I was roughly dragged back to the villa by the bodyguards and thrown onto the cold marble floor.

“Looks like I’ve been too lenient with you.” Liam looked down at me, his eyes filled with utter impatience. “Draw her blood first. Vanessa isn’t feeling well and needs a transfusion. After that, lock her in the basement. No one is allowed to let her out without my permission.”

“Liam! You can’t do this!” I finally screamed, “This is illegal!”

He acted as if he'd heard a joke, bent down and grabbed my chin with such force that he almost crushed my bones: "Illegal? In the Foster family, my word is law. Clara, you'd better know your place."

The family doctor walked in with a syringe. The needle was as thick as a child's arm and gleamed with a cold, silvery light.

The doctor walked over to me, hesitated for a moment, and then said to Liam, "Mr. Xie, although your wife and Ms. Vanessa both have Rh-negative blood, your wife has a history of heart disease since childhood and was hospitalized last year due to excessive bleeding and miscarriage. Forcing a blood draw could very likely trigger acute shock. I think it's safer to go to the hospital first for a comprehensive examination before giving Ms. Vanessa a transfusion..."

“Don’t try to persuade me anymore,” Liam interrupted him, his tone leaving no room for argument. “Your only task is to get Vanessa back to health. As for Clara, she’s not that fragile.”

Before the doctor could say anything more, Liam had already stood up and walked over to me.

He looked at my pale face and suddenly said something strange: "Does it hurt a lot?"

I turned my head away, too lazy to waste words with him. I knew this man would never truly care about my pain.

The doctor picked up the syringe with trembling hands and pierced my arm.

The cold needle pierced my vein, and a chill ran down my arm and through my whole body.

I closed my eyes, and the scene from three years ago flashed through my mind.

At that time, I was pregnant, and Liam's friend was in a car accident and urgently needed rare blood.

Liam found me and said, "It's just a little bit, it'll be fine."

I believed it, and as a result, they drained 400 milliliters of blood. After returning home, I started bleeding, and the pregnancy became unstable, leading to a miscarriage.

He was filled with regret at that time and vowed never to let me donate blood to others again and never to let me be in danger again.

Now that he's met Vanessa, he's forgotten all his vows.

The blood flowed through the syringe into the blood bag, gradually filling it up.

My lips gradually lost their color and turned purple.

I could feel my heart beating faster and faster, and my chest started to feel tight; those were signs that a heart attack was about to occur.

Just then, Vanessa's coughing came from upstairs. Liam immediately rushed over and pressed down on the doctor's hand as he removed the IV: "Draw another two! Vanessa is still coughing, she definitely needs more blood!"

The doctor's forehead was covered in cold sweat. He looked at my increasingly pale face, his voice trembling with anxiety: "Mr. Xie, this won't do! We've already drained 800 milliliters. If we drain any more, Madam will really be in trouble! Her heart can't take it!"

Liam hesitated for two seconds, his eyes flickering, but he quickly regained his coldness: "Vanessa is pregnant, and everything should be done with the pregnant woman first. Clara... she can pull through."

"But..." the doctor wanted to argue.

"Go ahead and smoke," I said suddenly, my voice weak but firm. "After you're done, let me leave."

I'm exhausted, too exhausted to fight anymore, too exhausted to even think about escaping this suffocating place.

Liam looked at my pale face, a complex emotion flashing in his eyes—an emotion that seemed to be anger, or something else entirely. He opened his mouth, as if to ask me, "What are you doing?", but before he could speak, Vanessa's sweet voice came from upstairs: "Liam-gege~ I'm feeling a little unwell..."

Liam immediately turned around, ran upstairs quickly, and didn't even glance at me again.

My vision blurred and I eventually passed out.

When I opened my eyes again, I found myself in a damp, moldy basement, with only a sliver of light coming through the crack in the door.

I curled up in the corner, hugging my knees, not knowing how much time had passed—maybe a day, maybe two. Time had lost its meaning here.

Footsteps and the sound of a lock being opened came from outside the door.

The blinding light shone in, and I instinctively squinted.

It's Vanessa.

She stood gracefully in the doorway, wearing an expensive cashmere sweater and holding a glass of water, seemingly out of place in the gloomy environment.

"Clara, why make yourself look so disheveled?" She walked in slowly, placed the water on the ground in front of me, as if she were giving alms to a stray dog.

"I've come to make a deal with you."

I looked up at her coldly, without saying a word.

"The reason why Brother Liam is still unwilling to let you go is simply because he has his eye on your rare Rh-negative blood."

She gently stroked her lower abdomen, her smile both sweet and malicious. "I'm anemic during my pregnancy and need to have blood on hand at all times. If you sign this voluntary blood donation agreement, promising to be available whenever I call before I give birth, I'll have Liam release you, including... your half-dead dog, and your seriously ill sister."

She took a document out of her designer handbag and threw it in front of me.

I stared at the agreement, and my blood seemed to freeze at that moment.

Signing means I may never truly get rid of them; not signing means my sister and Tuantuan may suffer even crueler treatment because of me.

My father's words echoed in my ears: "Clara, when you encounter setbacks, you must have the courage to start over..."

Courage is not just about being unyielding to the death, but also about enduring hardship and humiliation to protect those who are important to you.

I raised my hand, stained with blood and dust, and picked up the pen from the ground.

“I’ll sign.” My voice was hoarse but clear. “But you have to promise to release my sister immediately and take Tuantuan to the vet for treatment.”

Vanessa's lips curled into a barely perceptible, eerie smile: "Of course, I always keep my word."

I took a deep breath and signed my name in the designated place on the document.

As soon as I put down my pen, Vanessa snatched the document away almost immediately. She carefully examined my signature, a bright yet malicious smile spreading across her face.

“Clara, you’re the dumbest woman I’ve ever met.” She chuckled, her voice jarring in the empty basement. “You think this is just a blood transfusion agreement?”

My heart sank suddenly, and a strong sense of foreboding gripped me.

"Let me see what you signed..." She flipped through the documents with feigned nonchalance. "Oh, this is a voluntary divorce agreement, stating that you voluntarily leave with nothing and give up all marital property."

"And this one..." She held up another sheet of paper, which clearly read "Voluntary Organ Donation Consent Form." "It's an agreement that if you 'accidentally' pass away, all your organs, especially your precious heart with your rare, rare blood type, will be donated to...me free of charge."

My mind went blank. Divorce? Organ donation? To Vanessa?!

"You...you lied to me!" I stood up abruptly, swaying slightly from weakness and anger.

"So what if I lied to you?" Vanessa relished the shock and despair on my face, as if watching a captivating drama.

"Clara, do you think Liam is still keeping you around? Isn't it because of your unique blood type and your heart, which can be replaced in case something goes wrong during my childbirth? Now that we have this document, your value has truly been exhausted. When you 'accidentally' die, your heart will continue to beat in my body, and your husband and children... oh no, my husband and children, will live happily together. Think about it, isn't that perfect?"

A bone-chilling cold instantly spread from the soles of my feet to my entire body.

It turns out that from the very beginning, Liam kept me around not because of any old feelings, but because he treated me as a living blood bank and a... spare organ container!

seven years of dedication and seven years of forbearance, only to be rewarded with such a meticulously planned and outrageous ending!

"You beast!" I practically spat out those two words through clenched teeth, my whole body trembling uncontrollably.

“Say whatever you want.” Vanessa carefully put the documents away, her posture elegant. “Now, keep my promise.” She clapped her hands.

The bodyguard brought in the younger sister, who looked even smaller and more frightened.

Another bodyguard was carrying a small pet carrier, inside which Tuan Tuan lay motionless, its fate unknown.

“You’re getting the person and the dog back,” Vanessa said with a smile. “Whether they live or die is up to fate. After all, you’ve signed the papers and are no longer of any value to us. The Foster family doesn’t keep idle people or dogs.”

After she finished speaking, she turned and left with the air of a victor.

I stumbled over and rushed over, first hugging my trembling sister tightly, then opening the pet carrier with trembling hands.

Tuantuan was breathing weakly; it was still alive! But its breath was so weak that it seemed it might stop at any moment.

I was overwhelmed by a wave of anger, humiliation, and lingering fear.

It wasn't because she was left with nothing, but because of that organ donation agreement!

They not only want me to leave with nothing, they want my life! Paving the way for Vanessa!

I must leave here immediately!

I held the airline crate tightly in one hand and my sister firmly in the other, using all my strength to support myself as I walked out of this hellhole step by step.

My vision began to blur, and I heard my younger sister's tearful cries: "Sister! Sister, what's wrong?"

I struggled toward the gate of the Foster family villa, but the pain from having too much blood drawn, along with the immense mental shock, overwhelmed me like a tsunami, instantly consuming my last vestiges of consciousness.

Before I was completely plunged into darkness, I only had time to hold my sister's hand and the airline box in my arms tighter before I fell straight forward.

...

When I regained consciousness, the first thing I smelled was disinfectant.

I suddenly opened my eyes, and what came into view was an unfamiliar, pure white ceiling.

I was lying in the hospital bed with an IV drip in the back of my hand.

"Tuantuan! Sister!" I struggled to sit up, but a dull pain came from my chest.

"Don't move, you're still very weak," a gentle but unfamiliar female voice said.

I then noticed a young girl in a nurse's uniform standing by the bed. She gently pressed my shoulder and said, "You fainted because of low blood sugar and emotional distress. Your sister is fine and is resting in the next room. The doctor examined her; she was just a little frightened and malnourished."

“Then my dog…” My heart clenched.

"You mean that little dog?" The nurse's face showed a hint of sympathy. "The vet just came by and gave it emergency treatment. Its condition... isn't good. It has internal bleeding and fractures, but its vital signs are stable for now. It needs further observation and treatment."

Hearing that Tuantuan was still alive, my tense nerves relaxed a little, and a huge sense of exhaustion swept over me.

"Who brought us here?" I asked in a hoarse voice, hoping for the answer.

"A lady who was passing by used your phone to call an ambulance. Your emergency contact... is a Mr. Foster, and the hospital has already notified him."

The gentleman surnamed Foster... is Liam.

My heart sank.

It's not Gregory.

He couldn't pick me up. Where is he now?

Did he know I fainted and was taken to the hospital?

Or...did we encounter some trouble?

Just as my thoughts were in disarray, the ward door was violently pushed open.

Liam walked in with a gloomy expression. He glanced at my pale face and the IV drip on the back of my hand, his brows furrowed, his tone revealing undisguised annoyance and impatience: "Clara, how long are you going to keep this up? You think I'd believe such a clumsy trick as faking illness and fainting? I've said it before, as long as you listen to me, you'll still be Mrs. Foster. What are you arguing about with a secretary?"

His gaze was still filled with disgust and coldness as he looked at me, seemingly completely unaware that Vanessa had made me sign the divorce papers and the organ donation agreement.

It seems Vanessa is keeping it from him.

Looking at him, I suddenly felt incredibly ironic.

This man, my husband in name only, the one I've loved for seven years, now appears to me like a clueless, self-righteous clown.

I've wanted to divorce him for a long time. That divorce agreement, in which I would leave with nothing, was, for me, a relief.

What I care about is that organ donation agreement that wanted to kill me!

"I'm not making a scene." I lowered my eyelashes, concealing all the emotions in my eyes, my voice weak but calm, "I'm just... too tired."

My submissiveness and weakness seemed to please him, or rather, made him feel that I was still under his control.

He snorted coldly, "Since you're not dead, hurry up and get well. Vanessa needs someone to take care of her during her pregnancy, so don't even think about slacking off. As for your sister and that dog..."

He paused, his tone carrying a condescending warning: "I can allow them to stay in the hospital temporarily. But Clara, you'd better remember, don't test my patience again."

After he finished speaking, as if he felt it was dirty to stay even a second longer, he turned around and left the ward.

...

Not long after, Liam brought a bowl of porridge into the ward and pretended to feed me: "Are you hungry? Have some porridge."

I frowned, my voice still a little hoarse: "I can do it myself."

I took the bowl of porridge and took a sip. The porridge was cold, and it contained lotus seeds—I'm allergic to lotus seeds; ever since I was a child, eating lotus seeds has made my whole body itchy.

Liam knew perfectly well that this was the case, but he still brought me this bowl of porridge.

I suddenly remembered that when I used to make porridge for Liam, I would always remember that he didn't like scallions, so I would warm the porridge until it was no longer too hot to eat before serving it to him.

He never cared about my preferences.

Seeing that I was quiet, Liam suddenly asked, "Is anything bothering you?"

I looked up and replied, seemingly out of the blue, "Could you please give me my phone?"

Perhaps my tone was too distant, because Liam paused for a moment before taking out his phone and handing it to me.

There were over a dozen missed calls on the screen, all from Gregory. Liam saw them and frowned: "Who called?"

He never asked me these things before; he didn't even know my phone password.

A hint of annoyance flashed across my eyes, and I said indifferently, "You don't know him."

Liam's face darkened. He unbuttoned the top button of his shirt, leaned down to look at me, and said in a threatening tone, "Clara, how long are you going to keep throwing your tantrums? You think you can take advantage of me?"

In the past, when Liam was angry, I would apologize immediately and try my best to make him happy.

But now, I simply pointed to his vibrating phone in his pocket and said expressionlessly, "Vanessa is looking for you."

Liam's expression softened instantly. He took out his phone, glanced at the screen, immediately stood up, avoided me, and quickly walked into the hallway to answer the call.

He spoke very softly, and I could vaguely hear things like "Vanessa, don't worry" and "I'll be right back."

My phone rang as soon as the man left.

It was Gregory calling.

I answered the phone, and before I could even speak, Gregory's anxious voice came through: "Clara, what's wrong? Didn't you say you were leaving yesterday? Why didn't you contact me? Are you having second thoughts?"

"I have no regrets, it's just that something unexpected happened..." My voice choked up a little.

"An accident? What happened to you? Are you injured?" Gregory's voice became more urgent. "No, I have to go back to the country myself..."

"Don't come back." I interrupted him, lowering my eyes and pursing my lips. "Give me a few more days, and I will definitely leave here and come find you."

"Who are you going to find? You want to leave me? Who gave you permission to leave me?" Liam overheard the last sentence when he returned to the ward.