C139 Prison

Sarah stared at the message on her phone, and before she could even reply, a warm smile spread across her face. Somehow, she was reminded of the first time Chris had called her "Angel." It had been shortly after the incident in France.

Back then, she had been embarrassed, but now the nickname felt strangely comforting. Her fingers gently rested on her lower abdomen before she typed a reply. "Yup. So, what do you want to eat? What should we order for lunch?" Only a few seconds later, Chris replied. "You." Sarah froze.

Her face instantly turned crimson. "Naughty..." she whispered shyly. She stared at the message for several seconds before placing her phone face down on the desk. "There is no way I'm replying to that." Yet despite saying those words, she couldn't stop smiling.

Meanwhile... At the police station, Alicia, Josh and I were each taken into separate interrogation rooms. The officers questioned us one by one. Alicia answered calmly, explaining everything from beginning to end. I did the same. Our statements matched perfectly with the confession recorded from Ben.

Only Josh continued pretending to know nothing. "I don't remember." "I don't know." "I wasn't involved." The investigating officer slammed his notebook shut. "Mr. Josh Tryon." "You are making things worse for yourself." "If you continue lying, you will also be charged as an accomplice."

Josh swallowed nervously. Sweat slowly rolled down his forehead. He knew he could no longer protect Ben. After several minutes of silence... He finally lowered his head. "I'll tell you everything..." The officers immediately began recording his statement. "Ben Wood hated Mike from the very beginning." "When Mike started dating my daughter, Laura, Ben approached me."

"He told me to keep monitoring Mike's work." "He said I should find another man for Laura to marry." "He even transferred two million rand into my account to organize Laura's engagement." Josh's voice became weaker. "But..." "...before everything could happen..." "...Ben wrote a false statement accusing Mike of rape." "He ordered me to force my daughter into signing it." "My daughter refused many times..."

Tears formed in Josh's eyes. "But..." "I emotionally blackmailed her." "I told her I would die if she didn't help me." The room became silent. Josh lowered his head completely. "Later..." "My daughter tried to take her own life." "I destroyed my own child." The officers quietly finished writing every word.

One of them stood up. "Mr. Josh Tryon..." "You know how serious this is?." "You could be arrest for conspiracy, accepting a bribe, participating in filing a false criminal report, intimidating a witness, and attempting to obstruct justice." Josh slowly closed his eyes. He offered no resistance.

Elsewhere... Ben had already completed the paperwork for his detention. An officer read the charges aloud. "Benjamin Wood." "You are charged with conspiracy to fabricate evidence, bribery, filing false criminal accusations, perverting the course of justice, witness intimidation, and conspiracy to unlawfully imprison an innocent person." "You will remain in custody while awaiting trial." "Bail is denied."

Ben clenched his fists. "This is ridiculous!" "You have no right!" The officers ignored him. Soon afterward, he was transported to prison. The heavy iron gate closed behind him with a loud clang. For the first time in his life... Ben felt genuine fear. As he entered the cell block, two muscular prisoners slowly approached him. Both were covered in tattoos.

One cracked his knuckles. "So..." "Mr Wood’s son has finally arrived." The other smiled coldly. "We own this block." "If you want to live peacefully here..." "You pay rent." Ben frowned. "You think I'd pay criminals?" The smile disappeared from both men's faces. Without warning... A fist landed squarely on Ben's stomach. Another struck his face. A third kick knocked him onto the cold concrete floor. They beat him mercilessly.

The prison guard standing nearby merely glanced over before looking away. Clearly... This wasn't the first time something like this had happened. Several minutes later, the two men finally walked away. Ben remained lying on the floor, every part of his body aching. His expensive clothes were covered in dirt. His lips were bleeding. He had never experienced such humiliation before. For the first time... He regretted acting arrogantly. Police Minister... How did I forget Alicia's father... How could I be so careless...

When lunchtime arrived, Ben painfully dragged himself toward the serving counter. Just as he received his tray... Two different prisoners blocked his path. One grabbed the food. The other laughed. "Newcomers don't eat on the first day." "You're still full from the meals your servants cooked at home." They walked away with his lunch.

Ben watched helplessly. His stomach growled loudly. He slowly returned to his cell. Inside sat another inmate reading an old newspaper. The man looked up before suddenly smiling. "Wait..." "Aren't you Benjamin Wood?" "The Kelvin Wood's son?" Ben weakly nodded. The prisoner chuckled. "I can tell they welcomed you properly."

Ben forced a bitter smile. "They took my food..." "They beat me..." The man stood and extended his hand. "My name is Jack." "I've been here long enough for people to know not to mess with me." He looked directly into Ben's eyes. "If your father can pay me..." "I'll make sure nobody touches you."

Ben's eyes immediately brightened. "You can really protect me?" Jack nodded confidently. "They won't dare touch you again." "But protection isn't free." "It either you pay or you will be my girlfriend. Ben quickly nodded. I will pay." He finally saw a small ray of hope.

At Wood IT Company... It was lunchtime. Chris nervously walked toward Sarah's office. He knocked softly. "Come in." Her gentle voice answered. When Chris entered, he froze. The table was completely covered with food. There were steaming bowls of Cullen Skink, plates of Haggis with neeps and tatties, freshly baked Scottish oatcakes, slices of black pudding, buttery shortbread, and two glasses of chilled juice.

Chris blinked. "Angel..." "Why did you order so much?" "You're wasting money." Sarah laughed before walking straight toward him. Without saying a word... She wrapped her arms around him. Chris smiled before hugging her back. Then he leaned close and whispered into her ear, "I told you..." "I wanted to eat you."

Sarah instantly blushed. "You..." She gently pushed him. "Behave yourself." "We have serious things to discuss." "We need to decide on baby names." Chris smiled. "No discussion needed." "If it's a boy..." "His name will be Frank." Sarah folded her arms. "And if it's a girl?" "You say it." Her eyes widened. "That's unfair!" "You've obviously been thinking about that name for weeks." "You should give me time too."

Chris laughed. "I will." "But..." "On a condition." Sarah already knew where this was going. "What condition?" "A kiss." Her cheeks turned bright red. Only the two of them were inside the office. After looking toward the closed door... She slowly stood on her tiptoes. Then... She gently kissed his lips.

Chris smiled with satisfaction. He carefully placed one hand on her lower abdomen. "My child..." "Take good care of your mother." "Don't make her suffer too much." Sarah couldn't help laughing. "You've already started talking to the baby." "Of course." "I'm the father." The two enjoyed lunch together while discussing names, future plans and nursery ideas. When lunchtime ended, Chris reluctantly returned to his department. Sarah watched him leave before softly smiling to herself. "Life..." "I don't think it'll ever be boring with him around."

Alicia and I returned from the police station shortly after lunch. Luckily, she had packed lunch boxes before leaving that morning. We went straight to my office. While eating, we continued working on our banking system. Everything was progressing smoothly. Only a few more days remained before the project was complete.

After several minutes of silence, Alicia suddenly looked at me. "Nerd..." "Did your ex ever reply to your message?" I took out my phone. "You still call me nerd?" After checking the latest messages, I nodded. "She did." "What did she say?" I smiled faintly. "She said..." "The obstacle has finally been removed. Now we can start again." Alicia simply smiled. "It seems..." "We'll have to get married very soon."

I laughed before pointing toward the jade bracelet on her wrist. "Beauty..." "You're already wearing my family's heirloom." "You don't have anything to worry about." She looked down at the bracelet before smiling warmly. "I knew it." "I knew giving me the heirloom was your idea." I simply smiled. Sometimes... There was no need to answer. Some feelings were already understood without words.