And she wasn’t the only one drowning in regret. Raelynn, Julie, and Susie all felt the same. Tears welled up in Raelynn’s eyes. "I’m his mother… and yet I made the biggest mistake of my life!" Her voice cracked. "Arthur is my own son—my own flesh and blood! And instead of loving him, I wasted my affection on that woman’s son! How could I have been so blind? I don’t deserve forgiveness!" By the time she finished, she was sobbing uncontrollably. But they were still in a hospital, surrounded by people. To keep John from noticing, Raelynn pressed both hands over her mouth, desperately trying to stifle her cries. A deep bitterness welled up in Susie’s chest. The more she thought about how foolish she had been, the more she wanted to slam her head against a wall. She couldn’t believe it—she couldn’t wrap her mind around how utterly blind she had been. Two years ago, at Zac’s birthday banquet, they had already learned the truth about him. Yet instead of correcting their mistake and making things right with Arthur, they had spent the last two years still blindly defending Zac, that deceitful, manipulative fraud. Sure, Zac was a convincing liar, but if they had even an ounce of critical thinking, they never would have been so easily deceived. For years, she had believed that Zac had saved her and her sisters’ lives, and because of that, she had showered him with endless affection. But two years ago, they had found out the truth—it was Arthur who had saved them. Not Zac. She had known Zac had lied. She had known he was manipulating them. And yet, she had still made excuses for him, telling herself that he had only lied because he was afraid of losing their love, that he was more pitiful than Arthur because he had no real parents. Looking back now, Susie realized just how pathetically selfish she had been. Even before they knew the truth, even if they had genuinely believed Zac had saved them—that was their own issue. It had nothing to do with Arthur.So why had they sacrificed Arthur’s happiness just to make Zac feel loved? For ten years, they had chosen the wrong person. And now, as Susie remembered all the cruel, heartless things she had said and done to Arthur, a terrible realization settled over her. How could Arthur ever forgive me? Raelynn and her daughters wept for what felt like an eternity. Finally, Julie straightened up and patted their backs, her voice turning cold and resolute. "Dad and Zac have treated us like this… and they treated Arthur even worse. We can’t let them get away with it. When the time comes, I just hope Arthur will be able to forgive us—even if just a little." At her words, the others slowly regained their composure, drying their tears. A fierce determination burned in Raelynn’s eyes. "Once John is well enough to get out of bed, he’ll definitely go looking for that woman. When that happens, we need to be prepared. We have to gather solid evidence." Julie and her sisters nodded without hesitation. For now, they had to play their roles—devoted wife and dutiful daughters. They had to care for John and Zac, make sure they recovered quickly… so that when the moment was right, they could strike without mercy. Meanwhile, at the Fraser Residence. The entire Fraser family sat frozen, their eyes locked on the bold red text, Nationwide First Place. Martin shook his head in disbelief. "Not only is he the chairman of Cloudia Corporation, but now he’s the top SAT scorer in the entire country too." Daisy, however, was having a meltdown. She clutched her head and wailed dramatically. "I told you we shouldn’t have let Tia break off the engagement! We made the biggest mistake of our lives!" At that, Martin’s patience finally snapped. He jabbed a furious finger at Daisy’s face. "Oh, now you have something to say? Who was the one who pushed for the engagement to be canceled? Who insulted Mr. Gray and went crawling after Zac? Have you even looked at yourself? That vicious mouth of yours is the reason our family’s fortune is in shambles!"For years, he had put up with her nonsense. He had swallowed his anger for the sake of family harmony. But now, after witnessing Arthur’s meteoric rise, he wasn’t going to hold back anymore. Daisy was stunned by Martin’s outburst. She had never expected him—the quiet, mild-mannered Martin—to shout at her like that. But after her initial shock, she snapped. She shot to her feet, jabbing a finger right in Martin’s face. "Oh, so now it’s all my fault? Didn’t you agree to it back then? Weren’t you also convinced that Zac was the better choice? But now that Arthur turned out to be successful, you suddenly want to blame me? You’re just a pathetic coward! If you were as successful as Arthur, then Tia wouldn’t need to suck up to anyone—she’d be the one people chased after!" That was it. Martin couldn’t hold back anymore. No man could hold back after hearing that. His fists clenched, veins bulging as his eyes turned bloodshot. "You… you vile woman! So this is what you’ve really thought of me all these years? Let me remind you—when I married you, you were the one chasing me! You begged me to marry you! And now you want to act like I was never good enough? If I wasn’t good enough, then why were you so desperate to marry me in the first place?"