Chapter 2

Three years later.

At Ockdon International Airport, a private jet landed.

A pair of red stilettos clicked onto the jet stairs, her long, slender legs stretching upward. The perfectly tailored red dress hugged her curves, showing off a flawless silhouette.

Audrey took off her sunglasses, revealing a face that could turn heads wherever she went. Three years ago, she was quiet and composed. But now, a cold edge glinted in her eyes.

She was now known as Dr. Newton, a world-class surgeon recognized around the globe.

"Dr. Newton, the Norton family has been waiting at the VIP gate for five hours," her assistant whispered.

Audrey curled her lips into a cold smile. She said, "Let them wait. If they want my help, they'd better learn how to ask for it."

Three years ago, she used a drug that mimicked death to escape, and with her professor's help, fled overseas. For the past three years, Audrey threw herself into surgeries and research day and night, all for her stunning return.

Andrea's body, the one that had received half of Audrey's liver as a transplant, eventually suffered organ rejection.

The Norton family spent everything to beg Dr. Newton for help.

In the arrival hall, Gerald had lost all his old authority. His temples were streaked with gray, and his face was etched with anxiety. Beside him, Andrea looked pale and sickly, slumped in her chair, struggling to catch her breath.

When Audrey walked in, flanked by her bodyguards, Gerald didn't recognize her as his "dead" eldest daughter. All he could sense was her intense and suffocating aura.

"Dr. Newton! You're finally here!" Gerald bowed deeply, both hands offering his business card in a gesture of humble desperation.

Audrey stopped in her tracks, looking down at the man who once held her fate in his hands.

"Mr. Norton?" she said, her voice cool and clear.

"Yes, yes, I'm Gerald Norton. This is my younger daughter, Andrea. Please, you have to save her!" Gerald pleaded.

Audrey glanced at Andrea's face, etched with fear and longing, and a faint, cold smile touched her lips. "Saving her isn't hard. But I'm afraid you can't afford my fee, Mr. Norton."

"Anything! I'll do anything to save her!" Gerald pleaded.

"Oh, really?" Audrey leaned in, her voice icy as she whispered in Gerald's ear, "I want every single share of the Norton Group and your wife's life."

Gerald's face drained of color. He staggered back, stammering, "Who are you?"

Audrey didn't bother to reply. She slipped on her sunglasses and strode out of the airport without a backward glance.

At St. Mary's Hospital, inside the VIP consultation room.

Gerald showed up again with Andrea, this time bringing a fat envelope stuffed with dollars and the transfer agreement for the Norton Group.

"Dr. Newton, as long as you're willing to operate, this agreement goes into effect right away," Gerald said, forcing a smile, but his eyes were shrewd and calculating.

Audrey sat behind her desk, flipping through Andrea's medical records, her tone cold and detached. "Ms. Norton, your liver is almost completely ruined."

"Yeah, I had a transplant three years ago. Too bad the donor was trash. Her liver was just as useless," Andrea muttered weakly, but the contempt in her words toward Audrey was unmistakable.

Audrey's hand paused for a moment as she turned the page.

She slowly lifted her head and, deliberately, in full view of both, peeled off her mask inch by inch.

For a moment, the atmosphere in the room turned to ice.

Andrea let out a piercing scream and fell out of her chair in terror. "Ghost!"

Gerald's soul nearly left his body, his face as pale as a sheet. "Audrey? You're alive?"

"Sorry to disappoint you, Mr. Norton," Audrey said, setting the medical records aside and leaning back with icy elegance. "Hell was too cold, so I came back to settle the score."

Just then, the door to the consultation room was suddenly thrown open from the outside.

Liam stood there, wearing a loose white shirt with the top two buttons undone, a faint whiff of alcohol lingering around him. His usual laid-back, devil-may-care attitude vanished the second he laid eyes on Audrey.

He stared at her, his eyes instantly bloodshot, his chest heaving with emotion.

"Audrey," Liam growled her name through clenched teeth, every step so heavy it was like he might stomp a hole right through the floor.

He marched up to her, bracing both hands on the desk, looming over her and trapping her completely in his shadow.

Gerald and Andrea were frozen in fear, not daring to utter a word, but Liam didn't even spare them a glance.

"Had your fun?" Liam's voice was rough, thick with pent-up frustration. "You hid for three years, made me chase you like a madman all over the world. Did you enjoy watching me lose my mind over you?"

Audrey lifted her chin, meeting his nearly crazed eyes with a cold, mocking smile. "Mr. Lester, watch yourself. Right now, I'm your doctor. Or maybe, the only hope your fiancée's got."

Suddenly, Liam grabbed her wrist, his grip so tight it felt like he could crush her bones.

"Dr. Newton, it hurts so bad right here," he murmured, pressing her hand to his left chest. His voice dropped, almost begging. "Can you heal it?"