And now, she was no longer different from him. Hatred had corroded her heart and mind.

Nicole knew it was Jarrod's goal to turn her into a monster like him.

Finally, he succeeded. They were now the same kind. No matter what, she could no longer live a normal life. Those ordinary days she had longed for were now out of reach.

Nicole was lost in thought for a while. She didn't even realize that tears were already streaming down her face uncontrollably.

Suddenly, several approaching footsteps sounded outside. Then, a maid said, "Alec, you're back."

"Yeah..." Alec only hummed in response.

Nicole panicked. She hurriedly came out of the secret room and pressed the button for the bed to return to its original place.

As soon as she did this, the door of Jarrod's room was pushed open from the outside.

When Alec saw Nicole inside, the expression on his face drastically changed. He frowned and shouted sharply, “Who allowed you to come in here?"

Nicole was flustered, feigning calmness. "Who else? Jarrod scheduled me to feed him medicine at this time."

Alec fixed his sharp eyes on Nicole, almost as if he could see through her.

Nicole put on a calm facade. She met his gaze and asked, “Where is Jarrod?"

Alec asked mockingly, "Miss Lawrence, don't you know?"

"Know what? Did he leave? Where did he go?" Nicole played dumb.

After all, she really didn't know Jarrod passed out if she hadn't overheard the maids' conversation. To avoid trouble, she didn't admit knowledge voluntarily.

Besides, Nicole guessed Alec didn't know she had something to do with Jarrod's drowning incident. Otherwise, he would have detained her in that dark room.

Alec asked expressionlessly, "Since when did you start to care about Mr. Schultz, Miss Lawrence?"

Annoyed by his sarcasm, Nicole turned to leave, saying dismissively, "Talk or don't."

This reaction, fitting Nicole's usual demeanor, unlikely aroused Alec's suspicion.

As Nicole walked out, Alec called after her, "Mr. Schultz passed out in the bathtub last night. Does it have anything to do with you?"