Chapter 2

Alexander "kept" his promise. Luella's treatment never let up. They brought in top international specialists for consultations, but her condition remained extremely critical.

Finally, after several rounds of fierce courtroom clashes, the judge of the State Attorney's Office declared the charge of instigating intentional injury against Evelyn was dismissed.

Evelyn was immediately set free in front of everyone.

The courtroom burst into chaos.

Surrounded by her family and lawyers, Evelyn walked out of the courtroom with her head held high.

As she passed Cynthia, she leaned in and whispered with a mocking tone, loud enough for Cynthia to hear, "Thanks, Mrs. Turner. What a shame for Luella. No man will want her anymore."

Cynthia dug her nails so hard into her palms that they almost drew blood.

She forced herself to turn away, refusing to look at that demon any longer, and rushed straight to the hospital.

When she finally reached the ICU, the doctor shook his head at her. "Mrs. Turner, I'm so sorry. We did everything we could. But Ms. Turner suffered sudden multi-organ failure and a severe, uncontrollable infection ten minutes ago. She didn't make it."

In that instant, the world went completely silent and colorless.

Cynthia stumbled into the room, only to see Luella already covered by a white sheet.

"Luella. I won the case. But I still couldn't save you." Cynthia collapsed to the floor, clutching Luella's cold body tightly. Her throat tightened with despair, but not a single tear fell.

Truth was, what she signed wasn't a defense agreement but Luella's death warrant.

Alexander had known all along that even with the best medicine, Luella might not make it.

He was squeezing out Luella's last worth to force Cynthia's hand, all so he could shield the woman he he loved the most.

The crushing grief and days of exhaustion made Cynthia's vision go dark. The taste of blood flooded her mouth as she coughed up blood onto the white sheets, and then passed out cold.

When Cynthia woke up, she was back in the cold hospital room. Alexander stood by her bedside, his face a mix of emotions, like he wanted to say something.

Without glancing at him, Cynthia calmly pulled the IV needle from her hand and got out of bed.

"Cynthia, where are you going?" Alexander stepped in front of her. "Don't worry, I'll take care of Luella's funeral."

But Cynthia ignored him and walked straight out of the room.

Instead of going to the morgue, she returned to her office.

After locking the door, she retrieved a sealed file from the most concealed safe. Inside were backup recordings left by Luella, along with hard evidence of illegal business operations at Alexander's company, proof Cynthia had secretly collected while working on Evelyn's defense.

She booted up her computer and logged into the anonymous network channel she'd prepared before.

She packaged all the evidence and sent it off to the Hithebig Anti-Corruption Bureau, the Department of Justice, and several leading international media and financial regulators.

When everything was done, Cynthia slumped into her chair, and with the last bit of strength she had left, she drafted her own divorce papers.

From this moment on, Cynthia would cut Alexander out of her life for good.

With a series of loud crashes, the door burst open, and Alexander rushed in.

Cynthia sat slumped in her chair, her eyes hollow and her expression bleak. The room was eerily silent, almost suffocating.

"Cynthia." Alexander's heart felt like it was being squeezed tight when he saw her like this. He hurried over and hugged her tightly.

"You scared me so bad. I thought you might hurt yourself." His voice shook with lingering fear, and he held her tighter. "I'm sorry I couldn't save Luella. But from now on, I'll spend my whole life making it up to you, okay?"

Cynthia let him hold her for a long time before her eyes finally settled on his face. "Making it up to me? How exactly?"

"Whatever you want, name it." Alexander held her face in his hands, his expression earnest.

Cynthia gently pushed his hands away and placed the divorce papers she'd drafted right in front of him. "Sign it."

"What's this?" Alexander asked, surprised.

Cynthia gave a faint smile. "Didn't you always say you wanted to buy me that villa on the hill as a gift? Consider it as the compensation for me."

Alexander's tense nerves suddenly relaxed.

He really believed that all she wanted was the house, something tangible. Relief instantly replaced his panic. Without bothering to read through the agreement, he grabbed the pen and signed his name at the bottom. "Alright, whatever you want, it's yours."

With the final stroke of his signature, Alexander's phone rang out abruptly. "What did you say? Evelyn was kidnapped. Who the hell did this?"

Whatever he heard next made his face turn stormy in seconds, veins standing out on his forehead as he whipped his gaze toward Cynthia.

He hung up.

Then he slapped Cynthia so hard that she and her chair lurched to the side. Her cheek swelled up instantly from the brutal hit.