Chapter 78

Evelyn Sullivan pushed open the villa door and was immediately hit by the strong smell of alcohol. She instinctively frowned and took half a step back.

"I came to return the Sullivan Group shares."

Ethan Sullivan leaned against the doorframe, his shirt collar disheveled and open. He let out a cold laugh, his eyes bloodshot.

"You went through all that trouble to find Grandma just to get a divorce. Stop pretending to be noble now."

"That's not true."

"Then take the shares and get the hell out!" Ethan slammed the door shut. "We're done!"

The metallic clang of the doorframe echoed in her ears. Evelyn clenched her fists, her nails digging deep into her palms.

"When are we going to the notary office?"

"Tomorrow!" The sound of shattering glass came from inside. "Happy now?"

Evelyn turned and walked away, the click of her heels against the stone path unusually sharp.

The next morning, Tyler Laurier barged into the CEO's office with a stack of documents.

"Evelyn, the new energy project is waiting for your signature."

Without looking up, she said, "Leave it on the desk."

"But this is a crucial project for the company's next three years—"

"I said, leave it on the desk."

Tyler's smile froze. As he set the files down, his knuckles turned white from gripping them too hard.

The moment the office door closed, Evelyn glanced at her watch. The civil affairs office opened at nine. Ethan should be—

Her phone vibrated. Colin Keller's voice trembled with panic. "Ms. Sullivan, Ethan's been in a car accident!"

The red light above the operating room burned her eyes. Evelyn stared at the consent form she'd just signed, the ink still wet.

"What happened?"

"Someone was tailing his car," Colin said, his voice shaking. "On Hengjiang Bridge... They were trying to kill him."

Evelyn's nails carved crescent-shaped marks into her palms.

"Trace the license plate."

"It's a fake." Colin handed her a tablet. "But the dashcam caught the driver wearing a black mask."

The screen froze on a pair of sinister eyes. Evelyn's blood ran cold.

A familiar notification tone suddenly rang out. She hurried to the end of the hallway and unlocked her phone.

A line of blood-red text flashed on the screen: [Scorpion isn't dead.]

The words dissolved like smoke just as the operating room doors swung open. The doctor removed his mask. "The patient is out of immediate danger, but—"

Evelyn didn't hear the rest. Her gaze pierced through the glass window, landing on Ethan's pale face.

Outside, a crow perched on a tree branch, its crimson eyes fixed unblinkingly on the hospital room.