Chapter 3

Julian, who had been unperturbed until now, showed a hint of panic for the first time.

"Cassie's missing?"

"Skylar! No wonder you're acting so strangely today. You must have done something bad and are trying to fake your death to clear your name! Tell us, where did you take Cassie?!"

Finn's eyes instantly turned red. He slapped me hard.

"Cassie just returned after so much hardship, and you dared to harm her! I should have just let you drown in the river earlier!"

"Give her back to me right now! If she dies, I won't live either!"

The taste of iron filled my mouth. I parted my lips, and a few drops of blood trickled out.

Cassandra had disappeared again. She truly couldn't stand to see me have even a moment of peace.

If that's the case, I might as well grant her wish.

I was about to speak when Dr. Beckett, who once claimed I was his only salvation, pressed a scalpel to my throat.

"Talk! Where did you hide my Cassandra!"

Dr. Beckett, one of my four targets, was a renowned surgical authority.

Initially, someone tried to steal his family's medical patent, leading to the murder of his entire family. I was the one who risked my life to save him.

Perhaps it was witnessing his family's murder.

Dr. Beckett became extremely resistant to anyone getting close.

I still have a scar on the web of my left hand, a bite mark from when he lashed out in panic.

But I never abandoned him, staying by his side through that difficult period.

Finally, Dr. Beckett recovered his sanity, determined to refine his medical skills and find evidence to avenge his family.

Through countless silent struggles, I faced numerous life-or-death moments, personally helping him rise to power and take down all his enemies.

That day, he cried, saying I would forever be his sister, his kin without blood.

That day, I cried too, because he really reminded me of my brother from my other world.

I missed my brother.

But later, after Cassandra appeared, he gradually distanced himself from me.

All because Cassandra said she didn't like me calling him "brother."

He even declared that if I came within three yards of him, he would use a scalpel to slice my throat.

The day he learned Cassandra had faked her death and jumped into the ocean, Dr. Beckett went mad.

He used various medical procedures on me, making me suffer unimaginable torment, all to avenge Cassandra.

"Cassie must have been tormented by you to such an extent to take her own life."

"If that's the case, then every day from now on, you will suffer a hundred times worse than she did!"

Seeing my silence, blood vessels popped in Dr. Beckett's eyes. The sharp blade pressed against my throat, drawing a thin line of blood.

"Not talking? It seems a few days without torment has made you forget our methods!"

Dr. Beckett advanced with a chilling expression, knocked me unconscious, and took me to the dark room in Julian's villa.

He injected me with drugs that heightened nerve sensitivity, using various torture instruments to amplify the pain to an unbearable extreme.

Julian and Finn didn't stop him. Instead, they gnashed their teeth, glaring at me with furious hatred.

I struggled ceaselessly, a dense, stinging pain spreading through my body, reaching deep into my bones, forcing a scream from my throat.

But Dr. Beckett backhanded me, his voice sharp:

"You can't even handle this much pain? Don't forget how you tormented Cassie!"

"If you don't tell me her whereabouts, I'll return every single thing you did to her, one by one!"

Hearing that, my eyes widened, as if I'd seen a glimmer of hope.

I didn't want to be tortured by them; I just wanted to die quickly.

I just wanted to go home, to finally get some sleep!

I cried, whimpering and screaming:

"Your Cassandra is dead! I chopped her into pieces with a knife!"

"Come on! Kill me!! Let her keep me company in death!"

"Come on!!!"

I screamed at them wildly.

Dr. Beckett was probably too enraged. How dare I be so defiant even now?

"Do you really think I won't kill you? Cassie is dead, and you trash deserve to be buried with her!"

He suddenly grabbed a scalpel and lunged, stabbing towards me.

He used all his strength, probably expecting me to resist, but I just stood there, watching the tip of the blade plunge into my heart.

Dr. Beckett froze, staring at the blood gushing from my chest, as if he couldn't believe it.

But I stretched my lips into a smile. Was I finally going to die?!

As my consciousness began to fade.

Cassandra's voice suddenly came from the doorway:

"Oh, why is everyone here? I've been looking for you all..."