"You heard her."
Oliver turned back after a failed phone call and glanced at Serena with a mocking smirk, arms crossed. "Your grandma agreed on her own. Now that you've said your goodbyes, hurry up and get lost."
Right then, Esther kicked the nurse hard. "Useless! Still standing there like an idiot? Didn't you hear me?!"
The nurse jolted, terrified, and grabbed the syringe, ready to inject the anesthetic into the elderly woman's arm.
Serena reacted fast, sending a throwing dart flying toward the nurse.
But before it could reach the target, Esther shoved a bodyguard in the way.
With a nasty sound, the dart sank into the man's shoulder, blood oozing out instantly.
Esther clapped her hands, mocking, "Serena, thought you could do some movie-style rescue with that sloppy martial arts of yours?"
"What a joke."
The syringe went in, and the drug slowly entered the elderly woman's arm.
Serena's expression went ice-cold, and her eyes were burning with fury. "Esther, you're done."
"Oh yeah? I'll be waiting to see which of us gets dragged out of here."
Esther sauntered over to the operating table, grabbed Mabel's chin and hissed, "Take a good look, Mom. Watch closely how your darling granddaughter dies right in front of you!"
Mabel wasn't completely out yet. Her body jerked at those words. "Esther! You promised-if I donated the marrow, you'd treat Serena well. You lied... argh!"
Esther twisted her hand harder. The pain wrinkled Mabel's already lined face even more.
"So what if I lied?"
Esther sneered. "You've spent decades in business and couldn't smell a lie this blatant? Right now you're nothing more than meat on my table-I can carve however I want!
"You always favored Serena's family! If she needed the marrow, you'd have been first on the table, wouldn't you?!"
"Yes! I do favor them!" Mabel spat blood, but her voice was clear and fierce. "Serena's parents were more respectful than you ever were! Serena's more decent than Aria! Of course I'd pick them over you! You cold-hearted snake-you don't deserve to be my daughter!"
"Oh, really? I don't deserve it?"
Esther's eyes flared red with fury. She whipped around and screamed at the bodyguards, "All of you-NOW! Whoever takes Serena out, gets a million bucks!"
At her shout, seven or eight men charged at Serena like wild dogs.
But they couldn't even graze her.
She took them down one by one, each blow clean and sharp. The last one had his neck snapped with a twist, collapsing right at Esther's feet, eyes still wide in shock.
Esther took two terrified steps back, her face as pale as a ghost.
Serena darted forward, ignoring her completely. One hand checked Mabel's pulse, the other smoothly sliding a silver needle into a key acupuncture point.
"You're trying to kill her!" Esther snapped back to her senses and jumped at the opportunity. "Perfect-I'll end you myself for betraying the family!"
She gave a clap.
A side door flew open and a dozen men in suits stormed in, leading with a guy holding a military blade, face full of menace.
Esther shrieked, "Go! Chop her into pieces!"Just as the man in black lunged forward, Serena dodged to the side and twisted around, locking a firm grip around his neck.
There was a crisp snap-he dropped dead on the spot.
The others instantly tightened the circle, closing in on her from all sides.
Then, out of nowhere, gunfire rang out.
Or more accurately, a barrage of gunshots erupted all at once, so fast and precise it sounded like a single weapon going off.
The ones closest to Serena dropped like dominoes, each with a neat hole right between the brows. Bodies hit the floor before they even realized what happened.
The living room fell into dead silence. No one dared to breathe, let alone move.
Esther's eyes widened in shock, her voice trembling. "You... you brought backup?"
"Backup?" Serena scoffed.
Right on cue, steady, commanding male voices rang out from beyond the door.
"Phoenix Doom Squad snipers in position-ten ready."
"Vermilion Division snipers reporting-twenty standing by."
"Unyielding Guard snipers in position-thirty ready."
"Sunbird Assault Team snipers locked and loaded-forty sharpshooters."
Oliver froze, then suddenly burst into laughter. "Snipers? You think you're fooling anyone? What are you, some war hero? You really expect us to believe you could command special ops? That's a good one!"
Serena tilted her head and looked at him steadily. Her tone was calm. "Don't believe me, Oliver? Wanna test that theory?"
She raised her hand, mimicked a gun, pointed at his shoulder, and made a soft pop sound with her lips. "Biu."
"You trying to mess with me-"
He didn't get to finish.
A loud bang followed. A sharp pain exploded through his shoulder, blood drenched his shirt in seconds. He collapsed, screaming in agony.
Esther immediately cowered behind her bodyguards, shaking like a leaf.
Serena walked up to her-calm, slow steps-her voice laced with sarcasm. "Esther, I'm not the type to go on a killing spree just for fun. So I'll make a deal. You die quietly, and I'll let the rest of the family go. Sound fair?"
"Pfft! You think a couple of snipers gives you the right to make deals with me?"
She barely got the words out before another gunshot cracked through the room.
"Ahhh!"
Aria Douglas, strapped to a makeshift medical bed, let out a blood-curdling scream. The bullet had pierced straight through her calf. Blood gushed from the wound.
"Aria!"
Esther's fear was instantly eclipsed by panic. She bolted toward her daughter, clutching her in tears. "Don't hurt her! Take me instead!"
"Oh, take you?" Serena stared down at her, voice ice-cold. "Gladly. After all, when my parents died, they were doing exactly what you're doing now-shielding me with everything they had."
"The autopsy said someone jammed needles into all seven orifices. Said they died in extreme pain."
Serena yanked Esther's hair back, lifting her up effortlessly. With a flick of her wrist, silver needles shot into every one of Esther's seven facial points, sharp and swift.
"Now you get to feel it. Every ounce of pain they did, right before they died."
Esther shrieked. "You psycho! I'll kill you!"
Seeing her mother bleeding from every facial opening, Aria turned ghostly pale and lunged at Serena.
Serena didn't even flinch-just kicked her away with one strong move.
But before Aria hit the ground, a shadow darted in and caught her just in time.
