Elena felt like she had turned into a pile of mud, collapsing weakly on the floor, unable to move.
She shouldn't have opened her mouth. She shouldn't have set her hopes on him.
She had someone she wanted to protect for the rest of her life. And yes, Lucian did have the power—just the lift of a finger, and Sean would be safe. But how could she forget? He hated her.
In her desperation, she had clutched at the wrong person. She had forgotten that a man who hated her that deeply—why would he help her again and again?
It was already merciful enough that he didn't step on her while she was down.
"Vroom—"
The roar of the engine ripped through the night. It gradually faded into the distance. Lucian was gone.
Her long lashes lowered, hiding the dimness in her eyes. Elena bowed her head, kneeling on the floor as she picked up the shattered pieces of the laptop one by one, trying desperately to put them back together, as if she could piece the broken computer whole again.
She worked for so long, tried so hard, but no matter what she did, the laptop could not be fixed.
"Madam, it's getting late. You should return to your room to rest."
She looked up, clutching the ruined laptop, and forced a smile at Crystal.
"It's broken. No matter how I try, it will never be whole again…"
She wasn't sure if she was talking about the computer, or about her feelings. Every word dripped with a sorrow that cut to the bone.
Lucian drove his sports car, slamming down the accelerator as he sped down the road. Once out of the suburbs, the city lights glittered, neon blurring into meaningless streaks before his eyes.
He was losing control again.
In front of her, he always lost control. She always had a way of pushing him—forcing him again and again into a place where he hated her even more. She was detestable.
His palm slammed against the steering wheel several times before he finally forced a bit of reason back into himself. Pulling over by the roadside, he lit a cigarette.
The thin smoke curled up, his gaze slightly unfocused. After a long time, he dialed a number.
"Where are you hanging out?"
An hour later, at CloudSea Club, Lucian pushed open the door to a private room.
Deafening music blasted his ears, smoke filled the air. He frowned with disgust.
Ethan, drunk and staggering, came up with a grin, an arm slung around Lucian's shoulder, waving a bottle.
"Lucian, you finally came! Adrian and I have been waiting forever. Come on, drink!"
Adrian followed quickly, scolding, "Stop it. The doctor said Lucian can't drink right now."
Ethan smacked his forehead. "Oh, right, I forgot! Speaking of that, I've been dying to ask, what the hell happened last time? You had just finished that bone marrow extraction and you still dragged us out for drinks—you almost drank yourself to death!"
Lucian's eyes chilled. Adrian kicked Ethan aside, growling, "Go flirt with your girls, stop running your mouth."
Ethan yelped dramatically, then stumbled off with a giggling hostess.
Lucian sat on the couch, automatically reaching for a glass of alcohol. A hand intercepted it.
"You can't."
The tone was firm. Lucian, irritated, pulled out another cigarette.
"You've been smoking and drinking a lot lately," Adrian said lazily, setting the glass aside. "That's not like you."
Lucian just smoked in silence.
Adrian chuckled. "So, what did Elena do this time? She's the only one who can get under your skin like this."
At the mention of her name, Lucian's brow furrowed deeply.
"None of your business."
"Lucian," Adrian drawled, "women aren't that complicated. If she's not obedient and she keeps angering you, just sleep with her. A few times and I guarantee she'll fall in line."
Lucian turned his head, sneering.
"Oh? Is that what you did with Selene?"
Adrian froze, his expression flickering for just a split second. "Don't talk nonsense. Selene is my sister."
Lucian let out a cold laugh. "Heh."
For once, Adrian's mask slipped. He fell silent, searching for a way to shift the topic—until Lucian's low, icy voice cut through the noise.
"Sometimes I wonder… why does someone like her deserve to live in this world?"
Adrian knew exactly who he meant.
But the loathing in Lucian's tone chilled him to the bone. He was the one who knew Lucian best, yet even he couldn't decipher the storm in his heart. Why did he hate Elena so much? What had truly happened back then, between Lucian, Elena, and Lydia?
Adrian opened his mouth to ask, but no words came out. Just then, Lucian's phone buzzed.
He glanced at the message.
Sir, Madam didn't cry, didn't make a scene, and didn't leave. She went back to her room obediently.
He exhaled deeply, typing a single word in reply: Okay.
Even he didn't notice—at that moment, when he read that Elena hadn't left, the tight knot between his brows loosened ever so slightly.
The next morning, Elena rose with dark circles under her eyes.
Seeing her pale and tired, Crystal asked worriedly, "Madam, did you not rest well? Would you like to sleep a little longer?"
Between Lucian storming out last night and the fear gnawing at her over Sean, how could she possibly have slept? Elena forced herself upright and shook her head. "No, I'm fine."
Then something occurred to her, and she asked, a bit too casually, "Did your master come back last night?"
Crystal shook her head. "No, he usually doesn't stay here. It's only lately he's been coming more often."
Disappointment sank into Elena's heart, though she didn't dare show it. "I see."
After freshening up, she powered on her phone. Dozens of missed calls and messages flashed across the screen, but she ignored them, slinging her bag over her shoulder and heading downstairs.
The butler, dressed immaculately in a tailcoat, stepped forward. "Madam, breakfast has been prepared. Please, this way."
His kind expression was such a contrast to the cold, ruthless man who had stormed into her family home with bodyguards last night to punish Sophia, that Elena found herself unsettled.
"No, that won't be necessary," she murmured. "I have errands to run."
"This is the master's instruction," the butler said firmly.
At that, Elena didn't dare refuse again. She obediently sat at the dining table.
The spread was lavish—Chinese and Western dishes, everything perfectly presented. But Elena had no appetite. She chewed a bite of egg like wax on her tongue.
Her expression didn't escape the butler's notice. "Madam, is the food not to your liking? Tell me what you would prefer, and I'll have the kitchen redo it at once."
She waved her hands quickly. "No, no, it's fine!"
But just then, her phone rang.
The caretaker's sobs burst through the receiver.
"Miss Sung, hurry to the hospital—Sean's been hurt!"
"Wh… what?"
Elena went white as a sheet, as if struck by lightning.
The nurse's voice was already hoarse from crying.
"I was keeping watch outside Sean's room when a group of strangers suddenly showed up. I asked them who they were, but they refused to answer. They just tried to take Sean away!"
Elena's whole body shook, her heart trembling as if it might collapse at any moment. She didn't even dare imagine what role those so-called strangers might be playing.
"Miss Sung, what should we do now… ah!!"
The nurse's words broke off in a sharp scream. Then the line went dead.
No matter how many times Elena tried calling back, the call wouldn't go through.
She didn't need to guess—those people must have smashed the phone.
Elena couldn't sit still any longer. She shot up from her chair and ran out.
The butler hurried after her. "Madam, where are you going? Let me drive you!"
"No need. Just give me the car keys."
The car sped out of the South Bay villa. Elena pushed the accelerator to its limit, but still felt it was far too slow. She wished she could blink and have the car appear at the hospital's entrance.
But reality doesn't bend to desperation. Elena felt like she was losing her mind. Her hand shook as she pulled Derek's number, her palm slick with sweat.
As soon as the line connected, her voice lashed out, sharp and furious:
"Was it you? Did you send people to the hospital to take Sean?"
Who else could it be but Derek?
To openly seize a patient inside a hospital—only Derek would dare. Even though she and Sean had their own household registry booklet, the head page still listed Derek as the head of household.
Legally, Derek was Sean's adoptive father. He was Sean's guardian. If a guardian demanded to take their child out of the hospital, the hospital couldn't stop them.
She had always known Derek wouldn't spare Sean. That was why she had been so desperate to please Lucian, to borrow his strength for Sean's protection. But she hadn't expected this day to come so soon.
She thought she'd at least have three more days, at least until after the Cheng family banquet.
Derek's voice was low. "Getting anxious already?"
It really was him!
Derek was no man—he was a beast. Less than a beast. Sean had just come out of surgery—leaving the sterile ward would endanger his life. How could Derek take him away?
Elena's chest swelled with so much fury it felt like she might explode. Her own voice scared her, cold and venomous:
"Dad, you should know exactly what Sean means to me!"
"If you do this, aren't you afraid I'll ruin your precious daughter's marriage? That I'll throw everything away just to drag the Sung family into chaos?"
Derek showed not the slightest fear, no hint of compromise.
"Elena, Sean's life is in my hands now. You'd better mind your tone. Don't make me angry."
"Of course, I've sent a professional medical team. His life won't be in danger. But there are plenty of ways to make him suffer without killing him."
"Dad!" Elena's eyes went blood-red, her voice breaking into a sob. "Sean's health is already fragile. Please, don't push this too far!"
"I wouldn't need to push this far if you hadn't forced me!" Derek snapped.
"If you hadn't kept hurting your sister, if you had shown the slightest remorse instead of threatening me, I wouldn't have had to corner you like this."
"But don't worry. Sean will be safe with me—so long as you obey me. Every single day, you'll do exactly what I say…"
Elena's hand clenched into a fist, her nails biting into her palm until blood seeped out. She shut her eyes in anguish.
"Dad, I was wrong…"
"I'll behave from now on. I'll never make you, my sister, or Lynn angry again. Whatever you want me to do, I'll do it. You tell me to face east, I'll never look west. I promise!"
For Sean, she chose submission. She chose to bow and beg.
Sean mattered more than her pride. She had always known that.
"And… didn't you say last night that I should kneel at the hospital and apologize to Lynn and my sister? Beg for their forgiveness? I'll do it. Right now. Just… don't take Sean away. Please?"
"Elena, you're my daughter. I know you too well," Derek said coldly.
"Your promises aren't nearly as reliable as having Sean in my hands."
"Only with Sean in my grip will you truly learn obedience."
Then the line went dead.
"Dad… Dad!!" Elena shouted, but Derek no longer answered.
Out of options, she could only turn to Lucian. But Lucian had blocked even Sean's number.
Elena felt like her entire body might explode, eaten alive by pain.
Driving past the outskirts, she pulled over outside a shop, bought a coil of rope and a fruit knife, and stuffed them into her bag.
If Derek could play dirty, why couldn't she?
If he didn't hand Sean over, she'd kidnap Sophia herself.
Her rearview mirror reflected her bloodshot eyes.
Elena stormed into the hospital with her bag. Outside the sterile ward, the floor was splattered with dark red blood. Her heart plummeted. Her whole body trembled as her fingers clutched her bag so hard her knuckles turned white.
"Miss Sung, you're finally here!"
The nurse rushed over, bruises on her face. Elena seized her arm, voice shaking.
"Is this Sean's blood? What did they do to him?"
"Tell me—what did they do to him?!"
The nurse stammered in fright. "Miss Sung, please, calm down—"
"How can I calm down? That's Sean!"
"But Sean is safe now. He's in the VIP ward on the top floor."
The words came so abruptly that Elena couldn't react. "W-what?"
The nurse repeated, "Miss Sung, Sean is safe now. He's in the VIP ward upstairs."
Afraid Elena still didn't understand, she explained further:
"Someone did come to take him. I tried calling you, but they smashed my phone. I even got slapped trying to stop them. But just as they were about to take Sean, a group of bodyguards burst in—dozens of them, fierce-looking. They brought foreign doctors with them too. They took Sean back and immediately sent him to the VIP ward."
"They even beat the intruders bloody. No one dared interfere."
Elena snapped back to her senses and bolted into the elevator, rushing to the top floor.
She didn't even stop to wonder who had saved Sean. All she wanted was to see with her own eyes that he was safe.
On the top floor, a nurse led her into the VIP sterile room.
Through the thick glass, she finally saw the boy on the hospital bed.
Pale and fragile, but sleeping soundly.
Sean. Sean was safe.
Her nerves, wound tight to the breaking point, finally loosened. Her body went weak as she slumped against the glass.
So this was what it felt like to survive disaster.
"Miss Sung, rest assured. Sean is stable now. And we'll protect him. Something like today will never happen again."
Elena looked up. Dressed sharply in a suit, Lucas stood before her.
For some reason, her eyes stung. Her voice trembled with tears.
"Take me to see Lucian. Please?"