Chapter 177 Do you even know who she really is?

Chapter 177 Do you even know who she really is?

Asher had barely gotten his phone unlocked when Danny suddenly stepped forward and placed a hand firmly over his wrist, stopping him cold from making that call.

His polite smile stayed fixed on his face, but there was a clear hint of urgency and nervousness hidden behind it.

“Love is an adult, man. She made the choice to help my mother all on her own.” His eyes locked onto Asher with a challenging look. “What does any of this have to do with you anyway?”

Love’s heart skipped a hard beat inside her chest. She knew exactly what Danny had no clue about.

He had zero idea that she had already uncovered the horrifying organ trafficking ring running inside this very hospital.

If she spilled the truth right now, there was no telling who might be listening in. They were completely surrounded by hospital staff, and if the wrong person caught even a whisper of it, they could all end up trapped with no way out before any real help could arrive.

They were badly outnumbered and in serious danger. For now, she had to play it super careful and smart. She forced herself to stay as calm as possible on the outside and looked straight at Danny.

“Yeah, I agreed to donate my kidney,” she said, keeping her voice steady and even. “But Asher is right about this. Before I go through with something this serious and life-changing, I really need to let my parents know about it.”

She swallowed hard, the lump in her throat making it tough. “Just in case something goes wrong, you know?”

Danny immediately shook his head, brushing it off like it was nothing. “Nothing is going to happen to you, I promise.” His tone was gentle and almost comforting, like he was trying to soothe her.

He looked at her with eyes full of what most people would easily mistake for real affection and care.

Only Love knew deep down that every single bit of it was completely fake. Not long ago, that same warm expression would have made her heart race wildly with excitement. Now it only made her stomach turn with disgust and regret.

Danny reached out for her hand like he wanted to reassure her and pull her back in.

The instant his fingers got close, she yanked her hand away fast. His touch felt like burning fire on her skin. For the first time, she truly understood just how blind and naive she had been all this time.

Asher’s phone suddenly started ringing, cutting through the tension. He glanced quickly at the screen before answering it without ever taking his eyes off Danny.

“Yeah,” his voice came out calm and firm, full of quiet strength. “I’m at the female ward.” A brief silence followed on the other end. “Hurry.”

Danny’s chest tightened with growing dread. He tried hard not to let the worry show all over his face, but it was getting tougher by the second. “Who are you talking to?” he demanded.

Asher didn’t even bother looking in his direction. He simply slipped his phone back into his pocket with smooth confidence. The silence hanging in the room grew heavier and thicker, pressing down on everyone like a weight.

Only a few moments later, the ward door opened again. Three men dressed in sharp black suits walked inside with purpose.

They carried themselves with quiet, professional confidence, their expressions dead serious as they stopped right in front of Asher. Together, they lowered their heads in a show of deep respect.

“Mr. Clark,” one of them stepped forward and said. “Our apologies for being late. Mr. Voss sent us here to assist you right away.”

The moment Danny heard that last name, his entire body froze up like ice. His eyes grew wide with total disbelief spreading fast across his face. “Clark?” His gaze snapped back to Asher in shock. “Wait…”

His voice almost cracked under the pressure. “You’re Asher Clark? The heir to the Clark Empire?”

His mind started racing a million miles an hour. How could someone like Love possibly know a guy like him? The Clark family wasn’t just insanely wealthy. They were one of the most powerful and influential business families in the entire country.

Someone like Love should never have crossed paths with someone like Asher in a million years. At least, that was what Danny had always believed up until this exact moment.

Asher slowly lifted his eyes toward him, and his cold, piercing stare was enough to make the whole room feel several degrees colder in an instant.

“You seem pretty surprised,” he said. His lips curved into a faint, completely humorless smile that sent chills down the spine. “Do you even know who she really is?”

Danny suddenly found himself unable to answer right away, the words stuck in his throat.

All that confidence he had been showing earlier had completely vanished into thin air.

After several long, uncomfortable seconds, he finally forced out some kind of response. “She’s…” He glanced nervously at Love before looking back at Asher. “A rookie actress.”

Even he didn’t believe the weak words coming out of his own mouth anymore. Love let out a quiet laugh, but the sound held nothing but deep disappointment and bitterness.

“I only came to Los Angeles because of you, Danny,” she said, looking straight into his eyes with unwavering intensity. “But you’re not worth my time at all.”

His expression stiffened up immediately. “What are you talking about?”

Love let out a cold scoff full of contempt. “I’m saying exactly what I mean.”

Now that Asher’s bodyguards were standing right there inside the room, she no longer felt trapped or helpless.

The heavy fear that had been crushing her chest for so long slowly started to disappear, and she could finally breathe freely again.

“I had a massive crush on you from the very first day I watched your movie,” she continued, a bitter smile crossing her face. “I left everything important behind because of it.”

Her eyes slowly lowered as the memories flooded back. “Instead of staying home and helping my twin brother manage our family’s huge empire, I came all the way out to Los Angeles because I wanted to find you and be close to you.”

She looked back at him, disappointment filling every single word she spoke. “I thought the man I admired so much was actually kind and genuine deep down.”

She laughed at herself, the sound painful and raw. “But you turned out to be exactly what the media always said you were, a total fraud.”

Standing right beside her, Asher felt his heart tighten painfully in his chest.

Every sentence she said cut deeper than the last one, reopening old wounds.

All these years, he had waited patiently for her. Yet while he had spent all those years hoping and longing for her to fall in love with him, she had been traveling across the country chasing after another man who never deserved her.

The thought left a deep, aching hurt buried inside his chest that refused to go away.

Love didn’t notice the raw pain flashing across Asher’s face in that moment. She had already picked up her phone with determination.

Her fingers moved quickly across the screen as she searched for exactly what she needed. After finding it, she handed the phone back to Danny before letting out another bitter smile filled with regret.

“If I hadn’t listened to that tiny little feeling deep inside telling me something wasn’t right about all this…” Her eyes locked onto Danny’s with fierce intensity. “You would’ve harvested every single one of my organs and dumped my body in the morgue like it was nothing.”

The room instantly fell into a stunned, heavy silence. Even the bodyguards looked completely shocked by the revelation.

Asher slowly turned toward Danny, and all the warmth in his eyes had disappeared completely, replaced by something ice cold and dangerous.

His expression turned so frigid that Danny instinctively took half a step backward in fear.

Without looking away from him for even a second, Asher spoke directly to Love, his voice low and intense. “What did you just say?”