"Mia Kane..."

Adrian Preston suppressed the fervor in his eyes, fighting the urge to pull her into a fierce embrace as he cautiously approached her.

Mia Kane looked at him, her heart a tangle of emotions.

She wanted to smile at him, but for some reason, her vision went black, and her body crumpled to the ground.

In that instant, Adrian Preston’s heart leaped into his throat. He dropped the umbrella and caught her with both hands.

He rushed her to the hospital. She was suffering from some nervous exhaustion, but nothing serious. After all, spending several days in such a repressive environment, it was inevitable that something would happen.

Mia Kane had also contracted a viral infection and ran a fever for two days, forcing her to stay in the hospital.

Adrian Preston stayed by her side day and night. He also never gave up on investigating the stillborn baby, and he finally had a lead.

His gaze was fixed on the screen.

Mia Kane had bumped into someone at the hospital entrance. The papers had scattered all over the ground, and Mia had kindly helped pick them up.

Then, the person had frantically clutched the papers and hurried into a taxi.

The figure looked just like Vivian Lynch.

Adrian Preston had started his investigation from the angle of the stillbirth, searching the records of every clinic and hospital in the city for any confirmed cases.

There was no trace of Vivian Lynch.

But those other women, upon learning of the stillbirth, had immediately scheduled surgery.

Whoever hadn’t scheduled a surgery was a suspect.

He quickly found the woman Vivian Lynch had impersonated. That woman was pregnant.

Vivian Lynch had used her ID to get the check-up.

Later, that same woman had gone to the hospital for a normal check-up. The doctor had found it strange—her file showed a fetal demise, yet when they did another ultrasound, the baby was perfectly fine.

The incident was written off as a mix-up, but the woman still sued the hospital and received a sum in compensation.

Adrian Preston wouldn’t have found out so much, but because the woman had made a big scene, he sensed that something was off.

She probably had no idea her identity had been stolen and used by someone else.

However, while he knew it was a stillbirth and that Mia had been framed, he was afraid Chase Lockwood wouldn’t believe him if he told him.

Besides, he had no way to make Vivian Lynch confess.

But he did tell Mia Kane.

"Do you remember this?"

Mia Kane stared at the tablet, thinking for a long time before it came back to her. "I think I do remember something like that. I was passing the hospital entrance and bumped into someone. Her medical forms scattered all over the ground, and I helped her pick them up."

"Look closely. Doesn’t this person look familiar?"

Mia Kane stared intently. The figure was very familiar, as if she’d seen her somewhere before.

"Is that..."

"Vivian Lynch."

It clicked for Mia Kane instantly. The figure from behind did look a lot like Vivian Lynch, but the woman in the video was completely covered up, making it impossible to see her face clearly.

"Why was she sneaking off to the hospital?"

"She must have sensed something was wrong with the baby and went to the hospital for a check-up. She didn’t dare use her own identity, so she stole someone else’s. She’d had a fetal demise. The baby was already stillborn."

"The baby was dead?"

Mia Kane frowned. It all made sense now—why Vivian Lynch was willing to go to such extremes. It was because the baby was already gone, and she was just using it for one last purpose.

It was supposed to be a no-lose gamble, but she ended up so severely injured that she could never get pregnant again.

’Does Vivian Lynch regret it now?’

For a moment, Mia Kane didn’t know whether to call her clever or self-destructive.

"Does Chase Lockwood know about this?" she asked.

"I didn’t tell him. I told him before that Vivian Lynch and Rosalyn Shield were conspiring together. There were clear signs, but he was unshakable in his faith in Vivian Lynch’s character."

"So even if I told him this time, footage like this alone isn’t enough to prove it was Vivian Lynch."

"Actually, I can understand it. Chase Lockwood trusts her, just like you trust me. All the obvious evidence showed that I was the one who pushed her and caused the miscarriage. But you still believed me, didn’t you? You kept looking for proof."

"You and Vivian Lynch are not the same. She doesn’t deserve to be compared to you. Chase Lockwood is blind. It’s not that he loves Vivian Lynch so much; it’s just that he has given up too much to marry her. First, he defied his parents, then he used you as a substitute, and finally, he went against his grandmother. He’s invested too much, so he’s unwilling to admit that Vivian Lynch is malicious. Otherwise, it would be the same as admitting he has terrible judgment and can’t read people."

"But I know you’ve always been good. Better than anyone."

Adrian Preston looked at her, speaking each word with deliberate weight.

Mia Kane’s heart began to beat uncontrollably.

His gaze had always been so sincere and direct that no one dared to meet it.

When their eyes met, it was almost scorching.

"Mia," he began, "you said... you forgave me. Do you still mean that?"

Mia Kane froze. She had almost forgotten about that.

At the time, she thought she was certainly going to jail and had decided to let Adrian Preston go, and to let herself go, too. She was tired of tormenting herself.

’But now, I’ve survived the ordeal, and Adrian Preston is still by my side. What am I supposed to do?’

Seeming to sense her conflict, he quickly added, "There’s no rush. You can take your time to think about it. It’s okay even if you don’t forgive me. I’m not going to let you run away from me, anyway."

Mia Kane felt a little helpless.

"I’m tired. I want to rest. Let’s get discharged tomorrow."

She hated hospitals. Shayla Quinn had also been worried sick, but Adrian Preston had kept her shielded from the outside world, not allowing any visitors.

Shayla Quinn knew Adrian Preston was protecting her, so she felt certain Mia would be safe. She had no choice but to trust Adrian.

She wouldn’t cause any trouble and just waited obediently at home.

’Now, it’s time I went back to see her.’

The next day, Mia Kane was discharged from the hospital. She first met with Shayla Quinn to reassure her.

Then she went to her studio. She had been locked up for so long, and with Rosalyn Shield also having been taken in, there was no one left to run the business.

She even wondered if she should just give up this line of work. ’Maybe I just don’t have a talent for business. Wouldn’t it be better to just join a company, focus only on design, and not have to worry about management and operations?’

She expected the studio to be covered in dust, since it hadn’t been open for days. But instead, the place was spotless. There was even a new receptionist and many new employees.

Seeing how busy everyone was inside, she wondered if she had come to the wrong place.

"Is this... still my studio?"

"Hello, do you have an appointment?"

"N-no." 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

"Then do you have a preferred designer in mind? What style are you looking to have designed? Casual wear, a formal gown, or...?"

The receptionist led her to a lounge and handed her a tablet filled with designer profiles and some of their famous creations.

The receptionist wasn’t in the design industry, so she didn’t recognize Mia Kane and continued her sales pitch.

"Of course, you could also request our Design Director, Owen Sinclair?"

"Owen Sinclair?"

"So you’re interested in Designer Sinclair? Please wait a moment, I’ll go ask."

Soon, Owen Sinclair arrived.

"Hello, it’s a pleasure to meet..."

Owen Sinclair’s words caught in his throat before he could finish.

"Mia? You’re finally back!"

Overjoyed, Owen Sinclair couldn’t stop himself from stepping forward and pulling her into a tight hug.

But he knew his boundaries and quickly let go, ruffling her hair.

"I knew you’d make it through this okay."

"Why?"

"Because I trust Adrian Preston."