Half an hour later, Samuel pushed open the gate, which was already covered in cobwebs. The weeds in the courtyard had grown even taller than the grass by the gate. They reached up to his waist.

It was clear that this place had been uninhabited for a long time.

Samuel stood in the courtyard, hesitating whether to take another step forward.

He had been here twice before, and he should have remembered that I kept the yard in excellent condition. It didn't look anything like this when he visited in the past.

The first time he came here was to drop off Toby and me. Back then, two-year-old Toby had just been diagnosed with uremia caused by underdevelopment of his kidneys.

He thought Toby was a jinx and bought this farmhouse in a remote village for us to move into. Every month, he transferred me 20 thousand dollars, which included the fees for Toby's dialysis treatment.

The second time he came was to force me to go and do the HLA typing to see if my bone marrow was compatible with Violet's. If his memory didn't fail him, he should recall that the yard was once filled with hydrangeas and roses. I had even built a swing there for Toby.

While Samuel was still lost in thought, Violet called again.

Her voice sounded weak over the phone. "Sam, have you found Kristen yet? Will she come and donate her bone marrow to me today?"

Samuel reassured her, "I'll handle this. Just focus on cooperating with the doctors for your treatment. Don't worry."

Violet's voice broke slightly. "I know Kristen must be unwilling to donate her bone marrow for me again, and I can understand. She already saved me once. I shouldn't be greedy and ask her to save me a second time. If she's hiding now, I don't blame her…"

It was as if she knew for a fact that I was intentionally hiding because I didn't want to donate my bone marrow to her.

Samuel was silent for a few seconds.

To my surprise, he didn't immediately side with Violet. Instead, he said, "That's not it. I haven't managed to contact her yet. She probably doesn't even know that your leukemia has relapsed. How could she have known about that in advance and decided to hide?"

Violet was momentarily at a loss for words. She quickly clarified, "Sam, you misunderstood me. That's not what I meant."

Samuel cut her off. "Don't worry, Vivi. As long as Kristen is still alive, I'll find her. And if she's on the brink of death, I'll make sure she donates her bone marrow to you before she takes her last breath."

Violet seemed relieved after hearing this.

After hanging up, Samuel stood in front of the house for a long time. Even though the door wasn't locked, he didn't push it open and go inside.

If he had, he would have seen the two figures outlined in white chalk. Those were the markings left by the police after they discovered our dead bodies in the house.

Samuel just stood there.

In the end, he stepped back out of the yard and bought a new lock from the locksmith. Then, he locked the gate.

I noticed something strange. As long as we followed Samuel, we could leave the place that had bound us for so long.

Toby had grown tired of being at the farmhouse after three years. So, I thought it was a good thing that we could venture out and see the outside world. Of course, Toby was thrilled. He constantly looked around and exclaimed in awe at everything he saw.

However, it seemed we couldn't stray too far from Samuel. We followed him back to his villa.

Toby stared at the luxuriously decorated villa with his mouth agape in astonishment. He had lived here before up until he was two years old. Perhaps he was too young to remember it.

He flitted around excitedly while exploring every corner. Meanwhile, I drifted behind Samuel and followed him as he went into his study. I watched him make a call to the bank and freeze the bank account tied to the card he had given me.

If he had paid closer attention, he might have realized that he hadn't received any transaction notifications for that card in the past three years. The money he had been transferring to that account throughout that time had never been touched either.

He believed that by freezing the account, I would have no choice but to show up within a week.

After all, Toby's uremia required constant dialysis until a kidney transplant was possible. A dialysis treatment was needed twice a week, so he was sure I couldn't survive without money.

When that was done, he opened his phone's photo gallery and stared at it, lost in thought. I floated behind him and saw that he was looking at the photo I had posted on Facebook—the one of him and Toby together.

The resemblance between them was uncanny. His eyes trailed from their broad foreheads to their lush lashes, slightly upturned eyes, and identical eyebrows. Every feature seemed to shout the truth of their shared bloodline.

He wasn't stupid—he could see it.

A sudden phone call broke the silence in the study.

It was from the hospital. Violet had suddenly fallen into a coma.

Samuel grabbed his car keys and rushed out. Toby and I were forced to follow him to the hospital.

In his hurried dash, Samuel collided with a man in the hospital lobby who was dressed in an expensive tailored suit.

I recognized him—it was Daniel.

Daniel stumbled back two steps. Once he steadied himself and saw it was Samuel, his face showed a hint of surprise.

He jeered, "Well, if it isn't the man of the hour in Southton—Mr. Samuel Hoffman? What brings you to the hospital so late at night? What's the hurry?"

Samuel muttered an apology hastily before bypassing him and running straight to the elevator.

Daniel, however, was relentless. He followed Samuel at a brisk pace. He trailed him all the way to the inpatient department of the hematology ward.

When they reached Violet's room, she wasn't there. Samuel immediately rushed to her attending physician's office. Upon learning that she was in the observation room and hadn't fallen into a coma but had simply fainted due to anemia, Samuel finally breathed a sigh of relief.

He sat in the chair by her bedside while breathing heavily. His gaze was hollow as he stared at the floor.

It was evident how worried he was about Violet.

While leaning casually against the doorframe, Daniel asked nosily, "I thought your sweetheart was cured of her illness. What's she doing back here?"

Samuel didn't feel like talking to him. He replied tersely, "It relapsed."

Over the years, Samuel and Glorious Group maintained steady business collaborations. Their deals gradually increased in volume and scope. Three years ago, Daniel's father forced him to go abroad. And so, other executives took over his tasks.

With Daniel out of the way, Samuel's career flourished even more.

"So, who are you planning to sacrifice this time?" Daniel suddenly asked.

Samuel glanced at Daniel like he was looking at a fool. "I don't understand what you're talking about."

Daniel scrutinized his face as a peculiar smile formed at the corner of his mouth. "You really know how to keep up an act. Sometimes, I can't tell whether you're faking it or not."

Samuel's patience had worn thin. With his voice lowered, he said, "If you have something to say, say it directly. Beating around the bush isn't your style."

Daniel replied, "What I mean is, Kristen is already dead. So, whose bone marrow are you planning to use to save your sweetheart this time?"