The silence after it happened felt unreal.
The nurse was gone.
Security had taken her away quietly, efficiently—no noise, no chaos. Just a brief disturbance that the hospital quickly erased, as if nothing had happened.
But Xiaoyu knew better.
She stood beside her mother's bed, her hands still trembling slightly.
The IV line had been replaced.
The chart had been taken.
Everything looked… normal again.
Too normal.
"That's it?" she asked softly.
Lu Shen stood near the window, his figure partially shadowed by the dim light.
"For now," he replied.
Her brows tightened. "For now? Someone just tried to harm her—and that's all?"
"No," he said calmly. "That was only the beginning."
The words sent a chill through her.
Xiaoyu turned toward him. "You're not surprised."
"I expected interference," he said.
"You expected this?" Her voice rose slightly. "Then why didn't you tell me earlier?"
Lu Shen looked at her.
Steady.
Unmoved.
"Because you wouldn't have believed me."
"That's not an excuse."
"No," he agreed. "It's a calculation."
Her chest tightened.
"You keep treating everything like a strategy," she said.
"And you keep underestimating the situation," he replied.
She turned away, running a hand through her hair.
"This is insane…" she muttered. "We're talking about hospitals, doctors—people who are supposed to save lives. Not—" she stopped.
"Not people who can be bought?" Lu Shen finished.
She didn't answer.
Because that was exactly what she was thinking.
A knock came at the door.
Both of them went still.
"Come in," Lu Shen said.
The door opened.
A man stepped inside, dressed in a dark suit.
Calm. Professional.
Xiaoyu frowned slightly. "Who is he?"
"My assistant," Lu Shen said. "Chen Wei."
Chen Wei nodded respectfully. "Miss Lin."
Xiaoyu gave a small, uncertain nod.
"Report," Lu Shen said.
Chen Wei stepped closer, lowering his voice slightly.
"We checked the nurse's records. She's not part of the official hospital staff."
Xiaoyu's eyes widened.
"What?"
"She was inserted into the system two weeks ago," Chen Wei continued. "Fake credentials. Clean background. No traceable history."
"That's impossible," Xiaoyu said.
"It's not," Lu Shen replied.
Chen Wei continued, "We also traced the authorization used to alter the medical files."
"And?" Lu Shen asked.
A brief pause.
Then—
"It leads back to the same corporate network involved in the incident seven years ago."
The room went silent.
Xiaoyu felt her breath catch.
Seven years ago.
Her father.
The collapse.
Everything that destroyed her life.
"You're saying…" she whispered, "this is all connected?"
"Yes," Lu Shen said.
Her head shook slowly. "No… that doesn't make sense. That was years ago. Why would they come back now?"
"Because something was left unfinished," he said.
Xiaoyu looked at him, her heart racing.
"What does that mean?"
Lu Shen didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he walked toward the bed, his gaze briefly falling on her mother.
Still asleep.
Still unaware.
"Your family wasn't just a victim," he said quietly.
The words felt wrong.
"What are you talking about?" she asked.
Lu Shen turned to her.
"There were documents," he continued. "Financial records. Agreements that were never made public."
Xiaoyu's mind struggled to keep up.
"My father didn't have anything like that."
"You're sure?"
"Yes," she said firmly. "I would know."
Lu Shen's gaze sharpened slightly.
"No," he said. "You wouldn't."
Silence.
Heavy.
Uncomfortable.
"Why are you saying this now?" she asked.
"Because they're looking for something," he replied.
"And you think it's connected to my family?"
"I don't think," he said again. "I confirm."
Her chest tightened.
"Then what are they looking for?"
Lu Shen held her gaze.
"For something your father took before everything collapsed."
The words landed like a shock.
"That's not true," she said immediately.
But her voice wasn't as strong as before.
Because deep down—
There were things she didn't know.
Things no one had ever explained.
Chen Wei spoke again.
"There's more."
Lu Shen glanced at him. "Say it."
"We intercepted a message linked to the same network."
"What message?"
Chen Wei hesitated for a second.
Then said—
"'If the mother fails, move to the daughter.'"
Silence.
Complete.
Absolute.
Xiaoyu felt the world tilt slightly.
"…What?"
Her voice was barely there.
Chen Wei didn't repeat it.
He didn't need to.
Lu Shen's expression darkened.
Cold.
Controlled.
But beneath that—
Something sharper.
More dangerous.
Xiaoyu took a step back.
"They're… targeting me?" she asked.
No one answered immediately.
That was answer enough.
Her hands trembled slightly.
"Why?" she whispered. "I don't have anything… I don't know anything…"
"That's exactly why you're a problem," Lu Shen said.
She looked at him, confused.
"If you don't know what they're looking for," he continued, "then you can't give it to them."
The room felt suffocating.
"So what happens now?" she asked.
Lu Shen stepped closer.
This time—
Closer than before.
"Now," he said quietly, "you don't go anywhere alone."
Her breath caught.
"And if I do?"
His gaze locked onto hers.
"You won't."
Outside, the city moved as usual.
Cars passed.
Lights flickered.
People lived their lives.
Unaware.
That somewhere inside a quiet hospital room—
A war had already begun.
And Xiaoyu was standing at the center of it.