Chapter 2

When I woke again, the first thing I saw was a lavish European-style domed ceiling.

I was lying on a soft, enormous bed. The wound on my back had been cleaned and re-dressed with fresh gauze.

"Now that you're awake, get up and take your medicine."

By the floor-to-ceiling windows, the man from last night stood with his back to me, a cup of coffee in his hand.

"Who are you?" I propped myself up and watched him warily.

He turned around. The sunlight traced the sharp line of his jaw.

"Kane Blackwood."

I sucked in a sharp breath.

Kane Blackwood. The man at the helm of the Blackwood business empire, the true uncrowned king of this city. And the Cross family is nothing but a second-rate clan that only survives under the protection of the Blackwood family.

"Mr. Blackwood, why did you save me?" I forced myself to stay calm.

Kane walked to the sofa and sat down, crossing his legs, his sharp eyes studying me.

"Because the enemy of my enemy is my friend."

Just then the bedroom door opened, and a doctor in a white coat walked in, his face grim.

"Mr. Blackwood, the lab results are back." The doctor handed Kane a report, then turned to look at me with a flicker of pity in his eyes.

"Ms. Susan, were you drinking some kind of 'nourishing soup' that Sebastian made for you every day?"

I blinked, then nodded. "Yes. He said I was run-down and needed to build up my body for when we tried for a baby. Why?"

The doctor sighed. "That wasn't nourishing soup at all. We found high concentrations of a chronic immunosuppressant and heavy-metal toxins in your blood."

"What does that mean?" My head buzzed.

"It means they didn't just steal your kidney. They wanted you dead, too." Kane spoke coldly, tossing the report onto the nightstand. "Taken over time, that poison would have made your remaining kidney fail fast. Within six months, you'd die of kidney failure."

Boom!

It hit me like a hammer. My mind went blank.

My whole body trembled, my stomach lurched, and I felt like I was about to throw up.

The image of Sebastian gently watching me drink that soup every day turned, in that instant, into the most terrifying nightmare in the world.

They didn't just want my organs. They wanted to erase the evidence — to shut me up forever.

"Ugh—" I leaned over the edge of the bed, dry-heaving, tears falling uncontrollably onto the carpet.

So cruel!

So vicious!

"Done crying?" Kane's voice held no warmth at all. "Tears won't kill Sebastian."

My head snapped up. I wiped the tears off my face and bit down on my lip until I tasted rust.

"Mr. Blackwood, help me." I stared at him dead-on. "I know Blackwood family and Cross family are fighting over the land on the south side of the city. Help me destroy the Cross family, and I'll do anything."

Kane narrowed his eyes, as if appraising my worth.

"You have nothing left. What do you think you have to bargain with?"

"I have the Cross family's most fatal weakness in my hands!" I gasped out. "If I can prove they tricked me into the donation and harvested my organs illegally, the Cross Group's stock will crash. They'll never get that land on the south side!"

Kane let out a quiet laugh, but the amusement never reached his eyes.

"Susan, you're too naive. The Cross family did this, which means they prepared for everything. That consent form you signed in your own hand is their shield. If you go out there now and start talking, they'll turn it around on you and have you charged with extortion."

I froze.

He was right. Black ink on white paper. How was I supposed to flip that?

Kane stood, walked to the bed, and leaned down over me, his presence overwhelming.

"I can give you the best medical care, the most professional PR team, and the best lawyers. But on one condition. You have to become a blade sharp enough to drive straight into the Cross family's heart. So — do you have the nerve?"

Looking into his fathomless eyes, the hatred inside me grew like wildfire.

"I have the nerve," I answered without hesitation.

"Good." Kane straightened up. "Let the games begin."