---
The elevator ride felt longer than it should.
The metallic hum of the descending machine was drowned by the pounding in Su Zhenghao's ears.
He could barely breathe as he clutched the handrail, his knuckles turning white.
Beside him, Liang Yexuan stood like a cold statue, his sharp eyes fixed on the blinking floor numbers.
The bodyguards stood behind them, each one tense, exchanging quiet glances.
They had been in countless dangerous situations before, but this—this was different.
They weren't rushing into a battlefield.
They were walking straight into something unknown, and unknowns were always worse.
—
When the elevator doors slid open with a ding, the corridor greeted them with a stench.
A faint, metallic tang.
"God…" Su Zhenghao whispered, his face draining of all color. His steps faltered as he smelled the stench.
He staggered forward, almost collapsing.
One of the bodyguards immediately caught him by the arm.
Liang Yexuan's gaze hardened.
His face became as unreadable as an ice wall.
He took the corner first, his long strides steady but sharp.
The rest followed.
—
They walked and reached the far corner of the hospital—an unnoticed place that smelled faintly of rust and dampness.
The dim light flickered above, casting shadows that made the narrow passage feel suffocating.
And then—
Both men froze.
Su Zhenghao's face turned ghastly pale.
His legs almost gave out, and one of the bodyguards had to grab his arm again to stop him from collapsing outright.
His trembling hand pointed toward the door at the end of the hallway.
His lips trembled, his skin drained of every hint of color until he resembled a corpse himself.
—
Blood.
A smear of thick, dark red stained the threshold, trailing outward as though something—or someone—had been dragged inside.
Liang Yexuan's expression turned to stone, his features unreadable under the dim light.
His eyes, however, were sharp, black pools that carried a dangerous glint.
"Calm down, Uncle Su," he murmured.
"Calm—?" Su Zhenghao's voice cracked into a shout, ragged with hysteria.
His trembling finger stabbed the air toward the door. "How… how do you expect me to calm down when my wife—my Yan'er—she's in there? What did they do to her?! What—"
His breath hitched violently.
His chest constricted so painfully it felt as though his ribs would snap.
His mind conjured images he couldn't bear—Li Yan's body sprawled on the floor, her face pale, her lips purple, her features twisted in unspeakable agony.
No. No. He couldn't—he wouldn't—accept that.
—
Though Li Yan was often difficult—moody, sharp-tongued, even exhausting—she had been his wife for twenty-six years.
The mother of his daughter.
The woman who had shared his bed, his meals, his arguments, and his laughter.
And now…
Who could hate him so much? Hate him enough to do this?
He had never imagined the day he would stand before a door that reeked of her blood.
The thought twisted inside him, and bile rose in his throat.
He swayed on his feet, fighting against the darkness threatening to swallow his vision.
His heart hammered, the beat too violent for his fragile age.
—
Liang Yexuan frowned, his expression cold and expressionless.
That blood was not a good sign.
If it truly belonged to Aunt Su…
He turned to a bodyguard. "Open the door."
One of the guards moved forward, but Su Zhenghao threw out his arm, stopping them.
"No!" He lurched forward, blocking them. "Don't—don't open it yet!" His voice cracked, trembling with fear. His knees threatened to give way again. "What if—what if she's…"
His throat tightened.
He couldn't say the word.
He didn't want to see her body.
Didn't want that image burned into his mind forever.
"No! No no no no!! Don't—don't you dare open it! What if she's lying there already—already cold! Do you want me to see her face frozen in death?!"
His shout cracked at the end, breaking into something close to a sob.
—
Liang Yexuan's jaw tightened.
He, too, feared what might be inside.
If the blood was Aunt Su's, the outcome was grim.
His gaze lingered on the streaks along the door.
The smell of iron lingered heavily.
This was no ordinary scene.
—
The atmosphere pressed heavily.
Even the bodyguards, hardened men who had killed before, avoided looking too long.
Su Zhenghao's trembling hand reached for his phone. "I'll call Meilin… She'll come. She—"
But he froze.
The thought of his daughter coming with his elderly father sent a bolt of terror through him.
The doctors had warned: one more shock could kill the old man.
If he fainted here after he saw this horror, it would be the end.
His hand dropped, defeated.
—
Liang Yexuan then spoke lowly. "Uncle Su… We don't know yet. What if it isn't Aunt Su? What if… there's still hope?"
Hope.
The word cracked something inside Su Zhenghao.
He gave a jerky nod, forcing himself to breathe.
"Yes… yes. Hope. Open it. Open the damn thing!"
He then nodded quickly, almost frantically. "Do it. Do it quickly…"
—
The guards exchanged a look—grim, reluctant.
For them, Li Yan was more than Madam Su.
She was a woman who, despite her sharp moods, had always been decent to them.
She had once covered for one of their mistakes before Master Su could explode.
Compared to her arrogant, unbearable daughter, Madam Li Yan had been… human.
And now, she might be gone.
—
The guards clenched their jaws, shut their eyes tight, and slammed their boots against the door.
With a deafening crack, the door splintered. Wood scattered across the floor.
The silence afterward was suffocating.
None of them dared open their eyes immediately.
—
Then—
"Yan'er!"
Su Zhenghao couldn't stand it. He surged forward, stumbling past the broken doorframe.
His shoes splashed in the blood pooled across the entrance, but he didn't notice.
His chest heaved as he stopped abruptly.
His eyes widened, his breath caught as he froze. "What… what in heaven's name…"
One by one, the guards peeled open their eyes.
Their throats dried instantly.
"This…" one whispered, his voice hollow. "This can't be real…"
Liang Yexuan strode forward, his presence commanding the room.
But even he froze at the threshold, a rare flicker of shock passing through his gaze, his brows twitched sharply.
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