30 Days of Passion and Revenge-Chapter 165: The Pain of Deception

"I’m backing out of the deal! Blackwood Enterprise will no longer be involved in the acquisition of Carter Group. I’ll have my secretary transfer the money directly to you! Do whatever you want with it!"

"Mr. Blackwood, how generous of you," Henry Anderson remarked, somewhat surprised as he looked up at Ethan. "Haven’t you always wanted to take over Carter Group?"

He didn’t care about Carter Group anymore!

Ethan coldly delivered his threat, "I don’t care if you’re Lily’s biological father. Don’t you dare go near her again! And don’t even think about telling her about this deal! If you do, I, Ethan Blackwood, will make sure you pay dearly!"

Ethan was indeed wealthy and willing to throw money around for Lily Anderson.

Henry hadn’t expected his daughter to have such a strong hold on a man of Ethan Blackwood’s stature—someone who led the Asia-Pacific division of Blackwood Enterprise, completely enamored by her.

Smiling indifferently, Henry nodded. "Since Mr. Blackwood is so generous, I won’t refuse."

Ethan resisted the urge to punch him and turned to leave. Just then, Cipher rushed over, his face filled with urgency. "Mr. Blackwood, something’s wrong. Miss Anderson is missing!"

"Goddamn it! You couldn’t even keep an eye on one person?!"

Ethan exploded in fury. He had been running around like a madman looking for Lily these past few days! Damn it!

Had Lily disappeared?

A strange glimmer of emotion flickered in Henry’s eyes, a mix of smugness and sorrow.

Ethan’s bodyguards had escorted Lily into a VIP room earlier, practically kicking the door open.

Lily sat there quietly, her eyes unfocused, staring blankly ahead without any expression.

"Miss Anderson, have some water," one of the bodyguards said, offering her a glass.

For the first time, Lily’s lifeless eyes shifted. She got up from the chair and said, "I need to use the bathroom."

"Uh, of course."

The bodyguards didn’t dare slack off. Mr. Blackwood had nearly turned the entire city upside down for the past two days, looking for Lily Anderson. They couldn’t afford to make any mistakes.

Lily opened a door and walked out.

A while later, one of the bodyguards finally realized something was off. "Wait, was that door she went through the bathroom?"

"Oh no!"

"Find her! Are you guys idiots?!"

"Damn it! This VIP room has so many doors. How were we supposed to know?! Find her! Or prepare to have your heads blown off by Mr. Blackwood!"

Lily silently took the staff elevator down. Her reflection in the elevator mirror revealed a face void of emotion—her eyes dull, her expression lifeless, as if all color had drained from her.

In the crowded mall, Lily slowly made her way through the throng of people, sometimes shoved back by the crowd, hit by someone rushing past...

Yet she felt no pain.

Lily got into a taxi and quietly stared ahead. She knew this was a nightmare she would never wake up from.

Back Home—

Years ago, when the authorities were investigating her father, Lily, and her uncle had buried her mother in a serene valley nestled between rolling hills.

The valley had always been her mother’s favorite place, where her parents often brought her.

It was a lonely place, but from its peak, you could see fields of flowers below in vivid reds, yellows, greens, and purples—each section was so beautiful. Her mother had loved it there.

When her uncle had wanted to bury her mother in a traditional cemetery, Lily had vehemently opposed it.

She had always believed that her mother would prefer to rest in the valley.

Now she wasn’t sure of anything anymore.

Lily sat in front of her mother’s grave, staying there from night until dawn, from the pitch-black darkness until the sky turned light.

Her mother’s photo on the tombstone showed a young, beautiful, elegant woman with a lovely smile.

As dawn broke, Lily gazed at the fields of flowers below the valley, still vibrant and beautiful...

Despite the serene surroundings, Lily felt overwhelmed by noise, as if the buzzing chaos of the mall was ringing in her ears, attacking her from all sides.

It was slowly eating away at her.

"Do you know why I was sent to prison? It was because your mother stole my confidential documents to give to Bill Carter, who then reported me to the authorities."

"Your mother didn’t jump to her death because she couldn’t handle the pressure. Bill Carter tricked her. He never planned to divorce his wife and marry her, so in despair, she chose to end her life."

"This is all Bill Carter’s fault. Alex Carter and Lily Anderson, though of different surnames, are half-siblings."

The family she thought was perfect was nothing but a hollow shell.

The loving image of her parents was a false front.

Her dream of marrying Alex, something she had wanted since she was a child... was nothing more than a joke that would never come true.

Slowly, Lily removed the matching engagement ring from her finger, the one designed to symbolize the bond between her and Alex. She placed the ring in front of her mother’s grave—it was a ring she would never be able to wear again.

Only today did she realize that her childhood had been filled with one lie after another... and those lies had been the foundation of her happiest memories.

How ironic...

As the sun rose in the east, bathing the earth in light, the fields of flowers below glittered even more brightly...

Lily had sat in the same position all night, her body stiff and numb, but she felt nothing.

No pain.

No sorrow.

No sadness.

In one night, she had lost everything, yet she hadn’t shed a single tear. She didn’t even feel the slightest urge to cry.

Her heart, like her body, had grown numb... numb to the point of tranquility.

"Lily, I knew you’d be here."

Her father’s steady voice suddenly broke the silence. Henry walked over confidently, now dressed in a brand-new suit, exuding the aura of someone who had finally won.

Father?

Was he still her father? Wasn’t she Bill Carter’s daughter?

Lily stared blankly at the flower fields below, not saying a word.

Henry sat beside her, looking at the flowers with a hint of nostalgia. "Your mother used to love this place."

Lily remained silent.

"Daughter, don’t you want to know if you’re my child?" Henry asked, turning to look at her pale, emotionless face. He raised his hand as if to place it on her shoulder.

But seeing her stiff, unresponsive demeanor, he hesitated and let his hand fall.

After a long pause, Lily finally spoke. "Since you were released from prison, you’ve been planning yesterday’s events. I thought you just wanted to break off the engagement to embarrass the Carter family. Still, you planned to expose a massive scandal during their centennial celebration. A perfect scheme."

Her voice was soft and emotionless, as if she were recounting someone else’s story...

"Lily, nine years ago, our family was torn apart. Your mother committed suicide, and you were left to live under someone else’s roof for all these years. You suffered so much, and it was all because of Bill Carter. He’s the one who destroyed our family," Henry said, his voice filled with hatred. "He must pay for the crimes he committed!"

Bill Carter had paid the price. He would never recover from this.

"Lily, you’re still my good daughter. I raised you myself..."

"You drugged me just to make me a pawn in your plan, didn’t you?"

Lily slowly turned her head, expressionless, as she looked at Henry. "I’m not stupid. I can tell the difference between being treated as a daughter and being used as a pawn for revenge."

Henry was caught off guard by the coldness in her voice but quickly responded, "This is all Bill Carter’s fault... I spent nine years in prison, and the only thing that kept me going was my desire for revenge."

Seeing that Lily remained unmoved, Henry stood up and looked down at her, his voice rising with emotion. "Lily, you can’t blame me for this. A close friend betrayed me, and my wife had an affair. If I don’t avenge this, I’m not a man of honor."

Lily quietly watched her father, his face contorted with passion.

After a long silence, she finally spoke. "What kept me going for the past nine years?"

Henry looked at her, puzzled.

Lily stood up from the grave, her legs numb and barely able to hold her. She spoke slowly, without a trace of emotion, "I just wanted to have a family again."

Henry stared at her in shock as she turned and walked away, her steps slow and stiff.

She just wanted to have a family...

Even when Ethan Blackwood had treated her the worst, she had held on, knowing her father would be released from prison.

Although her mother was gone and she couldn’t bring her back, she still had a father and the hope of having a family.

Now, that hope was gone.

Everything was gone.

Tears welled up in Henry’s eyes as he watched Lily struggle down the mountain.

Suddenly, Lily lost her footing and tumbled down the slope.

"Lily!"

Henry cried out in panic, rushing down after her.

Lily rolled down the hill until her legs caught on a stone, finally coming to a stop. The numbness in her body gave way to feeling, and pain began to spread through her limbs.

The morning dew soaked the wild grass, leaving it damp.

Lying there, Lily stared blankly at the brightening sky, vast, endless... but without direction...

"Lily, are you okay?" Henry rushed to her side, reaching out to help her up, his eyes filled with concern as he glanced at her flat stomach. "Are you hurt? Do you feel any discomfort?"

She was fine.

Nothing could hurt her anymore.

Lily pushed him away and struggled to stand, walking wordlessly down the mountain...

The soft morning sunlight fell on her frail figure, making her look like she could collapse at any moment.

Henry stood behind her, feeling a pang of guilt. This child had been the apple of his eye, enduring years of hardship while waiting for him to be released from prison...

Suddenly, Henry shouted in a steady, loud voice, "Lily, whenever you’re ready, come find me. You’ll always be my daughter."

Father?

Did she still have a father? Wasn’t she the result of Bill Carter’s affair with her mother?

What meaning did she have as the product of an affair?

Disheveled and exhausted, Lily appeared at the door of her friend Sophia Bennett’s apartment.

Sophia’s first reaction was to jump up, turn off the TV, and frantically gather the newspapers scattered across the floor, crumpling them and throwing them into the trash.

Seeing her friend’s actions, Lily understood how big the scandal had become.

Now... the whole world knew that the couple who had just announced their engagement were siblings...

What juicy gossip, what a shocking scandal from a prestigious family.

"Lily, come in, sit down. Here, here," Sophia said, seeing Lily standing motionless at the door. She pulled her inside. "Look at your clothes; you’re filthy. Go take a bath. I’ll go shopping with you later, okay?"

Lily’s dull gaze drifted to Sophia’s open laptop.

A massive tabloid headline was on the screen: It Turns Out All Lovers Are Long-lost Siblings.

Lily stared at the sensational headline without blinking. Siblings... She and Alex were siblings...

Noticing her gaze, Sophia nearly jumped out of her skin. She quickly yanked out the laptop’s power cord and forced a smile. "Let’s go on a shopping spree! Shopping always cheers a girl up, right?"