"Winona!" Simon, who was beside Winona, caught her. "Chester, Winona looks like she's having an allergic reaction!"

Chester froze mid-stride, remembering that Noelle had ordered seafood broth during the meal. His expression went cold in an instant as he turned and stormed over to Noelle.

She'd already hitched up her skirt and was about to inject herself. Suddenly, a hand clamped down on her wrist without warning and yanked the EpiPen out of her grip.

She looked up in disbelief and met Chester's icy gaze. "You caused Winona to have an allergic reaction. She needs the medication first!"

With that, he marched straight to Winona and swiftly administered the injection without the slightest bit of hesitation.

Sensing Noelle's stare, Simon said coolly, "You're a doctor, Noelle. You should have other ways of saving yourself. Winona doesn't know anything—she needs the EpiPen more."

Chester finished the injection, scooped Winona into his arms, and rushed out. Simon chased after them. "I'll get the car!"

Noelle collapsed to the floor, her bloodshot eyes locked on their retreating figures. From beginning to end, none of them looked back.

As her consciousness blurred, she saw a waiter rush in. "Miss, are you okay?"

…

Noelle was unconscious for a full day. When she woke, Chester was seated at her bedside.

He took her hand, his voice soft with concern. "Elle, you're finally awake. Are you feeling any discomfort?"

She pulled her hand free and closed her eyes.

Chester didn't get mad. He brushed a stray lock from her temple. "Elle, I know you're mad at me, but the Gray and Johnson families have deep ties. We can't let anything happen to Winona on our watch.

"I had no choice. You're about to become a member of the Gray family—we have shared interests. You should be more understanding. You know I love you most, don't you?"

Simon appeared in the doorway. "Come on, Noelle. Chester had no choice. Affluent families like ours have our own problems; we have to put the bigger picture first. As your family, we can only ask you to bear with it for now."

Noelle's hands balled into tight fists under the blanket. She opened her eyes and fixed her gaze on the two men as she sneered inwardly. They were leaving no stone unturned to sweet-talk and brainwash her.

She didn't want to argue with them, so she shut her eyes again. "I want to rest."

Only when their footsteps faded did she open her eyes. She pulled out her phone and dialed a number. "Hello, am I speaking to a live-streaming company? I'd like to place an order…"

After hanging up, her hand moved on instinct to the pendant at her chest, only to grasp at nothing. The pendant containing Marie's hair and ashes was gone!

Panic surged. Noelle hurriedly searched the area around the hospital bed to no avail. She was about to go find a nurse when she received a text.

Winona had sent a photo of her necklace. "If you want it back, come now. Otherwise, I'll dump what's inside into the toilet."

A crushing fury washed over Noelle, almost making her vision go dark. Her chest heaved with rage as she rushed to Winona's hospital room.

Inside, Winona stood by the window, the necklace dangling from her fingertips. It swayed just outside the windowsill, ready to drop at any moment.

"Winona Johnson, give me back my necklace!"

Winona's lips curled into a nasty smile. "You saw my social media updates, right? And here I thought you would keep putting on that holier-than-thou act. You wanted me dead so badly in the past, yet here you are, putting up with anything just to marry into the Gray family."

Noelle kept her gaze on the necklace dangling from Winona's hand. She dug her nails into her palm and snarled, "Give me back my necklace!"

Winona shifted it a bit further past the windowsill. "Get on your knees and prostrate yourself before me if you want it. Admit you're a pathetic hypocrite."

"Never!" Noelle shook with rage. "Don't push me too far, Winona!"

Winona laughed meanly. "Is this the first time you've realized just how far I can push? That stubborn attitude of yours and your refusal to bend to anyone's will is what I hate most about you. If you'd just kneeled to me back then, I wouldn't have kept targeting you for years.

"You've seen how much I mean to Chester. Here's the deal—grovel at my feet and beg me for mercy. Not only will I return the necklace, but I'll also help you get a solid foothold in the Gray family."

"I won't kneel!" Noelle clenched her fists tightly and stalked toward Winona, one measured step at a time. "You couldn't break me before, and you never will! I will never bow to someone as vile as you!"

"You—" Winona barked out an irritated laugh. "Fine, then. Since you don't want the necklace, let's just toss it."

Her fingers flicked down. Silver flashed, and the necklace slipped, dropping fast.

"Give it back!" Noelle screamed, lunging to catch it.

But she was too late. The necklace fell from more than ten floors up as she watched.

Her eyes turned bloodshot. She whirled to run downstairs, but Winona yanked tight on her clothes, holding her back. She sounded like she was about to cry as she pleaded, "I'm sorry, Elle. I won't go near Chester again. Please don't push me off…"

At the same time, a chorus of furious voices erupted behind them. "Noelle Rutherford! What are you doing?"

A hand clamped down on Noelle's wrist, squeezing hard enough to crush bone. The next second, she was flung aside. Her tailbone slammed into the floor. Her face went white from the pain, and sweat poured down her back.

Chester and Simon rushed to Winona, scanning her anxiously. "Winona, are you okay?"

She wept delicately. "I'm sorry. It's all my fault. Chester, we should stop contacting each other from now on…"

"What are you talking about?" Chester pulled her into his arms. "Don't worry. I won't let you suffer in silence."

With that, he turned to Noelle, glaring at her with white-hot fury. "I can't believe you're still bullying Winona after all these years, Noelle!"

Noelle's face was ashen with pain. Sweat beaded on her forehead, and her voice shook as she protested, "I didn't… She threw my necklace, and I—"

"That's enough!" Chester cut her off with a roar. He stared at her, disappointment clouding his eyes. "Even now, you're making excuses. Winona has always been gentle and timid—how could she ever bully anyone? You're the one who's at fault! Someone else bullied you, yet you took it out on her!"

Noelle's eyes widened. At last, everything snapped into place. "I didn't! She's the one who's been bullying me! She's tormented me this whole time—"

A brutal slap cracked across her face before she could finish. Her right cheek went numb, and the metallic taste of blood flooded her mouth.

"You still won't see sense!" Rage and disgust burned in Chester's sharp eyes. "If you aren't taught a lesson now, who knows what you'll do? You'll push someone out a window today, so will you start committing murder tomorrow?"

He and Simon grabbed her by the wrists, one on either side, and dragged her out of the room.

"What are you doing?" Intense panic surged up inside Noelle. Her face turned white as she struggled.

No one answered. No matter how she fought, Chester and Simon just hauled her forward in silence, their tight jawlines carved with fury.

In one last glance back at the hospital room, Noelle met Winona's eyes. They were smug, vicious, and triumphant.

Noelle was led to a bungee platform at the mountaintop. The tower rose over 300 feet, and the cliff yawned beneath her feet. The second she stepped onto it, her face went chalk-white, and her legs started to shake.

Chester's and Simon's expressions remained icy. They took the safety locks from the staff and personally buckled them on her, forcing her to the edge of the jump platform.

Noelle stared into the abyss below, her whole body going rigid. All she could hear was the thundering of her own heartbeat. Her voice trembled. "Chester, you know I'm terrified of heights…"

"I know." He looked at her without a flicker of emotion. "Since you tried to push Winona out the window, I'll give you a taste of what it's like to fall. This is the punishment you deserve, Elle. The lady of the Gray household can't be a vicious woman. Learn your lesson today. If you're sincere about correcting your errors, we'll get married as planned."

Simon pressed his lips into a hard line, his gaze clouded over. "Don't be scared. You won't die."

With that, they reached out and shoved her over the edge.

The brutal drop seized her. Noelle's heartbeat stopped for a few seconds, and her chest ached. Terror beyond words sealed her throat; she couldn't even scream. All that came out were strangled whimpers and tears that scattered in the wind.

Her eyes held nothing but desolation and despair.

She was left hanging upside down over the cliff for half an hour. Only when her breathing faltered and her consciousness began to fray did they haul her back up.

Noelle collapsed on the platform, gasping for air, trying to ease the tingling in her limbs from lack of oxygen. The next second, a staff member stepped forward. "Ms. Rutherford, before Mr. Chester and Mr. Simon left, they ordered that you had to jump ten times before you could leave."

Noelle hadn't even processed the words when she was pushed off again. Once, twice, thrice…

Each time, she was left dangling over the cliff for half an hour. The brief breaks in between didn't ease the oxygen deprivation. As Noelle's mind grew fuzzier, the ten jumps were finally over.

The sky was already pitch-black. The platform's harsh white floodlights were all that held Noelle's last scraps of awareness.

Only one staff member remained on-site. He unfastened her safety rope. As he turned to leave, his pant leg was grabbed.

"Take me… to the hospital…" Noelle's voice was barely more than a whisper. It spent the last drop of her strength.

The staff member shook his head. "I'm sorry, Ms. Rutherford. Mr. Chester and Mr. Simon made it clear that no one is to help you. The Gray family owns this area, and I don't want to lose my job."

He left.

The glare of the floodlights stung Noelle's eyes, making tears slip down her face. She rested there for a while before forcing herself to stand and make her way down the mountain.

She was halfway down it when she came across a kind tourist who was also on the way back. They brought her back to the city.

Noelle didn't go back to the villa. Instead, she went straight to the hospital and, with a flashlight, started searching the lawn beneath the inpatient department for the necklace.

The branches in the hedges scraped her skin, and mosquitoes bit her until she was covered in welts. However, she didn't seem to notice. She combed the grass inch by inch.

As time dragged on, she grew more frantic. Tears shimmered in her bloodshot eyes.

Suddenly, a shout came from behind her. "Who are you? What do you think you're doing?"

It was a hospital security guard. With his help, she found the cleaner in charge of the lawn. "Yeah, I did notice a necklace. I figured nobody wanted it and tossed it into the trash."

Noelle pressed, "Which trash can?"

The cleaner shook his head. "It's already been cleared and sent to the dump. I'm afraid you won't be able to find it, even if you want it now."

Noelle's tears fell at once. "Which dump? That necklace is very important to me. I have to get it back!"