At the End of the Tunnel

After waiting for a while, the news finally arrived that the patient’s condition had stabilized.

The very next second after I woke up, Elijah threw a document hard into my face. The sharp edge instantly cut my cheek, but before I could even react, a furious roar exploded in my ears.

“I can’t believe you conspired with the doctors to forge your condition, all just to avoid donating your bone marrow to Chloe! Open your eyes and look at this physical report! Just how many times are you going to lie to us over and over again!”

Enduring the agonizing pain racking my body, I forced myself up with all my remaining strength to pick up the report.

If Elijah had bothered to take even one proper look at it, he would have realized it was riddled with flaws. Even my weight on the report was what I had weighed three years ago. I had been so ravaged by medication over the past three years that I was dangerously emaciated. Yet, he still chose to believe it anyway.

Cold sweat drenched my forehead from the intense pain. It took everything I had to tell him the truth.

“This report… It’s forged.”

Before I could finish what I wanted to say, Tyler barged into the hospital room and dragged me off the bed. The IV needles and various monitoring wires were ripped out of me.

“All I asked was for you to donate your bone marrow, and that was to save Chloe’s life. Why do you refuse to give her a chance to live?”

His eyes were bloodshot. “I didn’t want to hurt you, but you… Nora, don’t blame me for what I’m about to do.”

I shook my head frantically, begging for mercy, sobbing that I would be good from now on. However, he ignored my pleas and ordered the bodyguards to drag me toward the car.

As my legs dangled out of the doorway, he brought his foot down on mine, and the very legs that had danced for sixteen years snapped just like that. My piercing, agonizing screams were instantly muffled by a bodyguard’s hand clamped tightly over my mouth.

“You’re full of lies, and I can’t gamble with Chloe’s life.”

The car sped toward the estate where they had locked me away for three years, and I was thrown straight into the basement. To my surprise, it wasn’t long before the door was pushed open and Chloe walked in.

Tyler and Elijah escorted her, flanking her on either side.

“Chloe is kind-hearted. She said she wanted to come and check on you.”

“You'd best behave yourself. If you dare say anything out of line to trigger her, you can say goodbye to your tongue.”

As the heavy door slowly shut behind her, the fragile, weak look on Chloe’s face instantly vanished. She leaned right next to my ear and let out a soft laugh.

“The great heiress of the Benson family amounts to nothing more than this! Since you’re about to die anyway, I’ll give you some peace of mind. The truth is, I’m not sick at all. And I don’t give a damn about Tyler or Elijah. I just wanted to fake my death and take the money to live a lavish life abroad. But then you had to come along and show up as a perfect bone marrow match. Perfect. I’ll just use this opportunity to play the game with you a little longer.”

My eyes widened in sheer shock. Before I could utter a word, she drew a paring knife from her coat and stabbed it into her own abdomen.

“Help! Nora is trying to kill me!”

Hearing the commotion, Tyler and Elijah rushed back inside. Seeing Chloe collapsed in a pool of blood, they both lost their minds.

The accompanying doctor scrambled forward to examine her.

“The wound is too deep and has triggered organ damage! We must operate immediately, or it’ll be too late to save her!”

“Then what the hell are you standing around for? Get her to the hospital right now!” Elijah roared, his eyes bloodshot, as Tyler scooped Chloe into his arms and dashed out like a madman.

They hadn’t made it very far before Elijah suddenly remembered something.

“Where is Nora? Bring her out, too! We are doing the bone marrow transplant for Chloe today!”

The bodyguard nodded quickly to comply. However, before Elijah could even step back into the estate, a deafening explosion shattered the air.

Elijah’s eyes were wide with horror as a roaring wall of fire instantly swallowed the entire building.