Chapter 5

No one reacted fast enough.

Chloe instinctively closed her eyes.

But I simply smashed that piece of jade onto the coffee table in front of her.

A jarring crash.

"I don't want this anymore." I looked at her pale face. "Along with the life I owe you, once the surgery is done, we'll be completely even. From now on, we owe each other nothing."

With that, I turned and left.

Back in my room, I locked the door and slid down to the floor, leaning against the doorframe.

My phone rang.

"Miss Aurora, we've found something. Mr. Thorne is indeed publicly claiming to be gravely ill, but he's not in any public hospice. Our people traced his whereabouts to a private estate on the outskirts of the city that's not open to the public."

"He's not sick," I immediately concluded. "He was poisoned."

Only that could explain why he suddenly became "gravely ill."

Three days later, I used the excuse of visiting a secluded spiritual retreat to shake off the Sterling family's watch, driving alone to that estate.

The mountain road was winding, the night deeply dark.

Just as I was nearing my destination, my car suddenly stalled.

Several blinding headlights flared from behind, and a few SUVs surrounded my car.

A car door opened, and a group of men in black stepped out. Leading them was, strikingly, Julian Hayes.

"Aurora, it's so late. Where are you going?"

He pulled open my car door, holding a syringe in his hand.

"Your sister's condition has suddenly worsened, and she urgently needs a blood transfusion. Come back with me and obediently donate your blood."

I gripped the steering wheel tightly. "I'm not going."

"That's not up to you." He sneered, giving a signal to the men behind him.

Just as they were about to rush forward, a deep male voice suddenly echoed from the darkness.

"She said she's not going."