Chapter 135

Andrew's fingertips trembled slightly.

He looked down at Nicole's deathly pale face in his arms, then at Susan swaying unsteadily in the distance. His chest ached as if pierced repeatedly by a sharp blade.

"Susan, kneel and apologize to Nicole!"

"Apologize?" Susan suddenly laughed, the sound colder than winter's bitter wind. "Andrew, you want me to apologize to the murderer who slaughtered my entire family?"

Nicole whimpered weakly, burrowing deeper into Andrew's embrace. Blood from her shoulder bloomed across the snow like crimson plum blossoms.

"Daniel... Grandma... and Ethan Sullivan..." Susan's pupils dilated, her gaze growing vacant. "They all died by Nicole's hand. Now not even their ashes remain—"

"Enough!" Andrew snapped sharply, cutting her off. "Ethan is clearly at the laboratory—"

His words died abruptly.

The look in Susan's eyes chilled him to the bone. Those once-starry eyes now gaped like bottomless voids.

"Andrew..." Nicole moaned in pain. "I'm so cold..."

Andrew jolted back to reality, pulling out his phone to call Leo. "Dispose of her." He scooped Nicole into his arms and strode away without a backward glance.

Susan watched their retreating figures until suddenly, blood gushed from her lips.

The scarlet droplets splattered across the snow, mirroring the red roses Andrew had gifted her on that Valentine's Day long ago.

When Leo arrived, Susan already lay unconscious in a pool of blood. Frantic, he called Andrew. "Mr. Lucas, Miss Thompson has vomited blood and lost consciousness. Should I send her to the hospital—"

"Admit her to Greenhill Mental Hospital." The roar of jet engines nearly drowned out Andrew's voice. "Book two tickets to Paris."

Three days later, Susan awoke to a bone-chilling cold.

The stench of mildew mixed with disinfectant assaulted her nostrils. She tried to sit up but found her limbs strapped tightly to the metal bed with leather restraints.

"Awake?"

That familiar voice sent tremors through Susan's body. Nicole sauntered in on ten-centimeter heels, her red dress blazing like fire.

"Welcome to Greenhill." Nicole leaned down, dragging crimson nails across Susan's pallid cheek. "Know what this place is? Hell on earth."

Susan's pupils contracted violently.

"Patients go mad here every day." Nicole's voice dripped honey. "Last week, a nurse had her fingers bitten clean off..." She lowered her voice to a whisper. "Andrew personally signed your admission papers."

A bloodcurdling scream echoed down the hallway, followed by the scraping of heavy chains. Susan's breathing grew ragged, her chest heaving.

"Don't be scared." Nicole tenderly tucked in the blanket corners. "This is only the beginning."

She turned toward the door, then glanced back with a dazzling smile. "Oh, I almost forgot. Tomorrow, Andrew and I are holding our engagement press conference."

As the door clicked shut, howls rose and fell in the darkness. Countless pairs of eyes watched from the shadows outside Susan's room.