I froze. A bad feeling surged through me.

"She's in the trunk."

The surroundings were dead silent. No one else was around.

I yanked the trunk open. The person lying inside made my whole body go cold. It was my mom.

My blood seemed to freeze. I was unable to move.

Just two days ago, she'd told me to get more rest. Now, she lay twisted inside the cramped trunk, wearing the blouse I bought her in college. Her graying hair was soaked in blood.

My hands trembled as I lifted her out. She was so thin. It felt like I was holding nothing at all.

Tiffany stared at me in shock. Her voice slithered into my ears like a venomous snake. "Ariana, are you insane?"

Ignoring her, I took off my coat and pressed it against the torn wound in my mom's abdomen. "Call an ambulance. Now! The person you hit is my mother!"

Tiffany's eyes widened. Shaken, she stumbled back.

After hesitating, she finally made the call. But the voice on the other end was Nicholas'. "Hello?"

With reddened eyes, Tiffany spoke in a pitiful tone. "Nicholas, I hit someone. What should I do?"

He paused, not saying anything. I couldn't hold back anymore and practically screamed, "Nicholas, she hit my mom! If you have any feelings left, call the police and an ambulance right now! Otherwise, I'll hate you for the rest of my life."

Nicholas, still maintaining his composure, replied coldly, "Ariana, what feelings are you talking about? Can't you make the call yourself?"

He then turned back to comforting Tiffany, "Don't be scared. I'll handle it. At worst, we'll pay compensation."

My eyes burned red as I stared at Tiffany in disbelief. She was crying so prettily. Yet, there was a trace of satisfaction in her eyes as she said to him, "You're the best."

My mother's body was growing colder. I lifted her into my arms, kicked off my heels, and ran barefoot down the road.

Just as Tiffany tried to stop me, a black Bentley pulled up in front of her. Chandler stepped out, took my mother from my arms, placed her into the car, and sped toward the hospital with me. I was on the verge of collapse.

Chandler ran every red light. A drive that should've taken over 40 minutes was cut down to 20 minutes.

Only after my mother was rushed into the emergency room did all the strength leave my body. I collapsed onto the floor.

"Don't worry. She'll be okay." Chandler, drenched in sweat, spoke. When I looked down, I noticed his palms were scraped.

"Thank you."

He shook his head, then neither of us spoke again. We waited anxiously outside the operating room.

Two hours passed. Every second of it felt endless.

Close to midnight, the operating room light finally went out. The lead surgeon stepped out, looking relieved. "The patient is out of immediate danger."

Tears filled my eyes instantly. Chandler pulled me into his embrace, gently patting my shoulder. "It's okay. It's okay."

My tears soaked through his shirt. That hug felt warmer than anything else in the world.

After a week of observation, my mom was finally transferred to a regular ward.

During that time, Nicholas came to see me. He handed me a bank card. "This is compensation."

Looking at the card, fury surged through me. "Nicholas, I'll accept compensation, but it has to come from Tiffany. She needs to take responsibility."

Nicholas clicked his tongue. "What's mine is hers. Ariana, what are you pretending for? Back when we first got together, you never hesitated to take my money. Weren't you with me for the money anyway?"

At that moment, my blood ran cold. I stood up and slapped him across the face. I never imagined this was how he saw me.

"Nicholas Greene, I became your assistant for money. But I didn't stay with you because of it." I let out a slow breath, then finally said the words, "Let's break up."