For just a few seconds, Georgina completely blacked out—like she had lost consciousness. Shaking her head violently, she suddenly snapped back and her eyes flew wide open. The moment she realized what she’d just heard, her mind jolted awake like ice water had been poured over her.
“A psychiatric ward? How the hell am I supposed to—?”
Georgina shouted, her voice a notch higher than usual from the sheer shock. She stared at her young nephew, who could only gape wordlessly at the completely unexpected turn, while Winston remained composed as ever.
“That’s for you to figure out.”
“Ha!”
Georgina let out a short, breathless scoff of disbelief. What the hell was he saying all of a sudden?
“There’s something I need to hear from Andrew.”
Winston continued, slow and calm.
“So you go find out—before I find Andrew myself.”
“All of a sudden, why? And why me?”
Completely thrown, Georgina stammered in confusion.
“It doesn’t have to be me, does it? Why are you making me do something like this?”
Her voice trembled as the words finally spilled out. Her thoughts were racing too fast to make sense of anything, tangled in a chaotic mess of possibilities. As she blinked at him, Winston spoke again, eyes fixed on her.
“Catherine would let her guard down around you.”
His gaze narrowed.
“If I’m going to cut your family even the slightest bit of slack, I need a valid reason for it.”
……What?
The whirlwind of thoughts in her head instantly collapsed into a blank void. Georgina stared at Winston, eyes still wide open.
“What do you mean? A valid reason for what?”
No way. No way, no way.
Screaming sirens blared inside Georgina’s head. Does he know? Was Winston doing all this because he already knew everything? Then why say this to her? Why go through the trouble?
And if he really did know, then what happens next?
“By tomorrow afternoon, my secretary will be handing me a report.”
Winston’s voice remained disturbingly calm as he continued, addressing a now fully alert Georgina.
“You’ll need to give me your answer before then. Once the report’s in my hands, your information will be worthless.”
Only now did Georgina scramble to think—anything, say anything to buy herself a little more time…
She needed time to think.
“And if I say no… what happens then…?”
She asked, like a last desperate gasp for air. Winston gave a short, amused chuckle.
“Then it just means you’re not as smart as I thought.”
That was him being generous, considering. In this situation, defying him would be the kind of thing only a clueless toddler with no grasp of the real world might try.
“O-okay. I’ll… try.”
That was all Georgina could say. There was no escape route—nowhere to run. Still reeling from the shock, she turned stiffly to leave, but then paused mid-step.
“Why do you even need a reason to cut me a break?”
Her voice was strained, like she was wringing the words out from the depths of her chest. Winston responded like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
“Because you’re Angie’s friend.”
Georgina’s expression went slack with disbelief. Winston gave a faint chuckle, then added,
“If she never sees her friend again, my daughter would be upset, wouldn’t she?”
Until she finds a new one, I need you.
Georgina felt like she could understand the unspoken sentiment behind Winston’s words. With nothing more to say, she turned and left the study without even a goodbye.
What do I do…
Her brisk walk down the hallway turned into a full sprint. Reaching her room in a frenzy, Georgina slammed the door shut behind her and leaned against it, panting for breath.
Did Winston figure everything out? Is that why he needs one last testimony or something? But Andrew wouldn’t just talk easily… Unless I pretend I don’t know anything…
If I do that, he won’t let me off the hook either.
She’d heard all her life that the truth always comes out eventually—but now that it involved her, that idea felt like pure nonsense. Everyone had been living just fine, burying it all. So why now? And besides, she wasn’t even directly involved. Until recently, she hadn’t even known something like that had happened.
Does Winston think I know everything?
Maybe. Maybe not. Maybe he just assumed Andrew, drugged out of his mind, had blurted something. Or maybe—since she was the child of one of the people involved—he thought she deserved at least a chance before deciding whether or not to show mercy.
One thing was certain: Winston had given Georgina an opening. A way out.
Because I’m Angela’s friend.
For a moment, the image of her small, innocent friend felt like the most comforting shield in the world. But that didn’t change her current situation. Now she had to choose: continue living like she knew nothing, just like before… or take a leap of faith and cooperate with Winston as much as possible.
After agonizing over it, she finally made her decision.
But that alone wasn’t enough.
Something like Andrew being confined in a psychiatric ward—Winston’s secretary could dig up that low-grade information easily. She needed something more valuable. Something that couldn’t be pulled from a standard background check. Something like…
Pacing the room in thought, Georgina came to a sudden halt. The idea in her head was outrageous—based on layers of assumption stacked on top of one another. There was no proof that such a thing even existed. It might all just be her wishful thinking.
But if—if—it did exist…
Nothing could top the value of that kind of information.
Yeah… Let’s bet on that.
Her resolve solidified, Georgina reached for the phone on her desk. Punching in the extension, she woke up the butler and spoke quickly.
“Call a taxi for me. Right now.”
***
Haa, haa. Haa, haa…
Overwhelmed by a wave of intense dizziness, Yu-jin closed his eyes and gasped for breath. What had once been occasional nausea now felt constant—like it plagued him all day. He’d grown hyper-sensitive to smells, to the point where even the faintest scent of air freshener triggered his gag reflex. Because of that, every fragranced item in both the bedroom and the bathroom had been swapped out for scent-free alternatives. The butler and maids kept the rooms constantly ventilated, taking turns checking on his condition.
Hoo…
Letting out a long sigh, he finally flushed the toilet and stumbled out, only to find Winston standing just outside the door. Yu-jin looked up at him blankly, eyes dazed. Without asking a word, Winston scooped him up. Yu-jin wanted to push him away, but didn’t even have the strength for that. He gave up, letting his limp body fall into Winston’s arms.
With slow, deliberate care, Winston laid Yu-jin on the bed and leaned over him, watching. Yu-jin’s chest rose and fell in shallow breaths, his eyes closed, completely spent. He looked like he was half-unconscious. His condition had taken a sudden downturn since the previous afternoon. Though Yu-jin had stubbornly insisted he didn’t need to see a doctor, Winston had been monitoring him—until now.
He couldn’t wait any longer.
“We need to call a doctor.”
Winston spoke, though it wasn’t clear whether Yu-jin heard him. There was no reaction. Winston continued speaking under his breath, almost as if to himself.
“You’ve held out long enough. This is too much. Even Angela’s worried about you.”
At the mention of his daughter, Yu-jin flinched faintly. It might have been instinctive. The sight stirred a bitter feeling in Winston’s chest as he sat at the edge of the bed and gently brushed Yu-jin’s cheek with his hand.
Reopening the files on a case from years ago hadn’t been easy. Most of the records were gone, and even the official investigation notes contained nothing new—just information everyone already knew. Nothing stood out.
The bigger problem was the perpetrators themselves. There had been four of them. One was still missing to this day. The three who were caught had already served their sentences—one of them died from a drug overdose, another was drunk and got hit by a car. The last had vanished overseas, his whereabouts completely unknown. He might not even be alive anymore.
Which meant there were no witnesses left to support Yu-jin’s story.
No one—except for one person.
Andrew.
Winston furrowed his brow slowly. The problem was, that one person had never once changed his claim since the beginning. He’d maintained his innocence from the start.
“I just felt sorry for him and wanted to help.”
Andrew had sobbed, saying he only tried to befriend Yu-jin because he seemed lonely—and that it was Yu-jin who’d clung to him more and more. He even claimed that he’d kept everything secret to protect Winston, his own brother, but Yu-jin brought that rotten group of thugs home, and that’s when everything spiraled out of control.
The grown man had cried like a child, bawling loudly, swearing none of it was his fault.
And the thing was—he had evidence. There were countless messages proving that Yu-jin had contacted Andrew first. Even Yu-jin didn’t deny that. Though the reasons were different.
“I wanted to get close to your family.”
Yu-jin had said that with a bitter expression. But Winston couldn’t understand it. Why? Why would he want to get close to the Campbell family of all people?
Was it because Winston had been too busy and Yu-jin had felt lonely? Then he could’ve made any number of other friends. Why them?
How many times had he told Yu-jin there was no need?
You’ll never understand.
Yu-jin had spoken with an empty look on his face, then fell silent. Of course Winston couldn’t understand. Even now, he still didn’t. But in the end, none of that really mattered.
Andrew would probably say the same thing again this time. But this time, Winston’s thoughts had shifted. Maybe—just maybe—he’d see something he hadn’t before. Something he’d missed the first time around.
And if not…
Winston quietly looked down at Yu-jin’s face. His decision would be back to square one. Would he trust Yu-jin’s words despite the lack of evidence? Or accuse him of lying all over again?
Gazing down at Yu-jin’s sleeping face, Winston didn’t move for a long moment—then finally turned and left the room. Outside, the butler was waiting.
“Contact the attending physician. Tell him Yu-jin’s condition has worsened. If anything happens, notify me immediately.”
Winston spoke briskly as he walked, and the butler replied with a short “Yes, sir,” before following behind.
“Miss Georgina called a taxi and left around dawn.”
“Did she,” Winston answered simply, without stopping.
Without waking the still-sleeping child, he walked across the corridor and exited the mansion. Moments later, he got into the black sedan waiting for him.
As the sun began to peek over the horizon, the car sped off through the pale, misty dawn, rolling down familiar roads like it knew the way by heart.
is yujin actually pregnant?😱