Chapter 9

Cameron continued, "No matter how hard you try, it's all pointless. Mom, Dad, and even Lexie will just hand anything I want right over to me. You've never been treated like that before, have you?"

He chuckled softly, a chilling malice in his smile. "I wonder if you'll even be around to watch me take the runway after my surgery is done."

His gaze made it clear he understood everything.

He knew every single thing.

Hendrick stared at him coldly and said, "Even if you step on that stage, your skill level will only make you a laughingstock."

Cameron's expression instantly darkened.

With no one else around, he dropped all pretense and let out a cold sneer. "Instead of worrying about me, you should probably worry about your best friend. I heard he's in quite a bit of trouble right now."

Hendrick's face drained of color. "What do you mean?"

Cameron put on an innocent act. "You didn't know? Your good buddy Devin actually had the nerve to talk trash to my face. I just mentioned to Dad that I didn't like him, and it looks like Dad sent someone to take care of him.

"It might be a bit tricky, but you know how Dad operates. All it takes is slapping some tax evasion charge on Devin, and he won't be seeing daylight for ten years."

Hendrick couldn't hold back any longer. He slapped Cameron hard across the face. "You lunatic! Come at me if you have a problem! Why did you target my friend?"

Cameron smiled without a shred of remorse. "Well, you care so much about him? You don't have anything else left for me to target, so I have to go after him instead.

"If you want to blame someone, blame yourself. You're the one who ruined your good friend. What does that have to do with me?"

Cameron wore an angelic smile, yet beneath it lay a bone-chilling cruelty.

Hendrick raised his hand to strike again, but before his hand could fall, he was shoved away violently.

Lexie rushed over and angrily pulled Cameron behind her. "What do you think you're doing?"

She glared at Hendrick, her eyes blazing with fury. "What did Cameron do this time? Why are you trying to put your hands on him again?"

In the span of a single breath, Cameron burst into a fit of hacking coughs. "Lexie, don't be mad at Hendrick. It's not his fault. I was just careless with my words and offended him. It's fine if he hits me. It doesn't hurt."

Cameron suddenly put on a show of struggling to breathe, gasping as if he were on the verge of death.

Lexie's expression grew even more terrifying. "Hendrick, have you lost your mind? Why would you attack Cameron? Look at what you've done to him!"

Hendrick didn't have a single ounce of attention to spare for her. All he could think about was calling Devin to warn him to be on his guard.

However, the moment he pulled out his phone, Lexie knocked it straight out of his hand. "Do you have any heart at all? You're still playing on your phone at a time like this? Cameron can't handle any stress!"

The phone smashed against the floor, its screen shattering into a spiderweb of cracks instantly.

Hendrick picked it up to check, only to find it completely dead and beyond powering on.

Ignoring what he was doing, Lexie grabbed him by the wrist and yanked him forward. "Cameron's condition is worsening. We have to start the surgery right now."

Only then did Hendrick notice Cameron clutching his chest and gasping heavily.

He was putting on an agonizing act and clinging tightly to the edge of Lexie's sleeve while shooting a triumphant look straight at Hendrick.

He was obviously faking it.

Hendrick jerked his arm away, turning to head toward the nurses' station to borrow a phone.

But Lexie's men pinned him down, leaving him no chance to fight back. "Are you trying to back out now? There's no need to wait any longer. The surgery has to happen right this second!"

Hendrick was dragged toward the operating room.

Powerless to resist, he could only plead with Lexie, "I'm not going back on my word. Just let me make a single phone call first. It's an emergency."

Lexie refused to listen, convinced he was merely stalling for time.

Hendrick was forced down onto the cold operating table as multiple pairs of hands bound him securely in place.

Desperate tears streamed down his face as he begged over and over, "Lexie, please, just let me make one phone call. It's just a single call. Please…"

With a cold expression, Lexie ordered, "Administer the anesthesia."

As the freezing liquid flooded into his veins, Hendrick knew his last chance had vanished.

His eyelids grew heavier, and the world before him faded into darkness.

In the final second before losing consciousness, Hendrick stared up at the woman standing above him. A single tear slipped from the corner of his eye. "Lexie, I hate you."

Within the absolute darkness, the cold, mechanical voice of the system chimed in his mind.

[Unfortunately, the affection target was not met. You have failed your third mission. This body is about to perish.

[Per your prior request, a new target has been selected, and a suitable rebirth opportunity is currently being located…]