âYou know the identity of the murderer, right?â I grabbed Stevenâs hand tightly in slight agitation as he remained silent. âTell me who he is.
A look of panic crossed Stevenâs face. He turned his back against me, as if he was avoiding me. âI donât âYou do know who he is!â His reaction made me anxious. He must know who the murderer is, but why wouldnât he tell me?
Steven walked ahead in avoidance as he refused to reveal who the murderer was.
I followed him closely and questioned him repeatedly.
But no matter how I asked, he refused to budge.
I had thought of going to the police or telling Zion and Rachel, but right now, I was Stephany⦠not Stephanie.
No one would believe me.
Furthermore, from my interactions with the murderer, I could tell that he was somehow connected to Stephanie If I went after the killer before finding out what was going on, I would spook him while implicating myselfâ¦..
I rubbed my eyes in frustration.
Things were becoming more and more complicated.
I couldnât even calm down or figure anything out right now.
It would have been simpler if I were just an outsider. As luck would have it, Stephany was related to the murderer. If I implicated myself now, it would be harder for me to investigate further in the future.
âStephie⦠Letâs go home.â As I struggled frustratedly in my confusion, Steven walked over and held my hand.
I shook him off instinctively. âThe Stephie youâre referring to is Stephanie right? Iâm not Stephanie, Iâm Stephany.â
I couldnât admit that I was Stephanic.
Even Steven wouldnât be crazy enough to believe in reincarnation.
âYouâre Stephanie! Youâre her!â He grabbed my shoulders suddenly as if heâd lost his mind.
He was hurting me. At that moment, I was fearful. It was as if he was consciously âmakingâ me out to be Stephanie. Rather than recognizing me as Stephanie, it was more like he wanted Stephany to be Stephanie.
He was just like Michael. Both of them were using Stephany, a Stephanie lookalike, as a puppet to avold Stephanieâs death.
Ha, that must be why Steven had been so obedient and relaxed recently.
To him, Stephanie was no longer a person but a persona he created.
He was truly a lunatic.
âYou are Stephanie! You must be Stephanie, you can only be Stephanie⦠If youâre not her, Iâll kill you. âHe was still running amok.
âOkay, okay⦠Calm down.â My shoulders were hurting badly, so I tried anxiously to calm Steven down and change the topic. âWhen did you and Stephanie know each other?â
âMany years agoâ¦â Steven loosened his grasp suddenly and said bitterly.
âWhere did you meet?â I continued asking.
âThe orphanage,â Steven answered.
I looked at Steven in shock.
Orphanage?
Whatâ¦
That orphanage?
My head started to pound. The pain made me crouch to the ground as I held my head in my hands in agony.
That orphanage, those adopted redâdressed little girls, red dressâ¦
Perhaps that was why I found those red dresses familiar.
My memory was coming back to me. I had an identical red dress when I was a kid.
But when did Steven and I meet? Why didnât I remember anything?
A few years ago, as part of my dadâs act of charity, he sponsored kids from the orphanage and donated resources. Iâd follow my dad to the orphanage when he was carrying out his charity work.
Was that when I met Steven?
Why did I have no memory of it at all?
âStephieâ¦â Steven started to panic. He was starting to feel helpless after losing control. Crouching nervously in front of me, he said, âLetâs go home.â
I nodded as I reached my hand out to touch his forehead. His fever was gone.
âCarry me homeâ¦â I whispered as I tried my best to suppress my fear.
Stevenâs eyes lit up. He nodded and turned his back toward me, inviting me to climb onto his back.
I hesitated for a moment, but I eventually got on his back.
He was strong and tall. When he stood up, the change in gravity caused me to lose my grip momentarily. I hugged him tightly.
I whispered to Steven, âStay home. Donât wander around, okay?â
Martin and his people would stop at nothing to achieve their goal. Things had changed at the Lincoln household. After removing Steven, me, and the child I was carrying, Martin would be able to take over the Lincoln Group and the Lincolnsâ estate.