Lung cancer.

The two words hit her like thunder, shattering her sanity. She tried to smile, but tears poured down her face. She had thought that leaving the rehabilitation center meant she could start over. But fate was playing a cruel joke.

"Doctor... how long... do I have?"

"With proper treatment, you might live longer. But the treatment is expensive." She was silent. Her hands slowly clenched.

"Worst... case?"

"Two months."

The doctor's face was sympathetic, but he pressed on. "With good results, there could be a miracle. You should discuss this with your family."

Her expression went blank. "I... have no family." Her biological parents wanted to sell her. Her adoptive parents despised her. She had no one.

She couldn't afford the hospital bill or even the medication. She owed the hospital money--she would pay it back someday. Her phone and ID were with Carter. And her mind, dulled by years of electric shocks, couldn't remember the way back. Her bad leg throbbed with pain. She could barely walk. She couldn't go back, and no one would lend a phone to a beggar.

She ended up on the streets, sleeping under a bridge, surviving on garbage. She kept telling herself that Carter would come looking for her to finalize the divorce. But she didn't know that everyone thought she had run away to avoid signing the papers.

"Nothing?"

"No, sir. We've searched everywhere--the Brandt house, the Singleton house. No sign of Miss Brandt."

Carter frowned deeply, his eyes flashing with understanding--and disgust. Of course. Adaline would never cooperate with a divorce. She had chased him for ten years, refused to leave, even impersonated Elois and climbed into his bed to marry him. Why would she want a divorce? Her obedient act on the way here had just been to lower his guard so she could run and hide.

He let out a cold laugh. "Start with her friends. Without her documents, she can't go far."

But three full days passed, and they found nothing. Carter grew impatient. He thought of one person and called her. Genevieve Thorne, Adaline's former best friend.

She screamed into the phone, "Carter Holder! Are you even human? You sent Adaline to that place for four years! You're an animal! A bastard! Don't call me!"

"She's with you. Have her come out."

"Are you insane? You think I'm hiding her? Wait--what do you mean? Adaline is missing?"

"Genevieve, don't play dumb."

"Play dumb, my ass! Carter, I've held back for years. You were the one who agreed to marry her, then you backed out. You're worse than a--"

"The Thorne family business deal is canceled."

She went silent. After a moment, her voice softened. "She's not with me. I swear."

He hung up, his face dark. Not with the Brandt family, not with the Sutter family, not with Genevieve. No one in their circle would dare take her in. She had gotten better at enduring. Better at hiding.

He gave the order: "Contact Tranquil Meadows. Once we find her, send her back."

If she wasn't reformed yet, they would keep reforming her.

This was Adaline's fourth day on the streets. She was covered in filth, reeking of garbage, chased away everywhere she went. She had waited and waited, but Carter never came for her.

She coughed constantly, day and night. The other homeless people stayed away, afraid she was contagious. She coughed up mouthful after mouthful of thick, dark blood. Each breath burned. Every step felt like walking on cotton.

She struggled down the street, asking everyone she saw to borrow a phone. No one would lend one. She couldn't walk anymore. She collapsed. A kind-hearted college student, Paige Foster, helped her up.

"Are you okay? Should I take you to a hospital?"

"Can... I borrow... your phone?"

"A phone? Here."

Her trembling hands took it. She dialed the number burned into her bones.

Ring. Ring.

"Who is this?" That cold voice.

Her eyes slowly reddened. Her voice was rough and hoarse. "Carter... it's me."

"Adaline, you need to--"

"No, that's not... cough, cough, cough--"

She started coughing again, and a huge gush of blood sprayed out. The student next to her gasped.

"Oh my God, are you okay? You're coughing up blood!"

She felt her body growing cold. A fierce will to live made her beg. "I'm... sick. Really sick. Can you... lend me some money? Just... three thousand dollars? Please? I'm in so much pain..."

Every organ, every inch of her body ached--a deep, bone-crushing pain.

But on the other end of the line came a laugh--cold and cruel. "Adaline, using that trick again? Why don't you just die?" Each word was a knife.

In a daze, she looked up and saw a giant screen playing a news headline: [Holder Group CEO Spends 30 Billion on a Private Estate to Make His Beloved Smile]

And in her ear, Carter's merciless voice: "You'd better pray I don't find you. Because if I do, you'll spend the rest of your life in Westcliff."

The line went dead. And so did the last flicker of hope inside her.

After Carter hung up, he immediately ordered a trace on the IP address to find her.

"Carter, what's wrong? Who was that?"

"Business." He didn't tell her the truth.

Elois's health was fragile. No need to worry her.

"Carter, I love this estate so much! Thank you!"

"I'm glad you like it." An estate meant nothing to him.Years ago, he had been hunted, gravely wounded, at death's door. If Elois hadn't saved him, he would have died. He owed her his life. Then Adaline had stolen the token he left for Elois and pretended to be his savior, blackmailing him into marriage. He had thought she was just spoiled and willful. But this proved she was vicious and unforgivable.

Elois asked tentatively, "Carter... have you gotten the token back yet?"

He came back to himself. "She hasn't returned it to you?"

Elois looked troubled, then said softly, "No, not yet. Sister just got out. I feel bad asking. I don't want to upset her. I was going to wait until she's adjusted to life outside. After all, it's the keepsake you left for me."

She looked down shyly, the picture of maidenly modesty.

Carter said quietly, "You're too kind."

She had stolen the token and impersonated Elois, and yet Elois was still considerate of her feelings.

Elois started to lean toward him. "Carter, I--"

His phone vibrated.

He answered immediately.

The voice on the other end reported: "Boss, we've found Miss Brandt."

Carter's expression shifted. "I'll be right there."

He hung up and said to Elois, "Look around for a bit. I'll be back soon. Talk to my assistant if you need anything."

Then he turned and left quickly.

"Carter!" Elois stamped her foot, nearly losing her delicate composure. Where was he rushing off to so eagerly? To see that bitch Adaline? No, impossible. Carter hated Adaline. And soon she would be Mrs. Holder. Adaline would be nothing.

When Carter learned that the location was a hospital, his brow furrowed.

"She's here?" His subordinate chose his words carefully. "Yes, sir. Miss Brandt... doesn't look well."

Carter stopped walking, his eyes turning cold. "You're being reassigned. Ten years out of the country. Don't come back."

The man's face stiffened, but he didn't dare object. "Yes, sir."

After the boss walked away, a colleague muttered, "You know how he feels about anyone defending her. Watch yourself."

In the hospital room, Adaline had just woken up. The college student who had lent her the phone was still there.

"You're awake! Oh, thank God. You coughed up so much blood and passed out. You didn't have any emergency contacts, so I brought you here."

"Thank... you."

"No problem. Um..." The student hesitated, then continued, "I'd like to do a good deed without asking for anything, but I'm a student too. When they brought you in, I had to use my tuition money to pay your bill--it also covered your previous balance. So... could you pay me back?"

Adaline froze, then said apologetically, "I'm... sorry. How much... total? I'll... pay you back."

The student breathed a sigh of relief. "Not too much. Sixty-eight hundred dollars. You can just transfer it to me."

Sixty-eight hundred dollars. Adaline's breath caught. To her, it might as well have been a fortune. Once upon a time, she had had more allowance than she could spend, buying every new luxury item without a second thought. Now she couldn't even afford life-saving medicine.

"Um... do you have it?" Adaline didn't. But she knew she couldn't not pay this girl back. "Can you... wait two days? I promise... I'll pay you." She would find a way. Even if she had to sell her blood.

The student looked like she was about to cry. "I can't wait. My tuition is due tomorrow."

Before Adaline could say I don't have any money right now, her eyes caught a figure standing in the doorway. Her body went rigid. Carter stood there. She didn't know how long he had been watching.

She forced the words out. "Carter... Mr. Holder."

He strode into the room, his eyes sharp and mocking. "Adaline, you're better at hiding than a rat. Did you forget what I said?" He had said he would send her back to the rehabilitation center.

Her face drained of color. Cold sweat beaded on her forehead. "No... that's not... I wasn't hiding from you. I passed out. When I woke up... you were gone. I had no phone... nothing."

Carter found her halting speech irritating. Was she putting on an act for someone? She hadn't had a stutter before. Now she was pretending to be a victim! He cut her off.

"Enough. I don't want to hear your nonsense. Take her back." The last part was to his men.

Two men stepped forward and dragged her off the bed. Adaline struggled desperately. "No! I won't go! Don't... don't touch me!"

Fear--carved into her bones--gave her a burst of strength. She shoved one of the men away. In her panic, she collided with an IV stand. It toppled, and the sharp hook at the top swung straight toward Carter. He stepped back quickly, but the hook still grazed the side of his neck, drawing a thin line of blood.

The men gasped. "Boss!" Adaline went white as a sheet, nearly collapsing to her knees. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I didn't... mean to!"

Her terror peaked. Her mind lost all reason. She dropped to her knees and began kowtowing.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

It was a conditioned reflex--trained into her.

Carter touched his neck. It stung. His fingers came away with blood. He rarely got hurt. The rage building inside him shifted into another kind of disgust when he saw her like this. "Get up."

She scrambled to her feet, then nearly fell again as pain shot through her knees. Her cowering posture only irritated him more. "Take her away."

The college student, who had been watching in shock, finally found her voice. "Wait! How can you do this? She's really sick! Why are you being so mean to her?"

Carter's gaze slowly turned to her--sharp as a blade. "Sick?" The student was intimidated by his handsome but harsh face, but she pressed on. "Yes! She's sick! Really sick!"

Carter's lips curled into a cold smile. "What kind of sick? Heart disease? Stomach problems? Or maybe depression? Bipolar disorder?" With every word, Adaline's body trembled more. Her eyes were full of despair.

The student was confused.

"What?"

"How much did she pay you?"

"Huh?"

"Nice acting."

The student understood. "You think I'm an actress? No! She's really sick! The doctor said--"

Carter picked up the medical chart lying on the bedside table and flipped through it casually. He laughed.

"Lung cancer this time? That's new. You're getting more creative. And the props are convincing."

Whether it was the paid extras or the fake chart, she had upped her game. But her nature hadn't changed.

Adaline swayed, forcing down the metallic taste rising in her throat. Her voice shook.

"I'm... not lying. I'm really... sick."

"Do I need to remind you about the time you faked a stomach ulcer by making yourself throw up? Or when you slit your wrists to get me to come home? Or the car accident you staged--ramming into a barrier to put yourself in the hospital? You make me sick, Adaline."