Chapter 229: Chapter 229: Serena Sterling Retrieves the Medical Tome
What do you mean?
Yasmine Sterling didn’t understand, not at all.
Was Serena just deceiving her earlier?
There was no surveillance video, Lillian Sterling didn’t betray her, there was no evidence at all, she just confessed by herself, she confessed everything!
At that moment, the villa door was kicked open with a "boom," and the police rushed in. Amidst the chaos, Serena looked at Yasmine with a clear gaze, "Lillian is a good mother. When she was arrested, she only admitted that she did everything, and it had nothing to do with you. She took all the blame to protect you."
Yasmine Sterling trembled all over, a rage almost consumed her entirely, "Serena, I’ll fight you, I want to kill you!"
Yasmine charged forward.
But soon, with a thud, she was pinned to the ground by the police, cold handcuffs clasping her wrists. She continued to struggle, staring dead at Serena, with resentment, anger, madness.
If looks could kill, Serena would be dead many times over by now.
"Yasmine!" At this moment, Gregory walked over.
Gregory stood beside Serena, looking at Yasmine in disbelief. He couldn’t imagine that the daughter he had cherished for so many years, had invested heavily to transform into Bayside’s foremost socialite, turned out to be a twisted murderer.
How young was she at that time? Just thinking about it sent chills down Gregory’s spine.
Serena stood tall, her bright, clear eyes the same as when she first returned to Bayside – unwavering, calm, courageous, though now tinged with sadness. She looked down at Yasmine, "Yasmine Sterling, I know you too well. You love no one but yourself. When you learned Lillian was arrested, you panicked, thinking she would betray you. Lillian is your mom, after all. Have you ever loved her? No, you only aim to climb higher, crave vanity, seek to enter the realm of fame. Gregory and Lillian can no longer support you; they’ve long lost their value. You despise them, resent your birth."
"Yasmine Sterling, you’ve lost to yourself!"
Yasmine’s eyes were blood-red. Soon she closed them tight, and large tears began to fall, tears of despair, pain, struggle, defiance, perhaps mixed with a touch of regret and guilt.
"Serena Sterling, I’ve lost, but have you won? You should have installed a camera in my room, then you could’ve watched me and Hayden Crawford in bed, hahaha."
The police lifted Yasmine and took her away. As she turned back, she laughed at Serena, feeling it worthwhile to disgust Serena one last time before losing. Serena would never know she had taken her jade pendant, nor understand the missed moments between her and Hayden.
Yasmine was taken away, everyone left, and the entire Sterling family villa suddenly felt empty and exceptionally desolate.
Gregory sat on the living room sofa in a daze. He seemed to have grown many more gray hairs. Lillian and Yasmine were his wife and daughter, and suddenly this family had dispersed.
As Gregory thought about it, tears flowed down his face. He reflected on how he let life become like this, lamenting the people around him, it was such a mess.
Serena thought she would be happy, but she wasn’t at all. She looked around the vast Sterling family villa, where she had spent her most beautiful childhood moments. Back then, it was filled with bright sunshine and laughter, but now it had become a cold memorial site.
She thought, no one was a winner.
Serena pushed open Yasmine’s room. If she could, she would never set foot here because her Mr. Crawford had once been in bed with Yasmine here.
Just the thought of it made her heart ache with a piercing pain.
However, she had to come because she was searching for her mom’s medical texts.
Serena opened Yasmine’s drawer. In the bottom drawer, she found the medical texts.
Sitting in the chair, Serena reached out her small hand to turn the first page of the medical texts. Her eyes instantly moistened as she saw her mom’s handwriting; these were... words left by her mom.
With a plop, a drop of crystal-clear tear fell, rapidly spreading on the paper.
Serena, run slowly, careful not to fall.
My little Serena truly is beautiful, mom’s little princess.
A long-lost voice came to Serena’s ears. Her mom held her, and she rolled freely in her mom’s fragrant and soft embrace, laughing heartily.
Serena cradled the medical texts in her arms, bowed her head, sobbing and choking beside her mom, mom, where are you? Serena misses you.
Serena was too heartbroken, so much so that she didn’t check the drawer again, unaware that inside the drawer lay the jade pendant she had once lost.
...
Mr. Sterling was buried in the cemetery. That day, it drizzled. Serena wore black and held a black umbrella, standing quietly in front of his grave all day.
Behind her, footsteps sounded, as someone laid a bunch of white flowers in front of the grave. Serena looked up, and it was Seth Sullivan, long absent.
Serena hadn’t seen Seth for a long time; in fact, he had rarely appeared over the years. It seemed he only returned to Bayside after she did.
Over the years, he seemed not to be in Bayside.
Seth stood upright, amidst the wind and rain, holding a black umbrella, standing side by side with her, "Serena, you’ve done it. The matter from eleven years ago has ended perfectly."
Serena wore black gloves, her pure black hair tied low with a belt, a small white flower tucked by her ear, her exquisite face quiet yet sorrowful. She didn’t look at Seth, only murmured, "I have one doubt left. Why did you come forward eleven years ago to testify falsely, saying I pushed grandpa down the stairs? Were you part of Yasmine’s group? But, I’ve had people investigate, and you have no private connections with them; your actions were too clean."
Seth smiled, "Serena, I did all these things just following orders."
"Orders? Whose orders were you following?" Serena looked at Seth.
Seth looked at her too, "Of course, following your mom’s orders."
Serena frowned, "I don’t understand."
"Before your mom had any accidents, she left instructions with me. If anything happened to her, I was to sever all your ties with Bayside and immediately send you to the countryside. So, I went along with the flow, helped Lillian and the others, then found a fortune teller to tell Gregory you were a tough fate. Honestly, I had no interest in the Sterling family’s affairs; I only follow your mom’s orders."
Serena was stunned. She had never imagined the truth would be like this.
She thought everything had come to light, but it was now even more confusing.
Serena realized she had never understood her mom, nor the handsome man in front of her, Seth Sullivan.