Country A.

Clara Joy sat in her sleek, modern office, her eyes fixed on the complex data streaming across her monitor. The silence of the room was broken by the sharp trill of her phone. It was a call from an old friend back in North Bay.

"Clara! Have you seen the news? Julian Pierce and Vivian Lim are completely ruined! The whole city is talking about it. It’s finally over!"

Hearing Julian’s name again, Clara felt nothing. Not a spark of anger, not a flicker of regret. Her eyes remained as calm as a frozen lake. "Their lives have nothing to do with me anymore."

There was a hesitant pause on the other end. "Vivian’s hit-and-run on your father... it was so cold-blooded. You must have suffered so much living under the same roof as those people."

Clara’s hand trembled slightly. She hung up and opened the news app.

The video of the press conference was viral, dominating the top ten trending topics. Julian’s name was everywhere. The footage of the accident kept being taken down and re-uploaded, as if two powerful forces were locked in a digital war of attrition.

The comments were merciless:

"Julian is still trying to suppress the news? He’d better hope he lives long enough to see the end of this scandal."

"Some anonymous guardian angel must be backing Clara. I even donated to the ad fund just to keep the video up! Let’s see if a commoner can finally bring down a corrupt tycoon!"

"He covered up a murder and destroyed his own cure. That’s not just irony; that’s divine intervention. The universe is punishing him."

Clara stared at the screen, a suffocating weight pressing against her chest. Suddenly, a pair of elegant hands reached down and took the phone away, replacing it with a warm cup of coffee.

She looked up into Arthur Knight’s deep, steady eyes. For a moment, she felt like a drowning person finally finding a piece of driftwood.

"The investigation into my father’s death... you were behind that, weren't you?" she asked softly. "The wedding recording, the press conference... it was all you."

Arthur looked at her with a mix of professional respect and raw empathy. "It was me. And it was the condition I promised to fulfill when you signed with me."

Clara froze, remembering the desperate call she had made a month ago. She had been at the end of her rope, reaching out with a sliver of hope. She hadn't expected this man to move mountains for her.

"Thank you," she whispered, the warmth of the ceramic cup seeping into her palms.

Arthur remained quiet for a moment, his gaze turning serious. "According to my sources, Julian only has about fifteen days left. He will stop at nothing to track you down."

Clara looked down at her coffee, her gaze hardening into ice. "The heart I built for him is ash. Even if he finds me, I am powerless to save a man who chose his own destruction."

Arthur seemed to exhale a sigh of relief. "As the lead developer of the world’s first successful artificial heart prototype, your presence at our institute won't stay a secret for long. You need to be prepared."

Clara stood up, her posture straight and defiant. "If there’s no way to hide, then we won't. I'm done running."

Arthur nodded, a faint smile playing on his lips. "What’s the next move?"

Clara looked at the phone screen on the desk, where the scandal was still raging. "Now? We just sit back and watch them tear each other apart."

For a split second, Arthur saw a flash of the girl she used to be—vibrant, brilliant, and untouchable.

The Pierce Mansion.

When Julian opened his eyes, he was back in his own bedroom, surrounded by the suffocating scent of expensive wood and medicine. His mother sat by the bed, her eyes swollen from crying, clutching the doctor’s sleeve.

"Doctor, please! I’m begging you, save my son!"

The doctor sighed, the weight of the situation clear on his face. "We’ve searched every database in the country. There is no compatible match for Mr. Pierce."

Mrs. Pierce collapsed to the floor, her voice a shrill cry of despair. "I shouldn't have treated Clara like that! If I had been kinder, she wouldn't have vanished! My son would have a chance!"

Her piercing wails echoed through the room, making Julian’s failing heart ache with a physical, tearing pain. He struggled to sit up and looked at his assistant.

"The ID... did you trace it?"

The assistant handed him a tablet. "The ID that hacked our system is located in Country A. We’re working with local contacts to pinpoint the city, but it will take time."

Julian’s grip on the tablet tightened until his knuckles turned white. "Do it faster."

As the assistant left, Mrs. Pierce crawled to the side of the bed. "Julian, only Clara can save you now. You have to find her! It’s all Vivian’s fault—that viper destroyed everything!"

Before Julian could respond, he noticed a shadow lingering by the door. "Who’s there?"

A maid stepped forward, trembling with fear. She dropped to her knees with a heavy

thud

. "Mr. Pierce... there’s something I have to tell you."

She gulped, her voice shaking. "The day you sent Miss Joy to the discipline room... Vivian ordered the guards to soak the whips in salt water. That’s why her wounds never healed. That's why she was in so much pain."

A surge of volcanic rage erupted in Julian’s chest. The image of Clara telling him she owed him nothing flashed in his mind like a hot iron.

"Who gave her the authority to touch Clara?" he hissed, his eyes turning lethal. "What else? Tell me everything!"

The maid lowered her head until it touched the floor. "I heard her call the asylum. She told them to 'teach the girl a lesson.' She wanted them to break her."

The veins on the back of Julian’s hands bulged. His eyes were shot through with blood. He remembered the sight of Clara swaying on that ledge, ready to end it all just to escape him.

Vivian... you were trying to drive her to her death.

"And on the wedding day," the maid continued, her voice barely a whisper, "Vivian ate the mango herself to trigger the allergy. She cut her own dress. She did it all so you would punish Miss Joy."

Julian couldn't breathe. He lunged forward and grabbed the maid by the collar. "Why are you only telling me this now?"

"She threatened my son!" the woman sobbed. "She forced me to lie. I was too scared to speak!"

Julian threw her aside, his face a mask of terrifying coldness.

"Vivian Lim," he whispered, his voice sounding like it came from a grave. "Every ounce of pain you gave Clara... I’m going to make sure you pay it back, drop by drop."