Chapter 3

Martin Russell, the personal doctor, arrived promptly.

He was the one who had spoken with my father last night.

Now, he was respectfully examining my mother, his brow furrowed with a hint of anxiety.

I lounged on the sofa, watching the scene unfold as if it were a comedy.

"Dr. Russell, I don't feel well myself." I suddenly spoke up.

Martin paused, looking at me from a few steps away, his eyes uncertain behind his glasses. "Chloe, what symptoms do you have?"

"I always feel tired, anxious, dizzy, and..." I paused, raising my wrist to reveal some barely noticeable needle marks. "I keep finding strange marks on my body, like I've been pricked with needles without my knowledge."

Martin's face turned pale.

My father interrupted harshly, "Chloe! Don't distract the doctor from caring for your mother."

I ignored him and continued to stare at Martin. "Dr. Russell, how many years have you worked for the Holt family?"

"... Twenty years."

"Twenty years, then you can be said to be someone who has worked for a long time in our family." I nodded. "You must be absolutely loyal to my father, right?"

Sweat began to form on Martin's forehead.

He dared not look at me nor at my father. "Serving the Holt family is my honor."

"Is it?" I chuckled softly, "You've been responsible for my care during the three years I was in a coma, haven't you?"

"Y... Yes."

"So is there less blood in my body?" This question pierced him like a sharp sword.

Martin's body trembled violently, and he almost dropped the stethoscope in his hand. "I... I don't understand what you mean."

"Don't understand?" I stood up and walked towards him, the sound of my high heels clicking sharply on the polished floor.

I stopped in front of him, leaned slightly, and whispered in his ear. "Maddie's body completely accepted my blood. Can you say that again in front of me?"

Martin's body began to shake uncontrollably. He looked at my father in terror, as if seeking rescue.

My father's face turned dark.

"Chloe! Enough!" My father strode over, trying to pull me away.

But I straightened up first, took two steps back, and distanced myself from them. "Father, why are you so nervous? I just wanted to ask Dr. Russell about the medical definition of donation. After all. I want to know just how great I am to make a stranger so healthy." I glanced at Maddie, who looked especially fragile in Reece's arms.

The insult was unmistakable.

Maddie's face turned pale.

Reece couldn't hold back any longer and pointed at me angrily, "Chloe, you're being unreasonable. Maddie is your sister! Saving her is your duty!"

My duty?

How ridiculous!

I snorted with derision at his shamelessness. "Reece, you're marrying her next month, aren't you?"

He was stunned for a moment, then answered confidently, "That's right."

"Well then. You won't get a penny from the Holt family. Good luck surviving on your 'duty.'" I said.

Reece's face turned extremely dark.

Under my father's name, the Holt Group was founded by my grandfather.

Before he passed away, he locked away evidence of business crimes that could send my father to jail in a safe. And the key was in my hands. "Well, I forgot to tell you, Reece. Do you think by cozying up to my father, you'll inherit the Holt Group?"

Reece's face turned even darker.

I watched him with interest. "I warn you, stay away from me. Otherwise, when my father kills you, don't blame me for not warning you."

My mother had recovered at this moment and pointed at me, trembling with anger. "You ungrateful daughter! Are you willing to cut ties with your family for an outsider?"

I looked at her, feeling a bitter sense of irony. "Mother, who exactly is the outsider? Does Maddie have Holt blood? Is she worthy of the Holt name? Or is it that anyone can become the Holt family's daughter as long as they give you what you want?"

My questioning plunged the living room into silence.

They couldn't refute me because what I said was the truth.

Maddie was nothing more than a pawn or tool they found, a meek and obedient replacement.

And I was the former daughter who was sacrificed and drained of value.