"Thanks for taking the trouble, Director Bennett. Really appreciate you escorting the three of them to jail yourself."
"Of course. Just doing my job."
Oscar Bennett nodded and left the room.
Gavin Moore straightened up then, went down on one knee and said seriously, "Your Highness, I was supposed to protect you at all times. I arrived too late this time. Please punish me!"
"It's not your fault," Serena reached out to help him up, her eyes shifting toward Evan who was lying in bed. "Get up. Let's get Evan back to the orphanage first. He's been drugged-he needs to rest and recover."
Gavin quickly responded, "Understood. I'll go call a doctor right away!"
"No need. I've got this."
When Serena said that, only then did Gavin freeze for a second and remember-how could he forget? Her medical skills were unmatched.
Back on the battlefield, she could heal wounds with just a silver needle, turning hopeless cases around and saving countless lives. Honestly, even the top specialists in Draco City combined probably couldn't hold a candle to her.
He'd basically just insulted her "Silver Needle Sage" reputation with that dumb suggestion.
He immediately gave a respectful nod and carefully helped Evan get up.
...
Gavin carried Evan into the car and drove straight to the Angel Orphanage on the outskirts of the city. Evan was the director there. It was also the place Serena had grown up.
She gave him a couple more acupuncture treatments. Watching him start to sweat, she finally pulled out the needle, tugged the blanket up around him, and stepped out into the yard.
Right in the center stood an old tree, thick with green leaves now.
But she still remembered how, when she was just a kid, her brothers would take turns lifting her up to pick the flowers off it and snack on the sweet petals. The poor tree used to get stripped bare because of her.
Now, the new kids were all well-behaved and took great care of it-it stood tall and strong.
She stopped for a moment to take another look before heading toward the classroom.
Thanks to her quiet donations over the years, the desks and books here were always brand new.
But the old, worn desks from her childhood, the pile of secondhand toys in the corner, that teddy bear missing one ear-they were burned into her memory.
When she was five, Evan had found her abandoned in the mountains, feverish and half-conscious. She was unconscious for three days, and it was Evan and her brothers-taking turns wiping her hands and feet with warm water-who had pulled her back from the brink.
They'd taken care of her for seven years.
Little by little, the pain of losing her parents and being left in the wilderness by her aunt started to fade. The orphanage became her true home.
She really believed she'd be able to live a simple, happy life here forever.
But when she turned twelve, life threw her a cruel punch in the gut.
That was when she found out the truth about her parents' death-and when her own aunt framed her and got her locked up.
Since that moment, a fire had started burning in her chest-one of pure revenge, only getting hotter over the years...
"Evan's awake!"
A little girl with pigtails ran up and tugged at her sleeve.
Snapping back to reality, Serena followed the girl into the room.
Evan was already upright, looking much better. Serena brought over a bowl of warm oatmeal and started gently feeding him, spoonful by spoonful.
"Evan, what happened? How did you fall into Cora's trap?"
Evan swallowed and let out a tired sigh, his voice still a bit hoarse. "Cora spent six months chasing me-I turned her down more than once. Guess she couldn't take the rejection. She drugged my drink, and the next thing I knew, I woke up in a hotel room."
Serena's hand froze for a second mid-air. A flicker of coldness flashed in her eyes.Just then, Gavin Moore walked in. "Don't worry, Director Carter. The three from the Bennett family are all on their way to prison."
Evan looked up at him, a flicker of surprise on his face.
Gavin, thinking he was hesitating out of sympathy, quickly added, "They're paying for what they did. They deserve it."
"That's not it," Evan shook his head, his eyes shifting to Serena with quiet pride. "I'm just realizing... she's not the little girl who used to hide behind me and cry anymore."
Serena's heart softened. She set down the bowl in her hands and gently hugged him.
The familiar scent clinging to Evan made her nose tingle. A wave of childhood memories crashed over her-those stormy nights when she'd cried from the thunder, and Evan would hold her, whispering that everything would be okay.
Those were the rare warm moments after losing her parents so young.
"Oh, by the way," she pulled back softly. "Have you heard anything about the other brothers?"
Evan's expression dimmed. He shook his head slowly. "I've been searching ever since I became the director."
"Everyone else but us got adopted," he said, "but strangely, the records for their adoptive parents just... vanished. The rest were there, but not theirs. Maybe the data got lost over time."
"If we can't find them, then so be it." Serena said the words casually, but her eyes flicked briefly to Gavin.
He immediately caught on.
That glance? Her silent order to dig deeper.
He nodded and strode out, pulling out his phone to get in touch with intelligence contacts in the military.
Right then, the quiet was broken by a wave of cheerful chatter outside the door. A group of kids came piling into the room, crowding around Evan excitedly.
"Director Carter!"
"Who's that lady? She's so pretty!"
"Duh! That's the sister he always talks about-Serena!"
Serena looked at their innocent, beaming faces and couldn't help but smile.
"Evan... keeping this place going all these years must've been tough on you."
"Not really," Evan patted the head of a boy standing nearby. "This place and I are both doing fine. You, though... I promised I'd protect you while you grew up, and I failed. You had to go through way too much on your own."
His voice softened. "Tell me, what really happened to you all these years?"
Serena's eyes flickered. She looked away. "I've been okay. It was General Moore who helped overturn the case. That's how I got out."
Gavin had just finished his call and walked back in when he heard his name. He froze for a beat, then played along quickly. "Yeah. You can rest assured, Director. The law won't let the innocent suffer forever."
Evan relaxed a bit and met Gavin's gaze, full of gratitude. "I owe you, General. Without you, who knows how much longer she would've been stuck in there."
"You're too kind, sir."
Gavin nodded politely, but he felt a pang of guilt.
If only he actually had that kind of ability.
Meanwhile, in the Bennett estate-
Oscar Bennett stared coldly at the maid lying bloodied on the floor, her face so disfigured her own mother wouldn't recognize her.
"Take her to the guards. Tell them she's Cora."
"Yes, Director!"
His men dragged the barely conscious woman away, leaving a trail of blood behind.
On the couch, Cora lay sprawled like a spoiled cat, her wrist wrapped up thick enough to pass for a loaf of bread. She snapped impatiently, "You sure that stand-in's wrist looks right? Better not mess this up... I'm not going down for this."
