Evelyn’s eyes were wide open, unwilling to close even in death. As her breath stopped, she could still see someone taking a photo of her with their phone.
Conrad… Ha… Conrad…
I curse you… may you never receive Lillian’s love.
You will lose love forever!!!
Hunter had left by helicopter.
By the time Conrad sent people to search the entire city, that helicopter had already been abandoned on a hilltop somewhere in the eastern harbor.
When the door was suddenly kicked open from the outside, Booth hid behind the couch, too scared to make a sound.
Since returning from the old house, his parents had ordered him not to go out anymore and had even planned to contact a school abroad for him to continue his studies, so he wouldn’t cause trouble at home.
So when Conrad barged in, Booth’s heart trembled.
“Uncle, Uncle…”
Conrad had clearly rushed back from outside. His collar was undone, and he looked a bit disheveled, as if he had just been in a fight.
Andrew came over, grabbing Booth and dragging him across the room like a ragdoll.
“Uncle! Uncle!!!” Booth screamed, fearing that Conrad was about to lose his temper and take his life.
Conrad kicked over the decorative toy Booth had placed in the corner and grabbed his chin, lifting his face.
“I make money to feed your useless family, and you conspire with outsiders to plot against me!?”
“Uncle, I didn’t!” Booth was nearly pleading for his life.
But he knew why this was happening-he just didn’t know what Evelyn had done.
Booth rambled on, almost crying. “I only slept with Evelyn in a moment of impulse. I had no idea she would end up pregnant with my child, and I did urge her to get an abortion!”
“She’s the one who kept it from you! It’s because she wanted to give Chloe a gift that I even took her there today! Uncle, I don’t have the guts to plot against you. I swear, I wouldn’t betray my own family!”
Conrad suddenly slapped Booth across the face. “How did the Brown family end up with someone as stupid as you, still daring to carry my last name?”
Conrad added, “What did Evelyn say to you before she went to see Chloe? Didn’t Hunter contact you? Booth, this is the second time!”
Conrad straightened up, pointing his gun at Booth, and fired two shots.
Booth’s legs were pierced by the bullets, and the pain caused blood, tears, and snot to spill onto the floor.
“Uncle! Uncle, I really didn’t do anything! Please, believe me, Uncle!”
Booth was desperately trying to get up, but Andrew pressed him down hard, angrily shouting, “You still dare to talk! Today, it was only by a hair that Hunter didn’t succeed. The bullets barely missed Mr. Conrad’s temples! You’ve been played by Evelyn again and again, and now you dare to say you’re innocent! You’ve put Mr. Conrad in danger, and you deserve to die!”
Conrad immediately ordered, “Turn this place upside down. I want to see what kind of gift my ‘good nephew’ is planning to give me!”
Conrad’s men quickly stormed upstairs, making a lot of noise as they rummaged through everything.
Booth stared desperately at the study, terrified that his thoughts would be discovered.
Conrad sat on the sofa while Booth knelt at his feet, crying and explaining. He rambled on about his messy situation with Evelyn.
Conrad lit a cigarette and said, “Take him outside. Listening to him talk makes me sick.”
Damn traitor, betraying me while I’ve been feeding him!
“Uncle! Uncle, listen to me!” Booth persisted, unwilling to give up.
At that moment, a bodyguard came downstairs. “Mr. Conrad! There’s something… up there…”
“What? Can’t even speak now?” Conrad asked, his eyes narrowing.
His low-pressure presence made the bodyguard hand over a set of photos. “I’m not sure, but this looks like Miss Lillian.”
Conrad squinted, took the stack of photos, and started flipping through them. It really was Lillian from her time in school.
Booth was shaking all over now, too terrified to look at Conrad.
But he thought to himself, I’ve slept with Evelyn, and my uncle didn’t do anything about it, so maybe he doesn’t care that much. As for Lillian… he only had a few pictures of her, and he had never laid a hand on her. His uncle probably wouldn’t hold that against him.
“Crawl over here and explain this to me,” Conrad said coldly.
The bodyguard interrupted, “There’s more upstairs.”
Conrad nodded, deciding to head upstairs himself.
He kicked open the study door. From the walls to the desk, everything was covered in pictures of Lillian.
Every drawer was open.
Like a pervert, coveting his woman.
This really was his good nephew.
“When was this? How long ago?”
Conrad’s voice was calm, but those who had been around him long enough knew this was a sign that he was beyond furious and that someone was about to die.
Booth was dragged upstairs, his voice shaking as he said, “It was during the third year of middle school.”
“Kept it well hidden, huh?” Conrad said, resting his legs on the desk. He clicked the mouse and opened a webpage, finding that Booth’s Twitter only followed one account-and he followed it quietly.
He clicked on the account. “Whose Twitter is this?”
“It’s Lillian’s secret account. Uncle, you didn’t know?” Booth lowered his eyes and pressed his lips together. “After her family went bankrupt, she stopped updating her main account and erased everything. She created a new one. I didn’t know where she went for a while, so I just tried these few letters and… I found it.”
Conrad opened the first post from three years ago, back when Lillian had been following him.
But as he read, it seemed as though time had frozen.
He clicked on each post slowly.
The secret account didn’t allow comments from anyone.
Rather than a regular life record, it felt like Lillian’s private diary of a secret crush.
[February 3rd: Mr. Conrad came back early today. I made him a strawberry milkshake, but he said he wouldn’t drink something so girly. Later, he told me to take a bath. I wasn’t very thoughtful, and I think my nails scratched his back. His face turned instantly sour, and I got scared, afraid he might stop me from going to college. Luckily, the next day, he didn’t say anything, just told me to prepare for the registration. The tuition had already been transferred to my card. Thank you, Mr. Conrad.]
[May 6th: There were rumors among the classmates, saying I was a sugar girl. They weren’t wrong, after all. How else could a broke person like me afford all these limited-edition luxury items? Besides, my relationship with Mr. Conrad was indeed transactional. But if I didn’t go along with it, Mr. Conrad would get upset, look down on me for being uncultured, and wouldn’t want me around.]
[… Today Mr. Conrad was very happy. He kissed me for a long time, and it felt different from the kisses before. I think I was excited the whole night just because of one compliment from him. He told me I looked beautiful in a white dress. Even though he said it when he was drunk, it still made me feel so happy.]
[I think I did something wrong. I knocked over the files he had on the coffee table. He just said he’d teach me a lesson right there on the table… Sometimes, being with him feels both wonderful and heartbreaking. I know he’ll never truly be mine.]
[What kind of person is Mr. Conrad? I’ve never met a man like him-mysterious, ruthless, yet sometimes childish. When he’s upset, he drags me into all-night video games, then falls asleep on my lap. He’ll suddenly whisk me away to another country and surprise me. He’ll yell at me angrily, wipe away my tears roughly, and even hug me awkwardly when I’m sad, trying to comfort me.]
[Today is Valentine’s Day. Will he come back to be with me? Am I… his lover? Does he even love me, just a little bit?]
[He really came back! He even brought me a bouquet of roses, though he said it was a free gift. But it was the first time he ever gave me flowers, and it meant the world to me!]
…
Andrew pulled Booth out of the room, and later came back to ask, “What should we do with Booth?”