#4

[MARIANNE]

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It had been a month since the mysterious naked man incident at the clinic. The man had appeared from inside the clinic, taken the key from the administration desk while I was asleep.

I saw him on the CCTV footage, but damn it, even the security camera had failed to capture his face. And most importantly, the wolf I had treated had also disappeared.

The wolf never came back to the clinic, and my life returned to normal. The only thing that kept crossing my mind was, what if the injured wolf had been a shapeshifter? It was common knowledge that some wealthy people owned slaves from the werewolf race.

I also didn’t understand why they became so weak. Weren’t they supposed to have greater strength,

speed, and cunning than ordinary humans? Then how did werewolves become slaves to humans?

“You’re daydreaming again.”

I blinked several times as Juan handed me a file containing the hospital’s financial report for the past year.

“It’s finished. Time for you to give this to Mr. Vance.”

I took the file and glanced through it. “In this digital age, why do I have to hand over a hard

copy? Can’t we just send it by email?”

Juan shrugged. “You go yourself, Mari. I’ll watch the clinic.”

“Me? Why me?”

“You’re also going to give your family company’s report to Mr. Vance, so you might as well do it at the same time. If we both leave, who’s going to watch the clinic?”

I let out a heavy sigh and stood up.

“Mari, since Mr. Vance didn’t attend the meeting last week, you can deliver the report directly to his residence. But you have to be careful. What if it turns out Mr. Vance keeps a werewolf slave too?”

Juan howled mockingly at me until I hit his shoulder with the documents in my hand.

“I understand.” I hurried toward my car and drove away. As I drove, I thought that perhaps the Vance family also had werewolf slaves. Among billionaires, owning a werewolf was apparently as normal as owning a luxury car, an advanced helper robot, or a collection of designer bags.

I was lucky my family had refused an offer to take a werewolf as a servant several years ago. My family believed that whether they were human or animal, no one should be exploited. Yes, for once, I agreed with them. But if they tried to arrange another marriage for me, I would still refuse outright!

After a forty-five-minute drive, I finally arrived at the Vance family mansion. At first, I thought they would refuse to let me in because I had arrived almost at ten at night, but the gates were still open.

I entered the mansion. There was nothing that impressed me. Everything was the same. Chandeliers, expensive paintings, a luxurious main staircase. I had seen it all before, at my grandmother’s house, my relatives’ homes, and my father’s clients’ residences. So I waited calmly.

“Miss Sinclair, please go to the second floor. Mr. Nikolai’s study is on the right.”

I nodded at the butler.

My footsteps were steady as I climbed the stairs. While I was here, I hadn’t found any signs

that the Vance family owned werewolf slaves.

Good.

The hallway on the second floor was very quiet. The farther I walked, the more my brow furrowed when I noticed bloodstains on the floor.

“What the hell?” I muttered and followed the trail of blood until I stopped in front of a slightly open door.

I peeked inside and saw torn clothes, covered in bloodstains. Someone was injured?!

My instincts as a doctor kicked in. I entered and picked up the clothes. They were torn and barely recognizable.

I was still examining them when I heard a groan from behind the door. Without thinking twice, I opened the door, and my eyes widened.

This time, I actually saw a naked man showering with his back toward me, and this time, there was absolutely nothing covering him!

“I—I didn’t see anything!” I shouted as Nikolai turned his head over his shoulder, finding my eyes wide open.

The next second, I slammed the door shut.

I intended to leave the documents on his bedside table and leave immediately, but Nikolai had already stepped out of the bathroom and stopped me.

“Stop right there.”

I froze. His voice was so cold that I almost hiccupped.

No, I had to explain before he misunderstood.

“I’m here to deliver the Sinclair company’s report and the report from the clinic you invested in. A butler told me to come to the second floor, and I came in here because I saw bloodstains. I also heard someone groaning, so I thought someone was injured. I didn’t know you were showering or busy with some other activity. I—”

“Doctor,” he interrupted.

I was still facing away from him, but I could tell his breathing was labored. So I turned around and saw his pale face.

"Help me. "