Chapter 2: The Woman Who Came BackNo More Chances

Driven by years of hatred, I followed the address in the post to the awards ceremony.

Evelyn—the woman who should have been in hell paying for her sins—was standing onstage in a stunning gown, delivering her acceptance speech. "Professors, fellow students, thank you all so much for supporting my work. And most of all, I want to thank my mentor, Professor Langley. He was the one who gave me…"

The moment she saw me, her smile slowly disappeared.

Everyone in the room turned to look at me.

Cedric nervously grabbed my arm. "You can't come in without an invitation. You need to leave—"

I slapped him across the face and screamed, "How much longer are you going to keep lying to me? She's Elara!"

The room erupted in an uproar.

Evelyn timidly stepped backward, and Cedric quickly moved between us, lowering his voice. "Adeline, we'll talk about this when we get home. Be good."

I stared at him with bloodshot eyes as though he were a complete stranger.

I wanted to ask him how he could calmly coax me into pretending I had not seen any of this.

Before I could say anything, his students began gathering around me, speaking up indignantly.

"Mrs. Langley, it's been so long. I think it's time you let this go."

"You have no idea how much Evelyn has done for Professor Langley all these years. She's helped him finish one paper after another, and she takes care of him, too. You're just a housewife. Stop holding him back."

I opened my mouth, but no words came out.

The students who used to call me "Mrs. Langley" at every turn had apparently always seen me as nothing more than a parasite.

Just then, Cedric's grandmother, who suffered from dementia, was wheeled over in her wheelchair.

"Evelyn is my grandson's wife. Whenever she comes to visit, she sits and talks with me. Not like you. You're always crying at the hospital. You drive me crazy."

Every day, I changed her diapers, turned her over, and cleaned her body. I had cared for her more devotedly than the three caregivers before me. And yet, all of it still could not compare to a few sweet words from Evelyn.

Then, my brother stepped forward and spoke to me earnestly. "What's done is done. There's no point pursuing it anymore. The statute of limitations has expired, and the surveillance footage is no longer available.

"Cedric couldn't bear to see Evelyn go to prison when she was his student. Once I agreed to help them, I had to see it through. You're my sister. Do you really want to see me lose my job?"

I had trusted my only brother.

I had entrusted my son's case to him, believing he would give me a fair and just resolution.

Instead, he had simply dragged things out until all the evidence became unusable, ensuring Evelyn could live the rest of her life carefree.

Cedric reached up and wiped the tears from the corner of my eye.

"Maybe it's better that you know. Having to keep this secret buried all these years has been exhausting for me, too. Our son is already paralyzed. Sending Evelyn to prison won't change anything.

"Besides, it was an unintentional mistake. And she's currently going through an academic promotion review. She can't afford to have anything on her record. You understand that, don't you?"

He kept Evelyn firmly shielded behind him as everyone else looked at me warily. As if I were the monster everyone had to fear.

I stood there as the emotions churning inside me slowly ebbed away, leaving me without even the strength to make another scene.

"Cedric, we should get div—"

Before I could finish, the hospital suddenly called.

The voice on the other end was urgent. "Your child has a high fever that hasn't come down. Please come to the hospital as soon as possible!"