Chapter 5

The iron door locked, and the last sliver of light vanished.

Darkness instantly engulfed me.

My claustrophobia flared, bringing back the terror of being locked in the attic by my foster parents when I was a child.

I trembled all over, my nails scratching at the cold metal door.

“Julian Blackwood, please, open the door! I’m scared!”

His cold voice came from outside.

“Elara Reed, have you played enough? Just admit your mistake, and I’ll let you out!”

He wouldn’t believe me. I gave a bitter laugh.

Tears streamed from my eyes at that moment.

“I didn’t do it.”

He spun around abruptly, his voice laced with suppressed fury.

“Unrepentant!”

A short while later, Sera’s heels clicked outside.

“See? He believes everything I say. I’m the one he loves most.”

“Otherwise, why wouldn’t he believe you? And why would he make you lose the baby?”

Her voice dripped with venom.

“Dare to have any more delusions about him, and I’ll ensure you end up in a ditch!”

I huddled in the corner, trembling.

No need to wait for that day. I would disappear soon enough.

I woke up in bed, meeting Mr. Davies’s worried gaze.

“The Master still cares about you. He wasn’t happy locking you in the basement either.”

“Your father looked down on the Master back then. He held a grudge, so he was inevitably harsh with you.”

But why did I have to bear all of this? What had I done wrong?

I thought Julian Blackwood wouldn’t come tonight.

But he entered the room and, without a word, began to tear at my clothes.

My breath hitched, and I hastily said,

“I’m not feeling well.”

He suddenly looked up, his face grim.

“You dare refuse me?”

I hesitated.

Tomorrow I would be leaving this place. Tonight, I didn’t want to be his release anymore.

If I didn’t agree, I was afraid he might notice something.

The next moment, I tightly closed my eyes, giving up all resistance.

Just then, there was an urgent knock on the door.

“Sir, Miss Sera is in trouble!”

The bodyguard’s voice outside was urgent.

“Miss Sera was injected with an allergic agent!”

“The doctors say this agent is very rare, and they need bone marrow stem cells to create a desensitizing agent. Miss Elara’s bone marrow is the only perfect match in the database! Miss Sera is already going into shock; she can only hold on for thirty more minutes…”

Julian Blackwood stared at me, a faint flicker of hesitation in his eyes.

The next second, he grabbed my arm without a word, dragging me out. His grip was so strong it felt like my bones would shatter.

“To the hospital.”

I was rushed into the operating room. Julian Blackwood said coldly,

“Time is critical. No anesthesia.”

He then instructed the doctor to extract 500ml of bone marrow in one go.

As the thick, long biopsy needle pierced my skin and plunged into my spine, excruciating pain instantly erupted.

I bit down hard on my lip, the metallic taste of blood instantly filling my mouth.

Seeing my pale face after 500ml of bone marrow was drawn, he seemed to think of Sera and ordered the doctor to extract another 1000ml.

The doctor hesitated.

“This lady’s blood count is dangerously low; she could go into acute shock.”

Julian Blackwood waved his hand.

“Do as I say. I know what I’m doing.”

His cold indifference pierced through me. In that instant, all hope drained from me.

Seeing my lips turning blue after another 1000ml of bone marrow was extracted, Julian Blackwood’s eyes held a complex expression.

“Get back home and rest. Tomorrow, Mr. Davies will have the kitchen prepare nourishing food for you!”

I quietly agreed.

And turned to leave.

Julian Blackwood, that isn’t my home. It never was.

And there won’t be a tomorrow for us!

When I returned to the villa, it was still dark.

I changed into a maid’s uniform and crept downstairs.

Avoiding all surveillance cameras, I slipped out through the small back door.

Not far away, an inconspicuous black car was parked.

The window slowly lowered, revealing my pale but unusually calm face.

I instinctively looked up at the second floor.

Smoke was curling out from the window of the bedroom I had lived in for five years.

Inside the room was a mannequin, carefully shaped to resemble me, arranged by Mr. Cross.

I took one last look at the cage that had imprisoned me for five years.

The car window slowly rose, cutting off the distant glow of the fire.

Finally, it was over!

Julian Blackwood, I would start a new life in a new place.

From now on, we would be dead to each other!