Chapter·4

The crippling weakness of the muscle relaxant surged up from my lower back, blurring the edges of my vision. I couldn't fight them head-on.

I grabbed the medical cart beside the hospital bed and hurled it over. Soiled blood, syringes, and shattered glass rained down on them. The guy in the front instinctively recoiled. Dropping my shoulder, I rammed past the man on the right and stumbled blindly into the emergency stairwell.

"Lock the doors! Don't let her leave this floor!" Diana's shrill voice chased after me.

I practically tumbled down the pitch-black stairwell. With every step, the glass shards embedded in my soles drove deeper into my flesh. Pushing open the fire exit, a torrential downpour slammed into me. Drained of all strength, I collapsed onto the slick, muddy ground.

"Over there!" The heavy thud of footsteps drew closer.

I could only drag myself forward, propped up on my elbows in the mud. In the distance, two blinding headlights pierced the curtain of rain, heading straight for me. Jaw clenched, I lunged directly into the path of the black Rolls-Royce.

Screech!

The tires tore through the rainy night. I slammed against the freezing hood, slid down the grille, and crashed heavily onto my knees on the asphalt.

The bulletproof window in the back slowly rolled down. The woman inside was in her early forties, sporting a sharp, cropped haircut. A cigar was pinched between her fingers. She lowered her gaze, staring down at me with icy indifference.

The moment our eyes met, her cigar-holding fingers halted in mid-air. An instant later, her brow furrowed fiercely, and her free hand uncharacteristically clamped over her own chest.

Just then, Diana's breathless, exasperated voice rang out from behind. "Chloe! Come back! Mom was wrong, we won't do the surgery today, just come back first!"

"Chloe!" Richard caught up holding a black umbrella, panting heavily. "Are you insane?! Where are you going? That's... that's the Kane family's motorcade!" When he uttered the name "Kane," his voice noticeably trembled.

"Victoria Kane... why are you here?!" Diana's initially furious face contorted, her voice instantly dropping an octave when she registered the woman in the window.

Victoria ignored the commotion outside. She merely tilted her head and looked at me. "Do you know them?"

"I don't know them," I forced the words out.

"She's my daughter!" Diana shrieked from ten paces away.

Richard took a step forward. "Chloe! Stop this nonsense! Your mother said there's no surgery today. Let's just go home first—"

I struggled to push myself up and suddenly let out a laugh. "Home? You've never treated me like family, not even once."

Frantic, Diana tried to rush forward, but Victoria's men in black drew their weapons, barricading her in the rain. "Chloe! Have you thrown enough of a tantrum?! Do you have any idea that your sister is dying—"

"A tantrum?" I lifted the back of my hand. The IV catheter wound was still dripping blood over my knuckles. "I have three surgical scars on my body, from my left eye down to my liver. Now you want to take my life to pave the way for your adopted daughter. And in your eyes, I'm just throwing a tantrum?"

Diana's lips twitched violently, her face turning a ghastly shade of pale. Standing behind her, Richard opened his mouth, but couldn't string together a single excuse.

The muscle relaxant took full effect down to my bones. I lost the last ounce of strength to stand. My body swayed out of control, tipping sideways as my vision descended into absolute darkness.

The anticipated impact against the road never came. An arm caught me, steady and firm.

A scent of clean cigar smoke intertwined with wild roses washed over me. It was her. I slumped entirely into the woman's embrace. An unexpected softness and warmth enveloped me instantly. Left shivering in the cold for so long, my body craved it too much to even twitch.

"How old are you?" her low, resonant voice echoed above my head.

I moved my cracked lips. "Seventeen..."

She paused for a moment. Then, she raised a hand, delicately brushing aside the soaked, blood-stained strands of hair glued to my face.

Diana's eyes nearly popped out of her head, outright panic bleeding into her voice. "Chloe! You can't go with her! You have no idea how evil she is! She's a psychopath!"

"Who could possibly be more evil than you?" I murmured against Victoria's chest, my voice already fading away.

I felt Victoria's shoulders shake slightly, as if she were chuckling under her breath. She didn't even spare Diana a direct glance, merely raising an eyebrow.

"Shut your mouth. From now on, this little one belongs to me."

She leaned down slightly, hooking one arm under my shoulders and the other behind my knees. Effortlessly, she swept me up and settled me directly into the warm, leather interior of the car.

"Close the door."

The heavy door slammed shut, severing the torrential rain and Diana's hysterical cursing. I leaned against this dangerous woman I had just met. On the very edge of losing consciousness, I faintly felt her chin resting softly against the crown of my head.

She said something. It was incredibly light, almost like she was talking to herself, yet it felt like the most profound promise.

"If they don't want you... from now on, you are my daughter."

Her arms tightened around me. I could hear her heartbeat vibrating through my back. Steady. Powerful. Astoundingly, it beat in perfect sync with my own.

I had no idea where this car was heading. But the arms holding me tight never loosened by a fraction of an inch.

For seventeen years, I had bled myself dry and never once received a genuine embrace from my "family." If that was the case, then from this second onward, I would let someone else hold me.