Chapter 18
设备
288 Vouchers
Walter paced relentlessly back and forth in his study.
His assistant stood trembling nearby, reporting the latest–still fruitless–search results.
“Check!
Dig into that Keith Garcia!
Uncover his entire background!
Scrutinize that research lab of his!”
Walter halted abruptly, bloodshot eyes locking onto his assistant.
“And focus on Amy’s watch!
Whatever it takes, get it repaired!”
That was his last shred of hope.
The custom–designed couple’s watch, beyond monitoring heart rates, held a hidden feature: emergency audio record- ing.
Originally crafted to preserve evidence should she ever face danger.
If she’d activated it that night under the bridge…
Walter couldn’t bear to dwell further, torn between crushing dread and a sliver of desperate hope.
“Yes, Mr. Davis!”
The assistant didn’t dare delay, immediately complying before exiting.
In the days that followed, Walter became a man possessed.
He abandoned all work, haunting the perimeter of Keith’s research institute like a specter.
From afar, he watched Amy–chatting animatedly with colleagues in her lab coat, beaming radiantly at Keith, her eyes bright and focused during experiments.
This version of Amy felt achingly unfamiliar.
The woman in his memory, since their child’s death, had resembled a withered flower, shrouded in suffocating grief and guilt, her brow perpetually shadowed by unshakeable melancholy.
Now, she radiated a vibrant vitality, dazzling in a way that shattered his heart.
0.0%
00:33
Chapter 18
288 Vouchers
She had truly come back to life–in a manner forever lost to him.
Each glimpse of her felt like a dull knife sawing through his chest.
He yearned to rush over, crush her into his embrace, reveal his identity, confess his bottomless regret, swear to make amends at any cost.
But he couldn’t.
Her gaze held only pure unfamiliarity, tinged with a faint, instinctive aversion.
Keith stood as an unwavering shield beside her, his own eyes fixed on Walter with unmistakable warning.
Finally, one day when Walter’s car idled yet again across from the institute, Keith emerged alone.
He strode directly to the vehicle and rapped on the window.
The glass lowered, revealing Walter’s haggard face, etched with exhaustion and bloodshot eyes.
“Mr. Davis.”
Keith’s voice was ice, carrying absolute finality.
“Leave. Now. And never show your face near Amy again.”
Walter’s throat worked, his voice gravelly.
“I just want to see her.”
“And who are you?
What gives you the right to order me?”
Keith’s eyes sharpened.
“Haven’t she suffered enough from you and those vipers you associate with?
Haven’t you seen how hard she fought to crawl out of hell, to find her smile again?”
“Walter, your very presence is torture and danger to her!”
Walter squeezed his eyes shut in agony.
“Shut up!”
“I know it’s my fault, but-”
Keith gave a cold laugh.
“Know it’s your fault?”
“Too late!
39.5%
00:33
Chapter 18
Amy is happy now. She’s forgotten every memory tied to you. Including Robert.”
Her world consisted solely of her beloved research and tranquil life.
That’s why she chose to forget!”
288 Vouchers
“If you possess even a shred of conscience, let her go. Free her completely from the shadow you cast, so she can be- come herself again!”
“If you reappear, I won’t hesitate to make you disappear–permanently–my way.”
After snapping these words, Keith didn’t spare Walter another glance. He turned and strode away, his silhouette rigid and resolute.
Walter slumped against the chairback, as if drained of all strength.
Keith’s words lashed like venomous whips against a heart already torn apart.
Let her go… let her become herself again…
So even his mere presence had become an original sin.
The woman he loved had chosen oblivion to escape him.
And he… didn’t even deserve to beg for forgiveness.
:
76.2 %
