Panicked screams and the wail of fire trucks shattered the stillness over Victoria Harbor.
When Marian opened her eyes, she was staring at the stark white ceiling of a hospital room. Deep in her throat, the raw, scorched ache of smoke still lingered. She realized the firefighters had pulled her out.
The door to her room slammed open.
Herman strode in. His gaze swept over her lying safely in bed, only a few strands of hair singed into slight curls by the fire.
There was no concern on his face. Only the look of a man whose suspicions had been confirmed.
His lips curled into a mocking arc, and his voice came out cold.
“Last night's fire. That was your little stunt, wasn't it? Playing the victim?”
Marian stared at him, genuinely baffled.
“The media out there is tearing Sandra apart. Dragging her name through the mud, saying she insisted on watching the fireworks and that's what caused the fire.”
He let out a derisive laugh, disgust plain in his eyes.
“Marian, you're as despicable as ever. Wasn't it enough, what you did to Sandra back then? You fabricated evidence to destroy the Fox family just to climb the ranks, and now you're pulling this?”
“All of this is just to get my attention, isn't it? Is there anything you won't stoop to?!”
Marian froze mid-step as she was getting out of bed. Something glacial settled behind her eyes.
The phone call from last night echoed through her mind. She let out a low, quiet laugh and tore away the last shred of civility between them.
“Me? Stage a fire? Herman, you're losing your mind.”
“The Fox family was trafficking human organs. The evidence was airtight. Ironclad. Do you have any idea how many organs they harvested? How many people died? And you still think they're innocent? You're nothing but a blind, heartless animal!”
She looked at him, and the light in her eyes dimmed inch by inch until nothing remained but barren indifference.
“And what would I gain from starting a fire? You? Sorry. I stopped loving you a long time ago.”
Her total indifference hit Herman like a blade between the ribs. A nameless agitation and fury churned inside him.
He couldn't tell if it was because she'd called him an animal, or because she said she didn't love him anymore.
He seized her wrist, teeth clenched so hard the words ground out.
“Good. Very good. Still talking back.”
“Today I'm giving Sandra the grandest wedding she deserves, and you will be there. You'll apologize to her. You'll be her bridesmaid.”
Without waiting for a response, he hauled her out of the hospital and dragged her, half-healed and stumbling, to the wedding venue.
His assistant came running up, face white with panic.
“Sir, Miss Fox has been taken hostage. Someone has a knife to her throat.”
Up on the wedding stage, Sandra stood in her bridal gown with a blade pressed against her neck by a one-eyed man.
The man was Sandra's former fiancé.
His single remaining eye burned with hatred.
“Herman James! You stole my woman, bankrupted me, and took my eye! Did you ever think this day would come?!”
“I'm here to take back everything that belongs to me!”
Herman's expression was ice. A cold smile cut across his face：“You want money? Fine.”
Without flinching, he ordered his assistant to tally every asset under his name.
The Hillside mansion, commercial properties across Harbor City, core holdings of the company. He kept raising the offer, and finally threw in half the shares of Sterling Enterprises itself, essentially handing over control of the entire empire.
Vincent Hale didn't budge.
Sandra broke down in tears. “Stop! Herman, stop!”
She choked out：“Forget about me! Let me pay for what we've done! Getting to be your bride for even one day was enough……”
Vincent threw his head back in a wild, unhinged laugh. “This filthy whore actually fell in love with you?!”
The blade dug deeper into Sandra's neck. Beads of blood welled up and slid down her skin.
Herman's face went white. He closed his eyes.
“Fine. Then I'll give you a woman in return.”
He raised his hand and pointed at Marian, who had been standing silently in the corner the entire time.
“My woman for yours. Is that enough?”
Vincent's single eye locked onto Marian, and a gleam of hunger lit up in it. He ran his tongue over his lips.
“You sure you can part with her, Mr. James?”
Herman shoved Marian forward. Not a second of hesitation.
“She's nobody.”
Vincent released Sandra without a fuss.
“Deal.”
Vincent wrenched Marian toward the car. She twisted around to look at Herman, disbelief etched across her face.
All she saw was him rushing forward, pulling Sandra into his arms, pressing his lips to her cheeks to kiss away her tears.
“Let go of me! Herman James! How could you do this to me!”
Marian fought with everything she had, but she was no match for Vincent's brute strength.
Her struggling earned her a savage backhand across the face.
“Shut the hell up, or I'll have my way with you right here in this car!”
In that instant, Marian went perfectly still. Her mind cleared like a switch had been thrown. She watched the scenery outside the window without a word, measuring every detail.
When the car wound along a cliffside road, she found her opening. She threw the door wide and hurled herself out, rolling down the slope and vanishing into the dense brush below.
Vincent cursed and searched for her, raging and swearing, combing the hillside until darkness swallowed the landscape. Finally, he gave up and drove away.
Marian stayed curled in the underbrush. When the night turned pitch black, she felt her way down the mountain road.
She flagged down a passing car, went straight to the airport, and boarded a red-eye flight out of Harbor City.
The plane climbed slowly into the sky. She gazed through the window at the neon glow of Harbor City shrinking below, reached up to smooth her tangled hair. Filthy and battered as she was, a smile finally broke across her face. A real one.
She was finally stepping into a new life.
