Claire picked up the item with trembling hands, then swung her hand with all her might, slapping Sylvia across the face.

“You dare hit me!”

Sylvia clutched her face, her eyes widening in disbelief.

Claire glared at her with fury and raised her hand again.

Before it could fall, her wrist was caught in mid-air.

“Claire, what are you doing!”

Chapter 6

An angry shout rang in Claire’s ears.

Julian blocked her path in front of Sylvia, looking at her with a livid face.

“She intentionally broke my mother’s heirloom; isn't it appropriate for me to hit her!”

Claire pointed sharply at Sylvia, her gaze as keen as a blade.

Julian looked toward Sylvia, whose eyes instantly turned red.

“It’s not like that, Julian. I just saw Sister Claire being cornered by people and wanted to come over to help her out of the situation. I didn't expect that she must have been triggered; she just suddenly slapped me…”

“You’re lying!”

Claire interrupted coldly, and just as she tried to lunge at her again, she was blocked firmly by Julian.

“Enough! Claire, for just such a piece of junk, you’re going to resort to hitting people!”

Julian’s voice was icy and sharp.

Claire stiffened abruptly, looking at him in disbelief.

The peace lock was the only heirloom her mother had left her.

Back when it had been smashed and lost while being hounded by loan sharks, it was he who had tried every method to help her find and restore it.

He clearly knew better than anyone how important this item was to her.

Yet now, he was saying such words.

The heartbreak instantly overwhelmed all her grievances and anger, leaving her numb.

She didn't say anything more, only clenching the shards tightly, letting the sharp edges pierce into her skin.

Julian looked at her deathly gaze, and his chest spasmed involuntarily.

In the end, he forcibly turned his head away, pushed her aside, and left with Sylvia.

After that day, Claire did not go out again.

That was until she received a call from her father, demanding to see her.

She went to the coffee shop, and as expected, he opened the conversation by asking her for money.

“I don’t have that much money.”

Claire’s voice was cold.

Her father’s face changed instantly. “Who are you trying to fool? You don’t have money, yet you go out doing charity? Even if you don’t have money, Julian certainly does! He has a massive business; even the crumbs leaking from his fingers would be enough for me to spend for several lifetimes.”

“As long as you give me money, I will go to the reporters and clarify things for you. Otherwise, the gossip outside will drown you sooner or later.”

“Say whatever you want; it doesn’t matter to me anyway.”

She stood up to leave, and her father’s expression turned instantly sinister.

“Does it not matter to you what happens to Julian, either?”

He threatened her with impunity. “If you don’t give me money, I’ll expose everything Julian did to me back then. Tell me, if a CEO of a listed group is revealed to have hired a hitman, wouldn’t that be a juicy headline?”

Claire’s heart shrank violently, and her breathing stalled.

She lowered her voice and shouted, “Don’t talk nonsense!”

Years ago, after she got into college, her father had torn up her admission letter and locked her in the house so she couldn't attend school.

Later, he went even further, using her alleged mental instability as a pretext to forcibly send her to a mental hospital.

Back then, it was Julian who found her and risked everything to save her.

He told her he had handled everything and that her father would never harass her again.

She didn’t know how he had managed it.

But for the next dozen years, her father had indeed disappeared as if he had evaporated into thin air.

It wasn't until this moment in her previous life, when he appeared again, that she learned the truth.

Back then, to end the threat once and for all, Julian had leaked her father’s whereabouts to the loan sharks who were hunting him, and her father had been beaten into critical condition, which was why he had been in hiding for years.

If this were exposed, it would inevitably affect Julian as well.

Claire clenched her hands tightly and took a deep breath.

“Fifty million is not a small sum. Give me a week, and I will give you the money.”

She temporarily steadied her father.

In her previous life, her father would end up in prison for gambling in another week’s time.

At that point, she would be able to solve this trouble once and for all.

After leaving the coffee shop, Claire had only walked a few steps when she was struck heavily on the back of her neck.

Everything went black before her eyes, and she passed out immediately.

When she woke up again, she was bound to a cold bed, surrounded by pale, sickly walls and windows welded with iron bars.

She was all too familiar with the environment.

It was a mental hospital.

Panic swept through her entire body instantly, and she shouted hoarsely, “Let me out!”

No one responded, and it was only after a long time that the door was pushed open, and a figure walked in.

It was Sylvia.

“Don’t waste your energy. This is the most strictly guarded mental hospital in the whole city. Without your family’s consent, you wouldn't be able to escape even with wings.”

Sylvia’s lips curled into a smile as she slowly walked toward her, looking down at her from above.

“You are the one who brought me here?!”

Claire’s eyes were bloodshot.

Sylvia shook her head with a light laugh. “I don’t have that much power; it was Julian’s idea. Don’t forget, you aren’t divorced yet; he is still your family.”

“He said since you aren’t willing to divorce, this is the only way. If you are diagnosed as mentally unstable, he can terminate your marriage relationship without your consent.”

“Impossible, you’re lying! I don’t believe it; he would never do that!”

“You don’t believe it? Okay then.” Sylvia picked up her phone and played a recording.

Julian’s voice came through clearly.

“If she still refuses to divorce, then adopt forced measures. She has been in a mental hospital before and has been confirmed to have mental health issues…”

Claire didn’t hear anything after that.

Her mind went blank, and a constant buzzing sound filled her ears.

Apart from her father, only Julian knew about the fact that she had been in a mental hospital.

After Sylvia left, Claire was forcibly injected with medication for treatment.

The excruciating pain brought on by each round of electroshock therapy made her feel as if she had hallucinated her way back into the nightmares of those years.

After three days of torture, she found an opportunity to jump out of a third-floor window while on her way to the restroom during an examination.

After escaping desperately, she passed out completely.

When she woke up again, she was already in a hospital.

Julian was right by her side.

Seeing him, all the fear, grievance, and anger Claire had bottled up erupted instantly.

She braced her body and stared at him intently. “Was it you… sending me to the mental hospital—was that your idea?”

Julian froze abruptly, a flash of astonishment crossing his eyes before he covered it up again.

He avoided her gaze and admitted in a cold, hard voice, “It was me.”

Claire’s pupils dilated instantly.

Boundless despair swept over her. She looked at Julian as if she were looking at a complete stranger.

He had once saved her from the abyss time and time again, but now he had become her abyss.

How laughable.

“Fine, very well…” She began to chuckle softly, but tears kept sliding from her eyes. “Julian, don’t you worry, in a few more days, I will be gone from your life completely…”

Chapter 7

The words remained unfinished, interrupted by a sharp, urgent ringing.

Julian frowned, not catching what Claire had said in the end.

He was about to press for an answer, but Claire pointed firmly at the door, signaling for him to leave.

In the end, Julian said nothing more and turned to walk out of the hospital room.

After being discharged, Claire booked a ticket to Hong Kong.

Unexpectedly, it was discovered by Julian.

Holding the ticket, he questioned her, "January 17th. Where are you going?"

"It has nothing to do with you."

Claire tried to retrieve it, her tone calm and detached.

Julian tore the ticket into shreds instantly. "You are not allowed to go anywhere that day!"

He was highly agitated. Claire keenly sensed something was wrong and stared at him intently.

"Haven't you always wanted me to leave? I am doing as you wish. Why are you blocking me?"

"You can leave any other day, but not that day."