Serena couldn''t make sense of it.


    There were too many contradictions. But in her memory, her brother''s generosity toward Vanessa was an undeniable fact. Vanessa had shown off so many gifts from him—gifts that even Serena envied. Limited-edition handbags, a Ferrari, avish vi, not to mention the career support he gave her. If that wasn''t love, what was?


    She sighed. Just then, she spotted Eleanor talking to a nurse down the hall.


    Serena walked over and called out, "Ellie."


    "Yes?" Eleanor turned.


    "Ellie, I know I did a lot of things to hurt you in the past. Like that time at the pool... I shouldn''t have tricked you intoing, and I''m so sorry you fell in. It was the middle of winter, and you fell into that cold water-"


    Eleanor''s brow furrowed. "I didn''t fall in by ident," she stated coolly.


    Serena froze. "You mean... you didn''t slip?" She hadn''t thought much about the details of that day. She only remembered Vanessa telling herter that Eleanor had slipped and pushed her, and as Vanessa fell toward the pool, she had identally pulled Eleanor in with her.


    Eleanor stood with her hands in her pockets, her gaze fixed on Serena. "Vanessa pulled me in on purpose."


    Serena waspletely stunned, her eyes wide with disbelief. "She... she did?" But why would Vanessa im Eleanor had slipped and pushed her first?


    "I''m sorry, it''s all my fault. If it weren''t for me, you never would have gone to that party," Serena said, suddenly feeling that no matter what happened, Eleanor falling into the pool was entirely her fault.


    Eleanor had considered warning her about Vanessa''s character, but decided against it. It wasn''t worth the effort. She simply turned and walked away.


    Serena bit her lip, her heart still heavy with quilt. If she hadn''t mentioned to Vanessa that she should invite Eleanor over for dinner, the thought of ying a prank on her would never have crossed her mind. She blinked, annoyed at herself for listening to Vanessa. In fact, if Vanessa hadn''t brought it up, she wouldn''t have even thought of inviting Eleanor just to humiliate her.


    Serena clenched her fists in shame, feeling like aplete idiot.


    Wait a minute. Ellie just said Vanessa deliberately pulled her into the water, Serena chewed on her lip, torn. Who was she supposed to believe? She looked in the direction Eleanor had disappeared and


    single conclusion formed inther mind.


    Eleanor had no reason to lie to her.


    So, was Vanessa the one who was lying?


    Serena thought back to that night, how her brother had immediately dived in to save Vanessa, while Xavier had been the one to rescue Eleanor. How heartbroken and betrayed Eleanor must have felt that day. And she had been the one to


    set it all in motion.


    She shook her head. Vanessa was always so gentle, so considerate. Could she really lie about something like that?


    Serena ducked into the restroom. As she entered a stall, two nurses came in, chatting.


    "I hear Miss Shannon ising in tomorrow."


    "Yeah, I missed the veinst time. I can''t mess it up again."


    "You''d better be careful. Miss Shannon is not someone we can afford to offend."


    Serena pushed the stall door open and asked the nurses, "What''s the first name of this Miss Shannon you''re talking about?"


    The nurses jumped, startled to see her there. They exchanged a hesitant nce, unsure if they should say.