Chapter 4

Claire's expression changed in an instant, her heart skipping a beat as she rushed to look out. Down below, Sophie stood completely unharmed. The pot had exploded at her feet, shards of porcelain and dirt scattering everywhere.

As Sophie looked up and locked eyes with Claire, she grabbed a shard and viciously slashed her own arm. "Ms. Thompson, why did you throw the vase at me?" she yelled, a twisted, malicious smirk playing at the corners of her mouth.

But as soon as Nathan came running, that twisted smirk on Sophie's face melted into a pitiful look. She clutched her bleeding arm and whimpered, "I know you resent me, but this could've killed me.

"All I did was ask you to write an apology and admit your mistake. You're the one at fault. Surely I don't deserve to die for that, right?"

Nathan didn't blink. He stepped right on the sunflower, like he was grinding Claire's heart into the floor. He grabbed Sophie's hand, his face dark with rage. He took a sharp breath, then snapped, "Get down here."

Claire stayed perfectly calm. "I didn't," she said, shutting the window and locking herself in her room.

But before long, the harsh buzzing of a cutting tool tearing through the door rang out from outside.

After Claire married Nathan, she was kidnapped by one of his enemies. They busted down the door, dragged her away, and put her through absolute hell.

Ever since she was rescued, Claire couldn't shake the trauma; even the faintest sound outside at night would snap her awake in terror.

To help her feel safe, Nathan swapped out every door in their home for top-of-the-line security doors, impossible for anyone to break in. He promised her, "Claire, as long as I'm here, you'll never get hurt again."

But now, the very door that had protected her for years was being cut apart, bit by bit, by Nathan himself, with a buzzing cutting tool in his hands.

Finally, with a deafening crash, the door fell. Nathan strode in, tall and imposing, his eyes cold as ice. "Claire, you've crossed the line. Someone has to pay for murder, and that someone is you."

Claire bit back her anger and replied coldly, "It wasn't me." She took a deep breath and explained, "There are security cameras in the yard. Check the footage, and you'll see what really happened."

Nathan paused, and a flicker of doubt flashed in his eyes.

But Claire was already sneering, "Or maybe you're so obsessed with Sophie that you can't tell right from wrong anymore? Accusing me without thinking?"

At her words, Nathan's face turned colder. "You don't have to try and rile me up with that."

Nathan held Sophie's wrist with a tenderness that almost hurt, his words slow and measured. "The doctor said she was an inch away from hitting the main artery.

"If Sophie really wanted to frame you, she could've made a tiny cut, and I'd have backed her up. Why would she gamble with her own life for that?"

Nathan shot Claire a look full of disappointment. "I never imagined you'd turn out like this, so vicious, so heartless, not caring if someone lives or dies. If I keep letting you off the hook, who's to say you won't go after Sophie again?"

Nathan picked Sophie up in his arms and walked away, leaving only his words behind. "So Claire, you need to feel what it's like to have your life hanging by a thread. Maybe then you'll finally understand what it means to respect life."

His last words were almost a whisper, but they slammed into Claire's heart like a sledgehammer.

Respect life? Did Nathan even have that? He demanded something from her that he didn't even possess himself.

Claire's eyes brimmed with tears as she nearly screamed at Nathan's back, her voice raw with fury. "Nathan, bring my sister back first. Then you can talk to me about your damn respect."

Nathan paused, annoyance flickering in his eyes. He gave a slight wave, and the bodyguards instantly pinned Claire down. One of them hit her neck with a swift chop, and her world faded to black.

When Claire opened her eyes again, she found herself buried alive, with only her head exposed above the earth.

In the pitch-black darkness, she tried desperately to move, but the soil pressed in on her from all sides, locking her in place.

Her breathing grew rapid and shallow, panic clawing at her chest as every gasp felt tighter, the air in her lungs slowly running out.

In a daze, she caught sight of fireworks exploding across the sky in the distance. Through the fog of her fading consciousness, she suddenly remembered that it was her wedding anniversary with Nathan.

Every year on this day, Nathan would light up the whole city with fireworks for her. He once promised, "For the rest of our lives, every year will be like this."

But this year, in the midst of those dazzling fireworks, she saw a blinding message spelled out in the sky: [Sophie Loves Nathan.]

Claire shut her eyes, the suffocating pain closing in on her. At last, darkness swallowed her whole, and she slipped completely into unconsciousness.

When Claire opened her eyes again, she found herself in a hospital bed. Everywhere the dirt had pressed against her was mottled with bruises, and every movement sent stabbing pain through her body.

As she sat up, sweat poured down her face from the sheer agony. She grabbed her phone and saw a fresh message pop up.

It read: [Claire, the lab held a press conference today. Sophie went up as the team leader and shamelessly took credit for everything, including your core data. Sorry, we misjudged you before. We never expected Sophie to stoop this low.]

Claire's face instantly drained of color. She ripped out her IV and took a cab, heading straight for the press conference.

As soon as she walked in, the host's voice echoed through the hall. "Ms. Carter led her team to break through the toughest challenge in treating this rare disease, helping countless people. What an incredible feat.

"Today, we've also invited a clinical trial patient to share his story. Let's welcome him to the stage."

Claire instantly recognized the patient. He hadn't trusted the lab at first. She'd gone above and beyond, visiting him again and again, doing everything she could to win him over for the trial. And now, all her hard work was erased, like she never existed.

Claire's expression turned stormy, and she was about to rush onto the stage when, suddenly, her arm was seized in a crushing grip.

"Claire, are you going to cause trouble again?" Nathan's voice was low and threatening.

Claire spun around, meeting Nathan's shadowed gaze head-on. Rage surged through her as she ground out, "Let go. Nathan, this research has nothing to do with Sophie.

"Why is she up there acting like she did it all? Why does she get to climb over everyone else for her own glory?"

Nathan let out a deep, tired sigh. "Claire, Sophie is nothing like you. You're the one I'm meant to spend my life with. You'll always have me in your back.

"But her? When we break up, I need to make sure she has something to rely on, right? She likes this field, so I support her. That way, when things end, it won't get messy. She won't go off the rails like you did."

Claire was trembling with fury. "So Nathan, you seriously think all this is for my sake?"

Nathan raised an eyebrow. "Isn't it obvious?"

Staring at his careless, shameless face, twisting the truth, Claire finally snapped. She bit down on Nathan's arm so hard.

But before Claire could reach the stage, the patient under the spotlight suddenly grabbed his chest, gasping desperately. Barely ten seconds passed before he crashed to the floor, dead, not a single breath left in him.

The crowd exploded into a shocked uproar.

"What happened? How could he die out of nowhere?"

"I heard this rare disease can cause heart attacks. So this damn lab never actually solved anything. They've been fooling us all along?"

"This is outrageous. We're already unlucky enough to have this disease, and now they're scamming us and putting lives at risk? We demand answers."

"Exactly, we want answers."

As the crowd boiled over, people started throwing anything they could get their hands on at the stage. Sophie went pale with fear and looked to Nathan for help, her expression pitiful.

As a bottle of water was about to hit Sophie right in the forehead, Nathan jumped in without hesitation. He locked it with his arm and pulled Sophie close, shielding her completely.

The crowd, even more fired up, swarmed around Sophie, ready to explode. The whole scene was seconds away from total chaos.

But Nathan suddenly grabbed a microphone, his brows furrowed, and spoke up, voice cold and steady: "The lab's most important data was handled by Claire over there. If you want answers, go ask her."