Chapter 8

Amelia had already hung up the phone, her face looking terrible.

She didn't know Evangeline, hadn't even met her once.

Thinking about this, she couldn't help but look at Benjamin, asking carefully, "Benjamin, do you have some kind of conflict with Evangeline?"

She hadn't forgotten what the racetrack owner had conveyed earlier—Evangeline hadn't just cursed her out, she'd cursed Benjamin too.

Benjamin didn't answer. Instead, he took out his phone from his pocket, found Evangeline on WhatsApp, and called her.

The first time, she hung up directly.

He called a second time, same result.

When he tried a third time, it showed he was no longer her friend.

He'd been blocked.

Benjamin's face darkened, his fingers gripping the phone tightly.

So he wanted to know too—how exactly had he offended her?

Meanwhile, on the other side.

After Evelyn and Scarlett finished eating, they went their separate ways. She didn't return to Benjamin's place, but went back to the apartment she'd been renting before.

At the door, she unlocked the code lock and was about to push the door open when she heard the elevator arrival chime behind her.

She instinctively turned around and saw a beautiful woman step out of the elevator. Her features were eighty percent similar to Evelyn's—their relationship was obvious.

"Mom?"

Perhaps not expecting to see Evelyn so soon, Imogen Fairfax froze for a moment, then concealed the strange look in her eyes and walked over with a smile.

"You didn't answer my calls, so I thought I'd try my luck coming here. Didn't expect you'd actually be back."

Evelyn said softly, "My phone was on silent, I didn't hear it. Did you need something?"

Honestly, her feelings for Imogen were limited to the bond of blood.

Because from the day she returned, she—the long-lost biological daughter—had never received Imogen's love.

Evelyn knew all too well that compared to her, Imogen preferred Amelia.

That's why, even though Evelyn had Taylor family blood, everyone thought Amelia was the real Taylor family daughter, while she was the adopted one.

Imogen saw the distance in her eyes and sighed softly, saying earnestly, "Evelyn, can't you be more understanding? Stop competing with your sister and give Benjamin back to her."

Hearing her say this, Evelyn let out a self-mocking laugh.

"What did you say?"

Imogen seemed not to notice Evelyn's expression and continued persuading, "I think you should go back to the countryside and let all our lives return to how they were before. That would be better for you and for us."

Evelyn's grip on the doorknob tightened, and she suddenly slammed the door shut—the bang echoing through the entire hallway.

"Who exactly is your biological daughter?"

The questions she'd accumulated over the years finally poured out in this moment.

"Or are you lying to me? You're not my biological mother at all. Otherwise, how could you say such things? Fine, let's all go back to square one. Then tell me, where is my real mother? Is she already dead?"

Imogen's face gradually turned ugly. She wanted to say more, but Evelyn raised her hand to cut her off.

"Don't say anything else. I've fulfilled your dream. From now on, you and I have no relationship whatsoever. And please, stranger, don't intrude into my world again. Don't contact me anymore."

After saying this, Evelyn turned to open the door and enter the apartment.

But suddenly she heard Imogen murmur behind her, "Evelyn, I'm sorry. You forced me to do this."

The next second, she felt a heavy blow to the back of her neck.

Before losing consciousness, the last thing Evelyn saw was the coldness on Imogen's face.

She didn't know how long she'd been unconscious when she finally came to. What met her eyes was a blinding white.

Evelyn struggled to get up, but the shackles on her hands stopped her movement.

What had happened while she was unconscious flooded into her mind all at once.

She could hardly believe that her own biological mother had knocked her out and dumped her in a strange place.

Just then, the door opened. Evelyn turned to look and saw Imogen walk in holding a cup, coming to sit by her bed.

When she got closer, Evelyn saw that the cup contained a bowl of black medicine.

An uneasy feeling surged up. Evelyn struggled violently, "What are you doing! Let me go!"

But Imogen just shook her head as if helpless, pinched Evelyn's nose, forced her mouth open, and poured all the medicine in.

Even though Evelyn tried her best to spit it out, much of it was forced down.

The bitter medicine filled her entire mouth, the liquid choking in her throat, making her cough continuously.

Imogen set the cup on the bedside table, stood up, and looked down at Evelyn.

"Don't blame me. I had no choice. Just wait here for your new husband to come."

After leaving these words, she turned and left decisively.

Then Evelyn clearly heard the sound of the door being locked.

"I already said I'd return everything to how it was, I'd leave Benjamin and never appear before you again. Let me go!"

Her voice became hoarse from the violent coughing. Even though she shouted with all her strength, there was no response.

Realizing Imogen's determination, Evelyn knew she couldn't just sit and wait. She looked at the shackles on her hands—not particularly tight—so she gritted her teeth and pulled hard, shrinking her hands backward. Her hands were rubbed red and swollen, and finally, after nearly losing a layer of skin, she slipped out of the shackles.

Ignoring her physical discomfort, Evelyn immediately sat up to remove the shackles on her feet.

The sound of unlocking came from outside. Just as she got off the bed, she made eye contact with a middle-aged man entering from outside.

Seeing her about to run, the man immediately shouted.

Leaving through the door was clearly impossible. Evelyn made a split-second decision and jumped out the window.

From the second floor, even though she'd prepared herself, she still twisted her ankle.

But the feeling of her life being threatened wouldn't let her stop.

Out of the corner of her eye, Evelyn noticed an abandoned race car nearby. Without time to think about where she was, she got in the car and floored it.

The burning sensation in her body kept reminding her that just now, her biological mother had drugged her with an aphrodisiac, intending to send her to a strange man's bed.

She drove toward the nearest hospital, but the drug's effects were fierce. She could only pull over.

After getting out, Evelyn wanted to find a river to soak in and cool down, but suddenly realized she'd somehow ended up parking at Benjamin's parking lot.

No time to think about it. She rushed into the racetrack and went straight to Benjamin's office on the second floor.

When she opened the door, Benjamin was sitting at his computer desk.