Chapter 3

We got back to the estate late at night.

Before I even walked in, I heard suppressed coughing from inside.

It was Leo.

My heart tightened and I rushed through the door.

Only one dim lamp lit the room.

Leo was skeletal, curled up on the bed, his cheeks burning red.

"Sis... I feel awful..."

He called out in a daze.

I touched his forehead. Burning hot.

The medicine we bought before was gone.

The doctor said if we didn't get the serum in time, he wouldn't make it through winter.

I searched my entire body. Aside from the cash Julian threw at me last night, I had nothing.

That money couldn't even buy a single dose.

I gritted my teeth and ran to the main house.

Mia's room was bright with lights.

I knelt in the hallway, kowtowing toward the room.

"Julian, please have mercy. Leo can't hold on much longer..."

"You promised before, as long as I did what you said and went to see Victor, you'd keep Leo safe."

"Please give me one dose of serum to save his life!"

"As long as Leo lives, I'll do whatever you want, I swear!"

Laughter came from inside.

After a long time, the door finally opened.

Julian walked out with Mia in his arms.

Mia wore thick furs, her face glowing, looking nothing like someone sick.

"Clara Vance, what are you freaking out about now?"

I crawled forward and grabbed Julian's clothes.

"Julian, my brother is dying. He needs serum to survive."

"Please, for all the times I stood in for Mia, save him!"

Julian frowned.

“The storage still has a few vials,” he said.

Mia suddenly interrupted him, covering her chest and letting out a soft, fragile cough.

“Jules, the doctor said I need regular medication too.”

Julian immediately tensed and supported her.

“Your health comes first. Those vials are for you.”

He turned back to me, his tone cold.

“Leo’s condition is a bottomless pit. Even with treatment, it’s just pouring money down the drain.”

I stared at him in disbelief.

Mia treated it as routine care. For Leo, it was life support.

“Julian, Mia just needs maintenance. My brother needs this to survive…”

Julian absently stroked Mia’s hair, not even looking at me.

“How can your brother compare to Mia?”

“Don’t even think about it—if Mia needs any vial in this house, she gets them first.”

Mia leaned into his arms and gave me a smug smile.

“Clara, it’s not that I won’t help.”

“I’ll have them save the leftover doses for you. If there’s anything still worth using.”

Humiliation.

Pure humiliation.

I stood up from the ground and wiped my tears.

"No need."

If the estate wouldn't give me a way to live, someone else would.