Chapter 3

The door creaked open.

Cameron stepped into the storage room wearing a blue hospital gown.

He toyed with a pair of surgical scissors. There was a victorious grin stretched across his face.

His fragile, helpless act was gone. In its place was malice and spite.

He waved off the guards at the door, then shut it behind him. "You're really hard to kill, Skyler."

He traced the sharp tip lightly across my scarred face. The touch made my skin crawl.

"Want to know something? That safety rope didn't snap by accident," he whispered, learning closer. "I cut halfway through it with a blade ahead of time. And that avalanche? I had people set off micro-charges at just the right spot."

I jerked my head up and glared at him.

Even though I'd long suspected those were his doings, hearing him admit them out loud was still unreal.

He caused an avalanche just for attention. He was willing to bury the whole team for that.

Cameron read my thoughts and started chuckling. "I've got nothing to fear. I've got Whitney protecting me. I just wanted to see who she'd choose when it came down to life and death. The answer's obvious, isn't it?"

He tapped my cheek with the scissors. His eyes were full of mockery.

"You, the so-called true heir to the Linder family, lost. Biological ties don't matter in this family. What matters is who plays the role better."

I wanted to tear his mouth apart, but my body was too weak. I couldn't even lift a hand.

My helplessness only fed his pride. "It's not my fault. You shouldn't have come back. Those foster parents of yours were probably trash to society, right? I heard they were scraping by overseas by scavenging trash in refugee camps."

The moment he mentioned my foster parents, my gaze shifted.

It turned deadly.

I forced a cold smile.

"You'll regret this."

Cameron flinched at my glare.

That kind of killing intent was something he had never seen in his sheltered little world.

His face twisted with embarrassment and rage. He slapped me hard.

The blow was so heavy that my ears rang.

"You trash!" he hissed. "How dare you glare at me?"

He rose and ground his polished shoe into my wounded thigh.

"Ah!"

I couldn't hold back my groan. The wound split open, and blood pooled on the ground.

Cameron wiped his shoe on my clothes with disgust. "Whitney's going to finish you off soon anyway. You being alive makes me nervous. Once you're dead, everything the Linders have stays mine."

He lifted the scissors and angled them toward my eye.

Just then, hurried footsteps echoed outside.

Cameron moved with terrifying speed.

In an instant, he tucked the scissors away, dropped to the floor, and clawed his hair into a mess.

His posture was akin to that of a trembling, frightened deer.

The door burst open.

Whitney strode in.

The moment she took in the scene, her face darkened immediately. "What's going on here?"

Cameron looked like he had spotted salvation. He scrambled to his feet and threw himself into Whitney's arms.

Tears spilled on command. They slid down his cheeks.

"Whitney! Skyler's lost it!" he screamed, holding his perfectly uninjured hand before pointing at me. "I came to check on him and get him some medicine, but he woke up and tried to kill me with a pair of scissors. He said he was going to ruin my face and that I stole his place!"

His voice broke into gasps. "Whitney, I'm scared… My chest hurts…"