Ch. Ch 29 Don’t come back Ch 29

I returned to North City to visit my mentor, Professor Zhang. 

After twelve years apart, his hair had turned completely white. 

He told me about Axel and Ryker’s collapse and remorse during the twelve years I’d been gone. 

Ryker had fallen into despair, ending up in the emergency room dozens of times due to alcohol poisoning. 

Axel, in his years of grief, had volunteered for numerous medical experiments and research projects at the academy. 

The constant all–nighters and overwork had caused his health to deteriorate steadily. 

As for Willow, she’d been driven out of the pack house. Accustomed to a life of luxury, she refused to return to the orphanage. 

Later, she fell in with a group of troublemakers and was involved in a devastating motorcycle accident while joyriding. 

She barely survived, but broke her leg and suffered brain damage. 

No one knew where she had ended up—just another mentally impaired homeless child. 

Whether she was alive or dead, nobody knew for certain. 

As I listened to all this, I felt only calmness inside. 

Finally, Professor Zhang sighed softly: “They know they were wrong. 

“All these years, they’ve been filled with regret. 

“Ember, have you ever thought about…” 

I gently interrupted him: “I don’t think about it anymore. For me, it’s all in the past.” 

I would dedicate the rest of my life to pharmaceutical research and development. 

As for my two brothers, I couldn’t say I hated them, but I had no desire to look back. 

When I turned thirty–seven, I married Derek. 1 

Because of our age, Derek didn’t want me to risk childbirth, so we adopted a newborn daughter. 

When our daughter turned three, I threw her a birthday party. 

After the celebration, I saw off the last few guests. 

As I turned to go back inside, I noticed Axel and Ryker standing in the shadows beneath a distant tree. 

That year, I was forty, and they were approaching fifty. 

1/3 

Axel sat in a wheelchair, which surprised me enough that I looked twice. 

They must have been standing there for a long time but hadn’t dared to come in. 

When they noticed my gaze, their eyes lit up with joy. 

Ryker immediately pushed the wheelchair, hurrying toward me. 

I then noticed they were both carrying gifts. 

Ryker cautiously handed me a gift box: 

“This is for your daughter. We hope… we hope she likes it.”