Chapter 5

The child was finally gone.

I lay in the hospital bed, staring at the pale white ceiling, and actually felt relieved.

Outside the ward, Emily's sharp questioning voice came through.

"Michael, do you know what it means that the child is gone? How am I supposed to explain this to Henry?" Her voice was urgent and angry. "You need to make her pregnant again!"

Michael was silent for a long time.

"Emily, she almost died." His voice was hoarse, filled with exhaustion. "If we put her through this again, she won't be able to take it."

"So what?" Emily's voice became shrill. "If she dies, just find another woman to have my baby! Michael, you haven't forgotten who saved you back then, have you?"

"I haven't forgotten." Michael's voice grew heavier. "But Emily, she's your sister."

"Sister?" Emily laughed coldly. "Does she deserve that? Since we were kids, she took everything from me—our parents' attention, their love... And now you're siding with her too?"

"Enough!" Michael raised his voice at her for the first time. "I need to think about this more."

An eerie silence fell outside the ward.

"You feel sorry for her?" Emily's voice suddenly shot up. "Michael, have you fallen in love with her?"

My heart jumped.

Michael's answer came out almost immediately: "Impossible."

He denied it too quickly—so quickly it seemed like he was hiding something.

After a long silence, I heard him sigh: "I'll arrange it. Just give me a little more time."

"Really?" Emily's voice immediately turned sweet and soft. "I knew you care about me the most."

Through the crack in the door, I saw her stand on tiptoes, wrap her arms around Michael's neck, and kiss him.

I watched them kiss with no expression on my face, my hand quietly reaching under the pillow for my phone, pressing the shutter button.

Michael's body stiffened for a moment. He instinctively turned his head, and his gaze passed through the door crack, meeting my open eyes.

Michael suddenly pushed Emily away.

Emily stumbled back a step. She turned and saw me awake, her face instantly darkening. She glared at me fiercely, bit her lip, and ran off.

Michael stood in the doorway, staring hard at me.

After a few seconds of eye contact, he gritted his teeth, turned around, and chased after Emily.

I was left alone in the ward.

I looked at the kissing photo on my phone, opened a saved unknown number, and sent the photo over.

[I didn't lie to you. Emily is his weakness.]

It was Michael's rival, Samuel Taylor, the boss of another criminal organization.

Soon, he replied.

[Interesting.]

[Since you didn't lie to me, I agree to the deal.]

[I'll send you a meeting gift as a sign of good faith.]

[Walk out and look out the window.]

I paused, pulled out the IV, and walked out of the ward barefoot.

The hallway window faced the hospital entrance.

I saw Emily running out crying, with Michael chasing after her.

Suddenly—

Bang!

A gunshot rang out.

Emily screamed and fell to the ground.

Blood gushed from her ankle, staining the ground red.

Michael's face changed dramatically. He almost instantly threw himself over her, shielding her with his body.

He held her, his eyes full of panic and heartache.

My phone vibrated.

[Did you see that?]

[Satisfied?]

I stared at the scene below—Michael holding Emily tightly.

I replied: [Thank you.]

Dense gunfire followed. Several black cars crashed through the gate. Michael's men began to fight back, and the scene instantly became chaotic.

The bodyguards rushed toward the sniper's direction with their guns, and the entire hospital entrance descended into chaos.

While all the bodyguards rushed downstairs for support, I walked in the opposite direction.

Through the crowd, Michael noticed me.

He called out: "Olivia! Where are you going?"

I turned back and silently mouthed: "Leaving you."

He must have understood what I said.

Because he let go of Emily and seemed to want to run toward me.

Emily called out to him in disbelief: "Michael...?"

He froze, and his expression became extremely unpleasant.