The airbags burst open, and the force of the crash threw Evelyn forward.
Something warm ran from her temple and clouded her sight.
Pain spread through her.
Yet it was nothing compared to the pain in her heart right now.
"My mom is still waiting for me..."
Evelyn sucked in a shaky breath, shoved the warped car door aside, and lurched toward the hospital.
Blood and tears ran together down her face, yet she seemed not to feel them at all.
"Evie!"
The moment Nicola saw Evelyn, covered in blood, she rushed forward and caught her. "You're bleeding!"
"How... how is my mother?" Evelyn asked in a trembling voice.
Nicola bit her lip as tears slid down her face. "The doctors just managed to bring her back from danger, but her condition is still not good. Her vital signs keep dropping. Evie, the Ward family is really killing her."
Evelyn's knees went weak, and she nearly fell to the floor.
She staggered to the bedside and reached out to clasp her mother's cold fingers.
Her hands would not stop shaking.
Once, these hands had brought countless people back from the edge of death.
Now, they struggled with anything slightly complex, let alone hold a scalpel again.
Evelyn's vision blurred with tears.
She had never despised herself more than she did right now.
Her whole body shook with sobs.
"Mom, I'm sorry. This happened because of me. If I had known it would come to this, I never would have hurt the nerves in my hands just to save Carsten. I used to be the miracle doctor who saved so many people. But now, I can't even save you... I gave up the ability to save you because of that jerk. I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..."
Nicola wrapped her arms around Evelyn and said, "Evie, don't say that. There has to be a solution for this..."
A solution?
What could she do?
Carsten had already shut every door.
Evelyn knew he wanted to push her to the edge, to break her spirit and force her to give in.
Just then, she lifted her head, her face covered with blood and tears.
Drops of blood and tears fell onto the floor.
She suddenly raised her hand and slapped herself again and again.
"I was so stupid before. I couldn't see the truth... Because of a man like that, I lost the power to save my own mother..."
Nicola quickly grabbed her wrist to stop her and shouted, "Evie, Stop! This isn't your fault!"
"It is..." Evelyn's eyes were empty. "It's all because of me..."
Nicola held her tightly. "Evie, your mom still needs you. There must be something we can do... Wait, I remember something!"
Her voice suddenly grew louder. "NS1209. The medicine your mom needs wasn't developed by the Ward Group!"
Evelyn's empty eyes shifted slightly. "What are you talking about?"
"The nerve repair drug they used on your mother, NS1209. I thought it came from the Ward Group's research department. But last month, I saw an internal transfer document. It stated that NS1209 was actually developed by DeepBlue Biotech under the Martin Group. If the Ward family won't give it to you, you can go to the Martin Group and find Elias Martin."
Elias Martin.
In the business world of Sreles, that name alone made people uneasy.
He was known as a ruthless man at the top of the corporate world. He was also the founder of DeepBlue Biotech.
"Where can I find him?" A faint light appeared in Evelyn's eyes.
"I don't know. He moves like a ghost. And he's dangerous. He publicly said that NS1209 will only be supplied to the Ward family's hospital and will never be sold anywhere else—"
"Laptop," Evelyn suddenly interjected.
"What?"
"Bring me a laptop."
Understanding her, Nicola quickly brought her one.
Evelyn drew in a slow breath and set her shaking hands over the keyboard.
Her fingers, smeared with blood, began flying over the keys with startling speed.
A black command box opened on the screen. Strings of intricate code soon flooded across the display.
The dim light from the monitor washed over the blood across her face.
Watching this, Nicola held her breath.
She had almost forgotten.
Evelyn was not only brilliant in medicine.
She had another identity.
Seven years ago, she had been the hacker called Eve, the one who made cybersecurity agencies around the world uneasy.
The sound of typing grew faster.
Sweat gathered along Evelyn's brow while the cut on her head kept bleeding.
The map on the monitor changed as she slipped through layer after layer of firewalls.
Then, she struck the last Enter key.
A surveillance video appeared.
A luxurious building stood beneath golden lights. High-end cars were parked outside. Elegant guests walked in and out of the lobby.
Bright neon letters spelled out a name across the front.
Nocturne, the most exclusive private club in the city.
Nicola drew in a sharp breath. "Last month, Elias' bodyguard shot three people there simply because they stood too close to him. That's his domain. Without an invitation, no one is allowed inside. Anyone who ever tried to force their way through the doors never came back out unscathed. And tonight..." Her voice shook. "Tonight is the time no one is allowed to disturb him. Every Wednesday, he shuts down the entire top floor of Nocturne. No outsiders are permitted there. No one knows what he does behind those doors. Anyone who interrupted him vanished."
Evelyn shut the laptop and rose to her feet.
She brushed the blood and tears from her face and looked at her mother, whose monitor showed her life slowly fading.
"Nicola, lend me some clothes." Evelyn spoke with an eerie calm. "I need to wash up first."
"Evie, are you really going there? Elias is—"
"If saving my mom means facing him." Evelyn cut her off, fierce resolve burning in her eyes. "I'll do it, no matter the cost."
