Julian’s knuckles were white as he gripped the edge of the hospital bed. A phantom thorn seemed to be buried deep in his chest, radiating a sharp, piercing agony with every breath. He stared at Clara Joy’s name on his screen, a sense of profound dread washing over him.

"Find her. Now," he barked.

The words had barely left his lips when the butler burst into the room, gasping for air. "Mr. Pierce, something's wrong! Miss Joy... she jumped from the attic window and escaped!"

Julian froze. His heart felt as if it were being crushed by an invisible hand. Suddenly, his throat constricted, and he coughed up a spray of crimson blood.

The sound of shattering glass from the wedding ceremony echoed in his mind like a death knell.

She was gone even then.

He clenched his fists, his voice trembling with a mixture of rage and terror. "Lock down every airport and station in North Bay! I don't care what it takes—bring her back to me!"

Once the butler scurried away, Julian looked down at the heart-donor agreement on the table. His expression was dangerously dark. Beside him, his mother was sobbing uncontrollably.

"Clara spent years building that artificial heart for you," she wailed. "It was almost finished, and yet you chose to believe Vivian. You destroyed the only thing that could save your life for that woman! You’ve cut off your own path to survival!"

Julian tried to offer a comforting look, though his own face was deathly pale. "Don't worry, Mom. Clara has nowhere to go outside the Pierce family. I’ll find her."

He opened his chat with Clara. The last message was from three months ago. He typed with trembling fingers:

[Clara Joy, you had better get to this hospital right now, or you will regret the consequences!]

The moment he hit send, a jarring red exclamation mark appeared.

She had blocked him. On everything.

A wave of fury crashed over him. Julian hurled his phone against the floor, watching it shatter. "How dare she! Running away is one thing, but she actually dared to block me?"

Just then, Vivian entered, her eyes red as she rushed to his side. "Julian! Are you alright? I was worried to death!"

Julian didn't embrace her. Instead, he grabbed her wrist with a cold, iron grip. "The doctors say the donor you found was a lie. There is no heart. Why?"

Vivian flinched, a flash of guilt flickering in her eyes before she masked it with a look of feigned shock. "That’s impossible! I verified it myself! The coordinator must have scammed me!"

She clutched his hand, her voice dripping with artificial sweetness. "Julian, you have to believe me. Everything I do is for you!"

Looking at her carefully curated mask of innocence, Julian felt a sudden, inexplicable surge of irritation.

Before he could respond, his assistant rushed in. "Sir, the recording from the wedding is trending everywhere! The media is swarming the hospital. They’re demanding an interview!"

Julian’s face darkened. He snatched the tablet from the assistant. His name was plastered across the top three trending topics:

#JulianPierceFramedClaraJoy

#ThePierceScandal:ForcedWithdrawal

#Karma:TheDestroyedArtificialHeart

The comment sections were a bloodbath:

"Julian Pierce is a literal monster. He adopted her just to save his mistress from prison? Disgusting."

"He destroyed the mechanical heart she built to save him, and now he’s dying because he can't find a donor. That’s what I call a perfect boomerang."

"He burned her life's work for Vivian, and now he’s out of time. Poetic justice."

Vivian grabbed Julian’s arm, her voice shrill. "Julian, Clara is doing this to ruin us! You can't let her get away with this!"

Julian’s grip on the tablet tightened until the plastic groaned. The unease in his gut was growing into a terminal fear.

That night, Julian lay awake, his heart racing erratically. Through the door, he overheard the doctor whispering to his mother.

"Mrs. Pierce, his heart has reached total failure. Without a transplant, there is nothing more we can do."

"And if we don't find a donor?" his mother sobbed.

The doctor sighed. "If a match isn't found immediately... Julian has fifteen days left to live."

The words felt like a death sentence whispered from the depths of hell. Julian lay in the dark, swallowed by an encroaching, absolute terror.

At a private airfield, Clara Joy sat in a quiet lounge, staring out at the ink-black sky. On a large screen nearby, the evening news was broadcasting the latest update.

"Julian Pierce, CEO of the Pierce Group, is reportedly facing total heart failure. With no compatible donor in sight, his days are numbered."

Two staff members nearby whispered to each other. "He’s only thirty. Imagine being that rich and having no time left."

"He brought it on himself," the other replied. "Word is his ward built him an artificial heart and he burned the lab down himself. That’s not bad luck; that’s a curse."

Clara took a slow sip of her coffee, her expression as calm as a frozen lake. Not a single ripple of emotion disturbed her features.

A pair of long, elegant hands slid a contract across the table toward her.

"I hear the Pierce family is turning North Bay upside down looking for you," a deep, resonant voice said. "Are you absolutely sure you want to leave with me?"

Clara looked up into the piercing, intelligent eyes of Arthur Knight. He was studying her with a mix of curiosity and respect. He gestured to the contract. "It’s not too late to change your mind."

Clara didn't hesitate. She picked up the pen and signed her name in a bold, final stroke. "Does this prove my sincerity, Mr. Knight?"

Three years ago, when Clara first started the artificial heart project, Arthur Knight had reached out to her.

"Work with me,"

he had said.

"My resources can help you save thousands of lives, not just one."

Back then, Clara’s world was small. It was so small that she only cared about saving one specific person. She had turned him down without a second thought.

Arthur hadn't pushed. He had simply left his card.

"The doors to the Knight Research Institute will always be open to you. If you ever decide to look back, I’ll be exactly where you left me."

Arthur’s lips curved into a rare, genuine smile. He extended his hand. "Then I look forward to a very successful partnership."

Clara shook his hand, her grip firm and professional. "To our success."

Back at the Pierce estate, a heavy glass crashed against the floor.

"Useless! All of you!" Julian roared, despite the pain in his chest. "How can you not find one girl in this city?"

The butler stood trembling. "Sir, we’ve checked every public terminal. There is no trace of her. If she used a private airfield belonging to another elite family, we wouldn't be able to track her without a warrant."

Julian clutched his chest. It felt as if a piece of his very soul had been carved out, leaving a cold, aching void. "Keep looking. I want her brought back. I don't care about the cost!"

As the assistant hurried out, Vivian stepped forward, rubbing Julian’s back soothingly. "Julian, darling, don't upset yourself. It’s bad for your heart."

She paused, her eyes gleaming with ambition. "Listen... now that the wedding has happened, shouldn't we go and make it official? Let’s sign the marriage papers. People are saying I’m not the 'real' Mrs. Pierce yet."

Julian looked at Vivian. For the first time, he saw the naked greed in her eyes. The love he once felt was being replaced by a suffocating wave of disgust. He pushed her hand away.

"The only thing that matters right now is finding a donor. The marriage papers can wait."

Vivian’s face fell, a flicker of resentment crossing her features. Before she could protest, the assistant rushed back in, looking even more panicked.

"Sir! Because of that recording from the wedding, the company’s stock is in freefall! Our partners are pulling out of contracts because of the rumors about your health!"

Julian kicked the coffee table, the impact sending a jolt of pain through his body. "They think I’m dead already? They think the Pierce Group is up for grabs?"

He turned to the assistant, his eyes cold. "Arrange a press conference. Immediately. I want the world to see that Julian Pierce is perfectly fine."

Vivian’s eyes lit up. "Julian, we can use the conference to announce our marriage! That will show them!"

Julian looked at her, his loathing deepening by the second.

On the day of the conference, the hall was packed with every major media outlet in North Bay. Julian sat at the center of the stage. Despite the heavy makeup, he couldn't hide the waxen pallor of his skin.

"I am here to clarify the baseless rumors regarding the Pierce family," Julian began, his voice strained. "My health is stable. We have already secured a compatible donor, and the transplant will proceed when the time is right."

As he finished his sentence, the giant screen behind him flickered to life. A familiar, high-pitched voice filled the room through the speakers:

"...Make sure the forged donor report looks authentic. I need Julian to believe I found a better heart so he’ll have no reason to keep Clara’s prototype. Once that’s destroyed, he’ll have to help me win the Science Award."

It was Vivian’s voice.

The room went deathly silent for a heartbeat, followed by a collective, deafening gasp from the press. Julian felt the world tilt on its axis.