Nina Walsh immediately lowered her head. 'What rotten luck,' she thought.
She had deliberately avoided the VIP elevator, so how did she still run into Aiden Sinclair?
The elevator doors were about to close. If she didn't get on now, she'd miss it. Forcing herself to look calm, Nina Walsh stepped forward.
Aiden Sinclair brushed past her, and she caught the crisp, cool scent of cedarwood on him.
She used to love his scent, especially after they made love, when she would lie exhausted on his chest and the fragrance was especially strong.
But now, Nina suddenly felt nauseous. The thought of him with Clara Jacobs made her want to vomit uncontrollably.
Although she tried her best to suppress it, a small retch escaped her lips.
Aiden Sinclair's steps faltered. Nina quickened her pace, ducked into the elevator, and pressed the close button.
As the doors slowly slid shut, the tension in Nina finally eased. She leaned against the elevator wall, bowing her head to catch her breath.
BEEP—
But to her surprise, the doors slid open again without warning. Aiden Sinclair stood outside, his gaze landing precisely on Nina at the back of the crowd.
Nina froze. Without a word, Aiden strode forward, grabbed her arm, and dragged her out of the elevator.
"Let go of me! I already gave Clara Jacobs my blood! Why are you still grabbing me?"
Aiden Sinclair sneered. "When Brian Sherman sent you to get close to me, didn't he tell you that you'd pay a terrible price once the deception was exposed?"
Aiden ruthlessly threw Nina back into her original hospital room. Outside the door, two bodyguards stood guard, never leaving their post.
Nina lay listlessly on the bed as the morning passed. At twelve noon, a nurse came in to deliver her meal.
Seeing the unfamiliar new nurse, Nina asked in confusion, "Where's the other nurse?"
The new nurse replied, "You mean Nurse Lee? Ugh, don't even ask. Nurse Lee was fired. She might even go to jail."
Nina was stunned and pressed for more details.
The new nurse explained, "This morning, someone found a gold watch in Nurse Lee's uniform pocket. The watch belonged to a patient. The patient called the police on the spot, and they took Nurse Lee into custody. The hospital, afraid of the scandal, issued a notice of termination this morning."
The new nurse sighed. "Nurse Lee wanted to be a nurse since she was a little girl. She treats all her patients like family every day. How could she possibly steal from someone?"
Nina was dumbfounded for a long moment, her mind buzzing.
She violently swept the meal from the small table onto the floor. "I want to see Aiden Sinclair! Tell him to get over here!"
The new nurse jumped in fright and ran out to get the bodyguards.
Aiden Sinclair didn't come. His assistant, Jay Keane, came instead.
"Mr. Sinclair is with Ms. Jacobs and is unavailable right now. I can relay any message you have."
Nina said angrily, "Did he do this? Was he the one who got that nurse sent to the police station?"
Jay Keane's voice was even. "She made a mistake, so she must pay the price."
'That was a confession. Just because I tried to escape, Aiden took his anger out on someone else.'
The light in Nina's eyes died completely. It was as if she were seeing Aiden Sinclair for the first time, a total stranger.
This ruthless man was not the bright, cheerful boy she had admired for so many years.
The Aiden Sinclair in her memory would always stand up for the weak, even when the odds were against him.
'Why did he become like this?'
Nina's faith in him crumbled. "Is this your sick game? Toying with an ordinary person's life and future?"
Jay Keane didn't answer. He produced a document from behind his back. "Miss Walsh, there is a document here that you need to sign."
Nina looked down, and her pupils dilated: "Kidney Donation Agreement."
Aiden didn't just want her to give Clara Jacobs blood; he also wanted her to donate a kidney.
"On what grounds?" Nina threw the agreement violently to the floor.
"I'd rather die than sign this! I'm calling the police!" she yelled.
Jay Keane picked up the agreement. "Miss Walsh, you caused Mr. Sinclair to lose billions. Donating a single kidney isn't asking too much."
"When did I cause him to lose billions?"
"Have you forgotten something, Miss Walsh?"
Jay Keane took out his phone and pulled up a news article.
The news report read: [Bidding for Crestfall's largest resort project concluded yesterday. To everyone's surprise, the winning bid came from The Sherman Group. They defeated their strongest industry rival, the Aethel Group, by a razor-thin margin of just one ten-thousandth of the price to secure the project.]
Jay Keane continued, "The Breyven Resort project was Aethel's biggest undertaking in the last three years. The entire company spent nearly two years preparing for it, investing immense financial resources and effort in networking and marketing."
This project was also the key battle in Aiden Sinclair's fight against his uncle, Julian Sinclair, for control of the Sinclair Group. He was determined to win it.
But at yesterday's bidding, the Sherman Group suddenly came out of nowhere and snatched the final development rights by a narrow margin.
"If you hadn't leaked the intel, how could Brian Sherman have possibly snatched this project from Mr. Sinclair?"
Nina shook her head in despair. "No, I didn't leak anything. I never gave Brian Sherman any information."
"Miss Walsh, our technicians have already decrypted your files. They found Aethel's bid proposal inside. The evidence is irrefutable, so stop making excuses."
'Impossible!'
'I never touched Aiden Sinclair's things! How could Aethel's data be on the flash drive?'
No matter how much Nina denied it, no one believed her.
"Miss Walsh, donate a kidney or spend the rest of your life in prison. The choice is yours."
Jay Keane pushed the agreement and a pen in front of her.
Nina's face was drained of color, and her whole body trembled. What choice did she have? Either option was a dead end.
...
「Three days later.」 Clara Jacobs was discharged from the hospital, and Nina was discharged along with her.
Aiden Sinclair personally drove to pick up Clara Jacobs. Nina stood alone by the elevators, waiting for a driver to come for her.
Aiden Sinclair already had her under his thumb; he knew she wouldn't run.
If she tried to escape, he would press charges and have her thrown in jail. Nina had nowhere to run.
"Nina!"
Hearing someone call her name, Nina looked up. Before she could even see who it was, a sharp slap struck her across the face.
Nina staggered. Wendy Sherman raised her hand for another slap, but Nina grabbed her wrist, twisted it, and slammed her against the wall. Then she lunged forward and delivered two hard slaps of her own, one on each cheek.
She poured all the pent-up frustration from the past few days into those two slaps, holding nothing back.
Wendy Sherman's cheeks immediately swelled up. She clutched her face and raged, "Nina, you dare hit me? This is all your fault, you bitch! You went back on your word! You said you'd leave, but then you sneak back to Brother Declan's hospital to seduce him! Have you no shame?"
Nina pinned her against the wall, one hand gripping her throat. "Wendy Sherman, who are you calling a bitch? Who has no shame? Without me, would you be where you are today?"
Nina's eyes were fierce, and her grip tightened. Fear welled up in Wendy. Seeing a figure run out of the elevator, she cried for help, "Brother Declan, save me!"
Declan Grant ran over from the elevator. He was momentarily stunned to see a murderous aura around Nina that he had never witnessed before.
"Nina, are you okay?"
Nina came back to her senses and released her grip.
Wendy said, full of jealousy and grievance, "Brother Declan, look at my face! She hit me! Why aren't you worried about me?"
Declan Grant's attention was focused entirely on Nina. As a doctor, he could tell from a single glance at her pale face that she was not well.
"Nina, you don't look well. Are you feeling sick somewhere?"
As Declan spoke, he reached out to steady her. Nina's legs gave way, and she collapsed into his arms.
Just then, the piercing blare of a car horn cut through the air.
A car door flew open. A man got out with lightning speed, grabbed Nina's arm, and shoved her into the passenger seat.