Chapter 7
Elizabeth didn’t struggle.
As the nurses pinned her down on the bed, fastening restraints around her wrists and ankles, she simply stared quietly at the ceiling.
A thin crack ran across the ceiling, reminding her of the starry sky she and Kaiden used to gaze at as children.
Back then, he’d panic over the tiniest paper cut, even calling the family doctor in the middle of the night.
Back then, he’d carry her for 10 kilometers on his back without a word, just because she pouted and said she didn’t want to ride in the car.
Back then, if a rose thorn pricked her finger, he’d cradle her hand and murmur, “My Eliza shouldn’t ever have to feel pain.“/
And now, he was pressing an icy alcohol swab to her chest with his own hands.
“This is your last chance,” Kaiden’s voice trembled, but the syringe in his- hand was steady.
“Give your blood willingly, and I’ll let you go.”
Elizabeth closed her eyes, a desolate smile curling her lips.
“Kaiden, did you know? When I was little, I always wished I could live in your heart…”
Kaiden’s hand jerked violently.
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“Now I know,” she opened her eyes, silent tears sliding down her cheeks, “It’s too cold and dark in there. I’d rather die than ever go back.”
That sentence shattered the last of Kaiden’s restraint. His hesitation vanished, his eyes turning hard as steel as he plunged the needle into her chest without mercy.
“I never thought the kind person you once were would turn into this.”
Elizabeth’s body arched in agony, the restraints biting deep into her slender wrists and ankles.
The pain was indescribable, as if someone had ripped open her chest and crushed her soul.
Her fingernails dug into her palms, blood trickling between her fingers-
it didn’t compare to the pain in her heart.
yet
Kaiden’s hand was frighteningly steady, his face cold and almost cruel, only his lashes quivering ever so slightly.
“Hang in there. It’ll be over soon.
But he’d never made her endure pain before–he’d always let her cry it out right away, always let her show when she hurt.
But now, he was the one who’d reduced her to this, so those old promises meant nothing.
When the syringe was finally full, Kaiden yanked out the needle and pressed a cotton swab to the wound with meticulous care.
Elizabeth was nearly unconscious from the pain, her pale lips bitten through and slick with blood.
Kaiden stared at the vial of blood, a flicker of something unreadable in his
Chapter 7
eyes. He leaned down, wanting to wipe the blood from her lips–but she turned her head away.
“Get out.” Elizabeth’s voice was barely a whisper, but every word was sharp as a blade.
Kaiden froze, then turned and strode out.
At the door, he paused for a moment, not looking back.
“Give her a painkiller.”
The painkiller was a lie.
As the nurse, hands trembling, injected the medication into Elizabeth’s vein, her pale fingertips curled, waiting for the drug to dull the agony tearing through her.
But it didn’t.
The pain only sharpened, slicing deeper.
Her pupils shrank, cold sweat soaking through her hospital gown. Her body convulsed uncontrollably, the restraints cutting into her skin and drawing blood.
She bit down hard on her lip, but couldn’t muffle the sobs of pain.
The nurse who’d given the injection glanced at the vial in horror, her face draining of color.
“No, this isn’t right… This isn’t a painkiller…”
It wasn’t.
It was a drug Natasha had prepared in advance–one that heightened every
Chapter 7
nerve ending, making every sensation excruciating.
Natasha didn’t just want Elizabeth’s blood. She wanted her to suffer.
Kaiden lingered outside Natasha’s room for a long time, the vial of Elizabeth’s blood trembling in his hand.
He should have rushed in to save Natasha.
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But all he could see was Elizabeth’s last look-so cold, so hopeless, like a final farewell.
He clenched his fist, then suddenly turned and strode back the way he
came.
“Mr. Renard?” The doctor tried to stop him, startled. “Ms. Natasha’s condition is critical, we must-
Kaiden shoved past him without a word, heading straight for Elizabeth’s
room.
He had to make sure she was all right; he had to see with his own eyes that she’d gotten the painkiller and was sleeping peacefully; he had to… make it up to her.
Even if she’d hurt Natasha with her own hands, she’d already given her cardiac blood. He couldn’t punish her any further.
She’d always feared pain–she’d tear up if she so much as bumped her elbow, let alone when it came to her fragile heart. He needed to comfort her first, then go save Tasha.
But when he opened the door, what he saw was Elizabeth curled up in agony, her whole body convulsing, blood still staining her lips. The nurse was frantically searching for the real painkillers.
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298 Vouchers
“What happened?!” he roared, seizing the nurse by the collar, his voice ragged with terror.
The nurse burst into tears. “The medication was switched–Ms. Elizabeth is in terrible pain…”
Pain? Even worse than having her cardiac blood drawn?
He let go of the nurse and rushed to the bed, tearing off the restraints and pulling Elizabeth into his arms.
“Eliza… Eliza!”
Her body was burning, cold sweat soaking his shirt, her fingers digging so hard into his arm it felt like she was trying to channel all her pain into him.
Kaiden felt his own heart being torn to shreds.
He jerked his head up and shouted, “Find out who switched the medicine!”
But at that moment, a nurse’s trembling voice broke through.
“Ms. Elizabeth… she is not breathing.”
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