A violent tremor shot through her, cold rising from the soles of her feet and swallowing her whole. Her lips quivered uncontrollably.
"Impossible..."
Ignoring the pain in her injured arm, Solana grabbed her car keys and bolted for the door. But the very next second, a hand seized her wrist.
She turned—only to crash into the turbulent gaze of Wilbert.
"I'll go with you."
Seeing her reddened eyes, his chest tightened as if gripped by an invisible fist.
Realizing this, he stiffened, ruthlessly pushing down the absurd thought. His tone turned deliberately cold.
"Don't overthink it. I'm only doing this for the cooperation between our families."
By the time they arrived at the hospital—having rushed the whole way—Solana was about to dash inside when the sudden, piercing alarm of the monitors exploded through the corridor.
Her mind went blank. Her body froze as if nailed to the floor.
It took her a long moment to turn her head toward the room.
The ventilator had already turned into a flat line. A doctor gently drew a white sheet over her mother's face.
In that instant, the entire world seemed to fall silent.
Every ounce of her strength evaporated. Darkness swallowed her as she collapsed.
...
When she woke up again—Solana didn't even stop to put on her shoes. She sprinted straight to her mother's ward.
Seeing the empty bed, she grabbed the nurse's arm in panic.
"Where's my mom? Where did my mom go?!"
The nurse looked troubled, stammering for a long time before managing a complete sentence.
"Miss Scott... your mother... after her surgery... she was sent for cremation..."
Cremation?!
A deafening buzz filled Solana's ears.
She hadn't even seen her mother one last time—who dared to send her for cremation?!
"Who did it?!"
Her eyes reddened with fury, her voice a raw scream ripped from her throat.
But then, a single word from the nurse made her freeze. Her gaze sharpened instantly.
"What surgery? My mom is gone—what surgery could she possibly have undergone?!"
"It was... an organ donation surgery..."
The nurse trembled harder, afraid to even lift her head.
"Your mother... she got into an accident because a young girl drove against traffic. But... but Mr. Patel didn't even try to seek justice for his mother-in-law. Instead, the moment he saw the girl's injured eyes... he forced the hospital to give her your mother's eyes..."
Her voice cracked at the end.
And when Solana heard the name of the girl—Imogen Turner—her vision shook.
Her heart felt torn apart by a thousand blades, pain exploding viciously inside her chest.
So that was it.
Wilbert never came with her out of concern.
He was thinking about how to deliver her mother's eyes to the murderer!
The very woman who destroyed their marriage.
A hollow laugh escaped her throat, brittle and wild. Rage devoured every shred of reason.
When she finally found Imogen's ward—the sight before her made blood roar in her ears.
Wilbert sat at the girl's bedside, feeding her porridge spoon by spoon. In his eyes was a tenderness Solana hadn't seen once in all the years they'd known each other.
And she?
Her mother had died a brutal death. Even her body was desecrated. Yet the killer sat here, enjoying her husband's affection.
Why?!
Why should the murderer bask in warmth while she drowned in grief?
A tidal wave of fury seized her.
Solana kicked the door open, stormed forward, and grabbed Imogen by the collar.
"You wretch! I'll take your life for hers!"
Imogen's face turned ghostly pale. Her voice trembled. "No—ahhh—!"
Before she could finish, Solana slammed her head against the wall.
Blood splattered instantly. Imogen let out a raw, piercing scream.
Solana didn't stop. She yanked her hair again, lifting her head for another strike, but the next second—
"Get away from her!"
Wilbert kicked Solana aside, his eyes colder than a blade.
She staggered, crashing into the wall. Pain exploded through her bones like shattering glass.
After soothing Imogen, Wilbert's icy gaze skewered Solana—but before he could speak—a wet, choking sound burst from her throat.
Solana vomited a mouthful of dark blood and collapsed.
Wilbert froze.
The accusation on his tongue lodged in his throat as he stared at the pool of blood spreading across the floor. His fingers twitched beneath his sleeve, instinctively drawn toward her.
Just as he took a step—his arm was tugged.
"Wilbert... my wound hurts..."
Imogen's tear-glossed eyes clung to him, trembling.
Worry for Solana vanished from his face, replaced instantly by distress for Imogen. He scooped the girl into his arms and strode out without looking back.
...
After several days of rest in the hospital, Solana finally managed to get out of bed.
Suddenly, there was a loud bang. The door was kicked open.
Wilbert stood there, eyes bloodshot, fury seething from him like poison. "Solana! How could you be so vicious?!"
