Chapter 112
112
112
Mr. Holland seemed to read my mind.
+25 BONUS
“Put away thoughts about your love life from now on,” he said as he gently patted my shoulder. “Focus on your studies and research and become someone useful to society and the nation. That’s the best way to repay me.”
I didn’t know what to say. More tears welled up in my eyes.
“You were feeling hopeless and afraid, weren’t you?” Mr. Holland continued. “Although you believed in your innocence, you thought this couldn’t possibly be solved so quickly. You were even prepared to spend time in prison. Am I right?”
I wasn’t sure why he was suddenly asking me all this. But I nodded in agreement and replied, “Yes.”
“You thought that way because you had given up on yourself to support Irvin. This left you with no support and no connections.” He pointed out.
“If you hadn’t given up on your studies back then, you would have become an indispensable person in your field,” he said with such conviction. “No one would have been able to bring you down so easily. Countless people would come to your defense if you were in trouble.”
He added, “You need to have real achievements and strength. This is the only way you’ll be able to guarantee your happiness. Happiness given by others can disappear at any moment. When you don’t prioritize yourself, you’re placing yourself in a position where you can be easily discarded.
“Like right now. The situation that you thought was so difficult–to the point where you might be imprisoned for up to ten years–has been resolved with ease. This is the power of having knowledge and connections.”
Perhaps I was too focused on my love life before. That was why Mr. Holland was worried I would still be the same way. Thus, he took this opportunity to lecture me in hopes it would help me stay clear–headed moving forward.
I didn’t make any promises. Instead, I would show him my determination through my actions.
I walked out of the detention center. That’s when I saw that Dad and Julianne had been arrested.
The reason Dad was arrested was because of the medical record Irvin had shown me.
As mentioned before, something looked off about me in the video of the drugging incident. I didn’t seem fully conscious. The same could be said for the episodic incidents listed in my medical record.
It turns out I had been mentally confused whenever I had an “episode“.
There was only one person who could have put me in this state and had me wake up with no recollection of what had happened. As mentioned, this person had to have been someone close to me.
And that person was my father.
My family was in the pharmaceutical industry. Dad was a pharmacist and had quite the talent. He had developed a drug solution called “Abyde“.
When administered, Abyde would cause a person to lose consciousness and have no sense of awareness for a short period. During this period, the person would obey anyone’s commands. They also wouldn’t remember anything from this period when they reawakened.
There have always been gender differences between men and women. Men didn’t go through the pain of childbirth. As such, many of them could easily abandon their children. Meanwhile, women had to carry their
1/2
112
+25 BONUS
children for ten months. Maybe that was why they tended to cherish their children more, As such, Mom didn’t dote on Julianne in the beginning. But she did treat me fairly decently. Dad wanted Mom to favor Julianne more and hate me. Thus he drugged me with Abyde and had me do mildly harmful things to Julianne to achieve this.
I didn’t remember any of it despite being guilty. So naturally, I denied everything when Mom questioned me about it. Because of this, she gradually began to hate me.
Later on, I had started searching for the truth when I became an adult. Dad was afraid the truth would come to light should Mom continue to confront me. Thus, he bribed a psychologist to create a fake medical record under my name, diagnosing me with bipolar disorder
He then gave the medical record to Mom.
113