Kai writhed on the carpet like a maggot drenched in filth, every twitch of his body as grotesque as the man himself.
Outside, thunder cracked and a flash of lightning illuminated his twisted, exhilarated face. He was laughing—hoarse, breathless and utterly unrepentant. "Who? Leon? Hah! He served his purpose. His kidneys saved you, Baby..."
The words were gasoline poured directly onto the fire raging inside me. My hands trembled with fury as I lashed him harder, the charging cable snapping in half from the force. Without missing a beat, I grabbed a soaked towel from the bathroom and continued whipping him, the wet fabric smacking against his skin with a brutal crack.
Kai shrieked, then laughed, the sick sound ringing in my ears. "Leon had to die! Too bad I couldn't kill him myself—but I watched! I watched every second of his dissection! They cut out his kidney while he was still alive because, you know, a living donor's kidney is always the best!"
A searing pain twisted deep in my chest, sharp enough to steal my breath.
Leon—my precious son. Did they really cut him open while he was still breathing? How much agony did he suffer before his tiny body gave out?
Did he cry for me? Did he scream for his mother while they sliced him apart like a piece of meat?
The image alone shattered me. My vision blurred with tears and my grip on the towel grew so tight my knuckles ached. Hot tears streamed down my face, but the grief only fed the inferno inside me.
"Bastard!" My scream ripped through the room, raw and jagged. "Give me back my son's life!"
I struck him again and again until my arms felt like they would snap under the strain, then I wrapped the towel around his neck, twisting it tightly.
Only then did Kai's smug expression flicker into fear. His bloodshot eyes bulged, his tongue pushing between his lips as he gasped like a fish dragged onto dry land. "N-No... I can't... breathe... Stop..."
But I couldn't stop. Sanity had long slipped through my fingers, leaving only one relentless, burning desire: Kill him. Make him pay. Bury him with Leon.
Another crack of thunder roared outside, rattling the windows as rain pounded against the glass. The storm outside howled, drowning out Kai's choking gasps. Just as his eyes started rolling back, the door burst open with a loud bang.
Clayton stormed in, his heavy footsteps shaking the floor. He grabbed me, fingers pressing into pressure points on my wrist, forcing me to release my grip. My hands spasmed open, the towel falling uselessly to the floor.
"Don't you dare stop me!" My voice was ragged, my throat raw from screaming. "I want him dead!"
"Calm down. Please calm down, Ma'am." Clayton's deep voice was low but firm, his words cutting through the haze of fury like a knife. "Leon is still alive."
The world tilted. Everything—the storm, Kai's choking gasps, my own trembling breath—blurred into a dull hum.
Leon... still alive?
"Where is he? Where's Leon?" My words came out in a desperate rush, emotions crashing over me like a tidal wave—disbelief, hope, fear, joy. My heart pounded so hard I thought it might burst, but I forced myself to focus.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Clayton kneel beside Kai, swiftly positioning him on his back and starting CPR with expert precision. His movements were fluid, practiced—too competent for the bumbling, harmless bodyguard I thought I knew.
This wasn't the Clayton I remembered.
The tall, simple-minded brute was gone. In his place stood someone else entirely—someone whose sharp, focused eyes gleamed with cold intelligence. His tightly fitted black clothes stretched over lean muscle, radiating quiet strength, his every movement controlled and efficient.
He wasn't just a bodyguard. He was a predator lying in wait.
"Who are you really?" I demanded, my voice trembling despite my best efforts to stay composed.
Clayton didn't answer right away, too focused on resuscitating Kai. After a tense moment, Kai sucked in a sharp breath, his limp body convulsing slightly as air returned to his lungs. He hadn't died—only lost consciousness for a moment.
Clayton stood, gently taking my arm and guiding me out of the room. Once the door clicked shut behind us, he finally spoke in a low voice. "I'm an undercover agent. I infiltrated the Richards family to investigate Kai's criminal activities. His company is deeply involved in illegal dealings. Mrs. Richards, were you aware of this?"
I shook my head. No, I hadn't known. Between my own illness and taking care of Leon, I'd had no energy left to keep track of Kai's business affairs.
None of that mattered right now. There was only one thing I needed to know. "Where's Leon now?"
Clayton's gaze softened slightly. "Don't worry, Mrs. Richards. He's safe. We placed him in a daycare near the police station under full protection. He's completely unharmed."
A broken laugh burst from my throat, half-sob, half-disbelieving relief. My legs nearly gave out under me. "Really? You're not lying?"
"I wouldn't dare lie about this, Ma'am." His voice was steady, the weight of his sincerity grounding me even as I trembled. "When I discovered Kai's plan to harvest Leon's kidney, I coordinated with the police to switch Leon out in secret. The surgery Kai watched on the live feed? That wasn't Leon. It was a 3D-printed human model."
The ground swayed beneath my feet. "Then... whose kidney did Rae receive?"
Clayton's expression didn't change, his tone perfectly neutral. "A pig's kidney."
My mind blanked for a moment. "What?"
"This year, Arlington University's research team developed experimental technology allowing pig kidneys to be transplanted into humans. It hasn't been fully approved for clinical use yet, but Rae... well, she's a perfect test subject."
My mouth opened, then closed. I could hardly process what I was hearing.
Clayton's calm voice carried on. "The technology is still unstable, though. It's unclear how long the kidney will function in her body. At best, she'll need a second transplant soon."
