124 Motive

Thursday.

Zhuo Jingren would be flying to New York for work while Lily would be flying back to Hong Kong to attend the Fashion Week's after party. Of course, before Zhuo Jingren left, he made sure Lily promised to call him every day on Skype. He could not even stand not seeing Lily even for a day but now they would have to be apart for days.

"President? Here is the folder that you asked me to hold on for you until we leave Hong Kong." Yang Mi gave a folder to Lily after they boarded their private plane en route to Hong Kong. This was the folder that George passed to Lily back when they last met. Lily decided against opening the folder when Zhuo Jingren was around because she didn't know if what was inside the folder would cause her to lose control of her emotions. She didn't want to lose it in front of Zhuo Jingren.

"Thank you." Lily nodded as she accepted the folder, placing it on her lap while the other hand was playing with a glass of champagne. "How are the preparations coming along for Fashion Week?" she asked Yang Mi, her eyes still fixed on the glass of champagne in her hand.

"It's done. Everything is ready," Yang Mi answered. Tomorrow, Qin Fei and Xuan Hui would be getting a taste of the president's capability.

Without any further instructions from Lily, Yang Mi returned to her seat. As she looked at Lily, she couldn't help but notice the glow on Lily's face. Her face had become more brilliant and she was smiling and giggling a lot more these days.

Yang Mi liked this change in Lily. In Yang Mi's memory, Lily always seemed lonely and sad for some reason. Though Lily would keep a smile on her face even in the face of adversity, Yang Mi always felt that it was nothing but a facade. There were so much more emotions within her than she let out, hidden behind that smile of hers.

Yang Mi had been by Lily's side for a while now. She was one of Lilian Facci's trusted individuals. She was also there when Lilian was teaching Lily the ropes in the business and was blown away by the way Lily's mind worked. She witnessed Lily's growth from an infant to a giant, feared by many in the business world. Lily grew to become someone who was decisive and would not hesitate to strike to attain her goals.

Yang Mi's thoughts then travelled back to the time when Lily just arrived from Hong Kong. Lily was so meek and quiet at that time. Lily would stare blankly at everyone and didn't like to talk much. Lily was soft spoken and would cry easily at a simple setback. Lily was as brittle as glass and timid like a mouse.

At that time, a doctor diagnosed that Lily was traumatized and had a fear of abandonment. Due to her trauma, it was harder for her to adapt to the new environment. So the doctor advised that Lily go through therapy for six months. Lilian Facci immediately agreed as she wanted the best for her granddaughter.

Six months later, there were big improvements in Lily's condition. Then the doctor had recommended Lily to take up classes and learn something that would give her satisfaction. The doctor said that it was extremely important for Lily to learn to love herself and realize her self-worth.

Lily took her doctor's advice and enrolled herself in dance classes in various types of dance and also picked up the violin. The doctor approved Lily's choices as dancing and music could help her to freely express her emotions. Dancing and music might even help her to let go of some negative emotions in the process.

Lily was on a roll and was motivated to improve herself even more, to Lilian's delight. Then Lily also enrolled herself in horseback riding, polo and self-defense classes.

Within a year since she started therapy and taking up classes, she was fully recovered from her trauma and seemed to have overcome her fears. Lily made such quick progress that it even baffled the doctors.

Lily became more confident and outspoken. Her eyes always looked sharp and she was no longer staring blankly at people. In fact, when she looks at you, it's as if she was staring straight into your soul. She almost never cry anymore and had a good control over her emotions. She became a stronger woman overall.

Then Lily started learning the ins and out of business under Lilian's tutelage and guidance. Lily first started working as a secretary under Lilian and worked her way up, before taking over the business from Lilian eventually.

As Yang Mi thought about Lily's life, what she had been through, where she is now and what she has achieved, she couldn't help but to let out a sigh containing some mixed feelings. There was relief and also concern.

Although the present Lily was sociable and well-acquainted with a lot of people in the industry, Yang Mi felt that Lily at times seemed lonely. She might be in the company of a crowd but she gave off a solitary vibe.

Yang Mi woke up from her stupor at the gentle sound of a 'cling' as Lily put her glass of champagne down on the side table. Then she slowly opened the folder, her face devoid of any emotion.

A suffocating silence ensued inside the cabin. The only thing that could be heard was the sound of papers flipping.

Lily's face was still a blank as she stared at the results of George's investigation in her hands. According to the documents, the aftercare method for a woman, whether she just had an abortion or miscarriage, were the same. Given the doubts she had of what happened to her seven years ago, this meant that there was no way for her to know for sure whether she truly had a miscarriage or not. After the accident, all she remembered was waking up to find that she was bleeding.

However, according to the nurses' testimony, she only suffered bruises from the accident. That was because her mother's body shielded her from the impact when she enveloped her body in a hug. The only mysterious detail was how no one seemed to know anything about her miscarriage. It was not written on her medical files and not one of the nurses who tended to Lily that night had any idea that there could be such a thing until George's men started asking them questions.

However, this begs the question: why would someone want to hide her miscarriage? It was not a secret that she had slept with another man as Tang Lingyun was the one who spread her photos, where she was kissing an unknown man while walking into the elevator of a hotel. Even a high schooler would be able to guess what would happen next.

Then she looked at the next file and her face instantly turned dark. The documents in this file showed the connections that the Xuan Family had with the people who owned the hospital she was admitted to. A striking detail was how Xuan Hui's mother, Yang Lina and the madam of the Mu Family were very close friends.

The gears in Lily's mind started to turn. If someone wanted to hide Lily's pregnancy, then the only person who had the motive was Xuan Hui. After all, they had slept together long before she slept with Zhuo Jingren. But the fact that Xuan Hui never touched her in the recent months after she slept with Zhuo Jingren should be enough for him to know that he was not the father of Lily's child. However, not many people know this.

If news of Lily's miscarriage went public, people would surely blame Xuan Hui for being irresponsible for abandoning a pregnant Lily and not even caring about her when she just had a miscarriage.

If the public connect this news to the Lily's scandal before that, they might even be suspicious of Xuan Hui, that he might have been the one who conspired against Lily. They might think that Xuan Hui had set Lily up with another man, then release her photos just to escape his marriage with her. Public sympathy would then be with Lily.

Moreover, some socialites also knew that Xuan Hui was in a relationship with Qin Fei at the same time and it was long before the date of Lily and Xuan Hui's wedding was set.

If her reasoning is right then… Xuan Hui was the only person with the motive to hide her pregnancy.

…

Editor: Swaning