A sharp slap cracked through the room.

The next second, the expression on Samantha’s face changed abruptly.

She sucked in a sharp breath, her body tilting toward the window as if pulled by momentum. She clutched my wrist tightly, swaying on the edge, looking as though she might fall from the height at any moment.

“Randall! Help!”

She screamed, her voice shrill and full of terror.

“Tara is trying to push me down! She’s trying to kill me!”

My pupils shrank. My mind went completely blank.

Before I could even react, the door was kicked open.

Randall stormed in. Without a second of hesitation, he grabbed me and violently shoved me aside.

I crashed hard onto the floor. My back went numb on impact, my vision darkening in waves.

“Tara, have you lost your mind?!”

His voice exploded with rage, as though years of suppressed fury had finally found an outlet.

“You actually dared to lay a hand on Samantha?!”

Samantha immediately collapsed into his arms, trembling all over, crying so hard she could barely breathe.

“Randall… I was just trying to explain things to her. She suddenly hit me and said I deserved to die…” Her sobs broke apart. “I was so scared…”

Randall lowered his head to look at her. The pain and tenderness in his eyes were almost overflowing.

But when he lifted his gaze to me, every trace of warmth vanished, leaving only cold disgust.

“Apologize.”

His tone was icy, absolute.

“Apologize to Samantha. Now.”

I pushed myself up from the floor. My throat was tight, but my voice came out unnervingly steady.

“Why should I apologize?”

“She cursed my brother to die. She said I deserved to lose my hand, deserved to never have children—”

“That’s enough!”

Randall cut me off sharply, impatience written all over his face.

“I don’t want to hear your excuses.”

“You did something wrong. You apologize.”

Cold spread through my entire body, but I stood straight.

“I did nothing wrong.”

Randall looked at me, the corner of his mouth twitching. His eyes were dark and bottomless.

Right in front of me, he pulled out his phone and dialed a number.

“John.”

His voice was flat, devoid of emotion.

“Remove Nik’s ventilator.”

In that instant, my world collapsed.

It felt as if my blood reversed course. I froze in place, unable even to breathe.

“Randall!”

I screamed until my chest tore apart. “Are you insane?! Do you know what you’re doing?!”

He ended the call and looked down at me from above, his calm more terrifying than anger.

“This is the price for disobedience.”

“Attempted murder is still a crime. I’m teaching you to respect life.”

I didn’t hear another word after that.

I stared at his phone, my voice shattered into something barely human.

“Don’t remove the ventilator…”

“Please… don’t…”

The call had already been cut off, clean and final.

Randall looked down at me, his gaze as indifferent as if he were staring at a dog pinned by the throat.

“Now,” he said, “you can apologize.”

“Kneel.”

“Apologize to Samantha.”

“As long as she forgives you, I’ll have them put the ventilator back.”

In that moment, dignity, pride, and self-respect were crushed into dust.

I knew him too well. If Randall said it, he would do it.

He truly did not care whether my brother lived or died.

The sound of my knees hitting the floor was dull and deafening.

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s my fault.”

I bowed again and again, my forehead nearly touching the ground. My voice shook uncontrollably as tears slammed down.

“Please… spare my brother.”

“I’m begging you… please…”

Samantha said nothing.

She stood there, looking down at me from above.

After a long moment, she slowly pressed a hand to her stomach, her face turning pale.

“Randall…”

“My stomach hurts.”

“Will the baby… be okay?”

Randall’s expression changed instantly.

He no longer spared me a glance. He scooped her up in his arms, panic and concern flooding his voice.

“Come on. We’re going to the hospital.”

I lunged forward like a madwoman, clutching desperately at the hem of his clothes.

“Randall! Call them—”

“Please, make the call first!”

“Tell them to put the ventilator back… please!”

He flung me away without hesitation, his eyes colder than ice.

“Reflect properly on your mistakes.”

I slammed to the ground.

All I could do was watch as their figures disappeared through the doorway, the world falling silent around me.

I collapsed onto the freezing floor, my fingers shaking so badly I could barely hold my phone.

“Please… anyone… save my brother.”

I unlocked the screen in a panic, my fingers randomly tapping through my contacts. I didn’t even see whose name it was before the call went through.

Each ring felt like a hammer striking my heart.

The next second, the call connected.

“Hello?”

The familiar voice broke me completely.

“Senior—”

“They’re pulling my brother’s ventilator…”

“Randall has lost his mind. He really wants to kill my brother…”

My words came out broken and incoherent.

“Can you help me say something… please, ask the hospital to spare him…”

“I’ll agree to anything. I really can’t hold on anymore…”

“Tara.”

My senior’s voice lowered.

“Calm down and listen to me. I’m here. Your brother will be fine.”

I heard him rapidly instruct his secretary to contact people for help, then he said quietly, “I’m not by your side right now, but you can use Erwin anytime.”

There was a trace of gritted teeth in his voice.

“I’ve already sent Erwin to pick you up.”

“He’s nearby. He’ll be there soon.”

“You don’t need to do anything. Just stay where you are and wait for him.”

I opened my mouth, but my throat felt blocked. Only a faint, broken breath escaped.

“Really… nothing will happen?”

“I promise.”

His voice was firm.

At that moment, the tension holding me together finally snapped.

My phone slipped from my hand. I slid down along the wall, tears pouring out uncontrollably, my sobs tearing free.

My consciousness began to fade, my ears filled with nothing but my own frantic breathing.

Before everything went dark, I heard his urgent voice through the phone.

“Tara, hold on a little longer.”

“Erwin will be there any second.”

But I couldn’t hold on to anything anymore.

When I opened my eyes again, it was already daylight.

Sunlight filtered through the blinds in thin strips across the bedsheets. For a moment, I couldn’t tell where I was or what day it was. My whole body felt hollowed out, even breathing dull and painful.

A note sat on the bedside table.

The handwriting was clean and decisive. Erwin’s.

It read: [Your brother is temporarily stable. I stayed with you all night. There’s an urgent matter at the company. I’ll be back as soon as I finish.]

Something inside my chest seemed to lift slightly.

I threw off the blanket and got out of bed, barefoot, heading straight out.

I needed to see my brother immediately.

Only by seeing him lying there, still breathing, could I truly relax.

But the moment I pushed open his hospital room door, it was empty.

My heart sank violently.

My voice changed as I grabbed a passing nurse and asked where he was.

Startled, the nurse stammered, “A pregnant woman just had massive bleeding and urgently needs a transfusion. The blood bank doesn’t have enough supply. Your brother’s blood type matches, so he was taken for a transfusion.”

My head buzzed.

I nearly screamed out of control. “He’s a patient! He’s the one lying in a hospital bed. What right do you have to take blood from a patient?!”

The nurse turned pale. “It was an order from above. We’re just following instructions.”

It had to be Randall.

I didn’t even have time to put on my shoes. I turned and ran toward the operating room.

I was running too fast. The hallway blurred and darkened before my eyes.

Thankfully, I made it in time.

I forced myself in front of the gurney, the wheels screeching as they stopped.

I threw myself forward, gripping the edge with both hands until my knuckles turned white, my voice trembling beyond control.

“He can’t give blood…”

My words were chaotic, my breathing ragged, my vision darkening.

“My brother is sick. If he gives blood… he’ll really die!”

The next second, a brutal force struck from the side.

Someone seized my wrist, squeezing so hard it felt like my bones would shatter.

I let out a muffled cry of pain, forced to let go as I was violently flung aside.

Randall burst out of the operating room, his face terrifyingly dark, violent fury surging in his eyes.

“What are you making a scene for?!”

His voice was cold and final, without the slightest hesitation.

“This is what your brother owes Samantha.”

Randall stood beneath the light, staring at me coldly, as if he were judging a criminal.

“If it weren’t for your bullying, how could Samantha have been frightened like that?”

“She nearly miscarried just now. Do you have any idea?”

When he said this, his voice was thick with barely suppressed anger—yet there wasn’t a trace of hesitation.

“Now we’re only asking your brother to donate a little blood. What’s the big deal?”

What’s the big deal?

I looked at the man before me—the man I had loved for seven years, the man I had compromised for again and again, forgiven again and again—and suddenly he felt terrifyingly unfamiliar.

That was when I finally lost control.

“Randall, are you even human?”

My voice trembled, but every word was bitten out hard.

“That’s my brother. He’s still sick. A blood transfusion could kill him!”

“For Samantha’s sake, you don’t even care about human life anymore?”

“Where is your conscience, Randall?!”

I was almost screaming. My chest felt like it had been ripped open alive, every breath tearing with pain.

But Randall suddenly let out a cold laugh.

There was no anger at being exposed, no shame at being condemned—only blatant impatience, like he was looking at a hysterical troublemaker.

“Enough with the nonsense. You keep talking about me and Samantha, but I haven’t even asked you yet—who was the man who took you away last night?!”

I froze. My heart clenched tightly. Instinctively, I thought he had found out about me asking Steven for help.

Randall said coldly,

“My mom said you were taken away by another man.”

“So,” he stared at me icily, “all this drama lately—breaking up, withdrawing the lawsuit, losing control emotionally—isn’t it just because you’ve got someone else outside?”

“You already planned yourself a way out, didn’t you? That’s why you dare to act so self-righteous now?”

“Tara, have you forgotten who you are?”

Sentence after sentence, pure distortion of the truth.

All my breakdowns, my despair, my resistance after being driven into a corner—he reduced it all to one accusation:

That I had cheated.

I looked at him and suddenly wanted to laugh.

But the laughter got stuck in my throat, no matter how hard I tried. In the end, all that remained was complete and utter shattering.

“I fainted.”

“If I hadn’t called for help myself, if I had waited for your parents to suddenly grow a conscience one day while I lay in your house, I might already be dead!”

For a brief moment, Randall’s expression darkened.

For that single second, I foolishly thought—did he finally feel guilty?

But it really was only a second.

Very quickly, he returned to that calm, matter-of-fact expression.

“I don’t care.”

He said it with unsettling composure, as if announcing a decision made long ago.

“Right now, Samantha needs a blood transfusion.”

“Your brother’s blood type is compatible. This is your punishment.”

The moment those words landed, my entire body went cold.

I clenched my teeth so hard my mouth filled with the taste of blood.

“Then take mine!”

“Take my blood!”

“I have a rare blood type too!”

For a brief instant, Randall’s gaze flickered. He hesitated.

But soon enough, he looked away. He raised a hand in a small gesture, his tone cold and clipped.

“In that case, take her over.”

The next second, hospital staff restrained me and prepared me for the transfusion.

The moment the needle pierced my vein, my body jolted violently. A chill shot straight up my spine.

Cold fluid flowed out through the tube, and it felt as though I was being hollowed out, bit by bit.

Halfway through, the doctor frowned and lowered his voice.

“That’s already quite a lot. Her physical condition isn’t good. If we keep drawing—”

“How much does Samantha need?”

Randall interrupted him, not even glancing at me.

The doctor hesitated.

“In theory… the more, the better. It’ll be more stable.”

“Then keep drawing.”

Randall’s voice was flat, devoid of any emotion.

“Don’t stop.”

At that moment, I didn’t even have the strength to open my eyes.

Cold spread through me. My vision blurred in waves. The sounds around me felt muffled, as if filtered through water.

As my blood was drained away bit by bit, my consciousness collapsed inch by inch with it.

Just as I was about to pass out completely, a hand suddenly covered mine, gripping my palm.

Randall lowered his head, his voice pressed low.

As though he were granting me the last scraps of tenderness.

“This is the last time, Tara.”

“Once we get married, everything will get better.”

“Just endure it.”

I kept my eyes closed.

I didn’t answer.

I didn’t even have the strength to answer.

Because at that very moment, the last remaining fragment of feeling I had for him shattered completely.

As soon as the procedure ended, Randall immediately went to attend to Samantha.

I was pushed into a ward and slept for an entire day.

When I woke up again, there was no emotion left in me—only a firm resolve to repay everything in kind.

Three days before I left, behind Randall’s back, Erwin and I successfully sent my brother abroad and transferred him to an extremely private hospital.

Two days before I left, I retrieved the surveillance footage that had previously been installed in the Hendershots household.

The recordings clearly captured the affair between William and Samantha’s mother—and even accidentally recorded them talking about their illegitimate child outside the marriage.

I anonymously sent the video to everyone in both the Hendershots and Massrys, and simultaneously forwarded it to several reporters.

On the morning of my final day, I posted a scheduled thread on the hospital’s internal forum.

I wrote in detail how, as an ophthalmologist, my hands—the very hands I relied on to survive—had been systematically destroyed.

And how there was a certain type of eye surgery that, at present, only I was capable of performing in the entire country.

At the same time, I submitted to the court all the evidence regarding my lawsuit against Samantha’s father, as well as proof of Randall’s intent to endanger my brother’s life.

During those three days, Randall stayed by Samantha’s side the entire time, accompanying her through her pregnancy stabilization.

If he had spared even a little attention for me, things would never have gone this smoothly.

That night, I went back to the apartment I had once shared with Randall.

I walked straight into the bedroom and began clearing out my things, one item at a time.

A few pieces of clothing he had personally picked out for me were still hanging in the closet.

In the far corner of the bookshelf was a photo of us from the year we first got together.

I didn’t pause.

I didn’t hesitate.

Anything that could be thrown away, I tossed.

Everything else went into boxes.

I was halfway through packing when I heard the sound of a key turning in the lock.

Randall walked in—with Samantha.

When he saw me standing in the living room, he froze. His expression stiffened for a split second, clearly caught off guard.

“Why are you—”

He stopped himself and quickly recovered, as if afraid I might misunderstand.

“Samantha isn’t feeling well, so I asked her to stay here for a few days.”

“Her family’s out of town, and the nanny isn’t around. It’s easier for me to keep an eye on her here.”

He added another sentence, his tone carrying a hint of nervousness he didn’t even seem aware of.

“It’ll only be a few days. Don’t take it the wrong way.”

I zipped the suitcase shut, looked up at him, and spoke calmly.

“I understand.”

Randall was visibly stunned.

My composure unsettled him.

“You…”

He opened his mouth, but didn’t know what to say next.

Just as the atmosphere grew tense, Samantha suddenly spoke softly.

“Randall, I’m a little hungry. Could you make something for me?”

He didn’t hesitate for even a second.

“Okay. Sit down and rest.”

It was the first time he had ever cooked in this apartment.

For another woman.

Before heading into the kitchen, he seemed to remember something and casually asked me,

“Do you want to eat something too?”

I took a deep breath.

“No.”

I hadn’t eaten food he made before. There was no reason to start now.

The moment the kitchen door closed, the weakness on Samantha’s face vanished.

She looked at me coldly, her voice filled with undisguised disdain.

“Why are you so clueless? I wanted some alone time with my brother.”

I was exhausted and didn’t feel like engaging.

“I’ll be leaving soon.”

“Don’t worry. I won’t bother you.”

She smiled instead. “I don’t believe you.”

“I prefer kicking out people I don’t like myself.”

Before I could react, she suddenly reached out and grabbed me.

I hadn’t even processed what was happening when she yanked me hard backward.

As I lost my balance, she used me as a cushion, slamming me straight into the coffee table.

The vase on the table shattered against my back.

Cold porcelain shards and water exploded everywhere.

I let out a muffled groan. It felt like my back had been torn open, a burning pain ripping through me as blood quickly ran down my spine.

I braced myself against the sofa, clenching my teeth just to stay upright.

“Samantha, are you insane?!”

Samantha, who had been on top of me, was completely unharmed.

She collapsed onto the floor, her voice suddenly piercingly loud.

“Ah!”

“What are you doing, pushing me?!”

“It hurts… my leg!”

She cried helplessly, pitiful and wronged, as if she had suffered some enormous injustice.

The kitchen door flew open.

Randall rushed out.

The moment he took in the scene, his expression darkened to its lowest point.

He strode over, scooped Samantha up in his arms, and checked her injuries, his voice tightly restrained with anger.

“Where are you hurt?”

When he looked up at me again, there was nothing in his eyes but disgust.

“Have you lost your mind?!”

“Tara, how much longer are you going to keep this up?!”

My back throbbed with numb pain as I replied coldly,

“I didn’t push her.”

Randall didn’t want to hear it.

“You make me sick.”

“Tara, let me make this clear.”

“From today on, I won’t pay a single cent for your brother’s medical bills.”

“When you finally realize how wrong you’ve been, I’ll consider restoring them.”

He didn’t know that my brother had already been transferred.

Maybe because I was about to leave, I suddenly felt that if I didn’t say certain things now, I’d regret it.

“Randall.”

I called out to him softly.

“If I say I didn’t push her, would you believe me?”

I reached up and pulled open my coat.

My back was exposed to the air.

The wounds carved open by shattered porcelain were horrifying—blood mixed with water and grime, an appalling sight.

Compared to the faint, deliberately manufactured redness on Samantha, it was like night and day.

Randall’s pupils shrank sharply.

He took two unconscious steps toward me, his Adam’s apple bobbing, a flicker of concern flashing in his eyes.

He was about to say something.

But in the next second, Samantha whimpered softly in his arms.

“Randall… she really did drag me down with her.”

“My stomach hurts so much…”

Randall stopped.

He tightened his hold around her and his voice turned cold again.

“Stop pretending. Do you think this is enough to frame her?”

“I know exactly what kind of person Samantha is.”

He turned and walked out without sparing me another glance.

When the door closed, I suddenly laughed.

My mind went completely blank.

I changed into clean clothes and went straight to the airport, boarding the next flight out.

Everything else, I handed over to Erwin.

As the plane took off, I looked out the window at the city shrinking into the distance, an unexpected calm settling over me.

‘Randall, I hope you’ll be very surprised when you receive the gift I left behind tomorrow.’