But Chloe Reed didn’t even look at her. It was as if, in Chloe’s heart and mind, her mother no longer existed.

A strange sense of panic flickered in Autumn Linton’s heart.

The belief she had always held so firmly began to waver.

’Chloe is my daughter, my own flesh and blood. No matter what, she’ll always stand by my side...’

But now, she wasn’t so sure.

...

Sunny Reed was still on the floor. She had stopped crying, and her disheveled hair hid her expression.

Chloe Reed looked down at her. "You must be tired after so many years of acting, right?"

Sunny Reed slowly got up. She was no longer kneeling but standing. The handprint on her cheek was stark, and she looked far more wretched than before.

She looked at Chloe Reed, her voice still soft and frail. "Are you really not going to spare the Reed Group? That’s Mom and Dad’s life’s work."

Chloe Reed frowned slightly. Something felt off; the person before her was acting very strangely.

’Why is she still putting on an act, even now?’

She didn’t speak, just watched her with cold eyes.

Sunny Reed covered her cheek with a hand and blinked. "Why aren’t you saying anything, Sister?"

"What are you really trying to do?"

That strange feeling intensified, and a ripple of unease spread through Chloe Reed.

Sunny Reed said softly, "I haven’t done anything."

With that, she turned and walked away.

Chloe Reed’s elegant brows knitted together. Watching Sunny’s retreating figure, she couldn’t help but wonder, ’What is she really planning?’

But she couldn’t figure it out, couldn’t guess her intentions.

It seemed Sunny Reed had only come to put on an act for their parents.

’And now that the audience was gone, was she done with her performance?’

’Is she still trying the same old trick?’

Playing the innocent victim, deliberately admitting fault to make their parents think everything was Chloe Reed’s fault.

But that didn’t make sense anymore.

Chloe Reed took out her phone and sent a message to Daniel Hayes.

Chloe Reed: [Have someone keep an eye on Sunny Reed]

Daniel Hayes: [You got it]

...

Chloe Reed returned to the hospital room.

Her grandmother immediately looked over, her gaze carefully scanning Chloe from head to toe a few times before her brow finally smoothed.

"My sweet girl knows how to protect herself now. I’m so relieved," the old woman said with a kind smile.

Chloe Reed sat by the hospital bed and said, "After everything that’s happened, I’ve come to see some things more clearly."

"Mm, people are always growing," her grandmother said, patting her hand. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

After a pause, she added, "But Chloe, they are your parents, after all. They brought you into this world and raised you. They failed miserably as parents later on, but that fact remains. There’s not much you can do. If they don’t bother you again, just try to live as if they don’t exist."

Her grandmother still had a soft heart. She gazed tenderly at Chloe Reed.

Chloe Reed’s eyelashes fluttered slightly as she agreed, "Okay. I’ll listen to you."

Her grandmother patted her hand again, and the hospital room gradually fell silent.

That evening, after having dinner with her grandmother, Chloe Reed received a call from Miles Hawthorne.

"We’ve heard from the court. We have to wait for Walker Grant’s injuries to mostly heal before we can have the hearing." Miles Hawthorne’s voice was filled with resignation. "Why did he have to get injured right now? It’s too much of a coincidence."

Chloe Reed said, "Then we’ll wait. I have plenty of time."

"But as long as you’re not divorced, there will always be variables," Miles Hawthorne countered.