Forsythia Brown returned to the safe house and took a bath. It was exactly eleven o'clock.
Not far from the safe house, a man sat in the driver's seat of a black Lykan car, staring in the direction of the safe house.
His dark eyes resembled a thick fog. His handsome features were as perfect as carved marble. However, due to his black dress, his handsome face appeared particularly indifferent and rigid.
"She was released from prison early."
"She was out three months ago."
"She returned to River State immediately after coming out."
"Coral Ruby openly and implicitly warned all the groups not to employ her. As you know, considering the face of the Atkinson Group, all groups in River State threw her resume into the shredder."
"While we were inspecting Enchanting, we accidentally recognized her, so we called you hoping you'd come back sooner."
"Given her current situation, she definitely took the gig at Enchanting out of desperation."
"Thankfully, because of the mask, people unfamiliar with her can't recognize her."
Indeed, she grew up under his careful nurturing. Because she skipped grades during elementary, middle, and high school, she barely had any friends. The only ones she was friendly with were people from his circle. So, although everyone in River State knew about Forsythia Brown, they weren't familiar with her. How could they possibly recognize her as Phoenix Ivy then?
"In the meantime, we've gathered all the information. After her release, she took up a reeducation job. She's a cleaning worker in the Urban Villages."
"She has a self-built two-story house with a yard, which is filled with cleaning tools. She sweeps the streets twice a day, at five in the morning and at three in the afternoon. At night, she performs at Enchanting from time to time."
"Regarding everything about her at Enchanting, we just told you a lot."
"That's all there is to know."
"Gem, it's been five years. Let the past be the past. Spending the prime of her life, her youth, in prison is hard for any girl to bear. She's already paid a heavy price for her mistake. Let bygones be bygones."
Let bygones be bygones?
At the corners of Gem Atkinson's mouth, a trace of cold laughter lifted.
Taking a puff from his cigarette and discarding the stub out of the window, he started the car, leaving the Urban Villages. He drove at high speed until the break of dawn, when he parked his car at the foot of a mountain.
He climbed the mountain on foot.
By the time he reached the Buddha Light Temple located halfway up the mountain, the sun was just rising above the horizon.
Some of the early-rising monks were sweeping and watering the courtyard. They weren't surprised to see Gem Atkinson's arrival. Over the years, this man often visited the temple early in the morning, for he had placed a long-burning lamp here for someone, in front of which he often pondered.
"Good morning, Sir," greeted the monk respectfully.
"Good morning, Master."
Greeting the monks, Gem Atkinson walked unhesitatingly into a large hall: the Hall of Longevity.
Many ash urns were kept in this hall.
He immediately rushed to a pretty white porcelain urn, lit an incense stick, and after a moment of silence, skillfully used an incense picker to adjust the wick of the long-burning lamp in front of it.
The lamp grew brighter.
The man's eyes grew darker.
This urn did not contain any ashes, only a stain of blood that might have dried up by now.
This blood belonged to him and her child, their first child, the one she had heartlessly aborted.
When she threw the operation report at his face that day, he felt like killing her on the spot. He also believed she was fooling him, so he rushed to the hospital and found the chief physician who conducted the operation. To his dismay, the doctor confirmed the operation, even pointed at a pot of blood, saying, "This is Forsythia Brown's."
Looking at the pot of blood, he almost fainted.
He then asked for the pot of blood, placed it in the Buddha Light Temple, and lit a long-burning lamp for it.
Over the years, whenever he couldn't sleep at night, or whenever he thought of her, he would go to the Buddha Light Temple to see it. It served as a constant reminder: A heartless woman, a heartless mother, was not worth forgiving, not worth it.
Returning from the Buddha Light Temple to the Urban Villages, it was three in the afternoon, just when she was out cleaning the streets.
Gem Atkinson parked his car in the same place where he parked last night.
The Urban Villages were composed of self-built residential buildings, most of which were for rent. The tenants were mostly workers, so there were many shared accommodations, with diverse residents. Situations like Forsythia Brown's, where one occupied a house alone due to special reasons, were rare. Compared to others, her living environment was not bad.
However, there was no property management here, and safety was a concern.
But, he did not notice this last night. Now, he saw it clearly.
He had once received training in a certain army corps, so he knew about self-protection and how to set up a protection network in advance. Therefore, he noticed at a glance that there were obvious traces of a protection network around the yard where Forsythia Brown lived.
Where did she learn this?
Did she learn this in prison?
The sound from his mobile phone interrupted Gem Atkinson's thoughts. It was his assistant. He picked up.
"Speak."
"Sir, I've found out. A week after Madam... uh, Miss, was held at the Jiangnan Women's Prison, she was transferred to the First Woman's Prison."
"First Woman's Prison?" Since he wasn't attentive, he was completely unaware that she had been transferred to another prison. He thought she had been held in the Jiangnan Women's Prison all along.
"Why was she transferred?"
"Fights and brawls."
Gem Atkinson's handsome eyebrows narrowed, "What happened?"
Listening to the assistant's detailed report, Gem Atkinson gripped the steering wheel tightly with one hand and the mobile phone with the other. The veins on his hand seemed to pop out, almost crushing the phone.
"Go to Imperial Capital and investigate further. Look into her matters at the First Woman's Prison."
"Yes, Sir."
After hanging up the phone, Gem Atkinson saw Forsythia Brown, who had finished sweeping the streets and was pushing the cleaning cart back home.
Her excellent figure was hidden under the work uniform, and her face was shielded by a thick mask. If it hadn't been for his own eyes witnessing everything last night, he might not have recognized her as he drove by her today. After all, he never thought she would get out early.
Images of the operation report thrown on his face, the pot of blood at the hospital, and the long-burning lamp that still burns today in the Buddha Light Temple flipped through his mind.
In his rage, his eyes, which were already bloodshot from staying awake all night, turned even more red. Gem Atkinson punched the steering wheel.
The horn of the car blared loudly.
Forsythia Brown instinctively turned to look in the direction from where the horn sounded.