Betrayal

"Release me... release all of you, let me go!" Inside the freezing, stark white room, Ivy Belle struggled and sobbed uncontrollably, completely surrounded by a crowd of people.

"Your purpose has ended! We didn't raise you for three years just to perform acts of charity. If you don't obey, there won't be any anesthesia when they cut out your heart! Compared to a agonizing death, which do you prefer?" Beatrice Vanderbilt turned cold and arrogant, standing with folded arms as she looked down at Ivy trapped helplessly on the hospital bed, desperately trying to break free.

Victoria Sterling looked down at Ivy Belle as well. The image of the gentle, virtuous elder sister she had projected in the past was completely gone, replaced by a coldness that was utterly terrifying.

Ha! Of course... how could the murderer of Ms. Vance harbor any family affection?

Only on the brink of death did she finally understand that the words "family members" were nothing more than her own delusion. From start to finish, they had merely used her to extract her heart and hand it over to their weak, sickly younger daughter, Valeria Sterling!

Her foster mother... the man she loved... one was heartlessly murdered by these villains, and the other had been deceiving her all along, waiting for the day her heart could be given to the woman he truly cherished...

"Theo... Theo Kensington... that's right, I want to see him! Tell him I'm dying... please, just grant me a little pity..." Ivy Belle cried until her vision blurred, her disheveled state looking deeply pitiable as she gazed up at Victoria Sterling.

Victoria curled her lips into a contemptuous smirk, reaching out to adjust the hair matted against Ivy's cheek, her voice dropping into a chilling warning:

"You probably know that the mother who raised you for nearly 17 years was killed by me, don't you?"

"How about it? Do you hate me? The person in the Sterling family who seemed to cherish you the most... turned out to be the one whose hands are stained with her blood? Dying with the identity of an adopted daughter of the Sterling house is already a blessing you've accumulated over a lifetime!"

"Right now, my little sister desperately needs this heart, yet you still want to call Theo? Are you trying to get yourself worked up again?" As Victoria spoke, she rested her hand on Ivy Belle's chest to feel the organ pulsing inside, smiling with satisfaction.

"You bastards! You ruined my entire life, you stole Ms. Vance from me... I curse that daughter of yours to die right on the operating table, her heart—" She tried to force herself up and scream, but both her hands and feet were chained to the bed, bound like a beast about to be led to the slaughter!

"Slap!" Charles Sterling, who had been standing nearby all this time, could no longer tolerate the noisy outburst. Venting his rage instantly, he delivered a violent slap straight across her face.

"Dare to curse my daughter? Why do you think we raised you? Out of pity? The only thing that got you into this Sterling house is your heart—Valeria Sterling’s heart, my daughter’s heart!"

Ivy Belle’s eyes were bloodshot as she looked at everyone present, her heart filled with both disgust and a burning desire to kill them all.

First was Victoria Sterling, the person she thought loved her the most and would never abandon her. On her first day in this family, except for Victoria, no one ever asked what she wanted or needed. They simply gave her a title and left her there. But... how ironic! It was also Victoria who destroyed her more than ten years of happiness with Ms. Vance. Her hands were stained with blood—Ms. Vance’s blood!

Next were Beatrice Vanderbilt and Richard Sterling. Although they didn't care about her, they were always by her side whenever she went for routine health checkups or had a fever. Back then, she thought she was truly lucky, but she never imagined... all they cared about was whether this heart was still beating.

Finally, there was Valeria Sterling lying in the bed next to her, and the old lady of the Sterling family. They hated her openly, making no effort to hide their attitude. In the past, Valeria had cryptically said that what she wanted was on Ivy's body, waiting for the right day to take it. At that time, Ivy didn't think much of it, always acting like a wagging puppy trying to get along, but now lying near her, seeing this night-and-day difference in attitude, she finally understood.

Ah no, she should have understood a month ago, shouldn't she? If she hadn't accidentally overheard the conversation among those people, how would the idea of running away have crossed her mind, only to be caught and abused?

Nearly thirty days locked in an iron cage, nearly thirty days making friends with the insects and bones around her, enclosed by six steel walls, like a dog trapped in a kennel, ignored whether it was freezing or boiling. Only when it rained did someone push the cart in, feeding her leftover food every now and then, and only when the surgery was approaching was she given a bit of comfort.

Ever since Theo Kensington found out, he hadn't spared her a single glance. For days, she screamed his name, only to have a servant in the house pity her enough to tell the truth: Young Master Theo and the Second Young Lady were preparing to discuss their engagement, and they had been in love for seven years...

Ha! What a joke those seven years were...

So, it turned out everything was nothing but lies, setups, and schemes...

They schemed with her life, schemed with the love she had always believed in, and schemed against the foster mother who had raised her for 17 years...

"You bastards, I curse every single one of you to die without even a piece of your body left intact!"

"Ivy Belle!" A deep voice echoed from outside the door, making everyone turn their heads to look.

"Theo... you... you're here..."

Standing before her hospital bed, Theo Kensington showed his anger, raising his voice and frowning at the woman he had once held in his arms as he slowly confessed:

"I know you're a good girl, and words like that suit you even less. Valeria Sterling needs you, and I... need her. I'm sorry for deceiving you all this time..."

"I advise you not to be so stuborn anymore. In the end... there won't be any other outcome anyway."

Theo looked at Ivy, a trace of pity appearing in his eyes:

"In this life... this is as far as we go. If we ever meet again, I will definitely make amends to you!"

After listening to him, she remained quiet for a moment before bursting into laughter and tears, weeping then laughing again. The sound echoed through the room, sending a chilling shudder down everyone's spine—eerie and wild, like the vengeful spirit of a female demon about to claim their lives: "Ha ha ha..."

"Answer me... Have you ever... ever truly loved me? Or... was it all just exploitation from start to finish?" As she asked, tears kept streaming down her cheeks, her desperate eyes fixed entirely on him. It was meant to be a simple declarative question, yet it possessed the power to shatter what little self-respect she had left and tear her already broken heart into a thousand pieces at any moment...

Theo, who was just about to turn away, suddenly fell silent. His eyelids trembled slightly, his hands clenching tightly into fists as he stayed silent without answering.

Love? Ivy Belle was an exceptionally good woman. Everything about her, from her appearance to her personality, could easily make any man's heart flutter—intelligent, beautiful, and pure like a newly blossomed jasmine flower, extraordinarily sweet. But what a pity, the background between the two of them was simply not compatible. Furthermore... wasn't the one he truly loved Valeria Sterling all along?

Right! It was her, only her!

"Little Theo, say something!" Beatrice Vanderbilt gently patted his shoulder, speaking up to remind him. Her brows knitted slightly, seemingly dissatisfied with his hesitating attitude.

Only then was Theo snapped back from his train of thought, looking at Ivy as he resolutely spoke out:

"Never once! The only one I have loved from beginning to end is Valeria. I'm truly sorry for making you misunderstand!"

"Misunderstand?" Ivy Belle looked as if she had just heard the most hilarious joke, her hands and feet pounding wildly against the bed as she laughed like a lunatic.

"Ha ha ha! Ah...! Ha ha ha..."

"Argh!"

"Mom, she's really gone mad! Hurry, bring her to the operating room now! If she gets any more agitated, it'll affect Valeria's heart!" Victoria Sterling worriedly looked at Valeria, taking a step back in disgust from Ivy Belle, her contemptuous gaze wishing to escape her immediately.

"Alright! Where are the doctors? Move her in quickly!" Richard Sterling shouted, his ears unable to endure the piercing screams, the tiny hairs on the back of his neck standing on end.

"You absolute bastards..." Ivy Belle kept her eyes fixed on Theo Kensington, panting heavily in painful, desperate despair as she spoke.

"All family members please step outside so we can do our work!" Quickly, nearly twenty doctors and nurses rushed into the room. Every one of them was remarkably professional, fully prepared on all sides, merely waiting to perform the procedure.

Victoria Sterling nodded and walked over to her one last time, bending down to whisper a truth into her ear—just so she wouldn't die like an ignorant fool who knew nothing at all:

"With your talent, you should have gone to New York to pursue that dream you prayed about day and night in my ear, but time and time again, it was me who ruined it, no one else. You surely remember that, don't you?"

"You... sister..."

"How about it? Angry?" Victoria Sterling curled her lips in a mocking, contemptuous smirk, slowly straightening up as she stepped back and looked down, softly uttering:

"And one more thing: I'm not your sister. Don't make people feel so disgusted!"

Beatrice Vanderbilt walked up beside her eldest daughter, not even bothering to spare Ivy a glance as she calmly said, "Let's go, let's wait for Valeria!"

Victoria Sterling nodded and walked out with her. Before stepping out the door, she added indifferent, provocative words:

"Good luck... foolish little sister!"

Theo Kensington couldn't linger any longer either. He reluctantly stroked her head one last time, his gaze still as gentle as it was in the past, yet now so entirely different—it only made one feel even more nauseous:

"I'm sorry... have a safe journey." Having said that, he hesitated before turning away. His shoulders trembled slightly as he tightly clenched his hands, staggering out of the room. The mirror up ahead reflected a face torn by reluctance, his eyes faintly red as he dragged his steps forward.

When the doors closed completely, the room was left in absolute, stark whiteness. Solitary, freezing, and utterly humiliating...

"Young lady, shall we begin?" a female doctor spoke up.

"Begin."

Ivy Belle knew she had no way to escape. Just as they had said... she could only obediently and silently submit to death. Closing her eyes, the corners of her lashes remained drenched in tears, her fists clenching tight as she swore a deadly vow in her heart.

If she could ever turn back time and start all over again, she, Ivy Belle, declared that she would destroy every single one of them, person by person. If she failed to achieve this, she would never find peace even in death!

Without fail... without fail...

"We are beginning now."

"Ms. Vance, your daughter... owes you once again..."