Sheares. On the top floor of the richest company, the Gaston Group.
The atmosphere in the massive meeting room was suffocating.
Their CEO was in a very bad mood.
The managers of the respective departments who were presenting their reports tread carefully, afraid that they would say something wrong.
However, there would always be someone who was unaffected.
There was a sudden knock on the door halfway through the meeting.
The people in the room looked toward the handsome, imposing man at the head of the table.
They silently mourned for the person knocking on the door.
"No matter who he is, tell him to scram."
Max Gaston instructed his secretary.
"Understood, Mr. Gaston."
The chief secretary left his seat and went to open the door.
The person standing outside was the CEO's personal assistant, Matthew Smith.
"I have a very important matter to report to the CEO."
Matthew had heard what Max said through the door, yet was boldly trying to slip into the room.
The secretary could not stop him.
The meeting room instantly became deathly silent.
The air around Max grew cold.
Everyone held their breath. They all looked on as Matthew walked toward to his death. Matthew was a little too committed to his job.
"Mr. Gaston."
Matthew was very careful.
Max leaned back on his chair.
He looked at Matthew with an icy gaze, "What you're about to say had better be really important."
If not, Max would have Matthew thrown out at once.
Matthew quietly inhaled.
He mustered his courage and said, "Ms. White fell and hurt her leg while she was filming. She's being sent to the hospital as we speak."
"Is it broken?"
Max's cold, deep voice was suffocating.
Matthew wanted to run but his legs would not move.
Sweat was running down his back.
He summoned up his courage and explained, "We're not sure yet, but Ms. White is in a very bad mood. She says that she will undergo the surgery only after she sees you."
"You're bothering me over such a trivial matter? Scram! You're fired if you try this again!"
After he spoke, Max shifted his gaze away from Matthew and toward the rest of the people in the room, "Continue with the meeting!"
Matthew wiped the sweat off his forehead.
He softly muttered, "Understood," and left the meeting room.
In a high-end district in Sheares.
In front of a full length window on the 26th floor.
A slender woman looked melancholically at the villa opposite.
That used to be the Hanks's property.
It contained all of her childhood joy.
It had been ten years since she left when she was eight.
She had only returned once on the night she turned 18.
The keys to the villa were in the hands of that man.
She had once asked her friend to help her purchase the villa.
However, she was told that that the man was not willing to sell the villa .
"Mary."
Priscilla Johnson's voice came from behind her.
Mary retracted her gaze and looked toward Priscilla who was walking over.
She said, her tone gentle, "Priscilla, look after Jason for me in the afternoon. I'll head over to the hospital before going to the police station. It'll be inconvenient for me if he comes along."
Priscilla nodded, "Mary, don't worry. I'll take good care of Jason."
She looked down for a moment.
She then looked up at Mary's exquisite facial features once again.
She said, a little hesitant, "Mary, don't take the nasty things that my sister-in-law says to heart. Just ignore her."
Rebecca Yelton had been too agitated when Paul Johnson was brought away by the police and sent to the hospital.
Mary smiled, "Don't worry, I won't hold it against a pregnant woman."
Rebecca loved John deeply.
However, she was paranoid. She always thought that every girl in the world was out to snatch John away from her.
She was especially on guard against Mary who was beautiful and had an exceptional disposition.
Two-thirty in the afternoon.
Mary arrived at the hospital and stayed in Rebecca's ward for half an hour before she left.
She daydreamed while she was waiting for the elevator.
When the elevator doors opened, someone asked her if she was going to take it.
Only then did she come to her senses and walked in.
There were only five people in the elevator.
Someone moved to the back of the elevator when she entered. She stood at the front.
They reached the first floor.
Mary looked up as the elevator door opened. Her gaze froze.
A man was standing outside the elevator.
It was Max Gaston.
There was nothing between them aside from the elevator door, which seemed to be opening in slow motion.
Mary was flustered for a second but she forced herself to calm down.
She remembered that she had her sunglasses on.
She also looked different from her young and inexperienced high-school self five years ago.
She secretly tightened her grip on her bag, then brought some of her hair to the front to cover the left side of her face.
She pursed her lips and walked out of the elevator.
Outside the elevator.
Max instinctively swept his gaze across Mary.
He only looked at her for a second before he nonchalantly shifted his gaze away.
Without showing any emotion, he instructed Matthew, who was carrying a flower basket with him, "You head up first."
Matthew replied respectfully, "Understood."
He then asked, "Mr. Gaston, are you not heading up? What should I tell Ms. White if she asks?"
Max ignored him. His phone rang. He whipped it out to have a look.
It was Sandra White.
He moved to the side and took the call. He spoke indifferently, "Hello."
Sandra's tearful voice came from the other side of the line, "Max, boo hoo…"
Mary walked past Max and toward the hospital's exit.
"Mr. Gaston, that woman looks like…"
Matthew's gaze followed Mary for several feet.
He swallowed the words that he was about to say when he saw that Max was on the phone.
Mary had vanished from this world five years ago.
The police had found her phone and necklace outside the chemical processing plant in the outskirts where an explosion had happened.
The police investigated the incident for a full month before telling them that she most likely had been a casualty of the explosion.
How could a person who had been dead for five years appear again?
Matthew shook his head and walked into the elevator with the flower basket in hand.
He resigned to the fact that he was going to face Sandra's ire.
In the hospital's parking lot.
Mary did not drive away immediately.
She leaned on the steering wheel and slowly calmed her agitation.
She had thought that she was mentally prepared for this. However, that was not the case when their eyes met just now.
She suddenly felt as though she could not breathe.
She only managed to calm herself down after ten minutes.
She unlocked her phone and began a search.
She realized that Sandra had injured her leg while filming and had been admitted to this same hospital.
She also found news regarding their passionate dates and marriage announcement.
"After a 15-year-long relationship between a dedicated billionaire and beautiful actress, they have finally decided to tie the knot on September 9th," the headlines wrote.
It was truly an enduring love story!
Mary tossed her phone onto the dashboard and fastened her seatbelt.
She was just about to start her car when she heard a knock outside her window.
She turned to look.
Her heart stopped.
The man standing outside her car was wearing a black shirt.
He had handsome features and a noble disposition. He looked calm and distant.
Mary could feel an immense pressure even through the glass.
She took a deep breath and thought about Paul.
She pursed her lips, then moved to open the door to the front passenger seat.
The man bent over and entered the car.
The car was filled with the overwhelming coldness that emanated from him.
The atmosphere was oppressive.
Max was the first to break the silence. He questioned, "Why did you suddenly disappear and create the illusion of having been killed in the explosion back then?"
Mary bit her lips.
A tinge of mockery flashed in her eyes.
Her heart was overcome with waves of emotion.
Ever since she knew that his parents were involved in the death of her parents, as well as the fact that her mother had a part to play in the incident she faced five years ago, all there was left between them was hatred.