"Uncle Wilson." Joanne called Marcus.

Hearing her voice, Marcus looked back and smiled at Joanne. But his smile froze for a while when he saw Brian.

The boy, helplessly hugging his father 15 years ago all covered in blood, had grown into a man who could handle everything by himself and owned his business empire that could impact the economy lifeline at any time.

Joanne did not notice Marcus's peculiar look and went straight toward him. "Uncle Wilson, how did you find us?"

"I went to your apartment according to the address you gave me and was sent here under your brother's arrangement," Marcus answered.

Joanne smiled and said, "How's your wife?"

"She recovered well." Marcus bowed to Joanne gratefully. "Miss Scott, thank you so much for giving my wife and me a new lease on life."

"You overstate that." Joanne noticed that what Marcus was drinking got cold, so she asked Martha to get a glass of hot water.

She was not the sort of person who could devote herself to charity, but she could help people around with her best efforts. As for Uncle Wilson's trouble, she just gave a bank card to Wendy and asked her to help him pay the bills. She thought she had done nothing.

Instead, she was afraid that Marcus would requite her.

"Miss Scott, I have no way to repay you, for I'm desperately poor," Marcus said guiltily.

Joanne said, "I'd prefer you repay me by taking care of your wife after you go home, and living with her happily till the end of your lives."

"It's not that." Marcus glanced at Brian with a look of deep significance and said slowly, "I'll tell you the truth."

Joanne was surprised by Marcus's seriousness. She looked at Brian, then observed Marcus and recalled the day she had met Marcus in the hospital, which was not her first time seeing him.

She seemed to have seen Marcus before that.

"Miss Scott, I'm Tory, the one you've been looking for."

Tory looked at Joanne with tremendous anxiety, his hands clenched tightly with great strength and knuckles swollen.

His words opened the door of Joanne's memories.

Before seeing Tory in the hospital, she had seen his photo many times, in which was a strong and young Tory.

She did not expect him to be aged and look older than his actual age after 15 years.

So she did not recognize Tory and wondered if she was in a dream.

Tory said, "15 years ago, Lawyer Lu found the evidence of the death penalty against Peter. So Rowdy hated Lawyer Lu, and swore to kill Lawyer Lu himself. One day, Lawyer Lu was said to have bought some camping equipment and would go camping with his wife and son. Rowdy heard about it and decided to carry out his plan that day.

"Rowdy planned to kill Lawyer Lu by fabricating a car accident and have me take the blame for him, with which I didn't agree. He threatened me and said my wife would be taken good care of in my hometown if I agreed to serve a sentence for him, otherwise she would die.

"I had no choice but to lie to the police, saying that I killed Lawyer Lu and it had nothing do with Rowdy. He cleaned up everything else without leaving any evidence for the police. So I was sentenced."

"And then?" Joanne asked, "Why didn't you apply to reopen the case but still served a sentence for him, since he went abroad not long after you were jailed?"

"I didn't dare to." Tory burst into tears. "Though he was abroad, his family was still in Arlington and powerful. You know, Rowdy was a cruel person who would kill my wife if he knew I wanted to reopen it."

Joanne got Tory's point at once. "Was that why you changed your name after being let out of prison, moved to another place with your wife, and never talked about that case nor let anyone know that you're Tory?"

Tory nodded. "I had gotten acquainted with an officer in the household registration office, so I could relocate my household registration and change my name without anybody knowing about it. That way, I could avoid being found and killed by Rowdy if he returned from abroad."

Joanne finally figured it out. "No wonder you were unwilling to follow my advice and ask the media for help, you were afraid to be found by Rowdy."

"You're right. If I could, I just want to peacefully spend the rest of my life in my hometown with my wife. I didn't expect that she would feel worse, so I had to take her back to Arlington." Tory sighed. "Maybe that's a cycle of life. I didn't expect that I would meet you in Arlington, let alone that you're looking for me. You'd hardly expect that the person you helped out of pity is exactly the one you're looking for."

Joanne asked in doubt, "Now that all your problems are solved, why don't you do what you planned instead of visiting me?"

"My wife said that we shouldn't lose our conscience, so we decided to come here and confess." Tory stayed silent for a while and said, "First, I want to apologize to Mr. Lambert; second, I want you to know that I'll cooperate on the reopening of the case of Lawyer Lu."

Joanne looked at Brian not far away from them. His face was cold and serious. But he was very calm, not a bit surprised by the coincidence nor that the man before him was Tory.

Subconsciously, she called out, "Brian?"

Brian went toward them and sat across from Tory. "Rowdy is also looking for you. I'll arrange you and your wife in a safe place so that she can nurse her body, and I'll send someone to pick you up when the police need your confession or appearance in court."

Tory nodded and said, "OK, it's up to you." After a pause he added, "Mr. Lambert, I feel extremely sorry about what happened 15 years ago."

"You're not to blame for it," Brian said. "We thank you for coming forward and producing evidence against Rowdy."

Tory waved his hands and said, "I wouldn't dare to admit I'm Tory if it were not for Miss Scott helping me generously without hesitation, even if I knew you were looking for me. So, you needn't thank me, who is just doing what should've been done."

Joanne asked the cook to make some snacks while Brian was talking with Tory, and gave them to Tory as a gift from her to his wife.

Winston drove Tory personally. Seeing the car going far away gradually, Joanne wondered whether fate was a magical thing or the cycle of life was a wonderful thing.

"It's getting windy and cold." Brian drew Joanne's scarf and said, "Let's go back to the house."

The wind in the early spring still had its coldness. Joanne trotted into the house in Brian's arms and felt sick as soon as she sat down, with something surging in her stomach-it was a sign of vomiting.

Brian noticed Joanne's pale face and patted her back to comfort her. "Why did you help him when you didn't know Marcus was Tory at all?"

"Do you remember the money you gave me when we 'got divorced'?" Joanne said, "Neither could I return it to you, nor did I want to spend it. So I paid his surgery bills just to help him, and I didn't realize that he was Tory."

After those words, her feeling of vomiting went away miraculously. Joanne looked back at Brian. "Aren't you an effective cure for my sickness?"

"Just sit tight." Brian held Joanne and said, "Tell me if you feel bad."

"But-" Joanne asked in doubt, "Aren't you going to the company? It's almost noon."

"I'm going to spend my time with our daughter," Brian said as if it was the most important thing in the world. "A day off."

Joanne could not help smiling. "How do you know it's a girl but not two boys?"

"Two boys?" Brian frowned but smiled at once. "That will also do."

Joanne could not read Brian's changing expressions and asked, "Why? Don't you prefer a girl?"

"I prefer whoever you give birth to!" Brian's extraordinary sincerity made Joanne out of words for a while.

Brian thought for a second and added, "A boy can take over my enterprises so that I could take you anywhere you want. I won't be soft on them after your childbirth."

Joanne asked with awkwardness, "Why?"

Brian touched Joanne's thin face. "They've troubled you so much."

Joanne tried to push him away. "They will be scared."

Brian's lips turned into a smile unconsciously. "How can a little potato hear what I say?"

What he did not notice was caught by Joanne-his voice and smile became unprecedentedly gentle.

Joanne could never believe that Brian was not looking forward to the birth of the baby.

Joanne smiled and asked, "How about a girl?"

Brian said without blinking his eyes, "A girl will be raised just as you were, deserve the best we can give, and be a lifelong princess."

Joanne then leaned close to Brian while in his arms. "I hope that our daughter looks like me!"

Brian showed his displeasure and said, "Why not me?"

Joanne did not hope their daughter would have the same cold face as Brian, but she said, "If she's as tall as you, nobody will marry her."

"Why does my daughter have to get married?" Brian said with disdain, "I'll support her all my life."

"Only if she's born." Joanne thought it was time, so she held Brian's arms and besought with a soft voice, "Promise me that no matter what happens or what my brother or your mother say, you'll always stand by me and never agree to an abortion!"

Iris and Chris would have no choice if Brian and she both disagreed on an abortion.

Brian narrowed his eyes and said, "Finally I know your true thoughts."

"Oh." Joanne said pettishly, "Promise me. I explain it again!"

Brian said, "And what if I don't?"

Joanne showed a sad face and was about to cry.

Brian held her in his arms. "I'll promise you only if you cooperate with the check-ups in the hospital and let the doctor take care of you."

Joanne asked unwillingly, "What check-ups?"

"All the routine check-ups," Brian said. "I can't trust the pregnancy check-ups you accepted in the previous hospital. I'll take you to another one this afternoon."

Joanne had no reason to refuse the routine check-ups that were for her baby's health, so she nodded in agreement.

Anything that would not hurt her baby could be discussed with her.