Chapter 3

At that moment, the VIP room door swung open from the outside, and Randy Carter walked in with a smile that instantly froze when he saw the woman kneeling on the floor.

"Adeline?"

One look at her pitiful state and he knew exactly who was responsible.

"That's enough!" Randy positioned himself in front of her, addressing Edward with cold fury.

They had all been friends since childhood.

Yes, Adeline had been wrong to falsely accuse someone back then.

But they couldn't keep pushing her to the brink of death over that one incident!

Randy moved to help Adeline up. "Come on, I'm taking you to the hospital."

"I didn't give permission for anyone to leave," Edward stated icily.

Others might fear Edward—his ruthless decisions, his thunderous methods—but Randy didn't. "How many years has it been? When will this vendetta of yours finally end?"

Edward remained silent, his cold gaze sweeping toward the two figures by the door, his hands gradually clenching into fists at his sides.

Randy recognized his anger.

Over the years, anyone who had offered help to Adeline or the Brown family had suffered consequences. He believed that if he hadn't been by Edward's side, helping him build his empire from nothing, he too would have faced retribution.

"Edward, a fatality would be messy for everyone. Let me take her to the hospital first, okay?"

When Adeline opened her eyes, she was met with blinding whiteness.

The sharp smell of antiseptic in the air left her disoriented.

"You're awake?"

Randy walked in carrying breakfast he'd just purchased. "The cuts on your legs have been treated. The doctor said your throat—"

"Why am I here?" Adeline interrupted, her voice raspy.

Last night, between the unbearable pain and the alcohol, she had no recollection of what happened afterward.

But she knew Edward wouldn't let her off so easily.

"It was..." Randy hesitated, then admitted, "Edward told me to bring you here."

"Don't blame him. He just can't get past what happened back then."

Adeline closed her eyes with a bitter smile. "My family and I... we've suffered so much already. Isn't that enough?"

She murmured, almost to herself.

Randy sighed heavily. After visibly struggling with his thoughts, he took a deep breath and confessed, "Edward suffered terribly in prison."

Be surrounded and beaten, not allowed to eat or drink, mocked and treated like a dog...

To this day, Randy couldn't forget how Edward looked when he was released.

Emaciated to the bone, his face haggard, his back hunched—though not yet thirty, he resembled an elderly man in his final days.

"You don't know what those years inside did to him."

"I owe him my life, and I'll give it to him... But please, spare my family," she pleaded. "Let them stop hiding, eat proper meals, live normal lives."

Randy wanted to say more.

But the words caught in his throat, and he didn't know how to continue.

Just then, a series of footsteps sounded from the doorway.

"Doctor's rounds," announced several medical staff as they entered the room. Upon seeing Adeline, one nurse asked anxiously, "What are you doing here? Lily's been looking for you all morning..."

"Just took a fall," Adeline quickly replied, subtly shaking her head at the nurse when Randy wasn't looking.

The nurse, half-understanding, responded, "Oh, well... rest up then."

The rounds proceeded swiftly.

The doctor briefly asked if she had any discomfort, and the entourage that had arrived so grandly departed just as grandly.

After they left, the hospital room plunged into an eerie silence.

Adeline wasn't sure if Randy had caught on to something, and she feared he might report his suspicions back to Edward. If his paranoia led him to investigate Lily...

She explained with forced casualness, "What a coincidence. That nurse is my roommate."

Randy pressed, "And Lily is?"

"Our pet kitten that we raised together."

Randy didn't question further. "Alright, you're quite weak right now. Stay in the hospital for a couple of days. I'll hire a caretaker for you. Don't refuse—if you do, I'll look after you myself."

Every avenue of refusal blocked.

Adeline could only say, "I can't afford it."

"You don't need to pay."

Seeing the once-pampered heiress reduced to this state left Randy feeling melancholic.

Adeline fell silent. As soon as he stepped out to take a call, she immediately got out of bed to leave.

A frigid voice came from the doorway.

"Where are you going?"

That voice was all too familiar.

So familiar that Adeline's body went cold at the sound, as if plunged into an icy abyss.

Edward stood there in an impeccable suit, elegant and dignified, while she wore a hospital gown, her face sallow and weary.

Had he come to see her?

The thought emerged only to be instantly dismissed.

"Mommy!"

Without warning, Lily came running in.

Adeline's heart skipped a beat.

She had no time to react and instinctively looked at Edward.

The only thought in her mind: It's over.

"Mommy?" Edward's expression was unreadable as he stared at the small figure in a matching hospital gown.

Adeline quickly recovered. "Being naughty again? Your mother will worry. Go back now. Godmother will visit when I can."

She hurriedly ushered Lily out the door, right into the path of the nurse who had been searching for her.

"Thank you," she whispered to the nurse.

The nurse led a confused Lily away.

Behind her, Edward had somehow drawn closer, his voice like that of a demon.

"Seeing how attached that child is to you, one might think she was your flesh and blood."

Adeline's nerves were taut, though she maintained a calm exterior.

"Since she calls me godmother, we're practically family. But Mr. Thomas, did you come specifically to see me?"

Edward's expression darkened. "See you? You're not worthy."

He adjusted his tie and turned to leave.

Not once did he look back at her.

Around the corner, a stunningly beautiful young woman took Edward's arm.

Adeline noticed he didn't resist.

From a distance, the woman's sweet voice carried, "Edward, the doctor says it's just a cold, nothing serious. Don't worry about me."