He still refused to believe, so Charlie River had to forcibly pull him back.

He watched Sophie Sullivan and Thomas Shannon with his own eyes, as they were laughing and bickering.

Where was the appearance they had inside Restaurant just now?

"Thomas, you..." Edward Benson stepped forward a few steps, looked at his shirt, and then at his face.

His facial color was rosy and radiant, extremely healthy!

How could he look like someone poisoned, coughing up blood, losing too much blood?

"Edward, sit." Thomas Shannon gestured for him to sit down first before speaking.

Edward Benson’s facial color was ashen, and he gradually sat down, still unable to understand what had happened.

Hadn’t he already been poisoned?

Why... is he sitting here perfectly fine now?

Linda said there was no antidote, so how did he recover?

Numerous questions kept flashing inside mind, causing Edward Benson’s breath to become rapid, "Thomas, tell me, what’s truly happening here."

Thomas Shannon leaned forward, poured three cups of water, placed one in front of him, handed one to Sophie Sullivan, and held one himself. He took a few sips for throat-soothing before hooking up the corner of the mouth and slowly speaking: "As you see, I’m fine. Tonight, I had prepared everything in advance, so Linda didn’t succeed."

"What... advance preparation?" Edward Benson’s brain was blank; he had already lost the ability to think.

Linda’s departure had taken away his soul, and what remained was only a shell.

Thomas Shannon played with the water cup in his hand, lowering his eyelids. His tone was casual, yet carried a stern chill, "To be honest, last time when you brought Linda to apologize, I didn’t feel her sincerity. For someone who has once attempted to assassinate me, I’m not so easily dropping my guard. Linda is not just anyone; she’s Isla Stanley’s, Lillian Spencer painstakingly cultivated Linda. For what purpose? How could she easily give up this chess piece?"

A thought flashed inside mind, fleeting beyond grasp, Edward Benson’s lips trembled, "You’re saying... from the very beginning..."

He no longer dared to continue speaking.

Thomas Shannon hooked up the corner of the mouth slightly, pulling out a mocking arc, "Linda has always been manipulating you; what she said about leaving Lillian Spencer was just a lie to lower your guard. As for what she wants to do, it’s nothing but using you to get close to me and attempt to assassinate me. I didn’t tell you before, firstly because Linda hadn’t made any substantial move, and secondly, because I didn’t want to speak without any evidence and be refuted by you. Yesterday, I received your telephone call saying you wanted to bring Linda along, and honestly, at that time, I began to suspect that Linda planned to make a move today." 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Edward Benson’s face drained of the color of blood, his eyes already lost focus, dim like a falling meteor, lifeless, "Since you knew, why did you agree to let me bring Linda?"

"To make you give up, to make you see Linda’s true face. She hadn’t truly returned to you; she was merely using you. Everything was just an illusion she created to deceive you while using you."

Thomas Shannon pierced the truth directly, "Edward, Linda doesn’t love you."

Edward Benson buried his face in his hands, his voice choked with sobs, "I know... I know she doesn’t love me. Her returning alive is the greatest comfort to me. So... I don’t dare to have too many extravagant hopes for her."

Thomas Shannon snorted with laughter, "You devote yourself wholeheartedly to her, but what about her?"