Chapter 96

Chapter 97

"My mom's going to make it..."

Diana gasped for air, the suffocating weight that had pressed on her chest for months finally lifting.

As long as Gemma was out of Nicholas's control, not only would her life be saved—the truth about that incident three years ago would eventually come to light!

"Ms. Garcia has been transferred out of Sunrise City. She's currently in a secure sterile medical facility somewhere in the country." Liam pulled Diana up and settled her into the soft sofa, his tone serious.

"The only issue is that she can't be separated from a full life-support system right now. The transfer target is too conspicuous—we can't move her abroad just yet."

Diana nodded vigorously.

"As long as she's out of Nicholas's control, that's enough." Her voice trembled as tears continued streaming down her face. "Everything else—I don't dare hope for too much."

Liam handed her a tissue, his voice low and soothing.

"Focus on recovering. Leave the logistics to me. The medical team is already on standby. The moment we get a donor heart, we'll proceed with surgery immediately. But during this time, you need to stay out of sight. Under no circumstances can you visit her."

Diana clutched the sleeve of his trench coat, her hand shaking uncontrollably. "I understand."

Nicholas was still conducting thorough searches of all exit routes—communication tracking, cell tower triangulation. The Kennedy Family's people were hunting for any trace of Diana and Gemma.

One careless contact could expose Gemma's location and send them both straight back to hell.

"I'll handle all the surgery arrangements." Diana lifted her tear-stained eyes. "Liam, I trust you."

Seeing the spark of life finally returning to her eyes, something flickered in Liam's deep gaze.

He turned his grip, holding her wrist, and spoke quietly. "Diana, once Ms. Garcia gets through the rejection period, you and your mother should stay here. My clinical research institute has enough resources to keep you both safe. You can continue your medical research, and Ms. Garcia can recover in peace. All those troubles from the past—just leave them in the past."

The future he painted was stable and smooth—almost luxurious for someone like Diana.

Gemma waking up safely, delivering her baby without complications, returning to the lab, never having to watch over her shoulder for Nicholas again...

For a brief moment, Diana almost nodded in agreement.

But the thought had barely formed before she forcibly pushed it down.

"Liam, I don't dream those kinds of dreams."

After a brief silence, she slowly withdrew her hand and shook her head gently.

"Nicholas isn't that easy to fool. The Russell Family still owes my mother half her life. And besides, you have three younger brothers back home... You have people you can't abandon either. We're both entangled with too many people, too many things. I can't be selfish enough to drag you down and hide here with a clear conscience."

Sunrise City, Westside Cemetery.

Dark clouds pressed overhead as cold rain fell relentlessly.

Westside Cemetery was closed to the public today. Along the winding mountain road, black-suited security guards stood watch at intervals. Over a dozen black funeral vehicles sat in the rain, while media outlets crowded the base of the hill.

Many guests with ties to The Russell Family and The Kennedy Family braved the rain to attend. Black umbrellas lined the stone steps all the way to the depths of the cemetery.

At the graveside, Nicholas stood in a pure black suit, his jawline rigid.

Camera flashes erupted around him, only emphasizing the deathly pallor of his face—as if he weren't quite alive himself.

The funeral was extravagant to the point of excess—even bordering on transgressive.

Nicholas, acting as a son, had arranged a grand funeral for the woman he once despised with every fiber of his being.

A commotion suddenly broke out at the back of the crowd.

Ryder shoved aside the security guards blocking his path and charged forward through the rain. His assistant struggled to keep up, barely managing to hold an umbrella over him.

"Nicholas! What the hell do you think you're doing?!"

Ryder ignored the media cameras surrounding them, pointing accusingly at Nicholas. "The Russell Family's stock has been tanking for days! And at a time like this, you throw this kind of elaborate funeral for a dead woman? What is Lindsey supposed to think? How is the public supposed to view our families' engagement?!"

He'd just been cornered at the company headquarters by bankers and suppliers, and had been counting on The Kennedy Group to inject capital. Instead, Nicholas refused to show his face—and threw this spectacle for Gemma.

It was a public humiliation of both The Russell Family and Lindsey's reputation!

Nicholas slowly shifted his gaze from the tombstone to Ryder's face, his voice hoarse from the cold rain.

"What Lindsey did on that cargo ship was attempted murder. The whole internet saw it. Right now, you'd better not bring up her reputation to me."

Ryder's expression stiffened, but he clenched his jaw and forced himself to stand his ground.

"Whatever relationship you and Diana had in the past, she's dead now! The one who can benefit The Kennedy Group is Lindsey. Her child is still—"

"You know better than I do why that child is still alive."

Nicholas cut him off calmly.

"Whose chest did that heart end up in? Are you sure you want to have this argument here? She was your ex-wife, after all. Say a little less at her funeral. Give each other some dignity."

Ryder's breath caught. Instinctively, he glanced at the dense cluster of cameras around them.

In the end, he didn't dare continue the confrontation. With a resentful glance, he lowered his head, pushed through the crowd, and left the cemetery in the rain.

Foreign safe house, the next morning.

Diana sat in the armchair by the window, holding a warm glass of milk in one hand while slowly scrolling through her tablet with the other.

The top trending video on the short-form platform was the absurd yet high-profile funeral from Sunrise City.

The headline was bold and highlighted in red:

[Billionaire CEO Holds Rainy Funeral for Former Mother-in-Law—Heartfelt Repentance or Hidden Agenda?]

Diana clicked on the video.

The footage was shaky—shot by a bystander from outside the security perimeter. Ryder furiously confronted Nicholas in the rain while Nicholas stood beside the tombstone, responding without expression.

In that moment, Nicholas's eyes were sunken, his entire presence radiating a drained, shadowy gloom—nothing like the cold, calculating confidence he once carried.

Diana stared at the screen for a long time without moving.

She hadn't expected Nicholas to actually hold a funeral for Gemma—much less on this scale.

Her chest felt like something was pressing lightly against it. She couldn't quite tell if it was irony, bitterness, or a final wistfulness toward their old grievances.

But the complicated emotion quickly cooled.

Nicholas had made the funeral public knowledge throughout town; he could not have merely intended to bid Gemma a final farewell.

He was convinced she wasn't dead. He wanted to use the news of Gemma's burial to force her out of hiding.

But now the funeral was over, and he'd waited for nothing.

In his mind, Gemma was truly dead—her ashes buried in the earth. That control-obsessed, vengeful man no longer had any leverage to threaten her with.

Diana took a sip of milk, swallowed slowly, then closed the video and set the tablet face-down on the wooden table.

Gemma had successfully escaped. The grudges between them should end here.

Now that all his leverage had been neutralized, Nicholas would surely give up and stop searching the world for her.