Chapter 4

"She's in the trunk."

The surrounding air went dead silent. There were no pedestrians in sight.

I lunged forward and popped the trunk. When I saw the figure lying inside, the blood in my veins turned to ice.

It was my mother.

My mind went completely blank. My hands began to shake violently.

My mother, who had just called me two days ago telling me to take care of myself, was now curled into a horrific, unnatural shape inside the cramped trunk.

She was wearing the simple shirt I had bought her during my college years. Her graying hair was soaked in crimson blood.

With trembling arms, I carefully lifted her weak body out of the trunk.

She was so thin. Holding her, she felt almost weightless.

Serena stared at me in shock, her voice sounding like a hissing snake in my ears.

"Chloe, are you crazy?"

I blocked her out entirely. I ripped off my coat and wrapped it tightly around the deep gash on my mother's abdomen to stop the bleeding.

"Call 911! Now!" I screamed, my voice cracking.

"The person you hit is my mother!"

Serena’s eyes widened in horror. She stumbled back a few steps, terrified.

After a moment of hesitation, she frantically dialed her phone.

But the voice on the other end was Julian’s.

"Hello?"

Serena’s eyes flooded with tears as she wailed, "Julian, I hit someone with my car! What do I do?"

Julian paused. He didn't say anything at first.

I couldn't care about anything else. I screamed into the phone, completely hysterical.

"Julian! She hit my mother! If you have any humanity left in you, call the police and an ambulance right now!"

"Otherwise, I will hate you for the rest of my life!"

But Julian was still desperately trying to protect his reputation and Serena’s. His voice came through cold and detached.

"Chloe, what are you talking about? Why should I help you?"

"Can't you call them yourself?"

Then, he softened his tone to comfort Serena.

"Don't worry, sweetie. I'll handle it."

"At worst, we'll just pay them off."

My eyes were bloodshot as I stared at Serena in sheer disbelief.

She was crying tears of relief, but a smug, victorious glint flashed in her eyes.

"You're the best, Julian," she whimpered.

My mother's body temperature was dropping rapidly. I scooped her up, kicked off my high heels, and began to run down the street barefoot.

Serena tried to block me, but a sleek black Bentley suddenly roared up and screeched to a halt in front of us.

Christian jumped out of the car. Without a word, he lifted my mother into the backseat, pulled me in, and sped toward the hospital.

Christian ran every single red light. A drive that should have taken forty minutes was cut down to twenty.

Only when my mother was rolled into the emergency room did my legs give out, and I collapsed onto the cold hospital floor.

"Don't worry. She's going to make it."

Christian was drenched in sweat. I looked down and noticed his palms were scraped and bleeding from helping me carry her.

"Thank you," I whispered.

He shook his head gently.

Neither of us spoke after that. We just waited anxiously outside the operating room.

The surgery lasted for two agonizing hours. Every second felt like a lifetime.

Around midnight, the red light above the door finally turned off.

The surgeon walked out, looking exhausted but relieved.

"She's out of immediate danger."

Tears finally spilled over my cheeks. Christian immediately pulled me into his arms, wrapping me in a tight, protective embrace.

He gently patted my back.

"It's okay now. She's safe."

My tears soaked the front of his shirt.

His chest felt warmer and safer than anything I had ever known.

My mother spent a week in the ICU before she was finally transferred to a regular ward.

During this time, Julian came to find me.

He slid a check across the table.

"This is for your mother's medical bills and compensation."

Looking at the check, a wave of cold fury washed over me.

"Julian, I will take the compensation, but it has to come from Serena. She needs to face the legal consequences of what she did."

Julian scoffed.

"What's mine is hers."

"Chloe, why are you acting so righteous all of a sudden? When we first got together, didn't you take my money gladly?"

"You only stayed with me for my money anyway, didn't you?"

At that moment, my entire body went numb.

I stood up and slapped him across the face with everything I had.

I never realized that this was how he truly saw me.

"Julian, I became your assistant for the money."

"But I fell in love with you because of who I thought you were, not your wealth."

I took a deep, shaky breath, finally uttering the words that should have been said long ago.

"We are done. It's over."