Chapter 29

Chaos surrounded her.

In her haze, Suzy could hear the distant wail of sirens, the murmur of onlookers gathering nearby.

She tried to open her eyes, to see what was happening—but her eyelids felt impossibly heavy.

Somewhere close by, someone was crying and calling her name over and over again.

The voice was thick with guilt and despair.

A sudden ache welled up in her chest. She tried with all her strength to force her eyes open, but the darkness swallowed her once more.

***

"You can go in now."

Outside the hospital room, a doctor in a white coat looked at the two strikingly handsome yet utterly disheveled men standing in the corridor.

"D-Doctor... how is she?" Leonard asked, his voice trembling.

Compared to Adam, Leonard looked completely shattered. His eyes were bloodshot, his lips drained of color. He appeared like a man who had suffered an immense blow.

"She’s very lucky," the doctor explained. "No life-threatening injuries. Just superficial wounds and a mild concussion. She fainted due to shock, but with some rest, she’ll recover."

Even the doctor couldn’t help but marvel at it. He had seen photos of the crash scene. In accidents like that, the driver usually didn’t survive.

And yet Suzy had walked away with only minor injuries. It was nothing short of miraculous.

After finishing, the doctor left.

Leonard hurried into the hospital room. The moment he saw the slender, fragile figure lying on the bed, his heart clenched violently.

The tears he had barely held back surged up again.

They said men didn’t cry easily, but seeing Suzy like this, Leonard couldn’t control himself.

He rushed to her bedside. His gaze swept over her pale, nearly translucent face and the thick bandage wrapped around her forehead.

A broken sound escaped his throat.

He finally raised a hand to wipe at his eyes.

"It’s all my fault... Uncle hurt you... it’s my fault..."

The guilt was crushing him. If he hadn’t insisted she drive his car home, none of this would have happened. If she hadn’t been driving his car, she wouldn’t have been injured.

It was all because of him.

In that moment, Leonard wished desperately that it had been him in that crash instead.

"Don’t beat yourself up." Adam’s voice came from beside him.

At some point, Adam had stepped into the room and was now holding out a tissue.

Leonard glanced at him, eyes still wet. "Thank you."

He took the tissue and wiped his face.

Adam’s gaze shifted to Suzy. She looked so pale against the white hospital sheets—delicate, almost breakable.

His brows drew together slightly as he suppressed the strange discomfort tightening in his chest.

He placed a hand on Leonard’s shoulder. "She’s going to be fine. You’ve seen her. Now come out—I need to talk to you."

"About what?" Leonard asked hoarsely.

Adam answered bluntly, "I suspect someone tampered with your car."

Leonard’s expression changed instantly. "What did you say?!" His voice rose in shock.

Adam narrowed his eyes and lowered his tone. "Outside. Don’t wake her."

Leonard nodded stiffly and followed Adam out of the room.

Once the door was closed, Leonard turned to him urgently. "What do you mean someone tampered with my car?"

"It’s a suspicion—for now," Adam said evenly. "Didn’t you notice how unnaturally fast Suzy was going through that curve?"

He laid out his analysis carefully. As Leonard listened, his face grew darker by the second. If the car had truly been tampered with... Then this wasn’t just an accident.

It was something else entirely.

Silence stretched between them.

Adam knew Leonard needed time to process it.

Just then, Adam’s phone rang. It was his assistant.

The moment Suzy had been rescued, Adam had already instructed his assistant to investigate the condition of Leonard’s car.

He answered the call. A report came through from the other end. The longer Adam listened, the darker his expression became.

Leonard watched the change in his face, unease creeping into his chest. Before he could ask, Adam switched the call to speaker.

"Repeat what you just said," Adam instructed calmly.

"Yes, sir."

Even though it was the middle of the night and he had been woken abruptly, the assistant’s tone remained respectful and composed.

He repeated his findings clearly:

"Based on the preliminary inspection, the accident involving Mr. Kale’s vehicle appears to have been caused by a malfunction in the braking system..."

That statement essentially confirmed Adam’s earlier suspicion. No one knew better than Leonard whether there had been any issues with his brakes.

He had just had the car fully serviced not long ago.

After ending the call, Adam said evenly, "It was meant for you."

Leonard’s hands, hanging at his sides, clenched into fists. The wounds that had already been bandaged began to seep blood again under the pressure.

His voice cracked. "Suzy... she got hurt because of me..."

Yes.

Whoever did it had been targeting him.

And Suzy had taken the hit in his place.

Leonard couldn’t bear to imagine what would have happened if she had died in that crash.

"Who was it?" Leonard’s voice shook with fury. "Who’s vicious enough to try to kill me?!"

Adam looked at him coldly. "You really don’t have any idea, huh?" he asked flatly.

Leonard pressed his lips together. His body trembled faintly—not from fear, but from anger.

Of course, he had a suspicion. Earlier that night, Monica had repeatedly urged him to hurry over—despite knowing he had been drinking.

He should have realized something was wrong. But no matter how he turned it over in his mind, he couldn’t understand.

"Why..." Leonard muttered, his eyes filled with confusion and pain. "Why would she do this?"

"What’s there not to understand?" Adam’s voice turned icy. "It’s because of that stupid will you made."

Adam had long been exasperated by Leonard’s blind devotion. For Monica, Leonard had even gone so far as to draw up a will. It clearly stated that if anything happened to him, the majority of his assets would go to Monica, with only a portion left to Suzy.

Leonard’s composure fractured further. "But she already has everything!"

He truly believed he had given Monica his all. An unlimited credit card—she could spend as much as she liked. He had never once questioned her expenses.

If she wanted luxury handbags—she could buy them.

A house—she could buy it, too.

A position in his company—he arranged the easiest, best-paid role for her.

He thought he had done everything a man possibly could. So why was she still dissatisfied? Why would she even try to kill him?

"Look at this," Adam said quietly, handing over his phone. "Then you’ll understand."

Leonard took it and lowered his eyes. The image on the screen made his pupils contract violently.

On the display, bright and clear... Monica was passionately kissing her so-called "younger brother.