Before Serena could finish her sentence, the man cut her off, clearly not interested in continuing the discussion. He stared straight ahead and slipped her a business card. "This is my personal number. Call me when you've made up your mind."

Serena didn't say anything else. She pulled out her phone and turned it on. After the way she ran off yesterday, she had no idea if those people had shown up at her place.

The phone lit up almost immediately with a call.

"Serena! Finally! You've got to get to Concord General Hospital, now!" Ivy Penn's voice was full of panic.

Without thinking, Serena grabbed Matthew's arm, her face filled with worry. "Please... can you take me to Concord General Hospital?"

He frowned. "Turn the car around."

Outside the ICU at Concord General Hospital.

Through the glass window, Serena saw Eleanor Wilson, the same woman who had held a knife to her neck days ago, demanding Serena marry to repay a debt.

Now, Eleanor was hooked up to a ventilator and surrounded by tubes. Her face was beaten and bruised, IV lines hanging beside her.

"What happened?" Serena asked, her voice shaky.

With eyes red and tears streaming down, Ivy stuttered, "Yesterday... when you didn't show up at the wedding, your parents tried to run. But those men chased them... your dad sped up, and... the car flipped..."

"W-What about my dad?" Serena asked, barely able to breathe.

"He... he didn't survive."

There was no time for grief before Ivy hesitantly handed her a stack of medical bills.

Over 60,000 dollars.

Serena stared at the papers, overwhelmed.

Matthew arched an eyebrow at her reaction. "Need a hand?"

"Mr. Quinn, could you... maybe lend me a hundred thousand?" she asked, voice low and uncertain.

He smirked slightly, nodding. "I'm a businessman, not a charity."

"I can write an IOU. I-" Serena stopped, realizing how weird it was to ask someone she barely knew for that kind of money.

And let's be real, no businessman would do something like this without some benefit in return.

She stood there, awkward and at a loss for words.

"Mr. Quinn, we should head to the airport," his assistant reminded gently, walking out from the doctor's office.

"I'd think hard about what I offered yesterday, if I were you." Matthew dropped the statement coldly, then turned and left.

As soon as they got in the car, Matthew's expression darkened. "What's the update on her mother?"

Lucas Cope responded carefully, "Severe blood loss, intracranial hemorrhage, multiple organ infections... currently in a coma. Dr. Porter said... chances of waking up are nearly zero."

"No need to tell her the last part. Just let her mom stay in the room and rest," Matthew said, his face tight.

Lucas hesitated. "Should we move Ms. Dawson's mom to a VIP room?"

"No need."

Back at the hospital, Serena sat clutching the bill, totally lost. Matthew's words echoed in her mind.

Was accepting his proposal really her only option?

To be fair, apart from not lending her the money, he hadn't exactly treated her badly.

But just giving up on Dylan, someone she'd loved for six years? Her heart wasn't ready.

Meanwhile, in the VIP lounge at the airport, Matthew was rhythmically tapping his finger on the table.

After a long pause, he crooked a finger at his assistant.

"Mr. Quinn-"

"Tell those people this-Serena is my woman now. If they're smart, they won't push it," Matthew said, lighting a cigarette.

"Yes, sir. And the hospital...?"

Matthew shot a glance at him and snuffed out the cigarette. "Do it the way I said."

Serena sat in the hallway, eyes locked on the red "Surgery in Progress" sign glowing above the operating room door, fidgeting nonstop.

Eleanor was rushed in for emergency surgery due to a sudden organ infection.

Finally, a nurse came out.

"What's going on with Eleanor? Is she okay?"

Serena lunged forward, clutching the nurse's sleeve like it was her last lifeline.

"There's more bleeding than expected. Blood bank's empty-we're trying to get more ASAP."

The nurse's words were clipped and anxious.

Serena didn't hesitate. She rolled up her sleeve with a determined look. "You can take mine. Seriously. I'm sure it'll work."

"Alright, but we need to test your blood type first."

Serena knew from when Douglas Dawson had been hospitalized before that her blood type didn't match his.

But the test result still hit her like a truck: Eleanor was type B, and she was type A.

Her blood wasn't a match either.

Holding the test paper, Serena wandered to the doctor's office in a daze.

"Dr. Porter..." she started, her voice scratchy. "If the dad has O-type, and the mom has B-type, could their kid be A-type, like... ever?"

"Genetically, no. If you're unsure, a DNA test could confirm it."

"No need," Serena murmured, waving weakly before walking out.

She got it now. She wasn't their biological child.

Douglas used to come home drunk and hit her without warning, cursing like she was his worst enemy.

She'd curl up in a corner, biting her lip to stop from crying. If the pain got too much, she'd scream, "If you hate me so much, why even have me?"

And every time, Eleanor would stare at her in silence for a long time. Then, once their eyes met, she'd freak out and bolt.

The two of them, called "parents," though the title never really fit, would often stay up late, crying together like they shared some deep sorrow.

Sometimes, while patching up Serena's wounds, Eleanor would whisper, "Don't blame your dad," and then nothing more.

Serena always thought her existence was a mistake, that she was just... in the way.

Even a beast wouldn't hurt its own baby. If she was really theirs, how could Douglas push her to marry some old man old enough to be his buddy?

Meanwhile, Matthew was flipping through files on their current joint project when Lucas knocked lightly and stepped in.

"Mr. Quinn, these just came in from the hospital. Blood test results."

Matthew skimmed them and let out a dry chuckle, lips curling. "No wonder they're forcing her to marry-they're not even related."

Guess he'd been overthinking it. That woman didn't crash his wedding on purpose.

He sat in silence for a beat, then frowned. "How long is this trip supposed to last?"

"Seven days total," Lucas replied confidently.

"That's way too long. Push things around. I need to be back in three. I'm getting married."

"Married? You mean-"

"Go stir things up for Serena. And Dylan, too." Matthew's grin turned wicked.

"Ms. Dawson, Dr. Porter wants to see you," a nurse said as she tapped Serena gently on the shoulder. She'd dozed off waiting.

It was already morning.

In the office, Dr. Porter's face was unreadable. "Just to be clear, we need payment for your father's resuscitation and your mother's current treatments. By day after tomorrow, or we'll have to stop the meds."

"I know," Serena nodded quickly, flustered. "Dr. Porter, I..."

But the doctor didn't wait. He handed over a stack of bills. "Here's the invoice. You'll need to come up with the money."