Chapter 5

Julian Thorne ultimately didn’t send me back to the mental institution.

He looked at the scars on my body, the ones inflicted by my torment, and his eyes reddened with tears.

“I’m sorry, Anya. You’ve suffered so much these past months...”

Just as he reached out to touch me, his phone rang.

Julian Thorne’s expression shifted, and he immediately answered.

Everything suddenly became tense.

“Seraphina, what’s wrong?”

“Julian, my stomach hurts so badly, I’m writhing on the floor! Please come see me...”

Julian Thorne immediately agreed.

“I’ll be right there.”

He locked me in the basement of Crestwood Manor.

He instructed the housekeeper and bodyguards to keep a close watch.

Before leaving, he told me:

“Anya, don’t run off, or I won’t be able to protect you.”

“Do you really think six months ago I only gave false testimony because of Seraphina?”

“The Hayes family’s power is far greater than you imagine. We can’t twist the arm of a giant, Anya. The Hayes family is too powerful.”

Julian Thorne said we couldn’t fight them, urging me to accept my fate.

He told me to give up on revenge, take care of myself, and live a good life.

But I didn’t believe there was no justice in this world.

If there was no way to get justice for my sister, then I would get revenge myself.

After his retreating figure disappeared, I clutched the urn tighter, my eyes burning with resolve.

Julian Thorne rushed Seraphina to the hospital, where doctors diagnosed her with acute appendicitis.

After handling the admission and coaxing Seraphina to sleep,

Julian Thorne looked up to see the sky was already growing dark.

He sighed, then instructed his driver,

“Head back. Prepare a hidden place for Anya to stay.”

He feared Marcus Hayes and his thugs wouldn't let me go.

Many thoughts raced through his mind.

But when he returned, he heard the housekeeper’s panicked cry:

“Mr. Thorne, it’s terrible! Ms. Anya is gone!”

Julian Thorne’s head snapped up.

“What did you say?”

“Wasn’t she locked in her room?”

The housekeeper stomped her foot in distress.

“She was! But a group of men suddenly broke in, smashed the lock, and took Ms. Anya away!”

Julian Thorne immediately ran up to the second-floor study to check the security cameras.

He saw Marcus Hayes leading the group.

Julian Thorne’s mind went blank, a strong premonition seizing him.

“No, Anya’s in trouble!”

Julian Thorne clenched his fists, his eyes bloodshot.

“Six months ago, I couldn’t get justice for Lila, and it’s been eating at my conscience. This time, I absolutely won’t let anything happen to Anya!”

Julian Thorne dropped everything and frantically investigated my whereabouts.

He saw Marcus Hayes’s group taking me into a car and heading towards the Hayes estate.

Julian Thorne didn’t even pause for breath; he charged out.

“The Hayes estate.”

He rushed in alone, fearing the worst, only to witness a scene that shocked him to his core.

Marcus Hayes’s underlings were sprawled out, tangled limbs everywhere.

Julian Thorne almost lost his footing, his breathing nearly stopped.

“Anya, you... you killed them?!”