?Chapter 723:

    At that precise moment, the front door swung open, and Cole stepped inside.

    Cole stepped through the threshold, the four Fletcher siblings trailing behind. Ever since Cole’s marriage to Elliana, Paulina had been tasked with looking after Elliana and rarely remained by Cole’s side. A few days back, she was back by his side.

    Before her departure, Elliana had issued a stern warning—none of the three medications administered to Cole had undergone extensive clinical trials. There was a real risk they could impair his memory or trigger otherplications, so she had urged everyone to keep a vignt watch over him.

    Paulina, never one to ce much faith in her scatterbrained younger brothers—Myles, Aron, and Hugh—had taken the responsibility upon herself. She had been meticulously tending to Cole, overseeing his condition daily and handling his most minor needs with care.

    In the meantime, Cole had noted that something about the Fletcher siblings had changed. He couldn’t put his finger on it, but their tones when addressing him, the way they looked at him, and even their habits seemed different from before. And the atmosphere within the Evans family had also subtly shifted. He often caught others stealing furtive nces at him—looks that were hard to interpret and even harder to confront.

    Right now, the second Cole stepped inside, he sensed it—an unmistakable tension in the air. He scanned the faces around him quickly, his instincts on alert. “What’s going on?”

    No one answered. Silence fell heavy.

    His eyesnded on the teary-eyed Lance and Jeff. His brows knitted, “Why are you two crying like that? What happened?”

    They looked at him, faltered, and then averted their gazes. Jeff, especially, looked like he was biting his tongue—his expression brimming with unspoken frustration, as if calling Cole a bastard was just on the tip of his tongue.

    Cole found the whole scene baffling and strangely funny. Jeff had always been a handful—loud, impulsive, and a little wild. Beneath the mischief had always been a mix of fear and respect. Jeff had never dared to look at him like that. But now, that look in Jeff’s eyes was different. What had changed?

    Before Cole could press further, Trinity let out augh, brushing off the tension with a casual remark. “Oh, don’t mind Lance and Jeff. They just had a blowout.”

    Cole’s frown deepened. That couldn’t be the whole story. The two had always argued, shed over everything from snacks to science, but it had never escted to tears—especially not like this. Sure, Jeff was only eight. A tantrum or two was…

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    Par for the course. But Lance was a grown man and the head of the AI R&D Department. He was crying after a squabble with a child? It made no sense.

    Confused, Cole turned his gaze back to Jeff and Lance.

    Jeff suddenly shot up from the couch, defiant fire in his eyes. “Yeah, we fought! Big deal! It’s none of your business!” Without waiting for a reply, he stomped off, thudding up the stairs.

    Lance stood next, his expression tight, eyes flicking to Cole with unmistakable hurt. “Yes, it’s between me and Jeff. No need for you to worry, Cole!” Then he, too, walked away, following Jeff up the stairs without another word.

    Neither Lance nor Jeff could understand how, after waking from his injury, Cole remembered everyone except Elliana. Not only had Cole forgotten her—he’d proposed to someone else. To them, it wasn’t just amnesia. It was a betrayal. Now Elliana was gone, and the family forbade even the mention of her name. Had her loyalty and sacrifices meant nothing?

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