Chapter 141
"Looks like you remember." Logan savored the fear on her face.
He uncorked the vial and brought it to her lips.
"Be good now. Drink it." His voice was soft. "Once you do, the pain will stop."
Bianca jerked her head away violently. "No... no..."
Two guards stepped forward, gripping her shoulders and limbs from both sides like vices.
Another guard roughly pried her jaw open. The pain shot through her as they forced her mouth wide.
The cold liquid poured down her throat.
The effects hit fast.
She felt her strength draining away—along with her thoughts, her will, everything being slowly siphoned out of her.
The world started blurring. Logan's smiling face twisted into a soft, warm halo of light.
Logan waved his hand. The guards released her and stepped back.
He lifted her from the cold grass, cradling her in his arms, and walked step by step back toward that gilded cage.
Then he sat on the edge of the bed, just like before, tracing her features with his fingertips.
Bianca's eyes were vacant, staring at him without moving, like an exquisite doll.
"Julie..."
Logan finally spoke, his voice low and tender—but calling out another woman's name.
"See how obedient you are now?" He stroked her cheek, eyes obsessed. "Why couldn't you have been like this from the start? Why did you always have to fight me? Why did you always think about other people?"
His fingers slid to her lips, caressing them gently.
"You used to love me so much. Now you've fallen for another man. How can you do this to me?"
Bianca's empty eyes reflected his twisted face.
Logan kept talking to himself, performing a one-man show.
One moment tender, the next volatile.
"That David is a problem too." He suddenly changed topics, his obsession replaced by disgust. "A dog that won't be tamed! I gave him everything, and he still wags his tail for Lucas."
"I really don't get it—what spell did my dear mother cast on him?"
"That loyal little mutt—I killed his parents, framed that old hag from the Sharp family, and anyone else would've wanted revenge, right? But you know what?"
"He'd rather run than lift a finger against Lucas or the Sharp family!"
His face flushed with angry red, but it only lasted a moment before he burst out laughing.
He pressed a cold kiss to Bianca's forehead.
"Either way, you're mine."
Bianca's body couldn't move, but her mind had never been more awake.
Every word Logan spoke was like a red-hot blade churning through her brain.
So this was all a trap. A massive, vicious trap Logan had woven himself, targeting everyone.
And she—this prisoner who'd been force-fed the compliance drug—had become the only person in the world besides the killer himself who knew the truth.
Fear and despair flooded over her like a rising tide, drowning her completely.
……
Lucas sat behind his massive desk, listening to his subordinate Andy's report.
"...David's been living in a rental in the urban village with a young woman. Recently, Leon and his wife from the Anderson Group found the girl he's been living with—Chloe Hale—and brought him to Central Hospital."
"Leon and his wife are publicly claiming Chloe is their long-lost daughter, and David is Chloe's brother. According to our people's observations, David wore a mask the entire time at the hospital, looked completely dejected, and..."
Andy paused, glancing up at Lucas's expression.
"And he had contact with Dr. Wells at the hospital. She seemed to recognize him. After that, he left in a hurry."
Lucas felt like something was blocking his chest.
He remembered David trailing behind him with that carefree laugh. And standing beside his mother Ashley, head bowed, respectfully calling her "Mom."
The office fell into terrible silence.
After a long moment, Lucas finally set down his pen.
"Look into the Anderson family and this Mr. Jackman. Make things easier for him. Get all the information into his hands."
"Also, find an excuse to get him some money." Lucas stared out the window, adding, "Don't let him know it has anything to do with the Sharp family."
He knew David's personality.
He wouldn't accept charity from the Sharps.
"Understood." Andy turned and left.
The entire space belonged to Lucas alone now.
He leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.
What did it feel like to fall from the clouds into the mud, to be trampled into the dust?
A sharp, familiar pain exploded from his chest without warning, instantly stealing all his breath.
The agony wrapped around him like an airtight net, crushing him.
His vision went black. His ears filled with the roaring rush of blood.
He reached for his phone on the desk. Cold sweat dripped down his jawline onto expensive documents, spreading into small ink stains.
……
When Juliana was urgently called to Lucas's VIP room, he was half-lying on the bed, several nurses hovering around him in a panic.
"Everyone step back."
The nurses immediately moved aside.
She strode to the bedside, glanced at the chaotic curves on the monitor, and frowned.
"Blood pressure crashed, heart arrhythmia... Physical exam shows no new wounds, no signs of old injuries reopening." She examined him quickly while giving orders to the nurse beside her. "Prep an epinephrine shot and get an EKG."
She leaned down to listen to his heartbeat.
Erratic and wild, like a drummer who'd lost control.
"Lucas." She called his name. "Look at me."
Lucas's vision was blurry. He struggled to focus until he could finally make out that cool, composed face in front of him.
"What just happened?" Juliana asked, her hand pressed against his chest. She could clearly feel the muscles spasming uncontrollably beneath her palm. "Did you take a hard hit? Or... was it intense emotional stress?"
Lucas looked at her. His rapid breathing gradually began to slow.
His silence was answer enough.
Juliana injected him with sedatives and heart-stabilizing medication.
Everyone in the room breathed a sigh of relief.
But Juliana couldn't relax at all.
Why would simple emotional distress trigger such a severe—nearly fatal—physical reaction?
It didn't make sense.