That day, they had been out drinking and hadn''t bothered to open the message Noreen sent. They rarely paid her any mind back then and just assumed it wasn''t anything important.


    And so...


    After that, theypletely misunderstood her. They even looked down on her for it.


    The moment he learned the truth, Healy had pped himself across the face. His mother had drylymented that one p was too light; ten wouldn''t be enough to atone for what he''d done.


    Now, it was Jude who wanted to p himself.


    "We all owe Noreen an apology," Healy said.


    In mid-June, the verdict came down from Yvonne Laurent and Lana''s second trial for premeditated murder.


    As an aplice, Lana was sentenced to seven years.


    Yvonne, the primary culprit, received a life sentence. The crime was deemed


    extremely severe, the social impact deplorable, and her attitude toward her guilt was uncooperative. Combined with other charges, the court opted for a harsher punishment.


    Noreen''swyer had already prepared her for this, so the oue was expected.


    But thewyer told her something else.


    Bianca had gone insane.


    Apparently, she was suffering from both physical and mental breakdowns. It was a rather tragic turn of events.


    Her case hadn''t been as serious as Yvonne''s, but she was still facing more than five years in prison. Who would have thought she''d actually lose her mind?


    Noreen recalled seeing her at the hospital and asked thewyer, "Wasn''t she in a detention center? Why was her kidney removed?"


    "The official story is that after multiple suicide attempts, she was transferred to a hospital for observation. There, she somehow managed to obtain and ingest arge quantity of illicit drugs, which led to acute kidney damage, followed by renal failure and a severe abscess. Ultimately, one of her kidneys had to be removed."


    Thewyer added, "Of course, we''ll never know the real truth. That''s just what we''ve been able to gather."


    Some things were known only to God and those directly involved. Everyone else could only rely on hearsay.


    In early July, Noreen took a trip to Northcrest for a coborative project.


    Wilbur and Eason yton gave her a warm wee, and of course, they invited Henry Brooke to join them.


    It had been a while since they had all gotten together, and Wilbur was even more talkative than usual.


    Eason was glued to his phone, seemingly texting someone. When Wilbur tried to sneak a peek, Eason shoved him away.


    "So secretive. Afraid I''ll steal her from you?" Wilbur teased.


    Eason replied with surprising seriousness, "Yes."


    Wilbur was taken aback. "Is my reputation really that bad?"


    Eason, Henry, and Noreen answered in unison, "You bet, buddy."


    Wilbur was speechless. "..."


    So much for friendship.


    Wilbur then turned to Henry. "What have you been up to for thest six months? You nevere out when we call. Don''t tell me you''ve been uyste


    secretly dating too? You guys


    made a pact to Stay single, and here you all are, sneaking off behind my back!"


    Noreen was the first to protest. "Not me."


    Henry added, "Me neither."


    "Then what have you been so busy with?"


    Henry replied evasively, "You know, just busy."


    Wilbur rolled his eyes. "That''s a whole lot of nothing. You''ve really mastered the art


    of the non-answer."


    When they were leaving, it turned


    out Hep


    and Noreen were heading in the same direction. Wilbur tasked him with driving Noreen back to her hotel, a job Henry happily epted


    On the way to the hotel, Henry asked Noreen when she was heading back to Rivercrest City.


    "Tomorrow," she replied.


    Henry paused for a moment before asking, "Are you going to visit Seth?"