Chapter 231: Back to One Year Ago

A few hours later, police and other law enforcement officers arrived at the Hayes family villa to seize the property.

Just as they entered the villa’s courtyard, the officer at the front suddenly exclaimed in surprise, "Look over there! Are those two people lying on the ground?"

"It is two people! Quick! Let’s go see what happened!"

The group rushed over to Sylvia Lancaster and Clara Hayes, leaning down to check on their condition.

"Looks like they fell from the building!"

"This one’s not breathing!"

"The one in white is still breathing! Quick, get her to the hospital!"

"Why is there a knife sticking out of her?! Be careful when you move her, don’t aggravate the wound!"

"..."

Amid the chaos, Sylvia Lancaster’s hand, hanging by her side, twitched slightly.

Her mind was clear, and she could distinctly hear the commotion around her, but her body was completely paralyzed, and she couldn’t make a sound.

In a daze, she felt herself being lifted and placed into a vehicle, followed by the sound of an engine starting.

It wasn’t long before she fell unconscious again.

* * *

When Sylvia Lancaster woke up again, she was in a hospital.

Staring at the white ceiling, Sylvia Lancaster was utterly bewildered. "I... How did I get here...? I was just in the pocket dimension..."

As her mind cleared completely, a searing, tearing pain shot from the knife wound in her abdomen.

A cold sweat broke out on Sylvia Lancaster’s brow from the pain. She frowned and muttered, "...Why am I injured...? What on earth is going on...?"

Sylvia Lancaster’s mind was a mess. She remembered going to fetch water from the stream in her pocket dimension, but the moment she entered, she’d lost consciousness.

When she’d come to, she realized she was lying on the cold ground with someone else. Her entire body ached, she couldn’t open her eyes, and she couldn’t speak.

Then, a group of people had appeared and discussed sending her to the hospital...

Sylvia Lancaster was still trying to search her memories when a man in a police uniform walked in.

Seeing that Sylvia Lancaster was awake, the police officer approached and asked, "You’re awake? How are you feeling?"

Sylvia Lancaster’s expression flickered with panic when she saw the officer.

’I just had my fiancé, Flynn Adler, "take care of" Melody Summers by sending her to his uncle’s bed. Seeing a police officer now, I can’t help but feel a pang of guilt.’

The officer saw her expression and assumed she hadn’t recovered from the shock of the fall. He quickly reassured her, "The doctor said you’re out of danger. You don’t need to worry."

Then the officer asked, "Did the two of you fall by accident? Do you remember what happened before you fell? Also, do you remember who gave you that knife wound in your abdomen?"

Hearing this, Sylvia Lancaster asked blankly, "A fall? Did I fall...?"

Seeing her reaction, the officer felt a flicker of doubt. ’Could the trauma from the fall have been so great that it caused temporary amnesia?’ he wondered.

The officer suppressed his doubts and continued patiently, "It’s alright if you don’t remember the fall. We’ll try to get the surveillance footage. Also, according to our investigation, you are Hector Hayes’s long-lost daughter. How much do you know about his business affairs?"

Sylvia Lancaster was even more confused. "Hector Hayes’s daughter? I’m not... Officer, my father’s name is Robert Lancaster!"

At this, the officer’s gentle expression turned stern. He said to Sylvia Lancaster, "Ms. Lancaster, I investigated your identity before I came here. I expect you to cooperate with my questions and tell the truth. Don’t try to mislead me!"

The officer had investigated Sylvia Lancaster before arriving, so he knew she had been officially recognized by the Hayes Family last month.

Now, watching Sylvia Lancaster deny her relationship with Hector Hayes, the officer assumed she was afraid of being implicated in the Hayes Family’s affairs and was lying on purpose.

With this in mind, the officer tried to reassure her again. "I know you only just returned to the Hayes Family, and you may not have been aware of their activities. Rest assured, we police always handle cases impartially. You won’t be implicated in matters you knew nothing about. You just need to tell us what you do know."

After these comforting words, his tone shifted. "But if you keep lying, it’s hard for me not to suspect you’re trying to hide something... So, I must insist that you tell the truth."

The officer stared into Sylvia Lancaster’s eyes and asked again, "How much do you know about Hector Hayes’s business affairs? Have you ever been to The Crestview Hotel?"

Sylvia Lancaster grew more and more confused. She waved her hands frantically. "Officer, I’m really not lying! I’ve never been to any Crestview Hotel, and I don’t know anything about Hector Hayes’s business!"

The officer watched Sylvia Lancaster thoughtfully, then asked her a few questions about Lily Adler and Raymond Hayes.

Sylvia Lancaster knew next to nothing in response to the officer’s questions. Not only that, but she found the questions themselves utterly baffling.

Sylvia Lancaster’s eyes widened, her face a mask of confusion as she replied, "Officer, I... I really don’t know any Lily Adler. How could she possibly be my mother? My mother’s name is Elaine Hughes!"

Seeing her reaction, the officer assumed she was still trying to evade his questions. He could only frown in frustration and say, "Ms. Lancaster, I’ll remind you again, I need you to cooperate with our investigation..."

Sylvia Lancaster was so frantic she was on the verge of tears. She really wasn’t lying! She truly didn’t know any Lily Adler, or whatever her name was!

’I don’t even know what’s happening! One moment I was in my pocket dimension, and the next I’ve apparently fallen from a building and been stabbed!?’

Meeting the officer’s scrutinizing gaze, Sylvia Lancaster said anxiously, "I swear! I’m not lying! I really can’t remember anything clearly. Officer, you just said I fell from a building... Could it be that I hit my head when I fell, and that’s why I can’t remember anything?"

Seeing that Sylvia Lancaster’s panicked state didn’t seem fake, the officer felt he couldn’t press her any further.

’Sylvia Lancaster just fell from a building and has a stab wound,’ he thought. ’It’s not like I can use the "Big Memory Recovery Technique" on her. Besides, she hasn’t been back with the Hayes Family for long, and plenty of evidence suggests she had no connection to their business... My visit today was just a routine inquiry.’

At that thought, the officer sighed. He stood up, told Sylvia Lancaster to get some rest, and then walked out of the hospital room.

After the officer left, Sylvia Lancaster was still completely baffled.

She looked around the empty hospital room, wondering why no one had come to look after her.

Then a thought occurred to her. ’I’ve probably only just been admitted, so my family doesn’t know yet. After all, my parents and my brothers all dote on me. If they knew I was in the hospital, they would have rushed right over to fuss over me.’

With that, Sylvia Lancaster struggled to pull out her phone, wanting to contact Robert Lancaster and Elaine Hughes to come see her at the hospital.

But the moment she saw the phone’s screen, her eyes shot wide open—

There on the screen, in bold letters, was the year: 2026!

Sylvia Lancaster gasped. She struggled to sit up, but in doing so, she accidentally pulled at the wound in her abdomen, and a tearing pain flared up instantly!

Through the overwhelming pain, Sylvia Lancaster came to a shocking realization—she had somehow traveled back in time a whole year!?