Chapter 3

The door was pushed open, and Janice walked in wearing a pink patient's gown.

She toyed with a pair of medical scissors in her hand, wearing a victor's smile.

That fragile, helpless look from earlier was gone. In its place was pure venom and cruelty.

She dismissed the bodyguards and closed the door behind her.

"Anna, you're so hard to kill."

Janice walked up to me and crouched down. The tip of the scissors lightly traced across my injured face. The sensation was chilling.

"Let me tell you a secret. That safety rope didn't break by accident."

She leaned close to my ear and whispered, "I cut it halfway through beforehand. And that avalanche? I had someone detonate a miniature explosive at a specific location."

I looked up with a start and stared at her.

Although I had suspected as much, hearing it from her own mouth still made me incredulous.

To compete for favor, she actually triggered an avalanche? Was she trying to bury our entire group?

Janice saw through my thoughts and laughed hysterically.

"What's there to be afraid of? My brother will protect me. I just wanted to see whom he would choose in a situation of life and death. The answer is obvious now, isn't it?"

She patted my cheek with the scissors, her eyes full of mockery.

"You, the real sister, have lost completely. In this family, blood means nothing. What matters is who's better at acting."

I wanted to tear her mouth apart, but I had no strength left. I couldn't even lift my arms.

Janice looked at my miserable state and became even more smug.

"Don't blame me. You're the one who came back out of the blue. Your adoptive parents must be low-class trash, right? I heard they're abroad, digging through garbage in refugee camps."

At the mention of my adoptive parents, my eyes changed instantly. I looked at her like one would look at a corpse. A cold smile tugged at the corner of my lips.

"You'll definitely regret this."

Janice was startled by my gaze.

That kind of killing intent was something she had never seen before in her sheltered life.

She flew into a rage and slapped me hard on the face.

Smack!

The slap was brutal, making my ears ring.

"How dare you glare at me, you lowly wench!"

She stood up and ground her high heel into my wounded thigh, pressing down hard.

"AAH—"

A muffled groan escaped me as the wound split open completely, blood pooling on the floor.

Janice wiped her shoe sole on my clothes in disgust.

"Shawn will kill you soon because your existence makes me anxious. When you're dead, everything in the Lingard family will be mine."

She raised the scissors, as if aiming for my eyes.

Just then, urgent footsteps sounded outside the door.

Janice's reaction was astonishingly fast.

She immediately put away the scissors, threw herself onto the floor, messed up her hair, and transformed into a frightened little rabbit, trembling pitifully.

The door was pushed open, and Shawn strode in. Seeing the scene, his face instantly darkened with fury.

"What's going on here?!"

Janice scrambled to throw herself into Shawn's arms as if she'd seen a savior. Tears came on command, streaming down her face.

"Shawn! Anna... Anna's gone crazy!"

She raised her completely uninjured hand, pointing at me accusingly with a trembling finger.

"I came to check on her out of kindness and even brought her some medicine, but when she woke up, she grabbed a pair of scissors and tried to kill me!

"She said she would ruin my face because I stole her place!

"Shawn, I'm so scared. My chest hurts so much..."