?Chapter 1981


    Ryan''s deep gaze abruptly sharpened. For a moment, his vision blurred.


    "She''s dead?"


    "Yes... She died a terrible death. By the time someone found her body, it was nearly unrecognizable."


    Dean''s brows furrowed as he continued in a low voice, "The police discovered during the autopsy that someone had sexually assaulted her. She also contracted severe sexually transmitted diseases, and her lower body was severely ulcerated."


    Ryan closed his reddened eyes, his hand gripping the water basin and trembling with visible veins.


    "Who did it?"


    "Multiple people." Dean''s tongue pressed against his teeth. "After arriving in Terranova, they sent Zoe to an underground club. It was essentially a high-end brothel. The brothel primarily used girls there for the sexual service of high-ranking officials in Terranova. Anyone who ended up there faced the inevitable oue of getting yed to death. Even if Zoe didn''t get killed outright, her final fate would''ve been the same."


    Ryan lowered his pale eyelids.


    A mix of intense, bitter, and confused emotions churned his insides, leaving him unable to speak for a long while.


    He undoubtedly hated Zoe.


    Even when he personally sent her off on that smuggling ship, leaving her to fend for herself in a foreignnd, his heart was still burning with the mes of hatred.


    However, upon learning of her tragic death, he found he could not hate her anymore. It felt as if a ck, gaping hole had opened in his heart, swallowing all the love and hate he had umted over twenty years and dragging them into an endless abyss, never to be seen again.


    "Chairman Hoffman, if I may speak frankly, you have no reason to grieve for Zoe, even if she is your sister,"


    Dean''s gaze was cold and filled with deep-seated hatred. "If it weren''t for her, Young Madam wouldn''t have ended up like this. If it weren''t for her, my master and the entire Hoffman family wouldn''t have suffered like this... A life for a life is no loss to her."


    "Head to Terranova tonight and bring Zoe''s ashes back."


    Ryan spoke with a dark expression. "After that, investigate what she went through during her time there." "Mr. Hoffman!"


    "Dean, I''m not seeking revenge for Zoe. The past is the past. She is dead now, and all the hatred should be put to rest."


    Ryan suppressed his inner turmoil, his gaze steady. "I''ve heard of that underground club in Terranova. Whoever sent Zoe there must be someone familiar with the Hoffman Group. There are only two possible reasons for targeting her. It''s either for revenge or to silence her."


    Dean''s eyes widened in realization.


    "Any schemes or plots involving Zoe are now irrelevant. But I must remain vignt in case they strike at the Hoffmans again."


    Dean nodded vigorously, "Yes, sir!"


    As the two finished their discussion, they noticed people from the Salvador family approaching them.


    "Ryan!" Nigel greeted him with a warm smile, waving at him.


    Ryan quickly handed the basin to Dean, wiped his wet hands on his trousers, and hurried over to greet him.


    "Grandpa Nigel, Chairman Salvador." He bowed deeply.This text is ? N?velDrama/.Org.


    "Look at this child, so polite. Even now as the Hoffman Group''s chairman, you remain modest and


    unassuming. It''s trulymendable," Nigel said with a broad smile.


    Gregory, who once saw Ryan as a frivolous young man, now finds him increasingly likable as he matures.


    Ryan walked into the ward with the Salvador father-son duo to visit Carrie.


    Upon hearing the noise, the girl lying in bed slowly opened her tender eyes. "Ah..."


    "Carrie, my good girl..."


    Nigel sat by the bed, gently holding her hand, his eyes glistening with tears as he forced a smile. "Hehe... You''ve gained a bit of weight. It seems Ryan has been taking good care of you. Ryan, make sure to feed her well, like a little pig!"


    "Dad, no girl wants to be a pig!" Gregory interjected, "Besides, she won''t look good in a wedding dress that way."


    Ryan stood rigidly in ce, his heart pounding heavily.


    "Ah... Ah..." Carrie''s pale face flushed with a hint of color.


    She propped herself up. Ryan quickly moved to support her, her blushing face resting against his abdomen.