Lucas returned home and went straight to the liquor cab, where he poured himself a ss of whiskey. The crisp clinking of ice against the ss did nothing to calm his restless mood.


    Serena''s rejection had caught him off guard, but it only fueled his desire to conquer her. He had never failed in getting what he wanted.


    Frustrated, he downed the whiskey in one gulp. The fiery liquid burned down his throat, but it couldn''t extinguish the inexplicable anger surging within him.


    Standing before the floor-to-ceiling window, he gazed down at the city''s nightscape. The dazzling lights felt unbearably cold to him.


    Why was Serena resisting him so much? He genuinely wanted to help her and give her a better life. Had he done something wrong?


    No, he hadn''t.


    Lucas pulled out his phone and dialed his assistant''s number.


    My hangover was worse than I had anticipated. I slept groggily until noon before finally forcing myself out of bed.


    My head throbbed, and my stomach churned. I just wanted to wash up and shake off the dizziness. But just as I stood up, my phone rang. It was the hospital.


    "Hello, is this Ms. Serena Ashford? Your mother is in our hospital. She—"


    My heart dropped as a terrible sense of foreboding surged through me. "What happened to my mom?"


    The nurse hesitated. "She... had a depressive episode and attacked someone. The other party is also in the hospital now..."


    A buzzing filled my head, drowning out everything else. I could only keep repeating, "Which hospital?" as I grabbed my coat and rushed out the door.


    In the cab, I took deep breaths to try to calm myself down.


    The moment I arrived at the hospital, I ran straight to the ward the nurse had mentioned.


    Before I even stepped inside, a shrill voice rang out, "She has to pay! She must pay! Look at what she did to me!"


    I pushed open the door and saw Mom curled up in the corner of the hospital bed, her eyes empty and dazed.


    And the woman standing opposite


    her, pointing at her nose and


    l.ne


    shouting arrogantly, was none other than Celine, our old neighbor from


    when I was a child!


    Celine! How could I forget her? The woman who always made snide remarks,


    sowed discord, and couldn''t stand seeing others do well.


    What was she doing here? And why had Mom hit her?


    A chilling realization swept over me. This wasn''t an ident.


    Celine had provoked Mom on purpose just to trigger her into having an episode.


    "Serena! You''re finally here!" Celine spotted me and immediately put on her victim act, clutching her forehead and wailing dramatically. "Your mother beat me! What are you going to do about it?"


    эле


    I swallowed my anger and walked over to Mom, gently wrapping my arms around her trembling shoulders. "Mom, are you okay? Why did you hit her?"


    She lifted her head, her eyes unfocused as if she didn''t even understand what had happened. "I... I... I don''t know..."


    "Don''t know? You cracked my head open, and you say you don''t know?" Celine shrieked, pointing at the bloodstained bedsheets.


    "This is proof! You have topensate me!"


    I ignored her yelling, holding Mom tighter as her shaking worsened. My heart ached.


    I finally looked up, my gaze ice-cold. "Celine, you know my mom is sick. Do you


    have any actual proof she hit you?"


    She froze, clearly not expecting me to ask that.


    Her eyes darted around as she stammered, "I-I... Everyone saw it! Your mother


    just went crazy and attacked me out of nowhere!"