Watching Merlin get into the car without looking back, Dave was still inexplicably irritated, throwing his coat angrily onto the sofa.

“If you have the guts to leave, then never come back!” His voice echoed throughout the building.

Her expression went blank for a second, then she looked up and urged the driver to leave without hesitation.

“Mr. Carlson, Miss Olson… she really left.”

Dave’s face darkened and he abruptly stopped. “Which direction did she go?”

“South of the city.”

That was his nemesis Isaac’s territory.

That hypocritical woman, speaking so coldly one minute and then eagerly going to his nemesis to side with him the next.

He glanced at her disdainfully with his narrow eyes, arrogantly saying, “Lily just gave Isaac a big gift a few days ago, there’s no need for Merlin to embarrass herself again.”

Although he didn’t know what the gift was, Lily had assured him that Isaac would not cause him any more trouble in the near future.

"If she gets kicked out or harassed, I won't go to save her," he said this, yet paced back and forth in the study, oblivious to the overflowing teacup spilling onto the floor.

That evening, when Dave inquired about Merlin's movements for the sixth time, Lily, as delicate as a willow in the breeze, pushed open the door.

Thinking it was Merlin finally returning to beg him, Dave's lips curled into a smug smile.

"I told you you'd come begging me sooner or later, I was right."

"Luckily, she's with someone as good as me, letting her be. If it were someone else..." Turning around and seeing it was Lily, his face instantly fell.

"Dave... If you're worried about Sister Merlin, go ahead. Anyway, Joel and I just have a bad case of the flu, at most we'll faint, it's nothing serious." 

Usually, Lily feigned magnanimity, making Dave feel incredibly sorry for her, wishing he could stay with her 24/7.

This time, he turned and ran, only realizing his rudeness at the door. He hurriedly waved, signaling her to take care of herself.

The moment he burst out the door, even the wind felt free.

Dave was like a warrior cutting through thorns to rescue a princess trapped in a castle, full of vigor and high spirits. But the next moment, he was stopped in his tracks by a servant's terrified scream.

"Mr. Carlson, something terrible has happened! Miss Franco and her child have both vomited blood and gone into shock. They're dying!"

He froze on the spot, not moving.

"Before Miss Franco fainted, she said that the 50 million investments would be transferred to the company immediately and that you shouldn't worry about her life or death, just go find Miss Olson."

He raised his hand to his temples, the pent-up frustration in his chest turning into a long sigh and he had no choice but to turn away.

But the tension and worry in his eyes were gone. He mechanically repeated the action of covering himself with the blanket all night, looking extremely unwilling yet having no choice but to comply.

The next morning, Dave received news of Isaac's engagement. The bride's face was deliberately blurred, but her figure looked strangely familiar.

Dave didn't pay much attention and quietly slipped out, intending to check if Merlin was dead.

If she were smart enough to reveal her relationship with him, Isaac probably wouldn't make things too difficult.

"Mr. Carlson! Lily planted a virus on the company computer and transferred all our confidential documents and investment funds!"

At the entrance of the manor, Dave stumbled, almost bumping into a life-sized engagement display board.

"How is that possible? She just transferred the investment funds."

In the sunlight, the bride's face was bathed in a golden glow. He didn't care to look, but his heart suddenly skipped a beat, as if something of the most important thing in his life was slowly slipping away.

"The finance department just discovered that the investment funds were transferred anonymously under Miss Merlin's name."

Dave's eyes widened in astonishment.

After delivering the last takeout order of the night, I slumped against a wall and scrolled through my phone. A trending thread caught my eye.

*"Confess a secret you'll take to the grave."*

The comment section was a cesspool of gossip—stories about playboys juggling multiple women or confessions of near-manslaughter. But then, a familiar profile picture stopped my thumb dead.

He wrote: *"I won a family, friendship, and love with a single, well-intentioned lie."*

*"He was the senior mentor who brought me into the field. During a polar expedition, we were trapped in a white hell. After sustaining serious injuries, he fell into an ice cave."*

*"I couldn't let him drag the rescue team down. So, I told the rescuers he had deserted us, taking the supplies with him."*

*"He went down in history as a sinner to the scientific community and was stripped of all honors."*

The comments below were vicious. Strangers cursed the "mentor," and some were clamoring to dox him.

*"If I had to choose again, I would do the exact same thing."*

A smiling emoji followed the sentence.

It felt like a needle stabbing straight into my pupil.

His reply blew up instantly.

——

Joseph Cobb defended himself, claiming he prioritized the greater good: *"You don't understand. Every extra minute the rescue team stayed on that ice was a gamble with their lives."*

*"Call me selfish, but it was a choice between survival and sentiment."*

He claimed that as long as those closest to him understood, he had no regrets.

*"His parents have accepted me as their godson. For years, they've confided in me, saying my senior dragged me down, claiming that expedition was supposed to be my breakthrough, not his."*

*"The professionals on the team are all on my side. I'm about to receive the Medal of Merit—why are you all so narrow-minded?"*

*"Yes, I married his wife. We truly love each other. He's dead—should Camila remain a widow for a ghost?"*

*"Besides, I raised his child as my own. What right do you have to judge me?"*

My chest seized. Each breath scraped like shards of glass. I traced the stump on my left hand where my finger used to be.

When Joseph Cobb kicked me into that ice cave, I had clung to the edge for dear life.

He used a knife to sever my finger.

I am that senior mentor. I am the one who brought him into the field.

I survived three days and three nights, frozen and starving, before a passing expedition team pulled me out. Then I fell into a coma, lingering in a vegetative state for years.

Sheer spite and the desperate need to see my family again dragged me back from the brink. But when I finally woke up three years later, the world had moved on without me.

I returned to my parents' home expecting tears of joy.

Instead, I was met with eyes as cold as the polar ice.

"Why did you come back?" my dad spat. "You should have died out there."

"I don't have a son like you. You're a disgrace to this family."

They called me selfish. They claimed they couldn't lift their heads in public because of my scandal. I tried to explain. I told them Joseph Cobb set me up, that he wanted to steal the resources and credit, that *he* was the one who pushed me into the pit.

But before I could finish, my wife stepped out of the house.

Camila Bradley. Her gaze was filled with nothing but disappointment.

"Do you know that for years, only Joseph kept looking for you? The unit gave up on you. Only he fought to keep your name on those merits."

Camila said my honors should have been stripped long ago. She claimed Joseph ran himself ragged for my sake, yet here I was—a parasite slandering his savior.

They drove me out. No matter how much I pleaded, my words hit a wall of disbelief.

For days, they treated me like I was invisible.

It wasn't until I missed my son so much that I secretly followed him to school that Camila finally exploded.

Her eyes were red with fury as she cornered me. "Do you have to let Joel's classmates know he has a father like you?"

She accused me of stealing Joseph's research, of using my seniority to oppress him, and of dealing him a ruthless blow when I allegedly ran off with the supplies.

"Joseph suffers from severe chronic hypothermia because of you," she hissed. "I'm begging you—leave us alone. He is Joel's father now."

Camila looked ready to drop to her knees right there in the street. She screamed that I had been absent from Joel's life, so why couldn't I just disappear completely?

Tears streamed down her face. "Why did you have to come back?"

My heart felt numb. Encased in ice. My return had turned their calm waters into a chaotic storm.

I shook my head, tears blurring my vision, begging Camila to believe me.

The next second, something hard smashed into my face.

Joel had packed a dense snowball and hurled it at me with all his might.

"Traitor!" my son screamed. He demanded I kneel and apologize to Joseph Cobb.

"I didn't do it, Camila," I choked out. "We were husband and wife for so many years—why won't you trust me?"

"Where is the evidence, Henry Harding?" Her voice cut cold and sharp. "Show me the proof."

Nothing. I had nothing.

Camila scooped up Joel and walked away without looking back.

From that day on, I went mad looking for evidence.

I went to the unit to find my old teammates. They looked at me like I was a walking curse.

"Harrison," I pleaded.

"Henry, when we were trapped, I gave you my rations." Harrison Cobb avoided my eyes. "I didn't eat a single bite. You know the kind of man I am."

I had built this team with my own hands. I thought the bond of facing death together would count for something.

I never expected them to be the ones pushing me off the cliff.

"Henry, I'll tell you the truth," Harrison whispered, his voice trembling. "It was your wife. She begged us to sign the testimony."

He revealed that Camila had brought the fabricated testimony to seal my fate and transfer all credit to Joseph.

"Joseph is the organization's golden boy now. He's getting the medal later this year. Henry, you just... sigh."

Harrison's eyes were red. His hand shook as he gripped mine, pressing a wad of cash into my palm. "I'm sorry. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have made the money to treat my wife's illness. But... we have no choice."

He told me my entire family stood with Joseph. His knees buckled, and he looked like he wanted to kneel in apology.

I stopped him. I understood his desperation.

And I finally understood how deep the betrayal ran.

I walked down the road in a daze.

Memories of my life with Camila played in my mind. We were childhood sweethearts, the perfect couple in everyone's eyes.

When I first met Joseph Cobb, he was destitute. He stole money from classmates just to eat. I was working at his school then, and out of pity, I supported him.

Back then, Camila hated him. She said Joseph had "wolf eyes"—too much white showing, untrustworthy. She forbade me from associating with him.

She said he reeked of poverty. The year I brought him home for New Year's dumplings, Camila was so angry she refused to come home.

I couldn't pinpoint when it changed. But slowly, Camila mentioned him more often.

She started calling him "Joseph" instead of "that kid." The meals she packed for my work began to include a portion for him. She even started ordering custom suits for him, styling him like a doll.

On our wedding anniversary—the last holiday before the polar expedition—I came home to find them.

Entangled. Drunk.

Outside, the world was buried in snow. Joseph was holding her, his body pressing into hers to warm her. Camila was trembling, sobbing into his chest.

*"I'm too old,"* she wept. *"I'm married, I have a child—how could I be worthy of you?"*

*"It's okay, Camila,"* Joseph whispered, stroking her hair. *"With me, you will always be a princess."*

That night, Camila came to bed late. She smelled of Joseph's cologne. She threw herself into my arms and cried for a long time.

She initiated intimacy, claiming she hadn't felt the spark of our marriage in ages. Later, she blamed me, cursing me for burying myself in research and neglecting her.

I swallowed my suspicions. I told myself they hadn't technically crossed the line.

I buried that secret deep in my heart.

I never expected Joseph to use it to deliver the fatal blow.