten hours. When he boarded again and was ready to fly to Monticello, he received a call from Credence, telling him that there was no need to go. Everything had been solved in a satisfactory way, all except for Jeremy.
Seeing how Jeremy was a stranger to her, Germaine’s heart felt like it was stabbed by a knife. When she saw him at Talco City airport, she burst into tears.
She supported her belly, but could no longer suppress the surging wave of bitterness she felt. She suddenly threw herself into Jeremy’s arms, looked up, and put her forehead against Jeremy’s pointed chin. Her sadness soaked through her flesh and bones, every cell in her was bleeding from pain.
Germaine could barely speak. Her tears were filled with laughter, as she said, “Jeremy, how fortunate. At least you’re not dead, and our child gets to see you again.”
Seven months later, after enduring over eight hours of pain, Germaine gave birth to a little girl. After her daughter’s first month, while Dorothy was having guests over at her place, she quietly drove away from the Sherman family villa with Jeremy. She went to Starovilla, the place she had wanted to go for a very long time.
She wanted to spend the rest of her life with the man she loved, and no one else.
Her man was trapped in endless darkness for the first half of his life. He lived in despair and was mentally distorted. He walked this dark path step by step and killed countless people. Now he was blind and had no memory of the past. This was his retribution.
She would accompany him for the rest of his life. She would be his sunshine and his eyes. She would give him warmth, accompany him, and be with him until the end of time. That was enough.
“Jeremy, if I had known you earlier, would the two of us have a few more years of fun together?”
“It isn’t a tragedy to receive your love in my life. In fact, it is the happiest thing that has happened to me. Unfortunately, I got to know you too late in life, and we’ve wasted too many good years.”
“Don’t worry, our daughter will definitely live a happy life for us until the end of time!” Germaine thought.
When Dorothy realized that Germaine had abandoned her daughter Natalie with only a simple note that said ‘We are leaving’, she couldn’t help but shed tears. She knew that Jeremy had once been very cruel and had countless enemies, so it would be best for Germaine to hide away with him, so that they could safely grow old for the rest of their lives.
“Germaine, you must be happy! You have to be happy!”
As of now, any attempt at comforting her would be futile.
Credence had no other choice. He could only hold her tightly. He used all his strength to hug her, and he felt a sour feeling well up in his heart.
Jeremy had tried to kill him several times before. In the end, this ambitious man finally turned into a blind man with no memories. How sad!
Any emotional person would easily fall into love, it didn’t matter if that person was a man or a woman. Their hearts and bodies would be trapped together, and they would never be able to walk away from it.
Luckily, Jeremy was still alive, and he could still accompany Germaine for the rest of her life.
After Germaine left, there was still their daughter, Natalie, who was waiting to be fed. Dorothy originally wanted to adopt a little girl and raise her as her own daughter, but Juelz insisted on preventing that from happening.
Facing Credence, his eyes were burning. He stared at Dorothy and said with a bitter smile, “Dory, Germaine and your brother gave up the Sherman family in this generation, they left me. But I can’t get married or have children in this life, I can’t love anyone. So, I will love Natalie as much as I love my own daughter.”
Since he had already said that, what else could Dorothy do? She could only nod her head in agreement.
Twenty-three years later, when Natalie graduated from college, Terrence, who was Jonathan and Minnie’s son, pursued her like a wolf. No one could stop them.
On the day of Natalie and Terrence’s wedding, Dorothy and Credence smiled with gratification. They sent the children’s happy photos to Germaine.
Even though Germaine never replied, they knew that Germaine had definitely seen it. She just did not want them to get involved in Jeremy’s affairs.
After the wedding, a lively dinner was held at night.
Dorothy had some fruits, desserts and juice. She left the joyful hall, walked to the balcony of the hotel, and stared at the distant starry sky with the autumn breeze. For a moment, she was lost in time.
Soon after, Credence drove them home. Dorothy sat on the passengers seat. The sky was drizzling. All of a sudden, she felt something and looked back. She seemed to have seen Germaine and Juelz hugging each other in the distant sky above the hotel. The two of them smiled at her. After that, they dissipated like the wind.
At that moment, it was raining, but Dorothy felt as though she was looking at a dazzling sunset. Sunshine shone from the tall hotel building behind her, making her feel warm, as though they were still in spring.
Dorothy thought that Germaine and Jeremy must be feeling happy for Natalie and the girls in some remote and nameless village in Starovilla. She was sure that they were living happily.
Sunshine would definitely come after the rain!
Just like the lost years of her and Credence’s separation. In the end, happiness would still come to them!