On the way back, Caleb received an important business call that required immediate attention. He let the driver take Summer back to the sanatorium first, saying he would return shortly on his own.

The car drove steadily on the tree-lined road back to the sanatorium. This road was relatively quiet, lined with tall cedar trees, and sunlight filtered through the branches in dappled spots.

Suddenly, a black SUV lunged out from a side path and braked sharply, blocking the way.

The driver braked hard, and Summer lunged forward due to inertia before being pulled back by the seatbelt.

"What's going on?" The driver frowned, about to get out to check.

Two men wearing black hoodies and masks jumped down from the SUV, holding glistening daggers, and rushed straight toward the car Summer was in! Their eyes were fierce, their target clear!

They were coming for her!

Realizing something was wrong, the driver immediately locked the doors and tried to reverse.

But the opponents were faster. One of them had already reached the driver's side and slammed the dagger hilt against the window! The bulletproof window developed a spider-web of cracks!

The other person went straight for Summer’s direction in the back seat!

In the nick of time, a figure suddenly charged out from the bushes by the road! That figure was as fast as a leopard, violently slamming into the assassin who was rushing toward Summer!

It was Julian!

He was unshaven, his clothes were crumpled, and his eyes were sunken. He had obviously been guarding this area for an unknown amount of time. At this moment, like a mad tiger, he firmly grabbed the assassin's waist, and the two rolled to the ground, scuffling together.

"Summer! Run!" Julian roared at Summer in the car while fighting the assassin.

Inside the car, Summer looked through the cracked window at the familiar yet strange figure and was stunned.

Julian? Why was he here?

The driver took the opportunity to turn the steering wheel sharply, wanting to break through, but the other assassin had already broken the passenger side window and reached in to try and open the door!

Seeing this, Julian’s eyes nearly split with fury. Drawing strength from somewhere unknown, he violently flipped the assassin pinning him down and lunged toward the passenger side, trying to stop the other assassin.

Puchi—!

It was the sound of a blade entering flesh.

Time seemed to freeze at this moment.

Julian’s movements stiffened. He slowly lowered his head to look at his abdomen.

The tip of a dagger had pierced through his abdomen from behind. Blood surged out instantly, staining his gray coat red.

It was the assassin he had slammed into who, from behind, had plunged the dagger into his body.

"Julian—!" Inside the car, Summer finally let out a short cry of alarm.

Julian seemed not to hear it. He staggered but didn't fall. Instead, using his last bit of strength, he turned and firmly grabbed the legs of the assassin who had stabbed him, shouting at the stunned driver: "Drive! Take her away!!!"

The driver suddenly snapped back to his senses, slammed on the gas, and the car narrowly brushed past the SUV and sped away!

"Julian!!!"

Summer clung to the cracked window and looked back.

She saw Julian firmly holding the assassin's legs, letting the other assassin strike his head and back with the dagger hilt, but he wouldn't let go. Blood kept pouring from his mouth and abdomen, spreading into a large, eye-catching patch of red on the ground.

His gaze seemed to penetrate the chaos and distance, looking far off toward Summer’s direction in the car.

That look was extremely complex—holding relief, apology, and too many emotions that Summer didn't understand and didn't want to understand.

Then, toward her direction, he moved his lips with extreme difficulty. Looking at the shape of his mouth, it seemed to be:

"Run..."

"Run fast..."

Chapter Twenty-Five

The car rounded the corner, and that bloody scene was obscured by the trees, lost from sight.

Summer slumped back into the seat, her body ice-cold and shaking uncontrollably. Flashing repeatedly before her eyes were the blood gushing from Julian's abdomen and his final gaze.

"Miss Sterling! Are you alright? Are you hurt?" The driver, still in a state of shock, asked anxiously while pushing the car to its speed limit.

Summer could not speak; she only shook her head. Her hands were clenched tightly together, nails digging deep into her palms, yet she felt no pain.

Soon, the piercing sound of sirens and more vehicles approached from behind.

It was Caleb with his men, accompanied by the police who had received the report.

The attackers were subdued, and the heavily injured Julian was rushed to the nearest hospital for emergency surgery.

Summer was escorted back to the sanatorium by Caleb. Ethan had already arrived upon hearing the news, his face grim, a terrifying low-pressure aura surrounding him.

He immediately deployed several times the usual security to protect Summer and personally contacted high-level Swiss police officials, demanding a thorough investigation.

"It was her mother," Ethan's voice was cold enough to drop ice as he listened to the preliminary investigation results over the phone. "She lost her mind and used her last private funds to hire professional assassins through the black market. The goal was... to take your life."

Summer sat on the sofa, a blanket from Caleb draped over her shoulders, holding a cup of hot water. Hearing this, her eyelashes fluttered, but she remained silent.

To take her life.

To "avenge" Skylar.

Even though Skylar had deserved her fate, and everything had been of her own making.

"The people have been caught, and the mastermind has been identified. The rest will be left to the law." Ethan walked over, knelt in front of her, held her cold hand, and softened his tone. "Summer, don't be afraid. I am here. No one can hurt you again."

Summer looked at the undisguised worry and lingering fear in his eyes and nodded gently.

"He..." She paused, then asked anyway, "Julian—how is he?"

Ethan’s gaze turned slightly cold, but he answered, "In the operating room. A penetrating abdominal wound, excessive blood loss. He isn't out of danger yet."

Summer gave a soft "oh" and stopped talking, merely looking down at the rising steam from her cup.

Caleb saw Ethan out, the two talking in low voices at the door.

"How was Julian so coincidentally there?" Ethan asked with a scrutinizing tone.

"I checked," Caleb’s voice was steady. "He came to Switzerland half a month ago and had been hiding near the sanatorium. He was likely... following Summer in secret. This time, it truly was a coincidence; he probably noticed something unusual about that car."

Ethan snorted coldly. "At least he was of some use."

In the room, Summer sat alone.

Outside, twilight gathered, and the outlines of the distant mountains blurred.

She thought of the look Julian gave her at the end, the blood on his abdomen, and the way he roared for her to run.

In her heart, there was no moved emotion, no ripples—only a desolate numbness and a tiny bit of... inexplicable irony.

Protecting her with his life?

But where was he when she needed his belief and protection most?

A late protection is cheaper than weeds.

She took a sip of hot water, the warmth sliding down her throat and slightly dispelling the chill.

Let it be.

She set down the cup and looked at the heavy darkness outside.

Night was falling.

But tomorrow, the sun would rise as usual.

Julian was in the operating room for six hours.

When the doctor emerged, he told Ethan and Caleb waiting outside that the knife had gone extremely deep, missing the heart, lungs, and major blood vessels by mere millimeters. Any further, and he would have died on the spot.

"It was a completely suicidal way of blocking," the doctor finally remarked with a sigh.

Ethan's face was somber, while Caleb nodded silently in thanks.

Julian was moved to the intensive care unit and remained unconscious for three days.

During these three days, Summer was very quiet.

She did her rehabilitation on time, ate on time, and rested on time, as if that harrowing attack and the man lying in a pool of blood were just a distant nightmare unrelated to her.

But only Caleb noticed that she would occasionally stare blankly at a certain spot outside the window, her gaze unfocused.

At night, the number of times she woke with a start increased. Although she no longer screamed as she did at the beginning, she always kept her eyes open, quietly watching the ceiling until the sky turned pale.

On the afternoon of the third day, the doctor announced that Julian was temporarily out of danger and had been moved to a regular ward. He was awake but extremely weak.

Summer stood in the corridor outside the ward, looking through the glass at the person inside, covered in tubes and with a face as pale as paper.