Chapter 3

Olivia felt like she would never wake up. Her mind was a swirling vortex of memories, each one more painful than the last.

When her company was collapsing, she had cried, she had begged him to save her. He chose to save Chloe instead.

Her father still had resources, a loyal team. But Daniel didn't pursue justice. He stood by and let her be framed for corporate espionage, let her be sent to a maximum-security prison.

Back then, when Daniel' s family business was in trouble, she knelt outside his office building in the pouring rain, begging him to let her help. The delicate, pampered CEO, soaking wet and shivering, fell ill for the first time in her life. She had dragged her sick, feverish body to see him. He was in mourning for his grandfather, who had died just days before. He had looked at her with an expression of such intense disgust it had frozen her to the core.

"Olivia Reed," he had spat, "you truly sicken me."

Three years later, the first time he saw her, he demanded she become his personal assistant, his maid, to repay her debt. What debt? What debt did she owe? Chloe was the one who took everything from her. If he had shown her any pity, just a sliver of compassion, she wouldn't be in this state.

After what felt like an eternity, she finally surfaced from the dark haze. She was in a clean bed. A nurse with a mask was adjusting an IV drip. Olivia felt a jolt of familiarity. The nurse was busy, bringing her medicine, checking her pulse.

"You're awake," the nurse said, her voice muffled by the mask.

In a flash of memory, Olivia suddenly knew who this person was. "Aunt Spring..." she whispered, her voice filled with both surprise and joy.

"Shhh..." The nurse placed a finger on Olivia's lips, then moved her hand to Olivia's wrist, feeling her pulse. "Your body is extremely weak. We can't delay any longer. You must recover properly."

Olivia didn't care about that. She eagerly grabbed the nurse's hand. "Did my father... did he still have a hidden team?"

"Aunt Spring, you must have a way to activate them, don't you?" she pleaded in a low voice.

Aunt Spring' s eyes, visible above the mask, were filled with a fierce loyalty. "Since you're back, we have hope," she whispered back. "But you must take care of yourself. This matter requires careful, meticulous planning."

Just then, the door to the room was pushed open with force. Daniel strode in. He looked like he had just returned from a high-stakes corporate meeting, radiating a cold, intimidating aura. He sat down at the small coffee table, his presence filling the room.

"How is she?" he demanded, not looking at Olivia.

"Reporting, Detective," Aunt Spring said, her voice becoming professional and detached. "Ms. Reed's pulse is very weak. Years of malnutrition have damaged all her internal organs. She won't be able to have children in the future. Moreover, her body is extremely frail. If she doesn't take good care of herself, she might not even make it to the end of the year."

Olivia couldn't help a bitter smile that touched her lips. Even Aunt Spring, with all her skill, couldn't detect the CEO's secret poison. How could she possibly last until the end of the year? She had less than a month.

Daniel unconsciously frowned, a tiny crease appearing between his brows. "She's just an assistant. Just get her well enough to work. It's not like I gave her two months' worth of food for nothing."

Olivia sat quietly on the bed, her face a blank canvas, as if she hadn't heard a word.

"If there's nothing else, you may leave," Daniel said to Aunt Spring.

"Yes." The nurse bowed and left the room.

The room fell into a heavy silence. Daniel glanced at her, a strange look in his eyes. He couldn't resist asking. "Tell me," he said, his voice low. "Six years ago, why did you support your father in investigating my family's business?"

She had told him so many times that she didn't, that it was a misunderstanding. But Daniel never believed her. She no longer had the energy to explain. "Only a thorough investigation can clear a name, right?" she answered, her voice tired and flat.

When he was young, Daniel was not favored by his parents. He had been raised by his grandfather, and his devotion to the old man was absolute. His grandfather, a loyal and honest businessman his entire life, couldn't bear the humiliation of his company being seized and investigated. He died of a broken heart.

At that time, Daniel had come to her, begging her to ask her father, the CEO, to postpone the investigation for just one month, to let his grandfather pass away in peace. Her father had been swayed, he had agreed. But somehow, the news of the impending investigation leaked, and his grandfather died of anger and shock.

Olivia lowered her head. She felt like a withered flower, so fragile she could be crushed into dust with a single touch.

"Olivia Reed," Daniel said, his voice filled with a cold, hard hatred. "You never had a heart!"

With those words, he stood up and left, slamming the door behind him.

After a few days of forced recuperation, Olivia was assigned to serve Daniel again. Chloe, clearly displeased to see Olivia back on her feet, often came to Daniel's study to bother her.

"Daniel," Chloe cooed one afternoon, draping herself over his arm. "My father wants us to get married soon. When do you think would be a good time?" Her eyes were gentle and loving, a perfect mask for the cunning and ruthlessness that lay beneath.

Daniel was engrossed in his work, his eyes fixed on a data screen. "Let's set it for the end of the year," he said distractedly.

"Okay," Chloe said happily, squeezing his sleeve, looking as innocent and harmless as a kitten.

In the past, when they were about to get engaged, Olivia had been just as happy, just as excited. But later, that love curdled into a deep, abiding hatred.

Chloe found Olivia's silent presence an eyesore. "I'm thirsty," she ordered, her voice sharp. "Go get me some tea."

"Yes," Olivia said, her voice devoid of emotion.

She brought the tea, her hands steady, and respectfully handed it to Chloe. But Chloe, with a sly smile, deliberately let go of the cup. The scalding hot tea instantly spilled all over Olivia's hand. The searing pain made her cry out and drop the teacup, which shattered on the floor. Shards of porcelain scattered everywhere.

Chloe, startled, retreated a step and instantly her eyes reddened with fake tears. "Daniel, it's so hot! It hurts!" she cried out, holding her own hand as if she were the one who had been burned.

Daniel was on his feet in an instant, rushing to Chloe's side. He nervously grasped her hand. "Where did it burn?" he asked, his voice filled with anxious concern.

In the past, if Olivia got a small cut on her finger while doing embroidery, he would have been worried sick. Now, he cared for someone else. Olivia couldn't control the bitterness that spread through her heart like a poison.

For those three long years in prison, she had constantly hoped, foolishly, that he would come and save her. She never expected that their first meeting after all that time would be so humiliating, so painful.

Daniel scooped Chloe up into his arms. He turned and glared at Olivia, his eyes blazing with anger. "You stay right there and kneel!" he commanded.

He left with Chloe in his arms, leaving Olivia alone in the study with the shattered teacup.

Olivia hesitated, looking at the sharp shards scattered on the floor. But if she didn't obey, she might not live long enough for the poison to even take effect. She had no choice. She could only kneel.

At first, she could hold on. She knelt carefully, avoiding the worst of the shards, hoping Daniel would return quickly and give her a different punishment. But he didn't come back. The pain from the sharp edges of porcelain cutting into her knees quickly spread, a sharp, insistent agony.

Blood began to flow, staining the light-colored carpet. She was afraid of staining his expensive office floor, which would only enrage him more. Olivia used the sleeve of her coarse uniform to wipe the blood from the floor around her knees.

By the time she was covered in her own blood, her uniform soaked and her knees a mangled mess, Daniel finally returned.

He stopped short in the doorway. He looked at her, and for the first time, a flicker of genuine panic showed in his eyes.

"What are you doing?" he shouted, his voice tight. "An assistant attempting suicide is a serious offense!"

Olivia wiped the blood from her knuckles with a clean part of her sleeve. Carefully, with two clean fingers, she reached out and grabbed the hem of his trousers.

"I didn't try to commit suicide..." she whispered, her voice weak. "Daniel, I have something to ask you."

"I..." As soon as she spoke, a mouthful of thick, dark blood gushed from her mouth, splattering onto the floor.

She seemed unfazed by it, wiping the blood from her lips with the back of her hand. Her pale, almost translucent face, contrasted with the vibrant red of the blood, was both mesmerizing and chilling.

"Please," she begged, her grip on his trousers tightening. Her knuckles were white, the veins on her hand bulging with effort. Her tone was pleading, desperate. "Let me go out... and set up a memorial for my parents..."

"Please?" she whispered, her voice barely audible.

Daniel tried to pull her up, but she vomited another mouthful of blood, her body convulsing with the effort.

At that moment, he felt utterly, completely helpless.

"Don't die," he found himself saying, the words torn from him. "I promise you."

Olivia smiled faintly, a ghost of a smile on her blood-stained lips, and then her eyes rolled back and she passed out.

She was resilient. She still had half a month left. She wouldn't die so easily.