"You will go before Chase Lockwood and accuse Vivian Lynch of this vicious act. Force him to tear away his last shred of denial. I’ve set the stage for everything. When the time comes, you’ll all have your parts to play."

"Me?"

"Yes, you. You’re the victim. The public outcry has gotten so huge that when you were out, you were attacked by a mob of crazed netizens who organized offline. You nearly lost your life. And some of them were Vivian Lynch’s people."

Vivian Lynch hadn’t done it, but that didn’t matter. Adrian Preston would make it look like she had.

This whole performance was for Chase Lockwood’s benefit. It was meant to make him feel even more guilty and, at the same time, loathe the venomous-hearted Vivian Lynch even more.

"So, I have to get injured?"

"Fake is fine. I’ll have a special effects artist create a realistic-looking wound for you."

Adrian Preston stepped forward, his finger tapping a spot on her chest near her heart.

"Here, you’ll get stabbed. Any deeper, or off by just a bit, and you’d be dead."

Adrian Preston had built the stage. The rest depended on her performance.

The next day, Mia Kane was out when she was ambushed by a mob of frenzied netizens who had organized offline to intercept her.

One of them even brandished a knife and stabbed Mia Kane.

Blood splattered across the scene.

The police and paramedics both arrived, and Mia Kane was rushed to the hospital.

Chase Lockwood never imagined things would escalate like this.

He grew frantic. He tried to get information multiple times, but the hospital was surrounded by Adrian Preston’s men, sealed so tightly that no useful news could get out. All he could learn was that Mia Kane was gravely injured—the stab wound to her chest had nearly been fatal.

Chase Lockwood wanted to go see for himself, but held back. Now was not the time to create more complications.

Her grandmother had already called him several times, asking about Mia Kane’s condition.

The Lynch family couldn’t get any useful information either. Mia’s grandmother was beside herself with worry and had no one to turn to but Chase Lockwood.

"I don’t know! I don’t know anything! She’s nothing to me now, so what does it matter to me if she lives or dies? Stop asking me."

Chase Lockwood roared, on the verge of a breakdown.

"You heartless man! You were together for three years! For all those years, she treated you like family and poured her heart out for both you and me. But what have you ever done for her?!"

"I won’t bother you again. I’ll go to the Preston family and ask them myself."

Her grandmother said, her voice filled with fury.

Chase Lockwood collapsed weakly onto the sofa, burying his hands in his hair in anguish.

’In the end, did I abandon Mia Kane, or did she abandon me? Can anyone tell me...’

The incident caused a massive stir, and a full seven days went by.

Some said Mia Kane had already died and a secret funeral had been held.

Others said she was alive, but would never wake up again.

The rumors flew thick and fast.

Chase Lockwood spent this time in a daze. He would sometimes dream of Mia Kane in the middle of the night, and as a result, he hadn’t been sleeping well.

"Mr. Lockwood... Mr. Lockwood..."

His secretary rushed over in a panic.

"What’s wrong? You look like you’ve seen a ghost."

Chase Lockwood snapped, annoyed.

"Miss Kane... Miss Kane is here."

Chase Lockwood shot to his feet.

"What did you say?"

"Miss Mia Kane is here."

"Quickly, bring her up."

Chase Lockwood said urgently.

The secretary left. The wait felt agonizingly long.

He paced, unable to stand still or sit down. ’What should I say to her? Why has she come to see me...’

His mind was a chaotic mess; he couldn’t get his thoughts in order.

The door opened, and he instinctively held his breath.

He finally saw Mia Kane. She was much thinner, and her complexion was terrible. Her lips were colorless, and she looked so fragile it seemed a strong gust of wind could blow her over.

"Are you... okay?"

"Chase Lockwood, will you only be happy once I’m dead?"

"What do you mean by that?"

Chase Lockwood was completely baffled.

"Are you telling me you knew nothing about what Vivian Lynch did? She nearly killed me this time. I just want to know how much you had to do with it. Did you want me dead, too?"

Mia Kane furiously threw the file in her hand at him.

A file.

Chase Lockwood hastily opened it. He saw evidence of how Vivian Lynch had bribed the media and manufactured the public outcry.

How she had incited netizens in group chats, encouraging them to gather and cause trouble for Mia Kane.

It even showed that the assailant who stabbed Mia Kane had been hired by Vivian Lynch.

Chase Lockwood stared at the documents, his fingers trembling slightly.

"This is impossible... Vivian wouldn’t do this. I’ve given her all the reassurance she needs, and she promised we’d live our lives peacefully..."

"Stop making false accusations against her!"

"You haven’t changed at all, still defending her blindly. So, are you just going to wait until she finally kills me? Will you only be satisfied then?"

"No... it’s not like that..."

Chase Lockwood felt how feeble his own words sounded.

The evidence clearly indicated that Vivian Lynch had orchestrated it all.

’I clearly promised her I wouldn’t have anything more to do with Mia Kane, that I’d avoid her and we could just live our lives in peace.’

’So why is she still doing things like this, stirring up trouble for no reason?’

Their relationship—his and Vivian’s—was already on shaky ground. He was only holding it together to save face. And with the people from Apex Engineering showing up at his door, the cracks had only grown wider.

Now, that wall of trust was on the verge of collapsing entirely.

"You... you should go for now. I’ll investigate this thoroughly and give you an answer. If... if she really did do this, I promise, I’ll make things right."

"There’s no need. I’ve already asked her to come here. The three of us can sort this out, face-to-face."

"What? You asked Vivian to come here?"

’If Vivian sees us together, she’s bound to get jealous again. She’s nowhere near as magnanimous as she used to be. I don’t know if it’s the pregnancy hormones or if this is who she’s always been—if her past generosity and kindness were all just an act.’

"You need to go, now. I’ll get to the bottom of this with Vivian. She’s extremely suspicious..."

Chase Lockwood tried to lead her away, but it was too late. Vivian Lynch was already storming her way up.

Vivian Lynch had already slapped his secretary twice. The secretary was furious but dared not say a word—after all, this woman was still Mrs. Lockwood.

Vivian Lynch saw the two of them, and even though they were both fully and properly dressed, she immediately felt the bitter sting of betrayal.

"Mia Kane, why did you meet with Chase Lockwood alone? What have you two been doing?"

Vivian Lynch strode forward furiously and slapped Mia Kane across the face.

Mia Kane clenched her fists, but she didn’t dodge. She took the full force of the blow.

Her head snapped to the side from the force of the slap. Her cheek burned with a fiery sting, and she could taste the coppery tang of blood in her mouth.

’Damn, that was a hard slap!’

Chase Lockwood’s heart lurched, and he immediately rushed to Mia Kane’s side.

"Are you okay? Vivian, why is your first instinct always to hit someone!?"

"She was seducing you! I’m letting her off easy with just a slap. The way you’re defending her, are you still going to deny you two are having an affair?"

Vivian’s eyes were red. She had been the one to strike the blow, but she acted as if she were the one who had been grievously wronged.

"Chase, after all I’ve suffered for you, how could you betray me like this?"

Mia Kane turned to Chase Lockwood, her gaze icy.

"Chase Lockwood, I just want justice. You once thought I pushed her, and you sent me to prison without a second thought. Now, she’s spreading rumors, ruining my name, and trying to have me killed. So, Chase Lockwood, what are you going to do about it?"

"Are you still going to cover for her? Don’t you understand? The only way Vivian Lynch will ever be satisfied is if I’m dead. Are you planning to team up with her and kill me?"

"No... I never wanted to kill you..."

Chase Lockwood had felt resentment toward her, even hatred and anger...

But he could never bring himself to be ruthless enough to actually kill her.

Nor could he tolerate the idea of Vivian Lynch killing Mia Kane.

"Then clear my name. Accuse her!"

Mia Kane pointed at Vivian Lynch.

"What are you two talking about? Mia Kane, stop trying to sow discord. Nothing can destroy the bond Chase and I share."

Hearing this, Chase Lockwood could only find it laughable.

’Someone could destroy it.’

’She was the one destroying it!’