I was bound hand and foot, with absolutely no chance of escape.
The surgery truly was quick.
With no standard sterile environment and not nearly enough anesthesia, the healers loyal to the Alpha sliced open my living body. It took only ten minutes.
The moment I fainted from the pain, I heard Richard's gentle words from outside the operating room.
"Just as I thought. It had to be your kidney in his body to make him stronger."
When I woke again, it was three days later. Not a single person had come to visit me.
My heart was bleeding profusely, but I had no more tears to cry.
Finally, someone came to see me. Someone came to care.
When I saw my mom, Amelia, I suddenly felt like a pup again, and I finally broke down and cried once more.
But in the next second, her cold words plunged me into an icy abyss.
"Cut the crocodile tears. I haven't even dealt with you for lying to me about Nina being dead."
"Monica already told me Nina is having the time of her life at Disneyland," she snapped. "And so what if she dies? She's just a female pup."
Back when you were pregnant, I told you not to get that genetic screening, but you insisted. And that's why you ended up with a pup with asthma.
For a full hour, her venomous words washed over me, until I finally lost all my strength.
Aside from the day my mother, Amelia, came to see me, no one else had visited.
I traced the ugly scar on my side, hobbling out of the hospital and heading home.
The moment I opened the door, I was met with Richard's accusing gaze.
He pointed to the urn placed right by the entrance.
“Who told you to put something so morbid in the house?”
My voice was faint, as if my soul had left my body.
“That’s Nina’s urn. Her ashes are inside.”
A flicker of something—panic?—crossed Richard's face. He gripped my hand, his knuckles white, pressing me for an answer.
“What is that supposed to mean?”
Absurdly, I could actually hear a hint of panic in his voice.
I laughed and cried at the same time. “I said Nina is dead! You killed her!”
And in that moment, Monica seized the opportunity to give Mike a look.
Instantly, Mike burst into tears, capturing all of Richard's attention.
“There, there, my sweet boy. Don't cry, don't cry!”
Meanwhile, Monica added fuel to the fire from the side.
“It looks like the urn frightened him. Pups shouldn’t be exposed to the presence of death like this.”
Hearing her words, Richard seemed to understand everything as he glared at me. "Is this your new ploy to harm Monica and Mike? Do you really think I'd believe you?"
With that, Richard smashed the urn to the ground.
My heart shattered into a million pieces along with it.
My attempt to stop him only enraged Richard further.
"If Monica hadn't married my brother back then, do you think you ever would have had a chance?"
