Chapter 5

Elara Vance pov

With a loud bang, the car slammed to a halt.

I trembled all over, my mind blank.

I looked up to see a figure thrown from the front of the car, landing heavily on the ground.

It was… Sera?

I scrambled out of the car, my legs weak, and ran over. Sure enough, I saw Sera lying on the ground, a striking pool of blood spreading beneath her.

"Sera!"

Nate Thorne's agonizing shout came from behind. He had clearly followed me out.

He rushed forward like a madman, pushing me aside and scooping up the unconscious Sera.

"Elara Vance! Wasn't it enough that your family killed all of mine? Why can't you leave even her alone now?!"

I was pushed to the ground, trembling all over:

"It wasn't me… she just rushed out suddenly…"

Nate didn't listen at all. He got into the bodyguard's car that had just arrived, carrying Sera, only throwing back one instruction:

"Take her to the hospital. Make her kneel outside the emergency room to atone!"

Two bodyguards stepped forward, roughly grabbed me, and shoved me into another car.

Outside the emergency room, Nate stood at the end of the corridor, his back tense.

I was forced to stand on the cold floor, my vision blurring from the high fever, but I dared not move.

"If anything happens to her, Elara Vance, I'll make you pay with your life."

Nate's voice was as cold as ice, every word like a knife piercing my heart.

I lowered my head, tears silently hitting the ground.

Time ticked by, minute by minute, until finally, the emergency room light went out.

The doctor walked out, removing his mask, his expression grave:

"Mr. Thorne, Ms. Bloom's kidney was severely damaged in the accident, leading to a major hemorrhage. She urgently needs a kidney transplant, otherwise her life is in danger."

Nate's face changed drastically:

"Arrange for matching immediately! No matter the cost, she must be saved!"

The doctor nodded:

"Ms. Bloom has a rare RH-negative blood type. She needs a compatible donor, and the blood bank is currently short on blood, let alone a suitable kidney source."

Nate's gaze shifted, fixing on me, kneeling on the ground, his voice chilling to the bone:

"She's RH-negative. Make her get tested for a match."

I looked up, my body trembling as I stared at him.

He wanted me… to donate a kidney to Sera?

I tried to stand up, trembling, but was instantly held down firmly by the bodyguards.

Nate walked over, looking down at me, his eyes devoid of any warmth:

"Elara Vance, this is what you owe me, and what you owe her. You have no right to refuse!"

I trembled all over, tears blurring my vision.

"Nate…"

My voice choked, carrying a desperate plea, humble to the bone,

"Are you really going to do this to me? Without a kidney, I…"

"You won't die."

Nate coldly cut me off, then turned to the doctor,

"Arrange the surgery immediately! Take her blood, use her kidney!"

I was forcibly dragged into the examination room. The matching results came quickly—a perfect match.

Before I was pushed into the operating room, Nate, as my spouse, signed the surgical consent form without hesitation.

I lay on the cold operating table, looking at the dazzling surgical lights above, the cold clinking of instruments echoing in my ears.

The anesthesiologist walked over with a syringe. In a daze, I remembered the past.

Fifteen-year-old Nate carrying me, feverish, running three blocks to the hospital, sweating profusely but refusing to put me down.

Eighteen-year-old Nate, crying with concern because I accidentally cut my hand while chopping vegetables, and from then on, never letting me into the kitchen again.

Twenty-year-old Nate, when I broke out in hives from a seafood allergy, stayed by my bedside all night, applying medicine.

Once upon a time, if I felt even a tiny bit of discomfort, he would be heartbroken, his eyes red, wishing he could suffer in my place.

"Elara, I'll protect you from now on. I won't let you suffer any harm."

But now, it was also him who personally sent me to the operating table, brutally stripping me of my organ.

Cold liquid was pushed into my veins. I closed my eyes, and a tear slid from the corner of my eye, disappearing into my hair.

After the surgery, I was wheeled back to the most secluded general ward.

The anesthesia gradually wore off, and the incision in my abdomen hurt so much I trembled all over. I bit my lip hard to keep from crying out, cold sweat soaking my hospital gown.

A nurse pushed a cart in to change my dressing, murmuring to her colleague as she worked:

"That Mr. Thorne in the VIP room is so good to his fiancée. He stayed outside the operating room the whole time, never leaving. When Ms. Bloom woke up just now, he even personally fed her water."

"Right, such a handsome and rich man, yet so devoted. I really envy their relationship. Ms. Bloom is so fortunate."

Hearing these words, I could no longer hold back my tears.

The ward door opened a crack, and Nate stood outside.

For the next three days, I lay in the hospital bed. No one came to see me except the nurses.

Until the afternoon of the fourth day, the vibration of my phone woke me from a groggy sleep.

I struggled to reach my phone. The screen showed a message from an unknown number:

[Your kidney is doing great~ From now on, not just your kidney, but everything you have—including Nate—will be mine!]

Below was an attached photo: around Sera Bloom's pale neck, there was a perfectly preserved necklace.

That was… the last heirloom my parents left me!

My blood instantly froze.

I ripped off the IV needle from the back of my hand, not even bothering to wipe away the blood that spurted out. I clutched my bleeding abdomen, stumbling out of the ward and running towards the VIP ward area.