After the nurse said that, the air around them felt incredibly stifling.Madeline smiled calmly and said, “I think you must be talking about Madeline.”“It’s her…”Sean’s shocked exclamations sounded in her ear.Madeline turned around and saw regret as well as an apologetic look on Sean’s handsome face.“I didn’t think that she was the one who gave blood to Ellie. I even…”He had thought Madeline was bullying Meredith back then. As such, he yelled at Madeline angrily.He had said to her, "It’s no wonder your biological parents didn’t want you. Such a vicious person like you shouldn't even be alive in this world!"Sean was stunned. He placed his hands over his eyes in remorse.Madeline donated so much blood for Eloise and Jackson in secret back then.However, she did not say anything. She only endured all of their evil words and reprimanding.At that moment, Sean felt like he had committed the worst sin possible.Now, even if he wanted to apologize, he did not have the chanc

Madeline got out of bed and cleaned herself up. When she was about to look for Jeremy, she heard noises from the balcony.She looked over and saw the man standing there alone. Jeremy’s tall and slender back looked frail.There was a cigarette between his long fingers. The tip of the cigarette lit up and dimmed simultaneously, looking desolate in the morning sun.Perhaps he heard footsteps, so he turned around and saw Madeline walking toward him. He narrowed his eyes into a grin. “Why don’t you sleep more?”“I’ll wake up if I get enough sleep.” Madeline smiled. When she saw Jeremy in yesterday’s clothes, she asked, “You didn’t sleep for the entire night?”He curled the corner of his lips. His eyes were as dark as night as they were glued on Madeline’s fair and gentle face.“It’s been difficult for me to fall asleep for the past three years.”A glint flashed across Madeline’s eyes when she heard that.Jeremy extinguished his cigarette and walked in front of her.The unique smell

When Meredith heard that Madeline had more evidence, Meredith started to panic.“Your Honor, don’t trust this woman. She’s trying to frame me! I’m being falsely accused by her!” Meredith pointed at Madeline and shrieked emotionally. “I’m really innocent, Your Honor!”“Defendant, please calm down. If you continue to make noise, the court will charge you with contempt of court,” the judge said seriously.“...” When she heard this, Meredith shut her mouth quickly.However, she was nervous. She did not know what Madeline’s solid evidence was.At this moment, the police brought Jon and Rose inside.Meredith looked at Jon and Rose anxiously. She knew something was not right.Just as she expected, Jon and Rose were testifying against her in court!“Your Honor, my adopted daughter, Meredith Crawford, was indeed the person who planned this. She was discussing this with us at our home,” Rose said. She did not dare to look Meredith in the eyes.Jon made a full confession at one side as w

Sean returned just as Eloise’s wounds were redressed. She immediately rushed forward to ask, “How did it go, Sean? How’s Meredith—” “Evidence is conclusive. The judge ruled Meredith a 12-year time in prison.” “No!” Eloise’s expression paled as her vision went black. She almost fainted over. Sean immediately went to hold her. “We’ve done everything we can, Eloise.”“So what? We still couldn’t save our precious daughter in the end!” Eloise cried heartbreakingly. “The lawyer said he could 100 percent guarantee that Meredith would be able to get out of it! How could it end like this?” “Vera came out with a final piece of evidence and Meredith’s foster parents suddenly came forward to testify against Meredith as well.” “What? That Vera Quinn again!” Fury flared in Eloise’s eyes. “To think that I had invited her over for dinner last night, hoping she would let Meredith go. I can’t believe how cruel she is! Why did she have to force Meredith to a corner? I should never have held Di

Eloise felt her body freeze at the words Meredith had shouted. Her hand trembled as it pushed hard at the door to the conjugal room. The three inside jolted at Eloise’s sudden arrival. “Mrs. Montgomery... What are you doing here?” Rose shot up from her seat to look uneasily at Eloise. Meredith looked calm now that the wave of shock had passed. “Are you here to see me, Mom? What happened to your hand? What’s with the bandages?” Her tone was now kind and the look in her eyes was delicate, leaving no traces of the dominance and bossiness that were there mere moments ago. Eloise could not care less about Meredith’s false concern and greetings, for her eyes were currently boring into that ever-so delicate-looking appearance. “The words you just said, did you mean them?” Meredith was stunned. She deduced that Eloise must have heard the words she shouted earlier in unrestrained anger. “You’ve misunderstood, Mom. It’s just…” “I did not misunderstand!” Eloise interrupted ici

He approached to support a panting Eloise lovingly. “What happened, Elosie?” Eloise’s eyes were red as he pressed a hand above her aching heart. “I just found out that Meredith... She... She was never our daughter…” “Wha-What are you talking about?” All color drained from Sean’s face. Sean felt his body shiver as Eloise retold the entire incident. With Eloise in tow, they went to talk to Meredith again, but it was to no avail as she refused to speak. Meanwhile, Rose and Jon were nowhere to be found. They had seemingly vanished into thin air. The two returned home in the end, the emptiness of the huge villa suffocating them. Eloise searched through Meredith’s room for a lead, but all she could find was the gold pendant she had made years ago for their newborn. The name ‘Eveline’ could still clearly be seen on the pendant. The afternoon sun was bright, a stark contrast to the gloom over Eloise and Sean’s heart. Eloise’s heart clenched painfully as tears streamed unco

Madeline’s eyes flickered with interest as she stared at Eloise, whose tears were streaming freely, in shock. “Why would you say so, Mrs. Montgomery?” “Eloise and I heard Meredith admit it herself.” Sean sighed, his brows furrowing tightly. “I can’t believe that she stole the identity.” Madeline was rather confused at the turn of events. Why would Meredith admit to not being the eldest daughter of the Montgomery family? Doing such a thing gave her no advantages. “I would never have heard her conversation with Rose and Jon had I not gone to visit her at the detention center.” Eloise scoffed self-effacingly, and it dawned on Madeline that Eloise had overheard something that was never meant for her to hear. A lie would always be a lie. Finding out the truth was only a matter of when. It felt ironic, and she heard Eloise let out a chuckle. “I thought that I had finally found my daughter after so many years. Sean and I drenched her with love these three years we thought s

Madeline watched the car drive off silently. Technically speaking, it was not a lie. Their daughter was still alive. ‘The one who died was the silly and foolish Madeline Crawford, not your daughter, Eveline Montgomery.’Jeremy had planned to bring Madeline to Whitman Manor after they visited Eloise. However, he felt a change of heart at the sudden turn of events. “I just remembered that I have something important to deal with. I’ll send you home first and pick you up tonight?” Madeline smiled kindly. “Go, Jeremy. I’ll wait for you to pick me up when you’re done.” The corners of Jeremy’s lips quirked, but the smile was not one from the heart. He was merely forcing out a smile. Madeline had felt something was off about him ever since he heard that Meredith was a fake. After alighting from the car, Madeline watched Jeremy turn the car around without a second glance backward. It was a stark contrast to how he used to watch her leave before he made his way off. Real

Meredith was taken aback by Jeremy’s sudden tug. Her eyes widened in shock as she took in his words. She seemed to have lost the ability to breathe. ‘How… How does he know that it wasn’t me? ‘Unless Madeline has already told him everything? ‘No. She wouldn’t. There’s no way she would!’ “Cough, cough…” Meredith felt the air get sucked out of her lungs as Jeremy’s hand on her collar tightened. Her complexion flushed and her tongue became tied. “What... What are you saying, Jeremy? I am Linnie, the one you hold dear in your heart. How else would I have the leaf bookmark? Cough, cough… Please… Jeremy, let go…” “Do you still think that you can lie to me at this point?” Jeremy squinted, a ray of frost shooting from his eyes and freezing the better half of Meredith’s heart. “You aren’t even Eloise and Sean’s daughter, so how could the gold pendant engraved with the name ‘Eveline’ be yours? You never had the memory of the nickname ‘Linnie’ to begin with! So how could you be that

Staring down at her like a champion looking at the loser, the man oozed with a frightfully domineering aura. “You wouldn’t waste my time unless you want a painful death coming your way.” He warned frostily. Meredith coughed twice for the sake of it and raised her head with difficulty. “I... I know I shouldn’t have lied to you, Jeremy. But... But I promise, the love I feel for you is real. I love you, Jeremy, I really do—” “Cut the bullsh*t,” Jeremy interrupted emotionlessly. Meredith fell face-down on the ground and bit her lip. “Alright, I’ll tell you…” Head down, Meredith’s eyes flashed with deceit. ‘If I can’t get this man, Madeline, then you can forget about getting a shred of his love as well!’She clenched her jaw and swore internally before opening her mouth to say, “There was an elective I took with Madeline in my freshman year, and there was a girl with the nickname Linnie in that class. Madeline and I had accidentally taken a look at her diary, and we found out tha