chapter 2

At this time in her past life, Elisa's adoptive brother, Shawn Watson, had schemed against her. He knocked her out and locked her in a hotel room, planning to offer her up to his loan shark as a way to settle his debts.

In order to escape, she had no choice but to jump out of the window. However, she was caught, and Shawn broke her right hand, ruining her ability to practice medicine and acupuncture forever.

This time, however, she would strike first. She would carve her own path with blood if needed.

At that very moment, Shawn was standing outside the hotel room door with the loan shark, nodding and bowing to him. "Mr. Grantham, she's in there. Just like we agreed-I give you my sister and all my debts will be wiped clean!" Lance Grantham, the loan shark, stared at the closed door, his heart itching with anticipation. "Shawn, I didn't think you'd actually go through with offering up your sister to settle a debt."

"She's not my real sister anyway," Shawn muttered under his breath, then quickly added, "Here's the room key, Mr. Grantham. She's all yours!"

Lance took the keycard eagerly, swiping it immediately. A few days ago, when he had come to collect his debt, he had caught a glimpse of Elisa. Even though she was young, she was stunningly beautiful.

He had been fantasizing about her for days since then. Finally, he was going to get what he wanted. He could hardly wait.

Behind him, his lackeys whistled and hooted.

"Mr. Grantham's getting lucky tonight!" one of them teased.

Without even looking back, Lance made his way into the dark room, his belly jiggling with excitement. "You punks wait your turn! Once I've had my share, you can have the rest."

His lackeys burst into cheers, but just as he stepped into the room, a heavy vase came crashing down from the darkness. It hit him squarely on the head, and blood splattered everywhere. His vision went black.

Before anyone could react, the vase smashed into Shawn's head as well. He let out a piercing scream, finally snapping the lackeys out of their shock. All eyes turned toward the figure emerging from the room.

The hallway was brightly lit, casting light onto Elisa's form. In her hand, she clutched the vase, blood dripping from the bottom. Her face was devoid of emotion, and her eyes were as cold as ice, making her look like a deranged killer.

With blood streaming down his face, Shawn looked at Elisa as if he'd seen a ghost. He couldn't explain it, but his usually docile sister had suddenly transformed into someone completely different. Her eyes brimmed with ferocity, each glance cutting like a knife. "What the fuck?"

Lance, whose head had been hit with the vase, growled, "What are you idiots doing? Tie her up! I'm going to teach her a lesson tonight!"

Hearing the command, the lackeys rushed forward to grab Elisa. However, there was no way she'd give them the chance to do that.

She swung the vase hard, knocking one of them down. She dodged a sneak attack from behind, kicked another lackey in the knee, and smashed the vase on the ground with a loud crash.

The shards of the broken vase flew everywhere, and even Lance and Shawn flinched instinctively. In that brief window, Elisa bolted down the hallway.

At the end of the hallway was the elevator, and next to it, a fire escape. Elisa darted into the fire escape, but not before glancing back. Lance, Shawn, and their lackeys were already in pursuit, their bloody faces twisted with anger as if they wanted to tear her apart. Elisa smirked and flipped them the bird. They were nothing but trash to her.

Lance's face turned purple with rage.

"Catch her!" he roared.

Some of the lackeys continued the chase, while others ran ahead to intercept her path.

Lance sneered, turning to Shawn. "If you don't catch her today, not only will I collect your debt with interest, but I'll also chop off one of your hands to settle the score."

Shawn's face went pale. He knew all too well what kind of man Lance was. He was ruthless and always kept his word. He cursed Elisa in his mind. If it wasn't for her, he wouldn't be in this mess.

"Don't worry, Mr. Grantham! I'll make sure she's tied up and delivered to you!" Shawn promised, ignoring the injury on his head.

He took off in the direction Elisa had gone, his gaze filled with malice. He decided that he would break her legs when he caught up to her so that she couldn't run.

Outside the hotel was a busy intersection with cars constantly passing by. Elisa sprinted halfway across but had to stop. The lackeys had surrounded her, blocking her from every side.

As they closed in, Shawn sneered, "Run if you dare, Elisa! No matter how far you go, I'll always drag you back. You'll never escape me!"

Elisa's expression remained unchanged. Not even a hint of fear could be seen on her face.

She couldn't run even if she wanted to. Lance's men had surrounded her in all directions. Although the street was lined with passersby, no one dared to step in and help. They all made way for the lackeys.

It was just her, alone against the world.

Shawn wiped the blood from his head and marched toward her. He snatched a club from one of the lackeys and swung it at her leg.

"You wanna run, huh? I'll make sure you can't run ever again!"

It was like a repeat of what had happened in her past life. However, this time he wanted to break her legs instead of her right hand.

In that split second, just before the club made contact, Elisa's gaze sharpened. She grabbed Shawn's wrist and twisted it. Then, she expertly locked his arm in a painful hold, forcing him to the ground using the acupuncture points in his muscles and tendons. His arm bent at an unnatural angle as the sound of bones snapping filled the air. Shawn let out an agonizing scream.

"That hurts! Let go! Let go!"

Elisa didn't budge. That move was something she had learned in prison in her past life. After being bullied countless times, a cellmate had taught her how to defend herself.

If her body wasn't still weak, she would have broken Shawn's arm completely.

As his screams echoed, Elisa laughed, though the hatred in her eyes was unmistakable. "Doesn't it hurt? You broke my right hand. That hurt a lot worse."

Shawn was stunned, blurting out, "What the hell are you talking about? I never broke your hand!"

He had been aiming for her leg, but before he could, she'd overpowered him. Elisa didn't bother to explain. All she felt was hatred. Endless hatred.

In her previous life, Shawn had damaged her hand, ruining her decade of medical training, shattering her pride and confidence, and leaving her defenseless. If he hadn't done that, she wouldn't have lost everything so tragically. She wouldn't have died that way. Hence, instead of letting him go, Elisa twisted harder, her grip even more ruthless. What Elisa didn't know was that across the street, someone was watching the entire scene play out, casually swirling a glass of wine.

It was none other than Henry Gray, the third son of the powerful Gray family.

After enjoying the show for a bit, Henry turned and called out to the man lounging on a leather couch nearby, "Hey, Henry, come and take a look. There's a young woman downstairs taking on ten guys by herself! She's fierce!"

Hearing that, Damien Russell stirred slightly on the sofa. Under the dark night sky, the city lights glittered. His tall, refined figure was reflected in the floor-to-ceiling window as he moved toward it.

Immaculately dressed in a tailored suit, his every movement exuded an air of calm authority. His presence was stifling, making it hard for anyone to breathe.

If anyone outside had seen him, they would have trembled and immediately knelt, nervously calling him "Mr. Russell."

Damien was the head of the powerful Russell family in Seldvale. He was wealthy beyond measure and wielded enormous power. He was also rumored to be utterly ruthless, unpredictable, and impossible to read. Anyone who met him would avoid him, as anyone who crossed his path could somehow end up dead.

No one would ever expect someone like him to be in Vinelake.

After a glance downstairs, Damien seemed unimpressed, and he scoffed. "Is that supposed to be entertaining?"

"Of course!" Henry chuckled, swirling his wine glass with amusement. "According to my sources, that young lady down there is actually the real daughter of the Watson family. It's the classic story of being switched at birth. Interesting, right?"

The Watson family? A flicker of interest flashed in Damien's deep eyes.

Henry raised an eyebrow and lowered his voice, "If the thing we're after is really in the Watson family's possession, maybe we should drop by and take a look."

Damien lips curled into a slight smile as his dark gaze locked on Elisa. His voice was soft but chilling. "I like her eyes."

"You're interested in her?" Henry teased.

He wanted to say more, but Damien cut him off, "I want to dig them out of her head."

Henry choked on his words before finally managing to reply, "You really are the devil."

In the square, Shawn's face twisted in pain as Elisa held his arm in a brutal lock. Gritting his teeth, he shouted at the lackeys, "What are you all standing there for? Grab her, or Mr. Grantham will never forgive you!"

The group of lackeys began closing in on Elisa, preparing to restrain her. However, a few blinding car headlights flashed through the night. Several luxury cars, worth millions of dollars, raced over.

The unique license plates, bold and extravagant, were impossible to miss. These cars belonged to the most powerful family in Vinelake the Watson family.

The thugs exchanged uncertain glances, instinctively stepping back. They knew better than to cross the richest family in town.

Shawn, however, still hadn't grasped what was happening. He cursed under his breath, spitting out a string of expletives.

Elisa, checking the time, softly counted down, "Three, two, one—"

As she whispered the last number, a cool breeze swept by, carrying with it the sound of someone sobbing. In the next moment, Elisa was pulled into a tight embrace. "I've finally found you, my daughter!"