Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The hot and humid air outside immediately greeted Ivy’s skin as she stepped out of the Carter mansion’s grounds. She no longer cared about the house slippers still on her feet or the thin pajamas that did nothing to shield her from the scorching morning sun. All she knew was that she had to get away from that place before the last remnants of her sanity completely disappeared in front of her own family.

She walked quickly along the deserted sidewalk beside the main road. Her footsteps felt light, not because she felt free, but because her body had begun to lose consciousness due to the intense hunger and overwhelming stress she had endured since last night.

A sudden, intense throbbing pain struck her head. The world around her spun violently, turning the colorful streets into a thick black haze that slowly swallowed her vision. Before her feet could take another step, her slender body collapsed onto the hard surface of the sidewalk. Her consciousness faded into darkness.

The pungent smell of medicine immediately filled Ivy’s senses when she slowly opened her heavy eyelids. The ceiling above her was spotless white, contrasting sharply with the throbbing pain still lingering in her head. She was no longer on the street. Instead, she was lying on a hospital bed with an IV line inserted into the back of her right hand.

"Quite surprising that the beloved daughter of the Carter family fainted all alone by the roadside."

A voice that sounded cold yet sarcastic halted Ivy’s movements. She turned her head toward the corner of the room.

Leaning back against a black leather sofa with his legs crossed was Elvino Sebastian Vettel—or, more familiarly, Vino. The man was dressed in a dark gray suit, his tie slightly loosened. Among businessmen and in their university days, Vino was known as Arthur Carter’s archrival. The business rivalry and prideful competition between the two had never faded, even to this day.

Ivy did not answer. She turned her face toward the window, unwilling to give any response to the unfamiliar man who was now watching her with an assessing gaze.

Seeing Ivy’s silence, Vino let out a soft scoff. He rose from the sofa and walked toward the bed before placing a phone on the bedside table.

"Do you want to borrow my phone? If you still have a little self-respect left and want to contact your family to come pick you up, feel free to use it," Vino said flatly. His voice did not hide its contempt, although there was a trace of bewilderment hidden behind his eyes as he looked at Ivy’s miserable condition.

With hands that were still trembling, Ivy reached for the phone. Her throat felt constricted, yet a foolish glimmer of hope still lingered in her chest. She searched for Arthur’s contact and pressed the call button. The phone rang several times before the call was finally answered.

"Hello?" Arthur’s voice on the other end sounded cold.

"Brother Arthur. It’s me, Ivy."

"What is it now, Ivy? Don’t cause trouble while Sarah’s condition is unstable."

"Brother..." Ivy’s voice was hoarse, almost a whisper. "I... I’m at the hospital. I fainted on the street..."

Before Ivy could finish her sentence, a heavy and weary sigh was clearly heard from the other end of the line.

"You’re already twenty years old, Ivy. Stop seeking attention in such a cheap way by pretending to be sick," Arthur interrupted mercilessly. "If it’s just an ordinary illness, take care of yourself. Don’t bother us. Sarah really needs our attention right now."

Click.

The call was disconnected just like that.

The tears Ivy had been desperately holding back finally spilled uncontrollably. She bit her lower lip, trying her hardest to swallow the sob that was forcing its way out of her chest. She did not want to appear so vulnerable in front of Vino, but the fact that her own brother had truly cast her aside without a second thought caused her defenses to crumble instantly. She lowered her head, allowing her shoulders to tremble violently as she endured the unbearable pain inside her chest.

Vino, who was standing only a few steps away from the bed, watched everything in silence. His brows furrowed slightly as he observed how the girl in front of him tightly gripped the white bedsheet.

Before the situation could become even more awkward, the door to the hospital room suddenly opened. A middle-aged male doctor in a white coat stepped inside with a nurse, carrying a blue folder containing Ivy’s medical records.

"Family of the patient?" the doctor asked, looking back and forth between Vino and Ivy.

"I’m the one who brought her here," Vino replied coldly, taking over the role.

The doctor nodded slowly before opening the papers in his hands. He looked at Ivy with an empathetic expression that suddenly made all the blood in her body run cold.

"The laboratory results and comprehensive scans are out," the doctor said cautiously. "We found some serious abnormalities in Miss Ivy’s white blood cells and inactive bone marrow function. Based on the pathological analysis we have just completed..."

The doctor paused for a moment and took a deep breath before delivering the verdict that made all the blood in Ivy’s body seem to stop flowing.

"...you have been diagnosed with advanced-stage acute leukemia, and your condition is already on the verge of becoming critical."

What? Acute leukemia? That was impossible...

The words caught in Ivy’s throat, turning into a choked breath that constricted her chest. She slowly shook her head, refusing to believe what she had just heard. The objects inside the white room suddenly spun violently. The doctor and nurse beside her seemed to blur, leaving only a ringing hum that filled both of her ears.

All this time, she had thought that her extreme fatigue, prolonged dizziness, and frequent weakness were merely the result of prolonged stress from being neglected by her family. She had thought they were simply the mental burden caused by one emotional blow after another. But reality had struck her far more cruelly. The deadly disease had been hiding inside her body for a long time, devouring the remnants of her strength without her realizing it.

So this is why my body always feels broken? This is why I am always so weak? Ivy lamented silently in her mind.

The doctor gave her several further explanations regarding treatment procedures and a referral to a major hospital, but not a single word managed to penetrate Ivy’s mind. Her thoughts were blank. All that remained was the deadly verdict spinning endlessly inside her head, as if mocking how miserable her life had become.

After the doctor and nurse left the room, the atmosphere fell silent once again. Elvino Sebastian Vettel was still standing where he had been, staring straight at Ivy with an unreadable expression. The man did not make any mocking remarks as usual. An unusual silence filled the air between them, as if Vino were contemplating just how fragile the girl in front of him was at that moment.

"Is the drama over?" Vino finally broke the silence, his voice softer than before. He stepped forward and placed his car keys on the small table. "If your IV has already been removed, I can take you home. Or do you want to keep sitting here and lamenting your fate?"

Ivy looked up, staring blankly into the sharp eyes of the man in front of her. She no longer had the strength to get angry or even put up her usual defenses. With a stiff movement, she removed the IV tape from the back of her right hand, allowing a small drop of blood to appear before covering it with a tissue.

"Thank you, Brother Vino," Ivy said softly, her voice almost like a whisper carried by the wind. She straightened her crumpled pajamas before getting down from the bed, her legs still weak and trembling. "I’m sorry for troubling you today."

Vino did not answer. He simply turned around, opened the door wide, and allowed Ivy to walk out first.

The journey inside Vino’s luxury car passed in complete silence. There was no small talk. Ivy merely rested her head against the car window, staring blankly at the buildings rushing past outside. Her thoughts were still consumed by the doctor’s verdict, mixed with the deep pain she felt toward her family.

The car eventually entered the spacious courtyard of the Carter residence, which appeared quiet. As soon as the vehicle came to a complete stop in front of the main entrance, Ivy immediately opened the car door in a hurry, wanting to escape from the suffocating feeling that was becoming increasingly unbearable.

"Thank you once again," Ivy said without looking back, preparing to step out.

However, before Ivy’s hand could push the car door open any further, Vino suddenly stopped moving. The man turned his attention toward Ivy’s neck, which was slightly exposed because of the loose collar of her pajamas.

There, hanging from her neck, was a small jade necklace shaped like a teardrop, engraved with a jasmine flower. It looked worn with age, yet it had clearly been carefully preserved.

Vino’s breath suddenly caught in his throat. His pupils widened instantly as he stared intently at the small object reflecting the afternoon sunlight. His memories were pulled back more than a decade, to a time when he was only ten years old—a dark period in his life when he had been kidnapped and locked alone inside a dusty old warehouse located not far from the orphanage where Ivy used to live.

At that time, amidst his fear and the bruises covering his body, a little girl had managed to sneak inside through a broken window, bringing him drinking water and holding his trembling fingers. The little girl had not cried even once. Instead, she had patted his shoulder and bravely told him not to be afraid of the criminals. Then Vino had given her a jade necklace as a talisman and promised that he would find her if he managed to get out of that room. But before Vino could ask the girl’s name, the sound of footsteps belonging to the people causing the chaos grew closer, forcing the little girl to flee through a gap in the wall.

For years, his search had never yielded any results. And now...

That jade necklace was hanging right around the neck of the girl he had just rescued from the roadside.

Vino turned his head quickly and gently yet firmly grabbed Ivy’s wrist to stop her from getting out of the car.

"Wait," Vino’s voice sounded choked, nothing like his usual calm tone. His eyes remained fixed on the jade necklace around Ivy’s neck before he raised his gaze to meet the girl’s sorrowfully gleaming eyes. "This necklace... where did you get this necklace, Ivy?"

Ivy was stunned for a moment, blinking in confusion at the drastic change in the cold billionaire’s attitude. "This... it’s been mine since I was little."

Vino fell stiffly silent. His breathing grew slightly heavier. All the pieces of the puzzle from the past suddenly came together perfectly in his mind.

"So... you’re the little girl who saved me," Vino whispered in disbelief, his gaze softening drastically, revealing a warmth he had never shown to anyone.

Ivy froze, her brows furrowing deeply in utter confusion as she stared at the man beside her. "Huh? What did you say?"