Chapter 12 Truth and Consequences

Aiden instinctively moved toward the operating room.

"Stop right there!" Sean abruptly blocked his path, his eyes cold as ice.

"Aiden, don't you understand? She would rather die than go back to you. Your very presence will only hasten her death. If you have even a shred of conscience left, leave this place now. Never appear before her again! Let her go!"

Sean's words cut like a knife, piercing straight to Aiden's heart.

Aiden stood frozen in place, as if nailed to the cold hospital floor.

His gaze was fixed on the glaring red light above the operating room.

So every instance of her pallor and trembling hadn't been an act.

She truly had been suffering that much.

And what had he done? He had threatened her, humiliated her, and called her worthless.

Even when she begged, he had brutally tried to drag her back to the hell she would rather die than return to.

An overwhelming sense of remorse and panic filled his chest.

He unconsciously took a step forward, wanting to get closer to those doors.

"Get out!" Sean spun around, his bloodshot eyes filled with undisguised hatred.

"She's dying. Leave her alone!"

Aiden's steps halted once more.

He observed Sean's resolute, protective stance and compared it to the harm he himself had inflicted on Keira. A crushing sense of defeat washed over him.

He turned abruptly, nearly stumbling as he fled the hospital.

Aiden went to his usual club, pouring one bottle after another of the strongest liquor down his throat, attempting to numb his chaotic mind.

Sycophants surrounded him, and the music blared deafeningly loud.

Yet everything around him seemed distant and unreal, as if separated by a thick fog.

This night, for him, stretched on like a century.

Meanwhile, inside the operating room, a desperate battle against death was unfolding.

That knife thrust, delivered with all of Keira's desperation and determination, had penetrated alarmingly deep.

Fortunately, the blade had missed her vital heart.

The doctors worked tirelessly—transfusing blood, suturing wounds, fighting to save her life as seconds ticked by.

Sean remained outside, not moving an inch, like a sentinel.

As dawn approached, the light above the operating room finally went dark.

The lead surgeon emerged, his face etched with exhaustion.

He nodded wearily to Sean, who had instantly risen to his feet.

"We've pulled her through, but she's still in extreme danger. The blood loss was severe. Her body is so weak that she's not out of the critical period yet. The next 24 hours will be crucial."

Sean's suspended heart finally lowered halfway.

At least she was alive.

Keira remained unconscious in intensive care for a full day and night.

Sean mobilized all his resources, bringing in the best specialist team to watch over her around the clock.

Perhaps fate ultimately couldn't bear to heap more suffering on her.

Perhaps the stubborn little life in her womb gave her a thin thread of support.

Somehow, she managed to survive the most dangerous period, her vital signs gradually stabilizing.

When she finally struggled to open her eyes again, still sensing only eternal darkness and the severe pain in her chest, she knew her gamble had paid off.

"My baby," she whispered, her first words barely audible.

Sean immediately leaned closer, telling her softly.

"Don't worry. The specialists have examined you. The baby is resilient—unharmed for now. The child is strong, just like you."

Hearing that her baby was safe, tears slid down from Keira's vacant eyes.

However, after that brief moment of relief came deeper fear.

Aiden, knowing she was alive, would never let her go.

She had escaped this time, but what about next time?

She absolutely could not fall into his hands again, nor could she continue to burden Sean.

She took a deep breath and, using all her strength, grasped Sean's hand.

"Mr. O'Neill, help me, help me leave completely. Make him believe I'm dead. Please."

Sean instantly understood her meaning.

Faking her death to escape.

The most extreme, but also the most thorough solution.

He looked at Keira, who had just struggled back from death's edge, his eyes filled with compassion.

She was far stronger than anyone could imagine.

"All right," he promised without hesitation, his voice solemn. "I'll arrange everything."

Two days later.

When Aiden returned to the hospital, reeking of alcohol and still consumed by obsession, he was met with Sean's cold, emotionless words.

"She's dead. Multiple organ failure following massive blood loss. She died yesterday at dawn."

Aiden felt as if struck by lightning.

He violently grabbed Sean's collar. "Impossible! You're lying! What new trick is she playing now?"

Sean coldly shook off his hand, his eyes filled with undisguised contempt.

"Tricks? Aiden, until her final moment, she was begging you to let her go. Her last wish was to never see you again. Here's the death certificate, here's the cremation certificate! Do you want to see them?"

He threw several officially stamped documents at Aiden.

With trembling hands, Aiden picked up the papers.

Seeing Keira's name and the cold conclusion of death, his world suddenly spun.

"No, I don't believe this! Where is she? Where's the body?" he howled desperately.

"According to her final wishes, she's already been cremated," Sean replied, his tone cruel yet calm.

"Mr. Coleman, are you satisfied now? You've finally, completely driven her to her death."

After speaking, he had someone bring out a small urn.

Aiden stared at the tiny container as if looking at the most terrifying thing in the world.

He stumbled backward.

"No, this can't be happening."

He mumbled to himself as he turned and walked away, his soul seemingly absent from his body.

Back at his company, Aiden locked himself in his office for an entire day.

Then, he deployed every resource at his disposal, frantically investigating the truth about Keira's death.

He kept telling himself this must be Sean's conspiracy!

Days later, Justin brought him the investigation report, trembling.

The results showed that Sean had indeed transported a body matching Keira's description from the hospital to the crematorium on the day of her reported death.

The paperwork was complete, the process transparent, without any suspicious gaps.

Even the crematorium staff confirmed the event.

All evidence pointed to one cruel fact.

Keira was truly gone—driven to death by him.

Aiden's fingers trembled so violently that he could barely hold the cold investigative report.

He could no longer deceive himself.

That woman who had once been so cautious around him, looking at him with humble love.

That woman, he had humiliated and tormented countless times.

That woman who had knelt on the ground crying, begging him to let her go.

He had completely shattered her. All his hatred, all his revenge, became laughable and meaningless.

Aiden returned to the hospital, the last place she had been.

Everything remained unchanged, as if nothing had happened.

Keira's existence had already been erased.

At the moment Aiden was consumed by an unbearable emotional abyss, Sean arrived."Aiden, if you have any humanity left, wake up! Investigate what really happened back then. Find out how she got that old injury to her eye! Discover who really saved you in your darkest hour. Stop being a fool, completely deceived, ultimately killing the only person who truly cared for you!"

Aiden sharply raised his head, his bloodshot eyes fixed on Sean. "What do you mean?"

"What do I mean?" Sean laughed coldly, his eyes filled with mockery and pity.

"I mean that you, brilliant as you are, can't even distinguish gratitude from resentment. The person who took that bullet for you wasn't Zoey, whom you've been cherishing all these years. It was Keira—the same Keira you tortured until she preferred death!"