Felix searched around for two full rounds but couldn’t find Victor. When he returned to his office, he mumbled to himself, “He’s gone already? Didn’t even say goodbye.”

But he understood. After all, Victor had always been like this—solitary and independent, never really getting too close to anyone. Maybe all geniuses preferred to keep to themselves.

The silver-topped Maybach cruised through the night wind, with Victor dialing a number.

“Vic, why are you calling me so late? Do you need something for work?” the voice on the other end said.

“Is there a board member named Joyce at your hospital?” Victor asked, seemingly casual.

“Yeah, Miles Joyce. He’s been with Serenity Hospital since my father founded it,” Bennett answered, a bit puzzled. “Why are you asking about him?”

Before Victor could reply, Bennett, sensing something, asked, “Did he offend you?”

“Not exactly,” Victor replied, his tone calm and detached. “I just don’t like his son.”

Bennett’s voice grew serious. “I’ll come to the hospital tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?” Victor’s voice remained indifferent.

Bennett, detecting a hint of dissatisfaction, quickly corrected himself. “I’ll come now, but you’ve got to tell me what kind of tricky situation requires you to get involved personally.”

“I need you to help me pull someone out.”

“Who?” Bennett asked, his curiosity piqued.

“Evelyn Shawn.”

Her name sounded like a woman’s. Since when did Victor take an interest in women?

Victor returned to Hilltop Bliss, slipping off his shoes as usual and walking barefoot toward the master bedroom and bathroom. As the steam rose, he looked at his reflection in the mirror, but his mind couldn’t help but drift to the memory of her innocent doe-like eyes.

Her cheeks flushed, those eyes were always wet, filled with panic and helplessness. It made him want to keep looking at her.

“Leave some marks on me. Can I?”

He remembered her asking him that last night, her eyes full of fear, yet she still managed to ask. It turned out she had said that just to ruin Reed’s mood. She had played him.

Victor felt a bit used by her. Yet, because she had been so good in bed, he’d reluctantly helped her. But this was something he’d have to settle the score for.

“Ah-choo!” Evelyn sneezed violently, instinctively rubbing her arms.

It was cold in here, like the morgue at the hospital.

Felix came in again, his face dark, his tone harsher than before. “Are you going to confess or not? Stop wasting our time.”

Evelyn bit her lip, sticking firmly to her previous statement. “I didn’t seduce Reed.”

Felix was getting fed up. “Admitting you have ambition isn’t a shameful thing. Stop being so stubborn, it’s pointless.”

Evelyn maintained her calm expression. “I didn’t seduce him. You can ask me a thousand times, and my answer will always be the same.”

Felix was getting irritated, raising his voice, “You’re really not going to listen until things get serious, huh? Dr. Joyce said, if you admit your mistake, he won’t pursue the matter further. He even said he’ll sign off on your internship report so you can graduate smoothly. Everyone else is being generous and letting go of past grudges, and you’re still resisting. Do you want to escalate this? Is ruining your reputation worth it to you? You won’t just fail to graduate, you won’t even find a job, your whole life will be over.”

This was Felix’s usual tactic: threats and inducements, pushing until the other person couldn’t stand it and gave in.

What could a young girl possibly withstand?

He thought he had her cornered.

“I didn’t seduce Reed.” She shook her head again.

She didn’t believe Reed would be merciful. If she signed that paper today, her future would be ruined.

“Stubborn fool!” Felix slammed the door as he left.

Evelyn collapsed back onto the table, feeling cold all over. Her limbs were numb, and her head was starting to spin.

Her teacher had once said that in cases of excessive blood loss, you’d experience similar symptoms.

So, Zara must have felt this way before she died.

So, this was what it felt like.

Zara, who had always been so afraid of the cold, must have been so desperate at that moment.

...

“It was low blood sugar that caused the fainting, but thankfully it was discovered in time. She’s fine now,” Bennett told Victor about Evelyn’s condition.

When he arrived at the administrative office to fetch her, Evelyn had already passed out in the interrogation room. Bennett didn’t even have time to gather the details before rushing her straight to the ER.

Originally, he had only planned to inform Victor, but to his surprise, Victor showed up in person. He arrived quite quickly, too.

“Have you taken a liking to this girl?” Bennett couldn’t resist his curiosity. “I never pegged you for someone like that. I thought you were above all emotions.”

Victor casually responded, “Which one of your eyes saw that I like her?”

Bennett was stumped by that response.

Evelyn was still unconscious, probably exhausted from everything that had happened today. Even in her sleep, she wasn’t at peace. Occasionally, she murmured, “I didn’t seduce Reed. I didn’t.”

Bennett had already gathered the basics of the situation and, still curious, asked, “Did she really not seduce Reed?”

“No,” Victor answered firmly.

Because she had seduced him, not Reed.

As soon as Bennett left, Victor received a refund notification on his phone. It was the ten thousand he had transferred to Evelyn last night—she hadn’t accepted it.

She truly played the "cat-and-mouse" game to perfection.

He had underestimated her.

Victor looked at the person lying on the bed. Evelyn’s face was as pale as a ghost. If he hadn’t seen her cheeks flushed with color last night, he wouldn’t have been able to connect the lifeless woman before him with the seductive woman from the previous evening.

He hadn’t even thought about her for long, yet he clearly remembered the soft, warm sensation of her skin under his fingers.

Victor suppressed the restlessness in his fingertips, got up, and went to the staircase to smoke two cigarettes.

By the time he returned, Evelyn had regained consciousness.

Seeing him, Evelyn looked genuinely startled.

“On duty,” Victor said flatly.

But he wasn’t wearing his work clothes, and this wasn’t even Cardiac Surgery. As an attending physician, there was no way he would be scheduled to work here, especially not for the night shift!

Evelyn was full of questions in her mind, but she didn’t dare ask.

Victor, keeping it professional, asked a few routine questions, such as whether her head still felt dizzy, or if she had any other discomforts.

Evelyn shook her head to each question, never daring to meet his eyes.

Fortunately, Victor didn’t ask any more questions and left soon after, allowing Evelyn to relax. The tension in her body, which had been tight all day, finally eased.

She lay in the hospital bed, staring blankly at the pale ceiling. She didn’t know if she still had the strength to face the storm that would come tomorrow.

The next morning, Yara, representing their department, came to visit her and told her something that truly surprised her.

Reed had admitted that he was the one who had sexually harassed her.

But he made an excuse for himself, claiming that he had been drinking the night before, still intoxicated, and that was why he had made a mistake. He was now willing to sincerely apologize to Evelyn.

“How is this possible?” Evelyn murmured in disbelief.

Yara added, “We were all shocked, but it’s true. The punishment notice has already been posted on the hospital’s bulletin board. Dr. Joyce received a major demerit.”

Worried that Evelyn wouldn’t believe her, Yara took a photo of the disciplinary notice and sent it to her.

When Evelyn saw the notice, her eyes suddenly welled up with tears.

The accumulated frustration and injustice of the past few days seemed to flood over her in that moment, choking her with a painful, bittersweet feeling in her throat.

But she didn’t cry. She had long since learned not to shed tears in front of others.