Chapter 511

Albert Sullivan stood at the cemetery entrance, hesitating.

He remembered his father's clouded eyes on his deathbed, and the drastic change in his elder brother Liam's father's expression upon hearing the word "amnesia."

It was a reaction bordering on fear.

As if what he had forgotten wasn't just a memory, but a Pandora's box.

Albert finally turned and walked toward his car.

As the engine started, he looked through the window toward the depths of the cemetery.

Why was his elder brother so averse to it?

Why had his father refused to speak of it until his dying day?

These questions coiled around him like vines, tightening relentlessly.

He couldn't let them know.

At least, not now.

Albert returned to the villa and changed out of his suit, damp with morning dew.

The man in the mirror had silver streaks at his temples, but his eyes were clearer than before.

Those fragmented images were reassembling.

Amelia Sullivan's smile.

The child's crying.

And... blood.

He closed his eyes for a moment, then picked up his phone.

In his contacts, the name "Vivian Bennett" stood out painfully.

This was a debt he owed.

And the only compensation he could offer.

Vivian was staring blankly at her computer screen.

It had been a week since Liam had "confined" her to the top floor of Sullivan Group.

Under the guise of being his personal assistant, it was really just a change of venue for keeping an eye on her.

When her phone vibrated, she jumped.

Seeing the caller ID made her heart clench.

"Liam..." she whispered, holding the phone like a hot potato. "It's your uncle."

The man behind the desk looked up.

Sunlight slanted through the floor-to-ceiling windows, gilding the sharp angles of his profile.

"Answer it," he said with a single word.

Vivian bit her lip and pressed the answer button.

"Uncle."

There was a two-second silence on the other end.

"Vivian." Albert's voice was somewhat hoarse. "Do you have time? Your uncle would like to take you to dinner."

Vivian was stunned.

She even wondered if she had misheard.

"You... what?"

"Just a simple meal," Albert added, his tone uncharacteristically gentle. "I heard about some recent incidents. You must have been frightened. Consider it... to settle your nerves."

His words were impeccably phrased.

Yet Vivian only felt a chill run down her spine.

She forced a dry laugh. "Thank you for your concern, Uncle, but I've been very busy lately. I probably don't have the time—"

"I understand," Albert interrupted, his voice lowering. "About the past... I was wrong. That dog, and... many things. I apologize to you."

Vivian's fingers tightened around the phone.

An apology?

Albert Sullivan, who had almost strangled her, was apologizing?

"It's... it's fine," she heard herself say.

After hanging up, Vivian let out a long sigh.

Liam walked over and wrapped his arms around her from behind.

"Scared like that?" he chuckled, his warm breath brushing her ear. "Uncle won't eat you."

"Scarier than being eaten," Vivian turned and buried herself in his embrace. "He invited me to dinner and apologized. Liam, this is too bizarre."

Liam stroked her back.

"People can change."

"Too fast," Vivian looked up, eyeing him suspiciously. "Do you know something?"

Liam didn't answer.

He simply lowered his head and kissed her lips.

The kiss was light, carrying a soothing quality.

Vivian gradually relaxed, her arms encircling his neck.

Just as their lips intertwined and their breaths grew ragged—

The office door was flung open.

"Aiden, that contract—"

Ryan Johnson's voice cut off abruptly.

He stood in the doorway, a stack of files in hand, his expression frozen.

Vivian sprang away from Liam's arms like a startled rabbit.

Her cheeks flushed crimson.

Liam, however, remained composed.

He released Vivian, straightened his cuffs, and looked up at Ryan.

"What is it?"

Ryan finally snapped back to reality, coughing awkwardly.

"Um... the contract for the coastal project needs your signature."

He walked in, placed the files on the desk, deliberately avoiding looking at Vivian.

"I'll step out."

The door closed again.

Vivian covered her face, her ears burning red.

"So embarrassing..."

But Liam smiled.

He pulled her hands down and gave her lips another light peck.

"What's there to fear? We're legally married."

"That's not the point!" Vivian glared at him. "This is an office!"

"My office," Liam raised an eyebrow. "I can do whatever I want."

Vivian couldn't argue with him and sat back on the sofa, pouting.

Liam picked up the contract to review it, a smile lingering at the corner of his mouth.

Until he reached a certain page, where his smile gradually faded.

"Vivian."

"Hmm?"

"About Uncle..." Liam paused. "If he contacts you again, tell me."

Vivian was taken aback.

"Why?"

Liam didn't answer.

He simply closed the contract, picked up a pen, and signed his name on the last page.

The pen tip scratched against the paper with a soft rustle.

"Some things need to be settled."