"Serena, it’s me, dad! Don’t you recognize me?" A few steps away, a middle-aged man in a shabby suit stared at her with wide eyes, a look of joy as if he had found something lost. A chill ran down to Serena’s feet. Serena could even feel herself trembling. That was fear etched deep into her bones. When she was very young, she always woke up startled in the middle of the night. David Sinclair, drunk, staggered around, kicking whatever he encountered, tearing her mother away from her arms and dragging her to the bedroom. Little Serena didn’t understand what was happening, only that she was pounding the door and crying loudly. When she got a bit older, she knew to resist, but the knives and axes she struggled to lift were easily seized by him, even becoming tools to threaten her mother. No matter where she and her mother hid, he could always find them. Once, she and her mother had already boarded a train to another city, yet he, with his gang of cronies, searched through the carriages and dragged them off the train in the last second before departure, dragging them back home. Once off the train, her mother was like useless discarded cloth, kicked aside by him. He dragged her to a casino, and used her as gambling stakes to an older man across the table. How old was she that year? Serena didn’t remember, only that she was braver than ever at the time. Beyond that door was a wall. One head-on crash, and it would all be over. The only thing she couldn’t bear was leaving her mother. What would her mother do if she was left alone? Probably, she too would choose to die. But that day, Serena hadn’t pushed through. As soon as she stepped outside, she saw her mother, dragging a chopping knife, slashing at anyone in sight like a madwoman. The crowd scattered, screaming. David Sinclair was the most severely injured. Her mother, carrying a dripping bloody knife, led her limping back to the old house. From that day on, the chopping knife became a protective weapon under their pillows. For days, they lived in fear, afraid David Sinclair would die, and her mother, having killed him, would be jailed, and she couldn’t accompany her. Luckily, nothing happened. No police cars sounding alarms in the middle of the night. No officers suddenly appearing at the door. David Sinclair vanished for a long time. But later, with his reappearance, life returned to the old nightmare, from which escape seemed impossible. Over the years, every time Serena saw a shooting star or fireworks, she would make a wish. She had only two wishes. One wish was for her mother’s well-being, for a peaceful life thereafter. The second wish was for heaven to be just, to take David Sinclair away, so he wouldn’t appear before her and her mother anymore. It was this moment Serena realized, heaven had no eyes. It never looked out for her. Otherwise, David Sinclair, who should have died countless times, how could he still be alive? How could he still appear before her, as he did now? Strength returned bit by bit from the fear that had almost drained her, Serena coldly said, turning to leave. "Serena, I’m your father, how could you not recognize your own dad? Serena..." David Sinclair chased after her. After so much effort, finally no trouble at all. He returned to Aethelgard over a week ago but couldn’t find Selene Summers and Serena anywhere. The old house they lived in before, neighbors either dead or moved, not a familiar face was found. Old hangout buddies, either imprisoned or disappeared. After much effort, he discovered Selene Summers had been jailed for murder, and Serena, rumored to have married into wealth, became a wealthy matron. When he visited the jail, Selene Summers was brought out by guards, her face shifting from joy to shock to fear was vividly present. And she insisted Serena had died years ago. Skeptical, David Sinclair suddenly felt a suspicion spring forth. God didn’t abandon the committed, for he spotted Serena visiting her mother at the prison entrance. The lavish and grand door of The Serenity Apartments confirmed his guess. Serena indeed married into wealth. Thinking that he would never again have to suffer, would have luxurious homes, a new car, and could visit bars, casinos, and KTVs as before with friends, David Sinclair felt all his hardships recently were worthwhile. Just as Serena was about to follow the crowd into the elevator, security guards hurried from afar. David Sinclair shouted harshly, "Don’t think you can run just by pretending you don’t know me! You carry my blood, without me, how could you have the life you live now?" "People say I raised you when small, now you care for me when old, marrying into wealth and wanting to ditch your father, huh? Let me tell you, no way..." "Everyone, look here, there’s an ungrateful brat! Working with someone , aren’t you worried they’ll stab you like her mother did one day?" David Sinclair’s full-throated shouting echoed through the ground floor lobby. At the elevator door, all blood drained to Serena’s head. "The gossip about ’S’ in the forum is indeed her!" "A gambling dad, a murderous mom... Wow, what terrifying genes, just thinking about working in the same company with someone like that, maybe brushing past her in the elevator or restaurant, makes my skin crawl!" "Heard she got involved with President Hawthorne, otherwise how could she even enter Hawthorne Corporation?" Discussions buzzed around, the elevator door that should’ve closed stayed open. Everyone watched her make a scene. Suddenly, Serena lifted her head and addressed everyone in the elevator, "Indeed, I have a gambler father, a mother imprisoned for murder. But the rumors on the forum are slander, the culprit already apologized, I entered Hawthorne Corporation on my merit." "I have no personal ties to President Hawthorne, you can talk about me, but please don’t drag innocent people." Some lowered their heads, not daring to look Serena in the eyes. Someone near the door clicked it shut. The elevator hall quieted down. Serena took a deep breath, forced herself to calm down, and called Clara Lynch to take a day off. David Sinclair was stopped by security outside the company, a row of guards stood ready, poised to take him to the police if he dared step forward. Serena walked down the steps, with a cold look, "Speak, what do you want?" "Wouldn’t it be much easier if you had just done this earlier?" The source of thɪs content is novel·fiɾe·net David Sinclair’s expression relaxed, he glanced up at the towering office building of Hawthorne Corporation, his eyes greedy as he looked at Serena, "I heard you married a wealthy man? Then give me 500 thousand first, once I’m done spending... actually, when I feel rested I’ll talk to you again." As long as Serena remains, she is his bank, there for him to draw on at will. "I’ll take you to get it!" Serena turned to leave. David Sinclair pointed at the dilapidated pickup in the parking lot, "I have a car." Looking back, sure enough, it was the same vehicle that followed from the prison to The Serenity Apartments. Serena’s eyes darkened, reaching out, "Car keys!" Thinking Serena wouldn’t dare deceive him, David Sinclair handed over the keys decisively. The old pickup roared away. On the steps, Ian Young, who had hurried over, only saw the tail end of the car. A sense of foreboding rose up within Ian, and he took out his mobile to call.