But he was wrong, catastrophically wrong.

Stepping inside his apartment, he kicked off his shoes and slumped onto the sofa, his vacant gaze staring blankly at the laptop on the table.

Driven by some inexplicable impulse, he suddenly wanted to look at Serena's photos.

Having been constantly pestered by Mandy during this recent period, it had been a long time since he had been intimate with Serena.

Powering on the laptop, he clicked open that once-scrambled folder, only to find it completely empty.

Refusing to give up, he went to check the recycle bin, which was similarly devoid of anything.

Those photos had actually completely vanished!

"How can they be gone?"

Julian muttered to himself, his hands flying across the keyboard as he desperately tried to use data recovery software to retrieve those images.

Yet, no matter how he operated the system, the screen consistently displayed "No relevant recoverable files found."

Suddenly, something clicked in his mind, his brow furrowing tightly.

It was from Serena's last visit; she had taken advantage of the opportunity to delete them.

Aside from her, no one else had entered his home.

It turned out she had planned her departure long ago, wishing to no longer maintain a single shred of connection with him.

Julian felt his heart being viciously squeezed by an invisible hand, a suffocating despair washing over him like an absolute tidal wave.

He abruptly raised his hand and violently hurled the laptop aside.

Right at that moment, his phone suddenly lit up, a delayed video file that Serena had scheduled before her departure popping up on the screen.

He clicked open the video.

"If it weren't for this drawing, I would have forgotten you even have a grandmother."

"So what if I tore it? Serena, did you really think I would let you go study abroad as you wished? I just can't stand seeing you do well! If you hadn't messed things up before, I would have landed Christian long ago. Why are you so cheap, always trying to steal men from me?"

Mandy's voice echoed clearly through the room.

Immediately following that, her expression turned sinisterly cruel as she pulled out a blade and plunged it ruthlessly into her own flesh.

Sitting before the desk, Julian's pupils constricted violently, his entire body feeling as though it had fallen into a bottomless ice abyss.

Chapter 11

His fingertips were stiff as he pressed the replay button over and over again, letting those piercing, malicious words echo repeatedly through the empty space, as if only this self-tormenting loop could force him to accept the reality right before his eyes.

"So what if I tore it..."

"I just can't stand seeing you do well..."

"Why are you so cheap, always trying to steal men from me?"

With every single repetition, it felt as though an icy wave was surging straight up his spine, freezing his entire body's blood solid.

He stared fixedly at Mandy's unhesitating movement of stabbing herself.

That distorted, gloating expression on her face was a world away from the weeping, vulnerable little girl who used to follow behind him claiming she was being mistreated.

Julian slumped back on the sofa, the cigarette butts in the ashtray piling up into a small mountain. Amid the flickering embers, his eyes were bloodshot and completely crimson.

He did not know how long he had been watching, so long that his eyes burned with a dry ache, yet he remained utterly unable to snap out of the massive shock.

It turned out her losing that drag race had been entirely deliberate, solely to hook up with that wealthy playboy Christian.

Yet he had acted like a complete fool, not only believing her entirely but also forcing Serena to take her place in being degraded, even going so far as to endure twenty lashes for her sake.

Even that severe hemorrhage from the injury had been a farce entirely directed and performed by her.

One brutal reality after another made his brain buzz violently.

He couldn't help but wonder if Mandy's very introduction into his life all those years ago had also been a calculated trap.

Back then, he had just finished playing a game on the courts, turning around to see Mandy covered in bruises, collapsed on the steps.

She claimed she was constantly beaten and bullied by her older sister at home, left entirely homeless and forced to sleep on park benches.

Julian's mother had passed away early in his life, and he had faced no shortage of mistreatment himself growing up; seeing Mandy felt like looking at a mirror of his past self.

From that day on, he had taken Mandy under his wing, complying with almost every single one of her demands.

She claimed she hated Serena and couldn't stand her high and mighty attitude, so he actively approached Serena, thinking he was helping her vent her grievances.

Whatever she wanted, no matter how difficult, he would exhaust every means to satisfy her.

He trusted her completely, never once doubting a single word she uttered, much less thinking to investigate the truth.

Looking back now, could a single word from a woman so deeply calculating that she could ruthlessly harm her own body ever be genuine?

"Heh."

Julian let out a low, bitter chuckle, the sound entirely filled with self-deprecation.

He snatched his phone and dialed a number.

"Investigate everything regarding Mandy and Serena's past immediately. Every single detail, I want it thoroughly dug up!"

"I want the results within half an hour!"

Hanging up the phone, Julian paced the living room in a state of frantic irritation.

Half an hour later, the assistant's call came through precisely on time.

"Sir, it's been cleared up. Serena has never once bullied Mandy. On the contrary, according to the testimonies of the estate's old servants and various surveillance records, it was always Mandy who targeted Serena at every turn—cutting her clothes, deliberately planting bugs in her study, and frequently spreading rumors about her behind her back. Everything Mandy said about being bullied by her older sister was an absolute fabrication."

Boom.

Julian felt his mind go completely blank, a violent ringing roaring in his ears, rendering him entirely unable to process the words his assistant spoke next.

It turned out that the person who had been tormented all along was Serena, while he had repeatedly assisted the abuser in wounding the victim.

He slammed his foot violently against the coffee table, the glass shattering in all directions with a piercing, explosive crash.

"Mandy."

He ground out the name syllable by syllable, a dangerous, volatile malice flashing in his eyes. "To think you actually dared to play me like a fool..."

Just as he was about to shut his computer, frantic knocking erupted from outside his door.

"Julian! Open the door!"

He let out a cold sneer.

He hadn't even gone to settle the score with her yet, and she had actually delivered herself right to his doorstep.

The moment the door swung open, she threw herself into his arms, her face entirely covered in tear stains.

"Julian, what do I do? The police said they're coming to take me away tomorrow morning. You've thought of a solution, haven't you? You must have a way!"

Julian looked coldly at her tear-and-snot-stained face, remaining completely silent.

His chilling detachment sent a sudden wave of panic through Mandy's heart.

"Julian, you can't just place all the blame on me for this matter! If you hadn't forced Serena's grandmother to donate blood back then, she might not have been driven to her death by those messages! When it comes down to it, you bear responsibility as well."

Her tone suddenly shifted. "Why don't you take the fall for me? Just tell them you were the one who sent those anonymous texts."

Before her voice could even fade, Mandy reached out to undo her own collar, revealing her pale neck as she leaned in, trying to press her face against Julian's.

"Julian, no matter what the final outcome is, I’ll wait for you! Once this matter is settled, I’ll marry you, alright?"

Chapter 12

"Get away from me!"

Julian violently raised his hand and shoved her back. The sheer force of the blow sent Mandy staggering back several steps, crashing hard against the doorframe.

"You answer for your own crimes."

His tone was cuttingly cold. "I am staying out of it."

Mandy froze, utterly unprepared for this reaction from him.

Once she snapped back to her senses, she immediately grabbed at Julian's clothes, screaming and making a violent scene.

"Julian, what right do you have to just wash your hands of this? You promised me back then that you would always help me!"

"You actually have the audacity to ask me what right I have?"

Julian let out a cold sneer, violently grabbing her by the wrist and dragging her forcefully over to the laptop, clicking that video file open once more.

The moment Mandy saw the footage, all the color drained from her face, her eyes darting away in guilt.