Ch. 961..970

Chapter 961

Without further hesitation, Silas pulled out a pink diamond from his pocket.

The diamond was shaped like a red date and was as big as half of Silas' palm. It weighed as much as sixty over carats.

Even though the sky was so gloomy that one would have a hard time seeing the face of a person a few meters away, the diamond still glimmered as though the sun was shining, catching everyone's attention. Even the bodyguards around them were attracted by the dazzling diamond.

If they were not men of the Carlo family and were unaware that betraying them meant absolute death no matter where they ran, they might even snatch the diamond away.

"The location of the gold is in this diamond." Silas did not hand the diamond to Zephyr at once. "Let her go. Once they've got out of our sight, I'll hand you the diamond." Silas was aware that Zephyr could kill anyone, including him.

Zephyr stared at the diamond in Silas' hand.

The pink diamond was one of a kind in the entire world. He had heard from the elders of the guild that the location of the gold was in fact in the diamond. Zephyr loosened his finger on the trigger and was about to let Genevieve go when the piercing sound of the police siren sounded from outside the cemetery. It appeared that the police had arrived, startling everyone.

Within the two seconds of inactivity, a group of people charged toward Zephyr.

Clenching his teeth, Cooper forced himself to stay conscious. Upon noticing a bright red dot on Genevieve's body, he shouted, "Sally! Don't fire!"

However, the hidden rifle was still aimed at Genevieve. The trigger had been pulled.

The rain began to fall heavily. In the gloomy environment, a series of overlapping gunshot sounds rang out. People began to collapse onto the ground while some tried to flee.

Soon, footsteps could be heard. A group of people arrived at the cemetery and shot the remaining people swiftly and effectively.

Amidst the chaos, Genevieve could only feel that she had been pushed onto the ground by someone. Warm liquid splashed across her face as the rusty smell of blood wafted through the air. Raindrops fell into Genevieve's eyes as she opened them.

Under the faint light, she saw Harry wrapping his arms around her tightly so that she wouldn't be injured by the flying bullets.

Harry seemed to have been shot. His brows drew together as he flinched in pain. After taking a look at Genevieve, he sighed in relief. "Thank goodness you're fine."

Even though the rain kept falling, the sky began to clear. The sounds of the gunshots ceased as well.

Genevieve pushed Harry away from her. Seeing the gun next to her, she picked it up. Upon noticing that, Harry quickly lunged forward and grabbed her arm.

"Let go of me!" Genevieve growled as she slapped Harry across the face.

Just as Armand was checking if Zephyr's men were still alive, he caught sight of Genevieve pointing a gun at her head and almost lost his mind. "Genev! Stop! Mandy isn't dead! She's still alive!" When she heard Amanda's name, Genevieve froze. Her finger loosened on the trigger as she raised her head to look at Armand. "What did you just say?"

"Mandy isn't dead." Armand quickly dialed a number as he walked toward Genevieve.

The call connected in no time. Amanda's sweet voice called out in joy, "Daddy!"

"Mandy, I've found Mommy. Mommy wants to speak to you." Armand passed the phone to Genevieve.

"Mommy!" Amanda chirped. "I've come back from the hospital. When are you and Daddy coming back? I miss you!"

"Mandy..." Genevieve's eyes reddened.

Taking the opportunity, Armand snatched the gun in Genevieve's hand away and flung it far away before pulling Genevieve into a tight embrace. "She's fine," he comforted. "She's waiting for us back home." After Genevieve chatted with Amanda on the phone for a while and was convinced that Amanda was still alive, she broke down crying.

"I thought Mandy was dead. I thought I had caused the death of my own daughter..."

"That's all part of my plan," Armand whispered as he tucked a strand of hair away from her face. "I know you're not an unreasonable person, so when you lost your temper at me the other day, I figured there was something that was bothering you, something you couldn't tell me. Thus, I brought Lucian and Mandy over to Johanna's place..."

Chapter 962

Armand had asked Timothy to examine Amanda, only to discover a new model of an explosive device planted in Amanda's ear. There was also a listening device along with the explosive device. Even though the exploding device was not switched on, he guessed that the device's existence had restrained Genevieve.

To prevent their conversation from being eavesdropped on, Armand did not even dare to speak to Timothy wherever electronics were present. Timothy had secretly recruited a few doctors to help them investigate the case.

In the end, they decided to let Amanda fake her death. Once the device had lost its function when her body temperature dropped too low, they would then remove the device manually with their hands. "Harry is smart. I was afraid that he would suspect you, so only me, Timothy, and Cooper knew that Mandy faked her death." Armand raised Genevieve's arm and looked at the scar on her wrist. He felt his heart shattering to pieces. "I didn't know you would cut yourself...”

Armand had been in the military hospital after he had faked a heart arrest because of Amanda's passing. When he learned that Genevieve had cut her wrist, he had almost lost his mind. Armand kissed her wrist softly. "If you died, I wouldn't live alone either."

"D*mn you!" Once she found out that everything was his plan, Genevieve threw a hard punch at his chest before hugging him tightly and bursting into tears.

Meanwhile, Harry lay on the ground, surrounded by his pool of blood.

The bullet had pieced through his abdomen. It was painful for him to even breathe. He could almost no longer open his eyes, but he had heard everything Armand had said.

He did suspect that it was all fake, but in the end, he believed that Amanda was dead.

Armand's plan was flawless.

He had thought that he was the winner, yet Armand still emerged as the smarter one.

Once Genevieve recovered from crying, she finally noticed the mess around them. Lifeless bodies were lying all around. Cooper had fainted and was long taken to the hospital for treatment. Harry had collapsed next to them. His chest was stained red as his face paled.

"Send him to the hospital," Genevieve told Armand. "Someone seemed to have fired at me just now. He took the bullet for me."

"No..." Harry parted his lips weakly. He knew that there was not long for him to live anymore. With all his might, he raised his hand. "Genevieve, come here..."

Seeing that he was weaponless and was on his deathbed, Genevieve walked over to Harry and squatted in front of him after a moment of silence. "Bring your ears closer."

Genevieve leaned forward and placed her ear next to Harry's lips. She could hear Harry's faint voice as he muttered, "That heart... is Jack's..."

He informed Genevieve so that Armand would not think that he owed the Zane family and became a tool for the Zane family.

Genevieve froze. She lowered her head to look at Harry.

"It hurts, Genevieve..." Raindrops fell into Harry's eyes. He could feel his vision blurring.

"Genevieve," he mumbled, "I'm a pain the ass, aren't I?"

He was supposed to die at the age of ten, yet he survived and lived with a vengeful heart till then.

All he hoped for was that somebody would fix their eyes on him.

Seeing the life slip out of Harry's eyes, Genevieve remembered that the boy was only eighteen. He was someone who loved racing and surfing. He had impressive brains and was a rare genius in computer science.

He was still a child. A child that was robbed of his parents' love, and yet he had to pay the price for their actions.

Harry's passing caused all the hatred Genevieve had for him to dissipate.

Wiping away the raindrops from his face, she whispered, "You're not. I pray that you'll have a pair of parents who love you in your next life, so you can grow up with no worries."

Harry could feel the warmth on Genevieve's fingers. He smiled longingly. "Will you still... care for me?"

Genevieve hummed in response. "I will."

Even though Genevieve could be lying, Harry was pleased with her answer. He was in so much pain that he could no longer talk. Finally, he breathed his last.

Chapter 963

Meanwhile, Steven found Zephyr's corpse. A bullet had pierced through his head from the back, killing him instantly.

Such an accurate shot could only be Sally's work.

Steven seemed to have noticed something. He squatted down next to Zephyr and took out a thumb-sized, skin-colored Bluetooth earphone from his right ear.

Right then, a black Chevrolet pulled over at the north entrance of General Hospital.

As the car window rolled down, the face of a man with mixed heritage and a pair of cold purple eyes could be seen.

Before long, a woman dressed in a nurse's uniform and a mask over her face exited the hospital and ran in the rain toward the car. She then quickly passed a medicine bag to the man inside the car. Once the man took the bag, the woman reported in a low voice, "The President has been shot in the head on the way to the hospital. He's dead."

"Pity." Zephyr sighed.

He had only wanted the location of the gold. He had not planned to kill his own father.

When he asked someone to investigate, he did not expect to find out that the policeman who had killed two core members of the Carlo family was Robert's son.

Coincidentally, Ethan and Sally were childhood sweethearts.

Sally was fully aware that Ethan's death was caused by the Carlo family. If he had gone to the cemetery that day, Sally's firearm skills would have taken him out, not the substitute.

"My baby sister will deal with his body." With a wave of his hand, Zephyr dismissed the woman.

As Zephyr rolled up the window, the car departed from the hospital.

Reaching his hand into the medicine bag, he took out a heavy pink diamond in the shape of a red date. Even if the location of the gold was not found inside the diamond, the diamond itself was worth a huge

sum.

When the driver peered at the backseat through the rear mirror, he was taken aback by the sight of the diamond. "That has to be worth two or three hundred million, right?"

"Or more." Zephyr took out the diamond and admired it. "Such a giant piece of natural pink diamond. You can't even find one of them in a hundred years. Father must have bought it for Mia." Zephyr could not find out when Silas bought the pink diamond.

Although curious, the driver did not ask why. "The plane is ready, Mr. Zephyr. Shall we leave now?"

"Wait." Zephyr narrowed his eyes. "Take Kitty along."

Amanda's death and Genevieve's suicide attempt had startled Johanna so much that she had been in a daze for the past few days.

When she arrived at the hospital to see Genevieve, she was horrified to find out that Genevieve was gone.

Johanna quickly dialed Cooper's number, but he could not be reached. Without another choice, she called Timothy. "Quick! Send people to look for Genev. She's missing! D-Do you think Genev will jump off a building or into the ocean?"

Genevieve had made an extreme choice once. In Johanna's mind, that meant that Genevieve would do it again.

"Don't panic, Darling. Armand went to find her. I've just sent Mandy to Swallow Garden," Timothy comforted her over the phone.

Johanna was dumbfounded. "What do you mean? Mandy's-"

"No." Timothy knew what she was about to say. "All of this was Armand's plan. Mandy isn't dead. She's still alive."

"Yes, Aunt Jojo. I'm still alive." Amanda's childish voice sounded from the phone. "Do you miss me, Aunt Jojo?"

"D*mn you, Timothy. I" If it weren't for the fact that she was worried that Timothy had her on speaker and that Amanda could hear her, Johanna would have cursed out loud. "Just you wait. I will skin you alive the moment I get there!"

Johanna tossed her phone inside her bag. Seeing that it was still raining outside, she took out an umbrella and rushed out of the hospital.

Just as she reached the roadside, a taxi approached.

Johanna quickly stuck out her arm to hail the taxi. When the car arrived in front of her, she pulled the door open only to see a man seated inside.

The man had black hair and purple eyes. A dangerous aura exuded from his body.

It took Johanna no time at all to recognize the man as the one she had bumped into at Jazona Clubhouse the other day.

His gaze made Johanna's hair stand on edge. She took a step back. Just as she was about to close the door, she felt a sharp jab on her neck. All of a sudden, Johanna felt herself getting drowsy as her body became limp.

The man carefully carried Johanna into the car and closed the door.

The taxi sped away while the man in the cap picked up the umbrella on the floor. Walking down the sidewalk, he quickly vanished near the hospital.

Chapter 964

Armand told Steven to handle the rest of the things.

He carried Genevieve out of the cemetery and into the car. When Genevieve heard him telling the driver to bring them to the hospital, she said she wanted to go to Swallow Garden instead. Armand knew she was eager to see Amanda, so he told the driver to drive them to Swallow Garden, then put a dry towel over her.

Arriving at Swallow Garden, Genevieve saw Timothy playing blocks with Amanda. At that moment, Amanda was dressed in a cute little dress, and her cheeks were rather chubby.

Is this an illusion? Genevieve's eyes reddened right away. "Mandy?"

Amanda turned around and at the sight of Genevieve, she dashed toward her arms. Genevieve carried her and kissed her.

"Mommy! I've missed you!" Amanda exclaimed.

Genevieve knew everything was real when she felt Amanda's cheek on her cheek.

"I've missed you too!" She held Amanda tightly.

"Don't cry, Mommy." Amanda reached out to help Genevieve wipe off the tears. "Daddy said I fell sick, so I had to sleep for a few days. He told me not to tell you about it because you might get sad. I've slept fo a few days, and I feel great now!"

"All right, I'll stop crying now. I've missed you a lot, that's all." Genevieve kissed Amanda's cheek. "From now on, I'm not going to scold you anymore."

Amanda nodded vigorously. "Yes! Scold Lucian, Mommy! Lucian needs you to scold him."

Genevieve was amused.

"Armand, when you guys were on the way here, did you guys see Jojo?" Timothy checked his phone. "I spoke to her on the phone half an hour ago, and she told me she was coming. But she's still not here." "We didn't," Armand answered. "Did she perhaps go back to the mansion?"

Timothy massaged his forehead. "Probably. When I told her about Mandy, she was infuriated, and she said she was going to skin me alive. I'll go first, okay? I'll bring Lucian over tonight." With that, Timothy left.

Genevieve was still carrying Amanda in her arms. Seeing that, Armand took Amanda away and said, "Mandy, play on your own, okay? I'll bring Mommy upstairs for a bath first." Only then did Amanda notice that Genevieve was still dressed in a hospital gown. Thinking that Genevieve could be sick, Amanda went to the living room to play on her own. Armand carried Genevieve upstairs.

Right then, Steven called. He told Genevieve to take a hot shower, then went out to get pajamas for her and answered the call.

Steven reported, "Sally killed Silas when he was being sent to the hospital. I checked the scene, but I didn't see the diamond. I think someone took it. According to Mr. Sutton, Silas could be Mrs. Faulkner's biological father."

The Carlo family's logo was a crow. Hence, all the guilds under them were known as The Dark Crow.

Silas had been in control of the Carlo family for more than three decades. Gradually, he got the family to do legit businesses, and they had refrained from dealing with firearms and drugs. Since Silas was very influential in Lostaria, the other mafia families were scared of him and they hated him.

The value of the gold and diamonds the Carlo family had was more than what a drug dealer could make selling drugs for a few decades. Hence, a lot of people were eyeing the Carlo family's gold and diamonds.

If Genevieve was really Silas' daughter, a lot of people would want her dead.

Armand narrowed his eyes and ordered, "Get a few strands of Silas' hair and do a DNA test. After that, tell Sally to handle the members of the Carlo family and don't let them get away. Since she has made such a mess, get her to clean up after herself."

"Got it. What should we do with Zephyr's body? When I checked earlier on, I saw that he was wearing a wireless earbud," Steven asked.

Chapter 965

Why was Zephyr wearing a wireless earbud?

When Armand went there, he didn't see any of Zephyr's men hiding in the cemetery. "Let Sally handle it."

Prior to that, when Sally had offered herself up to be Genevieve's bodyguard, Armand knew she had an ulterior motive. He got Steven to investigate the Zane family and found out that the Carlo family was involved in Ethan's death. When Sally found out that Zephyr's men were the ones who messed with Genevieve on the cruise ship, why did she give out false information?

Before Steven called, Armand was curious why Sally suddenly wanted to stay by Cooper's side. He also didn't know why the Carlo family would act on Cooper. After that, he found out that Genevieve's mother had dated Silas before.

Silas must've been furious when someone murdered the person he loved. Zephyr used Mia's death to lure Silas to Chanaea so that he could get his hands on the diamond. When Sally found out about Zephyr's plan, she wanted to avenge Ethan and kill Silas and his son. Zephyr was smart enough to come up with the plan. However, Sally saw it coming. How could Zephyr not notice anything? That guy grew up in a mafia family, and he has seen all sorts of evil things. He can't possibly be so careless just because of a diamond.

"Steven, wait." Armand felt something amiss. "Check thoroughly and see if Zephyr is really dead."

Steven froze for a moment, but he knew what Armand meant.

Worried about Genevieve, Armand hung up the phone after that. He brought a new set of pajamas to the bathroom and saw that she was already done showering. At that moment, she was spacing out in front of the basin.

"What's wrong?" Armand noticed that her hair was still wet, so he wrapped her hair up with a towel.

Genevieve came back to her senses and mumbled, "Nothing."

Armand was very worried about her state of mind. He changed her and carried her to the dressing table.

"Darling, everything's fine now." Armand stroked Genevieve's chin.

Genevieve hummed in response.

Armand then took out a hairdryer from the drawer and dried Genevieve's hair while standing behind her. From time to time, he would massage her scalp so that she could relax. Genevieve regained her composure when she felt the warmth on her scalp.

She raised her head and looked at Armand in the mirror. When she saw his darkened gaze, she was reminded of what had happened at the beauty salon. I've killed someone.

"Mando... I-I've killed someone. I-I killed Charice..."

What made her feel worse was the fact that the person she killed was her lover's mother.

Armand put the hairdryer aside and squatted down in front of Genevieve, who was biting her lower lip and shivering badly.

Armand had thought Genevieve was shaken up because of the gunfight. He didn't know it was because of another thing.

"It's my fault for not telling you." Armand held her cheeks. "You didn't kill Charice. I killed her. You're not responsible for her death."

Genevieve was stunned. "It was me. Harry was using Mandy to threaten me. That's why I—"

"Don't you find it weird? Why did Rebecca show up shortly after you arrived at the Zeigler residence?" Armand asked.

Genevieve looked at the man in confusion.

Armand continued in a deep voice, "When you went to Baykeep, I knew what you were up to, so I rang Rebecca beforehand to get her to follow you. That day, you said you wanted to go to Glamorous Beauty Salon, and coincidentally, that was where Charice was going as well." Armand carried her onto his lap and massaged her scalp. "Before the lights went out, I was already in Charice's room, and I killed her. When you used the gun, didn't you feel something off about the weight?"

Chapter 966

Upon hearing that, Genevieve remembered that the gun did feel lighter than usual when she whipped it out of her bag. Besides, there was no recoil at all when she fired the shot.

Genevieve stared at Armand in disbelief. "You switched my gun?"

"Yes. I got Rebecca to go through your bag and switch your gun.”

"I didn't even tell you anything. How did you know what I was going to do? Were you listening to my phone calls?"

Armand took a tub of hydrating cream and applied some to Genevieve's cheeks. "Harry could hack everyone's phone easily. If I did install something on your phone, he would have known about it right away. I knew what you were going to do because I'm your husband. I know you well."

He kissed Genevieve and continued softly, "You're my one and only. I can't possibly let you get blood on your hands. Since I'm the one who killed a person, I'm willing to get punished for it."

Before Genevieve knew it, her eyes were already brimming with tears. She held his face before wrapping her arms around his neck to hug him.

"I'm dirty. Now that you're hugging me, the cream I just applied will go to waste."

"I don't care. I just want to hug you."

Armand had no choice but to let her hug him.

A while later, he received a call from Steven, and it seemed that he had something to report to Armand. Armand didn't want Genevieve to hear the conversation, so he went to the study to answer the call.

No sooner did he leave than Genevieve stood up and saw a diamond hairpin on the dressing table. That's a gift Jack gave to Mandy for her birthday. Since it's a mermaid design, Mandy has always been in love with it. She must've left it here when she came to sleep that time.

Right then, Genevieve recalled what Harry had told her before he died. What he said was ridiculous. However, he was about to die. Would he waste his last breaths talking crap?

Genevieve looked around for her purse and took out her phone.

She then hesitated for a while before calling Jack.

However, no one answered the phone. Devastated, she called Lilian instead.

After over ten seconds, Lilian finally picked up the phone.

"I tried calling Jack, but he didn't pick up. Is he busy?" Genevieve asked.

"Yes. He's been busy with work. In fact, he doesn't even have the time to answer my calls nowadays," Lilian answered.

Genevieve lowered her gaze. "Mandy misses him. I'll bring them to Dartan in a few days' time."

"Sure. I've never met Mandy and Lucian." Lilian paused for a moment. "However, Jack is a busy man. I don't know if he'll still be in Dartan by-" "Lilian," Genevieve interrupted her, "is Jack... dead?"

"No!" Lilian quickly denied it.

"Your voice was trembling." Genevieve tightened her grip on her phone and tried to calm herself down. "Did he give his heart to Armand?"

Lilian was stunned. That's an absolute secret! How did Genevieve find out about it?

The two of them kept mum after that.

Lilian's silence was an indication that Genevieve was right. Genevieve felt her throat tightening, and she was having difficulty breathing. "Tell me everything..." Genevieve could barely speak.

Lilian sighed deeply and said, "Jack told me to keep it from you, and I was determined to take it to my grave. I didn't expect you to know about it."

Chapter 967

According to Lilian, Armand knew he had heart problems, but he couldn't find a suitable heart for himself. He was afraid that he could die anytime, so he went to look for Jack and told him everything. He also told Jack to take care of Genevieve and the kids.

Armand knew how much Jack loved Genevieve, so he knew he had nothing to worry about if Jack could take care of her and the kids.

However, Jack refused.

Instead, he brought Armand's health reports to the hospital for matching. The findings showed that his heart was most suitable for Armand.

Most of the time, the recipient of a heart transplant would reject a new heart. Yet, because Jack was Armand's stepbrother, he was the most compatible donor. In fact, it was said that Armand could live more than a decade longer than the usual organ transplant recipients.

Therefore, Jack came up with a scheme to put on an act showing that his personality had changed drastically because he couldn't be with the woman he loved. He kidnapped Genevieve, brought her to Dartan and locked her up.

Jack wanted Genevieve to hate him so much that she would never want to see him or think about him ever again.

After that, Genevieve almost went crazy while being locked up by Jack. When she was escaping, she accidentally stabbed Jack. Jack gave her what she wanted by getting a helicopter to send her away. It was that night that Jack got Lilian to operate on him and take out his heart before sending it to Chanaea.

"Right before the operation, he wanted you, Mandy, and Lucian to be well taken care of. He said he didn't have much, but he was the one who raised Mandy, his daughter..." Lilian burst into tears.

"I feel so sorry for Jack. I asked him that since he had been in love with you for so long, wouldn't Armand's death be the best possible scenario for him? Did you know what his reply was?" Lilian wiped the tears off of her face. "He said he was with you in Dartan for more than four years, but all you cared about was Armand. He knew that even if Armand were to die, you still wouldn't want to be with him. He said he had his personal reasons for what he was doing. With his heart in Armand's body, you'll be loving him as well when you love Armand. Genevieve, he was a healthy person, you know? Yet he made such a decision for you."

Ever since he was young, Jack had been smart and capable. He was known as a genius director. After he took over Helt Corporation, he managed to eradicate all the internal issues. When he passed Helt Corporation back to Lilian, the company was doing very well. All his life, he had been looking for the girl he met when he was young. He worked hard, yet he still failed to get her. In the end, he chose to sacrifice his life for the affection of the woman he loved.

Genevieve didn't expect such a tragic truth.

Her mind was buzzing, and she was close to collapsing. No wonder when Jack came to Chanaea so suddenly that time, he mocked Armand, drugged me, and brought me back to Dartan after he found out that Armand was missing. He locked me up just so that I would hate him and get him to give up on me.

Lilian regained her composure and added, "He said if there was such a thing as a next life, he would still want to meet you on that snowy day. Genevieve, he lived for you, and he died for you." With that, Lilian hung up the phone.

What's so great about me? Why would a man love me for so long? He even sacrificed his life for me. What did I do to deserve this? Genevieve was left standing there in a complete daze, with the phone still in her hand and tears flowing from her eyes uncontrollably.

Through her blurry vision, she felt as though she could see the moment when the doctor operated on Jack and took out his beating heart.

Chapter 968

In the study, Armand was listening to Steven's report intently.

Steven had just inspected Zephyr's body and discovered that it wasn't Zephyr. It was just a substitute wearing a hyper-realistic mask.

It was the same type of mask Armand wore when he masqueraded as Bruce previously.

This time, Zephyr got a substitute who behaved like him and was around his height. That was why the substitute wore a wireless earbud.

The real Zephyr was able to know everything that happened at the cemetery with the help of the wireless earbud. Under his instructions, even Silas didn't realize the man wasn't his son.

In fact, the real Zephyr could've already left Chanaea with the diamonds.

Armand knew Zephyr would have a backup plan to get the diamonds for himself, but he couldn't stop fear from rising in his heart when he realized how smart Zephyr was.

I need to come up with a plan to get rid of Zephyr.

With his current identity, Armand couldn't do many things personally and had to relay his orders to Steven.

The call went on for almost twenty minutes.

Before hanging up, Steven told Armand that Cooper was all right as he was admitted to the hospital in time. However, Cooper suffered from a gunshot wound that crushed his bone and would have to recuperate in the hospital for a long time.

After the call ended, Armand stepped out of the study and bumped into the housekeeper who came upstairs. "Mr. Faulkner, dinner is ready."

"Mm," Armand grunted a response.

He returned to the bedroom to see Genevieve in her nightdress, staring out the window in a daze. After coming to a stop before her, he belatedly realized her face was wet with tears. "Darling?" Armand wiped her tears away and asked in a low voice, "Are you still thinking about the incident?"

Genevieve stared at him for a long while before snapping back to reality.

She lowered her head and gazed at his chest. Her hand was trembling as she reached out to touch his heart through his clothes. It was still beating, and Armand was still alive. But Jack's dead...

Tears escaped from Genevieve's eyes as her lips thinned. She flung her arms around Armand's waist and buried herself in his chest.

Her warm tears quickly seeped through his clothes, and he could feel the dampness on his skin.

Assuming she was worried about his health, Armand lowered his head and gave her a gentle peck. "I'm fine. The doctor said I could live for a long time. Don't cry. My heart breaks every time I see you cry." Genevieve was reminded of Jack, for he used to wipe her tears and say the same thing when she cried.

"Mando." She tightened her arms around him as her heart clenched, causing her to almost suffocate. "I love you."

Armand murmured in assent, "Mm, I know."

"You don't know." Genevieve shook her head. "I fell in love with you when I saw you at the hospital at the age of nine, just like how you fell in love with me. Why did you find the wrong person? Why didn't you find me a bit earlier? If you fell in love with Marilyn or didn't bump into me when I got married..." Genevieve trailed off and muttered, "Is it for the best if we were to miss each other?"

If we didn't meet each other, the following incidents wouldn't have happened. Jack wouldn't have found me, and he didn't have to die.

Uneasiness stirred in Armand's heart when he heard Genevieve's mumble.

He cupped her cheeks and forced her to look at him. Gently, he told her, "There are no 'ifs.' I'm fated to meet you and fall in love with you, so fate will bring us back together again. Even if I got the wrong person back then, I fell in love with you again decades later when we met again."

He bent down and kissed her. "Darling, stop imagining what would happen if you could turn back time. You're my wife and the only woman I love. We have a pair of adorable children."

Yes, I keep coming up with hypothetical situations, but the reality is that I met Armand. He loves me, and I love him.

Chapter 969

They remained in the bedroom for a long time. In the end, Armand was afraid that the kids would starve, so he got Genevieve some clothes from the walk-in closet that she could change into before they went to have dinner. They then held hands and went downstairs.

To their surprise, Amanda was alone in the living room, building a Lego piano herself.

Armand asked the housekeeper, "Timothy isn't here yet?"

"No," came the housekeeper's answer.

Earlier, Genevieve and Armand came home and bumped into Timothy. She remembered Timothy telling them he was going to pick Johanna up so they could have dinner together later.

Genevieve tried to call Johanna. She then turned to Armand and said, "Jojo's not picking up."

Armand called Timothy.

"Hello, Armand." Timothy sounded disgruntled.

Armand asked, "Is Johanna at home?"

"No. Lucian told me Jojo left home this afternoon and never came back," Timothy revealed unhappily. "I came all the way to the hospital and was told she left hours ago. No one knows where she is, and she's not answering her phone. I wonder if she's mad at me."

Only Armand, Timothy, Cooper, and a few doctors who were involved knew about Amanda's faked death.

To make the entire incident more convincing so Harry wouldn't suspect a thing, they deliberately caused a scene and made it seem like Amanda coughed out blood before they sent her to the operating room. Aside from those who were in the know, everyone else thought Amanda was dead.

Johanna was close to Genevieve and adored Amanda. She treated the little girl like her own daughter.

Naturally, she was devastated to learn about Amanda's death. It was only normal for her to fly into a rage after discovering the truth.

Armand hung up and repeated Timothy's words to Genevieve. "It seems that Johanna is furious. Where do you think she'll go? Does she have keys to your condominium?"

"No." Genevieve shook her head.

It didn't make sense for Johanna to refuse to answer Genevieve's calls if the former was mad at Timothy because of Amanda's matter.

Genevieve tried calling Johanna a few more times but to no avail.

Subsequently, she recalled Hugh hired Johanna to be the stylist for his new project, so she called him immediately. Alas, Hugh said Johanna didn't contact him recently. Genevieve contacted all the possible places Johanna could be but still didn't manage to find the latter.

Worried, Genevieve called Charlotte and asked her to track Johanna's phone down. To her dismay, Johanna's phone was discovered in a dustbin outside a shopping mall.

The mall was a subsidiary of Specter Corporation, so Genevieve ordered someone to check the surveillance footage outside the mall. However, Johanna didn't even show up there.

It seemed that she threw her bag and phone away in a fit of rage and went into hiding.

However, no one knew where her hiding spot was.

Timothy was exhausted after searching for Johanna everywhere. He could only hope that she would come home after cooling down. By then, he would mollify her and offer his sincere apology. Alas, she remained missing three days later.

In the end, Asel started making a fuss when she realized her mother wasn't home. She wouldn't calm down no matter how hard Timothy tried to appease her.

Left with no choice, Timothy had to call Armand so he could send Amanda and Lucian over.

Asel was quickly distracted when the kids showed up to play with her. She sucked on her pacifier and stopped crying.

Armand said, "I've talked to the Ministry of Transport and asked for their help to find Johanna's whereabouts in the city's surveillance cameras. Her IDs were in her bag, so she should still be in the country." "This is the second time she got mad at me and disappeared for this long," Timothy responded.

Back then, when Johanna got pregnant and disappeared, Timothy was pretty flustered, but this time, he was gripped by fear. It was as though Johanna would never, ever show up in his life again.

As Armand dropped off the kids alone, Timothy asked, "Where is Genev? Didn't she come with you?"

Timothy had a lot on his plate right now, so Armand didn't want him to worry. Thus, he merely explained, "Cooper is at the hospital, so she went to visit him."

Armand stayed for a while before returning to Swallow Garden.

His car had barely rolled to a stop in the mansion's outdoor parking lot when the housekeeper's call arrived. "Mr. Faulkner, bad news."

Chapter 970

Armand got out of the car and hurried into the house.

In the bedroom, he saw Genevieve sitting on the carpet in a daze as the housekeeper knelt beside her, urgently dressing the wound on her wrist.

Armand froze when he spotted the blood splattered on the carpet. "What happened?"

"I came in to see if Mrs. Faulkner was awake but saw her digging at the wound on her wrist. She exerted more force when I tried to stop her." Genevieve slit her wrist a while ago, and the wound was slowly scabbing. Seemingly oblivious to the pain, she dug at her injury until it started bleeding again.

The housekeeper paled in fright when she saw the bloody scene in the bedroom.

Genevieve suffered from coagulation disorder, so her wound couldn't heal as quickly as normal people. Armand helped her put on a jacket and brought her to the military hospital.

On the way to the hospital, Genevieve made herself comfortable in Armand's embrace and soon fell asleep.

Once she fell asleep, Jack appeared in her dreams. She'd either dream about stabbing his stomach that night or him lying on the operating table.

The blurry scenes replayed again and again in her mind until she almost went crazy. The guilt in her heart was at its peak.

In her dreams, she sobbed and mumbled incessantly, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."

Hearing her mumbles, Armand looked down and realized her face was damp with tears. He brushed her tears away with his fingers as his heart ached for her.

After their chat in the bedroom that night, Genevieve seemed to have been struck by a thought, and her mental state gradually declined.

She kept apologizing in her sleep and was often in a daze in the morning. Sometimes, when playing with the kids in the living room, she would suddenly space out for a long while. Her mental state was worse today as she inflicted harm on herself.

At the military hospital, the medical staff came over and helped dress Genevieve's wound again.

Armand got her a ward and remained there as she slept soundly. After staring at her pale face for a long time, he suddenly got up and left.

Genevieve woke up to realize she was in a hospital ward.

A female doctor who was wearing a mask was beside her bed, flipping through her medical records.

Noticing that Genevieve was awake, the doctor came over and raised her bed. "Ms. Rachford, do you feel unwell?" she asked gently.

"My head aches badly, and there seems to be something weighing on my heart. I feel horrible," Genevieve responded honestly.

The doctor offered her a glass of water. Genevieve took it and thanked her gratefully.

After taking a few sips of water, Genevieve finally felt much better. She asked, "Why am I at the hospital?"

"You felt unwell, and your husband sent you here," the female doctor informed her, her tender voice soothing the restlessness in Genevieve's heart. The doctor then asked, "You look pale. Did you have nightmares for the past few days?"

"Did I have nightmares?" Genevieve was baffled.

The doctor chatted with Genevieve for over four hours and even kept Genevieve company when the latter had lunch in the ward.

After the doctor stepped out of the ward, she stood outside and observed Genevieve through the glass panel instead of leaving right away.

Once the doctor was gone, Genevieve was left alone with no one else to talk to. She sat on the bed and slowly began spacing out while glancing at the bandage on her wrist. The doctor sighed and went to the adjoining ward.

Armand was standing in front of the window, deep in thought. Did Genevieve's mental state worsen because of Mandy's fake death? Or did she think she killed Charice with her own hands? When the door was opened, Armand snapped out of his reverie and went to the female doctor. "How did it go?"

"She's feeling guilty over someone but doesn't know what to do. Thus, her mental state is declining day by day, causing her to space out for long periods," the doctor revealed. "Who is that person?" Armand asked.

The doctor shook her head. "She's the only one who knows who that person is. I can't counsel her. If this goes on, I'm afraid she'll become depressed." Depression was a form of pessimism.

The pessimistic outlook would soon consume her whole, ripping her apart. She wanted to live and be happy but didn't know how to do so.

The doctor told Armand solemnly, "If her condition worsens, she would subconsciously have the notion of committing suicide."