Chapter 6
Elysia’s last words before she lost consciousness haunted Alaric.
“After I die… hand over the contents of my heart to the police…”
Those words echoed relentlessly in his mind.
What exactly had she hidden in her heart? Could it really hold the key to unraveling his sister’s case?
His hands raked through his hair as he exhaled a long, weary sigh.
Would he really have to gamble with Elysia’s life to clear Seraphine’s name?
He waited for the surgeon, but his thoughts were tangled and restless.
Just then, a familiar voice broke through the haze.
“Alaric…”
He turned. It was Arianne.
Her face was pale, clearly not recovered enough to be out of bed.
Alaric frowned. “Why are you here? You were just injured–shouldn’t you be resting?”
Arianne gave a faint smile, her eyes flickering toward Elysia’s ward, concealing something beneath her expression.
“I… I couldn’t just lie there. No matter what she did to me, she’s still family. I couldn’t turn my back on her.”
She hesitated, then added, “Did the surgery go well?”
Alaric shook his head grimly. “There’s a foreign object in her heart. It’s lodged deep–removing it could be fatal.”
Arianne exhaled slowly, but not in disappointment. Her shoulders visibly relaxed.
Then she turned and gestured to the man behind her.
‘I was worried the doctors here wouldn’t be skilled enough, so I invited Dr. White to take a look.”
Alaric’s eyes narrowed slightly.
Dr. White was renowned, both domestically and abroad. A true authority in cardiac surgery. Getting an appointment with him was next to impossible.
If Alaric could’ve brought him in earlier, he would have.
Arianne eagerly pulled the masked man forward. “Why not let him perform the operation? With Dr. White’s expertise, I’m sure he can safely remove the foreign object.”
Alaric’s heart stirred. It was a tempting offer–but a knot of unease twisted in his chest.
Something felt… off.
After a long pause, he shook his head. “No. The surgical team here is experienced, and we’ve been working closely on her case. It wouldn’t be wise to switch the lead surgeon mid–treatment.”
Arianne’s smile faltered. Her gaze dropped, then flicked back toward the ward.
She clutched the edge of her sleeve, voice softening. “But… I spent so long convincing Dr. White
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to come…”
Alaric fell silent for a moment.
Then he looked at Dr. White and gave a polite nod. “In that case, Dr. White, I’d appreciate your professional guidance.”
The man’s eyes gleamed behind the mask as he exchanged a fleeting glance with Arianne.
‘Of course, Mr. Langford. I’ll do my best.”
nside the ward, Elysia lay unconscious, her breathing shallow.
The scar over her heart was the one Caleb had left her with the night Seraphine died.
That night, she had bled out beside her best friend, helpless as she watched Caleb torment Seraphine in every unspeakable way.
She thought she would die alongside her.
But instead, she woke up alone in the hospital.
She’d returned to the scene days later, determined to expose Caleb–but everything had been
rased. Every trace, every bloodstain, gone.
All that remained was a broken artisan saber.
She couldn’t prove it belonged to Caleb, but she knew it did. He prized that blade–had even commissioned a master craftsman to carve his name into it.
The master confirmed it, but a broken blade wasn’t enough. The connection was too weak. It vasn’t solid evidence.
But Elysia knew the truth.
‘he other half of that saber… was embedded in her heart.
Doctors warned her that removing it would likely result in fatal blood loss–her chance of
urvival was less than 5%.
But leaving it in place was just as dangerous. One shift, one wrong movement, and it could
ierce a major artery.
he had lived with the blade in her chest like a time bomb. Every breath was borrowed.
fter long deliberation, she’d written a suicide note, stating clearly that her heart must be xamined after death.
Only then could the truth finally come to light.
But she never told Alaric.
Chapter 6
