chapter 4

The strange smell of disinfectant and mold kept stimulating my senses.

The Henry in my dream suddenly shattered, and I retched, coming back to consciousness.

The crushing pain all over my body reminded me that I was still alive.

"Awake?" a deep, hoarse voice sounded in my ear.

"Who are you?" I looked at the man wearing a devil mask in horror.

Without waiting for his answer, I blurted out, "The answer doesn't matter anymore."

Then I reached out suddenly to grab the gun at his waist, aiming it at myself.

He forcefully twisted my wrist, the gun fell to the ground, as a shot rang out, hitting the wall instead.

But I was determined to die, so I bit down on my tongue hard, and the man rudely lifted my chin.

"Who allowed you to die!" he gritted his teeth, tightly tying my limbs with rough rope.

I banged my head against the bed, tears and snot covering my face, sobbing and begging him to let me die.

The masked man calmly watched me vent, then turned on a news report.

"The police report states that Amelia Cavendish intentionally kidnapped and attempted to murder Miss Zoe, and her illegitimate child died accidentally while assisting in the crime. The criminal has fled in fear, and the public is urged to provide clues."

I froze, intentional murder? Illegitimate child accidentally dead? Fleeing in fear?

Ethan had completely twisted the truth!

"He even bought internet trolls to manipulate public opinion," the man read out the comments one by one.

Miss Zoe saved Mr. Vanderbilt's life, and Mrs. Vanderbilt still wants to kill her! Too malicious!

She only attempted murder because her affair was exposed, dirty blood runs in her veins.

Even hell finds her dirty! Everyone, find this woman quickly and shoot her.

Every word felt like a dagger stabbing into my heart.

I trembled with anger, biting my lip hard, the faint taste of blood melting in my mouth.

"If you die now, the insults and infamy you and Henry have suffered will never be washed away." The man told me, "Cooperate with me or commit suicide, choose one."

"Cooperate," I said solemnly.

He nodded in satisfaction, then unexpectedly stripped off my clothes.

I exclaimed, "What are you doing?"

The man sneered, "Put away your dirty thoughts. I'm not interested in Ethan's woman."

Whistling, he left without saying another word to me.

The dim light in the dark clinic made me start to wonder belatedly who exactly the masked man was. Why did he want to team up with me to deal with Ethan?

But before I could figure it out, a wave of exhaustion swept over me, and I passed out again.

A month later, my injuries were mostly healed, and the masked man took me back to his place to recuperate.

It was a small apartment, old but spotless, with a strong sense of life.

The only strange thing was that there were no mirrors in the apartment, and no photos either.

"The police pulled a decomposed female body out of the river, wearing your clothes. After DNA testing, it was confirmed to be you."

"Ethan went all out to arrange a funeral for you, causing a sensation in the city. But that same night, he announced his engagement to Zoe and got married."

As he said these words, he was facing away from me, packing his things. His back always made me feel both unfamiliar and familiar.

I walked over absentmindedly and tried to grab his mask, but the man reacted quickly and grabbed my wrist.

Our distance closed as a result, our breath falling on each other's faces, and his ears turned unnaturally red.

While he was distracted, my other hand made a move, and as the mask fell off, I gasped.

"You... are Ethan?"

"... No, you're not him."

The masked man, surprisingly, had the same face as Ethan, except for a grim scar from his eyebrow to his cheek.

He pushed me away and turned his head, his tone as cold as ice. "Disappointed that I'm not your lover?"

Ignoring his evasion, I boldly touched the scar, feeling the uneven texture and marks that proved its age.

"Who are you really?"

With no way to retreat, he was pressed against the wall by me, and after a few moments of hesitation, he finally spoke.

"My name is Ethan Vanderbilt, the eldest son of the Vanderbilt family."

I stared into his gaze that did not avoid or dodge, as he spoke nothing but the truth.

But I knew clearly that he was not my husband, not from three years ago, nor now.

The "Ethan Vanderbilt" in front of me paused, and took out an old, yellowed photo from his wallet.

In the photo were two young men, shoulder to shoulder, looking exactly alike.

Standing beside them was a flashily-dressed young lady, a much younger Zoe.

"Few people in the capital city know that the Vanderbilt family had an illegitimate son named Alexander Vanderbilt."

"My father was quite the ladies' man, and both my mother and aunt were enchanted by him."

"My mother became the legitimate wife, while my aunt was kept as a mistress overseas."

"They both got pregnant at the same time, and my brother and I were born just 3 days apart, looking almost identical."

There are many secrets in wealthy families, but to have it involve me was still quite shocking.

The man put away the photo, his eyes filled with murderous intent.

"When we took that photo at 21, it was our first meeting, but Alexander already had murderous intentions towards me."

"He resented me for being the heir apparent to the House of Vanderbilt, and used cruel means to make me lose my memory and disfigure me, taking my place in the Vanderbilt family."

"Then he used ruthless methods to kill his father, take over the family business, and... marry you."

My heart sank to the bottom, realizing that lies had always been a part of our marriage.

"So, he already knew Zoe? The cliff fall was fake too?"

"No, the cliff fall was real," the real Ethan Vanderbilt sneered.

"The despicable Alexander, he even deceived his girlfriend Zoe back then."

"That woman thought I was him all along, until she found out the truth three years ago. Naturally, she couldn't just let it go, so she staged the cliff fall and forcefully took Alexander away."

I remembered Alexander's excuses - "repayment of debt", "she saved me", "I'll send her away once the debt is repaid"... I felt utterly foolish.

He knew all along that Zoe wouldn't leave, and it was his decision to keep her by his side.

"After the cliff fall, they had a big fight but couldn't untangle themselves. Until I accidentally regained my memory, wanting to take advantage of his disappearance to return to the Vanderbilt family and set things right."

My voice trembled as I guessed the continuation. "Alexander found out you had run away, quickly brought Zoe back to the city, staged a drama on purpose, got beaten up by the casino thugs, all to make me save him unexpectedly."

Seeing the real Ethan nod, my heart sank even further, realizing that even his return home was a scheme against me.

The real Ethan said coldly, "I had to resort to plan B, to cooperate with you. As long as Zoe is around, you will eventually break ties with that impostor, and I just need to wait for that opportunity."

He looked at me with almost pitying eyes, "He may not be unaware of the truth, but in order to protect his identity, he chose to go along with Zoe until the end."

My heart felt like it was being squeezed by an invisible hand, making it hard to breathe.

He ignored Zoe's bullying towards me, constantly making me "behave", and even killing my Henry, all intentionally.

The seed of hatred had long been planted in my heart, and now it was growing wildly.

I punched the wall, my heart resolute, "Tell me, what do you want me to do?"