Bang! Bang! Bang!

Three shots shattered the silence of the office.

Elora blew away the smoke curling from the barrel and walked toward the pair step by step.

"Elora, have you lost your mind?!" Rodger frowned, instinctively shielding Lilah behind him.

"You're still protecting her?" Elora's voice rose sharply. She reached behind Rodger, yanked Lilah out, and slapped her twice, left and right.

Before Rodger could react, Elora roared, "Do you have any idea that because she ran away at the critical moment, our daughter is dead?!"

Rodger looked as if he had been struck by lightning. The anger drained from his face, leaving it deathly pale.

"I'm sorry, it's my fault, Elora... "

He slapped himself hard, then wrapped his arms around Elora.

"Hit me, Elora! I'm a piece of trash! I shouldn't have missed your calls. I was busy, my phone wasn't with me, it's all my fault!"

Elora pushed him away with force.

She sneered coldly, "Busy? Busy comforting your terrified little girlfriend?"

Her icy gaze locked onto Lilah.

Once, Rodger had personally arranged a female bodyguard for her—someone he claimed he had trained himself—to protect both her and their daughter.

When Elora found out Lilah had been bought from an auction house, she had even felt jealous.

Rodger had laughed, indulgent and helpless.

"Why are you acting like a little animal guarding its food? I only see her as a subordinate. Besides, my wife is so beautiful. If I put a male bodyguard next to you, I'd get jealous too. Lilah's professionally trained. With her there, you and Franny will be perfectly safe."

Elora had believed him.

Believed him enough to let her daughter die because of it.

Elora snapped back and pointed straight at Lilah.

"You only see her as a subordinate? So what? Does the Griffiths gang kiss their subordinates now?!"

Rodger's face turned pale.

With a heavy thud, he dropped to his knees in front of Elora.

"Elora! I swear I'll never do it again! It's my fault. I wronged you, I caused Franny's death! I repent… punish me however you want!"

Looking at the man crying in front of her, regret spilling from every pore, Elora felt nothing but numb, hollow pain.

"Two things," she said flatly. "Do them, and I'll let this go."

She flipped the divorce papers to the final page and slammed them onto the table.

"First, sign this! Second... "

She raised her hand and pointed at Lilah.

"She must face the consequences for Franny's death!"

"No!" Rodger refused without hesitation.

The moment the word left his mouth, he realized something was off. He hurriedly grabbed the papers, scrawled his signature across them, then scrambled to justify himself.

"What I mean is Lilah wasn't feeling well that day. She left early without informing you, and that was her fault. But she was unwell, so leaving her post is understandable. You don't need to push her to death."

Elora laughed.

He had sworn again and again that Lilah was highly professional.

For a bodyguard, loyalty was everything. Clearly, Lilah had failed. And failure meant death.

"Fine," She raised her hand, pointing directly at Lilah.

"Then I'll deal with her myself."

As Lilah cried out, Elora moved decisively.

A sharp sound echoed.

Elora stared in disbelief at her wrist, now throbbing with pain.

Rodger lowered his hand, expressionless.

"Elora, you need to calm down. If you weren't so out of control, I wouldn't have had to stop you."

Elora's heart felt shattered.

The pain from the gunshot in her hand was nothing compared to the agony in her chest.

She remembered how, before their marriage, anyone who so much as made her frown would get a bullet from Rodger as a lesson.

And now, the gun he pointed was at her.

Her heart bled.

Just as Elora was about to speak, the office door was suddenly slammed open.

A small boy charged into the room and threw himself into Lilah's arms

He poked his head out, curiously sizing up Elora, and asked Rodger, "Daddy, who is she? Did she bully my mommy?!"

The boy glared angrily at Elora. "Go away!"

Elora froze, staring at the little boy who looked strikingly like Rodger.

Her heart felt utterly broken.

How many things had Rodger been hiding from her all these years?

Elora pointed at the little boy, enunciating every word, "Is he Lilah's child with you?"

Rodger's face darkened instantly.

He never imagined that the illegitimate child he had with Lilah would show up in his office, right in front of Elora.

But now, there was no point denying it.

Rodger closed his eyes.

"Elora, listen to me. This was an accident. What's done is done. We should look forward, not dwell on the past. And besides… Franny is gone. Don't you remember what the doctor said? The injuries you sustained were severe, affecting your health permanently. We won't have children anymore. He... might be the only child I'll ever have."

The words struck Elora deeply.

Her body swayed. Her face turned deathly pale.

Memories came crashing back.

Years ago, during a sudden attack, in the chaos, a sharp blade lunged toward Rodger's back. Elora hadn't hesitated for even a second before throwing herself in front of him.

She was injured in the abdomen.

Through the searing pain, all she remembered were Rodger's bloodshot eyes and his heart-rending screams.

When she woke up, she was told the injury had serious long-term consequences for her health.

She had been shattered. And Rodger had held her tightly, repeating over and over, "It's okay, Elora. As long as I have you, that's enough. Franny is all we need…"

The pain and guilt in his eyes back then had felt so real.

So it had all been an act.

Rodger spoke again, yanking her out of her memories.

"This child… he's my only son now. And he'll be your support in the future. Elora, let the past go. From now on, treat him as your own. Raise him like your biological child. He'll take care of you when you're old. Isn't that better?"

Elora froze.

Something cool slid down her face. She reached up, and her hand came back wet with tears.

Yet her heart felt eerily numb.

"Treat him as my own?" Elora laughed.

So while she had been breaking apart over her daughter's death, silently mourning the loss of her ability to conceive… the husband she had loved with her whole heart had already had a son with another woman—old enough to walk and talk.

"Rodger, you want me to raise the son of the woman who got my daughter killed… as my own? You disgust me."

Rodger suddenly pulled her close.

She struggled, but he held her firmly, trying to calm her.

"Alright, alright, Elora. Take it out on me. It's my fault. I'll take it all."

She didn't know how long she fought before finally breaking free from his arms, gasping for air.

"Lilah, take Elora downstairs to the clinic and get her wounds treated. I'll finish up some work and come find you. You two... talk things through. You'll be seeing each other for a long time. Don't keep fighting. People need to move forward."

Elora tugged at the corner of her mouth in a faint, hollow smile.

She was exhausted. She didn't want to fight anymore.

When the heart was already dead, what was the point of arguing over love?

As Elora had her wounds bandaged, Lilah stood unusually quiet at her side, not stirring up trouble for once.

After some time, Rodger appeared at the stairwell.

Suddenly, Lilah screamed and slammed hard into a nearby medical cart.

Equipment scattered everywhere, scraping her exposed skin.

"Madam! I'm sorry, I will definitely leave Mr. Rodger alone and never entangle with him! Please spare my life, Drake is so young, he needs his mother!"

The words hit Elora like a knife.

Drake, Rodger and Lilah's son.

Five years old. A full year older than Franny.

Which meant Rodger had already cheated on her before she was even pregnant. How dare he?

Elora confronted Lilah, about to demand answers when a tearing pain exploded at the back of her head.

She turned. Rodger firmly held her back, his face expressionless as he reprimanded her.

"Elora! I've told you a hundred times, stop bullying Lilah and learn to get along with her peacefully! Do you not understand human language?!"

Learning that Drake was actually older than Franny, and then getting slapped across the face without any explanation, made Elora shake with rage.

She wrenched herself free. Ignoring the burning pain on her scalp, she swung backhanded, two sharp slaps, landing squarely on Rodger's face.

"Are you blind? You seriously couldn't tell she fell on purpose?! And you dare hit me? I haven't even settled the score with you for cheating during our marriage. What gives you the right to yell at me?" she snapped.

Rodger choked on his words and didn't argue back.

Instead, he carefully helped Lilah up from the floor. Seeing the cuts on her skin where the medical cart had scraped her, his eyes filled with pain, then ignited with fury.

Clenching his fists, he ground out, "Anyone who bullies Lilah will pay the price."

Elora laughed softly, amused.

"You? Really?"

Rodger took a deep breath and raised his hand.

The bodyguards behind him moved at once, lunging toward Elora.

She lashed out with a vicious low sweep, sending one of them crashing to the ground, howling in pain.

In the next instant, she stepped forward, closing the distance between herself and Rodger.

She locked eyes with him.

Those eyes—deep, intense, once filled with love—looked exactly the same as they had back when he loved her.

Back then, during their honeymoon phase, she had secretly climbed over the wall into the Griffiths' residence. She was caught by the security team and had her wrist broken in the scuffle.

Rodger hadn't hesitated. He decisively ensured that each man was severely reprimanded.

The scene was one of immediate and severe reprimand. Cries of distress filled the air.

And yet he had looked at Elora, smiling calmly.

"Anyone who dares touch Elora will pay the price."

Only a few years had passed. Now, for another woman, he wanted her to pay the price instead.

Elora sneered.

Enough. This betrayal felt like the deepest of wounds. These past years, she would consider them a painful lesson.

She came back to herself.

They were standing extremely close now.

Nose to nose. No trace of intimacy in their eyes, only madness and murderous intent.

"Franny died because of you. I'll make you pay too! When that day comes, Rodger, don't come crawling to me on your knees, crying and begging for mercy."

With that, Elora pulled away and strode out of the hospital without looking back even once.

She had just reached the underground parking garage when a blinding beam of headlights flashed across her vision.

An SUV drove toward her at a dangerous speed, with clear intent to cause harm.

Her eyes went sharp with shock.

It was Rodger's car.

She didn't even have time to dodge before she was sent flying.

An intense, overwhelming pain surged through her entire body.

In that split second in midair, she saw it clearly. Lilah was behind the wheel, her face set with ruthless determination.

And Rodger sat in the passenger seat beside her.

Elora was knocked to the ground.

She felt a warm, metallic taste fill her mouth, and a heavy pressure spread throughout her body, making it difficult to breathe.

The SUV sped away.

Rodger's voice drifted lightly from the open window, "Feeling better now, baby? If that wasn't enough, we can find other ways to make sure she understands. I told you, I won't let anyone harm you. Not even Elora. You suffer one point of pain, and I'll make the person who hurt you suffer a hundred times more."

The car disappeared.

Leaving her, critically injured, alone in the parking garage.

Her consciousness began to blur.

Elora drifted into a long dream.

In the past, even the smallest scrape had made Rodger frantic.

He would disinfect her wounds himself, bandage them carefully, asking over and over if she was in pain.

He used to say, "Elora, if you hurt one bit, my heart hurts ten times more."

But now?

He sat in the passenger seat, having another woman run her down without blinking.

Even enthusiastically suggesting they crush her again.

He called the murderer baby.

Once, he had called her that.

Called their daughter Franny that.

So that was it. Endearments could be transferred so easily. Love could be copied so cheaply.

"Heh... "

Elora tried to laugh, but only choked on the pain, a metallic taste in her throat.

Her consciousness continued to collapse. Images flickered past like a carousel.

The memory of Franny, Rodger's cold indifference, Lilah's smug satisfaction, and that bastard child's provocation…

She couldn't die here.

She absolutely couldn't let them get their way so easily.

Summoning every ounce of strength left in her body, Elora's trembling fingers fumbled for her phone. She dialed a number.

Before long, distant chaos erupted.

Relief washed over her. She closed her eyes.

Help arrived.

Today's pain—she would repay it a hundredfold someday.