14 . Tom Hard

Serena was truly furious—she wanted nothing more than to beat David, to make him feel the same pain Elena had suffered when he kicked her. But upon reading the report stating that David was now in custody, she could only suppress her thirst for revenge.

She furrowed her brows, realizing that neither Elena nor Darian had informed her when Elena was in the hospital.

"Shit!"

Serena cursed in anger.

The taxi driver glanced at her through the rearview mirror, sensing the powerful aura she emitted. Choosing to stay silent, he pretended not to notice the blood on Serena's hand.

It was only when she pulled out her phone that Serena noticed her injured hand. Her nails had broken, piercing through her skin due to how tightly she had clenched her fists in anger.

She quickly grabbed a tissue from her bag and cleaned the blood from her wounds. Once finished, she sent a short message to Darian.

(Meet me at *****. Don't let Mom find out.) – Serena.

Moments later, she received a reply.

(Okay.) – Darian.

Not long after, Serena arrived at the agreed location. She tried to calm herself, not wanting to unleash her emotions on Darian.

However, before she could succeed in controlling her anger, Darian arrived and immediately sat across from her.

Serena glared at him sharply, unable to hide her frustration, sadness, disappointment, and worry. All her emotions were evident in her emerald eyes.

"Why didn't you tell me about Mom?!"

she asked, trying to keep her voice from rising.

"Your mother didn't want to worry you," Darian answered honestly.

"You should have told me anyway!"

Serena protested.

Her eyes began to turn red and watery. Seeing this, Darian let out a deep sigh.

"I'm sorry for not telling you, S. But I couldn't go against your mother's wishes."

Serena knew that for Darian, Elena was everything. He would grant whatever she wanted.

Closing her eyes for a moment, Serena took a deep breath. When she opened them again, her tearful gaze had been replaced with a calm expression.

"How is she?" Serena asked about her mother.

Darian told her everything without hiding any details. Serena listened intently.

"I'm relieved that she's getting better," Serena sighed.

"Is Mom still in the hospital?"

"No, she was discharged two days ago."

Serena frowned upon hearing this. If Elena was home, then who was taking care of her? Even though Darian was willing to look after her, he still had to teach at the university, leaving Elena alone at home.

"I took a leave of absence and moved in with your mother to take care of her,"

Darian said, reading Serena's thoughts from her expression.

Hearing this, Serena nodded.

"How long will David be in custody?"

she suddenly asked, her gaze sharp.

Darian remained silent, as there was no final decision yet.

"It's uncertain, but if found guilty, the maximum sentence is five years."

"Five years? Hah! He should rot in prison forever," Serena said bitterly.

Darian nodded, agreeing with her.

"Professor… please take care of Mom," Serena added, her voice tinged with sadness. "If she doesn't want me to know about her condition, then let's pretend I don't know anything."

Darian smiled gently, feeling that Serena had matured.

"Of course, I'll take care of her. Don't worry," he assured her.

Serena returned his smile, though only briefly.

"Now, can you tell me what happened to your hand?" Darian asked once he saw that Serena had calmed down.

"Oh… this?"

Serena was slightly surprised by his question. She had tried to make her hand look normal, but Darian still noticed the injury.

"I got it from trying to suppress my emotions when I found out what happened to Mom," she admitted.

Darian sighed deeply.

"Make sure to apply medicine when you get back to the dorm, so it heals quickly,"

he advised.

"Okay," Serena replied shortly. Darian shook his head, knowing that she was only pretending to agree.

"Wait here. I'll go to the pharmacy,"

Darian said, standing up.

Serena stopped him. "Okay, okay, I'll take care of it! You don't need to buy anything. Just go home! Mom shouldn't be left alone."

"Promise?" Darian asked, seeking confirmation.

Serena rolled her eyes but eventually nodded.

Darian smiled, satisfied.

&&&&&

After parting ways with Darian, Serena didn't return to the dormitory. Instead, she wandered around the city, searching for a quiet place to think.

She was trying to figure out who had given money to the West family. She suspected their motives—because after receiving the money, David suddenly started approaching her, trying to persuade her to take his side.

"And who is this Tom? Does he know Mom?" Serena muttered to herself.

As if remembering something, she took out her phone and called Frau.

"Hello," Frau answered briefly.

"Do you have any information on Tom?" Serena asked without any greetings.

"Of course! But since you originally asked for information about the West family, I didn't dig too deep into Tom's background," Frau replied.

"Who is he?"

"There's not much information on him. What I could find is that his name is Tom Hard, an orphan. He currently works as a manager at an insurance company, is single, and doesn't seem to enjoy socializing. That's all I found about him."

"A manager, yet he has enough money to start his own business. Instead, he gave it to the West family?" Serena mused after hearing the information.

"Exactly," Frau agreed.

"Can you trace the origin of that money?" Serena asked hopefully.

"I can! But it will take some time."

"Okay, I'm counting on you," Serena encouraged.

Frau chuckled. For some reason, he felt that Serena and Ren had similar personalities—both of them had a knack for making he life difficult without any guilt.

"Hey, Serena!" Frau suddenly called.

Hearing her first name instead of "Ms. Shine," Serena raised an eyebrow. It was unusual for Frau to address her informally.

"What do you think of Ren?"

Serena paused, finding the question odd. It felt like a test, though she wasn't sure what Frau was trying to find out.

Even though she was confused, she decided to answer honestly.

"A boss with way too much money," Serena finally said.

Hearing this, Frau burst into laughter. He wasn't sure if Serena was being sincere, but either way, He knew , He wouldn't hesitate to mess with her best friend.

Unbeknownst to Serena, Frau had just recorded her answer.

*****