As soon as the words left his mouth, the warehouse door was suddenly kicked open.
Lin Zechuan and the others appeared, their faces dark with fury as they glared at Song Hengyi and Lin Jiaojiao.
"I've brought the money."
Lin Zechuan was the first to speak.
"Where is Ranran?"
Song Hengyi took a few steps to the side, revealing me—covered in blood.
"Ranran!"
Mother Lin panicked instantly, looking at Lin Jiaojiao in disbelief.
"Jiaojiao, no matter what, she is still your sister."
"Did you really have to be this ruthless to her?"
"She? Worthy of that title?"
Lin Jiaojiao glared at Father and Mother Lin, pressing the dagger against my neck.
"There can only be one daughter in the Lin family."
"So what if her parents are dead?"
"They raised me and died for me—wasn't that what they were supposed to do? Why should she still take your attention away from me?"
"Dream on!"
Shen Yuzhou, having calmed down significantly, held back Mother Lin before she could speak again.
"Song Hengyi, Lin Jiaojiao, everything you wanted is right here."
"Cash, gold bars, and unregistered bank cards."
"Take them and let Ranran go!"
Following Song Hengyi's signal, Shen Yuzhou and Lin Zechuan carefully verified the items one by one.
Once confirmed to be genuine, Song Hengyi's expression eased into a satisfied grin.
"Hah, I didn't expect you all to care so much about this worthless woman."
"But besides that, I also want the car you came in."
"Oh, and make sure the police outside leave as well."
"Otherwise, I can't guarantee Su Xiran's safety!"
Under the threat of Song Hengyi and Lin Jiaojiao, everyone slowly moved toward the car.
Just as the police withdrew and the moment arrived for the exchange, Lin Jiaojiao suddenly pulled out her dagger and stabbed Lin Zechuan's hand.
The suitcase was instantly snatched away, and Song Hengyi took advantage of the chaos to shove me into the trunk.
Amid the confusion, the two of them jumped into the car, speeding away with me.
Lin Jiaojiao flipped through the suitcase, her face a mix of delight and resentment as she admired the gold bars and jewelry inside.
"I never thought this worthless woman was actually worth so much money."
"Now that we have the money, what should we do with her?"
Song Hengyi glanced at me, tightly bound in the passenger seat, and let out a cold snort.
"We can't do anything right now—otherwise, the police won't let us go."
"Once we get on the ship and shake them off, we'll just throw her into the sea and be done with it."
My heart pounded—I hadn't expected them to have no intention of letting me go.
The shard of porcelain hidden in my palm dug into my skin, blood trickling down as I gritted my teeth, desperately sawing at the ropes.
The car sped closer and closer to the coastline. Seizing the opportunity at a sharp turn, I suddenly rammed into Song Hengyi with all my strength.
The steering wheel spun wildly out of control.
With a loud crash, the entire vehicle slammed into the rocky mountainside.
Blood covered my forehead, arms, and legs, and my vision blurred as if a red haze had clouded my eyes.
I struggled to push open the door, staggering as I crawled out.
Lin Jiaojiao and Song Hengyi were both covered in blood, trapped inside the wreckage of the twisted car. They reached out toward me, their voices trembling with desperation.
"Help… help me."
"Please, I beg you."
"Please…"
Gasoline dripped steadily onto the ground, the pungent smell filling the air. At any moment, the car could explode.
I stood at a distance and whispered softly,
"Boom."
The next second, a fiery explosion erupted, consuming everything in an instant.
As the flames roared into the sky, my body finally gave out, and I collapsed into darkness.
When I woke up again, I found myself in a familiar hospital room.
Grandma rushed to my bedside, her face filled with concern.
"Ranran, how are you feeling?"
I nodded weakly, my voice hoarse.
"I'm fine, Grandma."
She pulled me into her embrace, letting out a long sigh.
"It's all over now."
"Once you're better, I'll take you away from here."
"We'll go to Haicheng, the place you've always wanted to see."
"I'm old now… I just want to see you safe and healthy."
My eyes stung with emotion. I hugged Grandma tightly and whispered,
"Okay."
The ties within the Lin family had always been fragile. Otherwise, back then, Father Lin, Mother Lin, and Lin Zechuan wouldn't have sent me to prison to take the fall for Lin Jiaojiao, even as Grandma lay sick and helpless.
Now that the truth had come to light, all Grandma had left for them was utter disappointment.
While recovering in the hospital, I learned what had happened after I lost consciousness.
Lin Jiaojiao and Song Hengyi had perished in the fire. The Song family, disgusted, refused to even claim their remains.
As for Lin Zechuan and the others, they began vomiting blood for no apparent reason. When they went to the hospital for tests, the shocking truth was revealed—they had been slowly poisoned over time.
Eventually, the culprit was caught—a servant in the Lin household.
It turned out that from the very day I was released from prison, Lin Jiaojiao had handed that servant a special "tonic" to mix into their meals, claiming it was a secret health supplement.
Because everyone knew how much the Lin family doted on Lin Jiaojiao, the servant hadn't questioned it.
Who would have thought it was actually poison?
From the moment they picked me up from prison, Lin Jiaojiao had been planning to kill them all and seize control of the Lin family.
Had I not exposed the truth from five years ago in time, her scheme might have succeeded.
But even so, the doctors regretfully informed them that the damage caused by the poison was irreversible.
For the rest of their lives, they would have to endure the pain and suffering left by its effects.
I knew they had tried to meet me multiple times, but the bodyguards Grandma had arranged blocked them every time.
It wasn't until the night before Grandma and I were set to leave Beijing that I finally sent her away and, for the first time, agreed to see the Lin family and Shen Yuzhou.
"Ranran, you're willing to see us—does that mean you've finally forgiven us?"
Father Lin looked at me anxiously, his voice filled with hope.
"Haicheng is humid and nowhere near as prosperous as Beijing. Wouldn't it be better to stay here and remain the eldest daughter of the Lin family?"
Mother Lin nodded repeatedly, her voice choked with emotion.
"Ranran, you are our daughter."
Lin Zechuan, his face pale, gazed at me with a lingering trace of expectation.
"Ranran, isn't it all in the past now?"
Shen Yuzhou, more desperate than anyone, suddenly dropped to one knee and held out a ring before me.
"Ranran, don't you remember?"
"We agreed this would be for our wedding."
I took a step back. The love, hatred, anger, and resentment of the past had long since faded—now, there was only indifference.
"Even now, you still don't understand."
"I never cared about being the Lin family's eldest daughter or the future mistress of the Shen family."
"Lin Jiaojiao wasn't wrong—I was just an imposter."
"If you wanted to cast me out, if you wanted to break off the engagement, I wouldn't have minded."
"But what you should never have done—what was truly unforgivable—was doing things to me that even my worst enemies wouldn't have done, all while claiming it was out of love."
"Five years of torment and suffering—let's just say that repaid the twenty years I spent with you."
"From now on, let's never meet again, and let's have nothing to do with each other."
I picked up my suitcase and walked straight past them, not looking back.
Behind me, I could hear their muffled sobs. But ahead of me, standing by the car, was Grandma, smiling at me with warmth and love.
The airplane streaked across the sky, carrying away everything from the past.
Grandma and I officially settled down in Haicheng.
We cleared out the courtyard of our villa and turned it into a small flower field, planting vegetable seedlings alongside it.
Various fruit trees were planted on the hill behind the house.
In our free time, Grandma and I would take our adopted puppy for walks along the beach. Whenever we felt like it, we would travel the world together.
Snowy peaks, volcanoes, rainforests…
We explored different corners of the world.
In the seventh year, Grandma and I traveled to Norway together.
The icy wind howled across the cruise deck as my phone screen lit up with a timely news alert.
[Chairman of Lin Corporation passes away—three years later, heir Lin Zechuan hospitalized again due to illness. Before his condition worsened, he declared that all his assets would be donated to the Xicao Foundation, an organization dedicated to providing legal aid for the wrongfully accused. Reports indicate that the foundation was jointly established by Lin Corporation and Shen Corporation…]
"Ranran, is something wrong?"
Grandma's gentle voice pulled me back to the present. Noticing my daze, she looked at me with concern.
I shook my head, turning off my phone screen and pointing toward the horizon.
"Grandma, look—it's the aurora."
Brilliant ribbons of light stretched across the sky, weaving like celestial threads, as if carrying an ancient blessing through time.