Ethan was at a loss for words, his face as pale as a sheet. Days of heavy drinking had already left him in a state of mental exhaustion. He looked as if he were about to collapse.

Arthur took the opportunity to push Ethan out of the room, slamming the door and locking it.

Standing outside, Ethan heard Arthur’s voice comforting Seraphina inside the room, and his heart felt as if it were being torn apart. He didn't leave. Instead, he sat down in the hallway outside the room like a prisoner awaiting sentencing. He waited for three days and three nights.

On the morning of the fourth day, Arthur opened the door and saw him; his expression grew even grimmer.

"Ethan Cross, stop wasting your time here. Sera will never forgive you. If you don't leave, I’m calling security."

"I’m not leaving," Ethan said stubbornly. "Not until she’s willing to see me and let me finish what I have to say."

The sound of their argument woke Seraphina. She leaned against the wall as she walked out, her face still ghostly pale.

"Ethan Cross, what exactly do you want?"

"I want to take you away from here, to the best private hospital abroad to recover."

Ethan stood up quickly, his tone urgent.

"The medical conditions there are better; it will be good for your recovery. I’ll cover all the expenses and take care of you personally."

Arthur lost his temper and kicked Ethan in the leg.

"Get lost! I can take care of my own daughter. We don't need your hypocrisy. If you have this much free time, why don't you go back and fix the mess at your own company?"

Ethan didn't understand the comment and looked confused. But that didn't stop him from grabbing Arthur’s arm to pledge his loyalty.

Seraphina felt her head throbbing from the noise. Her vision went black, and she collapsed.

"Sera!"

Arthur caught her just in time and ran toward the emergency room with her in his arms. Ethan, dragging his weakened body, followed desperately behind.

The two men waited anxiously outside the doors. The silence of the corridor was suddenly shattered by the ill-timed ringing of a phone.

"Mr. Cross, something is wrong. The company has been reported and shut down for investigation."

Ethan’s brow furrowed. He asked in confusion, "What exactly happened?"

The secretary quickly summarized the key points.

"Someone filed a report under their real name for tax evasion and involvement in illegal industries."

Ethan’s face darkened. These matters were kept secret; very few people knew about them.

"Who was it?"

The secretary’s voice grew faint, barely a whisper. But Ethan still heard the name clearly.

"It was Seraphina Thorne."

The phone slipped from his hand and hit the floor with a heavy thud.

Ethan felt a bitter taste in his mouth, his hands and feet turning icy cold.

It made sense now. He had once thought that Seraphina would be his prisoner for life, living the rest of her days in that apartment. To see her more often, he had even moved his work computer there. Several times when he woke up, he had seen her sitting at the computer, looking at the screen with a heavy expression.

Ethan had password-protected all his files. So, it had never crossed his mind that she could crack his passwords and look at his corporate secrets. He had always assumed she was looking for news about her father.

He had underestimated her after all.

From the phone on the ground, another sentence drifted out.

Chapter 20

"Mr. Cross, while the doctors were preparing Eva for surgery, they discovered she is pregnant, so the procedure had to be aborted."

Arthur Thorne let out a cold snort upon hearing this. He kept his eyes fixed forward, waiting for the surgical light to turn off.

As soon as the light flickered out, Seraphina was wheeled out on her hospital bed. The doctor reassured Arthur, explaining that she was fine, but her body was simply failing to recover due to the severity of the previous trauma she had endured.

Hearing this, Ethan’s heart twisted with agonizing pain. He didn't spare a single thought for Eva’s pregnancy; instead, he stepped on his phone, crushing it, and rushed toward the bed, desperate to show his concern for Seraphina.

Seraphina closed her eyes in disgust, refusing to even look at him. Before he could get close, he was blocked by a vigilant Arthur.

"I’ll say this one last time: get lost."

Arthur lowered his head and muttered to Seraphina, "I told you long ago he couldn't be trusted. He claims to love you while he hurts you, and he even managed to get the woman who framed you pregnant."

Ethan broke into a cold sweat of panic, his neck straining as he desperately tried to explain to Seraphina.

"No, Sera, I won't let her have it. I only want to have children with you."

Seraphina let out a cold laugh, her gaze as piercingly icy as a frozen blade.

"We did have a child once, but you killed it."

Tears instantly streamed down Ethan’s face. That child was the eternal ache of his life. His legs gave out, and he collapsed to his knees beside her bed.

"Sera, I didn't know then. If I had known, I swear I would never have let it happen."

He crawled forward on his knees toward her, eyes blurred with tears.

"Seraphina, I truly know I was wrong. I can't lose you. Please, give me one more chance? The child is gone, but it’s okay—we can have many more. Let’s forget the past and start over, please?"

Seraphina watched Ethan’s repentance with a sense of the absurd. He spoke so lightly, as if a simple "start over" could erase all the physical and mental scars he had branded into her.

He was always like this—only hearing what he wanted to hear, only seeing what he wanted to see. Unless the blade fell on his own skin, he would never feel the pain.

"You’re right, one shouldn't live in the past. It is time to start over."

The moment Seraphina spoke, Ethan looked up at her with a flash of wild ecstasy in his eyes. Seraphina turned her head, staring directly into his eyes, and said syllable by syllable:

"As soon as you are dead, I will forgive you."

The smile froze on Ethan’s face. He could see that Seraphina meant it. She truly wished for him to atone with his life.

Seeing him dazed and speechless, Seraphina continued, "Can't do it? Then stop talking that bullshit. Ethan, did you think the company being shut down was the end?"

Seraphina propped herself up, her eyes filled with resolve.

"No, that was just the beginning. Go back and tell Eva Vance that I will make sure both of you pay the price."

Seraphina’s bed was wheeled back into the ward. Ethan tried to follow, but Arthur’s patience had long since run out. With a clap of his hands, two burly men rushed forward, hoisted Ethan up, and threw him out of the hospital without mercy.

Exhausted by the emotional upheaval and having not eaten for far too long, Ethan was no match for them. Tossed onto the ground like trash, it took him a long time to gather enough strength to crawl back up and stumble his way home.

The smell of mold mixed with disinfectant clung to Eva’s skin in the basement. She was chained in a corner, two of her carefully manicured nails broken and caked with dried blood.

The iron door creaked open, and Ethan walked in wearing his bespoke leather shoes, followed by two expressionless bodyguards. One of them carried a metal tray.

Chapter 21

On the tray lay a scalpel and hemostatic forceps. The cold glint of the metal under the dim light was dizzying.

"Ethan! You finally came to see me!"

Eva acted as if she were grasping a literal lifeline. She lunged forward, her voice raspy, only to be yanked back by the chains and slammed hard against the floor. When she looked up, her face was still contorted with excitement.

"Did you know? I’m pregnant. Soon, a child with eyes like yours and a mouth like mine will be born into this world. Ethan, haven't you always craved a family? You’re about to have a new relative."

Those familiar words triggered Ethan’s memories. In that fever dream of a night, Seraphina’s image had been usurped by Eva’s affected, artificial face.

Ethan looked at the foul-smelling woman on the floor with utter loathing. He let out a cold, sharp laugh, his gaze piercing through Eva’s hypocritical mask.

"A relative? Didn't you kill my only relative a long time ago?"

Eva showed not a hint of remorse. "That’s different, Ethan. That old man was just a scavenger, but the child in my womb is the only living person left in this world who shares your blood."

The more Eva spoke, the more excited she became, counting on her remaining fingers. "I am the heiress of the Vance Group, and you are the head of the Cross Group. Our child will surely be a dragon among men."