Chapter 2

Just then, chaos erupted.

"Beat that accomplice to death!"

"A life for a life!"

Several burly men dressed in black and wearing masks suddenly rushed out of the crowd. Claiming to avenge the victim, they held banners and screamed as they broke through the security line, heading straight for the stage.

The leader held a clear glass bottle high. The cap was off, and an unidentified liquid sloshed inside.

"Go to hell, Elara!"

The man's face twisted ferociously as he flicked his wrist. Under the spotlight, the clear liquid traced a deadly arc, splashing straight toward my face.

"Ah—it's acid!" Seraphina screamed in terror.

In that instant, time seemed to stand still.

Almost out of pure instinct, the moment he heard the word "acid," Kael's tall, imposing figure threw himself at me without a second of hesitation.

Subconsciously, he spread his expensive custom suit jacket, intending to use his broad back to shield me from the fatal blow.

However, that long-lost warmth never reached me.

"Kael! Don't!" Seraphina, who had been standing nearby, screamed. Her exquisitely made-up face was filled with terror and calculation.

In the nick of time, she grabbed Kael's arm tightly and pulled him back with all her strength.

"That's acid! It'll disfigure you!"

*Splash*—

The cold liquid splashed onto me without obstruction.

There was no expected smell of burning flesh, nor the soul-searing pain.

There was only a bone-piercing chill that instantly soaked through my thin hospital gown.

It was ice water.

It was even mixed with unmelted ice cubes that smashed heavily onto my fresh surgical wounds. Although it wasn't acid, for someone as frail as I was in that moment, this bucket of ice water was nothing short of torture.

Furthermore, the violent shove Seraphina used to pull Kael away caused me and my wheelchair to lose balance.

"Ah!"

I let out a short cry as I fell heavily from the wheelchair.

The ground happened to be covered in shards from a champagne tower that had been smashed during the chaos.

Countless sharp pieces of glass, like tiny mouths thirsty for blood, ruthlessly pierced my knees, palms, and even my cheeks.

I convulsed in pain. My freshly sutured surgical wounds seemed to burst open, and warm fluid flowed out along the drainage tube, mixing with the ice water on the ground.

"Elara!"

Kael regained his balance and looked back to see me lying in a pool of blood, his pupils constricting violently.

He subconsciously reached out, wanting to help me up. Those hands, usually so cold, were actually trembling slightly.

"Sir! Are you alright?"

Seraphina threw herself into his arms at just the right moment, blocking his view. Feigning extreme shock, she cried out:

"That scared me to death... that was a maniac! What if it really had been acid? I won't let you risk your life for a woman like her!"

Kael's outstretched hand froze in mid-air.

Seraphina's words seemed to reawaken the hatred buried deep in his heart.

That's right.

I was the "murderer" who killed his sister, the "gold-digger" who betrayed him for money.

He shouldn't pity me; he should hate me.

When he looked up again, that trace of warmth in his eyes had vanished, replaced by an even more intense violence and disgust.

"Get those people out of here," he ordered the security guards coldly. Then, he strode over on his long legs, stopping right in front of me as I lay amidst the glass shards.

"Is this some kind of pity play, Elara?" Kael looked down at me condescendingly. "Did you actually hire people to stage this scene just to avoid the trial?"

I raised my head with difficulty. Blood flowed from my forehead into my eyes, blurring my vision.

His words felt like a knife twisting in my heart.

"No... I didn't..." I defended myself weakly.

"Enough!"

Kael suddenly exploded with rage. He squatted down abruptly and grabbed my chin, forcing me to look into his bloodshot eyes.

His grip was shockingly strong; I felt like my jawbone was about to shatter.

Yet, as he looked at my bleeding forehead, a trace of imperceptible painful struggle flashed deep in his eyes. But he immediately spoke coldly again, "Elara, I'm giving you one last warning."

He leaned close to my ear, his voice dropping very low:

"If you open your mouth now and give me the name of the murderer, I'll have you sent to the hospital immediately."

"But if you insist on guarding that secret to the death..."

His finger traced the wound on my face, picking up a smear of fresh blood, and his tone became chillingly terrified:

"I will force a neural connection."

"Do you know what that feels like?"

"It's not just pain. It's like death by a thousand cuts directly on your cerebral cortex. You'll feel every single nerve being snapped in two, your brain churned as if it were in a blender."

"The pain is equivalent to having your brain flayed alive."

"Even the toughest FBI agents can't last more than three seconds."

I began to tremble uncontrollably.

Not because I was afraid of the pain.

It was because I saw the utter destruction of trust in his eyes.

But I couldn't say it. The truth was too cruel; I couldn't bear to say the words.

I closed my eyes and shook my head in despair.

Seeing this, Seraphina squeezed her way over.

"Kael, just do it. She's beyond saving. After how good you and Lily were to her back then..."

She didn't finish her attempt to drive a wedge between us.

Kael's body suddenly went rigid.

He stared at me intently, seemingly trying to find a trace of remorse on my face, but all he saw was despairing resolve.

"Fine... have it your way."

He stood up and waved his hand to the technicians who were already on standby behind him.

Two bodyguards immediately stepped forward and dragged me out of the glass shards like a dead dog.

Ignoring the wounds covering my body, they roughly pinned me onto that cold iron chair.

With a *click*, the icy metal shackles locked around my wrists and ankles.

Seraphina stood to the side, her lips curling into a triumphant sneer.

"Enjoy this, Elara," she mouthed to me from an angle where no one else could see.