“Aria, I know you’re angry,” he said, his voice clipped and icy. “But this time, you crossed the line. I can’t keep indulging your behavior.”

A laugh escaped me—dry, bitter, almost painful. “Indulging me?” I shot back. “Thorne, did you even bother to find out what actually happened?”

He clearly hadn’t expected resistance. His expression darkened at once. “You know exactly what you did,” he said coldly. “I’m not here to argue. I’m here to tell you how this will be handled. Because of your outburst, Lilith’s reputation has been destroyed. When you’re discharged, you’ll host a formal banquet and publicly apologize to her. You’ll admit that the rumors were caused by your misunderstanding and clear her name. As for your father—his condition will be explained as a standard surgical risk associated with brain aneurysms.”

For a second, I thought my ears were playing tricks on me. Then I saw his face. He was serious.

“Have you lost your mind?” My voice trembled. “My father is lying like that because of her mistake, and you want me to protect her reputation?”

His gaze turned steely. “Enough. This isn’t a discussion. This is what will happen. And don’t forget—your father is still barely holding on, and your brother is wasting away in prison.”

My blood ran cold. It was always the same. Whenever I tried to resist, he tightened the chains around my neck. My father. My brother. I had nowhere to run. I swallowed the anger burning my throat and closed my eyes.

“Fine,” I said quietly. “I’ll do it. But you release my brother first.”

He paused, only briefly, then nodded. “One month,” he said. “That’s all the time you have.”

I agreed.

---

When the day arrived, his driver came for me. At the venue, Thorne entered with Lilith hooked on his arm, his hand never leaving hers. He didn’t need to say a word—one look from his eyes was enough to remind me of my place.

I curled my fingers into fists and stepped onto the stage, forcing my expression into something calm.

“I’m here today to apologize to Dr. Lilith Lockhart,” I said steadily. “The statements I previously made online were based on a misunderstanding. I regret the harm they caused.”

The hall erupted instantly.

“How shameless—smearing a doctor like that.”

“So it was all fake? I knew she was just seeking attention.”

“Poor Dr. Lockhart, enduring such malicious rumors.”

“Imagine humiliating yourself like this just to beg forgiveness.”

“No wonder Thorne replaced her.”

Voices sliced into me from every direction. Accusations. Judgment. Contempt. I didn’t explain. I couldn’t. I just wanted it finished.

But as I stepped down from the stage, Lilith’s syrupy voice trailed after me.

“Aria, I forgot something in the car. Could you get it for me?”

“No,” I replied flatly. “Ask one of the staff.”

She pouted, clinging tighter to Thorne’s arm. “But I trust Aria the most. I feel safer when she handles my things.”

Thorne gently patted her hand, then looked at me with that familiar commanding gaze. I understood immediately. Refuse now, and I’d pay later.

So I turned around and walked out.

---

Outside, the night air felt suffocating. I hadn’t even reached the car when the roar of an engine shattered the quiet. A vehicle screeched to a halt in front of me, blocking my path. The door flew open before I could react.

A man dressed in black lunged toward me, hatred burning in his eyes. My heart dropped. I tried to run, but he grabbed my hair and yanked so hard my knees buckled. His palm struck my face, snapping my head sideways as pain exploded.

“Who are you?!” I cried, blood filling my mouth. “There are cameras everywhere—are you insane?!”

He sneered, his gaze empty and cruel. “I’m here to teach you a lesson. You offended Miss Lockhart. Touching you is already mercy. You deserve worse.”

He slammed my head into the car window.

I screamed.

Glass shattered. Warm blood streamed down my face as he smashed my head again and again, until the window was streaked red. My vision blurred. My body went limp. I was too weak to fight him.

“Help… please… someone…” My voice dissolved into sobs. The world was silent except for my crying. Blood burned my eyes. Just when I thought I was about to die, he finally released me.

I collapsed onto the ground like discarded trash.

The headlights flared. The engine revved.

Panic crushed my chest—they were going to run me over.

“Stop!”

Someone rushed toward me, but before I could see who it was, darkness swallowed everything.

---

When I opened my eyes again, the sharp scent of disinfectant filled my nose. Bandages wrapped tightly around my head, and every breath stabbed my chest with pain.

“Aria… you’re awake.”

Thorne stood beside the bed. He looked exhausted, dark shadows beneath his eyes. He exhaled deeply when he saw me conscious.

“It’s over now,” he said gently. “I investigated everything. It was a medical misunderstanding—they mistook you for Lilith. I’ve already had them arrested. You’re safe.”

His tenderness made my stomach twist.

“Does your head still hurt?” he asked softly. “Try moving a bit. Tell me if anything feels wrong.”

His phone rang. I recognized the ringtone immediately—it was her. For once, he ignored it and instead clasped my hand tightly, as if I were precious.

I tried to pull away. He wouldn’t let go.

“Thorne,” I whispered, “if I told you I heard that man say he was acting on Lilith’s orders… would you believe me?”

He stiffened. His brow furrowed. Slowly, he released my hand. His tone turned cold again.

“Enough, Aria. You’re imagining things. Lilith is a victim too. If not for you, she would be the one lying here right now. How could she possibly be behind something like this?”

A bitter laugh escaped me. My lashes trembled as I turned my face away. I didn’t even have the strength to argue anymore. What was the point? He never believed me.

I closed my eyes, utterly exhausted.

“I know you’re upset with her,” Thorne murmured. His hand brushed through my hair in a soothing motion. “Once things calm down, I’ll reduce contact with her. Just trust me.”

He stayed by my side all night, whispering gentle words like he used to, as if that could erase everything. I stared back at him with hollow eyes.

My heart felt numb.

Because I knew he was lying. He would never let Lilith go.

And outside the door, unknown to me, she was already on her way to find him.

---

Hours later…

I was ripped from sleep when the door slammed open. Hands dragged me violently out of bed. My body was weak, my head spinning.

“Where is Lilith?” Thorne roared, fury burning in his voice.

“What did you do to her?!”

I blinked hard, my head still foggy, my thoughts lagging behind the moment. “W‑What are you even saying?”

Something flew straight at my face. Pain snapped against my cheek. I gasped and looked down.

A necklace.

My necklace.

The one I thought I’d lost the night the man in black attacked me.

“Aria!” Thorne snarled, jaw locked so tight I could hear his teeth grind. “Start talking. Now.”

My hands trembled as I picked it up, the chain cold against my fingers. “This… this belongs to me. But I don’t know how—”

“She messaged me last night,” he cut in sharply. “Just two words. Help me. When I rushed to the hospital, her bed was empty. This was all that was left.” His eyes burned into me, sharp and accusing, like he’d already decided my guilt.

My mouth went dry. “This has nothing to do with me.”

In a blink, he surged forward. His fingers clamped around my throat, crushing the air from my lungs. His face twisted, rage spilling out unchecked. “You told me yesterday that Lilith hurt you. And now she’s vanished. You expect me to believe this isn’t revenge?”

I clawed at his wrist, choking, but forced myself to meet his eyes. “I don’t know where she is,” I rasped. “I swear. I didn’t do anything.”

But Thorne never believed my words. Not once.

Instead, he gestured coldly.

Tristan was dragged forward like he weighed nothing, his arms bound behind him in that humiliating, exaggerated way meant to make a spectacle of him. They dumped him onto the asphalt directly in front of a car.

“Tristan!” My heart dropped so fast it hurt.

The headlights flared, blinding. I barely had time to inhale before the engine revved.

The car rolled forward.

There was a sickening crack.

“AHHH!” Tristan screamed, his body jerking violently. “Aria! My leg—my leg!”

My entire body shook. “Brother!” I screamed until my throat burned. “Thorne, stop! What are you doing to him? Are you insane?!”

His voice was calm. Too calm. “I warned you. From now on, the car moves every minute. We’ll start with his limbs.” His gaze locked onto mine. “If you don’t tell me where Lilith is within three minutes, the next stop will be his head.”

“Please—no!” Tears streamed down my face, blurring everything. “I don’t know anything! Why can’t you believe me? Just once—please believe me!”

I had never felt so helpless in my life.

Tristan writhed on the ground, his face ashen, sweat soaking through his clothes. “Aria…” he gasped. “Don’t listen to him… save yourself…”

Thorne scoffed. “One minute gone.”

He lifted his hand.

The car jerked forward again.

This time, it crushed Tristan’s hand.

The scream that tore from him ripped straight through my chest. “My hand! Aria—I can’t feel my hand!”

“No—stop! Please stop!” I collapsed to my knees in front of Thorne, grabbing at his coat. “I’m begging you. Don’t hurt him anymore. If you think I did this, punish me instead. Kill me if you want. Just—please—don’t touch my brother. Please… believe me.”

There was no mercy on his face. Only irritation.

He raised his hand again.

The headlights flared brighter.

I shook my head wildly. “No—please—don’t—”

The engine roared.

The car surged forward.

I didn’t think. I didn’t hesitate.

I tore myself free from the guards and ran.

“Aria, don’t!” Tristan screamed, his voice already breaking.

I threw myself over him, covering his body with mine.

I heard Thorne shout my name, panic cracking his voice—but it was already too late.

Everything exploded into white.

Pain slammed into my waist. Something snapped inside me. Hot blood flooded my mouth, metallic and choking. The world tilted, blurred, fell apart.

“Aria!” Thorne’s voice sounded distant as hands grabbed me. His fingers brushed the corner of my mouth, wiping away blood as if that could undo anything. “I’m sorry… I’m sorry…” he kept repeating, like the words alone could save me.

Then the secretary burst in, breathless, all urgency and performance. “Sir, we found her,” she said brightly. “She’s in the suburbs. Injured and terrified. No one can get close, but she keeps calling your name.”

Thorne froze.

Like someone had flipped a switch.

They rushed Tristan and me into an ambulance, sirens screaming as we sped toward the hospital. But halfway there, chaos exploded at the ER entrance. Shouting. Stretchers crashing. Alarms shrieking like a countdown.

“Lilith needs immediate attention,” the secretary whispered urgently, eyes glossy with just the right amount of concern. “She’s in pain—she says her hand might be ruined. One ER doctor is already with Mr. Gu’s son, and the other—” She paused, watching Thorne closely. “We can send someone, but it’ll take at least thirty minutes.”

I saw it then.

That moment where he weighed me.

My broken, bleeding body.

Against her hands.

My lips almost curved into a laugh. I was dying, and he was deciding the fate of fingers. I tried to smile, but blood spilled faster, warmth draining from me as the ceiling swam.

Then Lilith’s voice cut through the noise, fragile and practiced. “W‑Thorne… please. I’m a surgeon. My hands are everything. If they’re damaged, I’m finished. I’m so sorry… I should have died today. I was just lucky to escape.”

She cried perfectly.

That was enough.

Thorne turned without hesitation. “Save her first,” he ordered. “She can’t lose her hands.” Then, like an afterthought, “Aria, hold on a little longer.”

Like my life was an appointment that could be delayed.

I tried to speak. I didn’t do anything. The words dissolved into slurred sounds. The room spun. His eyes flicked to mine for half a second—pity, calculation, maybe both—then he walked away, following the stretcher carrying Lilith.

They wheeled me somewhere else, but I heard his footsteps fade in the opposite direction.

The ceiling tiles blurred above me, and I thought, How can someone’s conscience be bought so easily by tears and timing?

I had nothing left to fight with. Time crawled. Every breath felt borrowed. I truly believed I would die on that table—until stubborn instinct dragged me back from the edge.

Six hours later, I woke up in a ward I knew far too well.

My throat burned. Pain screamed through my body. But I was alive.

The phone beside my bed vibrated.

When I answered, Thorne’s grandfather’s voice came through—steady, heavy, final. “Aria. Everything is prepared. This is the last step. You won’t regret it.”

I swallowed, forcing my voice to steady. “No. I’m ready to leave. Book three tickets. Once it’s done, I want to disappear immediately.”

I was about to ask him to confirm the details—

When the door slammed open.

My blood turned to ice.

“Aria,” Thorne said quietly, leaning against the doorway, eyes locked onto me. “Where do you think you’re going?”