Chapter 1 Fateful Night
In the luxurious presidential suite, Elena Reed lay beneath a tall, muscular man with perfect abs, their bodies locked in passionate embrace. The unfamiliar sensation of intimate thrust left her dizzy and disoriented.
Elena struggled to open her eyes, desperate to see the man's face, but each wave of sensation pulled her further into the depths of pleasure, like a small boat tossed in a stormy sea.
Hours later, completely drained of energy, Elena collapsed onto the massive bed. In her semi-conscious state, she felt something cool touch her neck—a ruby pendant that the man carefully placed around her throat before disappearing.
Excessive exhaustion kept Elena sleeping until noon the next day. When she finally awoke, she found her stepsister, Mandy Reed, standing by the bed with her arms crossed, her gaze full of disdain.
Elena quickly pulled the sheets around her body, desperately trying to cover the bruises that marked her skin. When her terrified eyes met Mandy's gaze, Mandy turned away, grabbed her purse from the side table, and pulled out a check, tossing it carelessly onto the bed beside Elena.
"Your job is done. Here's $800,000. Take this money and leave Pinewood City, starting today," Mandy said coldly.
"And what happened last night? You'd better keep it to yourself and pretend it never happened," she continued. "Otherwise, I have ways to make you disappear, and I can turn everything your mother left you to ashes. Elena, you'd better behave."
After delivering this threat, Mandy gave Elena one more contemptuous look before leaving. As she turned, her eyes inadvertently caught sight of the red bloodstain on the sheets.
If she hadn't already lost her virginity, why would she have spent $800,000 to have Elena sleep with that man?
Fortunately, she had drugged Elena the night before, so Elena probably wouldn't recognize the man's identity. She would never know that the man she had slept with was Harrison Frost, the business titan whose name made all of Pinewood City tremble.
After Mandy left, Elena sat on the bed, staring blankly at the thin check in her hand.
This was the price of her dignity and virginity—$800,000. Enough to go abroad and advance her medical skills.
If her mother hadn't died early, if her father Robert Reed hadn't married Christine Hayes, how could she, a lonely daughter, have fallen to such depths? Having to trade her body to pay for her education?
Elena gave a bitter smile. But this was good in a way—at least she would no longer owe the Reed family anything.
After securing the check, she put on her slightly wrinkled clothes from the previous night, then left the hotel.
Two days later, Elena boarded a plane heading overseas.
One month later, in a foreign country, when Elena received her pregnancy test results from the doctor, she was stunned.
She never imagined that a single night of passion would result in pregnancy. She didn't even know who the father of her child was—the man who had taken her that night had left little impression beyond the physical sensations. Her strongest memory was that he hadn't been too stingy—the ruby pendant he had placed around her neck seemed to be worth something.
After nine months of pregnancy, Elena lay on the operating table and gave birth to three identical babies. Unfortunately, when she recovered enough to visit her babies, the doctors informed her that one of her children had mysteriously disappeared.
Five years later, at Pinewood International Airport, Elena walked through the arrival gate holding the hands of two nearly identical twins—a boy and a girl—carrying minimal luggage.
Returning to this familiar place filled Elena with mixed emotions.
Her son Connor looked up at her and asked, "Mom, is this the city where you grew up?"
Elena gently stroked Connor's head and answered tenderly, "Yes, Connor, this is the city where I once lived."
"But Mom, are you sure we can find our missing sister in this city?" her daughter Mia asked with curiosity.
Elena sighed softly, her eyes gazing into the distance. After a moment, she said, "Your godmother found some leads. We should be able to find her if I'm careful enough."
Just as Elena finished speaking to Mia, her phone rang. Looking at the screen, she saw it was her school alumni Dr. Nathan Parker.
"Elena, I'm terribly sorry. I meant to come to the airport to pick you up when you returned, but I had an emergency surgery. I got out of the operating room late and couldn't make it," Nathan explained.
Nathan worked at Westland General Hospital as the vice president. His busy schedule and numerous surgeries made it understandable that he couldn't find time to meet Elena, something she completely understood as a fellow medical professional.
"Don't worry about it. The children and I can take a taxi. We'll see each other at the hospital," she replied.
"Good. Thank you for understanding, Elena. Zander's father's high-difficulty surgery is waiting for you to take the lead."
After hanging up with Nathan, Elena and her two children quickly took a taxi away from the airport.
At the same time, a convoy of luxury vehicles pulled up at the airport entrance.
Mandy hurriedly got out of a luxury car with several assistants and rushed toward the exit area.
Mandy directed everyone to stand at the airport exit with welcome signs. When she suddenly turned her head, she caught a glimpse of the taxi carrying Elena and her children as it passed by.
Mandy started with surprise, her heart skipping a beat. Had Elena returned?
She took a few steps forward to get a better look, when Harrison appeared beside her, carrying a pale four-year-old girl in his arms. His tall, slender figure and imposing demeanor made him the center of attention despite the child in his arms.
Seeing Harrison approach, Mandy quickly went to greet him.
"Harrison." she said sweetly.
Harrison looked down at Mandy with a cold gaze. After a moment, his thin lips moved slightly as he spoke in a cool tone.
"Are you certain Dr. Ella Johnson arrived in Pinewood City on this flight?" he asked.
Mandy nodded. "Yes, I checked with my contacts. Dr. Johnson was definitely on this flight. Harrison, don't worry. Dr. Johnson is an exceptional physician. Once we find her, Lily will be saved."
After saying this, Mandy looked tenderly at the little girl in Harrison's arms.
When Lily noticed Mandy's gaze upon her, she suddenly tensed with inexplicable anxiety, instinctively shrinking into a ball in her father's protective embrace.