Chapter 4

"Let go," Zoey snapped, shoving Mason away.

Mason hit the ground, looking up at Zoey's furious face. He sighed, "Zoey, we did it for your own good back then. If you hadn't gone to jail, your reputation would've been trashed."

"My reputation was trashed because I went to jail!"

"Alright, let's not get into that now." Mason stood up, brushing off his clothes. "Grandma's been calling you a lot. She wants you to come back. Her heart bypass surgery needs you."

Zoey's expression softened a bit. Her grandma had always been the kindest to her and her mom.

"Fine, I'll do the surgery," she said coolly. "But this has nothing to do with the King family."

Mason let out a sigh of relief and smiled. "Alright, I'll help you pack your stuff, and we'll leave tonight."

"I have some things to handle. I'll meet you later," Zoey said, turning to leave. "Don't follow me."

Back in the basement, she packed her bags while anonymously posting the information she had gathered online.

Within minutes, the entire city was aware of the Brown family's scandal. William Brown had been killed in a fight with a rival.

The Brown family quickly issued a statement, claiming William's death was an accident and had nothing to do with anyone else.

That evening, Zoey returned to Emerald City with Mason and went straight to the hospital to check on Rhea.

"Why is Zoey here?" Cleo stomped her foot in the corner.

Scarlett frowned and explained, "Your grandma needs her for the surgery."

"How can you all let a murderer perform surgery on Grandma?" Cleo's voice was sharp. "Zoey doesn't have the skills! If she comes back, people will laugh at me for having a murderer as a sister!"

"I'll have your dad send her back as soon as possible," Scarlett reassured her. "Don't worry..."

Zoey glanced expressionlessly at her stepmother, Scarlett, and Cleo.

Two years had passed, and these two hadn't changed a bit.

Cleo was startled by Zoey's gaze and exaggeratedly clutched her chest. "Mom, look at her! She must be back to get revenge on us for framing her as the murderer..."

Her hypocritical act was nauseating.

"Cleo, you still haven't changed your habit of talking nonsense," Zoey said coldly. "A beast is always a beast."

She was here to see Rhea, not to argue with beasts.

Cleo screamed in anger, "Zoey, you lunatic!"

"Enough!" Scarlett interrupted sharply. "Zoey, you're not welcome here. Rhea must be out of her mind to want to see someone like you..."

"Someone like what?" A frail but authoritative voice came from behind. "I'm not dead yet, and this house is not yours to control."

Cleo shrank back, hiding behind Scarlett. "Grandma, Zoey just killed someone. She must still have the smell of blood on her..."

"I think the dirtiest one here is you," Rhea said sternly. "Say one more word, and you're out of the King family."

Turning to Zoey, Rhea's voice softened. "Zoey, come here."

Zoey saw the bandages on Rhea's wrists from the IVs and quickly walked over to her.

At this distance, she could see how much more frail Rhea had become compared to a few years ago.

"Grandma, I'll do the surgery for you."

"Good, good." Rhea's trembling hand gently touched Zoey's cheek. "They all say you lost a life on the table, but I know, my Zoey's hands are the steadiest with a scalpel..."

"If I hadn't been unconscious back then, I wouldn't have let them bully you."

Zoey suddenly knelt on one knee, looking Rhea in the eye. "Grandma, I'm back."

Her voice had a hint of a sob.

Rhea's eyes filled with tears. "It's good that you're back. I just want you by my side. Your room has been kept the same, cleaned every day."

"Scarlett, contact Nexus School of Medicine and arrange for Zoey to intern there. Once she gets her internship certificate, she can work at the King Group's hospital."

Scarlett looked troubled. "Mom, Zoey has a criminal record. No medical school will accept her."

Who would let a murderer be an intern? The King family wasn't that powerful.

"Isn't Cleo a director at Nexus School of Medicine?" Rhea asked Cleo directly. "Arrange for Zoey to intern there. It shouldn't be a problem, right?"

Cleo looked reluctant. At this moment, Aiden interjected.

"Mom, you're putting Cleo in a tough spot. People will say she's abusing her power to get a murderer into Nexus School of Medicine—an internationally renowned medical school. You're making it hard for her as a director."

Rhea was so angry that she started coughing violently. The nurse quickly adjusted the oxygen flow.

Zoey stood up and gently patted Rhea's back to help her catch her breath.

"Grandma, don't get upset over me. I won't stay at the King Villa. It will make me feel better that way."

"Nonsense!" Rhea suddenly slapped the armrest of her wheelchair. "You're my granddaughter. If you don't stay at the King Villa, where will you stay?"

"Grandma, she already said she doesn't want to stay with us. Why force her? She's just a monster who deals with corpses... Ouch!"

Before Cleo could finish, Rhea's cane had already struck her leg hard.

"Cleo!" Rhea's fingers trembled with anger. "If I hadn't been soft-hearted and accepted your mother into the King family, Zoey's mother wouldn't have..." She choked up, unable to continue. This had been the weight on her heart for years.

Zoey stood quietly by the wheelchair.

She remembered that rainy night, her mother lying in a pool of blood.

"Zoey must stay at the King Villa," Rhea said, calming her breath. "I need her to check on me every day after I get out of the hospital."

Seeing Rhea's determined eyes, Zoey finally nodded. "I'll go to Nexus School of Medicine for the internship."

"But staying at the King Villa..." Her voice was so soft it was almost a sigh. "I'm afraid I'll dream of Mom crying."

And more, she was afraid that she wouldn't be able to control the urge to kill with a scalpel.

Rhea was silent for a long time. "Then stay with me at the hospital tonight, okay? Let's not go back to the King Villa."

"Okay." Zoey pushed the wheelchair. "I'm here to be with you."

Scarlett and Cleo followed behind, their faces dark.

While Zoey was getting the medication, Cleo blocked her way.

"Why didn't you die in prison?"

Zoey swallowed two white pills, medication to control her emotions.

"Didn't prison teach you how to talk?" Cleo suddenly snatched the pillbox.

With a crisp sound, the pillbox was thrown to the ground.

Zoey suddenly grabbed Cleo's wrist, squeezing so hard it felt like she might crush the bones:

"Cleo, I'll make sure you watch it as everything in the King family comes back to me..."

When she retrieved the pillbox, Cleo's wrist was already marked with red.

Cleo was both angry and scared, unable to understand how Zoey had changed so much.

The next morning, Rhea rubbed her fingers.

"Have Mason take you to see Mr. Sanchez. He owes me his life."

In the dean's office at Nexus School of Medicine, Albert Sanchez repeatedly reviewed the file.

"Rhea asked, so I should agree," he said, adjusting his glasses with a sigh. "But Ms. King, your record of 'causing death by medical accident, served two years'..."

"Mr. Sanchez!" Mason stood up anxiously. "There was a misunderstanding two years ago!"

"Mr. King, I understand," Albert said, pushing the file away. "But Nexus School of Medicine has a century-old reputation. We can't accept someone with a criminal record. Moreover..."

He glanced meaningfully at Zoey. "I heard you only participated in dissection classes in Silverlight City?"

Zoey suddenly stood up and walked out. She didn't want to listen to any more nonsense.

Mason, worried she might do something rash, quickly followed her.

As soon as they left, an assistant rushed in, flustered.

"Mr. Sanchez! Mr. Garcia is here unexpectedly!"