Chapter 5

After the family dinner ended, I was about to leave when Serena called out to me.

She took my hand and smiled brightly.

“Do you finally understand the difference between us?”

“Adrian has always loved me. Even if you took advantage of my absence to become his wife, you still couldn’t take his heart away from me.”

I said nothing.

My silence seemed to provoke her.

Anger flashed across her face.

“Don’t look so pleased with yourself. I’ll make you understand exactly how different we are.”

“Do you dare make a bet with me?”

The next second, the chandelier above us came crashing down.

I realized what was happening and tried to move, but Serena suddenly threw herself at me and knocked me hard to the floor.

A figure flashed past my eyes.

Adrian rushed forward and shielded Serena beneath him, protecting her completely.

The chandelier slammed directly into me.

Before I lost consciousness, I saw Serena look at me from Adrian’s arms.

A triumphant smile spread across her face.

The sharp smell of disinfectant brought me back to consciousness.

Staring at the stark white ceiling, I endured the pain from my injuries and struggled to sit up.

The door flew open without warning.

Mrs. Hayes stormed inside and slapped me across the face.

“You vicious woman!”

“You tried to kill someone just to get Adrian’s attention!”

My head snapped to the side.

The metallic taste of blood spread through my mouth.

“I…”

The words reached my lips, but I didn’t know what else to say.

What was I supposed to explain?

That none of this had anything to do with me?

Who would believe me?

Who could testify for me?

Whenever Serena framed me, she always made sure every detail was perfectly arranged.

A crushing sense of helplessness settled over me.

Whatever fight I had left drained away.

“Mrs. Hayes, Adrian is awake. You should go see him.”

Serena’s voice immediately pulled Mrs. Hayes’s attention away from me.

She turned and hurried out.

After Mrs. Hayes left, Serena walked into the room.

She folded her arms and looked me over leisurely.

“Well, look at that. You’re still alive.”

“You really are hard to kill.”

Without changing my expression, I secretly activated the recorder on my phone.

Then I raised my eyes to Serena.

“Why did you frame me?”

“Frame you?”

Serena laughed and rejected the accusation.

“You really do think too highly of yourself.”

Her voice turned even more vicious.

“I wasn’t trying to frame you.”

“I was trying to kill you.”

“I warned you before. If you refused to leave Adrian, I wouldn’t mind taking your life.”

“Claire Bennett, do you understand the difference between us now?”

“I have the Vaughn family and the powerful Hayes family protecting me.”

“You’ll never be able to touch me.”

I pressed my lips together.

My voice came out rough.

“If you hated me, why did you hurt a child?”

“Noah was only five years old…”

“He was nothing but a worthless little brat. Did you honestly think Adrian cared about him?”

Serena’s expression filled with smug satisfaction.

“Do you want to know the truth?”

“We were playing Truth or Dare that day.”

“And Adrian was the one who suggested running someone down with a car.”

“Later, I became curious about how difficult that brat really was to kill, so I had him fed cream.”

“I asked Adrian to cooperate with me and lure you away for ten minutes.”

“Who would’ve thought he wasn’t nearly as hard to kill as you?”

“He died after only two bites.”

“How boring.”

“Serena Vaughn! You’ll pay for this!”

My emotions exploded.

Acting on impulse, I lunged at her.

The IV stand crashed to the floor, and the needle tore free from the back of my hand.

Blood immediately poured from the wound.

A figure rushed forward.

A foot struck me hard in the chest.

Adrian pulled Serena into his arms and looked her over anxiously.

“Are you all right?”

“Did she hurt you?”

Tears gathered in the corners of Serena’s eyes as she answered innocently,

“I don’t know why she suddenly became like this.”

“I only came to tell her that your injuries weren’t serious.”

“But she accused me of trying to steal her place as your wife and take over her home.”

“Then she suddenly went crazy and lunged at me.”

“Adrian, are you really going to keep her around?”

“What if she loses control one day and hurts our baby?”

As she finished speaking, Serena deliberately rested a hand on her flat stomach.

Adrian frowned.

“Claire Bennett, you never learn.”

“It seems your condition still hasn’t been brought under control.”

He turned toward the door.

“Someone come in here.”

“Take my wife back to the psychiatric hospital.”

Two bodyguards rushed into the room and dragged me away.

I fought them with what little strength I had left, but the two towering men still forced me into the car.

Before they shoved me inside, I managed to send a single message asking the Whitmore family for help.

As the car sped away, I felt my phone vibrate inside the pocket of my hospital gown.

I was about to take it out when one of the bodyguards spoke.

“Ma’am, forgive us.”

“We’re only following orders from above.”

“When you’re dead, please don’t come back to haunt us.”

The moment he finished speaking, both bodyguards threw open the doors and jumped from the moving vehicle.

With no one controlling it, the car sped straight into a cliff wall.

Warning alarms shrieked throughout the wreckage.

I struggled out through the crushed trunk, but I could no longer feel my legs.

Just as despair began to close in on me, a black Bentley stopped in front of the wreck.

The rear door opened.

A pair of spotless, polished leather shoes appeared before my eyes.