Chapter 3

"Ahhh!"

Hailey pushed me away frantically, but I still held onto the knife.

Once the blade left her body, the pain seemed to double.

Hailey's screams grew sharper.

Her bodyguards froze in shock.

Holding her wound tightly, Hailey glared at me as I lay on the floor.

"What are you standing there for? Kill them! Kill them both!"

With the order, the bodyguards rushed forward, raining blows on us with batons.

Christian threw himself over me, shielding me with his body.

The dull thuds of the batons hitting him echoed in my ears.

Suddenly, a drop of warm blood fell onto my lips. Christian shuddered and collapsed heavily onto me.

"Christian? Christian! Wake up..."

No response.

I turned my head with great difficulty, only to see blood gushing from the back of his head.

Before I could even process the panic, the bodyguards dragged Christian and me to the rooftop.

They tied us to the edge of the terrace, binding our hands tightly to the freezing cold railing.

Their rough movements tore at the wounds on my pregnant belly. Blood had soaked through half of my clothes.

A short distance away, Christian's white shirt was covered in blood at the collar.

The biting wind on the rooftop kept me barely conscious.

Christian, still unconscious, swayed with the wind.

A crowd had gathered below, their chaotic whispers drifting up to my ears.

"I heard it's a side chick who got pregnant by another man and tried to force a divorce. The wife caught them, and now they're hanging up there."

"Tsk tsk, serves them right. Cheaters deserve to die."

I could only keep whispering to my brother, hoping he would wake up.

As time passed, my vision began to blur, and Christian remained completely unresponsive.

Hailey's arrogant voice echoed on the rooftop again.

"Oh, still alive?"

Seeing her, my eyes flared with rage. I gritted my teeth. "Hailey, you better let us go right now. Otherwise, when my dad gets here, you won't survive the consequences."

She laughed like a lunatic and took a recurve bow from one of her men.

"Oh, then I guess I should kill you two lovebirds right now so you can keep me company in hell?"

Hailey drew the bow, aiming first at Christian's swaying body.

"You know, Ethan and I met at an archery range. You probably know how good he is at archery, right?"

"Too bad my skills aren't as good."

My heart sank. Ethan's archery range was funded by me.

I never expected it to be the starting point of his affair.

The next second, an arrow pierced my shoulder. The agonizing pain made me bite my lip.

"How annoying. I was aiming for your brother. Missed by a mile."

Another twang of the bowstring. This time, the arrow pierced Christian's chest.

The intense pain finally woke him up, and he let out a roared cry.

Seeing the situation, his eyes flared with pure rage.

"Hailey Miller! I swear, I will tear you to pieces!"

But Hailey just laughed manually, repeatedly drawing and releasing the bow.

Christian desperately swung his body to shield me.

Soon, he was hit by multiple arrows, covered in blood.

A weak, raspy sound came from his throat.

On the rooftop, Hailey seemed tired. She leaned on her bow, panting.

Suddenly, my phone rang loudly next to her.

Confused, she picked it up, and Ethan's panicked voice came through:

"Elena, where are you? I can explain everything about Hailey. Please, don't hurt her!"

"You don't want me to hate you forever, do you?"

I laughed.

"Ethan Vance! Your mistress is about to kill Christian and me!"

"And the baby you cared so much about is already dead!"

I screamed at the phone, but the wind swept my voice away.

Only Hailey's confused voice echoed on the rooftop:

"Honey? Why are you calling her?"

"Don't worry, I handled it. Though... you might need to pay some money..."

There was silence on the other end, followed by heavy panting.

Then, Ethan's furious roar erupted:

"Hailey Miller! What the fuck did you do to Elena Sterling?! Do you have any idea who she is?! She's the heiress of the Sterling family! I..."

Hailey hung up abruptly. She frowned, staring at the number on the screen.

Her eyes flickered, and she mumbled to herself.

Then she looked at my dying brother and me, still struggling.

"What fucking Sterling family..."