Chapter 11: Acting

At the hospital.

Lily stood her ground, staring Zane down. She straightened up and said in a low voice, "Ever since I fell off that cliff, you didn't organize a proper search and rescue, didn't call the cops, didn't reach out to any of my friends, and didn't even file a complete request for the surveillance footage. The first thing you did was cut ties and release your will. Now you're faking being sick to drag me out of hiding. Who are you trying to fool with this 'fatherly love' act?"

Celeste's face tightened, and she forced a smile as she stepped forward. "Lily, you've got it all wrong. Your father's been worried sick these past few days..." Lily shot her a cold look. "Worried sick? He's been all over the internet. 'The Martin family scandal,' 'daughter's sex addiction'—who came up with those terms? Where are the original hotel booking records and bank screenshots? If you don't have them, then it's all made-up."

The reporters' eyes lit up, and the flashbulbs went off like crazy.

"Mrs. Martin, can you explain the legality of the evidence chain?"

"Can you show the original documents right here?"

Haven couldn't hold back and screamed, "Lily brought this on herself! She was involved with those people... She..."

Lily turned her head, her gaze icy. "Did you see it? Or did you set it up? Who adjusted the spotlight on the cliff? Who set the angle? Where did you find that man? If you're truly innocent, show the evidence."

"Enough!" Zane finally lost his temper, yanking the blanket up and pretending to be weak. "I'm not feeling well today and don't want to listen to this childish nonsense! Reporters, please wait outside while I have a private word with Lily."

Outside the hospital room, security guards stood in formation.

Several burly men quietly rose from the corners, their cold eyes slowly closing in.

The air suddenly became tense.

At that moment, a female reporter, driven by professional ethics, mustered the courage to speak. "Mr. Martin, even if you're not feeling well, can the PR department provide us with the police report number and search and rescue coordination records for a photo? The public's perception of you as a father today is very..."

"Get out!" Zane roared, his gentle facade completely shattered.

The flashbulbs stopped, and everyone inside and outside the room understood: the facade was crumbling.

Lily slowly withdrew her gaze, her voice even lower and steadier. "One last question, Father. If I hadn't come today, would you have still held this will reading? Would you have used my death to play out your final act of 'benevolence'?"

She curled her lips. "Too bad, I'm not dead."

The air fell silent for a moment.

Zane waved his hand sharply. "Clear the room!"

Four security guards stepped forward simultaneously, casting shadows over the light.

The door locked, and the reporters were pushed out of the room by the guards. The heavy steel door separated the inside from the outside—outside were the flashbulbs and whispers, inside was the impending storm of violence.

Zane instantly sat up in bed, his face showing no trace of illness. He sneered at Lily. "A brilliant performance, my dear daughter. But do you think a few words can bring me down? Too naive."

Lily remained unfazed, smirking coldly. "Pretending to be sick? That's pretty old-school."

"Lily, don't think you're so smart. Public opinion? Evidence? Those idiot reporters won't find anything!" Zane's eyes gleamed with malice.

Celeste took a small camera from the bedside cabinet and held it up triumphantly. "Lily, your words were excellent just now. Too bad those reporters will never see the full video. They'll only see—a resurrected slut seducing men."

Lily finally noticed the four men in the corner of the room. They were burly and clearly not to be trifled with. The leader was a bald middle-aged man, licking his lips as he eyed her.

"Mr. Martin, your daughter is quite beautiful. We'll make sure she 'cooperates.' When this video gets out, she'll never recover." The bald man laughed lewdly.

Haven's face was flushed with excitement. "Lily, you think you're so tough? Let's see how you escape now! This time, I want to watch you be completely destroyed!"

"What are you planning?" Lily took two steps back, her left hand holding pepper spray, while her right hand silently reached into her handbag, her fingers touching the cold, hard metal casing—a high-voltage stun gun Olivia had spent a fortune to get, powerful enough to take down a bull.

For today's confrontation, she had made double preparations: the pepper spray was just a decoy, the stun gun was the real weapon.

Yesterday, while discussing with Olivia, they had anticipated the Martin family's treacherous tactics.

"Don't worry, I'll be in the hospital parking lot. If there's any trouble in the room, I'll rush in with people immediately!" Lily had even connected the hospital's surveillance system to Olivia's tablet.

But half an hour ago, Lily lost contact with Olivia.

Too coincidental—so coincidental it was chilling. Lily understood this was Zane's doing; he must have found a way to keep Olivia occupied, cutting off her only backup.

Now, she had to fight alone.

The bald man grinned, his thick fingers starting to unbuckle his belt, the metal buckle making a nauseating sound. "Don't be nervous, just giving you a taste of what Victor didn't get to 'serve.' Don't worry, we'll be very gentle."

His murky eyes slithered over Lily's body like a snake. "And we'll record the whole thing, so Harmony City, no, the whole world can see what the supposedly pure Lily is really like in bed."

The other three men laughed obscenely, their eyes filled with suffocating desire. They spread out, slowly closing in from different directions, blocking all of Lily's escape routes, like a pack of hyenas surrounding their final prey.

The luxurious VIP room's air conditioning seemed to fail, the air instantly freezing, filled with vile malice.

Lily didn't scream, didn't lose her composure.

She even deliberately relaxed her grip on the pepper spray, channeling all her strength into the stun gun in her right hand. She needed to lure them in, make them careless.

Her clear gaze was as calm as a cold pond, sweeping over the twisted, greedy faces. Her icy voice echoed clearly in the silent room. "I'll give you one last chance. Leave now, take the dirty money Zane gave you, and disappear. You'll still have your lives. Don't wait until it's too late. Once this thing comes out," her hand in the bag moved slightly, "it won't go back."