Nica watched as Leon furiously berated Leah. As he frowned, he pulled out his phone and made a call.

Leah was quickly wheeled into the operating room without undergoing any preliminary tests. Several doctors in surgical scrubs entered and before she could react, a syringe of anesthesia was injected into her arm. Her consciousness faded almost instantly.

In her hazy state, she seemed to catch fragments of conversation. "I've never seen a family like this. The girl is perfectly healthy, yet they're insisting on a kidney transplant and even faking surgery."

"Haven't you heard? The two sisters are fighting over the same man. The older one obviously wants to punish the younger."

"What? Are they really sisters? I heard she’s an illegitimate daughter. So, which is it?"

"Shush, don’t talk too much. We can't talk about rich family's issues. We’re just here to do our job and take the money."

The cold touch of the scalpel against her skin sent a chilling realization through her.

It turned out her sister was truly healthy and all of these were just a test to determine Leon's true feelings for Ella, she deliberately wanted to take Leah's kidney.

Was she not her parents’ biological daughter? Whose illegitimate daughter was she?

Despair swallowed her whole. She was going to die on this operating table because everyone wanted her to die.

***

Leah thought she had died. How else could she explain the vast expanse of white before her eyes?

"Is this heaven?" she murmured weakly.

As soon as she finished talking, Nico who had just finished reading a medical report, set the paper down and strode over to her bedside. "Are you awake? Do you feel any discomfort?"

It took Leah several seconds to register who was speaking.

Seeing him up close for the first time, she realized Nico was far more striking than Leon. His sharp, well-defined features exuded an air of authority and strength. He had an intense presence that was almost suffocating.

"Uncle... you saved me?" she asked hesitantly, instinctively shrinking back and avoiding his gaze.

Nico chuckled. "Your body is in terrible shape. You’ll need at least a month to recover. Even if you wanted to donate a kidney to save your sister, there was no need to rush into it so recklessly."

Leah didn’t know how to respond to his statement. She also did not have any idea how she had ended up here instead of on the operating table.

However, it seemed Nico had saved me. Still, he was a man constantly occupied with business. How many times could she expect him to intervene in her life? She had relied on herself.

"Thank you," she said simply. After that, she remained silent.

Nico vaguely recalled seeing Leah years ago when Leon was still a student. He had picked his nephew up from school a few times and noticed that Leon always walked alongside a lively, talkative girl.

How had she become like this?

"Rest well. I have work to do. Nico will take you home," he said.

Leah wanted to refuse. She did not want to have anything to do with Leon. However, compared to him, she was even less familiar to anyone in Diakos's family.

"Is ‘thank you’ all you can say?" Nico asked, his voice carrying a hint of amusement.

For some reason, he found himself unusually invested in this frail, battered young woman. When he saw the scars on her body, a rare flicker of anger stirred within him.

Leah averted her gaze. Nico didn’t press further. He set the report down and left the room.

Leon stormed in not long after and pointed his finger at Leah's face. "What the hell did you do to my uncle? How did you get him to take you off the operating table?"

Leah jerked her head up and looked at Leon incredulously, “He carried me away?”

She had only met Nico once before. He didn’t seem like the type to meddle in others' affairs.

Leon couldn’t stand Leah's feigned innocence. To him, she was manipulative and always acted like she was the victim. Fury surged through him as he stepped forward and raised his hand. He was ready to slap her across the face.

"Don't pretend to be innocent in front of me. Three years ago, you ended up sharing a bed with another man and to think I actually believed you wanted a platonic relationship with me."

Leah's face burned from the slap. She lowered her gaze while clutching her cheek.

Back then, her heart had belonged solely to Leon. She had dreamed of giving herself to him completely after their engagement. However, who could have foreseen the cruel twist of fate that shattered her plans?

Who would have thought that she would lose her purity in the Diakos Villa, only the man was not Leon?

When she had discovered her pregnancy in prison, she had felt a whirlwind of shock and joy. That feeling would never return. Leon had personally destroyed her love and future.

After enduring three years in prison, the man before her no longer had the power to stir her heart anymore because all she felt toward him was disgust.

"Leon let me go. I'm begging you," Leah pleaded with a weak humble voice.

Leon's hand shot out and gripped her throat, his bloodshot eyes filled with rage. "I told you that's impossible! Leah, you will spend the rest of your life atoning for what you did to Ella!"

Summoning a strength, she didn't know she had, Leah shoved him away. Barefoot, she bolted from the hospital room without looking back. She had to escape and find a way to find her child. She could not afford to fall into that hell again.

However, no matter how much she had planned, she hadn't anticipated one thing Ella would be standing right outside the door.

The moment Leah stepped out, Ella stuck out her foot and sent her crashing to the ground.

"What? Are you trying to run? That's not going to happen, my dear little sister," Ella sneered. "You haven't given me your kidney yet. How could I let you leave so easily?"

Leah's hand had broken. She tried to prop herself up but slipped across a trace of blood.

"Ella, sister … you weren't like this before, why are you ....”

"Don't call me that!" Ella snapped. "I hate you! You wear that face and act all innocent while trying to steal the love that belongs to me! If it weren't for you, Mom and Dad would have only doted on me!"

Yet even with her existence, hadn't their parents only ever favored Ella? Leah felt her last bit of hope shatter into nothing.

Leon stepped out of the room, his gaze cold as he looked down at her curled-up figure. Without hesitation, he kicked her hard.

"Stay away from her, Ella. Who knows what tricks she pulled to make my uncle speak up for her? I don't trust her scheming ways."

Ella immediately changed her expression and wrapped her arms around Leon’s arm like a delicate vine. "Leon, I'm scared. What if she tries to kill me again? I can’t let her come home."

As she said that, she let a few tears slip down her face, she looked so pitiful.

When it came to deception and acting, who could compare to this sister of hers? For years, from childhood to adulthood, Ella had played her role flawlessly and earned her sympathy while Leah took every beating meant for her.

Leah still remembered the night she was beaten black and blue by their father. It was Leon who had taken her to the hospital in the dead of night. Back then, he had been a sincere, kind-hearted boy, but that boy had died now.

Since getting out of prison, he had already slapped her twice. The part of her that wanted to ask him why he had done this to her, had already broken beyond repair.

"If you hate seeing me so much, just let me go," Leah said.

Leon frowned. "Leave? Not a chance. From today onward, you're coming back with me. In fifteen days, you’ll undergo surgery and donate your kidney to Ella."

Ella pouted while clinging to his arm. "Leon, how can you let her stay at your place? We’re the couple, what will people think?"

"I’ll send her to the Diakos Villa. She can stay in the servants' quarters."

Ella beamed. She leaned in to kiss Leon’s cheek. "Now that’s more like it."

Leah found the scene sickening. However, as long as she could stay far away from the three of them, she was more than willing.

One thing that Leah had not predicted was Leon would bring Ella back to the Diakos Villa with him. Once upon a time, she had entered this villa as his fiancée. Now, she was nothing more than an outsider. Her status was even lower than a servant!

Leeon led her to the most remote maid’s quarters. "From now on, you are not allowed to leave this room. Meals will be delivered. If I find out you tried to escape, I will break your legs."

His words were filled with menace. Leah numbly took the bag from his hands and shut the door with a thud.

Outside, Leon loosened his tie, but the stifling frustration in his chest refused to dissipate. Just then, Ella sent him a photo of herself in lingerie and it instantly ignited a fire in his eyes.

Whatever frustration he felt because of Leah, someone else would relieve it for him.

Ella was three years older than him. When they first mistakenly ended up together, she had still been a virgin. However, ever since then, she had become incredibly skilled, she always left him feeling utterly spent.

Leon had to admit that only after he experienced intimacy did he realize how laughable his pure, innocent love with Leah had been.

Leah slept for a while and woke up at 2 a.m., her stomach empty. No one had brought her any food.

Leah slept for a while and woke up at two in the morning When she woke up, she was hungry but no one had brought her any food.

Following her memory, she headed toward the kitchen for some water, but suddenly, she heard an unmistakable sound of pleasure.

"Ah, Leon, slow down."

"I can’t."

It was Leon and Ella? They were actually doing it in the kitchen…

Leah covered her mouth. She was afraid of making any noise. As she stepped back, she bumped into a firm chest.

The man’s breath enveloped her and she stiffened like a startled rabbit and instantly pulled away.

Nico watched her calmly. "What? Aren't you going in to catch them in the act?"

Leah had just woken up so her eyes were misty and they carried a fragile softness. Nico’s Adam’s apple bobbed slightly.

"I have nothing to do with them," she said stiffly before she left. 

The kitchen door wasn’t even locked and the sounds of debauchery continued without pause.

Just then, Nico grabbed her wrist. "Listen closely. It's quite entertaining, isn’t it?"

Leah glared at him. Was he insane? The head of the Diakos Financila Consortium actually had this kind of vulgar fetish.

Nico raised his brow and smirked slightly. He unlocked his phone and pulled up the surveillance footage then handed it to Leah.

I’ve been staying here for a while and for security reasons I installed cameras. You're welcome to keep a copy and use it as evidence."

The footage from the surveillance camera was downright obscene. Leah forced herself to stay calm. "They’re not done yet."

"Press that button and it’ll save in real-time."

Silently, Leah pressed the red button. When she watched the tangled bodies and scattered clothing on the screen, she felt nothing.

Nioc glanced at the footage. "They’re almost finished. Come with me."

He took her to a bedroom on the third floor. It was his room. It had a low-key, luxurious and meticulously refined room.

"What do you plan to do next?" he asked.

Leah stood hesitantly at the doorway. She did not dare to step inside. What she wanted to do and what she could do were two different things.

"Tell me, I can help you," said Niko.

"Why?" Leah asked. Her gaze was filled with confusion. Nico had already helped her once. Why would he help her again?

Nio spread his hands. "Think of it as my good deed for the day. If I don’t help you, you won’t be able to keep your kidney in fifteen days."

Leah fell silent.

"I’m not offering this for free. You need to agree to one condition," Nico said.

"What condition?"

A faintly helpless smile played at Lion’s lips. "My parents live abroad and are very concerned about my personal life. If you don’t mind, you could pose as my wife to reassure them."