Ben switched the air conditioner back to cooling mode, gritting his teeth as he glared at me.
“Serena, you’ve always been this stubborn! You left me with no other choice!”
When I regained consciousness, I realized he had already brought me to my mother’s hospital room.
Ben shoved my face against the small window on the door. Inside, I saw several bodyguards restraining my terrified mother, shoving her head toward a microwave.
He raised his hand in a signal, and the man inside twisted the microwave dial all the way to its maximum. I could practically smell her hair burning. If this continued, I didn’t dare imagine the outcome.
I lunged at Ben, grabbing his collar with all my strength, screaming,
“Are you insane?! That’s my mother, you lunatic!”
Ben looked down calmly, kissed my bloodied fingers with eerie tenderness, and smiled—like a devil in human skin.
“There’s nothing else I can do, Serena. You’re too stubborn. And I just can’t stand to see you die. So, I’ll let your mother die instead.”
“Give me the USB drive, or I’ll let them fry her brain until it bursts. Think very carefully.”
From inside the ward, my mother’s agonized cries rang out:
“It’s burning! What are you doing?! Let me go!”
A stabbing pain pierced through my heart. I shut my eyes tightly as despair overtook me, my voice cracking into a sob.
“The USB... it’s wedged between my phone and the case. Just let her go now—please.”
Ben took the USB, signaled his men to stand down, and lifted my chin with his fingers.
“Serena, without this, you can’t bring charges against Cassandra. And just so you know, I’ve already made sure no lawyer in Saltwater City will take your case.”
Right in front of me, he flushed the USB drive down a nearby drain. I stared at him, consumed by sorrow.
I had once feared that Cassandra might sneak into my home to steal the evidence, then rush to the police station without even thinking of backing it up.
But never—not in a thousand lifetimes—did I imagine that the one who would help her cover up the truth would be her husband.
To protect Cassandra, he didn’t just destroy evidence—he threatened my mother’s life and blackmailed every legal representative in Saltwater City.
Was my daughter’s death going to mean nothing?
I tried to go back into the ward to check on my mother, but Ben yanked my wrist.
“Cassandra knows you’re grieving. She wanted to help, so she’s taken the initiative to set up Lily’s funeral arrangements. Let’s head over.”
“And remember, I’ve told her it was just a tragic accident. Don’t say anything cruel to her again. I won’t allow it.”
On the way, I stared blankly at the crystal ball resting on the dashboard.
It was the very first gift Ben ever gave me. Inside the glass sphere, a tiny couple embraced lovingly—sculpted by his own hands, modeled after the two of us.
Back then, he wasn’t the powerful Mr. Doyle everyone feared. He was just a quiet, reclusive boy in my mother’s class—isolated, awkward, invisible.
His parents had died in a car crash, and greedy relatives had taken all the insurance money, leaving him unable to afford tuition.
My mother, moved by pity, used our family’s savings to support him and even let him live in our home.
In those bleak days, I feared he might collapse under the weight of everything. So I stayed with him every day—encouraging him, making him laugh, helping him with schoolwork.
He worked relentlessly, eventually getting accepted to the same university as me. After graduation, he founded his own company.
When the company finally went public, Ben knelt before me in front of everyone, surrounded by extravagant gifts, and handed me the crystal ball.
I still remember the tremble in his voice, thick with emotion and sincerity:
“Serena, I know you’ve always hated flashy gifts. I gave you those because other women like them—and I want you to have what others have.”
“But this crystal ball... I made it long ago. I never had the courage to give it to you because it holds no value—except for my love.”
