On a night of torrential rain, I fled barefoot from the hell of Southeast Asia back to my home, my soles streaming with blood all the way. I endured three years in a water dungeon, with blood drawn and medicines tested on me every single day. All ten of my fingernails were pulled out completely. I’d thought that what awaited me would be the heartfelt compassion of my loved ones. My husband handed me the organ-donation agreement, and my older brother coldly accused me of bringing this on myself. “Lily has kidney failure, and your tissue match is perfect.” “It was I who sold you to the human trafficker—you should have repaid her.” It turns out that the man I’d loved for ten years—and the brother I’d trusted for twenty—was the one who had pushed me into the abyss. They’re going to harvest my kidneys and extract my bone marrow to nourish a foster daughter who has usurped the rightful heir’s place. On the operating table, restraints are fastened around my limbs, and the anesthetic needle is about to pierce my skin. I grabbed the scalpel and plunged it fiercely into my own kidney. Six months later, I transformed into Roxana Vance, the president of a multinational corporation, and made a powerful comeback alongside Valerius City’s top-tier tycoon. However, the once-arrogant scumbag and my so-called “brother” have gone completely crazy.
“Sign it.” Alistair Montgomery sat on the leather sofa and casually tossed me an organ donation agreement without even lifting a glance. He was idly fiddling with a custom-made lighter, his voice colder than the torrential rain outside. “Lily’s kidney failure has worsened, and your tissue match is a perfect fit.” I was soaked to the bone and collapsed onto the ground like a ragdoll. I stared in disbelief at the man before me—the one I’d loved for ten years. “I just escaped from the scamming district…” My voice is hoarse, and it feels like I’ve swallowed a blade in my throat. “I was locked in a water dungeon by them for three whole years, with blood being drawn from me and drugs being tested on me every single day.” I raised my hands, trembling. All ten fingernails were forcibly torn off, leaving behind only deformed growths of flesh now. “You don’t ask me how I’ve been these past three years—instead, as soon as we meet, you’re already asking for my kidney?” Victor Sterling, sitting on the other side, let out a cold laugh. He is my blood-related older brother. Yet right now, he’s looking at me with the same gaze one would give to trash. “Sloane, stop playing the poor victim.” “If it hadn’t been for your jealousy of Lily and your insistence on running away from home, how could you have been abducted by human traffickers?” “You’re only getting what you deserve.” I jerked my head up and stared at him intently. “Did I run away from home?” “Three years ago that night, it was Lily who sent me a message saying she’d gotten lost at the dock and asked me to pick her up!” “When I got there, several men knocked me unconscious and took me aboard the boat!” Alistair finally raised his head. He looked at me, his eyes devoid of any trace of emotion. “It was me who sent your location to those people.” Boom— It was as if a thunderbolt had exploded in my mind. I stared at him blankly, thinking I must have misheard. “What did you say?” Alistair stood up, walked over to me, and looked down at me from above. “Lily has been in poor health since childhood, and she needs a healthy donor.” “Now that you’ve held the position of the Sterling family’s young heiress for so many years, it’s about time you repaid her.” “I’m sending you away to let you experience a bit of hardship out there—so you’ll learn to behave yourself.” Victor tapped the ash off his cigarette casually, his tone light and nonchalant. “I personally went to the police station to close your missing-persons case.” “Outwardly, we’re claiming that you stole money from the family and ran away with a strange man.” “This way, the reputations of the Sterling family and the Montgomery family won’t be tarnished.” My heart felt as if it had been brutally crushed by an invisible giant hand. The pain is so intense that I can’t breathe. Three years. More than a thousand days and nights. In that dark, sunless dungeon, I was treated like an animal. Relying on my longing for them, I’ve struggled time and again to snatch myself back from the clutches of death. I thought they must be frantically looking for me. Result. The very people who pushed me into hell with their own hands are my beloved husband and my closest brother. “Why…” I was lying on the floor, tears mixed with blood splattering onto the carpet. “Lily is just an adopted daughter! I’m your real younger sister!” I screamed hysterically at Victor. Victor’s face darkened, and he suddenly strode over, kicking me hard in the solar plexus. “Shut up!” “Although Lily is an adopted daughter, she’s kinder and more sensible than you!” “Besides causing trouble, what else can you do?” I was kicked so hard that I flew backward and crashed into the coffee table. My throat went sweet, and I spat out a large mouthful of fresh blood. Alistair frowned, as if he were annoyed that I’d stained the carpet. “Don’t waste your time talking to her.” “Sign the document, and we’ll schedule the surgery for tomorrow.” “Besides the kidney, Lily also needs your bone marrow.” “Since your life is so tough, just donate some bone marrow and have a kidney removed—you won’t die.” I clutched my chest and let out a bitter laugh. I’m laughing so hard my eyes are watering. “What if I don’t sign?” Alistair looked at me coldly. “Not signing?” “Then I’ll just send you back to the high seas.” “I heard the black market over there is very interested in organs from young women like you.” “By then, it won’t be as simple as just removing a kidney.” My heart is completely dead. This is the man I’ve loved for ten years. This is the older brother I’ve been calling for twenty years. I bit my teeth and pulled myself up from the ground. “Okay, I’ll sign.” I picked up the pen and made a heavy mark on the agreement. Not a signature. Instead, it tore through the entire sheet of paper. “I’d rather die than give my organs to that bitch!” Alistair was furious. “Lock her in the basement!” “Starve her for three days, and I’ll see if she signs!”
There is no light in the basement. Only bone-chilling cold and a musty smell. I huddled in the corner, trembling all over. My stomach feels like it’s on fire. The wound on my body reopened due to the earlier tugging, and blood was seeping out. I don’t know how much time had passed. The iron door creaked open with a “creak.” A beam of light shone in. Lilith Sterling wore an immaculate haute couture dress and stepped in crystal shoes, looking like a noble princess. She walked up to me and looked down at me from above. “Sloane, it’s been three years—how could you have turned into such a ghostly mess?” She covered her mouth and let out a soft giggle. I stared at her intently. The one she’s wearing around her neck is an heirloom my mother left me—a priceless pink diamond necklace. “Give it back to me…” I struggled to lunge forward. The bodyguard behind Lilith kicked me hard, sending me flying onto the ground. The leather shoes stepped heavily on my face. “Don’t touch me—you stink so bad.” Lilith stepped back two paces in disgust. “Sloane, you still don’t know, do you?” “These past three years, Alistair has been so kind to me.” “He transferred all the shares that originally belonged to you into my name.” “Victor also handed over the reins of the Sterling family to me.” “You’re nothing now.” I bit down hard, and tasted the metallic flavor of blood in my mouth. “You’re not sick at all!” “You’ve been faking illness to fool them!” Lilith crouched down, leaned close to my ear, and lowered her voice. “Yeah, I’m not sick.” “My kidneys are in great shape, and my bone marrow is also very healthy.” “But I just want yours.” “Why is it that you were born an heiress of the Sterling family, while I’m just an unwanted orphan?” “Why is it that you get to marry Alistair, while I’m stuck calling him ‘brother’?” “I’m going to take everything from you, bit by bit.” “Including your organs.” She laughed like a demon. “Did you know? The night you were sold to the high seas, Alistair was spending my birthday with me.” “He personally put this necklace around my neck.” “He said, Only I am worthy of something this beautiful.” My heart suddenly felt a sharp pain. The pain was so intense that I almost fainted. “You crazy person…” Lilith stood up and smoothed out the hem of her dress. Suddenly, she let out a gasp and fell backward all at once. Fell heavily to the ground. “Ah! That hurts!” The basement door was pushed open again. Alistair and Victor burst in. Seeing Lilith lying on the ground, both of them turned pale with shock. “Lily!” Alistair pulled her into his arms in one swift motion, his face full of concern. Lilith’s eyes were red and swollen, and tears were dripping down her cheeks one after another. “Alistair, don’t blame Sloane.” “She just pushed me because she hated me so much.” “I’m fine, cough…” She coughed weakly twice, and a trace of blood unexpectedly seeped from the corner of her mouth. Victor’s eyes were about to burst with rage. He rushed over, grabbed my hair in one hand, and dragged me off the ground. “Sloane! You’re asking for it!” “Slap!” A heavy slap landed on my face. My ears are ringing, and my vision keeps going dark. “Lily kindly came to see you, and yet you dare lay a hand on her!” “Do you really think I wouldn’t dare to kill you?!” I hung my head weakly, lacking even the strength to offer an explanation. What’s the point of explanation? They believe only in Lilith. Alistair held Lilith in his arms, his gaze cold as he looked at me. “Since you’re feeling so energetic, there’s no need to wait.” “Let’s do the surgery tonight.” I suddenly raised my head. “I didn’t sign it! You’re breaking the law!” Alistair let out a cold laugh. “In River City, I am the law.” “Take her to the hospital!” Several bodyguards rushed forward, roughly grabbed me, and started dragging me out. I fought desperately, but it was completely useless. I was dragged out of the Montgomery family mansion like a dying dog. 3 Private Hospital. Top-floor Operating Room. I was forced into a hospital gown and pinned down on the freezing surgical table. The blinding surgical lights beat down on my face, leaving me unable to open my eyes. Thick leather restraints bound my hands and feet tightly in place. I was nothing but meat on a chopping block, at their mercy. Beyond the glass window, Alistair and Victor stood shoulder to shoulder. They stared at me with expressionless faces, as if I were nothing more than a lifeless object. Lilith lay on another surgical table nearby. Through the curtain, I could hear her frail voice. “Alistair, I’m scared…” Alistair’s voice came through the intercom, dripping with a tenderness that could melt ice. “Don’t be afraid. Just sleep, and it will all be over.” “When you wake up, everything will be better.” It was that exact same tenderness he had once shown me. Now, it was a blade driven straight into my heart. The lead surgeon approached, wearing a mask. In his hand was a syringe filled with a clear liquid. “Mrs. Montgomery, relax,” he said coldly, aiming the needle at my vein. I stared at the sharp tip of the needle. Flashes of the past three years on the high seas flooded my mind. I saw Alistair’s indifferent face, Victor’s disgusted gaze and Lilith’s triumphant smirk. No. I couldn’t let them have their way. Even in death, I would never give my organs to that vicious woman! A surge of inexplicable strength exploded from within my body. I twisted my wrists with every ounce of power I had left. The rough restraints tore through my flesh. The blood that spilled out acted as a lubricant. Click. The restraint on my right hand gave way. A fraction of a second before the doctor’s needle could pierce my skin, I yanked my hand free and violently overturned the surgical tray beside me. Metal instruments scattered across the floor. I snatched up a sharp scalpel. The doctor panicked, stumbling backward. “What are you doing?!” Outside the glass, Alistair and Victor’s expressions instantly changed. “Sloane! Put the knife down!” Alistair roared, pounding frantically against the glass. Clutching the scalpel, I slowly sat up. My left hand was still bound, but I didn’t care. I turned my head and stared dead through the glass at them. A tragic, bloody smile curved my lips. “You want my kidney, don’t you?” “You want my bone marrow?” “Here. I’ll give it to you.” Without hesitation, I raised the scalpel, aimed it at my right flank, and drove it down with all my might! Squish— The sickening sound of flesh being pierced echoed with terrifying clarity in the silent operating room. Blood gushed instantly, soaking the white bedsheets crimson. “Ahh!” Lilith shrieked in terror from the next table. Outside the glass, Alistair and Victor’s eyes widened in absolute horror. “Sloane! You’re insane!” Alistair screamed, smashing his fists against the glass. I didn’t stop. I pulled the blade out and plunged it back in. Once. Twice. Three times. With every ounce of strength I possessed, I completely destroyed the kidney they so desperately coveted. Agony sent violent spasms through my entire body. Yet, I felt an overwhelming sense of euphoria. “I’d rather destroy it… than give it to that bitch…” Through my fading vision, I saw Alistair burst into the operating room. I saw the sheer panic on his face as he desperately tried to press against my wound. Blood sprayed through his fingers, staining his pristine white shirt crimson. “Doctor! Save her! Do something!” he bellowed at the paralyzed medical staff. Victor rushed in right behind him. Seeing the bed drenched in blood, his legs gave out, and he collapsed to the floor. “Sloane…” He reached out with trembling hands, too terrified to even touch me. Using the very last thread of my strength, I shoved Alistair’s hand away. “Don’t touch me… You’re filthy…” “Alistair… Victor…” “I curse you…” “In this life and the next… may you never find peace in death…” My vision began to blur. The voices around me faded into the distance. On the heart monitor, the undulating line slowly flattened out. Beeeeeeeeep— The piercing, continuous tone filled the room. I closed my eyes. Finally, I was free. 4 Beep… Beep… Beep… The rhythmic sound of medical monitors echoed in my ears. My eyes snapped open. I gasped for air, my chest heaving. Staring up at me was an unfamiliar ceiling. A luxurious crystal chandelier cast a soft, warm glow. There were no blinding surgical lights, no suffocating stench of disinfectant. Instead, the air was filled with the faint, calming scent of agarwood. “Awake?” A deep, icy male voice drifted from the floor-to-ceiling window. I turned my head. A man in a black silk shirt stood there. He was tall and imposing, with broad shoulders and a narrow waist. As he turned around, a sharply chiseled face came into view. His features were strikingly handsome, and his eyes were as piercing as an eagle’s. He exuded an overwhelming aura of absolute authority. “Who are you?” I shrank back in alarm, pulling at the wound on my waist. A sharp pain made me suck in a breath. “Don’t move.” The man took long strides toward me and pressed down on my shoulder. “I snatched your life back from the God of Death. Don’t cheapen it.” “My name is Julian.” Julian? The untouchable, ruthless crown prince of River City? Rumor had it he was as unpredictable as he was ruthless, ruling both the underworld and the legitimate business world. “You saved me?” I looked at him, my eyes guarded. “Why?” I couldn’t believe a man of his stature would waste his mercy on a worthless, discarded wife. Julian pulled up a chair and sat down, crossing his long legs. His posture was languid, yet it carried an unquestionable authority. “The lead surgeon was my man. ” “He injected you with a death-mimicking drug and fooled Alistair and Victor.” In their eyes, you are nothing but a pile of ashes now.” I froze. I was dead? The realization sent a wave of euphoric joy crashing through my heart. I was finally free of those two demons! “As for why I saved you…” Julian pulled a yellowed photograph from his pocket and handed it to me. On it was a young girl with a radiant, flower-like smile. “Her name was Zoe. My younger sister. ” “Two years ago, she was tricked onto that cruise ship on the high seas. ” “When those people were about to beat her to death, you took the blow for her.” “Although she eventually passed away from her illness, I, Julian, have remembered this debt.” I stared at the girl in the photo. My memories slowly began to resurface. The little girl in the lower deck, crying and calling for her brother… She was Julian’s sister. “I’ve looked into your past.” Julian’s eyes turned ice-cold, and the temperature around him seemed to drop several degrees. “Alistair and Victor drove you to the brink of death for a fake. ” “Do you want revenge?” Revenge? Those word was like a spark, instantly igniting the rage I had suppressed for years. I touched the thick bandages on my waist. I thought of the torment I had endured for three years, and the cruel expressions on their faces when they forced me to donate my organs. My gaze turned vicious. “Yes. I want it more than anything!” I want to strip them of everything and make them wish they were dead!” Julian’s lips curved into a satisfied, dangerously wicked smile. “Good. ” “From today onward, Sloane is dead. ” “You are Roxana Vance, the Executive President of Vance Group North America.” “I will give you the best resources and the most powerful backing.” “I will let you stand before them with your head held high, and collect every ounce of what they owe you, with interest!” The following six months were a hellish rebirth. Julian arranged the most elite medical team to reconstruct my broken body. My fingernails grew back. Though scarred, they were no longer deformed. The wound on my waist healed into a hideous, yet proud medal of honor. During the day, I learned corporate warfare and the art of manipulation from Julian. At night, I drenched the gym in sweat, practicing combat and self-defense. I shed Sloane’s weakness and naivety, transforming into the cold-blooded and decisive Roxana. The woman in the mirror had a sleek, shoulder-length bob. Her eyes were ice-cold, her lips a fiery red. The girl who had once endured endless humiliation was gone forever. “Ready?” Julian stood behind me, looking at my reflection in the mirror. I curved my lips, a bloodthirsty glint flashing in my eyes. “Of course. It’s about time the game began.”
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