Lemira turned on her heel and walked out of the room.

Orion stood waiting in the hallway. "Let's go," he said coolly. "There's no point in talking to someone like that."

"Orion! Come in here! I need to talk to you!"

Hearing Orion's voice, Sophia screamed at the top of her lungs, but all she saw was his shadow retreating across the floor before the room fell into dead silence once more.

Sophia collapsed against the mattress, drowning in despair. Her life was completely ruined.

How did everything end up like this?

An unknown amount of time passed before the door clicked open again.

Sophia's eyes lit up with desperate hope. "Orion, is that you? I knew you'd come back."

"It's me."

Susanna walked into the room and approached the bed to untie the ropes. "Sophia, why are you still clinging to this delusion? Mom has been arrested, and our family is going bankrupt. Stop trying to cover for her. It's useless."

The second her hands were free, Sophia slapped Susanna hard across the face. "Who are you to lecture me? If you weren't so completely useless, do you think I would have ended up like this?"

Tears welled up in Susanna's eyes. "I know I'm useless! But you're supposedly the smart one! You schemed and plotted all this time, and what did it get us? Your reputation is entirely destroyed. Have you even seen the comments online?"

"Shut up!"

Sophia practically screamed. She hadn't dared to look at the internet for days, terrified of the vicious backlash.

Susanna rubbed her reddened eyes. "Sophia, just stop. What Mom did is unforgivable, and there's no way to fix it. You don't need to drag yourself down with

her."

"Mom treated you so well, and now you won't even lift a finger to save her! You pathetic leech. You only know how to spend the family's money, and the second things get tough, you're absolutely useless. You're only trying to stop me so you can save your own comfortable little life, aren't you?!"

Sophia pointed a shaking finger at Susanna, unloading all her toxic rage onto her sister.

Furious, Susanna shot to her feet. "Fine. I'm done with you."

Susanna turned and stormed out.

Left alone on the bed, Sophia stared blankly at the ceiling, feeling enti dead inside. She still couldn't comprehend how her life had

derailed so spectacularly.

It just wasn't fair.

Lemira and Orion exited the hotel together.

Sebastian opened his mouth to say something, but Thaddeus promptly dragged him away.

Orion looked at her. "I'll take you back to your apartment."

Given the hour, the campus gates were definitely locked. The apartment was her only option.

Since she had come with Orion, her own car was still parked at the hospital.

She didn't object and slipped into the passenger seat.

This time, Orion took the wheel himself.

As they cruised down the quiet streets, he broke the silence. "Actually, for a long

time, I hated being in cars. I was even terrified of driving."

Lemira turned to look at him. "After the car crash, didn't you ever suspect the Sinclair family?"

Orion's lips pressed together. "At the time, it just felt like a horrific

accident. It was hard to process. It sounds like a joke now, but my life had always been so smooth never took anything seriously. But after witnessing that crash with my own eyes, I realized how powerless I really was."

A haunted look crossed his face. "No matter who I am, in the face of accidents,

sickness, and death, I'm no different from anyone else."

Lemira gazed out at the passing city lights. "But you still saved me, and you even tried to risk your life to save my parents."

"When I saw the driver running back toward the wreck, I genuinely

hesitated. I smelled a heavf

have

gasoline. The car could h exploded at any second."

His words dragged Lemira back to that terrifying night.

A sudden flash of memory pierced her mind. "I remember seeing people hiding in the bushes."