Chapter 5 My Body Has Issues
In the photo, Haven was collapsed on the ground, crying pitifully, while a sleazy, ugly man was half-holding a blurry, drenched woman.
Daniel stared at the side profile of the woman in the black dress in the photo, then quickly looked up at the hospital bed being pushed toward the VIP room...
"Wait!" Daniel's voice suddenly rose, trembling with disbelief. "David! This woman... could she be..."
David's brow furrowed.
Daniel shoved his phone right under David's nose. "Lily from the Martin family, who 'jumped off a cliff' in front of the media yesterday!" The screen's blood-red headlines screamed "Adulterer and Adulteress" and "Suicide to Escape Guilt."
The air froze like a massive block of ice. Only the monotonous beeping of the heart monitor outside the VIP room broke the dead silence.
After what felt like an eternity, David's long fingers tapped the cold windowsill twice, producing a low, resonant sound.
"The Martin family..." he murmured. The blinding spotlights and the cacophony of voices from the cliff top last night seemed to echo in his ears.
So this was the truth.
Daniel's tone became extremely complex, a mix of sympathy, anger, and a touch of absurdity. "So, she wasn't after you. She was pushed off the cliff by her own family! She barely survived and then ran into you... this... this..." He glanced at David's bandaged arm and then at the VIP room, struggling to find the right words. "This disaster. David, this time you really... went too far."
After a long silence, David seemed to make a decision. He reached out, and a pitch-black card with a metallic sheen silently slid across the cold table, stopping by Daniel's hand.
"When she wakes up, find out what she wants. Money, resources, revenge, whatever." David's voice regained its usual metallic quality, devoid of emotion.
As Daniel pocketed the heavy, scorching black card, he suddenly remembered something extremely important.
He turned abruptly, lowering his voice to stop David, who was about to leave. "Wait! There's something urgent! The morning-after pill... after what she went through, she needs it as soon as possible... You see..."
David's steps halted at the elevator. The metal doors slowly opened, reflecting his sharp jawline. He glanced back at the tightly closed VIP room door, the barrier between him and the woman he had pulled back from the brink of hell.
"No need. You know my condition. The Jones family bloodline..." he stepped into the elevator, the last words slipping through the closing doors, "...ends with me."
The elevator doors shut completely, the cold metal surface reflecting no emotion. In the dimly lit VIP room at the end of the hallway, the machines hummed steadily, the only sound the faint drip of the IV. The woman on the bed lay sunken into the pillow, her pale profile outlined by the weak light, as if asleep, or struggling in endless darkness.
Three days later.
When Lily awoke from the haze, the room was filled with the smell of disinfectant. Sunlight sliced through the blinds, making her squint.
"Awake? How do you feel?" Daniel smiled as he pulled the blinds shut. He was dressed in a crisp doctor's uniform, his eyes gentle behind gold-rimmed glasses.
He lightly touched the dressing on Lily's throat, then used a tongue depressor to examine her. Satisfied, he said, "Your vocal cords are recovering well. You'll be back to normal in a few days."
Lily looked at Daniel inquisitively.
Where was she?
Did she know him?
How did she end up in the hospital?
That night, she and that man...
Suddenly, vivid images flooded her mind.
She hadn't seen the man's face clearly, but she remembered the overwhelming scent of his hormones, his strong arms around her waist, the sweat dripping from his chest, mingling where their bodies joined...
Stop!
Don't think about it!
Daniel had no idea what Lily was thinking. He only saw her face turning redder and redder.
A fever?
That shouldn't be.
Daniel took out an ear thermometer, about to check her temperature, when Lily suddenly snapped back to reality.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
Lily shook her head and gestured for a pen. She wrote: [Who saved me?]
Daniel scratched his head. He knew Lily would ask this question when she woke up, but he had promised David not to reveal his identity.
Daniel pushed the black card David had left to her. "He asked me to apologize on his behalf. He was drugged too that night, and he broke his arm saving you. Consider it as him making amends. He also left you this, enough to start over."
Lily paused.
What did he mean by starting over?
To clarify, Daniel pulled out his phone and showed her a news article—
#Eric Catches Lily Cheating, Lily Falls Off the Cliff and Dies#
The bold headline was accompanied by a close-up of Eric. His right hand was heavily bandaged, dark circles under his eyes, his voice heavy with sorrow: "...I never thought Lily would go this far. Maybe the pressure I put on her was too much, and she needed to find an outlet."
The footage cut to Haven, crying: "It's my fault for not stopping Lily... she's been hanging out with some unsavory people lately..."
Celeste was shown fainting in Zane's arms, the caption reading [Celeste Devastated.] At the bottom was a composite image: on the left, a paparazzi shot of her being held by Victor at the cliff, and on the right, the "evidence chain" designed by Haven—hotel booking records, bank transfer screenshots, with the recipient's name being Victor, the kidnapper!
The comments section was overflowing with malice:
"She looked so innocent, but was so wild in private? Deserved to die!"
"Heard she had a sex addiction, poor Mr. Allen..."
"The Martin family disowned her overnight!"
Lily's chest heaved with anger. What a perfect setup! They not only wanted her dead but also wanted her to be a posthumous object of scorn!
"Eric will officially take over your shares and become the CEO of Horizon Innovations Group in a week."
Lily's head snapped up.
Horizon Innovations Group was the legacy of her maternal grandfather, temporarily managed by Zane under the pretense that she was underage. Later, in her madness, she had turned her grandfather's company into Eric's stepping stone.
If she had really died, Horizon Innovations Group would undoubtedly become Eric's property.
But...
She hadn't died!
She had returned from hell, and she would reclaim her grandfather's legacy!
As for that stranger, since he didn't want his identity revealed, she wouldn't force it.
Daniel was right. Although that man had taken her first night, he had also saved her life. If it weren't for him appearing in the pool, she would probably be in heaven by now.
Lily looked at the black card in her hand. This was one of the first batch of black cards issued by Harmony City Bank, with only ten in the world. Anyone who could use such a card must be incredibly powerful.
Since he wanted to apologize, he could be her weapon.