“Thank you.”
I nodded at him and walked out. People in the research institute all turned to look at me.
Since my identity was exposed, my colleagues had been especially sympathetic.
In their eyes, everything I had achieved was the result of my own hard work. However, my brother, Jeffrey Shaw, had publicly declared on the company’s website that all my achievements were thanks to the Shaw family’s name. As such, I had no right to blame them, nor did I deserve any sympathy.
“El, perhaps you shouldn’t go back.”
“Yeah, I have an extra room at my place. There’s no need to go back and suffer, especially if you’re leaving soon anyway.”
Everyone was trying their best to console me, offering help in various ways. However, I only shook my head gently.
“It’s precisely because I’m leaving that I should go home.”
I needed to repay what I owed. Jeffrey’s words, though harsh, weren’t wrong. I had taken over his biological sister’s life for over 20 years. This was my fault, my debt to bear.
“El.”
Seeing my determination, they tried to persuade me further. I forced a smile and hugged each of them. “It’s okay. Remember, I’m as tough as they come. Just like our experiments—no matter how difficult, don’t we always pull through in the end? Trust me.”
I raised my hand in a gesture of encouragement, then stood up and headed home.
The Shaw residence wasn’t far from here, as it was investments from Jeffrey and my fiancé, Ivor Rhett, that funded the research institute.
To be closer to me, they even built two villas nearby, adjacent to each other. These were my two homes.
But now, there was no place for me in either villa. When I arrived, the household staff were openly hostile, too.
“Mr. Shaw has said that you are no longer part of the Shaw family. How do you still have the gall to show up here?”
“Someone steals 20 years of someone else’s life and still has the audacity to stick around.”
