Jack didn''t understand why I would do what I did.


    I scoffed. "What father would treat their daughter as something that could be exchanged for money? I assume your beloved wife and daughter had never oncee to visit you, right?"


    Elene and Ivy had seemed to be long gone. These two women were the truly smart ones.


    Out of sight, out of mind. After Jack was thrown in prison, it was really the case for this mother-daughter duo.


    Jack''s eyes grew distant and bleary like he was looking through the fortress of time into the that he had intricately woven but could not control.


    "Did you think that I wanted this to happen?" he asked. "I tried to protect you two as well, but in this humongous chain of profit hierarchy, I''m nothing but a puny pawn."


    I took a deep breath as I tried to calm the chaos in my heart. "What''s the real secret, then? What''s the scam that you had mentioned about?"


    He was silent for a while, like he was contemting something before he spoke again.


    "The art gallery was just a tool those people used tounder money and to cover up for illegal transactions. I was unexpectedly caught in this mess and wasn''t able to free myself from then on. Your mother might not have known about all of these, but her presence became my biggest weakness."


    My heart constricted. The beautiful memories I had of my mother were shrouded by a dark shadow.


    "Are you saying that my mother was..."


    Jack shook his head, gentle shed in his eyes.


    "No, she didn''t know about anything. All she knew was that her husband was an artist, and her daughter inherited this talent. She protected our home in her own way, even when the home was broken and tattered."


    "What about me? What role did I y in this scam?" I asked eagerly, anxious to know the truth.


    Heughed bitterly, and there


    seemed to be some truth in his words. "You? You''re the leverage they use to threaten me. Your safety is my only weakness. They knew as long you were with me, I wouldn''t betray them."


    Shock reverberated through my body as I found out I was the one that was used all this while.


    I didn''t know what else he said next, but I knew what he had said shook me to my core.


    The world I have known for years had been a lie. It seemed like I was the troublemaker stirring the pot when I knew nothing about the truth.


    I was in a daze when I left prison. I quickly called Kevin. But, he didn''t answer the phone. I wandered on the streets like a directionless ghoul.


    The street lights emitted a yellow hue, casting a long, lonely shadow behind me.


    The chilly breeze caressed my face, but it was almost like the air was also mocking my naivety and ignorance.


    I held tightly onto my phone. The


    I


    "unanswered call" notification on my


    screen seemed to be mocking me


    like a cold taunt, reminding me that the support I was once dependent on was now far out of my reach.


    I took a deep breath and tried to suppress the chaos and hopelessness within.N?velDrama.Org holds ? this.


    Just when I no longer knew what I could do, I saw a pair of feet appearing before me.


    "Why didn''t youe to me so we can talk alone? I feel like I need to talk to you."


    A glimmer of light shed through Ethan''s eyes. He seemed to be looking for me. However, I wasn''t in the mood at that time.


    I lifted my head and met Ethan''s


    gaze. At that motherent, I saw a certain warmth and determination that was familiar to me, which was exceptionally moving on this cold, windy night.  en