Cheng Xiao stood in front of the one-way mirror to the interrogation room, observing the figure sitting at the table. His features were unique, yet soft, almost feminine. His narrow eyes, like those of a lizard, looked like they might be hiding endless layers of darkness. 

Out of the four girls who had been summoned to identify the suspect – Cheng Xiao, Bona, Eunseo, and Soobin – only one of them was able to recognize him. 

"That's definitely Shin Wonho. That's the one I mentioned to you." Soobin started, making everyone's eyes turn to her. "He technically lives in the apartment from the security footage, but I hadn't seen him since around the day of the incident." 

"Very well. It matches the name on his ID." Exy and Dayoung exchanged a nod, then turned to Cheng Xiao. "As you can tell, we investigated with Soobin's collaboration. The suspect moved into that apartment two weeks before your attack, but nobody in your building saw him after that day.” 

"We managed to track him down to his temporary residence. We'd only meant to bring him in for questioning, but he attempted to flee through the window and offered resistance, so we were forced to arrest him." Dayoung added. 

"Remember we found male DNA in your house? We got the results just now. He’s a match. Every piece of evidence points out to him being your attacker." Exy said, waving the envelope in her hands. 

Cheng Xiao felt bile rise up to , realizing she faced the person who attacked her and ended up stealing from her everything she used to be, for the good and for the bad. He was nothing like the ugly, heartless beast she had pictured - his delicate appearance, his somber gaze, they were the ones of a scared child who got lost from their parents. But despite what he looked like, he was capable of breaking into her house and leaving her to die. He was capable of murder. 

For a moment, she trespassed the thin line containing rationality and fantasized about barging into that room and repeatedly knocking his skull against the wall, with all of the force she could muster up. So she could erase all of his memories and then leave him injured, bleeding to death on the floor, like he did to her. So he would know what she felt. 

Snapping back to herself, disgusted at her own inhuman thoughts, Cheng Xiao fought back the vomit, trembling with rage. 

"He's getting locked up for good, isn't he?" 

"We haven't concluded our investigation yet. We will have to question him and try to figure out his motives, if he acted on his own or under someone else's wing, as well as try to get him to spill details about possible accomplices. And then he will have to await trial." 

"But he's going to stay here, right? You're not just going to let him out loose when you know he attacked me." 

"Luckily, we have enough evidence to suggest to his involvement, added to the charges of resistance to authorities and failure to cooperate in an investigation. We're allowed to keep him in until trial, yes. You can rest assured." Exy comforted, a contorted smile on. 

"Fine, he's locked up, but what if he's really working with people on the outside and he sends them out for me now that he's in jail?" Cheng Xiao's voice was more aggressive than she could notice. 

"Xiao, calm down." Bona held her by the shoulders. "You've been safe these past weeks and he's been on the loose this whole time. I'd say he had plenty of chances already. You have to trust Sojung and her team to do their job, and we'll keep you close and protected, just as always, okay?" 

Eunseo nodded and rubbed the back of Cheng Xiao's hand.  

"The kid's right. You take caution, but there's no more reason to feel at danger now than there was yesterday. We'll do everything we can, just as we've been doing so far." Exy said.  

Cheng Xiao looked around, everyone's eyes fixed on her, attempting not to grow dizzy. Closing her eyes and taking a few deep breaths, she nodded. 

"You can go home now. Thank you for your cooperation. We'll get back to you with more news soon." Dayoung gave them a warm smile, taking them to the exit. "Oh and by the way, before you leave, Son Eunseo, can you please come to our department so we can show you're really here? Nobody believes us when we say you're cooperating in our case!" 

Eunseo ignored the poor trainee, distracted by the other girls' reactions to a stranger by the reception desk. 

Both Cheng Xiao and Bona stopped in their tracks at the sight of her, while Soobin gave her a cordial bow. Cheng Xiao wonder what would be the proper way to act, knowing the girl at the reception hated her and wanted to see her the least out of all people in the world. Though the woman, with her long blonde hair that made her pass for Bona's twin, did not end up looking threatening at all. Her eyes travelled between the both of them, an expression of horror painted on her features. 

"What is Meng Mei Qi doing here?" Bona turned around, demanding information from Dayoung. 

Dayoung jerked back. "I'm afraid I can't tell you that." 

Exy approached them, stepping in front of Dayoung. "It's fine, chipmunk. Shin Wonho moved into the building just a few days after Meng Mei Qi was fired. We're looking to rule out some connection between them and if there's a chance she might have made a copy of Cheng Xiao Xiao's house key." 

"She has nothing to do with this, Sojung. She shouldn't be here." Bona said, closing the distance between her own face and the agent. 

"I didn’t say she does, but if that's the case, then it shouldn't be a problem. We need to rule out every single possibility to solidify our case and raise our credibility in court, when it's time. I thought you were the one who said we could be trusted to do our job." Exy smiled and playfully punched Bona's arm, lightening up the mood she had set with her unintentionally harsh tone. The blonde's lips curved downwards. 

Shooting one last glance at Mei Qi, Bona pulled Cheng Xiao along with her towards the exit, making a confused Eunseo and Soobin follow along. 

"Come on, let's get you home. You need some rest for tomorrow." 

Cheng Xiao complied, yet unable to take her eyes off of Mei Qi the whole time. Seeing her once more made her think of whether she was ready to make up or not. Did Mei Qi miss her the same way she'd just realized she missed her, the housekeeper she could easily call a friend? Cheng Xiao wished she could run to her, explain herself and beg her for forgiveness for whatever she had done. But something about Mei Qi's twisted expression and the way Bona turned a different color upon seeing her told her it was not the right time. 

With the stressful and emotion-filled visit to the police headquarters, Cheng Xiao struggled to pull herself out of bed the next morning. She had to find strength in remembering the conversation with Eunseo and Bona the day before – which had caused a dramatic transformation in her perspective. 

The next logical step would be to work again. The structure she had built and her trusted team were perfectly capable of handling themselves without her for a while, but working again would be her way to find purpose and walk towards peace with her parents' departure.  

More so, there was someone at the company she needed to talk to so she could at last achieve closure. 

"May I come in, President?" Cheng Xiao said as she slid the door open, right after knocking. 

President Kim flashed her a big grin, standing up and approaching her with his arms wide open.  

Cheng Xiao hugged him back. She hadn't seen him since before she lost her memory, and even so, since she became CEO, she could hardly meet him at all apart from Board Meetings, as they were both so busy. Kim Shidae was her father's best friend growing up, who she called her uncle despite no blood relation. This man had become her father's business partner, then the main stock holder, making him President, while the CEO had always been her father.  

Growing up, when her parents were too busy with work or travelling abroad, he was the one who cared for her. She would spend her days watching him work in his office and asking him all sorts of questions a curious child would ask. Then as a teenager, learning about business with him. He was like a second father figure to her, and now her only one. Also, he was the one person who was closest to her parents apart from herself. If there was someone she could find answers with, it was him. 

"How are you doing, little Xiao? I heard you're not doing so well, lately. I'm deeply sorry I haven't been getting the chance to see you." He said, sitting on his chair and inviting her to sit opposite from him. 

"Yes, I was sure you'd heard, uncle. I've missed you too and I'm sorry I haven't visited in a while, but I was hoping you could help me." 

"Why, anything you need Xiao Xiao." He said, his cheekbones making his round glasses raise on his face. 

"I want you to tell me about my parents. I want to know what they were really like." 

The man stared at her for a while, then laid his elbows on the table, resting his chin on his hands and giving her a curt nod.  

"I assume you're asking me this because you've come to terms with the truth?" 

"You could say so. I don't have many memories of them, though. I just need someone to tell me they're just as I remember them." 

"I knew your father for most of my life." He sighed and leaned back on his chair. "Never in my entire existence have I met a man who came even close to his integrity, his commitment and his wisdom. Your father had everything in his power to make it work, and that is why I trusted him from the start and invested so much in this company. I can say the one thing he valued more than his work was his family." He paused and leaned back on the desk surface. "As for your mother... she had everything together. She had the mental resilience and sensibility he so lacked. They truly made each other the best versions of themselves." 

Cheng Xiao listened to him with wide eyes, a tear escaping from her eye as she heard. 

"And you, Xiao Xiao, you were everything to him. There was nothing in this world he loved more and was more proud of than you. But he ended up making many mistakes." 

"Mistakes?!" Cheng Xiao pursed her lips. 

"You see, even though he valued family more than work, he did not act upon it. He had an excessive need to control everything around here and ended up sacrificing too much of the time he should have spent with you, letting you be a child, and not formatting you for this business since you were out of the cradle. He never quite knew how to separate things. And to the end of his days, he never even gave you a choice to do anything else out of your life but dive into this circus of an industry way before you were ready to handle it." 

Cheng Xiao swallowed and looked to her hands on her lap. Even though she held her father in the highest consideration and she was content and proud of being the CEO of their parents' legacy, she couldn't deny it. The resentment built while she grew up, feeling she had her life scheduled to the minute from the first breath she took. 

"You have a choice now, Xiao Xiao. Your parents did a tremendous job creating the necessary structure for this company to succeed, and you have honored their work so far in your time as CEO. That's why you don't have to do this anymore, if it's not what you wish. You can leave this company in the hands of everyone you trust. You can move on and start an entirely new life on your own, Xiao Xiao. Finally a life that you want and that you chose for yourself." 

What she had just heard was very far from anything she thought her uncle might say to her. 

She pondered - it was too tempting not to. She had more than enough to her name to subside. She had enough business knowledge to invest somewhere else. And who knew, maybe try something else entirely? Something that gave her much less money, but also rid her of stress and corporate pressure. The company had a very strong leadership. It wasn’t as if her parents' achievements would be erased if she left the company in good hands, right? 

"You're right, uncle." Cheng Xiao shook her head and gave a modest smile. "I do have that chance. But with all due respect, I disagree." President Kim raised an eyebrow at her. "I know I didn’t choose this for myself, but I like where I ended up.  It’s not just that it was their company. I really care and love what we do here. Our products can and will change the way we interact with the world. I believe in us. And while I know that anyone in the board is perfectly capable of taking over, I believe I am by far the most suitable person." 

“You’ve grown up a lot, Xiao Xiao." He said, his face almost melting in pride. "Even comparing to the last time I saw you . You took all you’ve been through and turned it into strength. I never saw you quite so confident and sure of yourself, young girl. I’m proud of you.’  

"Thank you, uncle... Thank you for telling me about them. I can only hope they’re proud of me too." 

"I don’t have a single doubt of that. I’m here for everything you need, little one. Do try to stop by more often, will you?" 

Cheng Xiao nodded and excused herself out, a newly founded sense of hope, purpose and confidence washing over despair. 

"All done for now?" Bona asked after their long day of meetings and tedious sales reports. "It's only your first day, don’t push yourself too hard." 

"And who are you to tell me not to push myself too hard?" Cheng Xiao smirked, earning a hair ruffle from Bona. 

The blonde's expression hardened. 

"How are you really?" 

"Better... I think I can make them proud. Even if I end up sinking this company, I know they would value that I gave it my all. They were really good people, Bona. The very least I can start doing in their honor is be a decent person and manage things a bit differently with my staff. Not be a tyrant who fires people on medical leave and almost insults employees instead of motivating them." 

"You sound like a completely different person." Bona gave her a wide smile, then paused for a bit and locked her eyes with hers. "I love you, Xiao. When you're happy, I'm happy. Everything I do, whatever I do, I do it for you." 

"Bona...  I--" Cheng Xiao's heart fell to her feet. She wasn't quite sure of what sense Bona wanted to give her words, and she didn't know how to answer appropriately. 

"You love me too, in your own way. I know." Bona winked, and instantly Cheng Xiao stopped worrying.  

After they packed for the day and prepared themselves to leave, they ran into Xuan Yi, who lead two women on her side somewhere. 

"Xuan Yi? Did you get held up here too?" Cheng Xiao asked, turning to the two women. "Officers? Is something the matter?" 

"I was just about to leave when the officers asked me to lead them to you." Xuan Yi answered. 

"Yes. We have very important news about the case." Exy said, running her palm through her own face. "We found the culprit behind your attack." 

Cheng Xiao felt a jolt of electricity through her whole body.  

"So it was Shin Wonho who attacked me after all?" She said, unable to contain the adrenaline. 

"Yes." Exy continued. She kept her stare down the whole time, which felt incredibly unlike her usual self. "But he was coerced to under threat. He provided us with message and call records to prove it, and we already verified their authenticity." 

"Well, coerced by whom?!" Cheng Xiao demanded. 

Dayoung sighed and removed her tablet from her bag, fiddling with it for a bit until she pressed play on an audio recording. 

"The key is in your mailbox. You go in, you take what you have to, you come out, you don't make a sound. If you step out of tracks, Shin Wonho, if you think yourself smart, I will personally hunt you down and make sure you regret it." 

The electricity running through Cheng Xiao's body started to feel more like ice, as if all of her blood had frozen inside her veins. Unable to move her head to either side or take her eyes off the ground, her ears felt clogged and blocked most of the incoming sounds. She heard a faint, muffled sound of handcuffs to her right side, and without her noticing, a pale Xuan Yi wrapped her arms around her. Then, she heard the words come out of Dayoung's mouth, while Exy locked the cuffs. 

"Kim Bona, you are under arrest. You have the right to remain silent." 

Keeping her head low, making no sound, Bona let herself be dragged to the police car by her childhood friend, her arms tightly clasped behind her back.

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A/N: I feel you guys wanting to murder me as you read this. *hides* Well, let me know what you thought! Thank you so much for supporting this story!