Chapter 131

This couldn't all be a coincidence.

With Howard and Zoey's mom Erica's influence, if they really wanted to stop her, there was no way Zoey would have made it to Shadow City. Yet, here she was.

Howard, with his shrewd way of handling things, why did he deliberately reveal so much about Ronald?

And when Zoey found out about Joseph, Howard's furious phone call to Ronald, slamming the table and cursing-thinking back, it wasn't because it was dangerous. Quite the opposite, Howard was angry because Ronald had thrown his own daughter into the web he had woven.

Ronald's madness deepened, driving him to commit irrational acts of rage, including silencing others through murder.

All of this undoubtedly had Howard's involvement behind the scenes. Whether Erica was involved was still unclear.

But one thing was certain: Howard kept things from me. He only mentioned his good relationship with Frank but didn't say they had teamed up to set Ronald up.

I had a bold theory that ties everything together.

Howard knew about Ronald's activities early on. He might have known Frank for a long time and, with Erica's help, gave Frank significant support. This not only allowed Frank's career to skyrocket within a decade of graduating but also gave him the resources to investigate Ronald thoroughly and deliver a fatal blow.

By the time Ronald realized what was happening, it was too late.

Especially when he saw Zoey in Shadow City, he must have understood everything.

He chose to leave, not because he was confident in controlling everything, but because he had entered a stage of relentless revenge.

That night, Bob and Shirley decided to stay in the hospital with George, finding a bed nearby to sleep.

The hospital was short on beds, so I woke Zoey and found a hotel nearby. Before leaving, I checked with the nurse on duty about George's condition and confirmed that he should wake up by morning if there were no complications.

Zoey was quiet today, falling asleep after saying only a few words. I checked the time-it was around 2 AM. I quickly tidied up and went to sleep.

I slept soundly and woke up around 6 or 7 AM. Zoey was already up and preparing breakfast.

"Mrs. Smith, Mr. Martin must have known about my dad's... situation for a long time, right?" Zoey asked hesitantly while drinking her milk.

"Probably," I nodded, not saying much.

"Is my dad... really that evil? His situation, Mr. Martin and my mom have always known, right? Sorry, Mrs. Smith, I shouldn't ask such stupid questions. I know the answers, but..."

Zoey's eyes were red, and she wiped away tears. She was very smart and knew that if Howard and Erica really wanted to trap her, she wouldn't have made it to Shadow City.

Erica realized that the only way to stop Ronald's killing spree was for his daughter Zoey to appear before him.

"Zoey, everyone makes their own choices, and they must face the consequences, whether good or bad. This applies to adults and even children. No one can change that. No matter how evil your father is, that's society's judgment. As a father, he protected you, and I think that makes him a good father. He loves you." I patted Zoey's head gently.

"I understand," Zoey sighed, not saying anything more. Since I've known her, I've rarely seen her sigh. In that moment, she seemed to grow up a lot.

Growing up was always painful, but fate had been especially cruel to Zoey.

After breakfast, we hurried to the hospital. On the way, Bob called to say George had woken up.

Zoey and I were thrilled. We stopped at a fruit market to buy some fruit and then took a cab to the hospital.

At the hospital room, Bob had just finished feeding George some oatmeal. George looked in good spirits. When he saw me, his eyes lit up, and he waved enthusiastically.

"Nancy? Come here, let me take a good look at Alan's wife!"

"Mr. Thompson, hello," I greeted with a smile. It seemed he wasn't seriously hurt, waking up after just one night. I led Zoey into the room.

Zoey looked a bit uneasy. She bowed deeply to George and sincerely said, "I'm sorry."

George was taken aback, looked at Zoey carefully, then laughed and waved his hand, pulling Zoey to sit by the bed.

"You're Ronald's daughter, right? You do look a bit like him, but you're much prettier. You take after your mother, Erica, if I remember correctly."

"You know my mom?" Zoey asked, surprised.

"Not really. I've seen her photo. Ronald showed it to me."

George's eyes flickered as he looked at Zoey and sighed.

"Don't blame yourself. This has nothing to do with you. You don't need to apologize for your father. Even he doesn't need to apologize to me. This was his choice. His inferiority and arrogance led him to self-destruction. Howard and I tried to stop him many times, but it was no use. This was his fate."

Howard? I didn't expect Howard to be so deeply involved in this old case from over twenty years ago.

"Can you tell us about what happened back then?" I asked.

"Dad, the doctor said you shouldn't talk too much. Let's rest for a bit..." Bob interrupted, covering George with a blanket and giving me a meaningful look.

I realized he was right. George had just woken up and shouldn't be thinking too much, especially about the past. If his emotions got stirred up and his health worsened, it wouldn't be worth it.

George, in a way, was like a father to Alan, watching him grow up. Their personalities were very similar. As Alan's wife, I naturally wanted to treat George well.

George glared at Bob and smacked him on the head.

"I'm talking to Alan's wife. What's it to you? Why do you look so down? Are you sick again? Where's the Shadow City contemporary artist, the soul dancer, the theater troupe's only dancer? Can you bring him back? And Nancy is your sister-in-law, you know that, right?"

Bob laughed awkwardly. How could such a heavy topic like split personalities sound so light coming from George? He stammered, "Dad, whether I can bring him back isn't up to me. And I know Nancy is my sister-in-law."

I smiled. George's awakening had improved Bob's mood significantly. He was talking more and sounded more like his old self from college.