Chapter 381
“`
– For each row, replace every instance of “Chapter 381” with “Chapter N” (where N is that row’s chapter number). Do not alter any other text, HTML attributes, or formatting.
Chapter 381:
Carmen sat rigidly in the plastic chair, watching as Mr. Golden’s eyelids fluttered. After two days in a medically induced coma, the old man slowly opened his eyes.
Carmen immediately stood and hit the call button. A team of doctors rushed in, checked his vitals, and confirmed he was finally stable.
When the doctors left, the room fell into a suffocating silence.
Mr. Golden turned his head weakly on the pillow. He looked at Carmen’s pale, exhausted face. A flicker of genuine guilt crossed his cloudy eyes before he quickly masked it.
Carmen didn’t ask how he felt. She didn’t hold his hand.
She reached into her bag, pulled out the fake adoption file Justin had given her, and tossed it onto the edge of the hospital bed.
“The hospital told me my blood type is AB-positive,” Carmen said. Her voice was completely devoid of emotion, cold as ice. “I know I am not your biological daughter. So tell me the truth. Who am I p>
Mr. Golden stared at the file. He let out a long, rattling sigh. The lie had finally caught up to him.
“You are my brother’s daughter,” Mr. Golden rasped, his voice weak and trembling.
He looked away, unable to meet her piercing gaze. “Seven years ago, you and your parents were in a horrific car crash in Boston. Your parents were killed instantly. You survived, but the trauma wiped your memory completely clean p>
ѕ𝗍𝗈𝗋𝗂еs 𝘺o𝘂 wо𝗇’𝘁 р𝗎𝗍 𝗱𝘰𝘄𝗇 𝘰𝗻 𝘨а𝗹𝘯𝘰𝗏е𝗹𝘴.с𝗼m
Mr. Golden forced tears into his eyes, playing the ultimate victim card.
“My wife and I couldn’t bear to tell you that you were an orphan,” he sobbed, his voice cracking. “We wanted to protect you from that agonizing grief. So we adopted you. We moved you away from Boston to give you a fresh start. We did it out of love, Carmen. You cannot hate us for trying to save you p>
Carmen stood frozen.
The story was neat. It was tragic. It perfectly explained the adoption and the amnesia.
But her gut screamed that it was a lie.
If she was simply a grieving orphan, why had her adoptive mother looked at her with sheer terror in the ER? Why did Justin Collins look at her like he owned her soul?
Carmen didn’t expose his lie. She simply nodded slowly, her face a blank mask.
“I need some time to process this,” Carmen said coldly. She turned on her heel and walked out of the room.
The moment she hit the hallway, she pulled out her phone, opened the Delta Airlines app, and booked a one-way first-class ticket to Boston for the next morning.
Across the city, in the Wolfe Boutique Hotel.
Jocelyn was sitting behind her massive CEO desk, dark circles shadowing her eyes, rubbing her temples and trying to focus on the quarterly revenue spreadsheet. She was running on three shots of espresso.
Gaston had kept her awake until four in the morning. His stamina was terrifying, and his need to constantly, physically confirm that she was his was bordering on psychotic.
The heavy glass door of her office swung open.