Flashback
"Your father was impressed by your work, Lee-Soo," Jung-Sik said with a warm smile.
"Thank you, sir. Looks like you love plants?" Lee-Soo asked, noticing a leafy potted plant beside the office table.
"No—what plant?" Jung-Sik replied, confused.
Lee-Soo pointed at it. Jung-Sik called his secretary.
She came in and explained, "It was a gift, sir. But there was no name—only a foreign address."
"Really? It's probably from my business partner, Mr. Frank from Australia. You can go back," Jung-Sik said, waving her off before continuing his discussion with Lee-Soo.
Thirty minutes later, Jung-Sik started coughing.
"Are you okay?" Lee-Soo asked, alarmed.
"Yes, yes, I am," Jung-Sik replied hoarsely. "I was saying..." His words trailed off as he collapsed.
Lee-Soo dialed 911 in a panic, reported the emergency, and quickly carried him out of the office. At the ground level, he helped place him in the ambulance and rode along to the hospital.
Thanks to Lee-Soo's quick action, Jung-Sik's life was preserved. At the hospital, a doctor asked if he had any known allergies.
Lee-Soo mentioned the unfamiliar plant in his office.
The doctor requested to see it. Upon seeing the plant, her face tensed. "This is a peace lily. It's beautiful but can be dangerous to people with allergies. It causes respiratory and skin issues. Mr. Jung-Sik is clearly allergic to this. If you hadn't acted fast, we could have lost him. Thank you," she said, then left.
"Lee-Soo, what happened?!" Jung-Hyun ran in.
Lee-Soo looked at him with cold eyes. "He's not dead. It was an allergic reaction," he said curtly and walked into Jung-Sik's room.
Jung-Hyun glanced at the plant lying on the floor, picked it up, and left.
"Kiera! Your father!" Lee-Soo shouted and ran toward Jung-Sik's room. Kiera, panting from running, followed quickly—but they were too late.
The room was filled with doctors and nurses shouting commands.
"Increase to 300 volts!" one doctor yelled, pressing the defibrillator to Jung-Sik's chest. Again. And again.
No response.
Finally, the doctor lowered his head and covered Jung-Sik with a white sheet.
"Father! Father! I forgave you! You were supposed to make up for the lost years! I love you! Father!" Kiera screamed from outside the room.
Lee-Soo held her tightly as tears streamed from his eyes. He blamed himself. He had noticed the plant—but chose to walk away with Kiera. Maybe, just maybe, if he had intervened like before…
"Sorry! I'm so sorry!" he whispered, but Kiera kept screaming.
Just then, Kyung arrived. She froze, seeing the scene. Tears rushed to her eyes.
"Kiera! Kiera! That's enough!" she cried out.
"Father! Father! Fa..." Kiera collapsed in Kyung's arms.
"Kiera!!!" Kyung shouted, alerting the doctors.
They rushed Kiera into the emergency ward as Jung-Sik's body was wheeled toward the morgue. Kyung fell to her knees in tears.
Lee-Soo followed Kiera into the emergency ward, silently crying.
Ji-Won entered just in time to see the body. "Yeobo! No! No! No!" she screamed.
"Abeoji!!!" Jung-Cha cried at the top of her voice.
Jung-Woo stood frozen. Then, rushing forward, he embraced his mother and sister tightly.
"Are you his wife?" a doctor asked Ji-Won, but she couldn't speak.
"I'm his son. What happened?" Jung-Woo asked, voice trembling.
"We believe he had an allergic reaction while alone. No one noticed until it was too late. Someone will need to fill out the death certificate," the doctor explained.
"That witch finally succeeded," Jung-Woo thought bitterly. "No... problem," he told the doctor and then called Jung-Su and Jung-Hyun, who were just as shaken.
Kyung looked at Ji-Won and Jung-Cha as they wept and wondered how Carolyn would take the news. She decided not to tell Carolyn yet. If she found out Kiera had fainted, it would break her.
In the emergency ward, Lee-Soo stood over Kiera's sleeping form, red-eyed and broken.
"Make sure she sleeps for a long time," he told the doctors. He knew she wouldn't sleep once she woke up.
He stepped out to find Kyung.
"Lee-Soo! Oh, you poor thing. Are you okay?" Eun-Sang ran toward him.
Lee-Soo ignored him.
"They're going to charge Kiera... for killing her father," Eun-Sang blurted.
"What? Who?" Lee-Soo turned sharply.
"The whole family—Jung-Su, Jung-Hyun, Ji-Won, Jung-Cha, and Jung-Woo. Once she wakes up, the police will take her."
Lee-Soo stormed into the VIP ward. "Who wants to arrest the only person Jung-Sik ever truly called his daughter?!"
"You have no right to butt in! You know nothing about this family!" Jung-Su shouted, pointing his cane at him.
Lee-Soo stepped closer. "You think I know nothing? I was Jung-Sik's closest friend after he left your toxic family. You think I don't know your secrets?"
Jung-Su paused. He realized Lee-Soo might actually know everything. "I heard she's in the emergency ward. Let's discuss this later," he said, signaling the police to leave.
"There will be no later," Lee-Soo said coldly and walked off with Kyung and Eun-Sang.
"What will happen to Kiera?" Kyung asked.
"She'll be fine. She was given a strong sedative," Lee-Soo replied. Then he stopped and faced Kyung. "Stay with her. I'll be back."
Kyung nodded but asked, "They said it was an allergy?"
"Yes. Peace lily. Someone planted it there on purpose. I'll need Kiera to tell me everyone who visited Jung-Sik. Just stay with her."
In the car, Eun-Sang glanced at him. "You don't have to be strong all the time, you know. I've known you for years. You can cry."
Lee-Soo finally let the tears fall. "He was like a father to me," he whispered, broken.
As they drove away, another car sped into the hospital. Jung-Ri and Jung-Jin had just flown in.
In the VIP ward, Jung-Su, Jung-Hyun, Ji-Won, Jung-Cha, and Jung-Woo sat mourning quietly.
"Ah!!!! Where is my son?! I haven't spoken to him in years! Where is my son?!" Jung-Jin cried and collapsed.
"Eomma, please, your health…" Jung-Hyun said gently.
Jung-Ri wept in silence. Ji-Won stepped away, unable to bear the sight.
In the emergency room, Kyung looked at Kiera and cried. "Poor child… She was finally happy."
Then she noticed Ji-Won approaching.
"What are you doing here?" Kyung asked coldly.
Ji-Won scoffed. "Do you think I want to hurt her? Just tell her: her duty was to keep her father alive—but she killed him."
"Don't you dare," Kyung snapped. "That child was abandoned. She finally got time with her father, and you think she'd want to kill him?!"
"Please. I know you, Kyung. You're no saint either. That evil girl—she almost killed Hyun, and now she's killed my husband. If she doesn't leave when she wakes up, she'll suffer just like her mother did."
Kiera heard it all. She had just awakened—but she stayed still, processing everything.
"Leave, Ji-Won!" Kyung warned.
Ji-Won walked away.
"Kyung," Kiera whispered. "Call my mother. I need her."
"Oh my God, Kara, you're awake! but.. the sedative.. you know what, I'll call her now," Kyung said, fumbling for her phone with trembling hands.
"Hello? Kyung? What happened to Kiera?" Carolyn asked anxiously.
"She's physically okay, but mentally—Carolyn, calm down—"
"Speak coherently!" Carolyn snapped.
"We lost Jung-Sik," Kyung said.
Silence.
Kiera felt the words slice through her again.
"Carolyn?! Are you there?!" Kyung shouted.
There was a loud thud.
Kiera took the phone from Kyung. "Mum. Wake up—and hang in there. Because you have a lot of things to explain to me."
Carolyn, shocked by the pain in her daughter's voice, said, "Kiera, are you okay?"
But Kiera had already hung up.
Kyung stared at her. "Kiera, what's wrong with you? She's grieving too."
"Why do you care, Kyung? She lied to me. My dad came searching for me, but she hid the truth. Now I've lost him—forever. If she really wants to know how I feel, she better come here herself. I can't say it over the phone."
She lay back down, eyes hollow and emotionless.
Kyung's heart trembled.
What was Kiera planning to do?