"Ah!"

Vivian Linton’s face went pale, and she screamed in terror.

Holly Sinclair’s rationality was completely consumed by rage. At this moment, she truly wanted to kill Vivian Linton.

Her brother was her absolute last line.

Whoever crossed it would die!

Just as the tip of the knife was about to plunge into Vivian Linton’s chest...

At the critical moment, a large hand seized Holly Sinclair’s wrist.

Vivian Linton scrambled away from under Holly Sinclair’s blade, practically tumbling over herself.

"Holly Sinclair, what are you doing!"

Tristan Sterling frowned, looking at the frenzied Holly Sinclair in shock.

’What’s wrong with her?’

’Why does she look like she wants to kill Vivian?’

Tristan Sterling’s sudden appearance sent a jolt of panic through Vivian Linton.

’Wasn’t he on a business trip for a week?’

’How did he get back so quickly?’

She had planned to use his absence to provoke Holly Sinclair.

She wanted to make Holly understand just how much Tristan despised her—enough to stand by and watch her only family member die.

She wanted Holly to know that her only relative’s life was less important than Vivian’s feigned minor ailment.

She hadn’t expected Tristan to return early.

But the panic lasted only a moment before Vivian Linton snapped back to her senses.

She quickly hid behind Tristan Sterling, looking utterly terrified. With tears streaming down her face, she was the very picture of misery. "Tristan! Tristan, save me! Holly Sinclair is trying to kill me... *sob sob*..."

But to her surprise, Tristan Sterling, for once, didn’t immediately comfort her.

Instead, he looked worriedly at Holly Sinclair’s deathly pale face.

"What’s wrong with you?"

Watching Holly Sinclair tremble all over, a flicker of concern he himself didn’t even notice crossed Tristan Sterling’s eyes.

Holly Sinclair was speechless. She tightened her grip on the knife, glaring viciously at the scum of a man and the bitch of a woman before her.

The hatred in her eyes was enough to destroy the world.

Suddenly—

"Ah..."

A faint cry abruptly cut through the air.

Holly Sinclair shuddered violently.

She whipped her head around to look at the hospital bed.

A single glance was all it took to bring tears to her eyes.

Her brother was awake!

Noah Sinclair, who had been in a coma for over a year, was now wide awake, staring at them in terror.

"Brother? Brother, you’re awake!!"

Holly Sinclair completely forgot about Tristan Sterling and Vivian Linton. She rushed to the bedside, clutched her brother’s hand tightly, and tears streamed down her face like a fountain.

Noah Sinclair’s expression grew even more terrified.

He had just woken up and couldn’t speak yet.

All the grief and sorrow Holly Sinclair had suppressed for so long erupted like a flash flood the moment she saw her brother awake.

’Her brother was awake. She wasn’t alone anymore.’

’She didn’t have to pretend to be strong anymore.’

’She had someone to dote on her, to love her, to protect her again.’

"Brother, you’re awake, you’re finally awake! *Sob sob*... Brother..." Large teardrops rolled down Holly Sinclair’s cheeks.

She was crying tears of joy.

However, Noah Sinclair’s expression only grew more fearful, as if she were some kind of venomous beast.

He struggled desperately to pull his hand back, but having been in a coma for so long, he could neither move nor speak.

"Brother? Brother, what’s wrong?"

Holly Sinclair finally noticed something was wrong with her brother. Her voice trembling, she quickly tried to soothe him. "Brother, don’t be scared. It’s me, Holly. Brother, it’s Holly."

She thought that since he had just woken up, he hadn’t recognized her.

But even after she identified herself, Noah Sinclair still resisted her presence.

Holly Sinclair started to panic.

She frantically pressed the emergency call button while shouting at the top of her lungs—

"Doctor! Doctor!!"

...

The doctor examined Noah Sinclair.

Holly Sinclair wrung her hands tightly, constantly peering through the small window to see what was happening inside.

Tristan Sterling watched the frantic Holly Sinclair. He noticed her once-full cheeks had become slightly hollowed, and a strange feeling stirred within him.

’How has she gotten so...?’

’She’s getting thinner and thinner.’

’She’s a grown woman. Doesn’t she know how to eat properly?’

Finally, the doctor came out.

"Doctor, how is my brother? He’s awake now, so does that mean he’ll make a full recovery soon?"

Holly Sinclair grabbed the doctor’s sleeve, her tear-filled eyes brimming with hope and joy as she fired off a rapid barrage of anxious questions.

"Miss Sinclair..." The doctor frowned, hesitating. A hint of pity flashed in his eyes.

During the year-plus that Mr. Sinclair was in a coma, Miss Sinclair had often come to the hospital to be with him, and she always left with red-rimmed eyes.

It was clear how close the siblings were and how important her brother, Mr. Sinclair, was to Miss Sinclair.

But now...

He sighed.

"What is it?!"

Seeing the doctor’s silent sigh, Holly Sinclair’s heart leaped into her throat, and her voice tightened involuntarily.

It was like a taut bowstring, stretched to its limit.

"Mr. Sinclair is awake, but he went into shock during the surgery, causing severe damage to his brain cells. As a result... he now has the mental capacity of a five or six-year-old," the doctor said regretfully.

It was a bolt from the blue for Holly Sinclair.

She stared blankly at the doctor as if she couldn’t understand him. "What... what did you say?"

Knowing she was struggling to accept the reality of the situation, the doctor said sympathetically, "I’m sorry, Miss Sinclair. We did everything we could."

’If only Dr. Ian Quincy had been the one to operate on Mr. Sinclair back then, it might not have come to this.’

’What a pity.’

"Can it be treated? Is there a cure?"

Holly Sinclair clutched the doctor’s hand for dear life, as if grasping at her last straw.

"The chances are slim." The doctor shook his head gently.

Though it wasn’t a death sentence, it was no different from one.

Holly Sinclair’s hand fell limply to her side.

The doctor shook his head and walked away.

Holly Sinclair stood there, stunned, her face devoid of expression.

Only her trembling hands betrayed the panic and helplessness raging inside her.

The joy she felt when her brother woke up was matched only by the despair she felt now.

’God is too cruel!’

’Why would He do this to her brother?!’

’Why!’

The doctor’s words also startled Tristan Sterling.

’So Noah Sinclair actually...’

’...ended up like this?’

’For such a proud and arrogant man to end up like this... it was a truly lamentable outcome.’

Although he didn’t like Noah Sinclair, he still felt a pang of regret, the kind one great man feels for another’s misfortune.

Tristan Sterling walked toward Holly Sinclair, who looked so grief-stricken she might shatter. His sharp brows knitted together slightly. "Holly Sinclair—"

SLAP!

A fierce slap landed across his face.

"Get out!"

Holly Sinclair roared, her bloodshot eyes glaring viciously at him as she shrieked hysterically, "I don’t want to see you! I never want to see you again for the rest of my life!!"

Tristan Sterling was stunned.

Her sudden frenzy made his heart clench.

Finding her emotional outburst utterly baffling, he instinctively snapped, "Holly Sinclair, have you lost your mind?"

"Tristan, are you okay? Does it hurt?"

Vivian Linton rushed over at the perfect moment, looking at the five-fingered handprint on Tristan Sterling’s cheek with a pained expression. She then turned to condemn Holly Sinclair. "Holly Sinclair, you’re too barbaric! How can you just hit people like that—"

"Get out! Both of you, get out!!"

Holly Sinclair shrieked at the pair, her eyes wide with rage as she bared her teeth.

’So disgusting!’

’This whole world is disgusting!’

’Why are the good people always the ones who get hurt!’

’Why isn’t it the scum and the bitch who go to Hell!!’

’Why!!’

With a fresh handprint on his face, Tristan Sterling’s patience began to wear thin. He spoke coolly, "Holly Sinclair, calm down. I know you’re upset that your brother ended up like this, but what’s the use of this powerless rage? This is his fate—"

"Shut up! Just shut up!!"