"How did she treat you? If I hadn’t had someone switch the red wine beforehand tonight, if you had also drunk the wine, you would have died at her hands."

Edward Benson, of course, knows how ruthless Linda can be. In her eyes, he is merely a tool deliberately helping her complete her mission.

Sophie Sullivan took a sip of water and lowered her voice, "Thomas Shannon, stop hitting him so hard. I don’t think he’s going to make it."

"Women’s benevolence," Thomas Shannon snorted coldly. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

Sophie glared at him, "Are you teaching me to be harsher with you in the future, to avoid women’s benevolence, is that it?"

Thomas Shannon shot her a fierce glare with his cold eyes, "You dare!"

"Hmph, try me and see if I dare." The proud Miss Cecilia Branford was back online, releasing his arm and sitting upright by herself.

She appears to adopt the attitude of ’what are you glaring at, we’re not familiar.’

Thomas Shannon, with his long arms like a doctor, pulled her into his embrace again. Her interruption made him forget what he was saying.

"Where was I just now?"

Edward Benson raised his head, lost and desolate, "Thomas, how did you discover that Linda was going to make a move on you tonight?"

"Instinctively, I believe that people bound by gratitude, especially those who are trained, won’t easily betray. So when I knew you were bringing her, I already had a plan. At the golf course, when I went to chase Harry, it actually gave her the best opportunity to strike. I don’t know why Linda didn’t act then. Having missed this opportunity, Linda will surely find another way to make a move. Inside the castle, all the servants and maids were prepared and guarded. Knowing Linda was going to return to rest, I instructed Charlie River to deliberately leak some information for Linda to hear. Sure enough, Linda heard it and indeed took action. She left the guest room and quietly sneaked into the restaurant, drugging the red wine in the wine decanter. She thought she was doing it without anyone noticing but didn’t know it was a trap. The servant withdrew from the restaurant early in the morning, giving her enough time to make a move."

Thomas Shannon drank two sips of water and looked faintly at Edward Benson, "The rest of the story, you know it. Do I still need to say it?"

"Then what about the blood you threw up... how did that happen?"

"After Linda went upstairs, the servant immediately replaced the wine she drugged. As for the blood vomiting... you forgot that I went to the restroom before I started vomiting? I went to get a blood bag, hid it in my mouth, and when I wanted to vomit blood, I just bit the blood bag."

With this, all the causes and effects are already clear.

Edward Benson slumped against the sofa, raising both his hands to cover his face. A voice full of self-blame and guilt poured out from between his fingers, "I’m sorry, Thomas... I’m so sorry to you."

"You have nothing to apologize for to me. Linda is Linda, you are you. The reason I did this was to let you know that her heart belongs to Linda, not your Isla Stanley. Before you invest your true feelings, consider well if you can really gain a response."

As a friend, Thomas Shannon knows that verbal reminders are ineffective for him.

So, he can only let him see the reality of the affair clearly, to realize that Linda is not the Isla Stanley from back then.

They are almost completely different people.

He’s unaware that he has transferred all his guilt and love for Isla to Linda, is he?

Edward Benson is so ashamed he can’t lift his head. Suddenly, he grabs a gun from Charlie River’s side, aiming it at his own arm.