Taking advantage of his momentary shock, Hadley wrenched free and fled from the elevator.

Eric let out a bitter laugh, turning to Marshall with disbelief. “Is she completely insane?”

“You two…” Marshall was thoroughly puzzled, his voice uncertain. “What on earth is going on between you?”

“How would I know?” Eric’s expression remained thunderous. “I don’t even know her! She… was dumped by some guy! A complete jerk!”

He gestured angrily at his face. “That guy looked a lot like me! So now she hates me!”

Marshall listened with his mouth hanging open. “What… what did you just say?”

“You think it’s completely absurd too, right?” Eric said with mounting frustration. “Whoever dumped her, she should go after them! What does any of this have to do with me?”

Well… Marshall was utterly speechless. Silently, he thought to himself, Well, perhaps you should go have that conversation with yourself.

The next day, at precisely eleven o’clock, Eric left the Scott Group headquarters and headed directly to the airport. Today, Ernest was returning from his trip, and Eric had volunteered to pick him up.

Although Eric had lost his memories, the Flynn family’s generosity in raising him for over a decade remained an undeniable fact.

Besides, the Scott and Flynn families had maintained business ties even before his accident. There were important matters to discuss.

The plane arrived punctually, and Eric met Ernest at the arrivals gate.

“Ernest, come on—let’s get you to the car.”

“Sounds good.” Ernest casually tossed the suit jacket draped over his arm into the car, and something slipped from the jacket pocket.

The tumbled to the floor.

G3t th3 r34l st0r￥ @ g4ln0v3ls.c0m

It was Ernest’s smartphone.

Eric bent down to retrieve it, and as his fingers brushed against the device, the screen suddenly lit up.

Ernest’s phone screensaver displayed a group photo of three people together.

There were three figures in the photograph.

One was Ernest. Another was Locke. And the third was a woman.

Eric didn’t recognize her—her face was entirely unfamiliar to him. Perhaps he had known her once, but that memory had long since slipped away. Still, as he studied the picture, something in his gut told him this woman was the one Ernest had loved.

Eric found himself a little startled by Ernest’s taste in women. He paused, trying to find the words to describe her appearance. His mind involuntarily conjured Hadley’s image—the woman who had slapped him and called him a jerk the other day. Compared to her, this woman had a gentler allure, one that whispered rather than shouted, soft and soulful.

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