"Finally figured it out?"

There was a three-second silence on the line before a low male voice finally came through.

Dorian Mitchell sounded casual, almost unruly. "Audrey, I told you a long time ago. I'm the only one who's ever truly treated you like family."

Family...

Audrey's eyes instantly turned red.

Her own parents couldn't even compare to a so-called "brother."

She had met Dorian when she was still living on the streets.

Back then, she had just escaped from traffickers, only to collapse from her injuries, barely clinging to life.

Dorian had been the one who saved her.

He told her he once had a younger sister who had been killed by traffickers. So the moment he saw Audrey, she reminded him of her.

She had naturally started regarding him as her brother, and he had truly treated her like one.

Whenever there was something good to eat, he always brought it to her first. When other drifters tried to bully her, he was always the first to step in and shield her.

That was how they survived together for ten years.

It wasn't until Dorian founded Mitchell Group and rose as one of the most powerful new elites that Audrey finally found news of her family.

Back then, Dorian had tried to stop her. "You were missing for ten years. If they truly cared about you, how could they not have found you? Stay with me, Audrey. From now on, I'll be your family."

But at the time, Audrey had only thought he was jealous that she had found her biological parents.

They had a huge fight, and she cut off all contact with him.

She hadn't expected that in just three years, she would prove how foolish she had been.

"Yeah..." Audrey laughed softly, her eyes red. "I really overestimated myself."

Dorian's breathing faltered. The amusement vanished from his voice. "Don't cry. I'll come get you myself in a week."

......

After returning home, Audrey ran a fever for an entire day and night.

In her dreams, she was back at seven years old again. Wearing a birthday hat, she stood before a cake, making a wish, while her parents and Julian surrounded her, singing her a birthday song.

The candlelight danced across her face. Everything looked so warm, so perfect.

But when she woke up, all she saw was a cold, empty house.

When she unlocked her phone, messages from Beatrice Winslow—her mother—flooded in one after another.

"Lillian heard Julian was hurt and rushed over in tears. She's been taking care of him day and night without any rest, and you didn't even show up. Do you have any conscience at all?"

"Your father was so angry he nearly had a heart attack! And Lillian has been pleading for you this whole time, asking us to forgive you. Don't you feel even a shred of guilt?"

"Don't think you can hide from this by playing dead. Get to the hospital and apologize right now!"

When Audrey didn't respond, Beatrice kept sending videos one after another.

Audrey tapped on one at random.

On the screen, Lillian, her cheeks flushed, was feeding Julian. Edward and Beatrice sat beside them, looking pleased. "Lillian is the considerate one. Unlike someone else... nothing but an ungrateful brat."

Audrey said nothing as she watched the messages. She simply began packing her things.

All the things she had once treasured... she didn't want any of them anymore.

The first custom gown her parents had given her, the handmade ornament Julian had crafted, photos from her childhood... even the matching gifts they had also given Lillian—she threw all of them into the trash.

But just as she finished packing everything, the front door burst open. Beatrice and Julian rushed in.

"Audrey!" Beatrice shouted furiously, pointing straight at her. "What did you do this time to make Lillian cry all night?"

"Linda was about to be released, and now she's been sentenced to another ten years. Was this your doing?"

Julian's face was cold as he reprimanded her.

Audrey suddenly laughed. "Her sentence was extended because a new witness came forward. What does that have to do with me?"

"Who else would do something like this if not you?" Julian shot back, his voice tight with urgency. "First you trashed Lillian's shop, then you nearly got me killed. You've always been this aggressive, this unreasonable!"

"Go withdraw the testimony. Now." His tone left no room for argument. "Just say you arranged false testimony. At worst, you'll pay a fine. Nothing will happen to you..."

"That's enough!" Audrey snapped, unable to listen any longer. "And you have the nerve to question me? Did you forget that Linda is a child trafficker? If you hadn't forged my signature and submitted that letter of forgiveness, would she have been getting out this soon? As for withdrawing the testimony? Not a chance. She committed a crime. She deserves to be punished."

"You...!"

Seeing Audrey refuse to budge, Beatrice snapped, "Why waste your breath on her? Lock her in the confinement room. Let her out when she agrees to withdraw the testimony."

"What?" Audrey froze in place.

She couldn't believe it. Her own mother was willing to side with the woman who had trafficked her—to lock her up, all just to comfort Lillian.

"Heh..."

A faint laugh slipped from Audrey's lips, but as she laughed, tears began to fall.

"Mom... in your heart, isn't Lillian the one you see as your real daughter?"

Beatrice stiffened, something flickering uneasily in her chest. At that moment, Lillian suddenly rushed in from outside.

"Audrey! It's all my fault! Please don't argue with Mom!"

She ran up to Audrey and dropped to her knees. "I know... my mother wronged you. She did terrible things and made you suffer so much. I hate that she gave birth to me. If you won't forgive her, then I'll pay you back with my life!"

With that, she slammed her head into the wall. Blood immediately streamed down from her forehead.

"Lillian—!"

Julian panicked. He shoved Audrey aside and rushed forward, pulling Lillian into his arms.

Caught off guard, Audrey stumbled back, her back slamming into the edge of the table. Pain flared sharply.

Beatrice looked at Lillian with aching concern. "Silly child, this isn't your fault. She's just cold-hearted!"

Then she turned to Audrey, fury blazing in her voice. "Are you really going to push Lillian to her death? Guards, take Audrey away. Lock her in the confinement room until she learns her lesson!"

The next second, Audrey was shoved into a cold, dark confinement room.

The pain in her back made it hard to even stand. It felt like she had been dragged back to that tiny dark room from when she was trafficked.

Filthy rats and insects crawled over her, gnawing at her flesh.

Fear and despair spread through her as she curled into herself, barely able to tell memory from reality.

"Let me out! What right do you have to lock me in here..."

She pounded on the door again and again, her hands raw and bloodied, her voice turning hoarse—but no one came.

She was like a broken doll drained of all color, completely abandoned.

Only after her voice gave out completely did Julian finally storm in, shoving the door open.

"Lillian lost too much blood because of you. She still hasn't woken up! Since this is your fault, you're going to pay for it!"

Before long, Audrey was taken to the hospital by Julian, and tube after tube of blood was drawn from her body.

The doctor was pacing anxiously nearby. "We really can't take any more, Mr. Ashcroft. Miss Winslow has been frail ever since she came back. Drawing this much blood at once could put her in serious danger..."

"Enough!" Julian cut him off through clenched teeth. "Keep drawing."

The needle slid slowly into her skin. Audrey watched her blood run through the clear tubing and into the bag.

She suddenly remembered how, when she had first returned to the Winslow family, Julian had looked at the scars on her arms with nothing but heartache. He had found the best cosmetic surgeon to remove them, and he had even made different soups for her every day to help her regain her strength.

"Audrey, you've suffered too much all these years. From now on, I'll protect you."

Those memories were still painfully vivid, yet now Julian had locked her in a confinement room for the sake of that mother and daughter, and was practically bleeding her dry.

Tears slipped from Audrey's eyes. Her vision blurred more and more until everything went black, and she lost consciousness.

When she woke again, she found herself lying in a hospital bed, with a maid tending to her at her side.

"Miss Winslow, you're awake?"

The maid hurried over to help her sit up the moment she opened her eyes.

"Thank goodness. I'll go tell Mr. Ashcroft and Mrs. Winslow right away. You have no idea how worried they were when they saw you faint..."

Worried?

Audrey let out a bitter laugh. If they had truly cared about her, how could they have ignored her condition and taken so much blood from her?

Sure enough, in the days that followed, no one came to see her again.

Now and then, she overheard bits and pieces about her parents and Julian from the nurses.

"The girl in the room next door is unbelievably lucky. They treat her like a princess. Her whole family dotes on her like she's the most precious thing in the world."

"Exactly. It was only a cut on her forehead, and they still brought in the hospital's top specialists for her. They even send her nourishing meals and tonics every single day."

"And her family and boyfriend never leave her side. They're constantly there taking care of her. She's spoiled beyond belief."

Seeing Audrey lying alone in her room the whole time, one of the nurses asked kindly, "Miss, where's your family? You lost so much blood and nearly died. Why has no one come to see you?"

Audrey only gave a faint smile and answered calmly, "I don't have a family."

"What do you mean, you don't have a family?"

Julian shoved the door open and demanded, his brows drawn tight.

Sensing the tension, the nurse awkwardly slipped out of the room.

Julian looked at Audrey lying on the hospital bed, and at last his tone softened. "Audrey, if you hadn't made mistake after mistake, would I have needed to use your blood to save Lillian? As long as you stop making things hard for Lillian from now on, Edward, Beatrice, and I will treat you the way we used to."

The way they used to?

Audrey smiled.

There was no going back. She could never return to when she was seven.

Seeing her smile, Julian mistook it for surrender and quickly said, "It's good that you've finally come to your senses. This time, you really went too far. You upset Lillian for days."

He glanced at Audrey's pale face, then hesitated before continuing, "But since what's done is done, and Lillian has already forgiven you, we won't press the matter any further... There's just one thing. Three days from now, I'm going to hold a fake wedding with Lillian, so her mother can serve her sentence in peace..."